Martin Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942, in Queens, New York. As a youth, his desire was to become a Catholic priest, and he entered a seminary in 1956. Although he loved his faith, his passion for film overruled his religious dictates and he channeled his love of life into the art of filmmaking. He graduated New York University as a film major in 1964. His student films of the 1960s caught the eye of veteran film impresario Roger Corman, particularly his co-editing skills as reflected in “Woodstock” (1970). The early 1970s saw success with “Boxcar Bertha” (1972) and “Mean Streets” (1973). These two films molded Scorsese’s unique style of featuring loners and their demons and gritty, often violent New York settings.
Known for the stark realism of his films, he often features three favorite actors, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel. His dark journeys into the human psyche are no more clearly illustrated than in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), which earned Ellen Burstyn a “Best Actress” Oscar, and “Taxi Driver” (1976), which starred Robert DeNiro as deranged cab driver, Travis Bickle. Unfortunately, this film received unwelcome notoriety when its co-star, Jodie Foster, inspired John Hinckley’s assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981.
Several films followed but his next tour de force was “Raging Bull” (1980) which was the biography of middleweight boxer, Joe LaMotta. It earned two Oscars, one for Robert DeNiro as “Best Actor” and one for “Editing,” which went to Thelma Schoonmaker. Critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, also selected this film as the best of the decade.
Scorsese, not unlike master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, also occasionally appears on the other side of the camera in bit parts in his own films. One of his trademarks is to have his blonde leading ladies photographed in slow motion in the first scenes in which they appear and they are always dressed in white.
Martin Scorsese has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director five times, but to date has never won. He is the father of three children and has been married four times. He remains one of the foremost filmmakers of our time and continues to produce thought provoking and entertaining films.
What are some of YOUR favorite Martin Scorsese films? Please share.
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