What to stream: Don’t miss latest Scorsese film

The epic new Western “Killers of the Flower Moon,” directed by one of the greatest American masters of cinema, Martin Scorsese, arrives in theaters this weekend, and it’s a crowning achievement of his career — though here’s hoping the auteur isn’t done yet. The vitality and urgency he brings to his adaptation of David Grann’s book of the same name is arresting; in telling the story of the brutal murders that rocked the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma, Scorsese is classic in his approach, but radical in his politics.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” also marks the first time that two of his most frequent collaborators — Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio — have co-starred in a Scorsese picture (though the actors originally met on the 1993 film “This Boy’s Life,” and De Niro suggested Scorsese work with DiCaprio). De Niro and Scorsese have a five-decade working relationship under their belts, going all the way back to “Mean Streets” in 1973, while DiCaprio has been starring in Scorsese movies since 2002’s “Gangs of New York.”

It’s incredibly moving to witness Scorsese and De Niro’s continued collaboration on screen in their latest effort (both men are now 80), and to consider the sheer size and scope of their work together. Starting with “Mean Streets” (available for digital rental), they went on to create one of the most memorable characters in Hollywood history (along with writer Paul Schrader) with Travis Bickle in 1976’s “Taxi Driver” (available for digital rental). Their 1977 musical “New York, New York” is regrettably not available to stream, so rent a copy of this underrated gem from your local library or video store (Liza Minelli co-stars and sings the iconic standard; this film is the origin of the song).

De Niro won best actor for his portrayal of boxer Jake LaMotta in Scorsese’s 1980 biopic “Raging Bull” (stream on Max or the Roku Channel). Two years later they made the dark comedy “The King of Comedy” (available for digital rental), in which De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a deranged loner who dreams of TV stardom. The cocaine-infused gangster movie “Goodfellas” arrived in 1990 (available for digital rental), with the classic Hollywood remake “Cape Fear” in 1991, in which De Niro stars as the menacing psychopath Max Cady (stream it on Starz or rent).

Scorsese and De Niro took to Las Vegas for the 1995 mafia movie “Casino” (available for digital rental), then reckoned with the legacy of aging gangsters in 2019’s “The Irishman” (stream it on Netflix).

Scorsese and DiCaprio’s collaboration started with the historical turn-of-the-century New York movie “Gangs of New York,” co-starring Daniel Day-Lewis (stream it on Max or rent elsewhere), and continued with the sprawling Howard Hughes biopic “The Aviator” in 2004 (stream it on Paramount+). Scorsese and DiCaprio infiltrated the Boston Irish mob in 2006’s “The Departed,” co-starring Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon (available for digital rental), and stayed in New England for the 2010 psychological thriller “Shutter Island,” in which DiCaprio plays a U.S. Marshall investigating a disappearance at a mental hospital on an island (stream it on Showtime or rent it elsewhere). They also tackled the gangsters of Wall Street with the finance world true story of Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street” in 2013 (stream it on Netflix, Paramount+, Kanopy or rent it elsewhere).

While this doesn’t even come close to covering the depth and breadth of Scorsese’s varied and rich filmography (“The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Kundun,” “The Age of Innocence,” “Silence”!) it’s a look at two of the longest creative relationships he’s had throughout his career, which finally come together in his latest masterwork, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a true cinematic event that is not to be missed.