Martin Scorsese started off the 1990s on a high note with GoodFellas, possibly the acclaimed director’s best film. However, the rest of the decade saw him produce movies that earned only moderate critical success and that did even worse with audiences.

NYC medic Frank (Nicolas Cage) drives an ambulance along with a mix of partners. This leads him to experience dark and harrowing encounters.

Stressed and burned out, Frank wants to leave this job but finds himself unable to make this leap. Across a short period of time, he begins to “see ghosts” and deals with his mental decline.

Bringing Out the Dead saw Scorsese finish off the decade with a project that could have sparked both moviegoers and critics alike. Granted, the picture's box office prospects didn't seem terribly strong based on the subject matter, as it appeared unlikely that a gritty drama about ambulance drivers would set any box office records.

However, the film did benefit from a strong cast of popular actors like Cage, Ving Rhames and John Goodman, so who knows? Maybe people might have thought it would deliver a combination of The Rock, Pulp Fiction and The Flintstones.

Hey, given that Dead even invoked ghosts of a sort, maybe some of the Sixth Sense buzz would rub off on it! I guess not, since movie-goers stayed away in droves, as the film's meager $16 million US gross indicated.

Still, at least Scorsese’s beloved critics would embrace him, right? Not really.

Dead didn't receive poor notices, but they seemed largely pretty lackluster and surprisingly mediocre for a Scorsese film. Scorsese enjoys such a stellar reputation that if a movie of his doesn’t get declared an instant classic, it seems weak.

Expectations probably flew higher than usual since Dead became Scorsese's first collaboration with screenwriter Paul Schrader since 1988's Last Temptation of Christ. Prior to that, they teamed on the classics Raging Bull in 1980 and Taxi Driver in 1976.

Dead actually delivers a decent film but it appears terribly inconsistent. Ironically, it reminds me of an action flick in that all of the high adrenaline scenes work terrifically well but when the movie decelerates to get in the more "human" aspects of our lead character, it really slows.

These scenes almost uniformly involve Frank’s interactions with Mary (Patricia Arquette), the drug-using daughter of one of Frank's patients. As hard as these segments attempt to make Frank more dimensional, they just feel gratuitous and like they come from a different movie.

When the film concentrates on the exploits of Frank and a roster of comically odd partners - we find Goodman, Rhames and Tom Sizemore in these supporting roles - then it delivers the goods. These pieces can seem somewhat repetitive at times, but they often become electric and wildly entertaining.

All three of Frank's partners feature very dissimilar personalities, an aspect that makes the different adventures more compelling. Add to that an interesting turn from Latin pop heart-throb Marc Anthony - who becomes completely unrecognizable as crazy addict Noel - and these "street" scenes make for some stimulating film-making.

But they don't complete the movie, so we get the obligatory semi-love interest/getting Frank back in touch with humanity parts that involve Arquette. The chemistry between the two seems nil and virtually all of these scenes fall flat.

It feels too bad Scorsese couldn't muster a more compelling boy/girl relationship than what we find, as Bringing Out the Dead shows promise. The action scenes consistently feel exciting and perversely fun, and the film's visual style works well also.

This mix of thrills and boredom makes Dead mediocre overall. I expect more from Scorsese.

Bringing Out the Dead appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This turned into an effective Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness largely worked fine. A smattering of wider shots came with minor softness, but the majority of the flick brought solid accuracy.

The film came with no signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt natural, and print flaws failed to mar the proceedings.

Dead went with a blown-out palette that often opted for garish tones to reflect the extreme situations on display. The disc depicted them well, with an extra boost from HDR.

Blacks came across as dark and tight, while low-light shots demonstrated appealing clarity. Whites and contrast got a nudge from HDR. We got a fine rendition of the film.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Dead came with an active Dolby Atmos soundtrack – maybe a little too active at times, though I guess this made sense for the flick’s chaotic nature. The mix used all the channels on a frequent basis, and this could overwhelm somewhat.

Nonetheless, the audio managed to engulf the viewer within the street and hospital locations. Effects and music surrounded the audience in a manner that added kick to the proceedings, even if I felt the back channels took over a little too loudly at times.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed concise and natural. Music varied somewhat dependent on the source, as the flick featured a mix of score and songs, but these components generally showed positive reproduction.

Effects offered good accuracy and impact, with clean highs and warm lows. For the most part, I felt satisfied with this track.

No extras appear on the 4K disc but we get a bunch on the included Blu-ray copy, and Filmmaker Focus runs 12 minutes, eight seconds. It brings notes from director Martin Scorsese.

“Focus” examines what brought Scorsese to the project, the source novel and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, cinematography, music, and the film’s release/reception. Though too brief, this turns into a fairly informative reel.

A Rumination on Salvation goes for 14 minutes, 42 seconds. It involves actor Nicolas Cage.

He chats about his casting and working with Scorsese, his character and performance, research, his co-stars, and his thoughts about the film. Cage offers a vivid and enjoyable conversation.

Next comes Cemetery Streets. In this six-minute, five-second reel, we hear from screenwriter Paul Schrader.

The filmmaker covers his script and research, the cast, collaborating with Scorsese yet again, and the movie’s reception. Though brief, Schrader hits on a lot of interesting topics.

City of Ghosts lasts nine minutes, 20 seconds. This reel features cinematographer Robert Richardson.

We learn about his photographic approach to the film as well as some experiences along the way. Richardson brings solid insights.

Those first four featurettes boasted newly-shot interviews, but the remaining extras all come circa 1999. Under On Set, we get separate segments with actors Patricia Arquette (6:06), John Goodman (5:39), Ving Rhames (2:57), Tom Sizemore (3:00) and Marc Anthony (4:50).

Across these, they tell us about their roles and performances as well as working with Scorsese and general thoughts about the production. These vary in quality – Arquette’s chat proves most illuminating – but they generally tend to feel fairly superficial.

In addition to two trailers, we finish with Excluaive Cast and Crew Interviews. In this 10-minute, 57-second reel, we hear from Scorsese, Cage, Arquette, Goodman, Rhames and writer Joe Connelly.

This featurette looks at story/characters, cast and performances, research, and related topics. Some content repeats from the prior reels, but the addition of Connelly helps make this a useful program.

Note that the Blu-ray only appears in this set. As of September 2024, Paramount has not announced plans to release the BD on its own, so for now, it remains exclusive to the 4K issue.

When a film combines Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Nicolas Cage and a supporting cast of strong actors, one expects a masterpiece, but Bringing Out the Dead doesn’t become that film. At its best, it makes for a reasonably thrilling and darkly entertaining view of the "mean streets", but the movie becomes bogged down by many dull moments that attempt to flesh out the main character. The 4K UHD comes with solid picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Expect a quality release for an erratic movie.