Yes, it doesn't make sense to rank all 73 in one article. That'd be way too much. That'd be way too ridiculous. Check out Part I here; it took down 73-51, so we're cracking the top 50 here. Then, naturally, there's going to be a part three that takes down the top of 25.
How did we get to this point? Let's recap.
Martin Scorsese turns 73 on November 17th, and in 47 years of filmmaking he's given us so many damn good characters to fear, aspire to, know already, relate to, or thank God we're not actually them.
So we're ranking them.
What we're not doing: Putting main characters because they're main characters, ranking main characters higher because-- again --they're main characters, ranking female characters higher or lower than they should be by virtue of being, well, women (and they're often battered).
What we are doing: Trying to rank 73 different characters from over a dozen pieces of fiction based on the reaction we had to them in first viewing, how well those characters have stood the test of time in second and third viewings, and how much the actors' performances had to do with all of it-- the quality of the film, how our impression of that film has stood the test of time, and such.
These middle 24 characters are hard to categorize. In Part 1, many were interchangeable, and most of that list could have gone anywhere because they weren't always essential to the film despite their lasting impact.
This part though, is trickier. Some of them certainly belong in the latter half. They maybe have no business where they are, but we've made sense of it. They might have been main characters, they might have been supporting actors.
The pivot here is that they made the most out of their screen time; sometimes their ranking suffers because of the film as a whole. While that's an unfair assessment, we're okay with that.
The film as a whole has to have a say in the conversation. Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes is one of his better roles with Scorsese because he's so damn entertaining, but the film is undeniably hard to watch because of, well, Scorsese has an issue with length sometimes, and The Aviator is his greatest casualty.
50. Julian - The Color of Money
"I slipped."
Case in point for unfair assessments or questionable placements: Julian. But where else do you ever see John Turturro in a Scorsese flick?
[anad]
Well, he's uncredited as "dude at a Webster Hall table" in Raging Bull, but we're all for a higher ranking of actors whose legacies are enriched by association with Scorsese.
And remembering that Turturro was in The Color of Money slightly forgives Transformers. A little.
49. Chuck Aule - Shutter Island
"That's right, we're too smart for 'em."
Ruffalo is great here, but then again, he didn't do much. But he's still great. Greater than many others on this list. But that's just Ruffalo being Ruffalo.
48. Marcus - Bringing Out the Dead
"Don't tell me about the Good Book now, son. I'll preach heaven and beat the hell outta you."
Ving Rhames is the only good part of this movie. John Goodman is a close second, but he doesn't bring the fire that Ving does. That close second isn't even close, Nick Cage is classically awful Cagey, and Patricia Arquette isn't great.
Definitely Scorsese's weakest film...
47. Fast Eddie - The Color of Money
"It's even, but it ain't settled. Let's settle it."
It seems like a crime to put Paul Newman back so far, but consider the following:
A) Daniel Day-Lewis didn't make it for Age of Innocence, so we can justify actor caliber not making the case itself.
B) It's a recycled character from The Hustler, and even if both films are really good, we still gotta dock Marty for a character he didn't bring the screen first.
C) After he gets hustled by Amos... man, that breakdown is hard to watch. It just wasn't good and almost everything else before and after was great.
46. Big Bill Shelly - Boxcar Bertha
*Screaming while being nailed to the side of a train car.*
Spoiler Alert: Sorry. Statute of limitations has long passed, and this is just another reason why you should go watch this movie somehow (found it on Hulu).
David Carradine is always great (guys, he's Bill from Kill Bill [also, if you've never seen Death Race 2000 with him and Sylvester Stallone, go educate yourself]). If there's any reason to sit through this less than 90-minute film, it's for the last scene. Seriously.
45. Colin Sullivan - The Departed
"Now why would you have to remind me of that? Would I be any good at what I do if I didn't f***ing already know that? Frank, you gotta trust me. Alright, just trust me Frank. Hey, it f***ing involves lying and I'm pretty f***ing good at that. Right?"
This quote is exactly why he's exactly where he needs to be. He's not important enough in the Scorsese canon to make it higher (and we're choosy without any real, discernible logic), but a rat is a rat is a rat. Damon was great, though, and this film, somehow doesn't get rated highly enough.
44. The Bowden Family - Cape Fear
Leigh Bowden: "I'd like to know just how strong we are. Or How weak. But I guess the only way we're gonna find that out is just by going through this."
The weirdest family ever in maybe one of Scorsese's weirdest, strangely still very entertaining movies ever.
43. Naomi - Wolf of Wall Street
"I mean that was the last time we ever have sex."
Seriously the only time it's ever not too creepy to say a woman looks so much more grownup than she actually is, Margot Robbie, 23 at the time, kills this role. She has a Rachel McAdams (only 36?!) agelessness to her looks, and that makes this coupling with her and Leo look just fine.
That's all we mean here. But seriously, in a Scorsese universe of women-as-victims, Naomi, much like Vickie (Raging Bull), leaves of her own volition when the time is right. It sucks that it often takes getting punched in the face or almost dying at sea to determine when the time is right, but they leave.
Good for them.
42. Masha - The King of Comedy
"You don't think I'm self-destructive, do you? ... I knew you wouldn't. That's 'cause you're the only person in the world who really understands me."
The craziest woman in almost any movie you've probably never seen. Yeah, go watch The King of Comedy. It's wonderful.
41. Michael - Mean Streets
"Now's the time!"
If you know this movie, you know this line. If you know why he says this, then you know how great and important he is in Scorsese's first great film. Mean Streets is an absolute classic for a number of reasons, not least of which is the seemingly meandering villain that gets the last great word.
40. Karen - Goodfellas
"Not without your car keys you're not!"
You already know all about Karen, and how great and fierce Lorraine Bracco is. She didn't make it higher on this list because Scorsese is far bigger than just Goodfellas, and because of that, there are just so many more important characters than Karen. Obviously.
39. Teddy Daniels - Shutter Island
"Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?"
[anad2]
An underrated performance by Leo in a rightly rated movie, the character of Teddy Daniels really suffers only in the predictability of its plot. It's a painful moment to watch when he doesn't end up changing, but it's what we thought it would be.
38. Billy Batts - Goodfellas
"Now go get you're f***in' shine box!"
Billy Batts. Enough said. He's the impetus for the major conflicts in Goodfellas. He's the point of no return. He's the friend they know in Tommy's Mom's painting. He's Billy effing Batts.
Also, did you know Salvy's (also played by Frank Vincent) last name in Raging Bull? Batts. Small world.
,37. Janelle - The Color of Money
*Presents silver chalk cube*
Helen Shaver plays the cool, calming, non-abused woman more Scorsese movies should have had. She's absolutely great, and a wonderful addition to the cast as a whole.
[anad]
Now, many women in this part of the list can be interchanged. There's a matter of preference here. Janelle, Naomi, Madolyn (#36), and Teresa (#34) can all swap spots at different parts of the film. There's a matter of redemption in each of them, so it really matters what happens where.
It should be noted however, that despite Naomi's personal strength gets penalized for A) not an especially interesting acting job, and B) we're not huge fans of Wolf of Wall Street.
36. Madolyn - The Departed
"I thought I was the liar."
Even in this weird, Willy Wonka pant suit, Vera Farmiga is adorable, assertive, and strong when she absolutely needs to be. Very, very underrated acting job here. 80% of her lines are in her face, and their stronger than some of the sh*t Mark Whalberg says (honorable mention for Dignam!).
35. Tommy Como - Raging Bull
"He ain't pretty no more."
If the Bronx Bull's title chances run through you, the top 35 of this list runs through you. Enough said.
34. Teresa - Mean Streets
"Charlie, what do you like?"
Sturdy. Sassy. Full of grit and personality. Doesn't take no sh*t. We love Teresa.
33. Dr. Cawley - Shutter Island
"Sanity's not a choice, Marshall."
Sure, he delivers the most predictable plot twist of all time in this film, but Ben Kingsley is a god among mere mortals in almost every film. Especially Iron Man 3, which is just. Awful.
32. Howard Hughes - The Aviator
"The way of the future."
Leo's gotten justifiably snubbed almost every time. This time was one of them. He was great. He was electric. He was handsome. He aged well on screen.
But there were four better actors than him that got nominated: Jamie Foxx (who won for Ray), Johhny Depp (Finding Neverland), Don Cheadle (who definitely got snubbed for Hotel Rwanda), and Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby).
Alan Alda, who gets an honorable mention here, was similarly electric, but again, you can get penalized for not having a lasting impact on a relatively weak film. Nobody watches The Aviator for Alan Alda, but that has more to do with people not watching The Aviator at all.
31. Unnamed Passenger - Taxi Driver
"You must think I'm pretty sick or somethin', you know, you must think I'm pretty sick. Right? You must think I'm pretty sick? Hmm? Right? I'll betcha, I'll betcha you really think I'm sick right? You think I'm sick? You think I'm sick? You don't have to answer. I'm payin' for the ride. You don't have to answer."
Marty made the list! Of course he did. This is one of the all-time creepiest things we've ever heard. Of course it makes it.
30. Georges Melies - Hugo
"My life has taught me one lesson, Hugo Cabret, and not the one I thought it would. Happy endings only happen in the movies."
Ultimate downer quote of all-time! Still, Kingsley, again, is a god among mere mortals of cinema, and he turns in a similarly profound performance in a considerably greater movie. Hugo, if you didn't know, is absolutely wonderful.
29. Nicky Santoro - Casino
"Now, notice how in the count room nobody ever seems to see anything. Somehow, somebody's always lookin' the other way. Now, look at these guys. They look busy, right? They're countin' money. Who wants to bother them? I mean, God forbid they should make a mistake and forget to steal."
Crazy enough to crack the top 30, not crazy enough to crack any higher. Mainly because of his sordid, off-putting love affair with Sharon Stone. It's just... weird, right?
28. Jerry Langford- The King of Comedy
Pupkin: "I'm gonna work 50 times harder, and I'm gonna be 50 times more famous than you!"
Jerry: "Then you're gonna have idiots like you plaguing your life!"
Absolute. Perfection. Jerry Lewis is great at getting followed, having his workday disrupted, his house broken into, and really, really effing great at getting kidnapped/molested (was he actually raped?).
27. Jordan Belfort - Wolf of Wall Street
"I am not gonna die sober!"
Snubbed? Again, no. He was in much better company performing in a role that just felt borrowed from somewhere else. Matthew McConaughey killed it. Chiwetel Ejiofor killed it. Hell, Bruce Dern killed it. Leo was just in the wrong role for the wrong year. He didn't get snubbed. He just ain't earned it.
[anad2]
And, again, this film... there just isn't a whole lot to like about it. Is Leo electric though? Is he the second best part of it? Absolutely. But has he done better? Certainly.
26. Von - Boxcar Bertha
*shotgun vengeance*
Again, aside from Barbara Hershey being absolutely wonderful every second of every scene in that film, Von makes the movie. It's hard to get through at times. It's not your normal Scorsese. It's a train robbery flick about union workers trying to disrupt the railroad in the Great Depression.
The last ten minutes though... Absolutely. Fire.
Be on the look out for Part 3 as we wrap up the Top 25!
Check out 6 Reasons Why We Should Be Happy We Don't Live in 'The Warriors' 1979 NYC.