Biography - Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was a leader of the 1970s ‘Movie Brats,’ a talented group of young film school-bred directors who made challenging films under the Hollywood banner. Unlike some of his contemporaries (Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, etc.), Scorsese survived the rampant commercialism of 80s Hollywood and has remained a vital, important film artist. Like Clint Eastwood, Scorsese is experiencing an extraordinary late-career period with his award-winning films “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” and “The Departed.”

In Scorsese’s childhood are the roots of many of his cinematic themes. Born November 17, 1942 in Flushing, Queens, he was raised in a working class Italian-American family. He grew up a strict Catholic, and for most of his childhood believed he would enter a seminary after high school. A rabid interest in cinema diverted those plans, however, and he ultimately graduated with an M.A. in Film from NYU, making him part of an early group of film school grads that would dominate the American cinema of the 70s. Scorsese became good friends with two future collaborators at NYU – brilliant editor Thelma Schoonmaker and famed actor Harvey Keitel.

The early 70s saw Scorsese acquaint himself with the changing American film scene, which was in a semi-revolt phase allowing young talent like Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and William Friedkin to find footing. Mentored by rebellious iconoclasts like John Cassavetes and Roger Corman, these young men forged new directions for Hollywood. Scorsese’s first film to make a splash was 1973’s “Mean Streets,” the first collaboration between Scorsese and Robert De Niro. New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael famously hailed “Mean Streets” as the coming of a major talent, and Scorsese’s harsh look at New York street life became a major success. Introducing many of his long-running themes – urban alienation, Catholic guilt, crises of masculinity – “Mean Streets” allowed Scorsese to channel his city-bred demons through a unique filmic filter, which became the ‘Scorsese style’ of rapid editing, extreme violence, fast dialogue, and a nervously unpredictable camera. The later, similarly-themed “Taxi Driver” (which introduced a scantily-clad Jodie Foster to the filmgoing public and won Scorsese the Cannes Palme d’Or) cemented the director as one of the most influential filmmakers on the planet, and remains one of the best films of the decade.

The lavish, overdone musical “New York, New York” led to a crisis for Scorsese, as its colossal failure contributed to a personal downfall. Struggling with drug addiction and a bruised confidence, Scorsese was pulled out of the gutter by De Niro, who convinced him to make “Raging Bull” - now remembered as one of the greatest American films of all time. The rest of the 80s, however, were up-and-down for Scorsese, who directed “The Color of Money” with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman and “The King of Comedy” with De Niro in an attempt at more mainstream fare. His return to more personal projects was a relief with 1988’s controversial “The Last Temptation of Christ.”

The 1990s saw Scorsese helm several terrific films, including the ambitious, crackling gangster epic “Goodfellas,” a rare period piece with “The Age of Innocence,” the gambling drama “Casino,” and the Nicolas Cage-starring “Bringing Out the Dead.” Recently Scorsese has hired young megastar Leonardo DiCaprio as his new muse (perhaps needing a De Niro replacement), and the pair have collaborated with great success on “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” and “The Departed.” The latter film, which also stars Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, and Jack Nicholson, is an awards front-runner this year, and may finally win Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar. The superstar helmer has several interesting projects coming up, including the Japanese-set period piece “Silence” and a DiCaprio-starring biopic of Theodore Roosevelt.

Scorsese is truly a defining figure in contemporary American film, and his cinematic contributions are a gift to filmgoers around the world. His off-screen efforts include heading the Film Foundation, a group which helps preserve decaying stock of classic films. This is a fitting duty for Scorsese, who remains a glimmer of old-school hope amidst the often soulless, digital machinations of 21st century Hollywood.