Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese (pronounced as Scor-SEH-see) (born November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York, USA) is an American film director.

Career: 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s

Martin Scorsese came from a working class family; his father was a pants presser in New York's garment district. He struggled to earn enough money to attend university, but has shown enormous gratitude to his parents for helping him realize his dreams. His parents were the subject of Scorsese's documentary Italianamerican and made numerous cameo appearances in his films before their deaths. For years, his mother worked as the official caterer for all of Scorsese's films and his father helped in the wardrobe department. Scorsese said of his father's work in Goodfellas that no one was able to press a collar as well as he could. Scorsese is often seen wearing impeccably tailored Armani suits, a taste probably stemming from his father's intricate knowledge of the elements of fine men's clothing.

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Scorsese attended New York University's film school (B.A., English, 1964; M.A., film, 1966) making short films including a famous short entitled The Big Shave. He made his first feature-length film, Who's That Knocking At My Door? with fellow student Harvey Keitel, and from there he became a friend and acquaintance of the so-called "movie brats" of the 1970s: Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. It was De Palma who introduced Robert De Niro to Scorsese, and the two figures have become close friends, working together in many projects. Scorsese during this period also worked as one of the editors of the movie Woodstock.

Related Topics:
New York University - B.A. - M.A. - Who's That Knocking At My Door? - Harvey Keitel - Francis Ford Coppola - Brian De Palma - George Lucas - Steven Spielberg - Robert De Niro - Woodstock

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In 1972 Scorsese directed Boxcar Bertha for famed B-movie producer Roger Corman, who had also helped directors like Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron and John Sayles to launch their careers. Bertha taught Scorsese how to make films cheaply and quickly, preparing him for his first film with De Niro, Mean Streets. Championed by influential movie critic Pauline Kael, Mean Streets was a breakthrough for Scorsese and De Niro. Actress Ellen Burstyn chose Scorsese to direct her in the 1974 movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress.

Related Topics:
Boxcar Bertha - Roger Corman - Francis Ford Coppola - James Cameron - John Sayles - Mean Streets - Pauline Kael - Ellen Burstyn - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

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Returning to Little Italy in New York City to explore his ethnic roots, Scorsese came up with a rich documentary featuring his parents Charles and Catherine Scorsese, both of whom made cameo appearances in most of his movies, but are now deceased. The documentary was entitled Italianamerican.

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Two years later, in 1976, Scorsese stunned the cinema world with Taxi Driver. The film featured brilliant performances from Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster, in one of the most violent and grim depictions of life in New York City committed to film. It also marked the start of a series of collaborations with Paul Schrader. Five years after the film was released, in 1981, President Ronald Reagan was nearly assassinated by a young man who blamed his obsession with Foster's character for his act. Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival and also received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, although it earned none. One of the things that made the film unique is Scorsese's use of point of view shots, which have become a trademark of many Scorsese films.

Related Topics:
Taxi Driver - Robert De Niro - Jodie Foster - Paul Schrader - Ronald Reagan - Oscar - Best Picture - Point of view shots

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The critical success of Taxi Driver encouraged Scorsese to move ahead with his first big-budget project: New York, New York. This musical tribute to Scorsese's home town was a box-office failure (it was released at the same time as Star Wars), and the disappointing reception drove Scorsese into depression. By this stage Scorsese had also developed a serious heroin addiction. However, Scorsese did find the creative drive to make what is arguably the finest film about rock and roll, The Last Waltz (1978), a beautifully photographed documentary of the final concert by The Band. Another Scorsese-directed documentary entitled American Boy also appeared in 1978. A period of wild partying followed, damaging Scorsese's fragile health. Convinced that he would never make another movie, he poured his energies into the making of Raging Bull, which he thought would be his final project. Raging Bull (released in 1980) is widely viewed as a masterpiece and was voted the greatest film of the 1980s by Britain's prestigious Sight and Sound magazine. The film received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Robert De Niro, and Scorsese's first for Best Director. De Niro won but Scorsese lost to first-time director Robert Redford. It kept Scorsese in the world of the movies, though without a box office smash he had to struggle to continue to make films.

Related Topics:
New York, New York - The Last Waltz - The Band - Raging Bull - 1980 - 1980s - Best Actor - Best Director - Robert Redford

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Scorsese made three "minor" movies during the early-to-mid 1980s: The King of Comedy (1983), After Hours (1985), and The Color of Money (1986). The latter of the three starred Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, and it won Newman an Oscar, as well as giving Scorsese the clout to secure backing for a project that had been a longtime goal for him: The Last Temptation of Christ.

Related Topics:
''The King of Comedy'' - ''After Hours'' - The Color of Money - Paul Newman - Tom Cruise - The Last Temptation of Christ

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The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) is based on the 1951 book written by Nikos Kazantzakis, a book that Barbara Hershey gave to Scorsese when they were both attending New York University in the late 1960's. Originally, it was slated to shoot under the Paramount Studios banner in 1983 (after Scorsese had finished The King of Comedy). Mere days before principal photography was to commence, Paramount pulled the plug on the project, citing pressure from religious groups. Scorsese would quietly, reluctantly, retire the project, eventually turning to what would become After Hours. (It's worth noting that, in this aborted 1983 version, Aidan Quinn was cast as Jesus, Sting was cast as Pontius Pilate.) Scorsese directed the 1987 Michael Jackson music video Bad.

Related Topics:
Nikos Kazantzakis - Michael Jackson - Music video - Bad

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Scorsese filmed The Last Temptation of Christ on a low budget in 1987, knowing that the film would be controversial and would not take in record box-office revenues. However, he did not (or simply could not) anticipate the furor and controversy his movie would spark when it was released a year later. Nationwide protests against the film made it a textbook case (none of them had actually seen the film) for the modern method of religious outrage and influence. The movie did have a number of staunch supporters, particularly among film critics, including Scorsese's friend Roger Ebert. Scorsese also received his second nomination for Best Director, although the award would go to Barry Levinson. The backing of the movie by important political figures kept Scorsese from becoming an outcast in Hollywood, and it gave him the impetus to film Goodfellas.

Related Topics:
Roger Ebert - Barry Levinson - Goodfellas

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