Bringing Out the Dead is a 1999 American drama film[4] directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, based on the 1998 novel by Joe Connelly.

It stars Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore.

In Manhattan, paramedic Frank Pierce suffers from depression, insomnia, and occupational burnout having not saved any patients in months after botching the resuscitation of Rose, a homeless teen.

One night, Frank and his partner Larry respond to a dispatcher's call by the family of a Mr. Burke who has entered cardiac arrest.

While in the back of the ambulance with Frank and Noel, the victim attempts to repent for his drug dealing ways but dies before they can reach the hospital.

The hospital is unable to revive the smaller twin, and a dismayed Frank starts drinking before Marcus joins him and crashes the ambulance into a parked car.

After waiting a while, Frank barges in and discovers that it is a drug den run by a dealer named Cy Coates.

Mary admits that she has turned back to drugs to cope with her father's condition, and as Frank tries to get her to leave, Cy offers him some pills.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Stunning and compelling, Scorsese and Cage succeed at satisfying the audience.

"[10] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[12] Roger Ebert gave it a perfect four-star rating, writing, "To look at Bringing Out the Dead—to look, indeed, at almost any Scorsese film—is to be reminded that film can touch us urgently and deeply.

"[13] Years later, Scorsese reflected to Ebert that Bringing Out the Dead "failed at the box office, and was rejected by a lot of the critics."

I grew up next to the Bowery, watching the people who worked there, the Salvation Army, Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker Movement, all helping the lost souls.