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Cinema Categories Boston-Area Theaters Featuring Italian and Italian-American Films Scorsese's
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Celebrity Biographies Martin Scorsese OCCUPATION: director, screenwriter, producer, actor BORN: Flushing, New York, November 17, 1942 EDUCATION: Entered junior seminary at age 14; expelled. Attended Cardinal Hayes High School in Bronx, New York. Transferred from junior seminary. Attended New York University in New York, New York. Majored in English (BS 1964). Directed first short film, "What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" (1963). Attended New York University in New York, New York. Majored in film (MA 1966). OTHER-JOBS: editor, assistant film instructor, MILESTONES: 1966: First feature as director and writer, "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" 1967-1968: While in Europe, wrote dialogue for the American version of Pim de la Parra's Dutch thriller "Obsessions"; also made six-minute film, "The Big Shave," with the support of the Belgian Cinematheque 1968: Hired as director of "The Honeymoon Killers" but replaced after one week 1968-1970: Taught film at NYU 1969: "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" released with added nude scene; alternately titled "J.R.", "Bring on the Dancing Girls" and "I Call First" 1970: First documentary as director, "Street Scenes" 1971: First feature as co-producer, Francois Reichenbach's eMedicine Ball Caravan" 1971-1972: Commercial feature directing debut (for producer Roger Corman), "Boxcar Bertha". Fired from NYU for missing classes while filming "Mean Streets" 1973: First cameo appearance, "Mean Streets"; also breakthrough as director 1974: Helmed the "woman's" picture, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", starring Ellen Burstyn 1976: Played an important one-scene supporting role in "Taxi Driver", which he also directed 1977: Helmed the nostalgic movie musical "New York, New York", which teamed Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli 1977: Stage directing debut, "The Act" starring Minnelli 1980: Directed what many critics have proclaimed the best film of the 1980s, "Raging Bull"; earned first Best Director Oscar nomination 1983: Helmed "The King of Comedy", a darkly humorous portrait of an unhinged aspiring comic played by De Niro 1985: Directed the comedy "After Hours" 1986: Helmed "The Color of Money", a sequel to "The Hustler" with Paul Newman reprising his role as 'Fast Eddie' Felsen 1987: Directed first music video, "BAD", starring Michael Jackson and scripted by Richard Price 1988: Directed the controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ"; nominated for a Best Director Academy Award 1990: Helmed and co-wrote "GoodFellas", based on Nicholas Pillegi's non-fiction "Wiseguy"; film earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay 1990: Signed a six-picture film production deal with Universal; first film completed under deal, "Cape Fear" (1991) 1992: Formed film preservation and distribution company Martin Scorsese Presents 1993: Co-scripted (with Jay Cocks) and directed the elegant adaptation of Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence"; nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award 1997: Directed the biopic of the Dalai Lama, "Kundun" 1998: Served as president of the Cannes Film Festival Jury 1999: Helmed "Bringing Out the Dead" 2000: Created the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) three-part documentary "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies" 2000: Co-produced the film "Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire" (filmed in 1998) 2000: Directed "Il Dolce Cinema", a documentary about the Italian cinema through the 1970s; shown at the Venice Film Festival in September 2001: Made "My Voyage to Italy/Il Mio Viaggio in Italia", a four-hour-plus history of Italian cinema; screened at the New York Film Festival and released for one-week Oscar qualifying run; aired on TCM in 2002 2002: Was executive producer of "Rain", a drama directed by Katherine Lindberg that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival 2002: Executive produced "Deuces Wild", starring Matt Dillon and Deborah Harry 2002: Directed Leonardo DiCaprio in the period drama "Gangs of New York" 2003: Served as executive producer of the PBS series "The Blues", a six-part history of blues music with episodes directed by Spike Lee and Wim Wenders, among others BIOGRAPHY: The one-time seminary student studied filmmaking at NYU and shot a handful of short films while obtaining his degrees. In 1967, his first feature, "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" was shown at the Chicago Film Festival but failed to find a distributor. While teaching at NYU, Scorsese aided fellow student Michael Wadleigh in the editing of the Oscar-winning documentary "Woodstock" (1969). Producer Joseph Brenner agreed to distribute Scorsese's first film if it included a gratuitous sex scene, which he dutifully added. "Who's That Knocking at My Door?", a semi-autobiographical look at an Italian-American Catholic (played by Harvey Keitel) who deals with women as either virgins or whores, opened to critical praise. Roger Corman tapped Scorsese to direct the Depression-era allegory "Boxcar Bertha" (1972), a film which parallels the story of Christ and Mary Magdalene. Featuring Barbara Hershey and David Carradine, the film introduced a favorite theme of the director's: that of the a "sinner" who temporarily falls from grace only to be finally, if ambiguously, redeemed. The following year, Scorsese broke through with "Mean Streets", his autobiographical tale of a group of young hoods living and dying in NYC (although ironically, the film was shot in Los Angeles). Again Harvey Keitel was the director's screen alter ego with Robert De Niro as his unstable friend Johnny Boy. A stylish and richly realized character piece, "Mean Streets" marked the beginning of one of the most productive and important star-director pairings in film history. In De Niro, Scorsese found the perfect vehicle to channel rage tempered with humanity. As a follow-up, though, Scorsese attempted a "woman's picture", the feminist "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974). Reportedly lead Ellen Burstyn had asked Francis Ford Coppola for recommendations on directors and he gave her only one name: Scorsese's. When they met, Burstyn asked the director what he knew about women and he reputedly replied, "Nothing, But I'd like to learn." Evoking the styles of such famed "women's directors" as Douglas Sirk and George Cukor, "Alice" was a critical and box-office success that netted its star a Best Actress Oscar and spawned a long-running CBS sitcom. Scorsese was on much more familiar ground with the testosterone-laden "Taxi Driver" (1976). An iconographic street opera penned by Paul Schrader, it not only gave De Niro a tour-de-force role as the unstable Vietnam veteran turned vigilante Travis Bickle, the film also melded the themes of Scorsese's early works. The two female characters are literally a whore and a golden girl, treated oppositely by Bickle who is the epitome of the sinner in need of redemption. The film garnered its share of controversy at its release mostly because of its bloody finale--a sustained, hallucinatory, brilliantly-staged set piece of carnage built around Jodie Foster's teenage prostitute. With "New York, New York" (1977), Scorsese set out initially to create a nostalgic look at the movie musical but during filming shaped the story around the dark relationship between a musician (De Niro) and his deteriorating relationship with a band singer (Liza Minnelli, whose character was deemed to be loosely based on her own mother, Judy Garland). The overall result was an uneven film that audiences, expecting an affectionate musical, found too depressing. After the box-office failure of "New York, New York", Scorsese triumphed with what is considered his masterpiece, "Raging Bull" (1976). Drawn from the autobiography of boxer Jake La Motta, the film is a no-hold-barred look at the rise and fall of a champion. The literate script co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin afforded Robert De Niro with the role of his career. Shot in black-and-white (except for the "home movie" sequences) and expertly edited by longtime collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, the film earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. (De Niro and Schoonmaker took home statues.) Scorsese continued to examine the effects of fame in the underrated "The King of Comedy" (1983) which cast De Niro as an obsessed fan and Jerry Lewis as the talk show host object of his attentions. The director attempted to film a dream project, "The Last Temptation of Christ", but Paramount withdrew funding at the last minute, In reaction, Scorsese made "After Hours" (1985), a relatively small black comedy set on the mean streets of New York during one night. He moved on to Chicago for "The Color of Money" (1986), a sequel to 1961's "The Hustler", with Paul Newman reprising his role of pool shark 'Fast' Eddie Felsen and Tom Cruise as his protege. After several false starts, Scorsese was finally able to realize his vision and film "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, the film depicted a very human spiritual leader who was a social outcast, wavering between good and evil, battling the desires of the flesh and ultimately choosing a path to redemption. It was the culmination of Scorsese's filmic theses. As written by Paul Schrader and interpreted by Willem Dafoe, this Christ suggested a "Messiah on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown". Although superbly shot, using exotic locations and a galvanizing world music score by Peter Gabriel, the film somehow lacked the emotional power and cohesion of Scorsese's earlier, smaller-scale productions. Clearly an intensely personal project for Scorsese and Schrader, the film generated controversy, with religious forces accusing the film of blasphemy, causing some theater and video chains to refuse to carry the film. Adapted from Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguys", about small-time gangster-turned-Federal witness Henry Hill, "GoodFellas" (1990) marked a return to classic Scorsese form and content. The film captures both the undeniable excitement as well as the tawdry, daily details of life on the fringes of 'the Mob', pushing audience manipulation to the extreme by juxtaposing moments of graphic violence with scenes of high humor. The film boasts superb camerawork, including several extended tracking shots, and consummate performances from De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco. Some critics rank "GoodFellas" among Scorsese's finest achievements; others found it a less challenging retread of "Mean Streets", superior entertainment but not a work of art. "Cape Fear" (1991) was another matter. The result was a slick, pretentious and excessive remake of the compact and powerful 1962 original which teamed Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. The performances, as to be expected, were strong (notably Nick Nolte and Juliette Lewis) and the camerawork and editing were impressive. De Niro's central performance was showy and over-the-top in contrast to Mitchum in the original. Additionally, the film's climactic scenes were more suitable to low-budget horror films than typical of Scorsese's other work. Nonetheless, the film was the biggest hit of the director's career to date. "The Age of Innocence" (1993), based on Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, seemed unlikely offerings from the director as it was a subtle drama of manners set among the high society of 19th Century New York. Using a careening camera, sumptuous color and decor to convey the characters' repression, Scorsese turned to such masters as James Whale, William Wyler, Max Ophuls and Luchino Visconti for inspiration and his completed film earned respectful reviews and a healthy box office. He was back in typical fashion with "Casino" (1995), set in the 70s and 80s and again focusing on 'the Mob', this time transposed to Las Vegas. Filled with iconic images, "Casino" was a flawed allegory of America's loss of innocence and most reviewers felt it simply raised the same issues (which had been covered to better effect) in "GoodFellas". Again defying categorization, Scorsese turned his attentions to another unlikely subject, the Dalai Lama. "Kundun" (1997) was a biopic as only Scorsese could direct. The story of a proponent of non-violence, it moves the audience into the world of Tibet. Filled with gorgeous saffrons and deep maroons, "Kundun" was a visual and aural feast (the Philip Glass score was among its best components). The sequences covering the Dalai Lama's early life and training were compelling, but the director and screenwriter Melissa Mathison seemed at a loss as how to end their film. Following on the heels of another similar-themed feature (the Brad Pitt vehicle "Seven Years in Tibet"), "Kundun" struggled at the box office despite critical kudos. Scorsese next directed Nicolas Cage in the morbid drama "Bringing Out the Dead" (1999). He spent the next few years working on a long-awaited opus, "The Gangs of New York" (2002), the story New York draft riots in the mid 19th century. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the movie went through a series of set-backs before its fall release, but was expected to be one of Scorsese's finest works. AWARDS: Received Cannes Film Festival International Grand Prix for "Taxi Driver" (1976). Received Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award (1976). tied with Jodie Foster. Received National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director for "Taxi Driver" (1976). Received National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director for "Raging Bull" (1980). Received Independent Spirit Award for Best Director for "After Hours" (1985). tied with Joel Coen for "Blood Simple". Received Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award for "After Hours" (1986). Received Venice Film Festival Best Director Award for "GoodFellas" (1990). Received Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director for "GoodFellas" (1990). Received New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director for "GoodFellas" (1990). Received National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director for "GoodFellas" (1990). Received BAFTA Award for Best Director for "GoodFellas" (1990). Received BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay (Adapted) for "GoodFellas" (1990). shared with Nicholas Pileggi. Received National Board of Review Award for Best Director for "The Age of Innocence" (1993). Received Independent Feature Project (IPF) Gotham Award (1993). awarded for lifetime achievement. Received BAFTA Britannia Award (1993). annual award. Received American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governors Award (1995). Received Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement (1995). Received ShowEast Cecil B DeMille Award (1995). for lifetime achievement; presented by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO). Received John Huston Award for Artists Rights (1996). third recipient; cited for his work in film preservation; presented by the Artists Rights Foundation. Received American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (1997). Received National Board of Review Billy Wilder Award (1998). Received Directors Guild of America Honors Filmmaker Award (1999). initial presentation. Received Honorary Cesar (2000). Received Special David di Donatello Prize (2001). Received National Board of Review William K. Everson Award for Film History for "Il Mio Viaggo in Italia/My Voyage to Italy" (2001). Received National Society of Film Critics Film Heritage Award for "My Voyage to Italy/Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" (2001). AFFILIATIONS: BIBLIOGRAPHY: "Martin Scorsese and Michael Cimino" by Michael Bliss (1985). Publisher: Scarecrow Press. "Martin Scorsese: A Journey" by Mary Pat Kelly (1991). Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press. An oral history of the filmmaker's career comprised of interviews with Scorsese, his co-workers and actors. "A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies" by Martin Scorsese and Michael Henry Wilson (1997). Publisher: Hyperion/Mirimax. "A Director's Diary: The Making of 'Kundun'" by Martin Scorsese (1998). Publisher: Random House. "Martin Scorsese Interviews" by Peter Brunette, editor (1999). Publisher: University of Mississippi Press. NOTES:
He was honored with a Congressional Arts Caucus Award for his vision in making and preserving movies in 1991. Scorsese received a honorary doctorate from New York University in 1992. Honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1998 He received the Torch of Liberty Award from the ACLU in 1999. There was some controversy over the award as the ACLU had defended the Hollywood Ten during the 1950s McCarthy era and Scorsese had championed the honoring of Elia Kazan (who "named names") at the 1999 Academy Awards. "Once we're thrown into the middle of the characters' world, and we start to feel comfortable with them, they hopefully become less strange and different to us--whether it's Nicky [Santoro, played by Joe Pesci] or the Dalai Lama." --Martin Scorsese quoted in American Cinematographer, February 1998 On "Kundun": "Basically, it's the story of a little boy, and we only see what he sees; that's why it's the perfect Disney movie." --Scorsese in Interview, January 1998 "I would love to be able to--and this ego speaking--grow as a filmmaker. Which means that I have to assume I had something as a filmmaker to start with, and I'm not sure about that anymore. Some of my films are very strong, I think. I'll sign them any day. But I wonder if I had any place to go to begin with. I know I had it with 'Mean Streets', I'll tell you that. I honestly don't think I had enough money or time to execute it the way I wanted to, but the force of the actors blasted through it. The other stuff? I don't know. ... I would like my pictures to speak to people in the future, and to mean something to them. And I'm trying like hell, but it's very hard in this marketplace." --Scorsese in Interview, January 1998 Question: "What do you think people's biggest misconception about you is? Scorcese: "Because of the movies I make, they get nervous, because they think of me as difficult and angry. I AM difficult and angry [laughs], but they don't expect a sense of humor. And the only thing that gets me through is a sense of humor. ..." --From "Good Fella" in Time Out New York, December 24, 1997-January 8, 1998 Made a chevalier in the French Legion of Honor in 1998. |
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