Picture Source: Amazon.com
There are few filmmakers out there that can boast a filmography that stacks up to Martin Scorsese’s. Argued to be the best director of the Hollywood New Wave generation – not a small feat, considering he’s up against heavyweights like Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Oliver Stone, Scorsese started his career in 1967 with his debut Who’s That Knocking On My Door, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon at his 74 years of age.
With big news coming out regarding his long gestating return to gangster epics The Irishman, we thought we’d take a look at some of the highlights of Scorsese’s wide spanning and eclectic career.
Gangs of New York
In many ways Gangs of New York belongs to Scorsese’s modern American gangster genre, albeit it as a prequel to the actual gangster world. Telling the violent history that resulted from the clash between Irish immigrants and the locals in the 1860s, Gangs serves as an origin story to Scorsese’s beloved city of New York.
Starring Hollywood heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon, a young immigrant released from prison seeking revenge on his father’s murderer – Bill the Butcher, played to perfection by the always amazing and recently retired Daniel Day Lewis. While Gangs netted Scorsese with multiple Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, it was ultimately bested by a musical inspired by another great American city: Chicago.
Casino
Often referred to as a spiritual sequel to Goodfellas, Casino brings back two of Scorsese’s favorite gangster movie collaborators: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Telling a story set in the underbelly of Old Vegas’ gambling world, Casino shows us a portrait of sin city filled with extreme violence, deception, femme fatales and plenty of plot twists- not to mention plenty of those emblematic Scorsese storytelling flourishes.
While at the time of its release some of its hype was drowned out by critics comparing it unfavorably to Goodfellas rather than letting it stand as its own piece of work, Casino has long since been embraced by critics and fans who all agree it to be one of the best gambling movies ever made.
Raging Bull
Based on the real life story of boxer Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull sees Scorsese team up with DeNiro to craft one of the finest performances of his career. Playing LaMotta with his trademark intensity, DeNiro manages to transform himself throughout the movie, fully embodying Jake at different stages of his chaotic life and giving us one of the most well rounded performances in movie history.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Scorsese’s ode to absolute excess, the Wolf Of Wall Street is a gleefully amoral and satirical exploration of the corruption of the American Dream. Telling the real life story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Wall Street banker who realizes a way to exploit the system and earn millions in the process, Scorsese takes us deep into the world of Wall Street greed and overindulgence as though it were a carnival ride. Much like his gangster films, Scorsese does not preach, but simply show us his characters as they are and let us be the judge of their behavior.
Taxi Driver
One of Scorsese’s most iconic films sees him paring up with Robert DeNiro to tell the story of Travis Bickle, a misanthropic Vietnam veteran who has decided that the city is a cesspool that needs to be cleansed from all of its filth – and he’s the man to do it. The film itself feels like a fever dream in which its protagonists delusions and his infatuation for a pretty campaign worker played by Cybill Shepherd, submerge viewers with a sense of unease, and ultimately lead to the inevitable bloody outcome.
The Departed
It took eleven years after Casino for Scorsese to come back to the gangster movie genre after unsuccessfully trying his hand to win an Oscar with more Oscar-friendly pictures. Of course, it would only be appropriate and ironic enough that he finally landed the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Award for The Departed.
A remake of the Hong Kong hit Infernal Affairs set in modern day Boston, The Departed is a tale of deception and corruption that plays out in an almost Shakespearian way. With DiCaprio playing a policeman infiltrating the mob, and Matt Damon playing a gangster infiltrating the police, there are plenty of twists to go around, along with magnificent performances by an amazing cast including Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson.
Goodfellas
The most iconic movie in his entire repertoire, Goodfellas might not have been the film to win Scorsese an Oscar but it is easily his best. Filled with unforgettable performances from Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and darling Scorsese DeNiro, Goodfellas tells the story of Henry Hill’s rise as a gangster and the ultimate fall of his organization.
With pitch perfect dialogue, tons of cocaine infused paranoia, mindless violence and beautiful tracking shots featuring a perfect Scorsese score, Goodfellas redefined the modern gangster film and inspired generations of filmmakers to come.
