by Bob Fredericks
It is worth adding that I did not mention some little-known doc films and series created with Scorsese’s participation, because his career is already quite extensive and multifaceted.
Scorsese’s work often delves into the intricate and often dark aspects of human nature, and his films set in the world of gambling are no exception. For instance, Casino is a notable film in his repertoire that explores the high-stakes environment of Las Vegas casinos, bringing to life the tension and drama associated with gambling. This theme of risk and reward parallels the excitement found in online casinos today. Platforms like Wantedwin provide a similar excitement, allowing players to experience the highs and lows of casino games from the comfort of their own homes.
First works and recognition
Martin Scorsese was born on 17 November 1942 in New York. The future director from childhood was a great fan of cinema. When he was a child, he had asthma with frequent attacks, because of which he could not play with other children. Therefore, his parents or older brother would take little Martin with them to the cinema, where he developed a passion for cinema.
Scorsese grew up in a very devout Catholic family, so he wanted to become a priest, but the love of cinema still won. Martin eventually enrolled in the ‘New York College of Arts and Sciences’, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964. After that, he shot some curious short films, and later decided to create his first feature film.
Scorsese’s debut as a director was a drama called Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, in which the main role was played by a very young Harvey Keitel. This film was shot for several years and often changed its name, before it was shown at the Chicago Film Festival in 1967.
Interestingly, this Martin Scorsese film was praised by the famous American film critic Roger Ebert. He also immediately predicted a glorious career for the then unknown director. It is worth saying that Ebert later became a fan of Scorsese’s work and even published a book about him.
As for Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, it was released in limited distribution. After that, Martin worked as an editor (!!!) in the documentary film Woodstock (1970) about the 1969 rock festival of the same name. This work is special because during its filming, Scorsese meets Thelma Schoonmaker. Subsequently, she became the editor of almost all of the director’s films and received 3 Oscar statuettes for them.
In 1972, the second directorial work of Martin Scorsese – Boxcar Bertha was released, which was produced by Roger Corman, known as the auteur of “B” films. And the director’s new work turned out to be exactly the same.
Famous actor/director John Cassavetes – after viewing this film – personally said Scorsese: ‘You just spent a year of his life, creating a piece of de…ma’. He advised Martin to shoot stories that he knows and understands. And the director decided to follow it. Growing up in the so-called ‘Little Italy’ (a neighbourhood of New York), Scorsese witnessed a variety of events. In many ways, memories of them contributed to the idea of the crime film Mean Streets.
In it for the first time the director works with the then young actor Robert De Niro, and at the same time does not forget to invite his old friend Harvey Keitel. The film was released in 1973 and was highly praised by both critics and viewers, now especially looking forward to the new work of Scorsese.
A year later comes the drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which receives good reviews and as many as 3 nominations for the Oscar. And even wins for Best Actress, awarded to Ellen Burstyn.
In 1976, Martin Scorsese released the film Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro in the title role. Needless to say, it was a resounding success, despite its provocative plot: Vietnam War veteran Travis Bickle drives a taxi through the night streets of New York and wants to cleanse the city of filth and vice, gradually losing the boundaries of reality and his fantasies.
The film was praised for its plot, De Niro’s acting and, of course, Scorsese’s masterful directing; Taxi Driver revealed his full talent. Also, the film was awarded the Palme d’Or – the main award of the Cannes Film Festival.
After such a triumph, film experts began to call Martin Scorsese one of the main modern directors, who in the future will make a large number of good films (they guessed it). But still further, Martin had one of the most difficult periods in his life.
The Creative 1990s
After the success of Goodfellas, the director tried his hand at the crime thriller genre and made Cape Fear (1991), which is a remake of the 1962 film. Scorsese’s work became a box office hit, collecting a large $182 million, but in truth, reviews were largely mixed. But Cape Fear can still be called a strong thriller largely because of the impressive performance of Robert De Niro, who played a deranged psychopath here.
In 1993, Martin Scorsese released an unexpected costume drama The Age of Innocence with Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer, which was highly praised by critics, but not especially the audience. The film received 5 Oscar nominations and won one – just for Best Costumes.
Later the director shot the documentary The History of American Cinema by Martin Scorsese (1995) and the crime drama Casino (1995). It brought Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci together again. The film Casino received mostly positive reviews, although there is an opinion that it is very much like Goodfellas. But it is not.
Further, Scorsese made historical drama Kundun (1997) – about a Tibetan religious figure and spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists – Dalai Lama XIV. Interestingly, Martin Scorsese is banned from coming to China because of this film. If we talk about the film (filmed in Morocco), it is considered one of the most atypical works in the career of the director and with this we can agree.
After 2 years comes the next picture of the master, Bringing Out the Dead (1999) with Nicolas Cage in the title role. This sometimes dragging thriller caused various disputes at the time of its release, but now it has quite high marks, especially from the audience.
After that, Scorsese began a truly new phase in his career, which revealed him to the maximum, and showed all his genius.
The eternal DiCaprio and one hit wonders
Scorsese entered the 21st century when he started shooting the film Gangs of New York (2002), starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, it was with this film that began their long union, which has become truly iconic.
Gangs of New York with a huge budget of $100 million grossed almost $194 million globally. But the picture receives as many as 10 nominations for the Oscar, but does not win any of them.
Further, Scorsese wants to tell the story of the American aviator and film producer Howard Hughes, for which he begins shooting the film The Aviator, released in 2004. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. The film receives praise from critics and audiences, garnering as many as 11 Oscar nominations (5 wins).
After the documentary about the famous musician Bob Dylan, the second remake in Scorsese’s career – the crime thriller The Departed (the original is the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs) – was released in 2006. The film included an impressive cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and others.
The film The Departed was immediately loved by many and quickly became a cult film. It won 4 Academy Awards (out of 5 nominations) including for Best Film and Best Director. Yes, Martin Scorsese won his first and, so far, only Oscar statuette for this very film.
After another brilliant triumph, the director turned to music again, making the documentary The Rolling Stones: Let There Be Light (2008) about the legendary rock band.
In 2010, the detective thriller Shutter Island with DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo was released on American screens. This work received mostly good reviews from critics and simply enthusiastic from the audience (one of the best scores on the sites ‘KP’ and ‘IMDb’). Everyone especially noted Scorsese’s talent to direct such a difficult film and, in fact, its unexpected ending.
A year later came the adventure film Hugo (2011), for which the director won the Golden Globe. This work shows that even in his mature years, Scorsese is discovering new facets (or rather genres), shooting a family tale for all ages. However, the film failed miserably at the box office, but received 11 Oscar nominations (5 technical wins).
In 2013, at the 71st year of his life, Martin Scorsese released The Wolf of Wall Street – a badass black comedy with a great performance by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film received mostly positive reviews, 5 nominations for ‘Oscar’ and box office in the amount of $392 million with a budget of $100 million. But most importantly – the film showed that Scorsese is still able to surprise (in some places even shock) the public with his ideas and their embodiment in the cinema.
The profound drama Silence, released in 2016, tells of Portuguese priests who go to Japan in search of their teacher. It’s a rather personal story for the director, who strongly wanted to adapt the 1966 novel of the same name by writer Shusaku Endo. As for the film, it collapsed at the box office, but has pretty good reviews.
In the same year, Scorsese took part in the creation of the series Vinyl, which lasted on the screens for only one season. After 3 years, the platform Netflix allowed Martin Scorsese to release his 3.5-hour project – the crime drama The Irishman. In this project, the director assembles an absolutely iconic cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel.
But overall, the film has caused controversy for many due to its huge running time and the average quality of the actors’ ageing. The truth is 10 Oscar nominations and some rave reviews from critics say otherwise.
And then in 2023, saw the release of Martin Scorsese’s latest film to date, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro together for the first time under his direction. For the most part, opinions of the film are purely positive.
True greatness
Throughout his extensive film career, Martin Scorsese has been nominated for an Oscar 13 times, and much to his surprise only won once, for directing The Departed. It seems that such a great, no doubt, director should have at least 2-3 awards in his piggy bank, but what is, is.
Despite his venerable age Martin Scorsese looks like an active and full of life man who wants to create, to show something new and further. First of all, I would like to wish the director good health, and that he pleases us with new and interesting works as much as possible.
