#2,620. The Color of Money (1986)

 

The Color of Money is not a Martin Scorsese film; this is an attack launched time and again at this movie, from critics and fans alike.

The truth is, it really isn’t a Martin Scorsese film.

I mean, it is…he directed it…but it’s not in that it doesn’t have the same energy, the same bravado as a typical Scorsese work. It follows its story too closely, the camerawork doesn’t seem as interesting, and even the situations are (gasp) occasionally formulaic.

I concede to all of these points, but in no way do so to damn the film outright.

A sequel to the 1961 classic The Hustler, The Color of Money sees Paul Newman reprising his role as Fast Eddie Felton, a pool shark who is now past his prime. Instead of hustling, Fast Eddie spends his time nurturing an up-and-comer, Vincent (Tom Cruise), teaching him the ways of a hustler.

Joined by Vincent’s girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), the pair hit the open road, traveling from one pool hall to another, in the hopes of making a fast buck.

With The Color of Money, we bear witness to legendary director Martin Scorsese sitting comfortably in the back seat, allowing his star, Paul Newman, to take the wheel. Does this make The Color of Money a bad film? Absolutely not. It makes it an atypical Scorsese film, nothing more. After all, if Scorsese decides to stay out of the limelight every now and again, who better to take his place in it than Paul Newman?

As expected, the actor delivers an Academy Award-winning performance, giving us a Fast Eddie who has matured, and is willing to pass what he’s learned on to the next generation. Cruise is also quite good as the cocky Vincent, as is Mastrantonio (her character is arguably the smartest of the three). But this is Newman’s show, and he’s absolutely superb.

So don’t go into The Color of Money expecting a Martin Scorsese film, but I wouldn’t let that scare you away, either. It is a Paul Newman film, and the great actor proves yet again he’s more than worthy of a few hours of your time. 
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

#2,619. The Irishman (2019)

 

It seems that nothing can slow Martin Scorsese down. Almost 50 years after turning Mean Streets loose on the movie-going public, the great director offers yet another glimpse into the world of organized crime, and 2019’s The Irishman is every bit as masterful as Mean Streets, Casino, The Departed, and, yes, even Goodfellas.

Robert De Niro stars as Frank Sheeran, a Philadelphia truck driver who, after befriending mobster Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci), became a major force in organized crime, gaining a reputation as a guy that “painted houses” (i.e. – killed those who needed killing).

Buffalino eventually introduced Frank to Teamsters union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), and over the years Sheeran and Hoffa became close friends. But when Hoffa started feuding with other Teamsters officials, most notably his associate Tony Pro (Stephen Graham), it sent shock waves through the underworld, with Frank Sheeran caught in the middle of it all.

Scorsese has assembled a dream cast for The Irishman, starting with his old pals DeNiro (who shines as Frank Sheeran, the Irishman of the title and also the film’s narrator), Pesci (as the calm and collected Buffalino, a far cry from his Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas), and Harvey Keitel (appearing in several scenes as Angelo Bruno, the mob boss of Philadelphia).

Also present are Stephen Graham and Bobby Cannavale, both of whom had major roles in the Scorsese-produced series Boardwalk Empire; comedian Ray Romano as Bill Buffalino, Russell’s cousin and a lawyer for the mob; and Anna Paquin as Sheeran’s estranged daughter, Peggy. The standout performance, however, is delivered by Al Pacino as the impulsive Hoffa, whose short fuse consistently lands him in hot water. Even in prison, he couldn’t keep his anger in check, getting into a scrum at one point with Tony Pro in the mess hall.

And then there’s Scorsese himself, employing every trick he’s learned over the years to ensure this nearly 4-hour movie flows brilliantly, feeling less than half that long. As with most Scorsese crime films, The Irishman is often violent, sometimes jarringly so (there’s rarely any warning when Sheeran carries out a hit), and the film has an epic feel to it, with such historic events as World War II, The Bay of Pigs, and the assassination of President Kennedy occasionally playing into the story.

Yet The Irishman also differs from the likes of Goodfellas and Casino in that it follows its characters into old age, showing us how they dealt with their past transgressions when approaching the end of the line. In one late scene, Frank Sheeran shops for his own coffin. Perhaps it’s a natural progression for Scorsese, himself a few years shy of 80 when he directed this 2019 movie.

Yet even with The Irishman being a bit more reflective than Goodfellas, it’s also just as magnificent, and while some filmmakers might lose their edge when they get older, Martin Scorsese has proven with both The Wolf of Wall Street and this movie that he’s only getting sharper.
Rating: 10 out of 10

Capsule Reviews - July 7, 2021

Alone (2020)

A remake of the 2011 Swedish film Gone, Alone gets off to an incredibly tense start; hoping to get on with her life following a recent tragedy, Jessica (Jules Wilcox) packs her belongings into a trailer and heads north. On her way, she has a run-in with another driver (Mark Menchaca), who seems to pop up everywhere she goes. It isn’t long before Jessica realizes she’s in very great danger, and will have to fight back if she wants to stay alive. The performances delivered by both Wilcox and Menchaca are strong, but it’s the tension that director John Hyams generates that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Even when the movie veers off into predictable territory (scenes featuring a third character - a hunter played by Anthony Heald - are effective despite the fact we know how they’re going to play out), Hyams keeps the tension ratcheted up as high as it can get, resulting in a thriller that consistently thrills.
Rating: 8 out of 10









I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Mervyn LeRoy’s I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was a film of such power that it actually succeeded in bringing about social change. Based on a true story, Paul Muni shines in the role of James Allen, a World War I veteran who leaves the promise of a comfortable job to seek his fortune on the open road. Unfortunately, his travels land him in the wrong place at the wrong time; James is arrested for petty theft, a crime he did not commit, and is sentenced to serve out his term working on a chain gang, where conditions are intolerable. He eventually escapes and returns home to crusade against a legal system that would allow an innocent man to face unspeakable tortures. The Hays office, which took it upon itself to police the “morals” of Hollywood productions, thought it best to protect the sanctity of the American justice system, and asked Warner Brothers to remove several scenes showing John Allen being beaten by his guards. The studio refused, and the resulting film, which to this day remains as shocking and effective as ever, so stunned audiences that the state of Georgia discontinued its use of the chain gang as a punitive measure.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10









New York, New York (1977)

I know what director Martin Scorsese was trying to do with this film, which is to pay homage to the classic musicals of Hollywood’s heyday. Unfortunately the result is a very mixed bag. At the close of World War II, Jimmy (Robert De Niro), a cocky saxophonist, meets and falls in love with Francine (Liza Minnelli), a lounge singer, and we follow the two as their love affair navigates the rocky terrain of show business. The opening sequence, set in a dance club on V-J Day, is phenomenally staged, and Liza Minnelli shines whenever she’s belting out a tune. On the flip side, we have Robert DeNiro, giving a performance I found surprisingly uneven, at times even downright foolish, and because of this I simply couldn’t accept that a romantic spark would have ever ignited between these two individuals in the first place. In most romantic films, you’re asking ‘when’, as in when will the two leads finally discover they’re perfect for each other? With New York, New York, I was asking ‘why’? And in a film that’s entire two hour and 40 minute run time depends on this storyline, this is a really big problem.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Capsule Reviews - July 1, 2021

The Aviator (2004)

A biopic on the life of millionaire Howard Hughes, Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator has a lot going for it, not the least of which is a stellar performance by Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. It is an amazing portrayal; when DiCaprio is on screen, the electricity flows, and The Aviator certainly benefits from the fact that he is on-screen most of the time. Whether he’s barking out orders to his subordinates, tangling with actress Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett, in an Oscar-winning turn) or going up against the United States Senate, Dicaprio’s Hughes is a force to be reckoned with. Along with his incredible confidence in his own abilities, we see the other Howard Hughes as well; the man so overcome by his fear of germs that they could reduce the mighty tycoon to a quivering mass in an instant. Even here, DiCaprio does not falter, giving us a Hughes trying his best to maintain some dignity as he suffers through his crippling personal horrors. Having worked with the actor a number of times (including Gangs of New York, The Departed, and The Wolf of Wall Street), it’s easy to see why Scorsese once dubbed Leonardo DiCaprio his ‘next DeNiro’; this guy man can flat-out act!
Rating: 9 out of 10









The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)

A 1973 release directed by Nathan Juran (who helmed one of my favorite Ray Harryhausen movies, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad), The Boy Who Cried Werewolf is about a young boy (Scott Sealey) whose father (Kerwin Mathews) is attacked by a werewolf, then slowly transforms into one himself. At times the film has the look and feel of a TV movie, and the father-son relationship is well explored. There’s also a side story about a group of religious hippies in the woods that is both funny and effective (especially when they have their own encounter with the monster). The werewolf make-up isn’t the best, but the story more than makes up for this shortcoming.
Rating: 7 out of 10









Honeyland (2019)

This is a Macedonian documentary about a female beekeeper forced to cope with some new neighbors, who not only try to duplicate the success she’s had but also threaten her very livelihood with their carelessness. Honeyland was shot over the course of three years, during which time filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov gathered hundreds of hours of footage. There’s no narration… we the audience are tossed headfirst into this setting, and that stylistic choice goes a long way in pulling us into this world. Honeyland is an extremely engaging motion picture, and was nominated by the Academy for both Best Documentary and Best Foreign Language Film.
Rating: 9 out of 10

#2,336. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie



Line from the film: "On a daily basis I consume enough drugs to sedate Manhattan, Long Island, and Queens for a month"

Trivia: The actors snorted crushed B vitamins for scenes that involved cocaine







Even at age 70, director Martin Scorsese can turn out a hip, stylish motion picture, which is exactly what he did with 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

Based on actual events, The Wolf of Wall Street tells the story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), who in the 1980’s was an up-and-coming stockbroker, eager to make his way on Wall Street. Unfortunately, his arrival coincided with the market crash of October 19, 1987, and as a result, his career was seemingly over before it began.

To make ends meet, Jordan accepted a job at a small Long Island brokerage that specialized in penny stocks, and soon made enough money there to go out on his own. Partnering with his neighbor Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), Jordan hired old friends and trained them in the fine art of selling penny stocks to rich suckers. Within a few years, Jordan Belfort was back on Wall Street, and his company, Stratton Oakmont, was raking in millions.

Unfortunately, Jordan's rapid success went straight to his head; he and his co-workers regularly invited prostitutes up to the office, and Jordan began experimenting with every drug imaginable, from Quaaludes to cocaine. He divorced his wife Teresa (Cristin Milioti) to marry supermodel Naomi (Margot Robbie), and the wild parties he threw on his custom yacht would have made a college fraternity blush. 

Before long, all of New York was talking about Jordan Belfort, and his meteoric rise caught the attention of FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler), who dug deep into Stratton Oakmont’s business practices in an effort to put Jordan and his team behind bars for many, many years.

Jordan’s father, Max (Rob Reiner), who also acted as his business manager, begged Jordan to make a deal with the feds that would keep him out of prison. But Jordan Belfort wasn’t about to go quietly into the night, and it would take a series of scandals to bring his reign as “The Wolf of Wall Street” to a catastrophic end.

As with many of Scorsese’s best works, The Wolf of Wall Street has its share of unforgettable scenes. An early sequence where Jordan demonstrates to Donnie and the others how to unload a worthless stock on a wealthy client is as funny as it is distasteful, and a speech Jordan delivers to his employees late in the movie, in which he was to announce his retirement only to change his mind midway through, was dramatic enough to bring a tear to my eye. 

Yet, for my money, the film’s single greatest (and funniest) sequence has Jordan and Donnie taking outdated Quaaludes by the handful, only to discover later on (and at a very inopportune time) that the pills they believed lost their potency simply had a delayed effect.

From top to bottom, the cast of The Wolf of Wall Street is superb; DiCaprio received a Best Actor nomination for his performance as Jordan Belfort (and, in my opinion, he should have won it), while Jonah Hill breathes enough life into Donnie to take what is essentially a scuzzball character and make him a bit more palpable. In addition, Margot Robbie is effectively sexy as Naomi, the woman who stood by Jordan through the ups and downs, while Rob Reiner steals a scene or two as Max, the sole voice of reason in Jordan Belfort’s otherwise chaotic life. 

Yet the true star of The Wolf of Wall Street is its director, whose patented, highly-stylized approach to the material (swooping cameras, slow-motion, engaging narration, etc.) helped make The Wolf of Wall Street the best movie I’ve seen this decade.

Of course, Martin Scorsese is no stranger to greatness; in each of the previous four decades, he managed to turn out at least one masterpiece. In the ‘70s, it was Taxi Driver, then just as the ‘80s were getting underway he hit us with Raging Bull. Throw in Goodfellas (which kicked off the ‘90s) and The Departed (the 2006 movie that finally netted him an Academy Award), and you have what is already one hell of a filmography.

It’s way too early to close the books on Scorsese in the 2010’s. But even if he fails to deliver at his normal level from here on out, at least he gave us The Wolf of Wall Street, and in so doing has continued what was already a truly remarkable streak.

#1,785. Casino (1995)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci




Tag line: "Winner loses all"

Trivia: Robert de Niro' had 70 different costumes throughout the film, Sharon Stone had 40. Both were allowed to keep their wardrobes afterwards







Director Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino plays like a classic tragedy, the story of three people who had the world at their fingertips, only to let it slip away.

Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi about real-life gambler / casino man Frank Rosenthal, Casino stars Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, whose skills as a handicapper so impressed mob boss Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano) that he and the other heads of the Midwest syndicate hired Ace to run their newest asset: the Tangiers hotel / casino in Las Vegas. 

A man who lived and breathed gambling, it proved the perfect job for a guy like Ace, and with his childhood friend, gangster Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), watching his back, it seemed as if he could do no wrong. 

Then Ace met Ginger (Sharon Stone), a part time hooker and full-time hustler who immediately stole his heart. Around the same time Ginger arrived on the scene, Nicky laid the foundations for his own criminal empire in Vegas, resulting in some turmoil that threatened to ruin his friendship with Ace. 

It wasn't until Ace convinced Ginger to marry him, however, that things really started going south!

“It should have been so sweet”, says Nicky as narrator (a role he shares with several other characters) when speaking of Las Vegas. “But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that f*ckin' valuable again”. Yes, it should have been sweet. Rothstein, as played by DeNiro, was a focused, often humorless professional, a gambler turned casino boss determined to do right by those who showed confidence in him. And he, in turn, made sure that not a single detail slipped his notice (when his blueberry muffin didn’t have enough blueberries, he took it to the Tangiers’ head chef and told him to make sure every muffin had an equal amount from then on). Under Ace's watchful eye, the Tangiers made many people rich, especially the big shots back home.

But while he was undoubtedly a great casino boss, Rothstein wasn’t good at turning a blind eye when he should have. When one of the casino’s featured slot machines paid out 3 jackpots in less than 15 minutes, Ace fired his slots manager, Don Ward (John Bloom), for not realizing a fix was on. Don was, indeed, totally incompetent, but he was also the brother-in-law of country commissioner Pat Webb (L.Q. Jones). When Ace refuses Webb’s request to re-hire Don, the commissioner launches an investigation into Ace’s gaming license. All at once, Ace finds himself in hot water, and the bosses back home - who don't want to make any waves - start to wonder if it's time for their Golden Boy to step aside.

Of course, Ace's political wranglings weren't his only problem. Much like Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, Pesci’s Nicky Santoro is a mobster with a short fuse, a thug who hits first and asks questions later. “No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on”, Ace says in voice-over. “You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he'll keep comin' back and back until one of you is dead”. 

Asked to go to Las Vegas to protect Ace, Nicky instead sees it as an opportunity to make some money on the side. Once in town, he and his pal Frank Marino (Frank Vincent) muscle their way into the rackets, and recruit a team of talented thieves willing to steal anything they can get their hands on. For a while, things go well for Nicky. He moves his brother Dominic (Philip Suriano) out to help him run his legitimate businesses (a jewelry store and a classy restaurant), and sends a tribute back to Remo every month, to prevent the aging Don from looking too deeply into what he's doing.

But Nicky was reckless, and Ace knew it was only a matter of time before the law caught up with him. After he’s banned from the casinos, Ace, still trying to keep things on the up-and-up, had no choice but to turn his back on Nicky in public, a move that put a strain on their friendship. Then, when Ace grew tired of hearing his name mentioned alongside Nicky’s on the evening news, he went to the mob’s middle man, Andy Stone (Alan King), hoping he’d convince the bosses to tell Nicky to lay low. This led to an increased tension between the two, and soon enough, the old friends were at each others' throats.

Pesci and DeNIro are predictably excellent as the pals turned adversaries, but it’s Sharon Stone who delivers a career defining performance as Ginger, a woman who knows exactly what she wants out of life: money, and lots of it. When Ace first lays eyes on her, she’s a street-wise girl, paying off everyone from the pit bosses to the college kids who park your car, all to ensure she gets first crack at the high rollers, those guys she can take for a ride both at the craps tables and in the bedroom. In her own way, Ginger becomes the Queen of Las Vegas, so when Ace proposes marriage, it’s Ginger who balks, saying she’s not the marrying kind, and adding that she cares for him, but doesn’t love him.

Initially, Ace says he’s OK with this, that love will eventually grow from a mutual respect for one another. But what he doesn’t know is that Ginger, as tough as she is, is still under the spell of her former pimp Lester (James Woods), a two-bit thief and drug dealer who will use his power over her to siphon some of Ace’s hard-earned cash. At several points throughout the movie, Ginger runs to Lester, forcing Ace (with the help of Nicky) to get involved. When Ace lays down the law, Ginger cries on Nicky's shoulder, causing even more friction between the former best pals.

Along with the sometimes complex story of its three lead characters, Casino - in amusing, occasionally graphic detail - is also a time capsule, revealing how things used to be in Vegas, when the mob was in control. With Scorsese employing his usual flair, Casino takes us inside the “Holy of Holies”, the Tangiers cash room, where we watch as the mob’s delivery man, John Nance (Bill Allison), packs hundreds of thousands of dollars into a brown leather bag, the “skim off the top” that goes directly to the Midwest bosses. 

We learn about the day-to-day operations, and how casinos ensured that they never lost money; when Japanese millionaire Ichikawa (Nobu Matsushisa) takes the Tangiers for $2 million, Ace and his second-in-command, Billy Sherbert (comedian Don Rickles) arrange for Ichiklawa’s private plane to experience “technical problems”, a clever ploy to get him back to the Tangiers for another night. Sure enough, Ichikawa ends up losing the $2 million, plus he drops a million of his own at the card tables (“The cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all”). Also, in what is my favorite sequence in the entire film, we see what happens to a couple of fools (Joseph Reidy and Joe La Due) who are caught cheating, a scene that’s shocking in its brutality, yet somehow entirely satisfying.

With Scorsese pulling out all the cinematic stops, and DeNiro, Pesci, and Stone at the top of their games, Casino offers yet another look into the inner workings of the mafia, and while it doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of Goodfellas (arguably Scorsese’s masterpiece), Casino is nonetheless a history lesson, a searing drama, and an epic motion picture all rolled into one.

#1,486. The Departed (2006)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson



Tag line: "Cops or Criminals. When you're facing a loaded gun what's the difference?"

Trivia: Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the title role in The Good Shepherd (2006), but he dropped out to play Billy Costigan in this movie






On the evening of February 25, 2007, when the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences presented their awards to the previous year’s best and brightest, one of the most egregious oversights in their history was finally corrected when Martin Scorsese received an Oscar for Best Director. The fact that the film he won it for, 2006’s The Departed, was a crime movie seemed fitting, seeing as the great director has, over the years, proven himself one of the finest in that particular genre. 

And unlike most artists who receive an Academy Award late in their careers, this was no “pity win” or lifetime achievement Oscar a la John Wayne’s Best Actor nod for 1969’s True Grit (The Duke was good, but Midnight Cowboy's Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman were better). The Academy does, on occasion, make mistakes, but in the case of Scorsese and The Departed, the award went to the right guy.

A remake of the 2002 Hong Kong action film Infernal Affairs, The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, a detective with the Boston police force who has been selected for a very dangerous assignment: pose as a criminal and infiltrate a gang of killers and thieves headed by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), the city's most lethal crime boss. 

With only two people, Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Lt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg), aware of his mission, Costigan goes deep undercover and eventually wins the confidence of both Costello and his second-in-command Frenchy (Ray Winstone). Before long, he’s a trusted member of their gang, but what Costigan and his superiors don’t know is Costello has his own man inside the Boston P.D., Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who, by all appearances, is a solid member of the force. He's promoted to detective, moves into a posh neighborhood, and begins dating Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), a police therapist. But Sullivan reports solely to Costello, passing along information and tipping the gangster off on every move the cops make. 

It isn’t long before both organizations realize there's a rat in their midst, putting Sullivan and especially Costigan in a great deal of danger.

Having directed one of the best crime movies of all-time (Goodfellas) as well as a few others that border on greatness (Mean Streets, Casino, Gangs of New York), Scorsese was the perfect director to helm a film like The Departed, and was definitely up to the challenge. One of the things that impressed me most about the film was its solid pacing; The Departed flows brilliantly, with its 151 minutes flying by in seemingly half that time. This is due almost exclusively to Scorsese’s patented style, the quick cuts and roaming cameras he has come to rely on over the years. In addition, Scorsese draws the best out of his actors; Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon, Sheen, Farmiga and Baldwin are all in top form, while Mark Wahlberg has never been better (his turn as the smart-ass Dignam is one of the film's high points). 

The violence, though jarring, has an almost lyrical feel to it, and Scorsese even manages to bring us to the edge of our seats on a few occasions. A chase through the streets at night, with Costigan trying to catch a glimpse of Sullivan’s face while remaining hidden himself, is incredibly tense. As he’s done countless times in the past, Scorsese even picked the perfect musical accompaniments for the on-screen action. Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”, sung here by Van Morrison, adds depth to an intimate scene between Costigan and his therapist, Madolyn, who also happens to be Sullivan’s girlfriend. With The Departed, Martin Scorsese was firing on all cylinders, showing once again why he ranks among the finest directors of the past 50 years.

Personally, I think Scorsese should have won Academy Awards in each of the last four decades: along with 2006’s The Departed, he deserved the Oscar for 1976’s Taxi Driver (though the man he lost to, John G. Avildsen, did turn out a classic with Rocky); 1980’s Raging Bull (Robert Redford took the Oscar that year for Ordinary People); and 1990’s Goodfellas (when he was beaten by Kevin Costner and Dances with Wolves). And I wouldn’t count Scorsese out of the current decade, either. As he proved with 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, he can still “wow” an audience. 

But even if the Academy again turns its back on him, at least Scorsese won it once, and for a movie that’s every bit as good as some of his best.

#1,331. George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon





Trivia: Olivia Harrison, George Harrison's wife and the producer of this film, chose Martin Scorsese to direct this documentary after she had seen his 2005 Bob Dylan documentary






I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know who George Harrison was. Even the man known to millions as “the Third Beatle” was still a Beatle, which, by default, made him one of the most recognizable names in Rock and Roll history. That said, my first “exposure” (for want of a better word) to George Harrison outside of the Beatles occurred years ago as I was reading a book about Monty Python my brother had bought, which told how Harrison put up the money to produce Life of Brian when every other studio passed on it. In fact, the production company he formed to finance that movie, Hand Made Films, also produced Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (which, by the way, marked the first time I’d ever heard one of George Harrison’s solo tunes; his “Dream Away”, written especially for the 1981 fantasy, played over that film’s ending credits).

Martin Scorsese’s 2011 documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, touches upon Harrison’s cinematic achievements, as well as the near-immeasurable contributions he made to the world of music, giving us as complete a picture of the man as we could ever hope to see.

Starting with his childhood in Liverpool, Living in the Material World takes us on a journey through George Harrison’s life: the formation of the Beatles; their eventual break-up; his experience with Eastern philosophies, and how they shaped his solo career; and so much more. Utilizing archival footage, home movies, and interviews, Living in the Material World is an open book, exposing us to nearly every facet of the man’s life, both professional and personal.

Which, in the end, is what makes Living in the Material World such a fascinating documentary. Given the same subject matter, most filmmakers might be tempted to linger on the “high points” of Harrison’s career, namely his time with the Beatles. And while Scorsese’s doc does cover that specific era in great detail, it doesn’t do so at the expense of any of Harrison’s other accomplishments. So, along with the “standard” Beatles clips, including the group’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show and footage of the tumultuous Let it Be recording sessions, Living in the Material World also treats us to a few of Harrison’s home videos, and provides stories told by those who knew him best, some I’m sure the rocker himself wouldn’t have related, like how his first wife, Pattie Boyd, left him to marry his good pal, Eric Clapton (interviews with Boyd and Clapton appear in the movie).

To Scorsese’s credit, he’s crafted a film that will appeal to everyone, even those who aren’t fans of the Beatles, a claim most like-minded documentaries can’t make.

#1,318. Gangs of New York (2002)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis



Tag line: "America Was Born In The Streets"

Trivia: Martin Scorsese hired "The Magician", an Italian man famous for a 30-year career as a pickpocket, to teach Cameron Diaz about the art of picking pockets








Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York is a hard-hitting period piece, an engaging look at New York during the days of the U.S. Civil War, one of the most tumultuous eras in the city’s history.

Gangs of New York is also a very ambitious film. In fact, I’d argue it’s a bit too ambitious for it's own good.

We begin in 1846, when two opposing gangs: the Natives, under the command of Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis); and the Dead Rabbits, led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), face off against one another in an area of the city known as the “Five Points”. The fight concludes when Bill, a bigoted nationalist whose ultimate goal is to keep immigrants from entering the United States, kills the Irish-born Vallon, an incident witnessed by Vallon’s young son, Amsterdam. 

Sixteen years pass, and a now-adult Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) leaves the orphanage where he was raised and returns to the Five Points, where he wins the favor of Bill the Butcher (who doesn’t recognize him) and falls in love with a pretty prostitute named Jenny (Cameron Diaz). 

Before long, Bill looks upon Amsterdam as if he were his own son. As for Amsterdam, he’s biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to avenge his father and strike Bill down.

One of the major strengths of Gangs of New York is how it captures the look and feel of the city’s Five Points district in the mid-19th century, which, by all accounts, was a dirty, run-down slum where whores, pickpockets, and gang members gathered on a daily basis. Dante Feretti, who also worked with Scorsese on the sumptuously beautiful The Age of Innocence, handled the Production Design, aided by Costume Designer Sandy Powell (Rob Roy, Shakespeare in Love) and Set Designer Francesca Lo Schiavo (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Interview with the Vampire). Together, they and Scorsese recreate an area of New York that, prior to this movie, only existed in history books, bringing it to life in a most convincing way.

Equally as impressive is the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as William Cutting, aka Bill the Butcher, who rules the Five-Points with an iron fist. Preaching America for Americans, he and his gang of Natives often shout insults at the Irish and other minorities. What’s more, Bill is a cold-blooded killer, an expert with a knife who never backs down from a fight. Yet, despite his violent nature, Bill is also a man of honor, a warrior who adheres to the ancient code of combat. We get a glimpse of both sides of Bill in the opening battle against Priest Vallon, when he dispatches his opponent in brutal fashion, then cradles the injured man's head as he dies, promising Priest (whom he respects immensely) that his pain will soon be over. 

The entire cast is strong, especially DiCaprio (in his first of several collaborations with Scorsese) as the young man seeking vengeance, and Jim Broadbent, who portrays the corrupt Boss Tweed as a very likable crook. But the film’s energy level increases tenfold whenever Bill the Butcher is on-screen. A tremendous actor, Day-Lewis is one of the few three-time Academy-Award winners who probably deserves twice that number of Oscars.

Where Gangs of New York falters is its scope, trying to jam far too much into 168 minutes. There were thousands of stories floating around the city during the days of the Civil War, and Scorsese seems intent on telling all of them at once. Many of these tales: the formation of the gangs; the role of the Police and Fire departments in the Five Points district; the political corruption of Boss Tweed; the racial bigotry; the draft riots, are, indeed, fascinating. Any one of these topics would have made an excellent film in its own right. Thrown together in the same picture, none (or, to be fair, few) get the full attention they deserve.

The fact that Gangs of New York, in spite of over-reaching, comes so close to greatness is a testament to its director, as well as the cast and crew he gathered around him.

#1,010. The Last Waltz (1978)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robbie Robertson, Neil Young, Van Morrison



Tag line: "It Started as a Concert. It Became a Celebration"

Trivia:  The Band's management had overbooked the show. Two days before the show, they tried to have Muddy Waters taken off the bill. Levon Helm, The Band's drummer, threatened not to play if Muddy Waters was asked to leave




For The Last Waltz, a concert film that chronicles the farewell performance of the rock group The Band, director Martin Scorsese used a few of the tricks he learned while working as an assistant on Woodstock, chief among them being that the more cameras you have pointed at the stage, the more likely you are of capturing every nuance of a live show. Aided by such award-winning cinematographers as Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, The Fugitive), László Kovács (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces), and Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter), Scorsese took what was essentially a star-studded concert and transformed it into a legendary happening.

Tired of life on the road, musicians Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson, also known as The Band, decide to put on one last show, then call it quits. The setting was San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, and the date was Thanksgiving Day, 1976. With a little help from their friends (many of whom were musical legends in their own right) , The Band performed 41 tunes over a span of 5 ½ hours. The Last Waltz features some of the highlights of this historic event, as well as “bonus footage”, in which Scorsese interviews the members of The Band, who provide a brief history of the group and explain why they felt it was time to pack it in.

While I don’t claim to be The Band’s biggest fan, I do enjoy some of their songs (like Up on Cripple Creek and The Weight), most of which are in the film. But what made The Last Waltz so enjoyable were the celebrity guests who turned up to perform with the group, including Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan. With such a variety of talent on display, The Last Waltz is more than a mere ‘concert film’; it’s one of the best rock and roll movies ever made.

#1,000. Goodfellas (1990)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci




Tag line: "In a world that's powered by violence, on the streets where the violent have power, a new generation carries on an old tradition"

Trivia: Ray Liotta turned down the part of Harvey Dent in Batman in order to make this film






The debate rages on as to which is the better gangster film: Francis Ford Coppola’s award-winning masterpiece, The Godfather, or Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s epic depiction of the New York crime scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s. 

Personally, I find it all a bit silly.  I mean, who'd want to live in a world where we couldn't have both?

Based on the novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas follows Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he rises through the ranks of New York’s criminal underworld. Life was good for Henry in the early days.  He was friends with some of the era’s most notorious mobsters, including Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro), a smooth-talking thief who engineered the largest airport heist in U.S. history; Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), a volatile wiseguy with a sharp sense of humor; and Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), the head of the family to which Henry belonged. 

Not even his marriage to the beautiful yet unpredictable Karen (Lorraine Bracco) could slow Henry down. But the law soon caught up with him, and following a brief stint in prison, Henry took up drug trafficking. By the late ‘70s, he was himself a full-fledged drug addict, and as a result, his friends turned their backs on him. 

Fearful that Jimmy was going to have him killed, Henry struck a deal with the U.S. Government, testifying against his old associates and putting them behind bars for a very long time.

Thanks to Scorsese’s always-engaging style, we become more than simple observers of this wild world of organized crime; we’re active participants, swept up by the excitement of it all. Right from the start, when a teenage Henry (Christopher Serrone) goes to work as an errand boy for Paulie and his brother, Tuddy (Frank DiLeo), we feel the exhilaration of living life in the fast lane, a sensation that continues through much of the picture. 

What’s more, the cast of Goodfellas is excellent. Liotta, DeNiro, Bracco, and Sorvino deliver superb performances, but the real stand-out is Joe Pesci, whose Tommy DeVito is as funny as he is violent, a rabid dog with a bite that’s as bad as his bark.

So, which is better: The Godfather or Goodfellas? Both are great movies in their own right, but stylistically speaking, they couldn’t be more different. True, both films deal with organized crime, creating a world where theft, extortion, and murder are simply business as usual. Yet when it comes to telling their stories, each takes an entirely different approach. 

Looking outside of the cinema, to other realms of entertainment, to describe the style of each film, I would say The Godfather is comparable to a 19th century opera, while Goodfellas, with its graphic depiction of violence and overall brutal approach, would be more along the lines of a heavyweight boxing match. Sure, there’s violence, both sudden and harsh, in The Godfather, but there are also honorable characters; the wise Don, the loyal and loving son, men who rise above the bloodshed to achieve a level of respectability. With Goodfellas, we enjoy spending time with its characters, and even laugh with them on occasion, yet never once do we see them as anything more than mafia thugs.

If I were banished to a desert island, and could take only one film with me, I’d pick The Godfather, simply because it's my all-time favorite movie. 

That said, I’m sure there would be nights when I’d be sitting on that island prison of mine, staring up at the stars and longing for a chance to see Goodfellas just one more time.

#870. My Voyage to Italy (1999)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Martin Scorsese





Tag line: "The Movies that Inspired one of Hollywood's Greatest Filmmakers"

Trivia: This movie was screened out of competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival







What better way to follow up my recent viewing of A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies than to watch another 4-hour documentary featuring the great director, who’s also a respected film scholar, discuss the pictures that, from an early age, fed his love of movies? In 1999’s My Voyage to Italy, the focus is placed squarely on Italian cinema, paying close attention to a handful of filmmakers who not only motivated Scorsese to make films, but changed the very landscape of cinema the world over.

My Voyage to Italy begins with a brief look at Scorsese’s own background and that of his family, many of whom were new to America and would watch Italian films on television as a means of maintaining their connection to the “old world”. From there, the movie delves into the careers of several of Italy’s most noteworthy directors, such as Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio de Sica, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Much like Personal Journey, Scorsese builds this documentary around his own experiences, his own movie tastes, only with My Voyage to Italy, the works that aroused his artistic spirit also managed to spark creativity in others. From the silent epic Cabiria, which stirred the imagination of pioneer D.W. Griffith so profoundly it led to the creation of his own extravagant costume drama, Intolerance, through to the Neorealist films of Rossellini and De Sica, which served as starting points for French New Wave directors like Truffaut and Godard, Italian movies have left an indelible mark on world cinema. Scorsese covers this, plus so much more in this in-depth documentary. So while My Voyage to Italy is, indeed, every bit as personal a journey for Scorsese as his American project several years earlier, it just so happens, this time around, the films that touched him so deeply also touched the entire world.

#864. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Bob Dylan, B.J. Rolfzen, Dick Kangas





Trivia: Columbia/SME Records, Sony Music, and Bob Dylan's management gave Martin Scorsese access to its vaults, something Dylan has never given to any documentary filmmaker







Aired in 2005 as an episode of the American Masters PBS Television series, this documentary, directed by Martin Scorsese, provides insight into the early career of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Spanning the years 1961 to 1966, No Direction Home covers his rise as an icon in the folk community all the way through to the moment his fan base turned on him, accusing the entertainer of going ‘commercial’ with the release of his 1965 album, Bringing It All Back Home, which featured Dylan performing with an electric band. This was a crucial period in Dylan’s history, one that merited closer examination, and No Direction Home delivers, giving us as in-depth an expose on the subject as we’re likely to see.

Over the years (and by way of various interviews), Dylan has firmly established himself as one of the most elusive personalities in the music industry, which is why No Direction Home proved such a pleasant surprise. It’s all here, from those who influenced his earliest work, like Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash and Pete Seeger, to his own successful career in folk music, and culminating in the mid-1960’s, when songs like “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone” hit the Billboard charts, while at the same time alienating a large portion of Dylan’s most fervent admirers, who would forever view their hero as a traitor, a singer who turned his back on the music that made him famous just so he could sell more records. While playing a concert in Great Britain, he’s booed by the crowd, with one person going so far as to call him “Judas”. Dylan’s response? He told his band to play the next number “fucking loud”.

As a fan of Dylan’s, I thoroughly enjoyed No Direction Home; it brought into focus a performer I have always admired, revealing his accomplishments as well as his trials and tribulations. An artist who’s never invited analysis of his own work, I liked learning as much as I did about Bob Dylan from this all-encompassing documentary.

#858. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese, Michael Henry Wilson

Starring: Martin Scorsese, Kathryn Bigelow, Frank Capra






Trivia: This documentary was originally shown in 3 parts on the UK's Channel 4







This documentary is a must-see for all serious fans of the cinema. A trek through the history of American film, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies takes us from the days of the silents right up to the mid-1960s.

Hosted by the director himself, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies was produced by the British Film Institute in 1995, as part of their Century in Cinema series. Running for nearly four hours, this retrospective takes us on a guided tour through the annals of American film, from directors Hal Roach and D.W. Griffith onwards, paying special attention to those genres Scorsese feels are distinctly “American”, namely crime (one of the earliest of which was Griffith’s 1912 short, The Musketeers of Pig Alley), westerns, and the Broadway musicals (a la 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933). But there's so much more to this documentary besides, including dozens of film clips and a number of archived interviews with legends like Frank Capra and Nicholas Ray. For people who love movies, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese is pure gold.

But as Scorsese, who also acts as narrator, points out at the beginning of this wonderful odyssey, the entire presentation is a very personal affair. In short, these are the movies that inspired him, that drove him to become a director, and their influence helped transform Scorsese into the filmmaker he is today. As you can imagine, what with this being a ‘personal journey’, Scorsese doesn’t limit himself to mainstream films. In fact, he says the lesser-known movies sometimes had a much bigger impact on his career. So, while we do take the occasional stroll along Main Street, Hollywood, hearing tales and recollections of D.W. Griffith, John Ford, Citizen Kane and Murnau’s Sunrise, we also walk with Scorsese down the side roads and back alleys, where we uncover the likes of Jacques Tourneur, Allan Dwan, Silver Lode and The Phenix City Story.

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies is a brilliant combination of the known and the virtually undiscovered, making this cinematic expedition one fascinating ride.

#809. After Hours (1985)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom




Tag line: "What if that date you thought would never end, didn't?"

Trivia: In the coffee shop where Paul first meets Marcy, an elderly couple sitting at a table to Marcy's right is director Martin Scorsese's mother and father







It’s difficult to explain just how bad a night Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) has in Martin Scorsese’s 1985 comedy After Hours. He meets the beautiful Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) in a coffee shop late one evening, and later decides to visit her at her friend’s apartment.

It all seems pretty innocent, right?  Something that has happened to hundreds of guys, on hundreds of nights. Yet what happens to Paul on this particular visit is truly unique, and must be seen to be believed.

Paul is a young professional, with a boring word processing job and a boring life to boot. When Marcy invites him over to hang out, he thinks his luck might finally be changing for the better. So, he hops in a cab and heads to SoHo, hoping to add a little spice to his life. X Well, to put it mildly, the evening doesn’t go as planned. First off, Marcy is a bit more screwed up than he realized, and her artist roommate, Kiki (Linda Fiorentino), while definitely more "together" than Marcy, dabbles in art that, at best, will give you the creeps.

Before the night is out, Paul will have run-ins with a number of bizarre characters, including a waitress (Teri Garr); a helpful bartender (John Heard) he shares a strange connection with; and a vigilante mob, led by an ice-cream truck driver (Catherine O’Hara) who won’t stop until she has brought Paul to justice.

Oh, and there are a couple of crooks in a van, played by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, who pop up every so often again to make Paul’s adventure even more hellish.

After Hours is a very funny film, but not in the laugh-out-loud style of comedies like Airplane or Spaceballs. It’s a movie that will make you snicker in hindsight, when you have time to reflect on the pathetic bad luck of its main character. Watching After Hours is like staring at a train running out of control, watching it crash, then keeping your eyes glued through all the carnage. Paul Hackett’s train runs off the tracks the moment he steps into a taxi one fateful night, and from then on he doesn’t have a minute to catch his breath.

And neither do we, for that matter. After Hours will wear you out, but boy is it worth it!

#791. Kundun (1997)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin




Tag line: "The amazing story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama"

Trivia: Martin Scorsese dedicated this film to his mother, Catherine, who had died during the pre-production





Kundun is a beautiful motion picture that, despite its impressive imagery, is a case study in emotion over style. This is not to imply there’s an absence of style. On the contrary: Scorsese’s prowess as a visual filmmaker is as alive in Kundun as in any of his movies. But due to the obvious reverence with which he approaches this film's subject, the 14th Dalai Lama, the great director never permits his patented cinematic flair to overshadow his main character.

Based on actual incidents, Kundun relates the early life and struggles of the 14th Dalai Lama, a Tibetan religious leader who’s lived in exile since 1959, when an uprising in his country resulted in direct conflict with China. Believed the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, he was “discovered” at the age of two, then, through the remainder of his childhood, was groomed for the high position. Aided by his trusted adviser, Reting (Sonom Phuntsok), the 14th Dalai Lama grows to manhood (played as an adult by Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong), at which point he must deal with the greatest threat facing his country: the Chinese occupation. Taking an active role, he attempts to meet with China’s Chairman, Mao Zedong (Robert Lin), to prevent further bloodshed. But when the Chinese plot to assassinate him, the 14th Dalai Lama has no choice but to leave his beloved Tibet behind and establish a government in exile in India.

Faces are important in Kundun. At several points throughout the film, the camera focuses on the face of the young Dalai Lama, a life of responsibility thrust upon him at an early age. We also get to know, quite intimately, the faces of those around him, who realize, before he himself does, that, if the Dalai Lama is to lead his people, he will have to do so abroad, hundreds of miles from the place of his birth. There is pain in these faces, the pain of dealing with a changing world, and Scorsese makes sure we feel every bit of it.

Shot primarily in Morocco, Kundun is stunning, with its gifted director making full use of the striking landscapes at his disposal. His camera, too, is always moving, free of constraints and gliding in a manner we’ve come to expect in a Martin Scorsese picture. Yet the visuals serve the movie. They do not divert from the film’s ultimate goal, which is to tell one man's story as best it can. The cinematic panache of a Scorsese work is there for the taking in Kundun; it’s just that the spotlight is never cast upon it.

#776. Shine a Light (2008)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts






Trivia: This was the first documentary ever to open the Berlin Film Festival








Marking his second venture as director of a concert film (following 1978’s The Last Waltz, which covered the final live performance of the rock group, The Band), Scorsese mixes things up a bit with Shine a Light, a 2008 movie featuring those ageless warriors of rock and roll, The Rolling Stones.

Shine a Light was shot over the course of two nights at New York’s Beacon Theater, a performance that was attended by, among others, former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Joined on-stage by such guests as Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera, The Rolling Stones belt out some of their greatest hits, including Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Sympathy for the Devil.

During the first dozen or so minutes of Shine a Light, we’re privy to several conversations between director Scorsese and his crew (one of which is an absolute classic: when Scorsese is advised that, if Mick Jagger stands too long in front of a high-powered light, he’ll burst into flame, the director replies, quite nonchalantly, “Well, we can’t do that. We want the effect, but we cannot burn Mick Jagger”). We also see the conflicts that arose at times between the filmmaker and the band, like when the Rolling Stones don’t deliver a finalized playlist until just before going on stage, leaving Scorsese and his crew completely in the dark as to where best to place their cameras, or when Mick Jagger tells Scorsese too many cameras zooming around will be a distraction for the audience as well as everyone on stage (a point on which the director refuses to give any ground). Though its obvious some of it was staged for the movie, these opening moments are, nonetheless, an insightful look at artist vs. artist, with each side defending their right to create.

Then the music starts, and the result of all the back and forth plays out before our eyes. Shine a Light is, indeed, informative, but when the chips are down, it’s the chronicle of an ass-kicking concert by one of the greatest bands in Rock history.

#769. The Age of Innocence (1993)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder




Tag line: "In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules"

Trivia: Originally to be released in fall of 1992, but was held back by over a year to allow director Martin Scorsese more time to edit





Like a good many movies directed by Martin Scorsese, the setting for The Age of Innocence is New York City. Yet this is not the New York we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in a Scorsese film. Set in the 1870s amidst the city’s upper classes, The Age of Innocence presents a story of sophistication, drama, and, yes, even innocence. It is a motion picture that proudly displays the varying personalities of its maker, featuring the talents of Scorsese the romantic, well supported in this rare public appearance by Scorsese the artist.

The romantic within him takes center stage by way of Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a prestigious lawyer and a man deeply engrained in high society. Yet despite his status, Archer loathes the artifice that goes hand-in-hand with being part of New York’s upper crust. He is engaged to be married to May Welland (Winona Ryder), a pretty, if somewhat bland, girl who travels in the same social circles as Archer and his family. But it’s Mary’s cousin, the Countess Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), who captures his heart. An outcast due to her failed marriage, as well as the subject of much gossip and innuendo, the Countess represents for Archer the freedom from convention he so desires. But will he have the courage to break from his family, his fiancé, and his position to live a life of abandon which, in the end, can only guarantee an uncertain future?

Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer generate real passion in the scenes they share, and together form the backbone of the film. Scorsese the artist takes center stage by way of what he surrounds them with, namely some exquisite imagery, among the most elegant he has ever committed to celluloid. Many of its images; society banquets, dinner parties, even the beauty of the setting sun, are dazzling enough to adorn the walls of a gallery, offering their potential patrons some excellent reproductions of this period in history. And yet they serve a purpose; they do not overpower the narrative, but work in unison with it to weave a tale every bit as engaging as it is striking to behold.

The Age of Innocence is a stunning marriage of art and romance, conceived by a filmmaker who had to travel well outside his comfort zone to create it.

#638. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey






Trivia: The Jews have American accents while the Romans have British accents

Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ was at the center of a great deal of controversy back in 1988. Morality in Media declared the film “an attack on Christianity”, and the government of Chile, calling it “blasphemous”, banned the movie outright. 

But the story at the heart of The Last Temptation of Christ is far from blasphemous, unless it’s now considered blasphemy to believe what the church has taught for centuries: that Jesus, though divine, was also very mortal. It’s his dual nature that the film explores, and does so in a most compelling manner.

Placing a different spin on the life of Jesus, The Last Temptation of Christ is based not on scripture, but a novel penned by Nikos Kazantzaki. Beginning with his days as a carpenter, we meet a Jesus (Willem Dafoe) who is regarded as a traitor by his fellow countrymen, due to the fact he makes crosses for the Romans, which are used to put Jews to death. His sharpest critic is his friend, Judas (Harvey Keitel), a militant bent on driving said Romans out of Judea. 

Along with a barrage of insults constantly tossed his way, Jesus also suffers internal strife, haunted by visions he cannot understand. Before long, he discovers these "visions" are the handiwork of God.  So, he turns to preaching, traveling the land and drawing many followers as he goes. 

With a select group of men to assist him, including Judas, Peter (Victor Argo) and John (Michael Been), Jesus performs miracles and brings the word of God to the people. But along the way, he manages to incur the wrath of both religious leaders and the militants, who, led by Paul (Harry Dean Stanton), see Jesus’ good deeds as little more than a diversion from the task at hand: ridding Judea of the Romans. 

Arrested and sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate (David Bowie), Jesus accepts his fate as God’s will, yet there's one more temptation he must face before his suffering will be at an end.

The Last Temptation of Christ brings to the story of Jesus a rare human quality. Like most men, Jesus is at first unsure of his purpose in life, and despises the weaknesses that cause him to sin. Many of today’s religious leaders preach solely of Jesus’ divinity, yet isn’t the true miracle of his life the fact he was as much flesh and blood as he was the son of God? 

Far from the rallying cry of atheists and non-believers it’s purported to be, The Last Temptation of Christ kicks off several years before the scriptures, at a time when Jesus hadn't yet realized his true purpose. He hears voices, but doesn’t understand them.  He has headaches, but can’t say why.  And he knows God has a plan for him, yet isn’t sure if he even wants to know what it is. We see a Jesus both searching for answers and frightened of finding them. “God loves me”, he says, “but I can’t take the pain. I want him to hate me”. God eventually reveals his grand scheme, yet does so slowly, and it’s more than flesh and bone can stand.

Scripture tells us Jesus lived as man, that he faced temptations and suffered excruciating torture. The Last Temptation of Christ takes the story a step further, showing us Jesus’ very human reaction to it all. It's this preference for the earthly over the divine that stirred up all the controversy, but did this humanity truly diminish the power of Jesus’ divinity? 

If believers are willing to accept that Jesus lived among us as a man, why is it heresy to assume there were times when he acted like one, experiencing the same hardships and uncertainties that affect us all? Wouldn’t this make his ultimate sacrifice all the more potent?

Christians believe Jesus gave his life for our sins. I believe The Last Temptation of Christ is the first film to show us just how great a sacrifice that truly was.