The legendary director Martin Scorsese at the age of 72 became a living embodiment of the classics of cinema. This unique person is brilliant and talented in literally everything, no matter what he undertakes. In addition to directing, he also excelled as a screenwriter, actor, and producer.
early years
Martin Scorsese (see photo in the article) is an American with Italian roots, born in New York in 1942. Despite the fact that the hometown of Martin Queens was the focus of crime in the city, the boy’s Catholic family was very correct and pious. Scorsese grew up a rather weak and painful child, he was tormented by asthma. Therefore, relatives often took young Scorsese to the cinema, where his future hobby was formed. However, the parents decided differently, choosing a Catholic school for Scorsese. Martin was supposed to be a priest, but disagreeing with the decision of his relatives, he dropped out of parish school and entered the College of Sciences and Art in New York, where in 1964 he received a bachelor's degree. After that, the future director decided to serve in the army and only after she returned to study, in 1966 he entered the University of New York.
First work
Already at the time of his student days, Martin Scorsese began work on several short films, the most famous of which was Concrete Haircut, condemning US intervention in the conflict with Vietnam. In those same years, the first full-length film of the young director came out - “Who is knocking on the door to me?”, Where the main role was played by Harvey Keitel, at that time an unknown young actor. Initially, the name "I will call first" was decided to be replaced. The debut of the creative tandem turned out to be so successful that Scorsese has worked with Harvey in his films more than once. By the way, Martin Scorsese is one of the few regular directors who have worked with their favorite actors for many years, shooting them in the most diverse films, thereby revealing their potential. Following were "Berta, nicknamed" Freight Wagon "" and "Street Scenes."
First successes
The year 1973 was Martin's first breakthrough, because the drama “Evil Streets” was released on the screens, where Keitel and the then-beginning actor Robert De Niro were involved. We can say that this first joint work of two future Hollywood masters was in some way a turning point in American cinema, because it was with this film that the long and very fruitful work of two talented people began, giving the world a considerable amount of high-quality films. The audience praised the film about the real life of New York Little Italy, which was filmed by Scorsese. Martin continued to improve and released in 1974 the dramatic film “Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More”. Leading actress Ellen Burstin won an Oscar, and the film itself was very warmly received at the Cannes Film Festival.
The start of an incredible tandem
But 1976 was very busy with Scorsese. Martin married a second time, his chosen one was the writer Julia Cameron. Very little is known about the director’s first marriage, his first wife was Larein Marie Brennan. The couple had a daughter, Catherine. But in addition to love affairs, Scorsese received the Golden Palm Branch of the Cannes Film Festival for the film "Taxi Driver", as well as other awards and prizes, including the tape was awarded four Oscar nominations. We can assume that this film fully revealed to the audience and critics the skill of a talented director. And although the reviews for the film were different, and some were rather negative, on the whole it only spurred interest in “Taxi Driver”, the main role in which was masterfully embodied by De Niro.
Crisis and rebirth
On the wave of success in 1977, the musical drama "New York, New York" was released, and the following year - the documentary "The Last Waltz". But 1978 was marked by the director’s depression and creative crisis, which was accompanied by a divorce from his wife, as a result of which Martin Scorsese was in the hospital, according to rumors, from an overdose of drugs. A friend and ally Robert De Niro was able to get him out of this state, having interested the master in a new project. Thus began work on “Raging Bull,” a story about mid-century boxing star Jake Lamotte, played by De Niro. It is noteworthy that the actor was engaged in boxing for almost two years specifically for the role, and he was trained by Lamott himself. As a result, thanks to the coordinated work of the creative tandem, the film became a real masterpiece. In the life of Scorsese, a new stage began, marked by an Oscar nomination and acquaintance with his future wife Isabella Rossellini.
Hollywood orientation
"The Comedy King" was the first unsuccessful film starring Robert De Niro, directed by Martin Scorsese. The filmography of the famous director did not suffer from this failure, but creative ways diverged with a friend. Following was another not-so-successful film - “After Work”, which was out of the general style of the director’s work, it did not deserve the attention of a wide audience, although critics accepted it favorably. And here is the “Color of Money” about billiard professionals with the legendary Paul Newman and rising star Tom Cruise in 1986 was very successfully received by the audience. Unlike most of the director’s early serious and highly social films, which were highly appreciated by European film critics, this film was oriented to Hollywood, and more specifically to the public. This moment once again proved the genius of the master, which can please both demanding critics and the diverse tastes of the audience. As for the director’s personal life, in 1983 he divorced Rossellini, and already in 1985 he married producer Barbara De Fine.
Creative experiment
“The Last Temptation of Christ” was released on the big screens in 1988; this is perhaps one of Scorsese’s most controversial and controversial films. Martin worked on a tape with representatives of several different faiths. As a Catholic, he brought to the screen the history of the Orthodox Nikos Kazantzakis, and the screenwriter Paul Schroeder turned out to be a Calvinist. The selection of actors turned out to be peculiar. Christ, for example, was played by Willem Dafoe, previously famous for the roles of villains and criminals, and rock musician David Bowie embodied the role of Pontius Pilate. Despite the fact that the production was severely criticized by religious representatives, Martin Scorsese received another Oscar nomination. The standard of gangster cinema - “Good Fellows”, released in 1990, again reunited the tandem of De Niro, Joe Pesci and Scorsese, as in “Raging Bull”, on one platform. The next picture brought only a nomination, the long-awaited Oscar the director never received. But a fruitful trio five years later gave the world a fascinating "Casino" about the gambling business mafia. This was the eighth joint project of friends De Niro and Scorsese, whom Stephen Spielberg called "Yin and Yang."
Martin Scorsese. Filmography: director and not only
Later, Martin Scorsese revealed new facets of his talent, trying himself in atypical films for him, such as the historical drama “Kundun” about Tibet and the thriller “Resurrecting the Dead” with Nicolas Cage. Until 2002, many more films were shot, directed by Martin Scorsese. The filmography of an Italian American of Italian origin is distinguished by the fact that he produced many of his projects, for the most part he wrote scripts, and also appeared in small roles in more than half of his films. Since 2002, a new stage in the creative path of the ingenious master began; his young and talented Leonardo DiCaprio became his new protege. Among their joint work - a considerable number of incredibly successful films, and for the “Departed” Scorsese finally received his “Oscar”. Films with DiCaprio in the title role: The Departed, Aviator, Gangs of New York, Wolf from Wall Street, Island of the Damned are undoubtedly the best films of Martin Scorsese. The list, of course, will be incomplete, without his early masterpieces: "Evil Streets", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "Color of Money", "Goodfellas", "Casino". In addition to feature films and short films, his work includes several music films, a clip by pop king Michael Jackson for the song “Bad” and the documentary “History of American Cinema by Martin Scorsese”.
Present and future plans
At the moment, the ingenious director does not stop there. Next year, a new film is expected to be released - Silence. And apparently, the tape promises to be intriguing. From 1999 to this day, Scorsese lives in his beloved New York with his fifth wife - Helen Morris, who was married to Francesca - the third daughter of the director. Martin engages in transcendental meditation and promotes it to the masses, proving its necessity for people suffering from nervous disorders.