Amph The Films Of Martin Scorsese: Scorsese and Dicaprio Reunite for "The Wolf of Wall Street"

I wont set any kind of parameters on the thread like going film to film but rather lets have a more organic and in depth dialouge on the films of his that affect us the most individually, with dissent, of course. Sort of a free flow of thoughts on his prolific body of work. Will start with some facts on the director/producer/writer/actor: Born in 1942 in Queens he made his directorial debut in 1959 with the film Vesuvius IV, his production debut in 1967 with The Big Shave. He's been nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Director for: Raging Bull (80), The Last Temptation Of Christ (88), Goodfellas (90), Gangs of New York (02), The Aviator (04) and for Best Screenplay, adapted for Goodfellas w/Mitch Pilleggi (90) and The Age of Innocence (93). He's never won an Academy Award. His upcoming film, The Departed, is his most ambitious film to date. A remake of the already international classic, Infernal Affairs, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholsen, and Mark Wahlberg and will be released to high expectations this fall. Scorsese was the first filmaker to fully incorporate Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave into American cinema...

 

I haven't seen all his film, although I do plan too at some point. That said, Goodfellas is one of my favourite movies of all time. I have Taxi Driver on DVD too, and I'm a big fan of that film.

 

What's "The Departed" acutally about? I hope it's good, because "The Aviator" and "The Gangs of New York" both suffered with script problems.

 

Around Oscar night, I always find myself rooting for Scorsese oftentimes for all the snubbings.

 

I think some of the voters don't want to give him the Best Oscar for the wrong movie, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

 

The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs. The premise is that a rookie cop goes undercover into the mob and at the same time a young gangster ifilitrates the police at the behest of his boss. Both stay undercover for about ten years and then the events of the film begin. The film is really about behaviour shaped by a circumstance. Leonardo DiCaprio is taking over for Tony Leung as the cop turned gangster and Matt Damon will reprise Andy Laus' gangster turned cop. Jack Nicholsen will play the crime boss. I believe the setting is Boston, instead of Hong Kong, and its the Irish mob instead of the Triads.

 

I hope to God they don't try those awful faux Irish accents.

 

I'm looking forward to The Departed. I like everybody in the cast and from the looks of the trailer it looks quite good.

I'm embarassed to say that I haven't seen Last Temptation of Christ yet. It is after all considered one of his best films.

I guess Goodfellas is my favorite Scorsese flick. Just a flawless, classic film with great performances, dialogue, direction and many memorable scenes.

Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are terrific films as well. Scorsese and De Niro always created great films together (well except for New York New York, IMO).

I love Casino as well and while it is a bit similar to Goodfellas, it's a great film in it's own right.

 

The first reviews are up at "Rotten Tomatoes". 6 for 6 fresh (100 per cent) so far...

But beware: "The Black Dahlia" started at about 80 per cent, and ended up at about 37 per cent.

 

I think Gangs was not what it could have been more b/c of the editing in the last hour, but The Aviator was a great movie, unlike any Scorsese movie before, very epic, and great performances by Dicaprio and Cate Blanchett. I liked the Aviator over Bringing out,Casino,and Kundun, which was a very good looking movie.

 

Agreed. Remember the accents in the Irish "terrorist" movie, The Devil's Own? I do.

*shudders*

 

I'm looking forward to The Departed.

Scorsese should have gotten an Oscar for Taxi Driver, probably also for Raging Bull. He's generally reliable; sometimes his later films go a bit long, but he's a great one for sure.

 

Having seen Infernal Affairs, I was really excited when I saw the previews for this. However, after much discussion with friends, I've come to think that, like the original, it should take itself seriously. Nicholson is hamming up the camera, and it's being labeled as a crime "dramedy." It doesn't look like a Scorsese movie. This should've been done in the style of Mean Streets and Taxi Driver--gritty and urban. Infernal Affairs could very well end up being the better movie.

 

While I wouldn't dispute the assertion that Scorsese is the best American director working today, I also wouldn't pay much attention to the Oscars.

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar. It sometimes just comes down to Academy members being a bit jealous of how brilliant a filmmaker is...

 

GANGS OF NEW YORK was a great movie, but my favorite Scorcese film
is easily THE AVIATOR.

 

As a brief aside, how many Scorsese fans came to discover the work of Powell & Pressburger thanks in part to Scorsese's admiration for it? While Scorsese is undeniably brilliant from a technical standpoint on almost every film, the emotional range on his movies is often quite outside of my own. (I absolutely love Raging Bull even as it portrays the kind of individual I'd never want to meet IRL). On the other hand, Powell & Pressburger films have an emotional range to which I can easily relate. My favorite P&P movies include The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Matter of Life and Death and Peeping Tom... (the last one is probably far closer to Scorsese's own emotional range than to the earlier P&P movies).

 

The big difference was that Hitchcock never gave a rats ass about the award and publically stated so, whilst Scorsese does care about winning it and has also said as much. He sees it as east coast filmmakers - the ones that STAY on the east coast - get shafted, as much as he feels that his talent deserves it. Thats one of the main reasons he made The Aviator, and it didnt get him the Oscar. I thought he should have gotten one for Taxi Driver and thats where the feud really begins because he wasnt even nominated, but I can definetely understand why he wouldnt have won if he were as it was such a risque film ( it really still is ). However, Raging Bull and Goodfellas I cannot understand. Those should have been clear victories.

 

The point I was trying to make is that the Oscar doesn't necessarily recognize truly brilliant directors. In theory, if the awards were truly about recognizing excellence, then the Academy shouldn't even consider whether the artist(s) involved have expressed an interest in getting the Oscar, or have said publicly that they couldn't care less about the award.

But as we all know, the Academy Awards also involve a certain amount of show-biz politics, and other considerations that have to do with things other than craftmanship or artistic excellence. Some people would even go so far as to say that it's a bit of a popularity contest, or like a high-school election.

If Scorsese has said he does care about getting the Oscar, I would respect that, but in my own humble view, he'd still be just as brilliant whether or not he gets an Oscar.

I think we all know the Oscars don't always get it "right" -- and perhaps in some strange way the Academy likes it that way, because it keeps movie fans and film buffs talking about the Oscar, and keeps it from becoming irrelevant. There are other awards that would arguably be a better indicator of aesthetic value (the National Society of Film Critics awards, NY film critics awards, etc.) but nobody talks about those very much, because they don't have a telecast and they don't seem to have much controversy.

 

That is true.

 

The Academy has a tendency to review zeitgeist films that don't always wear well.

 

Yeah I think a certain amount of "group think" is involved. Most Academy members, at least in the best-paid positions, are probably pretty isolated from anyone who's not in show business.

Directors in the East coast tend to be a bit above that, I think, and it goes as much for Marty as it does for Woody Allen, Spike Lee, etc.

 

Okay, here's the way it usually works.

Any time a director who is also a former or even current actor
gets nominated for best directing Oscar, he has a VERY good chance
of winning? Why? Because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences has a voting block that is filled with far more actors than any
other category. Once you are nominated, you get to vote in future Oscar
races and there are FOUR acting categories every year with 5 nominees.
Over the years, those numbers have accumulated in the voting block.

When they see "one of their own" is up for a DIRECTING
award (and a lot of actors HATE directors) that actor-director is going
to get a heck of a lot of votes, probably far more than the other nominees
who are merely director-directors.

Cases in point:

WARREN BEATTY - Reds
KEVIN COSTNER - Dances with Wolves
ROBERT REDFORD - Ordinary People
MEL GIBSON - Braveheart

There you go. It's political. Costner got an Oscar on THE FIRST movie he directed.
Redford got an Oscar on THE FIRST movie he directed. Gibson got an Oscar on THE SECOND
movie he directed. Not bad for novice directors, eh?

That's why Scorcese's RAGING BULL lost to Redford for ORDINARY PEOPLE.
Redford's an actor. Not that he didn't do a good job.

 

I thought Ordinary People was actually the better movie, being one of the best films about grief I've ever seen. But Scorsese was definitely the better director that year.

Yeah, I just not long ago finally connected the dots: Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese's brilliant and longtime editor, is the widow of Michael Powell. It all clicked for me.

 

[Spock]Interesting... [/Spock]

 

Just saw The Departed and it was good. For those who dont know, Scorsese is basically the God of modern Hong Kong cinema and he pays back that homage by remaking Andy Maks' Infernal Affairs. And he doesnt disappoint. Damon and DiCaprio give basically one dimensional performances, but very, very good ones ( there really isnt that much that seperates a crook from a criminal ). Nicholsen is as cool as you would expect but still he's basically just being himself. DeNiro shouldve played this part. Wahlberg gives the best performance in the film as a jerk-off cop. Its not even one of Scorseses' very good films but its as entertaining as any of his films.