On of the most influential directors of our time, Martin Scorsese (or 'Marty' to his friends) has produced some of the finest films in cinema history. Scorsese stands out as he not only is an Academy award winning directer, but he is President of the Film Foundation and a truly world class film historian. After attending the NYU Film school he began to produce and direct short films including his most famous 'The Big Shave' (1967). even in it earliest form the 'Scorsese style' was emerging and gave a feel for Italian-American life, fast paced editing and a troubled male protagonist. During the 70s he became friends with other directors such as Spielberg, and was introduced to Robert De Niro, who would star in 8 of his films, most famously 'Taxi Driver' in which he gave an 'intense' lead performance. However in his later career he has started working closely with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in 'The Departed' (2007) for which Scorsese won best director.
Directorial Trademarks:
- Begins his films with segments taken from the middle or end of the story. Examples include Raging Bull (1980) Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995),and The Last Waltz
- Frequent use of slow motion, e.g. Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980).
- Use of freeze frames e.g. Goodfellas, The Departed
- His lead characters are often sociopathic and/or want to be accepted in society
- Use of sequences set to popular music or voice over, often involving aggressive camera movement and/or rapid editing.
- Often uses long tracking shots e.g. Goodfellas. He is sometimes referred to as the 'King of the Tracking Shot'
- Music wise, it tends to be diegetic, but uses lots of sound bridges
- Usually set in New York, and often Italian Americans.
Overall he is a fantastic and very influential director, writer and producer, and most certainly one of the best
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