Scorsese. He’s the highest rated living (and active) director on the list! In some ways Scorsese is the easiest to discuss (I’ve seen each of his fiction films twice (aside from Silence) and I’ve written about him and discussed him so often. On the other hand, in some ways, he’s one of the toughest because he is still working and therefore hasn’t been a lot of time to reflect. He’s made 24 feature fiction films by my count and the last 22 have been archievable- prolific and consistent. Remarkable. Scorsese’s case is really two fold—1. Those trio of films at the top—get this—since 1976 (Taxi Driver) Scorsese has made 3 of the best 10 films…. Pause…. 2. The depth of quality- Scorsese is a perfectionist so there’s never a lackluster effort- the images below from his 8-10 best films (Shutter Island, King of Comedy, Aviator) are incredible—but you could grab some from films like After Hours, Kundun and Gangs of New York as well.
Best film: Raging Bull. I’ve really never wavered here but I don’t get angered when someone argues for Goodfellas or Taxi Driver (which gets better every time I see it). I think Raging Bull is now a top 5 all-time film. It’s the best film really since Apocalypse Now (of the 80’s, 90’s and 21st century). It’s masterful and features some of the best editing of all-time (the in-ring editing, camerawork and editing—my god), one of the most beautiful films of all-time (those opening credits), and the best single performance of all-time. Tough to beat that.
Here’s a snip I found from De Palma
“And during the shooting of ‘Scarface,’ ‘Raging Bull’ comes out. And so he goes and sees ‘Raging Bull’ at the theater, and it just starts off with that opening credits shot. Of that classical music playing and the big, wide shot of the ring and Jake Lamada there just bouncing in slow motion in his robe. ‘No matter what you do, no matter how good you are, there’s always Scorsese. There’s always Scorsese challenging you right there.”’
total archiveable films: 22
top 100 films: 3 (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver)
top 500 films: 7 (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Casino, The Departed, The Age of Innocence)
top 100 films of the decade: 10 (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Casino, The Departed, The Age of Innocence, King of Comedy, Shutter Island The Aviator)
most overrated: New York, New York according to TSPDT is Scorsese’s 8th best film and #773 of all-time. I think I’d have it around his 15th slot at best.
“priest’s eye view” ceiling tracking shot at the end of Taxi Driver
most underrated: The Leo era— Are they as good as the De Niro films (which Pesci had a big hand in 3 of)? No. But they are officially underrated at this point. Scorsese has 9 in the top 1000 of all-time on TSPDT and not one from the brilliant collaborations with Leo? Shutter Island is the most underrated of those. Robert Richardson’s work as DP with Scorsese here makes for some of the best photography in the 2010’s decade.
gem I want to spotlight: Mean Streets. Without the proper context you’ll see all the flaws here and nothing but. It’s not Scorsese’s debut (it’s his third film), and it doesn’t have the polish of The 400 Blows or Breathless but the American New Wave of the 70’s is real and this film is a landmark. The best points in this film (the wonderful opening voice-over by Scorsese himself, the pop/rock soundtrack, the triple-editing technique (same image zoomed-in with short ellipsis), the “rubber biscuit” song scene with the reverse POV) are all breathtaking. Scorsese is throwing 100 mph and even if it doesn’t all land it’s superior to almost everything else out there before and after. How about the lighting in the bar? The slow-motion track in on Keitel at the bar? This film, stylistically and thematically (Keitel is Liotta, De Niro is Pesci) is a rough draft of Goodfellas. For the longest time I held this against Mean Streets but don’t make that mistake like I did- it’s a masterpiece- it’s just not a top 20 film of all-time like Goodfellas. So what.
stylistic innovations/traits:
This feels really dumb to try to put into a paragraph. Scorsese is a brilliant stylist as I said and is also a great student of film so he not only has his own voice but borrows from some of the best of cinema. In Goodfellas alone he has one of the greatest single uses of freeze-frame (hello Truffaut and the French New Wave), open narration (Jules and Jim again), The Great Train Robbery (final shot of Pesci pointing at the camera), a pop/rock soundtrack that is second to none and amongst the great tracking shots of all-time (Copacabana scene)—and a rival of that is the “priest’s eye view” ceiling tracking shot at the end of Taxi Driver. His films are directed with stylistically motivated energy. Taxi Driver borrows form Bresson and The Searchers. The Departed recreates the beautiful finale from The Third Man. The signature triple-edit is from Varda’s Cleo From 5 to 7. Scorsese’s influence with slow-motion tracking shots set to pop/rock can been seen in everyone from PT (Boogie Nights) to Wes (Royal Tenenbaums) and how about that cutaway in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs that matches the one from Scorsese cutting away from Travis Bickle on the phone to show an empty hall? So Scorsese has influenced Wes, PT (PT takes the high and low musical peaks and violent breakouts from Taxi Driver and puts them in Punch-Drunk Love as well) and Tarantino. Scorsese’s subjects and themes are ruminations on masculinity and morality.
top 10
- Raging Bull
- Goodfellas
- Taxi Driver
- Mean Streets
- Casino
- The Departed
- The Age of Innocence
- Shutter Island
- King of Comedy
- The Aviator
By year and grades
| 1973- Mean Streets | MP |
| 1974- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore | R/HR |
| 1976- Taxi Driver | MP |
| 1977- New York, New York | R |
| 1980- Raging Bull | MP |
| 1982- King of Comedy | |
| 1985- After Hours | R |
| 1986- The Color of Money | R |
| 1988- The Last Temptation of Christ | R |
| 1990- Goodfellas | MP |
| 1991- Cape Fear | R |
| 1993- Age of Innocence | MS |
| 1995- Casino | MS |
| 1997- Kundun | R |
| 1999- Bringing out the Dead | R |
| 2002- Gangs of New York | HR |
| 2004- The Aviator | MS |
| 2006- The Departed | MS/MP |
| 2010- Shutter Island | MS |
| 2011- Hugo | R |
| 2013- The Wolf of Wall Street | R/HR |
| 2016- Silence | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
@James Trapp, I already thought that it wouldn’t hold on a rewatch, however it was even better than expected. Something similar happened with Killers of the Flower Moon which might be a masterpiece if not for that ending.
My ranking of Scorsese`s films that I`ve seen:
1. Goodfellas MP
2. Raging Bull MP
3. Taxi Driver MP
4. The Age of Innocence MP
5. Mean Streets MP
6. The Irishman MP
7. Casino MP
8. The Departed MP
9. The Aviator MS/MP
10. The King of Comedy MS
11. Killers of the Flower Moon MS
12. The Wolf of Wall Street HR/MS
13. Shutter Island HR/MS
14. Cape Fear HR/MS
15. New York, New York HR/MS
16. After Hours HR
17. Silence HR
18. Gangs of New York HR
19. Bringing Out the Dead HR
20. The Color of Money HR
21. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore R/HR
22. The Last Temptation of Christ R/HR
(23. A Personal Journey Through American Cinema R)
40 Best Performances
1. De Niro- Raging Bull 5
2. De Niro- Taxi Driver 5
3. Pesci- Goodfellas 5
4. Day-Lewis- Gangs of New York 5
5. DiCaprio- The Wolf of Wall Street 5
6. Liotta- Goodfellas 5
7. Pesci- The Irishman 5
8. Pesci- Raging Bull 5
9. DiCaprio- The Aviator 5
10. De Niro- The King of Comedy 5
11. Keitel- Mean Streets 5
12. De Niro- Mean Streets 5
13. DiCaprio- The Departed 5
14. Garfield- Silence 5
15. Bracco- Goodfellas 5
16. Pacino- The Irishman 5
17. Day-Lewis- The Age of Innocence 5
18. Gladstone- Killers of the Flower Moon 5
19. Moriarty- Raging Bull 5
20. Stone- Casino 5
21. Pesci- Casino 5
22. Dafoe- The Last Temptation of Christ 5
23. De Niro- Goodfellas 5
24. De Niro- Killers of the Flower Moon 5
25. Blanchett- The Aviator 5
26. Dunne- After Hours 5
27. Foster- Taxi Driver 5
28. Burstyn- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 5
29. Pfeiffer- The Age of Innocence 5
30. Ogata- Silence 5
31. DiCaprio- Shutter Island 5
32. Bernhard- The King of Comedy 5
33. De Niro- The Irishman 5
34. Neeson- Silence 4.5
35. Wahlberg- The Departed 4.5
36. Kubozuka- Silence 4.5
37. De Niro- Casino 4.5
38. McConaughey- The Wolf of Wall Street 4.5
39. Damon- The Departed 4.5
40. De Niro- Cape Fear 4.5
@RujK – I love this list, very similar to mine. I also have 8 MP, and love seeing The Irishman (2019) as MP
Personal favourites:
1) Taxi Driver
2) Goodfellas
3) Raging Bull
4) Casino
5) Mean Streets
6) Age of Innocence
7) Departed
8) King of Comedy
9) Cape Fear
10) Gangs of New York
11) Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
12) Shutter Island
13) After Hours
14) Silence
15) Hugo
16) Killers of the Flower Moon
17) Wolf of Wall Street
18) The Color of Money
19) The Aviator
20) Bringing out the Dead
21) The Irishman
22) New York, New York
Still to see Kundun and Last Temptation of Christ
Just wanted to give my two cents on Killers of the Flower Moon: saw it a few days ago and have been just kinda putting my thoughts in order.
The good:
– Feels more painterly and all-around beautiful than many of the Scorsese films I have seen. Some really lovely wider establishing shots that do a great job of matching the scope of the narrative, the slow-motion oil opening, and some strong camera moves all definitively show the stylistic genius behind the movie. I’ve only seen one 21st century Scorsese so I don’t really have points of reference as to how this compares to his other recent work, but just in general I was definitely impressed. If this and Irishman were done by the same DP, then that’s all the more reason to finally get around to that one.
– In particular, the climactic fire scene with Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night” playing in the background has to be one of my personal film highlights of this year. The slow-mo, the editing, the silhouette work, the acting, everything really came together there. On both the level of what it means for the narrative/Ernest’s journey and all of its stylistic elements, this was a rousing success. Plus, it featured one of my all-time favourite songs, so that’s a big plus!
– As hinted at above, the score was fantastic. Rest in peace Robbie Robertson, but he really did an incredible job here. Was used fantastically at almost every moment to heighten the atmospheres and emotional weight of this massive film.
– The lead performances have undoubtedly been the thing I’ve seen the most acclaim for, and for very good reason. All three are fantastic and complement each other well. I think De Niro was the most pleasant surprise given what a struggle his 21st century has seemed to be in general, but I think DiCaprio was given the best moments and really made the most of them. Some of the best work from one of our defining actors. Lily Gladstone disappeared a bit too much midway through the film to rise above DiCaprio in my opinion, but she too made the most of her screen time and communicated so much with minute facial changes.
The less good:
– Anyone who is going to describe this as three and a half hours of straight cinematic brilliance definitely had a different watching experience from me. Not to say the movie was ever outright bad or something, but Scorsese definitely had at least a few sorta autopilot segments with some pretty basic shot-reverse shot conversations (some of which didn’t seem, at least, to add too much truly necessary information). There was definitely a more consistently ambitious filmmaking-wise movie that was a bit shorter in there. In particular, the last hour definitely had the emotional weight but simply not as much style, outside of some strong lighting choices in the prison.
– As great as the leads were, there was a few distractions from some subpar supporting roles. Some of the Osage noticeably stumbled over their lines, and Brendan Fraser was, well… I actually do think in his introductory scene he did a really good job, but in his subsequent moments he really hammed it up and it just didn’t work as well.
– I know we here are big Scorsese fans, but if I were naming film’s greatest all-time formalists I’d go quite a ways before I’d reach his name. Unfortunately, we got a bit more proof of that here, with the strangely used documentary footage mixed in with the completely left-field epilogue. I got what he was going for in the ending on an intellectual level, but it’s simply not set up well by almost three and a half hours of slow-burning narrative with nothing even resembling a fourth wall break after the aforementioned black-and-white documentary footage. I’d probably call this a somewhat substandard film form-wise based on my first watch, although there are likely motifs and recurrences I didn’t pick up on.
So overall, strong film. The pluses definitely outweigh the minuses, even if it could have benefited from trimming the more uninspired conversations and reworking the last hour in general. I don’t really use a grading scale but on this site’s scale I’d go with “HR”, as there are definite weaknesses that hold it back from being among the best. In the context of 2023, I’d say Asteroid City’s colour use, El Conde’s stark and austere photography, and Oppenheimer’s all-around genius leads to those being solidly higher after one watch each.
And John Wick: Chapter 4’s relentless brilliance. Sadly it looks like El Conde, Asteroid City and JW: 4 will get very little to 0 Oscar nominations.
Another one I have to check out! I haven’t seen any of the John Wicks past the original but I’ve heard this new one is a massive step forward in pretty much every way. Will have to give it a watch before the year’s over (I’m assuming seeing 2 and 3 beforehand isn’t super necessary?)
I have not seen JW: 2 and JW: 3 yet either. Need to see those. But JW: 4 can stand on its own. Unlike let’s say The Godfather: Part 3
@ga- Excellent work here- enjoyed reading this
Can you see Edward Norton pulling off the Leonardo DiCaprio role in Killers of the Flower Moon?
@Malith- I can, I’d have the same sort of questions I did with Leo coming into it with the accent – but I could see Norton here. And the two are closer in age than I would have guessed
What did you think of Leo after having seen the film? Impressed?
@Matthew- I was impressed with Leo- some rich complexities in that Ernest Burkhart character- how about you?
100% with you. I thought he was phenomenal, and he gave my favorite performance from the film actually
@Drake – Have you seen it yet? If so, what did you think?
@James Trapp- I have seen it – just a few days ago so sort of processing it still. I’ll probably wait till I get to it a second time before putting my thoughts together. I’ll be seeing it as soon as it is available on Apple + which I cannot imagine will be that long from now. It is an impressive film – that seems obvious and sort of undeniable. Anyone finding a way to give this a thumbs down would be a red flag for me.
@Drake – Yes, I watched 8 days ago and still processing myself. My thoughts above is my inital reaction so excited for another viewing soon.
Plus, we have new films from Fincher and Sofia Coppola (both with stellar reviews so far) as well as films from multiple auteurs who have been dormant for long periods of time; Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, and John Woo
Here is John Woo on his upcoming film named Silent Night:
“Very interesting movie. The whole movie is without dialogue. It allowed me to use visuals to tell the story, to tell how the character feels. We are using music instead of language. And the movie is all about sight and sound. The budget was a little tight, and the schedule was tight, but it made me change my working style. Usually, for a big movie, a studio movie, we shoot a lot of coverage, then leave it to the cutting room. But in this movie, I tried to combine things without doing any coverage shots. I had to force myself to use a new kind of technique. Some scenes were about two or three pages, but I did it all in one shot.”
Saw Killers of the Flower Moon. Didn’t love it. It has pacing issues. And doesn’t flow by like The Irishman. The final part falls flat. There are basically two long scenes at the end which are just static shot, reverse-shot. DiCaprio’s confession and then his last talk with Gladstone. Then a very irritating epilogue telling the fate of our protagonists. The motivations of Gladstone and DiCaprio’s characters are not clear and DiCaprio’s character is a hard one to get behind. Somewhat similar with De Niro’s character from The Irishman but that one had a much more satisfying conclusion. There are a lot of elements which are great before the final part. I especially loved the tracking shot where Gladstone goes to see her dead sister in the woods.
Plus one of the main reasons this one is a much tougher watch is lack of a Pacino-Hoffa like character. Who we can get behind and devastating when his fate occurs. Plus I think they forgot about the small aspect ratio black and white part in the 2nd half of the film. It frequently happens in the first part.
I loved it. But I share some disapproval of the employment of the voice over and silent film as well (one viewing). I also am not with you on the pacing critique
@Drake I don’t know if this is an exaggeration (and I’m not a Scorsese completionist per se) but I’m not sure if you, on one hand, can count more visually staggering sequences in Scorsese’s entire ouvre than the ranch-fire sequence here in KotFM
I’m still digesting the ending, not sure to what to make of that formally. It’s interesting of course.
And I was also thoroughly impressed with the big 3 here. With Leo coming out on top for me (once again, just one viewing). He’ll be in Scorsese’s next film, and he also has the next PTA film coming up. No concerns about him potentially slowing down after that stagnant late 10s-early 20s stretch
@Matthew @Malith and @James Trapp – thank you for sharing your thoughts on Killers of the Flowers Moon. That narrative seems to really shine – but yes, I have some questions regarding the ending here. Look forward to another viewing soon hopefully.
MP :
1 – Raging Bull
2 – Taxi Driver
3 – Goodfellas
4 – Casino
5 – Mean Streets
MP/MS :
6 – The Age of Innocence
7 – Killers of the Flower Moon
8 – The Aviator
9 – The Irishman
MS :
10 – The King of Comedy
11 – The Departed
MS/HR :
12 – New York, New York
13 – The Wolf of Wall Street
14 – Cape Fear
HR :
15 – Shutter Island
16 – Silence
17 – Gangs of New York
HR/R :
18 – After Hours
19 – The Color of Money
20 – Bringing out the Dead
R :
21 – Hugo
22 – The Last Temptation of Christ
23 – Kundun
24 – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
25 – Who’s that Knocking At My Door ?
@KidCharlemagne- Thanks for sharing- anything top 10 in that body of work feels like a huge win
Just got home from the theatre, man its a lot to take in but I was stunned. Visually it was spectacular and quite different from other Scorsese films. The color palettes and cinematography reminded me of Assassination of Jesse James (2007), there was even a similar moving cloud sequence. And of course hard not to think of There Will Be Blood (2007) but thats more thematic similarities revolving around greed and of course specifically oil. De Niro’s character is far more evil than Daniel Plainview.
The camera movements including some amazing tracking shots, one about an 45-60 minute had the camera gliding through the residence really stood out to me. Maybe I am a little off with the time frame it is a 3.5 hour film after all and I was not taking notes obviously in a theatre.
DiCaprio was excellent as expected but my bigger concern was De Niro after his solid but not amazing performance in The Irishman (2019) although I actually thought he did some impressive work in the final 40-45 min. He was amazing here giving his best performance in a long time. Perhaps the single best acting sequence is subtle but when DiCaprio’s character announces his wife is pregnant De Niro gives him a look, it happens so quickly but it is chilling. He plays an absolute monster of a human being but in an underplayed way.
If I have a complaint it did feel like a drastic shift in mood perhaps. Maybe not even that but the last hour did at times feel like a slightly different film even though I liked Jesse Plemmons as the FBI Agent. Maybe I am off on this, just my first impression but again it was still a great stretch of filmmaking and this is me looking for flaws. The very end was unusual, not sure I loved it but honestly need to think on it more. And I am referring to the last 5 minutes, really an epilogue.
I usually avoid the Masterpiece label immediately following my 1st viewing of a film unless it just completely blows me away, I wrote the following on the page for Last Year at Marienbad recently:
“Those are extremely rare for me not because I am a tougher grader than most other people but rather, I am simply not confident enough in my ability as a film critic to effectively assess a complex film in a single viewing without taking notes.”
cont… this is a tougher watch than The Irishman (2019) as the tone and atmosphere are even darker. Yes, the last 45 min or The Irishman is as bleak as could be but the preceding 2 hours 45 minutes was much lighter than the majority of Killers of the Flower Moon. Pacino’s electric performance was a big part of that with plenty of comedic relief. Plus The Irishman’s characters for the most part got the fates they deserved whereas Killer of the Flower Moon had innocent characters (an entire community) decimated by evil. All of this is to say The Irishman is definitley more rewatchable but as for the better film, that’s much closer though for now I will give the edge to The Irishman (2019) However, as I often point out, most great films get better the more I see them so we shall see
MS is the floor here aka worst case scenario
@James Trapp- Look at this! thanks for sharing James
@James Trapp- Thanks for this. It seems likely that Scorsese, De Niro, and DiCaprio are about to add another MS or MP to their filmography. Incredible.
Its simple remarkable that Scorsese keeps turning out films of this quality, he’s 80 years old.
Interestingly enough previews for the film included trailers for upcoming films from John Woo, Ridley Scott, and Michael Mann. In a way this just even more hit just how incredible Scorsese is. Those 3 great auteurs are all within a couple of years from each other. Scorsese and Mann are both 80 while John Woo is 77 and Ridley Scott 85. Those other 3 have not made a great film like 10-20 years maybe longer while Scorsese just keeps going with films that are not only great but are highly ambitious epics. He’s made back to back 3 1/2 hour MP or near MP level films. I consider Kubrick to be objectively the best auteur of all time but man Scorsese is making a serious case.
@James Trapp- Great point about Scorsese and his peer group. What did you think of the Rolling Stones album?
@Drake – I listened to it start to finish 2 times in a row, had some driving to do for work so perfect chance on my way home. I listen to a lot of music but don’t really rank it like films. I think it is much more personal and subjective. None the less my top 10 Stones Albums:
1. Sticky Fingers
2. Beggars Banquet
3. Let it Bleed
4. Some Girls
5. Exile on Main Street
6. Between the Buttons
7. Aftermath
8. The Rolling Stones Now!
9. Tattoo You
10. Out of Our Heads
@James Trapp- haha I love this- my brother is just getting into the Rolling Stones (or trying) and he asked for an album to start and I said Sticky Fingers. I’d bump Exile on Main Street a few spots and make room for Goats Head Soup – but I think you have most of those albums at the top right – good work! Dreamy Skies is a very nice track on the new album-
@Drake – I have only listened to Goats Head Soup once and it was awhile ago, I will check it out again soon. Yeah Exile on Main Stream is considered their magnum opus by a lot of people, its probably a better album than Some Girls but Miss You and Beast of Burden are amongst my favorite of their songs.
Getting to be excited for a new Stones albums was really cool, I am 35, so basically all their best work was released before I was even born.
@James Trapp- love the back and forth here- Thanks. Scorsese and the Rolling stones- giving how crucial they are to his films – seems fitting.
@James Trapp- The man doesn’t stop. I read that he’s already working on his next film, starring DiCaprio.
An Officer and a Spy is a great film from Polanski and it came 57 years after his jaw dropper of a debut Knife in the Water in 1962. The man was 86 years old in 2019.
@Malith – yeah thats crazy, too bad about the reviews for The Palace (2023). I will still watch it whenever it becomes available, which may be hard to get since its Polanski. He seems to falter when he moves outside his comfort zone, his work has never been all that funny. Carnage (2011) was amusing but not really laugh out loud funny although I do realize humor is subjective to an extent. Perhaps he still has one more film left in him, but he is 90 years old.
Interesting list films with directors over 80 years old:
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/12-great-films-made-by-directors-over-80
@James-I still have not seen a bad film from Polanski. So I don’t know where it went wrong for him with films like Pirates, What? and The Palace. But yes the reviews for these films are very severe. But some of his films like Based on a True Story have bad reviews because it is directed by Polanski. It’s a fantastic film. Fabulous auteur cinema which probably enhances some of his previous work like The Ghost Writer and has elements of his Apartment Trilogy. Ditto for An Officer and a Spy. It is a big film, epic with cinematic painting after painting. Very different for Polanski but more impressive is how he maintains the quality and beauty of this film until the very end. Somehow it got panned at Metacritic because it is directed by Polanski.
Btw, did you actually saw Based on a True Story? A very fine film. Loved it
@Malith – I have not, where did you watch it? I would like to check it out but looks hard to find
@James-Not sure. I found it somewhere on the Internet. Subtitles were harder to find than the film itself.
Killers of the Flower Moon is a MP after one viewing.
I don’t have too much to say. Not a critic. The cinematography is great, love the directing and the rythm of the movie (easy watch).
I do have a little problem with the script (mainly after the arrival of the FBI agent, White). The main feat here is the acting. The best role of DeNiro since… Heat I guess. He plays the Devil here but not Angel Heart style, more Noah Cross. Gladstone is amazing but the biggest performance of the movie is DiCaprio, maybe his best role ever.
I have to digest and rewatch this movie but I’m confident that this is, at least, a top 10/12 Scorsese movie. And that’s a win for us, spectators and movie lovers.
@KidCarlemagne – so excited, did you go IMAX or standard?
Standard
@KidCharlemagne- Awesome- thanks for sharing. I have my ticket- very excited for this one.
2 Really Great Things to look foward to this week
Thursday October 19, 2023 – A new Scorsese Movie premieres with rave reviews so far (95 RT, 90 MC)
Friday October 20, 2023 – A new Rolling Stones Album, Hackney Diamonds, is released, their first album with wholly original material in about 20 years, and so far rave reviews
@James Trapp- Love this – fitting they are paired together a little
@Drake – really is, it’s unbelievable they have both been around such a long time. Keith Richards has cheated death about 50 times, obviously their best work came within a 10-15 year period but they have still been making music or touring almost non stop. for like 50 years.
@James Trapp – haha yes good call on Keith Richards. Yeah I think it’s their 4 albums from like 1968 to 1972 – wow
@Harry@Anderson – In that case I’ll try to get to it before Killer of Flower Moon
Final Ranking and Grades:
Study Summary:
Martin Scorsese has been my favorite filmmaker since I was a kid, yet I had never seen a couple of his early films
Scorsese has a whopping 8 MP this is more than anyone else in my studies thus far, Kurosawa is close with 7 MP, and they are the top 2 auteurs that I have covered so far, Welles, Francis Ford Coppola, and PT Anderson are not that far behind. Scorsese has 3 films that are legit candidates for the greatest film ever in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Taxi Driver. I have Raging Bull as the 2nd best film ever trailing The Godfather and would not rule out putting it at # 1 someday. Goodfellas might be the single most rewatchable film ever made and Scorsese’s films in general have high rewatchability due to a combination of pacing, action, humor, great and iconic individual scenes, etc.
Saying Scorsese is only a director of gangster films would be like saying Kurosawa was just a director of Samurai films. It would be insulting and just plain wrong as he has varied work with genre blending dark comedy, religious dramas, mystery films, biopics, period dramas, thrillers, among others and yes, he is the all-time greatest director of gangster films. I do have The Godfather I as my # 1 all time and Godfather II as #7 but Scorsese has Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, The Irishman, and you could almost even argue The Wolf of Wall Street as one character in the film says about DiCaprio’s character “Jordan Belfort is like a kind of twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of broker”. They practically operate as white collar gangsters and have the FBI after them like in Goodfellas
Scorsese’s stylistic arsenal is incredible; tracking shots (including perhaps the best ever from Goodfellas Copacabana scene), infusing rock and pop music as great as anyone, voice over narration, color motifs especially red, slow motion sequences, freeze frames, an always moving camera, high levels of detail in production design, rapid zooms like the shot in Goodfellas where Henry does a line of cocaine, among other things
He has gotten some of the greatest individual performances of all time from his actors such as De Niro in Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, Henry Hill and Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, DDL in Gangs of New York
Scorsese’s longevity is also incredible as he’s never had a stretch of more than 3 or 4 years without a strong film, and he has so few disappointments; Gangs of New York probably didn’t live up to its potential but even that one still has plenty to praise
His films rarely have long uncinematic stretches, even the 3 hour ones, I think this is where the voice over narration and soundtracks work so well as they allow Scorsese to constantly move the camera. The voiceover narration allows him to limit more traditional exposition; this works especially well in Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Casino
The majority of his films are extremely entertaining and satisfy both arthouse cinema lovers and more mainstream movies fans, which is quite rare. PT Anderson and Tarantino fit this category as well as does, to a lesser extent, The Coen Brothers
There are consistent themes Scorsese returns to over and over; men seeking redemption, conflicted individuals, guilt, violence, characters struggling with religious beliefs, religious undertones
I cannot wait for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) will give thoughts as soon as it comes out which is about 2 weeks away
Here are my Final Grades and Rankings
MP
# 1 Raging Bull (1980)
# 2 Goodfellas (1990)
# 3 Taxi Driver (1976)
# 4 Casino (1995)
# 5 The Irishman (2019)
# 6 The Departed (2006)
# 7 Mean Streets (1973)
# 8 Age of Innocence (1993)
MS
# 9 The Aviator (2004)
# 10 After Hours (1985)
# 11 King of Comedy (1982)
# 12 Cape Fear (1991)
# 13 Shutter Island
HR/MS
# 14 Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
HR
# 15 Gangs of New York (2002)
# 16 Hugo (2011)
# 17 Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
HR/R
# 18 Silence (2016)
# 19 The Color of Money
R/HR
# 20 The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
R
# 21 Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967)
# 22 Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
@James Trapp-Is New York, New York(1977) not archivable for you?
@Anderson – I did not watch that one, for the long studies I sometimes cut out a couple of the films that seem not essential but perhaps I’ll check it out. How would you grade it?
@James – I have New york, New York at #11 in my Scorsese and around the HR/MS grade.
@James Trapp-Don’t be fooled by the Rotten Tomatoes reviews. It is a pretty essential film. Liza Minelli is great. It is in the TSPDT top 1000 too.
NY NY is a essential. One of the best/most underrated DeNiro performance. A proto Jake LaMotta.
Awesome work! Been following this closely, always happy to see a new comment on the Scorsese page.
I still haven’t seen The Irishman (one of my bigger blind spots) but like all of the other movies that made your top 8. I’d probably go Raging Bull > Taxi Driver > Age of Innocence and Goodfellas (very different strengths, unsure which I prefer) > Casino > Mean Streets > The Departed, with the top 2 my clear two favourites and The Departed as the clear “odd man out”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very enjoyable and I’m very happy it exists, its strengths just feel more in line with a substantially lower grade and not nearly among the all-time masterpieces for me. That’s the only big disagreement I see though, alongside Age of Innocence being up there with his absolute best and King of Comedy maybe getting a lower grade for me.
I haven’t seen anything you have graded below MS, but I want to see some of the newer ones in advance of the release of Killers. Will definitely be prioritizing Wolf, Cape Fear, and The Irishman.
Great work and excited to see your next study!
@ga – thank you, I appreciate it. I loved this study, I mean I love them all, but this one was extra special as Scorsese is my all time favorite filmmaker.
The Irishman is a great counter to the youthful energy of Mean Streets but it is still a blast to watch just in a different way. Age of Innocence is very impressive work, I have not seen it as many times as the 7 films in front of it and my grades for (quality) films generally moves up the more times I see them with occassion exceptions. I would not rule out Age of Innocense moving up a few spots but am okay with it for now. I hear you on The Departed to an extent. Its so entertaining and rewatchable, perhaps mores so than any other Scoresese film except for Goodfellas, and this might be leading me to overrate it slightly, but it does have great artisitic moments; I love the Jack Nicholson as Satan sequence drenched in red, X in mise en scene a la Howards Scarface, religious imagery present in mise en scene, and the rapid fire editing as the ASL of average shot length is about 3.0 which reflects the pacing. And to be clear I don’t thinking there is much separating positions # 5-8
The Irishman (2019)
Notes:
De Niro as Frank Sheran, Pesci as Russell “Russ” Buffalino, and Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa
Starts with great song selection, Doo Wop, set to tracking shot in nursing home
7 min green truck
14:24 Ray Ramona as slick lawyer Bill Buffalino with connections to Russell
17:23 formal choice as Harvey Keitel’s character Mob Boss Angelo Bruno is introduced with a brief description of when and how he died, in this case murdered. A formal pattern was started here
17:47 Frank and Russell eating bread and drinking expensive wine as Frank talks about his WW2 experience which has effective foreshadowing as Frank’s ability to follow orders and kill without remorse in introduced here
22:33 Russell’s power explained, similar to Goodfellas with Paulie
23:48 barbershop murder, great use of tracking shot
24:38 beautiful flowers in mise en scene during the hit
28:55 I actually don’t mind the de-aging but watching De Niro brutalize the shop owner you are really reminded of his age, he does not pull this off well. But the far more important thing to take from this establishes a pattern between Frank and Peggy that carries throughout the film
33:07 sound drops to barely audible and Frank drives car in slow motion
35:18 paintings and dim lighting in restaurant with Frank sitting down with Angelo and Russ
38:53 rapid fire two shots, followed by tracking shot of murder weapon into the river which is comically full of weapons on the bottom, the next day at breakfast he and Peggy briefly lock eyes with no words exchanged
40:18 again with character introductions illustrating date and manner of death
46:48 Frank meets Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) or at least talks to him over the phone for the first time
55 min Peggy actually likes Jimmy, they eat ice cream sundaes together
56:34 camera zooms in on money during voiceover from Frank explaining how the Teamsters Union worked, similar to Casino
1:03:40 hilarious scene with Jimmy chewing out his staff including Frank
1:11:22 Peggy watches Frank through half opened door
1:12:05 nice establishing shot in Florida
1:13:14 Al Pacino was born for this role, it could not be for fitting with his ability to play big personalities
1:16:23 Stephen Graham as Tony Pro, a mobster with a hilarious rivalry with Jimmy
1:22:14 Frank moving up, now serving a similar role to Bill Buffalino from earlier
1:25:25 high level details of approach to winning trial for Jimmy by bribing a juror
1:28:42 Jimmy eating ice cream sundae in restaurant while learning about Kennedy assassination
1:30:50 nice blocking and demonstration of Jimmy’s high attention to detail noticing the flag is not up properly
1:36:00 Jimmy eating ice cream sundae in prison
1:36:30 Pro and Jimmy argue leading to hilarious fight
1:39:34 slow motion, repeated two minutes later
1:42:22 red/pink lit comedy club
1:44:04 Russell order hit without saying a single word to Frank
1:48:15 Anna Paquin makes first appearance as adult version of Peggy, locking eyes with Frank but saying nothing the morning after Joe Gallo was killed and Frank is watching it on the news
1:49:17 deep focus shot of prison hallway as Jimmy leaves prison
1:50:08 chili dogs at Lum’s in Florida
1:54:00 it never fails to crack me up just how petty and immature mob guys can be
2:17:10 Russell gives a gold ring to Frank, same night as Jimmy presents him with award further foreshadowing Frank’s dilemma
2:29:10 green and red mise en scene in hotel room
2:31:00 overhead shot with Frank lying in bed unable to sleep while glancing at phone; Frank clearly upset after discussion with Russell after learning they are planning at killing Jimmy
2:37:04 Frank driving green car, wearing green shirt,
2:37:47 overhead shot showing the conflicted Frank driving while approaching a literal fork in the road
2:40:50 Frank enters red car with Sally Bugs and Chuck on the way to pick up Jimmy, bizarre dialogue about fish
2:47:35 Jimmy red shirt and Frank in green shirt as they enter house that Jimmy is murdered in, Scorsese uses a POV shot similar to when Tommy is killed in Goodfellas, but he is not shot immediately as Frank hesitates and then shoots when Jimmy starts to leave
2:49:13 slow motion as Bill Buffalino walks his daughter during wedding, the song from the opening scene plays again; The Five Satins’ “In The Still Of The Night”
2:51:29 Anna Pacquin speaks for the first and only time in the film, Peggy picks up on something with Frank following Jimmy’s
2:53:13 Frank becomes a stuttering mess talking to Jimmy’s wife, his demeanor is different here than the rest of the film
2:57:34 Sally Bugs hit resembles Whispers early in the film
2:59:36 “the weasel flipped” might be the funniest line of the film, particularly the deadpan delivery
3:00:28 brilliant shot of Frank sitting inside his car during a car wash as he metaphorically washes away his sins
3:01:53 Frank and Russell eating bread and grape juice in prison reflecting how far they have fallen from the early scene where Frank and Russell talk over fine wine and bread
3:03:05 there is some level of remorse over Jimmy’s death which is rare in these kinds of films
3:04:20 nice composition at funeral with blue and grays dominate background, Frank at his wife’s funeral after getting out of prison Peggy won’t even look at him
3:09:57 Frank picking out his own coffin quite depressing, in particular how he actually tries to negotiate the price
3:11:18 Frank pondering existential questions is interesting because he does little thinking throughout the majority of the film, he’s a man who follows orders and generally takes the path of least resistance
3:19:18 the final frame is bookend, Frank shot through half open door isolated in nursing home room
Thoughts:
Scorsese makes another gangster classic but despite the similarities to his previous mafia films there is a noticeable difference in several ways but particularly to the atmosphere/mood. Trying to outdo say Goodfellas or Casino would be a fool’s errand. As the great Muhammad Ali once said, “the man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” Mean Streets has such youthful energy that is maintained throughout the entire film. The Irishman does have impressive energy maintained through a 3 ½ hour film but in a different way. There is a pervading doom present even in the early scenes but especially in the 2nd half. The final 40-45 minutes is one of the most impressive stretches of Scorsese’s entire filmography in terms of mood. It is utterly depressing but really the only way a film like this could play out.
The way this film examines death is really fascinating to me. I loved the idea of introducing the characters with an explanation of not only when but how they die. For me this is an existential Masterpiece and perhaps Scorsese’s most emotionally shattering film along with Raging Bull. Yes Goodfellas, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street, and even the non-gangster film The Aviator can be viewed as “rise and fall” films but the fall here draws out in a more emotionally brutal fashion, Frank begging Peggy to speak and even picking out his own coffin is in a way worse than even shot to death.
Speaking of Peggy there was a nonsense “controversy” regarding Anna Pacquin not “having enough lines” but this has nothing to do with cinema and everything to do with the ongoing “culture wars” but I bring it up only in order to point out how genius the way Peggy’s character uses silence as the ultimate weapon against her father. Frank wants to be forgiven but she refuses to even look at him after Jimmy goes missing. Peggy as a child refuses an offer from Russell for candy in a bowling alley scene, it might seem insignificant, but demonstrates a crucial difference to Frank who is unable to say no to men more powerful than him, I strongly recommend Geoffrey O’Brien’s excellent essay “The Irishman: The Wages of Loyalty” for an in-dept character study
Despite the somber tone that increases in the 2nd half there is humor such as the prison fight between Jimmy and Tony Provenzano aka Tony Pro and the 2nd fight, they have after prison with Jimmy chastising Tony Pro for being late and the way he dresses for a meeting; I am always amused by how petty and immature these mob guys are. Stephen Graham is excellent as Tony Pro
When I saw for the first time Pacino’s performance blew me away, it still does as Pacino was born for this role, Jimmy Hoffa was a man with a big personality. It’s close but if forced to pick I lean toward the more subtle performance that Joe Pesci gives but you really can’t go wrong. De Niro is solid but not amazing, I would not say his performance was disappointing, but it is not one of his better performances
This film is impressive formally with so many stylistic choices used consistently throughout the film; the green and red motif is effective, characters introduced with summary about their demise, many of the same songs repeated and scenes like Frank and Russell eating bread and drinking fine wine early on is countered with a similar but depressing scene in prison near the end, Sally Bugs murder sequence near the end is similar to Whispers murder early on
The de-aging received a lot of the attention during the production process and early upon the release from the general public, but I actually don’t think it impacts the film that much one way or the other; hearing Pesci refer to De Niro as “kid” is a little much but overall, I think the impact of this technology is vastly overblown
Scorsese uses his entire stylistic arsenal in the film, tracking shots, pop music, voice over narration, color motif, slow motion sequences (I love the car wash sequence near the end), the high level period detail even for brief scenes such as the like the recreation of Lum’s Hot Dog Stand in Miami, Florida. There are a total of 295 total sets used in this 209 minute film
There are a couple of tracking shots that really stand out, the barber shop murder early around 23 minutes in and the Umberto Clam House murder sequence about halfway through, I love the neo red and green lights used on the exterior of Umberto Clam House
Verdict: MP
@James Trapp- great work on the study, excited for your thoughts on Killers of the Flower Moon – and what’s next?
@Drake – thank you, just posted the final thoughts and ranking below. Next is either David Cronenberg or Fritz Lang, very close maybe I’ll flip a coin
@James Trapp – can’t go wrong there
@James Trapp-The grocery scene is awful though. People regularly talk about accents not working in films. Or not the right one. That is a very minor issue for me compared to the downright unrealisticness and fakeness of that scene of De Niro who is supposed to be in his mid 30’s. I don’t know how anyone can look past this scene. While regularly talking about minor accent mishaps or things which are not really an issue at all like Peach calling De Niro a kid.
@Anderson – the grocery store scene is brutal, you’ll have no argument with me there but then again its a 1 minute scene in a 209 min film. Same with Pesci calling De Niro “kid” and I agree that is not nearly as bad as the grocery scene but how much do these really detract from the film? It can’t really be that much right?
Not much. But still the grocery store scene could have been avoided. I think De Niro does better work than most people here think. He has great chemistry with Pacino and Pesci. And him telling or consolling Pacino’s wife over the phone is a particular highlight. Those stares at the funeral as only De Niro can works as well. Don’t get the hate by award shows and here. Don’t get me wrong I would like a younger version of De Niro here but still.
@Anderson – the grocery store scene establishes a pattern though, Peggy watches her father commit brutal violence and is horrified but says nothing. The rest of the film everytime Frank is about to go out to do “a job” aka a hit or the morning after Frank and Peggy lock eyes but say nothing. There’s a religious undertone, silent judgement. But I do wish they could have found a better way to do it. The idea makes sense, but the execution is off.
I think De Niro is quite good in the final stretch after killing Jimmy. The final 40-45 min are emotionally shattering and De Niro probably does his best work in the film during this.
@James Trapp-Agreed that De Niro is at his most effective in the last part of the film. I think his best moment is the phone call with Hoffa’s wife. Yes. The problem is in the execution of the Grocery store scene. Not its inclusion.
@Anderson – agreed on the phone call, as I noted above “Frank becomes a stuttering mess talking to Jimmy’s wife, his demeanor is different here than the rest of the film”
This scene is the only thing he mentions during a conversation he has with a Priest in the final 10-15 min when asked about remorse. Between this and the scene with the FBI Agents trying and ultimately failing to get Frank to talk to them (by pointing out that there is no one left to protect) makes me wonder if he is just in denial about his decisions but without the phone call I would have thought he was 100% not capable of remorse making it an effective scene
Silence (2016)
Notes:
Starts with Liam Neeson character, Cristovao Ferreira, narrating while the opening shot captures a thick layer of fog in Japan, blue and gray color palette, torture scene as Christian Priests are told to renounce their faith
2:45 nice composition with high angle shot with a circle of characters near middle of the frame
4:27 Andrew Garfield as Father Sebastião Rodrigues and Adam Driver as Francisco Garrpe; both are Priests who are tasked to find out what has happened to Ferreira (Neeson), despite the advice of their superior they convince him to let them go to Japan to find Ferreira
8:20 God’s eye view, Garfield and Driver characters
12:36 interior shot as Garfield character writes at night
13:13 overhead shot of boat crossing the ocean, beautiful use shot of boat moving through a thick layer of fog
25 min slight canted angle
27:20 intellectual back and forth, similar to Last Temptation of Crist (1988)
28:51 pans tracking bird possibly an Eagle gliding through the mountainside
34:17 thick fog as boat crosses water, heavy blue/gray palette similar to opening
35:27 strong composition with long shot used to capture characters making onto the shore with mountain taking up most of right side of frame
54:17 tightly packed frame creates tension and fear from perspective of Christians pressured to renounce their frame on the threat of death
55:30 low angle shot of the three Japanese men on crosses take up majority of frame
55:36 quick change in composition with 3 men on crosses in background of left side of frame and Driver and Garfield’s characters in lower foreground of frame
56:40 close up shots create intimacy during impending waves
58:17 impressive composition using cave as frame
1:01:07 another impressive composition, now with orange and brown color throughout frame as fire at night with people scattered around perimeter
1:02:48 beautiful shot with dark blue frame as boat travels during night with white dots scattered in background, perhaps stars
1:10:34 zoom out and use of tree as frame
1:11:34 Garfield’s character staring at his own reflection in river, with reflection subtlety transforming to Jesus
1:24:00 some nice camera movement panning through the village
1:39:14 brutal scene with beheading
1:40:08 POV from Garfield character, vision partially obstructed by the wood bars of the cage he’s locked in
1:41:09 impressive use of frame
1:46:08 back and forth intellectual discussion between Garfield’s character and the Japanese Inquisitor
1:51:00 Driver’s character on screen after long absence
1:53:56 close up on face, reaction shot
1:56:24 great gods eye view shot of Garfield character in cage at night
1:58:53 Liam Neeson character returns, camera spinning in close up then zooms out to show character tied up upside down hanging over a hole in ground
2:00:12 Garfield and Neeson’s character come face to face
2:02:03 Neeson upside down POV shot
2:04 Neeson relays his story of torture into renouncing his faith
2:07 Neeson makes his case for abandoning Christianity to Garfield’s character, he is naturally appalled
2:16:32 impressive composition with Christian’s hanging upside down in village at night with Garfield’s character presented with an opportunity to renounce his faith
2:18:50 slow motion
Basically, everything after Garfield’s character renounces his faith feels like an epilogue, it’s about 20 min and is narrated by unseen person
Thoughts:
Similar to Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Scorsese with film explicitly about religion even if many of his films have religious undertones, symbols, references, etc. In this film you have themes resembling Bergman’s work even if
Impressive cast, particularly the 3 leads of Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, and Andrew Garfield
The last 15-20 min feels like an epilogue of sorts, being everything after Garfield’s character renounces his faith after an impressive back and forth between Garfield and Neeson. I have been impressed by Garfield ever since The Social Network (2010) and this is no different, but I actually thought Neeson steals the show
The color palette is impressive even if there are not as many standout shots as many of Scorsese’s best work, early on with the blues and grays
The gods eye view is used several times throughout the film
The long runtime is justified in aligning audience with the psychological torment of the suffering endured by the Priests and Christian Japanese characters who are persecuted. At the same time those doing the persecuting do not come off as cartoonishly evil as some filmmakers might have done
If I had to guess I think the title “Silence” is a reference to Bergman, this film has a different visual style but definitely similar themes that Bergman explored over and over
Verdict: HR/R
@James Trapp- been tracking along here. You’re doing good work here.
@Drake – thanks, I am actually ahead of scheduled, only The Irishman (2019) left as I initially thought Killer of the Flower Moon was going to be released on October 6 but its now October 19. I actually just got Criterion “Scorsese’s Shorts” on blu ray. It has 5 films he made before his break through, excited to watch
@James Trapp- Good for you carving out the time like that. I’ve had other things on the agenda here but I do want to get to The Irishman again before Killer of the Flower Moon
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Notes:
Starts with commercial for Stratton Oakmont with DiCaprio narrating as he plays the lead role of Jordan Belford, a real life white collar criminal who started his own company selling penne ante stocks
1:38 freeze frame, right away we see the debauchery as wealthy traders throw dwarfs at targets for fun
2 min swerving in a out of traffic, followed out by DiCaprio’s Belford narrating
3:58 tracking shot as Belford breaks 4th wall explaining how many different drugs he consumes
6:22 Matthew McConaughey as Mark Hannah is hilarious
13:34 Hannah and Belford beating their chests and humming is great
19:52 hilarious scene with Jordan selling penny stocks for the 1st time, Jordan is an instant success as he has serious sales skills with a mastery of tone and even body language despite it being a phone call, he gets so into it
22:42 Jonah Hill makes his first appearance
28 min Jordan recruiting hometown buddies to train for his new company, Stratton Oakman
38:26 matching band followed by strippers and prostitutes
39:23 slow motion panning around office capturing the debauchery as sound is drained and camera dropped near floor level with low angle shot
50:34 nice composition with Jordan in foreground of the frame yelling into the microphone during 4th of July Party standing on diving board with the frame filled with partiers
52 min the first of several quaalude sequences
55:30 Margo Robbie makes appearance as DiCaprio’s love interest
1:04:40 Chester just punches the butler in the face
1:06:52 breaking 4th wall
1:07:57 slow motion for party sequence, similar to scene earlier
1:11:40 inflection point in film, shortly after the wedding scene
1:15:55 pink dominates mise en scene
1:27:23 Gordon Gecko reference
1:32:00 boat scene with FBI Agent (Kyle Chandler) as Jordan
1:36:12 “Bond Villain” great line
1:38:18 speed slowing up and slowing down back and forth as Jordan narrates plane ride to Europe
1:46:20 Jordan admits to having a drug problem to Aunt Emma
1:49:05 cash literally covers body
1:53:07 Donnie and Brad trading insults is great, Donnie is so obnoxious
1:58:58 the quaaludes finally kick in due to delayed reaction
1:59:33 slow motion/blurry sequence
2:00:20 POV shot from Jordan staring down the steps after falling form quaaludes
2:06:55 close ups back and forth as Jordan resuscitates Donnie
2:08:17 flashback of how drive home actually happened
2:11:05 Jordan addresses the Company; composition here has Jordan in foreground of frame facing away from camera as he speaks to the entire company filled throughout the rest of the frame
2:13:00 a rare poignant moment in the film with Jordan speaking about giving opportunities to financially strapped Kimmy, one of the few times he comes off sympathetically
2:15:55 Jordan emphatically announces his refusal to back down and even brings back the Mark Harmon chest bumping and humming from early in the film
2:18:20 Donnie literally pissing on a subpoena
2:20:55 back and forth phone call with Rugrat in the office while and Jordan and Donnie are on the boat, back and forth of them doing cocaine, has tempo of music speeds up
2:28:56 infomercials remind me of Maury in Goodfellas (1990)
2:47:25 high angle shot with FBI in left side of frame and Jordan in upper right side of frame
2:49:00 pan through office after FBI raid, similar to Goodfellas Jordan testifies against his firm
2:50:20 Agent on subway for ride home, referenced earlier
2:51:00 Jordan playing tennis in “prison”
2:51:21 the real life Jordan Belford introduces DiCaprio’s fictionalized version in sales seminar that ends the film in New Zealand
Thoughts:
Scorsese follows his most children based film with his most adult film, a 3 hour ride of drugs, sex, and rock & roll. Scorsese certainly knows how to shoot drug scenes using quick camera zooms and reaction shots with close ups on faces of characters
Obviously not on the same level but many similarities to Goodfellas, first person narration with a fictionalized version of a real life crime story, here white collar crime rather than the brutality of Goodfellas, filled with dark humor and a fast paced story even though its clearly not as visually ambitious
DiCaprio is great as usual, but I actually think Jonah Hill gives the strongest performance here, he has probably the most screen time after DiCaprio and steals several scenes
This is a hilarious film and like Goodfellas and The Departed it is endlessly rewatchable with great scene after great scene even if it doesn’t hit the same heights cinematically as The Departed and certainly not Goodfellas, but the narrative pull is so strong it’s an easy watch even at 3 hours. With that said and I know the excess is the point to a certain degree, but I do think the film could have been trimmed slightly as some of the crazy partying/drugs/sex does get a bit repetitive
The rise and fall structure work well for this material, similar to Henry Hill in Goodfellas the Jordan Belford character might seem one note throughout much of the film, he’s all about drugs, sex, and money, he’s a criminal who even ends up selling out his own friends. There are not many redeemable qualities to Belford, but he does have a couple of poignant moments, particularly a speech he gives to his company when he abruptly changes his mind last minute
The quaaludes scene and car drive home lasts for about 7 or 8 minutes but does not feel overly long, in fact its one of the standout sequences
The voiceover narration and breaking of the 4th Wall work well here, like Goodfellas here we have a character who is an insider to a criminal organization more or less, and the narration makes it easier to explain certain concepts to the audience that might be more difficult to fit in during more standard exposition
Verdict: HR/MS
Question for anyone – Have you seen Scorese Collection of Short films? I noticed these on Criterion and am considering adding to the Study
Hugo (2011)
Notes:
1:10 dissolve edit to overhead shot of Paris
1:50 camera floating through train station until capturing the title character Hugo, a 12 year old boy
3:05 blue/green/ gray palette, tracking shot of Hugo running maze like station
4:18 unusual framing
11:10 beautiful set design
13:06 slow zoom out with aerial shot of Paris, leading to title credits
14:14 blue tint throughout frame
16:25 Hugo and girl his age on opposite ends of frame
21:50 clock ticking in background as Hugo gets bad news, his father died
27:12 low angle shot of Hugo
30:30 gods eye view, Hugo and young female friend
37:50 Hugo hidden behind clock
38:25 POV shot from Hugo looking through bars
40:30 beautiful use of blue/white light dispersing from midground of frame, Hugo and new female friend watching silent film in movie theatre they snuck into; characters in movie watching movie is very Truffaut and Godard like
45:17 triangle composition with Inspector Gustave Dasté in foreground with back to camera
55:25 low angle close-up shots
1:00:28 overhead shots
1:08:52 beautiful shot of interiors of station with light peeking through windows
1:10:37 beautiful series of shots with use of color, the magic of cinema in a way that makes me think of Cinema Paradiso (1988)
1:17:08 another great shot of interiors
1:18:32 another wonderful composition with the clock positioned in the background
1:21:21 pan across screen, blue dominant color in mise en scene
1:24:24 train accident dream with impressive editing back and forth between Hugo’s perspective and the train’s conductor
1:25:45 slow zoom in
1:40:00 more impressive set design
1:46:16 Hugo locked in cage, again with shot from Truffaut’s The 400 Blows
1:47:50 overhead shot of stairs leading to clock tower
1:48:50 shot from outside the tower of Hugo holding onto Clock a la Orson Welles character in the Orson Welles directed film The Stranger (1946)
1:48:55 frame split with Hugo holding on to Clock Tower on left side of frame and high angle shot of the street emphasizing the height of The Clock Tower
1:51:06 slow motion shot of automaton falling onto train tracks
1:54:03 iris shot seems appropriate given the refences to silent film
1:55:51 camera slowly zooming in on front of Ben Kingsley character
1:57:06 strong composition camera behind Kingsley character who is facing audience from stage, triangular white light capturing Kingsley character in symmetrical frame
1:57:40 montage of shots from silent films being watched by crowded theatre
Thoughts:
Scorsese continues to try new things, this time going with subject matter more often associated with someone like Spielberg, you have some similarities to ET with children operating within an adult world. Cinema Paradiso (1988) would seem to be an influence, the magic of cinema, Scorsese is known as a big admirer of this film which is heavy on nostalgia. Scorsese the cinephile really shows in this film
Frequent shots of Hugo looking through window, bars, cages, and other shots reminding me of The 400 Blows (1959) at times, speaking of which, many of Truffaut’s films are either about Cinema or have scenes with characters going to cinemas/movie theatres
The set design is the real treat here, the train station is a great substitute for a small town or neighborhood, it feels alive and vibrant. This combined with the dedication to color palette, here shades of blues for the most part, makes for some spectacular shots, especially high angle/establishing shots
Aside from the genre, the other key aspect of the film that makes it feel much different than Scorsese’s other films is the setting, which is Paris in 1931, this gives the film a romantism different from any of his other work aside from perhaps Age of Innocence (1993)
The clock tower sequence is very impressive, Welles film The Stranger (1946) seems like a possible influence here
There are many impressive and unusual frames throughout the film, frequent circular frames
Verdict: HR
@James Trapp- well done here -“The set design is the real treat here, the train station is a great substitute for a small town or neighborhood, it feels alive and vibrant. This combined with the dedication to color palette, here shades of blues for the most part, makes for some spectacular shots, especially high angle/establishing shots”
Shutter Island (2010)
Notes:
Stark blue sky filled with clouds, DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels, a federal marshal and Mark Ruffalo as Chuck, also a federal marshal; they are on boat heading to Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, Boston Harbor to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient of the hospital who had previously drowned her three children
8:54 slow motion back and forth shots as Teddy approaches the building
16:06 beautiful low angle shot of Teddy, Chuck, and the Warden standing upon rocks overlooking Island with clouded sky taking most of background
16:50 another painterly image with strong use of blue, here with the lighthouse on the right side of the frame
20:23 excellent lighting
20:30 slow zoom into elegantly decorated interiors
22:20 immaculate image of papers scattering in a cut to an empty room with perfect symmetry, similar to shot near the end of Polanski’s The Ghostwriter (2010)
25 min Max Von Sydow and Ben Kingsly could not be more perfect for their roles here
27:30 flash of night transitions to dream sequence with Teddy seeing his dead wife in apartment with green and yellow dominating mise en scene
30:13 dream sequence ends with fire after Teddy’s wife disintegrates
37:56 possibly best shot so far, silhouette image with Teddy and Chuck backs to camera in between fence
42:08 blue/gray tint in flashback to Teddy during WW2 as the Americans lined up SS guards at Concentration Camp
44:10 pan left to right during SS guards killed
51:10 high angle shots following the missing woman being found
54:54 impressive blocking with 5 characters scattered throughout the frame with 5 different depths of field
55:48 flashes of bright white light
57:38 blue tint frame with Teddy dreaming he is walking around outside location during snow fall
59:12 red and orange dominate frame, Laeddis played by the great Elias Koteas
1:00:41 brutal image of dead children covered in blood and eerie music to match the imagery; this is similar to some of the sequences in The Shining
1:19:52 shot overlooking Lighthouse from the rocks
1:20:48 high angle POV shot from on top of the rocks
1:40:00 empty hallway revealed after zoom out, similar shot in Taxi Driver although with a different purpose
1:42:28 haunting image intense orange
1:42:53 long shot with lighthouse in background of frame
1:44:30 high angle shot with narrow staircase
1:50:00 the plot is explained in a way by the Ben Kingsley character that seems unnecessary but if anyone is going to unnecessarily lay out the plot it might as well be Ben Kingsley
1:59:53 haunting revelation
2:00:50 gods eye view as Teddy carries his 3 children out of the pond
2:07:28 weather is clear sky and sunny for the 1st time, this follows Teddy finally admitting his true identity and why he is at the facility in the 1st place
2:09:21 “to live as a monster or die as a good man?” makes ending open to interpretation
Final shot is lighthouse
Thoughts:
Scorsese continues to show off his underrated range with a brilliant mystery/thriller unlike any of his previous work
The twist becomes somewhat predictable, I saw this the first time about one year ago and I pretty much guessed most the story, yet it does not make the film any less impressive or enjoyable to watch
This is one of Scorsese’s most beautiful films, filled with painterly images and dedication to color palette of blues and grays, the dream sequences
The WW2 concentration camp flashbacks were haunting, same with the dream sequences involving Teddy’s wife
There may be a bit too much explaining going on near the end violating Cinemas show don’t tell rule, but it does not take away too much
The performances are solid all the way around, DiCaprio is terrific as usual as is Ruffalo who always impresses me. Using Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow to play the 2 head psychiatrists was a perfect choice; I loved the back and forth discussion about “men of violence” vs “violent men”
Verdict: MS
The Departed (2006)
Notes:
Starts with Jack Nicholson voiceover
1:15 silhouette image
Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, this is used frequently by Scorsese but its such a great song I will never complain about its use
2 min Nicolson’s Frank Cast
4:32 low angle shot of Frank post murder with evil smile
5 min jump in time
8:34 triangle composition, Wahlberg as Dignam and Martin Sheen as Queenan
18:34 pan across jail cells with Dropkick Murphy
22:28 Ray Winstone as Costello’s right hand man Mr. French, this actor is about as authentic as you can yet
27 min Vera Farmiga as Madolyn makes her first appearance
37:52 Frank and Frenchy’s dialogue is dark and twisted
39:55 John Lennon “the president before Lincoln” hilarious, some of DiCaprio’s lines are funny cause I don’t know if they are deadpan or sarcastic
43:26 “made more money, this is American you can’t make money you’re a d-bag” I can’t highlight every funny line because then notes would require 5 hours, but this one is a favorite of mine
45:04 surveillance photos with quick zoom in
1:05:51 “I’m the guy who does his job, you must be the other guy” a top 3 Dignam line
1:12:58 split diopter
1:15:12 canted angle
1:17:10 intense red tinted frame, with Frank at Opera with 2 dates half his age, this transitions to a scene with Frank at his place throwing cocaine from a massive bowl at one of those dates, this sequence set to opera music creating hypnotic atmosphere
1:32:00 close ups used in back and forth in conversation between Billy and Frank. It did not occur to me until now but there is a similar dynamic as the scene in Gangs of New York (2002) only there DDL outacts DiCaprio, here DiCaprio outacts Nicolson
1:38:06 great iris shot with circular frame on Colin decreasing in size with zoom out, matches Colins state of mind as he’s feeling increasingly trapped
1:41:25 split diopter
1:47:06 X marked in mise en scene
1:58:48 Drop Kick Murphy key song starts up again
2:05:08 Colin kills Frank who is laid out
2:09:27 low angle shot with close up on Billy’s face
2:17:00 crazy sequence of events here to end of the film, chain reaction of murders
2:21:30 camera pans across line of officers at Billy’s funeral
Thoughts:
If someone wanted to call this the single most rewatchable film ever made I would not argue it; between the fast paced story, amazing performances, hilarious one-liners, on point song choices, etc. this is NOT one of the 10-20 greatest films ever but if I had to pick a list of 10-20 films to watch every single week this would make the list
This film is ridiculously efficient in its setup as 15-20 min in you have everything you need to know, and the story unfolds from there
Nicholson’s performance gets critiqued, but I actually think highly of it even if there are several better ones here, he does go ridiculously over the top several times but it’s not really that out of place. For comparison Pacino has some insanely over the top moments in Heat (1995) that just feel out of place, almost like he’s in a totally different movie even though Pacino is overall excellent in that film. Nicholson’s over the top moments don’t feel all that out of place even though I agree it would have been better if Scorsese had reeled him in a little bit more. Really the Frank Costello character summarizes this as effectively as possible in the scene where Damon’s character suggests he back off a bit “Colin, laying low is not what I do.” With that said there are several better performances…
The top performance has 3 candidates in my opinion with DiCaprio, Wahlberg, and Damon with the slight edge going to DiCaprio. Wahlberg’s Sgt Dignam steals every scene he’s in so he’s at # 2 and Damon has along with DiCaprio the most complex role leaving him at # 3 and I think the top 3 are a cut above the rest
# 1 DiCaprio
# 2 Wahlberg
# 3 Damon
# 4 Farmiga – impresses on repeated viewings, it a more subtle performance than the other top roles so perhaps she gets overlooked
# 5a Winstone – one of the most authentic performances of a criminal imaginable
# 5b Nicholson – yes, there are flaws but it’s still effective, Frank really is pure evil and cares only about power, his screen presence is still immense although I am not surprised this was his last major role
Several windows shots used, matching the thematic elements of the film, which is about deception amongst other things, there are several split diopter shots used and even an iris shot on Damon’s character who is feeling increasingly cornered as the film moves along
The X’s in the mise-en-scene when characters are killed is a great cinematic reference to Howard Hawks’s Scarface
No one seems to like the color red more than Scorsese, used perfectly here in the opera scene which Frank attends with two beautiful women half his age followed by him literally throwing a handful of cocaine into the air, Frank is basically the devil as it’s not even just about the money he clearly being a gangster
This is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs (2002) co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, this was turned into a trilogy which I think highly of (first 2 films anyways) but Scorsese’s version is superior
It did not occur to me the first few times I watched it but I think Damon’s Colin Sullivan is a closeted gay man, I normally do not delve into fan theories but after many viewings of this film it seems hard to not accept this interpretation as Sullivan; uses excessive homophobic slurs, really excessive and often out of nowhere, he shamelessly hits on women in public in ways that would make a construction worker blush, brags about his sex life to co-workers even though its implied he has trouble performing in an awkward breakfast scene, he makes excuses a couple of times his (gorgeous) girlfriend Madolyn tries to initiate sex, amongst other scenes with possible subtext. Some might write this possibility off as irrelevant, but I would argue the opposite as it fits so well into the movie’s themes of identity and deception. Damon is a criminal playing a cop so, this aspect of Damon’s character would fit in seamlessly with the rest of the movie as it indicates Damon has to work even harder at deceiving people since he has to do it with both his professional and personal life
Verdict: MP
The Aviator (2004)
Notes:
Starts with strange childhood scene
2:32 Howard Hughes now an adult played by DiCaprio
4:46 segues to a party sequence, light blue tint through frame with hint of light reds
5:17 close up profile shot of Howard’s face taking up half the frame
7:36 jazz music playing
10 min Howard charming cocktail waitress
11 min light red and light blue again dominate mise en scene
14 min Howard walking and talking, reverse tracking shot, more light blue and red in mise en scene
17:32 beautiful shot interior of nightclub, same use of color in mise en scene
19:03 low angel shot of Hughes in film room by himself making notes, first signs of eccentricity when he orders 10 chocolate chip cookies with “none of the chips too close to the outside”
25 min Howard watches Hells Angels in movie theatre
27:42 over the shoulder shot from Howard POV as he speaks to Katharine Hepburn on a beach and invites to play golf, Cate Blanchett as Hepburn is perfect
30:40 blue and silver color palette here with plane taking up half the frame
37:23 quite a first date, Hughes takes Hepburn flying over LA even putting her as the pilot
46:03 POV from inside plane, later cuts to low angle shot of plane head toward ground
53:10 black and white footage of Howard Hughes
57 min OCD on display in bathroom
59 min Howard eats with Katharine Hepburn’s lunch with the Hepburn’s, this should be turned into a TV series
1:02:00 Howard finally stands up for himself after being runover by the Hepburn’s
1:03:45 blue glare in film room from background of frame
1:06:00 Howard Hughes breakdown of “mammaries” is hilarious during the meeting with the censorship committee, maybe the scene runs a bit too long but still
1:10:00 min argument between Hughes and Hepburn regarding
1:17:00 break up with Katharine Hepburn
1:19:14 bright orange frame with fire in foreground and Hughes in background following break up with Hepburn
1:20:06 superimposed image of Howard on phone with his manager (John C Reilly) with Howard on right side of frame, starting to show signs of paranoia
1:21:58 high angle shot of Howard interviewing women in dark warehouse
1:27:07 bathroom green décor, a number of POV shots in this scene as Howards OCD is getting worse
1:31:00 Willem Dafoe makes an appearance as possible Communist synthesizer
1:32:00 Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin
1:35:23 Howard’s current girlfriend angrily drives her red card into the green car Howard is currently driving with the gorgeous Ava Gardner, the car colors are no accident, red is often associated with both passion and violence so it’s telling the red car is driven by the spurred girlfriend
1:40:40 close up shot of Howard sitting in car, both Howard’s suit and car interior are brown
1:43:33 classical music predominant
1:45:55 orange and red dominates frame during plane crash, the lighting is particularly impressive during this sequence
1:54:54 Howard walking with Kane now, no longer has the same youthful aura to him
1:59:50 Hughes eats in the home of Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda) who bullies and tries to intimate Hughes including a scene where the Senator, who is aware of Howard Hughes OCD, serves fish with the head still on and a glass of water with a visible fingerprint; this scene reminds me a bit of the scene in Chinatown when Nicholson’s JJ Gittes eats with Noah Cross
2:03:20 Hughes with breakdown after exiting meeting with the Senator, followed by black and white shot of Senator speaking to media
2:06:00 intense red light looking like a scene from David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) as Hepburn stands outside his locked room
2:09:17 overhead shot of the start of a horrifying scene in which Howard has locked himself in film room isolated form everyone, a pan shows all the milk bottles lined up in the room
2:15:05 second time Scorsese uses split screen, the first time was when he was speaking to his manager on a phone, this time he’s speaking to the Baldwin character on the other side of the door showing the degree of his self-isolation
2:23:30 camera flashing during committee followed by reaction shots from Hughes
2:24:00 the committee sequence is some of DiCaprio’s best acting in my opinion
2:32:20 slow zoom in on Hughe’s face preparing to fly
2:36:00 the committee hearing is a little too on the nose with Hughes triumphing over the US Government in court, a bit closer to something from a Spielberg film than Scorsese but DiCaprio is magnificent here so not complaining
2:42:32 flashback with superimposed image of Howard in opening scene as a child
2:43:15 ending with extreme close up on Howard’s face as he repeats himself over and over again
Thoughts:
Scorsese gives an excellent biopic based on one of most fascinating individuals of the 20th Century
For most directors this would be the highlight of their careers, for Scorsese it might not even make his top 10
Excited to check out Hell’s Angels (1930) at some point
DiCaprio gives one of the best performances of his career, I (and many others) did not care for DiCaprio’s performance in Gangs of New York, it did not help that Daniel Day Lewis gives one of his best performances and just blows everyone else off the screen. Similar to Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network DiCaprio really dedicates himself to learning the mannerisms and tics of the man he is playing. On a per minute basis Blanchett might be even better. She gives a tremendous performance playing Katharine Hepburn, when I saw this film as a teenager, I was not familiar with Hepburn but after now having watched Bringing Up Baby (1938) I am blown away by Blanchett’s work here
While obviously not on the same level you have some similarities to Citizen Kane, an examination of the life of a rich and powerful 20th-century man, even though Charles Foster Kane was a fictional character (loosely based on William Randolph Hearst) There is an effective balance between Howard Hughes work and personal life. Certainly, the sad and pathetic state Hughes finds himself in toward the end of the film when he is isolated in his empty mansion is similar to Charles Foster Kane’s state of misery near the end of Citizen Kane
This is an almost 3-hour film, but it moves along at a brisk pace, and never really feels stagnant, one of the challenges of biopics in my opinion are the transitions from various periods in the subject’s life as just plucking events from different periods of the subject’s life won’t make for an effective film, this film really succeeds here as it covers a solid range of Hughe’s life, but it transitions fairly seamlessly
Scorsese uses color effectively as usual; I especially love the look of the first hour or so with frequent shades of blue light red and then blue with green such as the turquoise colored grass in the golf game Hughes plays with Hepburn. There is a noticeable change of the color palette over the course of the film, matching Howard Hughes mental state as we witness the slow decline from Hughes excitable young adult with boundless energy to the paranoid recluse at the end
Scorsese seems to use more POV shots than usual which makes sense given the focus on Hughes OCD tendencies which get progressively worse over time, the shots in the bathroom are particularly effective in showing early signs of his troubled mental state
The set pieces are impressive and grand, capturing the star studded life of Hughes in the first half of the film, beautiful interiors of night clubs, fancy Hollywood parties, flings with numerous beautiful women, etc. The glamour fades away during the 2nd half as Hughes mental illness gets the best of him resulting in the downfall of both his professional and personal life
Verdict: MS