3 DIRECTORS
MARTIN SCORSESE
With a prominent body of work, Scorsese’s films often carry
rise and fall of three gangsters over three decades. The film
out themes like, Italian-American identity, Catholic guilt
starts out with the main character, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta),
and redemption ideas, violence and machismo. Many of his
as a child. He narrates how he had always wanted to be a
movies are landmarks in American films, with consistent
gangster and be part of something significant. The story
award-winning films throughout his career.
follows his life and how he is taken under the wing of mob
Martin Scorsese, born November 17, 1942, is a New York film director, screenwriter, producer, actor and film historian. He’s the founder of the World Cinema Foundation and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the film industry. President of the nonprofit organization, The Film Foundation, he was also won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and the Directors Guild of America. Scorsese developed admiration for neorealist cinema early in his life, especially inspired by movies that portrayed his Sicilian genes. He has cited movies like The Bicycle Thief, Rome, Open City and Paisà, as influences, along with Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. His initial desire to become a priest
capo, Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his associates Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), who loves hijacking trucks, and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) who has a trigger-happy temper. As the story unfolds, the gang is seen enjoying criminal life and the seduction of a glamorous lifestyle. At one point Henry and most of his crew serve time in prison where they sell drugs to support family on the outside. After his release, Henry, Tommy and Jimmy enter into the drug trade and the crew commits the infamous Lufthansa heist. It turns sours quickly and the crew is killed one by one. To save himself and family, Henry enrolls in the Witness Protection Program to live the rest of his life like a “schnook.”
was forsaken in 1964, when he received his MFA in film
Like other films, Scorsese uses a lot of red and red lighting
directing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
throughout the film and like other characters in his movies,
His early work in Mean Streets (1973) provided benchmarks for his signature style, with settings in New York, loners fighting inner demons rock /opera soundtracks and cold violence. Collaborations with his friend Robert De Niro also helped shape his style. Taxi Driver (1976) really established Scorsese as an accomplished filmmaker. It also marked the start of a series of collaborations with writer Paul Schrader. The most successful was Raging Bull (1980), a biography of fighter, Jake LaMotta, earning two Oscars, and later selected as the best film of the decade by Siskel and Ebert. After a series of films with mixed results, Goodfellas (1990) revitalized Scorsese’s New York gangster theme but is also a significant shift in tone or his work. The films is considered to be one of his greatest achievements and created the Scorsese archetype character. Based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas follows the
the main character is a sociopath wanting to be accepted into society (or a specific society). In his films protagonists often have the Madonna-whore complex, where blond characters’ first scene often shows them wearing white and as the story unfolds they’re revealed to be less than perfect. Scorsese uses long tracking shots and freezes frames for emphasis or pause. A Rolling Stones song often plays in a scene and his movies are cut to the music.