Summary

• Scorsese & De Niro's 50-year partnership yielded hits- 'Killers of the Flower Moon' a testament to their timeless talent.
• 'New York, New York' marked a bold departure for Scorsese & De Niro, a box-office failure, yet an ambitious experiment.
• 'The Irishman' divided fans with de-aging tech and runtime, but showcased Scorsese & De Niro's enduring storytelling prowess.

When discussing the greatest actor-director team-ups of all time, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's partnership will always be near the top of every film fanatic's list. Their collaboration began with Mean Streets in 1973 and has continued well into the 21st Century, when this dynamic filmmaking duo recently teamed up for their tenth picture, Killers of the Flower Moon, in 2023.

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro have been working together for 50 years, marking one of the longest-lasting director-actor duos in cinema history. Even more remarkably, almost every one of the films the two men have worked on together has become an indisputable hit, elevating both of them into absolute filmmaking legends.

10 New York, New York Pays Homage To Old School Musicals

Following up on the success of Taxi Driver was always going to be difficult, but Martin Scorsese did so in spectacular fashion by trying something completely different in the form of New York, New York. Rather than continue down the dark and lonesome path inspired by Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese teamed up for their next film — an old-fashioned tribute to MGM musicals. In the film, De Niro breaks out of his traditional mold as a jazz saxophone player who returns home from WWII and strikes up a tumultuous relationship with an aspiring singer played by Liza Minnelli.

What made New York, New York interesting was how Scorsese tried to combine his passion for the Golden Age of Hollywood with the down-and-dirty aesthetic he had perfected throughout the earlier part of his career. Unfortunately, cinematic experiments seldom lead to box-office success, and that was no different here. A massive critical and commercial flop, New York, New York almost derailed Scorsese's career. The movie has some bright spots, but it was far more notable for its ambitions than what it accomplished.

9 The Irishman Was Scorsese and De Niro's Love Letter to the Genre

When it comes to The Irishman, fans are generally split. On one side are those audience members who can look past Martin Scorsese's not-entirely convincing de-aging technology, which provides the fountain of youth to his largely senior-aged cast. On the other side are those who can't. Couple the dubious special effects with the movie's long run time of over three and a half hours, and needless to say, Scorsese had a divisive film on his hands.

Scorsese and De Niro fans who could look past the length and special effects discovered a bittersweet tale of brotherhood, betrayal, and the undefeated passage of time in this loving coda to the director's signature work in the gangster genre in which De Niro stars as Frank Sheeran, a former union truck driver turned mob hitman who rose through the ranks of a prominent crime family in the 1960s. The Irishman certainly works as a crime film, but this film is intentionally nowhere near as flashy, glamorous, or thrilling as the filmmaker's earlier attempts.

8 Casino Was a Gamble Worth Taking

Casino and Goodfellas were both based on Nicholas Pileggi's memoirs, and whereas the latter has long been recognized for its unadulterated brilliance, Casino's legacy has always been more of a question mark. Between the film's snarky voiceover, explosive editing, use of long tracking shots, as well as Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro's friendship, sometimes Casino can feel like a (significantly) extended epilogue to Goodfellas​​​.

That said, one thing about Casino is undeniable: the cinematic excellence that Martin Scorsese puts on display. In the '90s, Scorsese and De Niro were both at the peak of their powers, and the result was a movie so jampacked with energy that once the three-hour film finally ended, there's a pretty good chance that most fans would be tempted to replay the movie all over again.

7 Mean Streets Marked the Beginning of One of Hollywood's Most Legendary Partnerships

Given how their careers have panned out, some fans might be tempted to place Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's first-ever team-up, Mean Streets, at the top of this list. After all, over fifty years later, Mean Streets is still a taught and brutally honest portrait of growing up on the margins of society. More than just that, the film also introduced many of the hallmarks fans would come to expect from both De Niro and Scorsese.

It's hard to believe that Martin Scorsese ever worked with a small budget. However, Mean Streets was shot on a $500,000 budget and still provided a deep dive into the urban underworld the director grew up in around Little Italy. This inherent connection to his source material immediately earned him a place as one of Hollywood's most exciting auteurs. As for De Niro, he chews up the scenery left and right as Johnny Boy, a two-bit thug addicted to trouble that tests the loyalty of his best friend, played by Harvey Keitel. Mean Streets might not be the best collaboration these two ever made, but it was their most quintessential.

6 The King Of Comedy Was Lightyears Ahead of Its Time

Of all the projects Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro have worked on together, time has been kindest to The King of Comedy. Released in the early '80s, the plot's biting commentary on celebrity culture flew over most people's heads, and the film was dismissed as a misfire, but nothing could be further from the truth. This pitch-black comedy starring De Niro as Rupert Pupkin, a talentless individual who wants badly to be a comedian, so much so that he's willing to kidnap his idol for 15 minutes of fame, has since been reappraised as a masterpiece that anticipated our media-obsessed culture.

The most remarkable thing about The King of Comedy is how the film has aged. Moments in the movie that were initially created to inspire laughter or pity have now taken on new meaning as our society has evolved. Before this movie was released, the Rupert Pupkins of the world had no soapbox to stand on, but now, forty years later, fame-seeking pick-up artists and social media "influencers" abound. Scorsese has never exactly been known for his comedies, but The King of Comedy is so prescient that it has evolved into something much more.

5 Killers of the Flower Moon Proved Scorsese and De Niro Are as Talented as Ever

On the 50th Anniversary of the release of their original partnership, Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro collaborated on an adaptation of David Grann's 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon. This true-life crime tale served as a Western, a diabolical love story, an incredibly in-depth anthropological study, and an explanation as to how the American Dream can quickly turn into a nightmare in this examination of the systematic killing of members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.

One of only two entries on this list not to star De Niro in the primary role, Killers of the Flower Moon featured Scorsese's most recent go-to collaborator in Leonardo DiCaprio. At the same time, De Niro steals every scene as William 'King' Hale, an evil cattle baron with a desire for power who pulls the strings of his dim-witted nephew to claim the Osage County oil rights. De Niro effortlessly distinguishes between an elderly, kind-hearted man and a cold-blooded instigator. Even more remarkably, over 50 years into his career, Scorsese is somehow finding new ways to set records and create timeless, essential films.