The Firelight Shocks DVD Review Section

Bringing out the Dead Distributor: Touchstone Region: 2 Ratio: 2.35.1 (Enhanced for widescreen televisions) Sound: Stereo

Ever noticed how Scorcese has never made a horror film, probably never will make a horror film and yet has put some of the most disturbing, terrifying and downright horrible images onto celluloid? Take the blood soaked finale to Taxi Driver, for instance, or the beating that is enacted upon poor Joe Pesci at the climax of Casino. Both more likely to disturb your sleep than any number of cannibals or hockey masked psychos. Likewise, trust Scorcese to make the crucifixion of Christ the gritty, horrendous and ultimately unbearable ordeal that it no doubt would have been in The Last Temptation of Christ. No galvanised, romantic images in Scorcese's cannon. No sir - and Bringing out the Dead adds yet more unforgettable and haunting images to get your brain around. Nicholas Cage plays Frank - a paramedic who can be seen to be on a life support system in his own right, only Frank's 'support system' is the notion that he may be saved from a breakdown through the opportunity to once again save someone's life. As Frank himself maintains - it has been months since he has saved someone's life, and the toll of being little more than a witness to death is beginning to drive him to oblivion. No longer eating or sleeping properly, Frank's features have transformed into a ghostly shade of white, and ghoulish black rings surround his eyes. He has joined the ghosts who stalk the ghetto areas of New York, overdosing, drinking and walking aimlessly around the streets. He has in fact become one of those whom he sets out to help, and he is a victim in his own mind. Bringing out the Dead follows Frank as he endures three different late night shifts, over a number of days, with each shift featuring a different partner. For the first shift Larry (John Goodman) accompanies Frank. Larry has become numb to the death that surrounds him in his job, and he is living in a world of his own. His seeming lack of compassion is very unnerving indeed. The second shift takes in Marcus (Ving Rhames) who sees himself as a man of God - out to save the world. His enthusiasm is in complete contrast to Cage's transformation into a martyr for the dead, and this is by far the most humorous segment of the film. The sequence where Marcus holds a mock ceremony to reawaken a drug addict is pure class. The third shift that Frank finds himself on is easily the most terrifying, and compulsive, as it involves the far-gone and truly maniacal persona of Walls (Tom Sizemore in psycho mode). Sizemore is at his best here - delivering an amazing performance as a man not so much out to save lives as to simply entertain himself through the suffering and mortality that surrounds him. Thus, all three of Frank's colleagues approach their job in a different manner - each one finding their own way to deal with the undeniable torment and strong emotional responsibility that working as a paramedic in the slums of New York no doubt commands. During Bringing out the Dead we also meet Mary (Patricia Arquette) who appears as something of a saviour to Frank. Through Mary, Franks seeks redemption - for he is plagued with the recurring memory of a 16 year old pregnant girl whom he lost and, unable to come to terms with this, Frank has only the bottle to soothe his pain. However, Mary manages to finally allow him some inner peace. Furthermore, although he is initially an instigator in the brutal attack upon a crazy young man called Noel - Frank instead saves him from being beaten within an inch of his life by a baseball bat welding Tom Sizemore. This also allows Frank to finally feel some contentment in his job, and his inability to stop the hand of death in the past is allowed to fade in a beautifully subdued ending. Death and religion plague frame after frame of Bringing out the Dead. Whether it is a barely glimpsed statue of the Virgin Mary in the windscreen of Cage's ambulance as he tours a ghetto or the sight of a man tattooed from head to foot with skulls in a waiting room. Mary's elderly father, who is being kept alive via a respirator, manages to communicate his will to die to Cage - to be put to death with grace, and this is enlightening because it allows Scorcese to put us in touch with our own morbid fears. It also touches the tricky concept of euthanasia, albeit without (I would say) giving us any answers. However, where this movie really amazes is in its visuals. Dare I say that this is the director's most daring and exhausting picture to date? The camerawork leaves you breathless, and every shot is a treasure - stand out scenes include Cage's descent into the underground - with bright reds conflicting with his white paramedic garb thus allowing us to see the martyr enter a living, breathing hell. Also worth mentioning are Cage's acid trip as he imagines himself as someone literally capable of bringing back the dead. Also, the sequence where pure snow is hampered only by the hanging cuts of a butcher shop (setting up a powerful and pivotal scene amazingly) is both fitting and intelligent. Speeded up film, abrupt lapses in tense and a use of lighting and colour that is utterly relevant to the plot aesthetics results in a true masterpiece. On top of all this you also get a few scenes that may never leave you. From the impaled drug dealer and his mistress lying dead in a pool of her own blood to the speeded up features of Tom Sizemore, his sinister features (meshed in a red haze) making him appear to be the devil himself. Forget the fact that this wasn't a great hit at the box office, you get Cage in his best role since Leaving Las Vegas, and the sight of the world's greatest living director offering yet another awesome cinematic experience. As a great follower of the director I can honestly say that this is one of Scorcese's five best... which obviously means that this movie is not to be missed!

THE DISC: Brilliant picture and sound - extra features not quite as nifty. You get a ten minute featurette with some input from Cage, Scorcese and other members of the cast but, all in all, not too hot. Still well worth buying because this is a movie to revisit.