FBG Movie Club: DotM: Martin Scorsese (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

Month 1: Steven Spielberg
Month 2: Billy Wilder


We ramped up a little last month with Wilder and Oscar talk, but this month we will talk even more with one of the most decorated directors who is yet again up for director and picture. Greatest living director? I doubt if somebody would give too much argument if that was the case being made. I have struggles with some of his popular movies and his choices, but even I wouldn't argue with the person making that statement. He's not my personal favorite, and I think most of that is just what he is telling stories about and the characters who populate his worlds. However, what used to be ignorant annoyance with him and the hype around him has grown into a deep admiration for his talents and being a champion for the art of movies. I really look forward to a month of Marty.


Month 3: Martin Scorsese

Category 1: Watch one of his Oscar nominated movies
Category 2: Watch one of his other movies.

Influences:

Watch one of Marty's favorite movies. Here is a list I found of his 10 favorites. Here is a list of his favorites of the 90s
Watch another of the best picture noms for this year's Oscar
A handful of his movies are remakes. Seek out of of the original versions of the property.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

 

[jwb]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

Casino uses this even more. To me, it makes both movies work a little better because you can cover a lot of ground faster. How else would I know that Paulie hated conferences and didn't talk to three people all day? But I could see where it would bother someone too.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

Casino uses this even more. To me, it makes both movies work a little better because you can cover a lot of ground faster. How else would I know that Paulie hated conferences and didn't talk to three people all day? But I could see where it would bother someone too.

This is one thing I plan to wrestle with this month. I am very inconsistent with my hatred of voiceover. I have grown to accept it in other places and it's in some of my favorite movies, so evidently it's just really grating to me when Scorsese uses it for some reason. Honestly, I don't know what % of his movies have it, but it is something that I associate with Marty and I don't with other directors. It is one of the first 4-5 things I think of when I would describe his movies.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

Casino uses this even more. To me, it makes both movies work a little better because you can cover a lot of ground faster. How else would I know that Paulie hated conferences and didn't talk to three people all day? But I could see where it would bother someone too.

This is one thing I plan to wrestle with this month. I am very inconsistent with my hatred of voiceover. I have grown to accept it in other places and it's in some of my favorite movies, so evidently it's just really grating to me when Scorsese uses it for some reason. Honestly, I don't know what % of his movies have it, but it is something that I associate with Marty and I don't with other directors. It is one of the first 4-5 things I think of when I would describe his movies.

For me it depends on the film.
I think that Goodfellas and Casino used it fairly effectively.
But The Thin Red Line overused it so much, I found myself saying "shut up already" to my TV.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

Casino uses this even more. To me, it makes both movies work a little better because you can cover a lot of ground faster. How else would I know that Paulie hated conferences and didn't talk to three people all day? But I could see where it would bother someone too.

This is one thing I plan to wrestle with this month. I am very inconsistent with my hatred of voiceover. I have grown to accept it in other places and it's in some of my favorite movies, so evidently it's just really grating to me when Scorsese uses it for some reason. Honestly, I don't know what % of his movies have it, but it is something that I associate with Marty and I don't with other directors. It is one of the first 4-5 things I think of when I would describe his movies.

For me it depends on the film.
I think that Goodfellas and Casino used it fairly effectively.
But The Thin Red Line overused it so much, I found myself saying "shut up already" to my TV.

Lol. 100% the opposite for me. Malick I give a pass to with v.o., and Scorsese I subtract ratings points for its use. I've always hated it in Goodfellas, and can't explain why.

Actually, it could just simply be my enjoyment of the movies in general and if I am not on board with the movie the voice over is more of a front and center irritant.

 

[Ilov80s]

He’s got some really extensive lists of his favorite movies and movies he’s championed. You can break him down so many ways Gangster vs non Gangster, Leo era vs Bobby D era. A fun and prolific director. It will take me a minute to figure out what I want to tackle here.

 

[KarmaPolice]

He’s got some really extensive lists of his favorite movies and movies he’s championed. You can break him down so many ways Gangster vs non Gangster, Leo era vs Bobby D era. A fun and prolific director. It will take me a minute to figure out what I want to tackle here.

Yeah, when I was searching I ran across a list of Scorsese's 130+ movies he thinks you should watch or something like that.

 

[Keith R]

Ok getting back to the familiar for me. I'll probably have to dig to find some that I've never seen and are available for no additional cost. Ironically, I saw Taxi Driver again last weekend, but I'll go with new to me or at least much less familiar fare.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Awesome. Gives me an excuse to enjoy Raging Bull for the 1,000,000th time.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ok getting back to the familiar for me. I'll probably have to dig to find some that I've never seen and are available for no additional cost. Ironically, I saw Taxi Driver again last weekend, but I'll go with new to me or at least much less familiar fare.

What of his haven't you seen?

 

[Keith R]

Ok getting back to the familiar for me. I'll probably have to dig to find some that I've never seen and are available for no additional cost. Ironically, I saw Taxi Driver again last weekend, but I'll go with new to me or at least much less familiar fare.

What of his haven't you seen?

The one at the top of my list is Gangs of New York (I always wanted to see it but the length discouraged me). Beyond that, there's;
Who's that Knocking at My Door
Boxcar Bertha
New York, New York
After Hours
The Age of Innocence
Kundun

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ok getting back to the familiar for me. I'll probably have to dig to find some that I've never seen and are available for no additional cost. Ironically, I saw Taxi Driver again last weekend, but I'll go with new to me or at least much less familiar fare.

What of his haven't you seen?

The one at the top of my list is Gangs of New York (I always wanted to see it but the length discouraged me). Beyond that, there's;
Who's that Knocking at My Door
Boxcar Bertha
New York, New York
After Hours
The Age of Innocence
Kundun

The run time kept you away, but I see Wolf, Casino, and Flower Moon crossed off.

My recommendation for you or anybody who hasn't seen it is to try to get to After Hours.

 

[Don Quixote]

The run time kept you away, but I see Wolf, Casino, and Flower Moon crossed off.

My recommendation for you or anybody who hasn't seen it is to try to get to After Hours

I was just looking that one up on JustWatch. It looks like on Roku or Tubi with ads.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The run time kept you away, but I see Wolf, Casino, and Flower Moon crossed off.

My recommendation for you or anybody who hasn't seen it is to try to get to After Hours

I was just looking that one up on JustWatch. It looks like on Roku or Tubi with ads.

I was hoping most would be available, but that was my plan for the night - see what is streaming where.

 

[Keith R]

Ok getting back to the familiar for me. I'll probably have to dig to find some that I've never seen and are available for no additional cost. Ironically, I saw Taxi Driver again last weekend, but I'll go with new to me or at least much less familiar fare.

What of his haven't you seen?

The one at the top of my list is Gangs of New York (I always wanted to see it but the length discouraged me). Beyond that, there's;
Who's that Knocking at My Door
Boxcar Bertha
New York, New York
After Hours
The Age of Innocence
Kundun

The run time kept you away, but I see Wolf, Casino, and Flower Moon crossed off.

My recommendation for you or anybody who hasn't seen it is to try to get to After Hours.

I saw all those at the theater, which makes it more palatable. Once I missed GONY at the theater, that was it... until now

 

[Eephus]

It looks like a bunch of his movies are on Showtime which we just cancelled last month.

 

[KarmaPolice]

It looks like a bunch of his movies are on Showtime which we just cancelled last month.

I think this is going to be a frustration most months unless we move away from deciding directors beforehand. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more options streaming when I just looked. I hope people find a few things each month they are interested in.

When I scanned, I think a few gems that might have passed people by are available on the main ones. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is on Netflix. King of Comedy is on Hulu. Keith brought up Gangs of New York, and that's on HBO. Looks like they aren't great rips, but Mean Streets, Last Waltz, After Hours, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver are on Tubi as an option. As you said - Showtime and Paramount+ seems to have the highest %s on the subscription services.

My decision I am trying to make to start the month is Gangs of New York, The Wolf Of Wall Street, or The Last Waltz. Gangs because I canceled my HBO and have a week left, Wolf because Friday is usually 4K Friday for movies, and Last Waltz because it's awesome and I noticed it's on Prime again.

 

[Ilov80s]

Rolling Thunder, ItalianAmerican and Silence are 3 that I haven’t seen that I will for sure checkout on Showtime

 

[KarmaPolice]

For influences and new/old versions for the month off the top of my head here is what I was talking about:

King of Comedy/Joker
The Hustler/The Color of Money
Cape Fear
Infernal Affairs/The Departed
Silence

I've had the Infernal Affairs trilogy sitting on my shelf for awhile now, I need to get to that one of these days. Today I had the idea to see how my 9 year old tolerates Hugo, and then maybe pairing that with a few old silents. We have settled into Saturday being a movie day for us. For her mostly the popcorn and snacks, but I will eventually impart my passion for movies on one of my kids.

 

[KarmaPolice]

He’s got some really extensive lists of his favorite movies and movies he’s championed. You can break him down so many ways Gangster vs non Gangster, Leo era vs Bobby D era. A fun and prolific director. It will take me a minute to figure out what I want to tackle here.

Lol. I just remembered this post after writing down that comparison. Very tough choice after seeing the lists. First impulse is Bob's collaborations have the higher highs and lower lows for my tastes. I think I need a rewatch, but the one with both of them in it is not my fave.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Enough babbling. The decision has been made... let Scorsese month begin!

 

[Eephus]

For influences and new/old versions for the month off the top of my head here is what I was talking about:

King of Comedy/Joker
The Hustler/The Color of Money
Cape Fear
Infernal Affairs/The Departed
Silence

I've had the Infernal Affairs trilogy sitting on my shelf for awhile now, I need to get to that one of these days. Today I had the idea to see how my 9 year old tolerates Hugo, and then maybe pairing that with a few old silents. We have settled into Saturday being a movie day for us. For her mostly the popcorn and snacks, but I will eventually impart my passion for movies on one of my kids.

Wong Kar-wai's As Tears Go By was supposedly inspired by Mean Streets.

 

[Eephus]

The Last Temptation of Christ just went up on Peacock. I watched it last year and thought it was more interesting than great.

 

[Ilov80s]

The Last Temptation of Christ just went up on Peacock. I watched it last year and thought it was more interesting than great.

Thats one I’ve got to watch at some point. Maybe I’ll rent it from the library since it is Lent.

 

[Ilov80s]

I’ve sort of recently watched Raging Bull, Wolf of Wall Street, Mean Streets, Goodfellas, The Last Waltz, Age of Innocence, Color of Money and The Departed, Infernal Affairs 1 so those are off the table for me. I’m hoping to get to:

As Tears Go By, Infernal Affairs 2 and 3, Silence, AmericanItalian, Rolling Thunder, King of Comedy, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Irishman, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear and Last Temptation.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Staring at this list, my biggest blind spot is his 90s output, so that will be my focus for the month.

 

[Eephus]

The Audition (2014)

I'll start things off with one of Scorsese's lesser known works. The Audition is a 16 minute short that he directed and starred in as a promotion for the Melco Resorts company. It reportedly cost $70M to make but I assume much of that was to overpay De Niro, DiCaprio and Pitt for a couple of days work playing themselves.

The setup is Bobby and Leo competing for the same role in Marty's new movie. For some reason, they all take their meetings in the public areas of Melco's properties in Manila, Macau and Japan. There are some impressive tracking shots to show off the hotels along with mostly unfunny dialog between the stars. In spite of that, it's still kind of fun to see them slumming. I don't think it works well as a commercial because the casinos come off as rather lifeless.

I was interested in the space age architecture of the Japanese hotel so I went looking for more information about it. Unfortunately, the project was canceled in 2021. Hopefully Marty's check cleared.

THE AUDITION (2015) HD SHORT FILM || DiCaprio || De Niro || SCORSESE || PITT || 1080p HD

The Audition is a 2015 short film directed by Martin Scorsese. The short film was created as a promotional piece for the Studio City Macau Resort and Casino....

www.youtube.com

 

[Keith R]

By pure coincidence, I'm currently watching Martin Scorsese's appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm

 

[KarmaPolice]

I started off the month with a 70s triple feature over the weekend. Mean Streets (first time watch), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Taxi Driver were watched.

I also started reading Scorsese on Scorsese - a book with interviews. A mistake I have made for years is not digging into more biographies and POVs of directors in an attempt to understand further the whats and whys of their movies. I realized I did with a few, but mostly just a handful of my personal favorites. I really needed to understand more what interests Marty and why he populates the movies with the characters that he does (which is a main reason many of his movies hold me at a distance).

 

[Ilov80s]

I started off the month with a 70s triple feature over the weekend. Mean Streets (first time watch), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Taxi Driver were watched.

I also started reading Scorsese on Scorsese - a book with interviews. A mistake I have made for years is not digging into more biographies and POVs of directors in an attempt to understand further the whats and whys of their movies. I realized I did with a few, but mostly just a handful of my personal favorites. I really needed to understand more what interests Marty and why he populates the movies with the characters that he does (which is a main reason many of his movies hold me at a distance).

The Cinefiles have been doing their month of Scorsese- been pretty good so far

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I think it was in the Killers of the Flower Moon thread that somebody brought up that some of their favorites are Last Temptation/Kundun/Silence. These are 3 I'm not overly familiar with, so they are on my radar. I still haven't gotten to Casino, but my problems with Goodfellas and the voiceover tells me a more productive use of my time would be watching something else new from Scorsese. The other main options for me would be Bringing out the Dead and Age of Innocence.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I started off the month with a 70s triple feature over the weekend. Mean Streets (first time watch), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Taxi Driver were watched.

I also started reading Scorsese on Scorsese - a book with interviews. A mistake I have made for years is not digging into more biographies and POVs of directors in an attempt to understand further the whats and whys of their movies. I realized I did with a few, but mostly just a handful of my personal favorites. I really needed to understand more what interests Marty and why he populates the movies with the characters that he does (which is a main reason many of his movies hold me at a distance).

The Cinefiles have been doing their month of Scorsese- been pretty good so far

Their take on Killers of the Flower Moon was interesting. Not sure I disagree that much, but I do want a rewatch to fully form my opinion.

This morning I re-listened to the Rewatchables episode with Bill Hader when they did Taxi Driver.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

1. Goodfellas...there's no way around this, it's a masterpiece and Ray Liotta absolutely nails it and is able to maneuver on screen with DeNiro and Pesci stealing many scenes.

2. Last Temptation of Christ...this is the movie he directed before Goodfellas, the Christians or the leaders of all the Christian churches declared blasphemy because they don't understand how Christ could possibly be a human being with real emotions. Willem Dafoe is amazing and Harvey Keitel plays Judas Iscariot and changes the way you may view him in the Bible, he was conflicted and it's quite possible Jesus did send him to betray him. I am always haunted by the scene where Dafoe is carrying the cross beam down the streets, only Scorsese could get this part right. David Bowie is on screen for less than a handful of minutes as Pontius Pilate in a rare cameo you have to watch in the middle of some loud horses in the background...I've seen all of the Christ films and this is the only that made me want to believe.

3. The Aviator...It's outstanding, I watched it a couple times at the theater, Leo is used a lot by Scorsese and IMO this might be his best work with them together. You get to see a side of life that many will never experience, top notch acting and it tells a good story about a pioneer in American History, one loaded with flaws despite all the great things he accomplished

4. Raging Bull
5. Casino...it's just great escapism and Pesci once again steals the movie
6. Gangs of New York, brutal to watch at moments but a terrific film and well filmed, the cinematography in Scorsese films is usually top notch
7. The Irishman....loved it
8. The Color of Money
9. Mean Streets...shows what is to come from Scorsese down the road
10. Wolf of Wall Street...I didn't love it as much as others but it got a lot of young folks to take an interest in his filmography.

 

[KarmaPolice]

1. Goodfellas...there's no way around this, it's a masterpiece and Ray Liotta absolutely nails it and is able to maneuver on screen with DeNiro and Pesci stealing many scenes.

2. Last Temptation of Christ...this is the movie he directed before Goodfellas, the Christians or the leaders of all the Christian churches declared blasphemy because they don't understand how Christ could possibly be a human being with real emotions. Willem Dafoe is amazing and Harvey Keitel plays Judas Iscariot and changes the way you may view him in the Bible, he was conflicted and it's quite possible Jesus did send him to betray him. I am always haunted by the scene where Dafoe is carrying the cross beam down the streets, only Scorsese could get this part right. David Bowie is on screen for less than a handful of minutes as Pontius Pilate in a rare cameo you have to watch in the middle of some loud horses in the background...I've seen all of the Christ films and this is the only that made me want to believe.

3. The Aviator...It's outstanding, I watched it a couple times at the theater, Leo is used a lot by Scorsese and IMO this might be his best work with them together. You get to see a side of life that many will never experience, top notch acting and it tells a good story about a pioneer in American History, one loaded with flaws despite all the great things he accomplished

4. Raging Bull
5. Casino...it's just great escapism and Pesci once again steals the movie
6. Gangs of New York, brutal to watch at moments but a terrific film and well filmed, the cinematography in Scorsese films is usually top notch
7. The Irishman....loved it
8. The Color of Money
9. Mean Streets...shows what is to come from Scorsese down the road
10. Wolf of Wall Street...I didn't love it as much as others but it got a lot of young folks to take an interest in his filmography.

This is what makes these types of discussions interesting. If this is your top 10 Scorsese, we only share 2 and our #1s aren't on the other person's list.

 

[belljr]

I watch WoWS for 2 reasons ------ Margo Robbie scenes and the Lamborghini scene

 

[Eephus]

Mirror, Mirror (1985)

Spielberg gave a lot of his director buddies a chance to do episodes of his Amazing Stories anthology series. Mirror, Mirror is Scorsese's effort from an original story from Spielberg.

Sam Waterston plays a writer/director of horror films who claims early in the story that nothing scares him but is proven wrong for the rest of the 24 minutes. It largely takes place in Waterston's swanky 80s pad--if you've ever wanted to see Jack McCoy take a bubble bath, this is the film for you. Mirror, Mirror is pretty well done; it's much more successful than the Amazing Stories episode that Spielberg directed. Scorsese is working within a tight budget both in terms of money and time but he manages to create a lot of suspense. Waterston is very good as the director driven to madness. The climax comes quickly and kind of out of the blue but the slow zoom that closes the episode is effective.

It's worth a watch on its own terms but also because it's more of an overt Hitchcock homage than anything I can remember in Scorsese's long career.

Amazing Stories - S1E19 - Mirror, Mirror.mp4

This is "Amazing Stories - S1E19 - Mirror, Mirror.mp4" by Matheus Filipe on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

vimeo.com

 

[Eephus]

New York, New York (1977)

New York, New York holds a place in a Scorsese's filmography similar to Spielberg's 1941. Both are lavish productions set in the 1940s and were box office failures sandwiched between high points in the directors' careers (between Taxi Driver and Raging Bull for Marty and Close Encounters and Raiders for Spielberg).

The movie stars Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as musicians who meet in post-WWII New York and fall in and out of love. This basic "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl becomes big star" plotline has been done four different times as A Star Is Born. Scorsese films it as a homage to classic Hollywood musicals with wonderful stylized sets and lots of music. It stretches the runtime out to 2 hours 43 minutes which is way more than the simple story can support. The last 45 minutes are dominated by three big production numbers that are lovingly filmed but mostly peripheral to the the story. I think the biggest problem is De Niro's character Jimmy Doyle is unsympathetic and incapable of growth. Liza's Francine sticks with him because she loves him but even she can only handle so much. Their arguments and reconciliations play out repeatedly without much variety or character development.

There's still a lot to like about the movie. The opening scenes with Jimmy on the make on V-J Day are absolutely brilliant. Scorsese makes Times Square and a nightclub come alive with the possibilities of new beginnings. It's a shame the movie can't keep this up but the first half hour is Scorsese at his best. Minnelli and De Niro are both excellent in their roles and their chemistry adds depth to their characters' unlikely relationship. But all this talent can't ultimately salvage a weak and confused story. Perhaps a more mature (and less coked out) Scorsese could have done more with less but New York, New York is interesting as is in spite of its flaws and unlike anything Scorsese has done since.

It's not available to stream legally for some reason. I found a decent 720p rip (w/ the profanity edited out) on a Russian site PM me for a link if interested.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I was surprised how hard it was to track down New York, New York. Unfortunately, the copy my library had was scratched as well. Instead tonight I am going to do a documentary double feature before moving into the 80s output.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Charlie and Catherine Scorsese are so damn cute. I wonder where Marty's eyebrows come from.

 

[Eephus]

Before I leave New York, New York, I have to mention the incredible opening shot. Well, it's not exactly the opening shot because it's preceded by a uniform shirt falling in slow motion from a window and the introduction of De Niro's character with a pan up from his shoes to his face (the shot of his shoes is mirrored in the final shot of the film).

Scorsese cuts from the closeup of De Niro chewing on a piece of Juicy Fruit to an overhead shot of a New York Street. It's V-J Day so there are hundreds of extras celebrating the end of the war. The crane shot follows De Niro fighting his way through the crowd. He's wearing a Hawaiian shirt so he can be seen among the revelers. Even so, he disappears from view a couple of times during the shot. He eventually makes it to a gap in the crowd where he's illuminated by a neon arrow that appears from the right of the screen. The shot takes less than a minute and must have taken days to execute but it's stunning and establishes the time, place and mood to perfection.

You can watch it here (on a non-Russian site) from about the 2:30 mark.

New York, New York (1977) HD - Video Dailymotion

New York, New York is a 1977 musical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and lovers. The story is "about a jazz saxophonist (De Niro) and a pop singer (Minnelli) who fall madly in love and marry;" however, the "saxophonist's...

www.dailymotion.com

 

[Ilov80s]

I enjoyed @Eephus write up of NY, NY much more than I did actually watching it. I don’t care like that movie at all.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I enjoyed @Eephus write up of NY, NY much more than I did actually watching it. I don’t care like that movie at all.

The run time and rep scared me off a bit. I figured Mean Streets was the bigger blind spot for his 70s movies for me and did that instead.

 

[Ilov80s]

I enjoyed @Eephus write up of NY, NY much more than I did actually watching it. I don’t care like that movie at all.

The run time and rep scared me off a bit. I figured Mean Streets was the bigger blind spot for his 70s movies for me and did that instead.

Wise move. New York New York is a mess.

 

[Eephus]

The Big Shave (aka Viet '67) (1967)

A 25 year-old Scorsese made this 6 minute experimental short while he was a student at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. It's a film about a guy shaving but it was also intended as an allegory of the US involvement in the Vietnam War.

The film is a showcase for Scorsese's editing skills. There are well over a hundred camera shots stitched together in the brief movie. There's more about the film here including Scorsese's typewritten shooting script.

The Big Shave - Martin Scorsese Short Film (1968)

The Big Shave - Martin Scorsese Synopsis: A pristine white bathroom soon becomes a site of crimson-stained shaving carnage in this Vietnam War allegory. I DO...

www.youtube.com

 

[Eephus]

Wise move. New York New York is a mess.

But a fine mess, especially the first half hour.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Last night was a weird trifecta of docs: Italianamerican, American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince, and The Last Waltz.

I've seen and love Last Waltz, so not much to report there. That has to be one of the best rock/concert docs that one can watch. As I posted above, I just adored Marty's parents in the first documentary. I think I am repeating myself, but one thing I've become aware of (especially in these first 3 months) is while I would call myself a movie nerd and as you can tell directors are my main focus, I am very ignorant when it comes to their lives, histories, and what shaped their outlook on the world. It has really helped me understand and appreciate Scorsese's movies more as I watch docs like this and slowly get through the couple of books I have here. American Boy was a little harder to watch for me just because of the man himself. It was still interesting and hell, it's less than an hour, but his voice and affectations word on me a tad. One story was familiar because of Waking Life, and I had 0 clue that Tarantino used a story for one of my favorite scenes in Pulp Fiction.

Combined from the two short docs my main takeaway was appreciating a peek behind the curtain at the documentary format. Watching Marty coax stories and leaving in multiple takes added a depth of honesty that I wasn't used to in the genre. They are probably more performative and coordinated than people might think. I also loved Marty's dad busting on his mom for "putting on airs" and not talking naturally for the camera.

I doubt I would have gotten to these two if not for this DotM format, so the month is already a win 1 week in. Now I can start on the 80s...

 

[KarmaPolice]

My other favorite thing for the month that really hit home with me was a recording of Scorsese during one of the podcasts I was listening to at work the other day. To paraphrase, he basically said that he was attracted to the characters in his movies like Jordan Belfort, Tommy, and LaMotta because he feels that all of us could be people like that under the right conditions. That got me thinking a lot about why I tend to agree with that POV but still don't connect with some of his movies. More specifically, I think many of my favorite directors have that same outlook and populate their movies with pretty despicable characters that are equally hard to like - PTA, anyone? . Where we differ on a couple of his heavy hitters is that for me personally I never been around or seen the draw of lifestyles like we see in Mean Streets or Goodfellas. Unlike Henry Hill, I have never wanted to a gangster.

 

[Ilov80s]

My other favorite thing for the month that really hit home with me was a recording of Scorsese during one of the podcasts I was listening to at work the other day. To paraphrase, he basically said that he was attracted to the characters in his movies like Jordan Belfort, Tommy, and LaMotta because he feels that all of us could be people like that under the right conditions. That got me thinking a lot about why I tend to agree with that POV but still don't connect with some of his movies. More specifically, I think many of my favorite directors have that same outlook and populate their movies with pretty despicable characters that are equally hard to like - PTA, anyone? . Where we differ on a couple of his heavy hitters is that for me personally I never been around or seen the draw of lifestyles like we see in Mean Streets or Goodfellas. Unlike Henry Hill, I have never wanted to a gangster.

When I was young, I definitely “wanted to be a gangster”. I initially saw these movies as cool and stories of heroes. Luckily I grew out of that in my early to mid 20s and saw what these stories actually were. That said, while I was attracted to it, I never actually would have gone down that road fully. Just wasn’t for me.

 

[Eephus]

Last night was a weird trifecta of docs: Italianamerican, American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince, and The Last Waltz.

I've seen and love Last Waltz, so not much to report there. That has to be one of the best rock/concert docs that one can watch. As I posted above, I just adored Marty's parents in the first documentary. I think I am repeating myself, but one thing I've become aware of (especially in these first 3 months) is while I would call myself a movie nerd and as you can tell directors are my main focus, I am very ignorant when it comes to their lives, histories, and what shaped their outlook on the world. It has really helped me understand and appreciate Scorsese's movies more as I watch docs like this and slowly get through the couple of books I have here. American Boy was a little harder to watch for me just because of the man himself. It was still interesting and hell, it's less than an hour, but his voice and affectations word on me a tad. One story was familiar because of Waking Life, and I had 0 clue that Tarantino used a story for one of my favorite scenes in Pulp Fiction.

Combined from the two short docs my main takeaway was appreciating a peek behind the curtain at the documentary format. Watching Marty coax stories and leaving in multiple takes added a depth of honesty that I wasn't used to in the genre. They are probably more performative and coordinated than people might think. I also loved Marty's dad busting on his mom for "putting on airs" and not talking naturally for the camera.

I doubt I would have gotten to these two if not for this DotM format, so the month is already a win 1 week in. Now I can start on the 80s...

I like that Scorsese has continued to make documentaries about subjects that interest him. There aren't many big name directors who continue to do that. Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog are the ones who immediately come to mind but they have nowhere near the commercial clout of Scorsese.