In the history of cinema, there have been numerous fruitful and iconic collaborations between directors and actors, producing bodies of work that make them both stand out among the rest. Without a doubt, one of the most famous of these duos is that comprised of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Together, these two have made some of what are usually listed among the best films of all time, from Goodfellas to Raging Bull and beyond.

For years, cinephiles on the Internet have recurred to IMDb to rave about these phenomenal movies, cementing the Scorsese-De Niro collaboration as one of the medium's strongest. The director is usually able to get some of the actor's strongest performances, full of emotion and with tremendous range. Likewise, De Niro always seems to push Scorsese to bring his A-game to each film they collaborate on, which never fails to produce some really outstanding work.

Updated on October 25, 2023, by Diego Pineda Pacheco:

After a very long wait, Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's latest collaboration, has finally hit theaters. As audiences and critics alike rave about the duo's newest gem of a masterpiece, it's fun to revisit the other movies that they've worked together on.

11 'The Audition' (2015)

IMDb rating: 6.6/10

De Niro, DiCaprio, Pitt, and Scorsese in 'The Audition' walking away from an intensely lit building
Image via Melco Crown Entertainment

Scorsese is, of course, best known for his feature films. However, Scorsese's work on short films often feels very underrated. He has made a wide variety of them, most being nothing short of outstanding, and all of them having something very unique to bring to the table. The Audition, a promotional short for a hotel casino resort in Macau, may not be the director's best work by any stretch, but it's nevertheless a worthy addition to his filmography.

The film sees De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio competing for the lead role in Scorsese's next movie, in a delightfully meta-comedy short that fans of the director and stars will surely have some fun with. However, many other reviewers on IMDb argued that the movie felt like little more than a lazy cash grab, making it perhaps the weakest Scorsese-De Niro collaboration despite its undeniable charm.

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10 'New York, New York' (1977)

IMDb rating: 6.6/10

Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro in 'New York, New York'
Image via United Artists

Although Frank Sinatra's cover of this film's title song is now probably more popular than the film itself, the fact is that New York, New York is an underrated gem hidden in its director's vast filmography, which many fans think is among his most underappreciated outings. In it, a musician and a singer embark on a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

It's undeniable that the movie has some pretty major flaws which probably explain why audiences have forgotten it over time, from the mismatch between the story and the musical genre, to the excessive style that often drowns out the substance of the film. Even yet, Scorsese fans on IMDb find New York, New York to be a very unique picture with fantastic performances by De Niro and Liza Minnelli.

9 'Mean Streets' (1973)

IMDb rating: 7.2/10

Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and David Proval in Mean Streets
Image via Warner Bros.

Mean Streets, a fascinating crime drama about a small-time crook dreaming of making it big in the local mafia, was one of Scorsese's earliest features and his first time working with Robert De Niro. Though it wasn't the auteur's first film set in New York (that honor goes to Who's That Knocking at My Door, Scorsese's sadly forgotten debut), it was the first to show how he could turn the city into a character in itself, and use it to amplify his stories and character arcs greatly.

Mean Streets offers one of De Niro's most distinct and sympathetic performances, as well as a riveting script about an engrossing protagonist (played by Harvey Keitel) experiencing loneliness and Catholic guilt. It's one of the best crime movies of the '70s, as well as a perfect introduction to Scorsese's style and to the questions and themes that have bugged his mind for years.

8 'Cape Fear' (1991)

IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Nick Nolte and Robert De Niro in Cape Fear
Image via Universal Pictures

The word "remake" comes with a generally negative connotation, but in reality, these kinds of movies aren't always a disaster. In fact, they can sometimes turn out to be better than the original films. Scorsese proved that in 1991 when his remake Cape Fear became an instant hit. It's about a recently released convicted criminal, who stalks the family of the defense lawyer who failed to keep him out of jail.

This is the closest the famous director has come to making a horror film, largely helped by De Niro's terrifying performance as an evil and unpredictable force of nature. The intensity and suspense that can be found in Cape Fear are unparalleled, and the whole thing proves that remakes can be done well when placed in the right hands. Whether it's better than the 1962 original starring Robert Mitchum in De Niro's role is debatable; but what's certain is that this is one of Scorsese's wildest works.

7 'The Irishman' (2019)

IMDb rating: 7.8/10

The Irishman
Image via Netflix 

Scorsese's glorious return to the mobster subgenre came at a time when it didn't seem likely to ever happen. The Irishman is exquisite, an engrossing character drama that proves that three-hour-long films have an inimitable magic. Based on a true story, it illustrates the life of Frank Sheeran and the story of his alleged assassination of his close friend Jimmy Hoffa.

The film overall feels like a moving coda to this entire subgenre of crime cinema, stacked with a cast full of iconic stars and with Scorsese's signature style as both the story's foundation and the cherry on top. Every performance is fantastic, the visuals and music are great, and the story packs a hell of an emotional punch, proving that Scorsese still has the same old spark.

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6 'The King of Comedy' (1982)

IMDb rating: 7.8/10

Robert DeNiro as Rupert bowing for an audience in 'The King of Comedy.'
Image via 20th Century Studios

While The King of Comedy isn't exactly a hidden gem, it's not often praised as what it is: One of the best efforts of its director's filmography, offering one of the best performances of its star's career. Offbeat and thrilling, it's the story of a down-on-his-luck comedian who decides to kidnap his favorite talk show host to take his place.

Though general audiences today may know it best for having allegedly inspired Todd Phillips's Joker, cinephiles know that King of Comedy is much more special than that. De Niro is fascinating as protagonist Rupert Pupkin, an incredibly unreliable narrator who makes it impossible at every turn to know what's real and what's in his imagination. It makes for a really strong character study with an enveloping atmosphere of dark humor and suspenseful drama.

5 'Raging Bull' (1980)

IMDb rating: 8.1/10

Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull
Image via United Artists

It's beyond impressive that Martin Scorsese made Raging Bull near the beginning of his professional career. It's a masterpiece clearly made by an artist in full control of his craft, and it speaks volumes about its director's prowess that he could make it without much experience under his belt. It's a biopic about boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violent temper led him to the top of the ring but destroyed his life outside of it.

The film sees De Niro play LaMotta. It's not just De Niro's best performances outside of the crime genre, but arguably his best performance in general. He transforms into the boxer in a riveting sports drama full of nail-biting action, intriguing characters, and iconic scenes.

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4 'Casino' (1995)

IMDb rating: 8.2/10

man n black suit in brightly lit casino
Image via Universal Pictures

In Casino, Scorsese offers one of his most opulent and highly-adorned works to date; an entertaining crime drama of high stakes, bright lights, and fancy clothes. In certain ways a spiritual successor to Goodfellas, it's about two best friends – one a casino executive, the other a mafia enforcer – who compete for a gambling empire in Las Vegas. If stories set in the City of Lights are your thing, this one is a must-see.

The visual storytelling at play in Casino is pristine, and the screenplay is filled with some of the most interesting characters, thought-provoking themes, and engaging storylines of Scorsese's entire filmography. It's a movie that's often buried under the considerably bigger popularity of the director's other classic epic crime drama starring De Niro, but it more than deserves to stand on its own as an equally admirable masterpiece.

3 'Killers of the Flower Moon' (2023)

IMDb rating: 8.2/10

Robert De Niro as William Hale and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'
Image via Apple TV+

One of Scorsese's many passion projects, Killers of the Flower Moon is one that's particularly satisfying to see come to fruition. A critique of the elites and how they're able to seize history and do with it as they see fit, it's a gut-wrenching drama of romance, betrayal, and crime, about the mysterious murders of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma.

Marking the first time that Scorsese, De Niro, and DiCaprio make a feature together, this dark and solemn Western (undoubtedly one of the best Westerns of the past 20 years) is a piece of history that you definitely shouldn't miss. Its runtime may seem daunting, but those three-and-a-half hours fly right by when you sit down and witness one of the most engrossing stories that Scorsese has ever immortalized on the big screen.

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2 'Taxi Driver' (1976)

IMDb rating: 8.2/10

Travis Bickley at the movie theater with his hand half-covering his eyes in Taxi Driver.
Image via Columbia Pictures

Though it's especially well-known for Robert De Niro's staggering lead performance and Paul Schrader's smart and methodical screenplay, Taxi Driver is one of those rare perfect films where every single element works in beautiful coordination with the others. Scorsese orchestrates a riveting character drama about Travis Bickle, an unstable veteran working as a nighttime driver in New York City, whose decadence fuels his urge for violent action.

The film is a gut-wrenching examination of what loneliness and isolation can do to a man in desperate need of guidance. It paints NYC as a gritty purgatory-like hellscape populated by fascinating characters, the best of which is one of cinema's greatest-ever protagonists. De Niro is unbelievably great in the role, largely thanks to Schrader's genius writing and Scorsese's perceptive eye.

1 'Goodfellas' (1990)

IMDb rating: 8.7/10

Tommy DeVito, Henry Hill, and James Conway huddled and talking to each other in Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro in Goodfellas.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Goodfellas is typically described as Scorsese's strongest work, the best movie in the crime genre, and one of the best films of all time. All of these are well-earned titles. There's a good reason – plenty, in fact – why it's considered the best of the De Niro-Scorsese movies, as it's a potent and thoroughly entertaining character study about violence, identity, and power dynamics.

Whatever you could possibly want in a crime drama, Goodfellas has it. Outstanding directing and performances, a rock-solid script, memorable characters and scenes, a catchy soundtrack, and quotable dialogue are but a few. It's definitely the best film that Scorsese and De Niro have ever made together, showing the greatest qualities of both the former as a filmmaker and the latter as an actor.

NEXT:Every Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best