Now on 4K/Blu-Ray/Digital: BRINGING OUT THE DEAD
Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead is one of the most underrated movies in his filmography. Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment is proud to release the newly remastered film on 4K, Blu-Ray, and Digital for its 25th anniversary. It’s the latest in their Paramount Presents series with a 2-Disc release featuring all new special features.
Scorsese was given an advanced copy of Joe Connelly’s debut novel of the same name and immediately connected to its themes. He understand the Frank character and its New York setting. He brought in screenwriter Paul Schrader after working together on masterpieces like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. You can see and hear immediate parallels to Taxi Driver from the moment you press “Play” and start the film. That’s not to say it’s a carbon copy, but they’re companion films that could make for a great double feature.
Nicolas Cage plays Frank Pierce, a tormented paramedic in New York City who is at a crossroads with what his life is meant for. He states, “All my patients were dying on me.” He can’t sleep, gets no rest, and it feels like he’s perpetually working around the clock. This crisis of faith and self leads him to being haunted by the ghosts of those he couldn’t save. There’s a mental anguish we watch play out. Paul Schrader uses Frank’s narration to get inside his head to journal entries detailing our unraveling mind.
Bringing Out the Dead doesn’t have your traditional plot structure but rather plays out like an inside look at a few days in the life of a paramedic. Cage is terrific at Frank’s mental unraveling. He rides alongside three different paramedics played by John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore throughout the course of the film. The other people in Frank’s life are the patients and their family members or the street life he’s tasked at saving every night. Patricia Arquette plays the daughter of a man Frank tries to save. She spends an ample amount of time at the hospital forging a unique friendship in Frank. Marc Anthony gives a terrific supporting performance as Noel, a drug dealer who is a frequent patient at the hospital.
SPECIAL FEATURES
DISC 1 – 4K Ultra HD Feature Film
DISC 2 – Blu-Ray Feature Film and Special Features
NEW – FILMMAKER FOCUS – Martin Scorsese on Bringing Out the Dead
NEW – A RUMINATION ON SALVATION – Nicolas Cage on Bringing Out the Dead
NEW – CEMETERY STREETS – Screenwriter Paul Schrader on Bringing Out the Dead
NEW – CITY OF GHOSTS – Cinematographer Robert Richardson on Bringing Out the Dead
ON SET WITH PATRICIA ARQUETTE
ON SET WITH JOHN GOODMAN
ON SET WITH VING RHAMES
ON SET WITH TOM SIZEMORE
ON SET WITH MARC ANTHONY
EXCLUSIVE CAST AND CREW INTERVIEWS
THEATRICAL TRAILERS
Here’s a video I made for TikTok. Follow me at @PaulsMovieTrip for more unboxing, celebrity interviews, and more!
