Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese (/skɔːrˈsɛsi/ skor-SESS-ee,[1][2] Italian: [skorˈseːze, -se]; born November 17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. He emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. Scorsese has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Directors Guild of America Awards. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1998, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2012. Four of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
"Scorsese" redirects here. For other people with the surname, see Scorsese (surname).
Martin Scorsese
November 17, 1942
- Film director
- producer
- writer
- actor
1962–present
Illeana Douglas
(1989–1997)
Scorsese received a Master of Arts degree from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 1968. His directorial debut, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), was accepted into the Chicago Film Festival. In the 1970s and 1980s decades, Scorsese's films, much influenced by his Italian-American background and upbringing in New York City, center on macho-posturing men and explore crime, machismo, nihilism, and Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption.[3][4] His trademark styles include extensive use of slow motion and freeze frames, graphic depictions of extreme violence, and liberal use of profanity. His 1973 crime film Mean Streets was a blueprint for his filmmaking styles.
Scorsese won the Palme d'Or at Cannes with his 1976 psychological thriller Taxi Driver, which starred Robert De Niro, who became associated with Scorsese through eight more films including New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980) The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), and Casino (1995). In the following decades, he garnered box office success with a series of collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio. These films include Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He reunited with De Niro with The Irishman (2019) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), the latter also featuring DiCaprio. His other films include After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Age of Innocence (1993), Kundun (1997), Hugo (2011), and Silence (2016).
In addition to film, Scorsese has directed episodes for some television series including the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2011–2015), and Vinyl (2016), as well as the HBO documentary Public Speaking (2010), and the Netflix docu-series Pretend It's a City (2021). He is also known for several rock music documentaries including The Last Waltz (1978), No Direction Home (2005), Shine a Light (2008), and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011). An advocate for film preservation and restoration, he founded three nonprofit organizations: The Film Foundation in 1990, the World Cinema Foundation in 2007, and the African Film Heritage Project in 2017.[5]
Career
1963–1972: Short films and feature debut
While attending the Tisch School of the Arts, Scorsese made the short films What's a Nice Girl like You Doing in a Place like This? (1963) and It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964). His most famous short of the period is the darkly comic The Big Shave (1967), which features Peter Bernuth. The film is an indictment of America's involvement in Vietnam, suggested by its alternative title Viet '67.[34] Scorsese has mentioned on several occasions that he was greatly inspired in his early days at New York University by film professor Haig P. Manoogian.[35] Scorsese's first professional job was when he was at NYU he was the assistant cameraman to cinematographer Baird Bryant on the John G. Avildsen directed short film Smiles (1964). Scorsese stated, "It was really important because they were filming on 35mm". He stated he was terrible at the job because he could not judge the distance of the focus. He also worked as a gaffer for Albert and David Maysles and as an editor for CBS News, the later of whom offered him a full time position but Scorsese declined due to his pursuit in film.[36]
In 1967, Scorsese made his first feature-length film, the black and white I Call First, which was later retitled Who's That Knocking at My Door, with his fellow students actor Harvey Keitel and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, both of whom were to become long-term collaborators. This film was intended to be the first of Scorsese's semi-autobiographical J. R. Trilogy, which would have included a later film, Mean Streets. Film critic Roger Ebert saw the film at the 1967 Chicago International Film Festival and in his review praised Scorsese and the film, writing, "'I Call First' brings these two kinds of films together into a work that is absolutely genuine, artistically satisfying and technically comparable to the best films being made anywhere. I have no reservations in describing it as a great moment in American movies."[37]
Scorsese became friends with the influential "movie brats" of the 1970s: Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.[38][39] It was De Palma who introduced Scorsese to Robert De Niro.[38] During this period, Scorsese worked as the assistant director and one of the editors on the documentary Woodstock (1970) and met actor–director John Cassavetes, who became a close friend and mentor. In 1972, Scorsese made the Depression-era exploiter Boxcar Bertha for B-movie producer Roger Corman, who also helped directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, and John Sayles launch their careers.[40] It was Corman who taught Scorsese that entertaining films could be shot with very little money or time, preparing the young director well for the challenges to come with Mean Streets. Following the film's release, Cassavetes encouraged Scorsese to make the films that he wanted to make, rather than someone else's projects.
Personal life
Marriages
Scorsese has been married five times.
In 1965, Scorsese married Laraine Marie Brennan. They have a daughter, Catherine, who was named after Scorsese's mother.[189] The couple remained together until 1971.
In 1976, Scorsese married writer Julia Cameron. They have a daughter, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese,[190] an actress who appeared in The Age of Innocence. After one year of marriage, the couple had an acrimonious divorce which served as the basis of Cameron's first feature, the dark comedy God's Will,[191] which also starred their daughter.[192][193] The latter had a small role in Cape Fear using the name Domenica Scorsese and has continued to act, write, direct, and produce.[194]
In 1979, Scorsese married actress Isabella Rossellini. The couple divorced in 1983.[195]
In March 1983, Scorsese met Dawn Steel (then-junior executive at Paramount) at an annual ShoWest Convention (in Las Vegas, NV), after which the pair began a relationship. Scorsese moved from New York to live in her Sunset Plaza residence while his Last Temptation of Christ was initially in development at Paramount (Steel reportedly recused herself from her boyfriend's passion project). In her 1993 memoir, Steel discussed their relationship, including attending the Cannes Film Festival premier of King of Comedy and later location scouting in Tunisia together. The two would reconnect, professionally, in 1987, jumpstarting the restoration of Lawrence of Arabia (shortly after Steel's installation as President at Columbia Pictures).[196]
In 1985, Scorsese married producer Barbara De Fina. The couple divorced in 1991.
From 1989 to 1997, Scorsese was romantically involved with actress Illeana Douglas.[197]
In 1999, Scorsese married Helen Schermerhorn Morris. They have a daughter, actress and filmmaker Francesca, who appeared in his films The Departed, Hugo, and The Aviator, and had a leading role in HBO/Sky's miniseries We Are Who We Are in 2020.[198][199]
Politics
Scorsese was an opponent of the Iraq War, wearing a white dove pin to the 75th Academy Awards in 2003 and clapping for Michael Moore's acceptance speech wherein he criticized President George W. Bush and the invasion.[200][201]
Religious beliefs
Scorsese identifies as a lapsed Catholic, declaring "I'm a lapsed Catholic. But I am Roman Catholic; there's no way out of it."[202] In 2016, Scorsese identified himself as a Catholic again, saying, "my way has been, and is, Catholicism. After many years of thinking about other things, dabbling here and there, I am most comfortable as a Catholic. I believe in the tenets of Catholicism."[29]