Scorsese: An Overview

I've just finished my library of Martin Scorsese films which started with his first film "Who's That Knocking at my Door", and ends with his latest HBO documentary "Public Speaking". Here's an overview of his career.

The Certified Masterpieces:

"Mean Streets", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "Goodfellas"

The ones that should be considered classics

"Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore": A modern woman's picture in the spirit of the fifties films with Jane Wyman, telling the story of Alice (Ellen Burstyn)a recently widowed woman with no prospects attempting to start a new life along with her smart mouth son. It's funny, heartwarming, and quite unlike anything Scorsese has done.

"New York, New York": A musical which blends the style of two of Scorsese's idols, Vincent Minnelli's splashy artifice and John Cassavetes' blunt realism. In my opinion it meshes beautifully and is one of Scorsese's most unsung (No pun intended) masterpieces)

"The Last Waltz": Another kind of musical, this one a documentary of The Band's last concert. A film that celebrates the life of a rock star, but the performances in the film are what make it so memorable.

"Casino": Unfairly maligned because of its close relation to "Goodfellas". I think of it as more of a companion piece. The pacing is just as frantic and musical as "Goodfellas", also the use of voice over narration is just as innovative. I also found the ending far more tragic and subdued, but it remains a wondrous film experience.

Other Underrated Gems

"No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" :Scorsese's documentary in two parts about Dylan is probably the best film he's made in the new millennium. It goes from Dylan's humble beginnings to him being the voice of his generation which is something he never really wanted. We come to empathize with Dylan who just wanted to make the music he wanted to make.

"Who's That Knocking at my door": Scorsese's first film is not perfect, but what first films are? It does show an original voice and a lot of great visuals, you can see himself struggling with the same themes which would become more prominent in "Mean Streets".

"Shutter Island": In my opinion the best film Scorsese has made with Leonardo DiCaprio, a psychological thriller which is really about one man's guilt and how he comes to terms with it. It may not all hold together, but to me it's one of Scorsese's most moving finales.

"After Hours": A film I was introduced to just recently, a wonderful comedy in the same vein as The Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man". Griffin Dunne plays a man who is stuck in down town New York where he can't seem get out. Throughout the film, terrible things keep happening to him.

"Gangs of New York": Not the masterpiece Scorsese had probably wanted, but a visceral look at a history not often talked about, the roots of violence, and gang warfare, in a sense, the roots of America.

"The Aviator": Along with "Gangs of New York", it's often thought of Scorsese's prestige picture, where it looked like he was trying to win an Oscar. Look at this film again, again not perfect, but Scorsese has a way to get inside the mind of his characters unlike anyone else. Howard Hughes is no exception. It's a dark bio, plus an extravagant look at old Hollywood.

"Public Speaking": A warm look at Fran Libowitz, it's pretty much her show, Scorsese basically points the camera at her and lets her go. She's one of the great modern intellectuals and displays that mantra throughout the film, she's also full of acid wit which is nice.

Overrated

"The Departed": Although not a failure, it seems to be more of a practice in style. Unlike "Goodfellas" and "Casino" which feel alive and vibrant, this film doesn't kick into high gear, but it's well crafted with great performances. Scorsese could no longer be ignored by the Academy, and like so many of the greats they decide to honor him with one of his good but not great films.

Misfires

"Boxcar Bertha": His first Hollywood movie has some nice images particularly and a violent tragic ending, but the script lets it down. Produced by Roger Corman, it seems like a warm up for Scorsese, "Mean Streets" came right after this one which left it in the dust.

"The Color of Money": Scorsese's weakest film, a sequel to "The Hustler" which didn't need a sequel. There's no climax, but what we are left with is Paul Newman who saves this movie by knowing this character inside and out.

What I still Need to see

"The Last Temptation of Christ": Unfortunately I was unable to find a copy of this film in time. Netflix was showing it, but the aspect ratio was wrong so I gave up.

"Cape Fear": I've seen most of the film on television but not in sequence.

What I need to watch again

"King of Comedy": Saw it many years ago, I remember being very young and not getting how dark it was, or what it was trying to say.

"Kundun": Saw it when it was first released, it was rated PG so it was the only Scorsese film I could see.

"The Age of Innocence": Again saw it when I was young thanks to the PG rating, but have yet to revisit it.

Goodfellas

The first time I had heard of "Goodfellas" it was at a Christian Camp when I was about thirteen or fourteen. At the camp we were given a list of movies that were deemed sinful against our church, "Goodfellas" was at the top of the list. Of course "Goodfellas" is sinful, it's about gangsters, what kind of gangster movie would it be if it wasn't sinful?

However because it was on that list of sinful films, it took me awhile to finally see "Goodfellas". By that time, film had become a new kind of religion, and I didn't feel like I was going to go to hell just for watching a movie.

"Goodfellas" doesn't feel like a typical gangster film, it's fast, it's kinetic, it's full of rhythm, it's almost like a musical without the show tunes. This is pop art, a visceral experience. It can be shocking, brutal, and violent, but it can also be funny, light, and joyful. This is Martin Scorsese at his most entertaining, his most surprising, and his most fun.

It's funny, but I don't really consider "Goodfellas" to be as serious as other Scorsese masterpieces like "Taxi Driver" or "Raging Bull", despite the fact that this is a film which examines the life of a gangster. Unlike other modern gangster films like Coppola's "The Godfather" or De Palma's remake of "Scarface" which took a more operatic approach to the genre, "Goodfellas" takes us back to the streets. We meet Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a man who comes into the mob at an early age. He's seduced by the lifestyle, the clothes, the money, the power, everything that the movies have exploited for decades.

Henry begins his mob life as a young man, and we watch him grow up becoming more and more important. His usual crew consists of Tommy (Joe Pesci), a hot headed psychopath, and Jimmy (Robert De Niro), the leader of the bunch who usually plans out big scores for the fellas to do.

We see Henry's rise in the gangster life, to his inevitable fall where he ends up in the witness protection program. Movies like this usually end with the main character being killed off, but Henry was actually a real person who did end up in the witness protection program. His story was published as a book called "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi who co-wrote the film's screenplay with Scorsese.

What makes "Goodfellas" standout from the crowd of gangster films it followed is not letting itself fall under the trappings of cliche. The gangsters here are shown as real people, they talk like they probably do talk. As with "The Godfather", the gangsters portrayed here are Italian Americans, and we get a certain authenticity with their way of life and culture. There is probably more talk about what the men are eating than about killing. We see scenes where Henry and the guys are sitting around the table, playing cards or at a restaurant. Scorsese always knows when to pull the rug out from under us, by offsetting these normal scenes, with violence.

To this day, it's hard to find a film more shocking in its violence than in "Goodfellas", it comes so sudden, mostly from Pesci's character Tommy, who is like a lit fuse ready to go off. But the violence is never dwelled upon, it's treated as a daily routine within the lives of these guys. It does serve as a wake up call to the audience, that power comes with a price, and it's something that proves to be Henry's downfall. By the end, he's trapped in a corner, he's no longer safe, and the only way out is to betray these men, and end up the rest of his life hidden.

I don't think "Goodfellas" has anything new to say about gangsters, it's serving the same story that crime doesn't pay, but it's in the execution of this story that makes it so brilliant. Scorsese is a master of the film language, he seems to be having a ball exploiting every technique known to man. He never slows the film down, if you watch it, you can see it has its own pace, it flows together effortlessly, it's all thanks to the timing, and editing by Scorsese's longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who has done every one of his movies since "Raging Bull".

There were also leaps and bounds of innovative camera work introduced in the film, most notably the famous Copacabana scene, where we see Henry enter the club with his wife Karen (Lorraine Bracco), with a steady cam following them in. It's done all in one drawn out shot, as they come in through the kitchen, and enter to take a front row seat near the stage.

Scorsese has also been known for substituting original film scores in favour of existing music, and here he does it masterfully. How could you forget the the sweeping montage of murdered bodies over the song of "Layla", it's one of the great movie moments in history. Scorsese has the talent of finding the right song for every scene, either used to set the right mood, or to juxtapose what is actually going on, it all works beautifully.

"Goodfellas" is a great film because it's fully of energy and vitality. It's a way for us to live vicariously through these dangerous men for awhile, we admire them because they live a life that looks cool and dangerous, but we know with this kind of life, there are extreme consequences, which is safe for us, but not for Henry Hill.

I don't think "Goodfellas" is as deep as other Scorsese films, but I don't think he has ever been this fun with the film language before, watching it is always a treat, it's one of the great American genre films of the last twenty years, it's a master at the height of his powers showing the kids how it's done.

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese

I've been going through some of the films of Martin Scorsese as of late, which is a little project I've been wanting to do all summer since I read a book about Scorsese not long ago. Some of the films I've seen over and over again, some I've only seen once, others I haven't seen at all.

I think I'm beginning to have a further appreciation with Scorsese's films, not just with his heralded classics like "Taxi Driver", or "Raging Bull" but also his less popular films like "New York, New York", or "After Hours". Scorsese's films have become more important to me as I grow older, before I couldn't quite understand his world. Scorsese was raised in Little Italy, he was attracted to characters with loose morals, that was a world I was unfamiliar with. Yet as I watch them now, I can understand these films a bit more, I find myself getting into the heads of the protagonist, and it's as if Scorsese is daring us to follow him into these dark realms.

But the one thing that does set Scorsese apart from his contemporaries is his need to tell a personal story every time. Even when he makes a presumably money making film such as last years "Shutter Island", it becomes a personal statement. The character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in that film is a deeply disturbed individual who is ridden with guilt. The film isn't so much about the mystery he has to solve, but about how he can reconcile the demons inside of him. The decision the character makes at the end of the film is the reason I think Scorsese made the film in the first place.

Also let's not forget, Scorsese is also a teacher, he has instructed film classes at NYU almost as long as he has been making movies. He's made some very in depth documentaries about film, and film history. One such documentary is entitled "A Persnal Journey Through American Film", which was a three part series he made in 1995. The series can currently be shown in its entirety on You Tube. I just finished watching the whole thing. In it Scorsese makes his passion for film into a personal look into the making of movies. He discusses different kinds of directors dating from D.W. Griffith all the way to his mentor John Cassavetes.

I have often been asked why I love to go and watch old movies, there are many reasons. People argue that old movies are there purely for nostalgic reasons, and they can't compete with the movies made today. In "A Personal Journey", Scorsese shows the importance of classic films, the dark themes hidden inside of them, the poetry of there shots, and what each director was trying to get to.

You get the feeling after watching the documentary that old Hollywood films had a lot more depth and personal stamp than the films we see today. For me it's pretty much sums up why I think these films are so important and why they have lasted.

For those of you interested I've embedded the first part of the documentary below, you can catch the the other two parts on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWEXIWlX4NY

Raging Bull

I've never met the people in "Raging Bull", meaning I've never been a part of the world it depicts. "Raging Bull" is a vicious world, but a beautiful one, it's beautiful because it believes that a violent man like Jake LaMotta deserves redemption. At first he seems beyond redemption. He's a self-destructive man, he alienates his wife and his brother through his suspicions and paranoia. But at the end of the movie, Jake LaMotta is tamed going from a middle weight champion to a bloated nightclub owner, he has made his mistakes, he has paid his penance, we have seen his battles both lost and won, and what we are left with is a man who doesn't ask for our judgement, but our acceptance.

Watching "Raging Bull" again just recently reminds me just why it remains my favorite film by Martin Scorsese. Scorsese has a gift of giving us people it's difficult to sympathize with, let alone forgive. With "Taxi Driver" he gives us a psychopath, but he ultimately becomes a tragic figure through his own loneliness, with "Raging Bull", we are given a man who can only act out through violence, and that becomes a liability on how he treats the people around him.

We first see Jake LaMotta" (Robert De Niro) like he is at the end of the film, an overweight, over the hill nightclub owner who is reciting his routine to himself. Why are we given this image of him first? It does work as a bookend, but perhaps we are also being set up for this life we are about to see, perhaps it's a reminder to us to what this man was to become.

We see Jake early on, he's testy, he's temperamental, he's loud. In the ring, Jake fights hard and rough, the way Scorsese films the fight scenes, there doesn't seem to be much technique, only two men who punch and punch back, although I'm not an authority on boxing in any way. At home, Jake torments his manager/brother Joey (Joe Pesci) to no end. In one scene Jake has Joey hit him in the face harder and harder until his bruises are cut open. Jake seems to live off his violent nature he can't get enough of it.

He meets his wife Vicki (Cathy Moriarty) who he has a hold on, she suffers through verbal abuses by Jake and later is subject to slaps and punches. Jake becomes possessive of Vicki, Scorsese shows Jake's point of view when Vicki is touched by other men, it's maddening, Scorsese for my money is probably the best filmmaker to get inside the head of a diseased mind. It is indeed diseased because there is never any proof Vicki was ever unfaithful. But all the suspicions come to a boil when Jake accuses Joey of sleeping with her. In a long heated scene full of scary domestic violence, Jake confronts Joey about the false accusation beating him to an inch of his life.

There are other things in the film that damn Jake, one such instance comes when he is asked to take a dive in a fight by local gangster. In return they have offered Jake a chance at a title shot. Jake decides to take the fall, but his reputation and his own integrity is in ruin. After the fight, we see Jake being comforted and breaking down in his dressing room.

Having not been raised catholic, I'm not quite sure about the religious implications of "Raging Bull". Martin Scorsese can be thought of as a catholic director as the themes of guilt, and forgiveness come up very often in his films. I do think in Scorsese's mind, the ring becomes somewhat of a metaphor for Jake, it's where he can wash away his sins, he's fighting for something very primal, is it forgiveness? I'm not sure, perhaps his life in the ring is seen as a sort of purgatory. There is one fight where Jake fights his rival Sugar Ray Leonard and the ring is seen through fiery smoke which was rigged in front of the camera to give the effect. Jake is also seen in a heated steam room which in my mind looks to be as close to a room in hell could be. In this scene he asks for some water but is denied it as his trainer closes the door on him.

In his final fight with Sugar Ray, Scorsese shows Jake up against the ropes holding on trying not to fall (Sugar Ray never knocked him down). He's submitted blow after blow, gushing blood that splatters on the spectators. It's a sequence that I think is meant to remind us of Christ on the cross and his sufferings. Jake is a bloody mess at the end, perhaps the suffering has stopped.

I suppose the whole film could be seen as a purgatory, even near the end Jake isn't let off easy, he's arrested for a vice crime involving an under age girl and is sent to jail. We see him breakdown again screaming and punching the walls of his cell, yelling he's not an animal. It's a primal performance all the way through with De Niro, it's sometimes maddening, but in the end it's a bruised battered performance.

I'm not quite convinced "Raging Bull" is a perfect film, but it is a very passionate one. Scorsese has rarely made perfect films, but they are filled with raw emotion, I think this is his rawest and most beautiful film and after years of first being introduced to it, it's still in my opinion his best and most complex. It could also be seen as the culmination of the collaboration between him and De Niro, a relationship where the star and director have been so in sync with theme and character.

"Raging Bull" fascinates me to no end, it's a film that asks us to take a leap of faith with a character we may not identify with, but like with all of God's creatures at least deserves our understanding.