Martin Charles Scorsese was born in theFlushing neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough on November 17, 1942.[7][8] He grew up in theLittle Italy neighborhood of the city's Manhattan borough.[9] Both of his parents,Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) andCharles Scorsese, worked in theGarment District. Charles was a clothes presser and actor, while Catherine was a seamstress and an actress.[10] All four of Scorsese's grandparents were Italian immigrants fromSicily, hailing fromPolizzi Generosa on his father's side andCiminna on his mother's side.[11][12] The original surname of the family was Scozzese, meaning "Scot" or "Scottish" in Italian, and was changed to Scorsese because of a transcription error.[13][14][15]
Scorsese was raised in a predominantlyCatholic environment.[7] As a boy, he hadasthma and could not play sports or take part in any activities with other children, so his parents and his older brother would often take him to movie theaters; it was at this stage in his life that he developed a passion for cinema. He has spoken of the influence on him ofPowell and Pressburger'sBlack Narcissus (1947) andThe Red Shoes (1948).[16] As a teenager living inBrooklyn, he frequently commuted tothe Bronx to rent Powell and Pressburger's film,The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), from a store which had only one copy of the reel. He was one of only two people who regularly rented it; the other,George A. Romero, who then lived in thatborough, also became a director.[17]
While attending the Tisch School of the Arts, Scorsese made the short filmsWhat's a Nice Girl like You Doing in a Place like This? (1963) andIt's Not Just You, Murray! (1964). His most famous short of the period is the darkly comicThe Big Shave (1967), which features Peter Bernuth. The film is an indictment of America's involvement inVietnam, suggested by its alternative titleViet '67.[37] Scorsese has mentioned on several occasions that he was greatly inspired in his early days at New York University by film professorHaig P. Manoogian.[38] Scorsese's first professional job was when he was at NYU he was the assistant cameraman to cinematographerBaird Bryant on theJohn G. Avildsen directed short filmSmiles (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 agaffer forAlbert and David Maysles and as an editor forCBS News, the later of whom offered him a full time position, but Scorsese declined due to his pursuit in film.[39]
In 1967, Scorsese made his first feature-length film, the black and whiteI Call First, later retitledWho's That Knocking at My Door, with his fellow students actorHarvey Keitel and editorThelma Schoonmaker, both of whom were to become long-term collaborators.Roger Ebert saw the film at the 1967Chicago International Film Festival and wrote, in Scorsese's first published review: "it brings together two opposing worlds of American cinema. On the one hand, there have been traditional films likeMarty,View from the Bridge,On the Waterfront andDavid and Lisa -- all sincere attempts to function at the level where real lives are led and all suffering to some degree from their makers' romantic and idealistic ideas, about such lives. On the other hand, there have been experimental films fromJonas Mekas,Shirley Clarke and other pioneers of the New York underground. InThe Connection,Shadows andGuns of the Trees, they used improvised dialog and scenes and hidden and hand-held cameras in an attempt to capture the freshness of a spontaneous experience ...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."[40]
Scorsese metRoger Corman after coming to Hollywood to editMedicine Ball Caravan and Corman, who had seen and likedWho's That Knocking at My Door, asked Scorsese to make a sequel toBloody Mama (1970). This came to beBoxcar Bertha (1972).[44][43] 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. Following the film's release, Cassavetes encouraged Scorsese to make the films that he wanted to make, rather than someone else's projects.
Mean Streets was a breakthrough for Scorsese, Keitel andRobert De Niro.Pauline Kael wrote: "Martin Scorsese'sMean Streets is a true original of our time, a triumph of personal filmmaking. It has its own hallucinatory look; the characters live in the darkness of bars, with lighting and color just this shade of lurid ... It's about American life here and now, and it doesn't look like an American movie, or feel like one. If it were subtitled, we could hail a new European or South American talent — a newBuñuel steeped inVerdi, perhaps."[45] By now the signature Scorsese style was in place: macho posturing, bloody violence, Catholic guilt and redemption, gritty New York locale (though the majority ofMean Streets was shot in Los Angeles), rapid-fire editing, and a soundtrack with contemporary music. Although the film was innovative, its wired atmosphere, edgy documentary style, and gritty street-level direction owed a debt to Cassavetes,Samuel Fuller and earlyJean-Luc Godard.[46] In 1974, actressEllen Burstyn chose Scorsese to direct her inAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Although well regarded, the film remains an anomaly in Scorsese's early career as it focuses on a central female character. Returning to Little Italy to explore his ethnic roots, Scorsese directedItalianamerican (1974), a documentary featuring his parents Charles and Catherine Scorsese.
Scorsese followed withTaxi Driver in 1976, which depicted aVietnam veteran who takes the law into his own hands on New York's crime-ridden streets.[47] The film established him as an accomplished filmmaker and also brought attention to cinematographerMichael Chapman, whose style tends towards high contrasts, strong colors, and complex camera movements. The film starred De Niro as the angry and alienatedTravis Bickle, and co-starredJodie Foster in a highly controversial role as an underage prostitute, with Harvey Keitel as her pimp.[48]Taxi Driver also marked the start of a series of collaborations between Scorsese and writerPaul Schrader, whose influences included the diary of would-be assassinArthur Bremer,John Ford'sThe Searchers (1956), andRobert Bresson'sPickpocket (1959).[49] Already controversial upon its release,Taxi Driver hit the headlines again five years later, whenJohn Hinckley Jr. made an assassination attempt on then-presidentRonald Reagan. He subsequently blamed his act on his obsession with Jodie Foster'sTaxi Driver character (in the film, De Niro's character, Travis Bickle, makes an assassination attempt on a senator).[50]
Taxi Driver won thePalme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival,[51] also receiving fourOscar nominations, includingBest Picture. The critical and financial success ofTaxi Driver encouraged Scorsese to move ahead with his first big-budget project: the highly stylized musicalNew York, New York. This tribute to Scorsese's home town and the classic Hollywood musical was a box-office failure. The film was the director's third collaboration with De Niro, co-starring withLiza Minnelli. The film is best remembered today for the title theme song, which was popularized byFrank Sinatra. Although possessing Scorsese's usual visual panache and stylistic bravura, many critics felt its enclosed studio-bound atmosphere left it leaden in comparison with his earlier work. Despite its weak reception, the film is regarded positively by some critics.Richard Brody wrote:
For Scorsese, a lifelong cinephile, the essence of New York could be found in its depiction in classic Hollywood movies. Remarkably, his backward-looking tribute to the golden age of musicals and noirish romantic melodramas turned out to be one of his most freewheeling and personal films.[52]
In 1977, he directed the Broadway musicalThe Act, starring Minnelli.[53] The disappointing reception ofNew York, New York drove Scorsese into depression. By this stage Scorsese had developed a seriouscocaine addiction. However, he did find the creative drive to make the highly regardedThe Last Waltz, documenting the final concert byThe Band. It was held at theWinterland Ballroom in San Francisco onThanksgiving Day, 1976, and featured one of the most extensive lineups of prominent guest performers at a single concert, includingBob Dylan,Neil Young,Ringo Starr,Muddy Waters,Joni Mitchell,Van Morrison,Paul Butterfield,Neil Diamond,Ronnie Wood andEric Clapton. However, Scorsese's commitments to other projects delayed the release of the film until 1978. Another Scorsese-directed documentary, titledAmerican Boy, also appeared in 1978, focusing on Steven Prince, the cocky gun salesman who appeared inTaxi Driver. A period of wild partying followed, damaging Scorsese's already fragile health. Scorsese helped provide footage for the documentaryElvis on Tour.
By several accounts (Scorsese's included), De Niro saved Scorsese's life when he persuaded him to kick hiscocaine addiction to make his highly regarded filmRaging Bull.Mark Singer summarized Scorsese's condition:
He (Scorsese) was more than mildly depressed. Drug abuse, and abuse of his body in general, culminated in a terrifying episode of internal bleeding. Robert De Niro came to see him in the hospital and asked, in so many words, whether he wanted to live or die. If you want to live, De Niro proposed, let's make this picture—referring toRaging Bull, an as-told-to book by Jake LaMotta, the former world middleweight boxing champion, that De Niro had given him to read years earlier.[54]
Convinced that he would never make another movie, he poured his energies into making the violent biopic of middleweight boxing championJake LaMotta, calling it akamikaze method of film-making.[55] The film is widely viewed as a masterpiece and was voted the greatest film of the 1980s by Britain'sSight & Sound magazine.[56][57] It received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture,Best Actor for De Niro,Best Supporting Actress forCathy Moriarty,Best Supporting Actor forJoe Pesci and Scorsese's first forBest Director. De Niro won, as did Thelma Schoonmaker for editing, but Best Director went toRobert Redford forOrdinary People. From this work onwards, Scorsese's films are always labeled as "A Martin Scorsese Picture" on promotional material.Raging Bull, filmed in high contrast black and white, is where Scorsese's style reached its zenith:Taxi Driver andNew York, New York had used elements ofexpressionism to replicate psychological points of view, but here the style was taken to new extremes, employing extensiveslow-motion, complextracking shots, and extravagant distortion of perspective (for example, the size of boxing rings would change from fight to fight).[58] Thematically too, the concerns carried on fromMean Streets andTaxi Driver: insecure males, violence, guilt, and redemption.
Although the screenplay forRaging Bull was credited to Paul Schrader andMardik Martin (who earlier co-wroteMean Streets), the finished script differed extensively from Schrader's original draft. It was rewritten several times by various writers includingJay Cocks. The final draft was largely written by Scorsese and De Niro.[59] In 1997, theAmerican Film Institute rankedRaging Bull as the twenty-fourth greatest American film of all time on theirAFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list. In 2007, they rankedRaging Bull as the fourth American greatest film on theirAFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list.
Scorsese's next project was his fifth collaboration with De Niro,The King of Comedy (1982). It is asatire on the world of media and celebrity, whose central character is a troubledloner who ironically becomes famous through a criminal act (kidnapping).[60] The film was an obvious departure from the more emotionally committed films he had become associated with. Visually, it was far less kinetic than the style Scorsese had developed previously, often using a static camera and long takes.[61] Here the expressionism of his previous work gave way to moments of almost totalsurrealism. It still bore many of Scorsese's trademarks, however.TheKing of Comedy failed at the box office, but has become increasingly well regarded by critics in the years since its release. German directorWim Wenders numbered it among his 15 favorite films.[62] In 1983, Scorsese made a briefcameo appearance inAnna Pavlova (also known asA Woman for All Time), originally intended to be directed by one of his heroes,Michael Powell. This led to a more significant acting appearance inBertrand Tavernier'sjazz filmRound Midnight. He also made a brief venture into television, directing an episode ofSteven Spielberg'sAmazing Stories.
WithAfter Hours (1985), for which he won aBest Director Award at Cannes, Scorsese made an esthetic shift back to a pared-down, almost "underground" film-making style. Filmed on an extremely low budget, on location, and at night in theSoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, the film is a black comedy about one increasingly misfortunate night for a mild New York word processor (Griffin Dunne) and features cameos by such disparate actors asTeri Garr andCheech & Chong. Along with the 1987Michael Jackson music video "Bad", in 1986 Scorsese madeThe Color of Money, a sequel toRobert Rossen'sThe Hustler (1961) withPaul Newman, which co-starredTom Cruise. Although adhering to Scorsese's established style,The Color of Money was Scorsese's first official foray into mainstream film-making. The film finally won Newman an Oscar and gave Scorsese the clout to finally secure backing for a project that had been a longtime goal for him:The Last Temptation of Christ.
In 1983, Scorsese began work on this long-cherished personal project.The Last Temptation of Christ, based on the1955 novel byNikos Kazantzakis, retold the life ofChrist in human rather than divine terms.Barbara Hershey recalls introducing Scorsese to the book while they were filmingBoxcar Bertha.[63] The film was slated to shoot under theParamount Pictures banner, but shortly before principal photography was to start, Paramount pulled the plug on the project, citing pressure from religious groups. In this aborted 1983 version,Aidan Quinn was cast as Jesus, andSting was cast asPontius Pilate. (In the 1988 version, these roles were played byWillem Dafoe andDavid Bowie respectively.) However, following his mid-1980s flirtation with commercial Hollywood, Scorsese made a major return to personal filmmaking with the project;Universal Pictures agreed to finance the film as Scorsese agreed to make a more mainstream film for the studio in the future (it eventually resulted inCape Fear).[64] Even prior to its 1988 release, the film (adapted byTaxi Driver andRaging Bull veteran Paul Schrader) caused a massive furor, with worldwide protests against its perceivedblasphemy effectively turning a low-budget independent film into a media sensation.[65] Most of the controversy centered on the final passages of the film, which depicted Christ marrying and raising a family withMary Magdalene in aSatan-inducedhallucination while on the cross.
In 1986, Scorsese directed the 18-minute short filmBad featuringMichael Jackson andWesley Snipes (in his film debut). The short also serves as amusic video and was shot in theHoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station inBrooklyn over a 6-week period during November and December 1986. Chapman was the film's cinematographer. The direction and choreography were heavily influenced byWest Side Story (1961). Scorsese also noted the influence ofTaxi Driver inSpike Lee's documentaryBad 25 (2012).[66] The short has been praised by critics as one of the greatest and most iconic videos of all time.[67][68][69] That year, he had signed a deal with upstart majorThe Walt Disney Studios to produce and direct features, following the success ofThe Color of Money.[70]
Looking past the controversy,The Last Temptation of Christ gained critical acclaim and remains an important work in Scorsese's canon: an explicit attempt to wrestle with the spirituality underpinning his films up until that point. He received his second nomination for a Best Director Academy Award (again unsuccessfully, this time losing toBarry Levinson forRain Man). Scorsese directed "Life Lessons", one of three segments in the anthology filmNew York Stories (1989). Ebert gave the film a mixed review, while praising Scorsese's short as "really successful".[71]
After a decade of films considered by critics to be mixed results, some considered Scorsese's gangster epicGoodfellas (1990) his return to directorial form, and his most confident and fully realized film sinceRaging Bull. De Niro andJoe Pesci offered a virtuoso display of Scorsese's bravura cinematic technique in the film and re-established, enhanced, and consolidated his reputation. After the film was released,Roger Ebert, a friend and supporter of Scorsese, namedGoodfellas "the best mob movie ever". It is ranked No. 1 on Ebert's movie list for 1990, along with those ofGene Siskel andPeter Travers', and is widely considered one of the director's greatest achievements.[72][73][74] The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Scorsese earned his third Best Director nomination but again lost to a first-time director,Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves). Joe Pesci earned theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Scorsese and the film also won many other awards, including fiveBAFTA Awards, aSilver Lion and more. The American Film Institute placedGoodfellas at No. 94 on the AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list. On the 2007 updated version, they movedGoodfellas up to No. 92 on the AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list (10th Anniversary Edition) and putGoodfellas at No. 2 ontheir list of the top 10 gangster films (afterThe Godfather).
In 1990, he released his only short-form documentary:Made in Milan about fashion designerGiorgio Armani. The following year broughtCape Fear, a remake of a cult1962 movie of the same name and the director's seventh collaboration with De Niro. Another foray into the mainstream, the film was a stylized thriller taking its cues heavily fromAlfred Hitchcock andCharles Laughton'sThe Night of the Hunter (1955). The film garnered two Oscar nominations, and earned $80 million in domestic box office, placing it as Scorsese's most commercially successful release untilThe Aviator (2004), and thenThe Departed (2006). The film also marked the first time Scorsese used wide-screen Panavision with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1.
In 1990, Scorsese acted in a small role asVincent van Gogh in the filmDreams by Japanese directorAkira Kurosawa. Scorsese's 1994 cameo appearance in theRobert Redford filmQuiz Show is remembered for the telling line: "You see, the audience didn't tune in to watch some amazing display of intellectual ability. They just wanted to watch the money."
The Age of Innocence (1993) was a significant departure for Scorsese, a period adaptation of theEdith Whartonnovel about the constrictive high society of late-19th century New York. It was highly lauded by critics upon its original release but was abox office bomb, making an overall loss. As noted inScorsese on Scorsese by editor–interviewer Ian Christie, the news that Scorsese wanted to make a film about a failed 19th-century romance raised many eyebrows among the film fraternity; all the more when Scorsese made it clear that it was a personal project and not a studio for-hire job.
Scorsese was interested in doing a "romantic piece", and he was strongly drawn to the characters and the story of Wharton's text. Scorsese wanted his film to be as rich an emotional experience as the book was to him rather than the traditional academic adaptations of literary works. To this end, Scorsese sought influence from diverse period films that had had an emotional impact on him. InScorsese on Scorsese, he documents influences from films such asLuchino Visconti'sSenso and hisIl Gattopardo (The Leopard) as well asOrson Welles'sThe Magnificent Ambersons and also Roberto Rossellini'sLa prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (The Taking of Power by Louis XIV). AlthoughThe Age of Innocence was ultimately different from these films in terms of narrative, story, and thematic concern, the presence of a lost society, of lost values as well as detailed re-creations of social customs and rituals continues the tradition of these films. It came back into the public eye, especially in countries such as the UK and France, but still is largely neglected in North America. The film earned five Academy Award nominations (including Best Adapted Screenplay for Scorsese), winning the Costume Design Oscar. This was his first collaboration with the Academy Award-winning actorDaniel Day-Lewis, with whom he would work again onGangs of New York. This was Scorsese's first film to be shot on Super 35 format.
Casino (1995), likeThe Age of Innocence before it, focused on a tightly wound male whose well-ordered life is disrupted by the arrival of unpredictable forces. The fact that it was a violent gangster film made it more palatable to the director's fans who perhaps were baffled by the apparent departure of the earlier film.Casino was a box office success,[76] and it received generally positive notices from critics. Comparisons were drawn to his earlier filmGoodfellas, and Scorsese admittedCasino bore a superficial resemblance to it, but he maintained that the story was significantly larger in scope.[77]Sharon Stone was nominated for theBest Actress Academy Award for her performance. During the filming, Scorsese played a background part as a gambler at one of the tables.
Scorsese still found time for a four-hour documentary in 1995, titledA Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, offering a thorough trek through American cinema. It covered the silent era to 1969, a year after which Scorsese began his feature career. He said, "I wouldn't feel right commenting on myself or my contemporaries." In the four-hour documentary, Scorsese lists the four aspects of the director he believes are the most important as (1) the director as storyteller; (2) the director as an illusionist: D. W. Griffith or F. W. Murnau, who created new editing techniques among other innovations that made the appearance of sound and color possible later on; (3) the director as a smuggler—filmmakers such asDouglas Sirk, Samuel Fuller, andVincente Minnelli, who used to hide subversive messages in their films; and (4) the director as iconoclast. In the preface to this documentary, Scorsese states his commitment to the "Director's Dilemma", in which a successful contemporary director must be pragmatic about the realities of getting financing for films of personal esthetic interest by accepting the need of "making one film for the studio, and (then) making one for oneself."
IfThe Age of Innocence alienated and confused some fans, thenKundun (1997) went several steps further, offering an account of the early life ofTenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, thePeople's Liberation Army's entry intoTibet, and the Dalai Lama's subsequent exile to India. Not only a departure in subject matter,Kundun saw Scorsese employing a fresh narrative and visual approach. Traditional dramatic devices were substituted for a trance-like meditation achieved through an elaboratetableau of colorful visual images.[78] The film was a source of turmoil for its distributor,Buena Vista Pictures, which was planning significant expansion into the Chinese market at the time. Initially defiant in the face of pressure from Chinese officials, Disney has since distanced itself from the project, hurtingKundun's commercial profile. In the short term, the sheer eclecticism in evidence enhanced the director's reputation. In the long term, however, it appearsKundun has been sidelined in most critical appraisals of the director, mostly noted as a stylistic and thematic detour.Kundun was Scorsese's second attempt to profile the life of a great religious leader, followingThe Last Temptation of Christ.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999) was a return to familiar territory, with the director and writer Paul Schrader constructing a pitch-black comic take on their own earlierTaxi Driver.[79] Like earlier Scorsese-Schrader collaborations, its final scenes of spiritual redemption explicitly recall the films of Robert Bresson.[80] (It is also worth noting that the film's incident-filled nocturnal setting is reminiscent ofAfter Hours.) It received generally positive reviews,[81] although not the universal critical acclaim of some of his other films. It starsNicolas Cage,Ving Rhames,John Goodman,Tom Sizemore, andPatricia Arquette.
On various occasions Scorsese has been asked to present theHonorary Academy Award during the Oscar telecast. In 1998, at the70th Academy Awards, Scorsese presented the award to film legendStanley Donen. When accepting the award Donen quipped, "Marty this is backwards, I should be giving this to you, believe me".[82] In 1999, at the71st Academy Awards, Scorsese and De Niro presented the award to film directorElia Kazan. This was a controversial pick for the academy due to Kazan's involvement with theHollywood blacklist in the 1950s.[83] Several members of the audience includingNick Nolte andEd Harris refused to applaud Kazan when he received the award while others such asWarren Beatty,Meryl Streep,Kathy Bates, andKurt Russell gave him a standing ovation.[84][85]
In 1999, Scorsese directed a documentary on Italian filmmakers titledIl Mio Viaggio in Italia, also known asMy Voyage to Italy. The documentary foreshadowed Scorsese's next project, the epicGangs of New York (2002), influenced by (amongst many others) major Italian directors such as Luchino Visconti and filmed in its entirety at Rome's famousCinecittà film studios. With a production budget said to be in excess of $100 million,Gangs of New York was Scorsese's biggest and arguably most mainstream venture to date. LikeThe Age of Innocence, it was set in 19th-century New York, although focusing on the other end of the social scale (and like that film, also starring Daniel Day-Lewis). The film marked the first collaboration between Scorsese and actorLeonardo DiCaprio, who became a fixture in later Scorsese films. The production was highly troubled, with many rumors referring to the director's conflict withMiramax Films bossHarvey Weinstein.[86] The final cut of the movie ran to 168 minutes, while Scorsese's original cut was over 180 minutes long.[87]
Despite denials of artistic compromise, some felt thatGangs of New York was Scorsese's most conventional film, featuring standard film tropes that Scorsese had traditionally avoided, such as characters existing purely forexposition purposes and explanatoryflashbacks.[87][88][89] Even so, the film received generally positive reviews with the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reporting that 75 percent of the reviews for the film they tallied were positive and summarizing the critics writing, "Though flawed, the sprawling, messyGangs of New York is redeemed by impressive production design and Day-Lewis's electrifying performance."[90] The film's central themes are consistent with Scorsese's established concerns: New York, violence as culturally endemic, and subcultural divisions down ethnic lines. Originally filmed for a release in the winter of 2001 (to qualify for Academy Award nominations), Scorsese delayed the final production of the film until after the beginning of 2002; Miramax Films consequently delayed the film until its release in theOscar season of late 2002.[91]Gangs of New York earned Scorsese his first Golden Globe for Best Director. In February 2003,Gangs of New York received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis; however, it did not win in any category.
The following year, Scorsese completed production ofThe Blues, an expansive seven-part documentary tracing the history of blues music from its African roots to the Mississippi Delta and beyond. Seven filmmakers including Wim Wenders,Clint Eastwood,Mike Figgis, and Scorsese himself each contributed a 90-minute film (Scorsese's entry was titledFeel Like Going Home). In the early 2000s, Scorsese produced several films for up-and-coming directors, such asYou Can Count on Me (directed byKenneth Lonergan),Rain (directed by Katherine Lindberg),Lymelife (directed byDerick Martini) andThe Young Victoria (directed byJean-Marc Vallée). At that time, he establishedSikelia Productions.[92] In 2003, producerEmma Tillinger Koskoff joined the company.[93] Scorsese also produced several documentaries, such asThe Soul of a Man (directed by Wim Wenders) andLightning in a Bottle (directed byAntoine Fuqua).
Scorsese's filmThe Aviator (2004) is a lavish, large-scalebiopic of eccentric aviation pioneer and film mogulHoward Hughes and reunited Scorsese with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The film received highly positive reviews.[94][95][96][97][98] The film was a widespread box office success and gained Academy recognition.The Aviator was nominated for sixGolden Globe Awards, includingBest Motion Picture-Drama,Best Director,Best Screenplay, andBest Actor-Motion Picture Drama for Leonardo DiCaprio. It won three, including Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama. In January 2005The Aviator became the most-nominated film of the77th Academy Awards nominations, nominated in 11 categories including Best Picture. The film also garnered nominations in nearly all the other major categories, including a fifth Best Director nomination for Scorsese. Despite having the most nominations, the film won only five Oscars. Scorsese lost again, this time to director Clint Eastwood forMillion Dollar Baby (which also won Best Picture).
No Direction Home is a documentary film by Scorsese that tells of the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on American popular music and the culture of the 20th century. The film does not cover Dylan's entire career; it focuses on his beginnings, his rise to fame in the 1960s, his then-controversial transformation from an acoustic guitar-based musician and performer to an electric guitar-influenced sound and his "retirement" from touring in 1966 following an infamous motorcycle accident. The film was first presented on television in both the United States (as part of thePBSAmerican Masters series) and the United Kingdom (as part of theBBC TwoArena series) on September 26 to 27, 2005. A DVD version of the film was released the same month. The film won aPeabody Award and theGrammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video. In addition, Scorsese received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program, losing toBaghdad ER.
Scorsese at the 65th Annual Peabody Awards in mid-2006
Scorsese returned to the crime genre with the Boston-set thrillerThe Departed, based on the Hong Kong police dramaInfernal Affairs (which is co-directed byAndrew Lau andAlan Mak). The film continued Scorsese's collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio and was the first time he worked withMatt Damon,Jack Nicholson,Mark Wahlberg, andMartin Sheen.The Departed opened to widespread critical acclaim, with some proclaiming it as one of the best efforts Scorsese had brought to the screen since 1990'sGoodfellas,[99][100] and still others putting it at the same level as Scorsese's most celebrated classicsTaxi Driver andRaging Bull.[101][102] With domestic box office receipts surpassingUS$129.4million,The Departed was Scorsese's highest-grossing film (not accounting for inflation) until 2010'sShutter Island.The Departed earned Scorsese a second Golden Globe for Best Director, as well as a Critics' Choice Award, his firstDirectors Guild of America Award, and the Academy Award for Best Director. Presented with the latter, Scorsese poked fun at his track record of nominations, asking, "Could you double-check the envelope?"[103] The award was presented by his longtime friends and colleaguesFrancis Ford Coppola,George Lucas andSteven Spielberg.The Departed also received the Academy Award for the Best Motion Picture of 2006, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing by longtime Scorsese editor Thelma Schoonmaker, her third win for a Scorsese film.
Shine a Light capturesrock and roll bandthe Rolling Stones' performing at New York City'sBeacon Theatre on October 29 and November 1, 2006, intercut with brief news and interview footage from throughout their career. The film was initially scheduled for release on September 21, 2007, butParamount Classics postponed its general release until April 2008. Its world premiere was at the opening of the 58thBerlinale Film Festival on February 7, 2008. "Marty did an amazing job of making us look great..." observed drummerCharlie Watts. "It's all in the edits and the cuts. That's a movie maker rather than a guy just shooting a band onstage... It's notCasablanca, but it's a great thing to have from our point of view, not being egotistical. It's a document."[104]
In 2009, Scorsese signed a petition in support of directorRoman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[105][106]
Scorsese directed a television commercial forChanel's then-new men's fragrance,Bleu de Chanel, starring French actorGaspard Ulliel. Filmed in New York City, it debuted online on August 25, 2010, and was released on TV in September 2010.[115] Scorsese directedthe series premiere forBoardwalk Empire, an HBO drama series,[116] starringSteve Buscemi andMichael Pitt, based on Nelson Johnson's bookBoardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City.[117]Terence Winter, who wrote forThe Sopranos, created the series. In addition to directing the pilot (for which he won the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing), Scorsese also served as an executive producer on the series.[117] The series premiered on September 19, 2010, and ran for five seasons.[117]
Scorsese's 2013 film,The Wolf of Wall Street,[122] is an Americanbiographicalblack comedy based onJordan Belfort's memoir of the same name. The screenplay was written by Terence Winter and starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort, along withJonah Hill,Matthew McConaughey, and others. The film marked the fifth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the second between Scorsese and Winter afterBoardwalk Empire. It was released on December 25, 2013. The film tells the story of a New York stockbroker, played by DiCaprio, who engages in a largesecurities fraud case involving illicit stock manipulation, by way of the practice of "pump and dump". DiCaprio was given the award forBest Actor-Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the2014 Golden Globe Awards. The film was also nominated forBest Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy as well.The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor for Jonah Hill, Best Director for Martin Scorsese, andBest Adapted Screenplay for Terence Winter but did not win in any category.[123] In a 2016 critics' poll conducted by theBBC, the film was ranked among the 100 greatest motion pictures since 2000.[124]
Scorsese directed the pilot forVinyl written by Terence Winter andGeorge Mastras, withMick Jagger producing and Mastras asshowrunner. The series starsBobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, founder and president of a top-tier record label, set in 1970s New York City's drug-and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out, all told through the eyes of Finestra trying to resurrect his label and find the next new sound. Filming began on July 25, 2014.[135] Co-stars includeRay Romano,Olivia Wilde,Juno Temple,Andrew Dice Clay,Ato Essandoh,Max Casella, and James Jagger. On December 2, 2014,Vinyl was picked up by HBO.[136] The series lasted one season. Scorsese has acted as executive producer of several indie films, like the 2014The Third Side of the River (directed by his protege Celina Murga), another 2014 filmRevenge of the Green Dragons (co-directed by Andrew Lau, whose filmInfernal Affairs inspiredThe Departed),[137] as well asBleed for This andFree Fire.[138]
Scorsese directedThe Audition, a short film that also served as a promotional piece for casinosStudio City inMacau andCity of Dreams inManila, Philippines. The short brought together Scorsese's long-time muses Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro for the first time under his direction. The short film featured the two actors, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, competing for a role in Scorsese's next film. It was Scorsese's first collaboration with De Niro in two decades.[139] The film premiered in October 2015 in conjunction with the grand opening of Studio City.[140]
Scorsese had long anticipated filming an adaptation ofShūsaku Endō's novelSilence, a drama about the lives of two PortugueseJesuit priests in Japan during the 17th century. He had originally plannedSilence as his next project followingShutter Island.[141] On April 19, 2013, financing was secured forSilence byEmmett/Furla Films,[142] and filming began in January 2015. By November 2016, the film had completed post-production. It was written by Jay Cocks and Scorsese, based on the novel, and starsAndrew Garfield,Liam Neeson, andAdam Driver.[143] The film was released on December 23, 2016, to positive reviews from critics.[144][145] Scorsese was recognized as an Italian citizen byjus sanguinis in 2018.[146]
On January 10, 2019,Variety's Chris Willman reported that Scorsese's long-anticipated documentary of Bob Dylan's 1975 tour, theRolling Thunder Revue, would be released byNetflix: "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year. Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream,Rolling Thunder is a one of a kind experience, from master filmmaker Martin Scorsese."[147] On April 25, 2019, it was announced that the documentary would be released on Netflix on June 12, 2019, with a concurrent theatrical engagement in twenty American, European, and Australian cities the night before, and an extended theatrical schedule in Los Angeles and New York so that the film will qualify for award consideration.[148][149] After years of development, principal photography on Scorsese's crime filmThe Irishman, based on the bookI Heard You Paint Houses byCharles Brandt, began in August 2017, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, andAl Pacino.[150] The film had its world premiere at the57th New York Film Festival on September 27, 2019.[151] It received a limited theatrical release on November 1, 2019, followed by digital streaming on November 27, 2019, on Netflix.[152] In January 2020,The Irishman received tenAcademy Award nominations, including forBest Picture,Best Director,Best Adapted Screenplay, andBest Supporting Actor for Pacino and Pesci.[153]
On December 29, 2020, the trailer for Scorsese'sNetflix documentary seriesPretend It's a City was released. The series featuresFran Lebowitz and Scorsese as they delve into her personal beliefs and thoughts on New York City.[154] The project was released January 8, 2021, onNetflix.[155] This is Scorsese's second documentary featuring Lebowitz, the first beingPublic Speaking (2010), which was released onHBO.[156] In October 2022, Scorsese and David Tedeschi premiered their collaborative filmPersonality Crisis: One Night Only, at the New York Film Festival. The film is a documentary aboutDavid Johansen, featuring both contemporary concert footage shot for the project as well as archival footage.[157]
In July 2019, Scorsese started scouting locations in preparation for the 2020 filming of his next filmKillers of the Flower Moon, a film adaptation of thebook of the same name byDavid Grann. Scorsese wouldteam up with Leonardo DiCaprio for the sixth time andRobert De Niro for the tenth time.[158] In December 2019, Scorsese's frequent cinematographerRodrigo Prieto confirmed thatFlower Moon was gearing up to start principal photography in March 2020, which was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[159] In November 2020 Scorsese was hounored with Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award. In April 2020, it was announced that filming forKillers of the Flower Moon had been postponed indefinitely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that the potential cost of the film had ballooned to $200 million, and that Scorsese was in talks withNetflix orApple to produce and distribute, withParamount Pictures involved as a partner.[160][161] On May 27, 2020, Apple bought the production and distribution rights to the film, which was released theatrically by Paramount and streamed onApple TV+.[162] Principal photography commenced in April 2021.[163] It premiered at the76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023, receiving a nine-minute standing ovation and was released theatrically on October 20, 2023.[164] On May 16, 2023, while promotingKillers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese spoke about his eagerness to continue working, stating: "I'm old. I read stuff. I see things. I want to tell stories, and there's no more time."[165] It was nominated for ten Oscars, and seven Golden Globes, winning one for Best Actress in a DramaLily Gladstone. That same year, he directed a commercial forBleu de Chanel starringTimothée Chalamet.[166]
In November 2021, Scorsese was set to direct a biopic feature about rock band theGrateful Dead forApple Studios featuringJonah Hill.[169] In July 2022, it was announced Scorsese would direct an adaptation of David Grann's non-fiction novelThe Wager forApple Studios, reteaming once again with DiCaprio.[170] In May 2023, after meeting withPope Francis, Scorsese said he was considering writing and directing a new film about Jesus.[171] More details were revealed in January 2024, revealing that it would likely be Scorsese's next film and that he had co-written it withKent Jones, based on theShūsaku Endō novelA Life of Jesus.[172] In 2023, during an interview withGQ, it was revealed that Scorsese was working on an adaptation ofMarilynne Robinson'sHome withTodd Field and Jones.[173] It was reported in February 2025 that Scorsese would be directing a mob film set inHawaii, starring and being co-produced byDwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio andEmily Blunt. Johnson and Blunt pitched the plot to Scorsese and DiCaprio, which was described as being "a cross betweenGoodfellas andThe Departed", andNick Bilton was hired as a screenwriter.[174] In March 2025, it was announced that he would be adapting Robinson'sHome for Apple TV+ with DiCaprio starring.[175] On September 18, 2025, it was announced that Scorsese would direct an adaptation of thePeter Cameron novelWhat Happens At Night as his next film, with DiCaprio set to star alongsideJennifer Lawrence and a planned production start in January 2026.[176]
Several recurring filmmaking techniques are identifiable in many of Scorsese's films. He has established a filmmaking history which involves repeat collaborations with actors, screenwriters, film editors, and cinematographers, sometimes extending over several decades, such as that with recurring cinematographersMichael Ballhaus,Robert Richardson, andRodrigo Prieto.
Scorsese is known for his frequent use ofslow motion, for example, inWho's That Knocking at My Door (1967) andMean Streets (1973).[177] He is also known for usingfreeze frames, such as: in the opening credits ofThe King of Comedy (1983), throughoutGoodfellas (1990),Casino (1995),The Departed (2006), and inThe Irishman (2019). His blonde leading ladies are usually seen through the eyes of the protagonist as angelic and ethereal; they wear white in their first scene and are photographed in slow motion—Cybill Shepherd inTaxi Driver;Cathy Moriarty's white bikini inRaging Bull; Sharon Stone's white minidress inCasino.[178] This may be a nod to director Alfred Hitchcock.[179]
Scorsese often uses long tracking shots,[180] as seen inTaxi Driver,Goodfellas,Casino,Gangs of New York, andHugo.MOS sequences set to popular music or voice-over are regularly seen in his films, often involving aggressive camera movement or rapid editing.[181] Scorsese sometimes highlights characters in a scene with an iris, an homage to 1920ssilent film cinema (as scenes at the time sometimes used this transition). This effect can be seen inCasino (it is used on Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci),Life Lessons,The Departed (on Matt Damon), andHugo. Some of his films include references/allusions to Westerns, particularlyRio Bravo,The Great Train Robbery,Shane,The Searchers, andThe Oklahoma Kid. Slow motion flashbulbs and accented camera/flash/shutter sounds are often used, as is the song "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones heard in several of Scorsese's films:Goodfellas,Casino, andThe Departed.
Scorsese usually has a quick cameo in his films (Who's That Knocking at My Door,Boxcar Bertha,Mean Streets,Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,Taxi Driver,The King of Comedy,After Hours,The Last Temptation of Christ (albeit hidden under a hood),The Age of Innocence,Gangs of New York,Hugo,Killers of the Flower Moon), he is also known to contribute his voice to a film without appearing on screen (e.g. as inThe Aviator andThe Wolf of Wall Street). InThe Age of Innocence, for example, he appears in the non-speaking role of alarge format portrait photographer in one of the passing scenes of the film. He provides the opening voice-over narration inMean Streets andThe Color of Money; plays the off-screen dressing room attendant in the final scene ofRaging Bull, and provides the voice of the unseen ambulance dispatcher inBringing Out the Dead.[182] He also appears as the director of fictional newly formed Vatican Television in the Italian comedyIn the Pope's Eye and played himself in the first episode of the TV seriesThe Studio.[183]
Guilt is a prominent theme in many of his films, as is the role ofCatholicism in creating and dealing with guilt (Who's That Knocking at My Door,Mean Streets,Raging Bull,Bringing Out the Dead,The Departed,Shutter Island, andThe Irishman). In a similar manner, Scorsese consideredSilence a "passion project": it had been in development since 1990, two years after the release of his filmThe Last Temptation of Christ, which also contained strongly religious themes.[184] When asked why he retained interest in a project dealing with strong theological themes for over 26 years, Scorsese said,
As you get older, ideas go and come. Questions, answers, loss of the answer again and more questions, and this is what really interests me. Yes, the cinema and the people in my life and my family are most important, but ultimately as you get older, there's got to be more ...Silence is just something that I'm drawn to in that way. It's been an obsession, it has to be done ... it's a strong, wonderful true story, a thriller in a way, but it deals with those questions.[185]
More recently, his films have featured corrupt authority figures, such as policemen inThe Departed[186] and politicians inGangs of New York[187] andThe Aviator.[188] He is also known for his liberal usage of profanity,dark humor, and violence.[189]
Scorsese's interest in political corruption as depicted in his films was expanded further in his 2019 filmThe Irishman.Richard Brody writing forThe New Yorker found the main interpretation of the film to be a dark allegory of a realist reading of American politics and American society stating:
The real-life Hoffa... (was) a crucial player in both gangland politics and the actual practical politics of the day, and the movie's key through line is the inseparability of those two realms.The Irishman is a sociopolitical horror story that views much of modern American history as a continuous crime in motion, in which every level of society—from domestic life through local business through big business through national and international politics—is poisoned by graft and bribery, shady deals and dirty money, threats of violence and its gruesome enactment, and the hard-baked impunity that keeps the entire system running.[190]
Scorsese often casts the same actors in his projects, particularly Robert De Niro, who has collaborated with Scorsese on ten feature films and one short film. Included are the three films (Taxi Driver,Raging Bull, andGoodfellas) that made AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list. Scorsese has often said he thinks De Niro's best work under his direction was Rupert Pupkin inThe King of Comedy. After the turn of the century, Scorsese found a new muse with younger actor Leonardo DiCaprio, collaborating on six feature films and one short to date.[191] Several critics have compared Scorsese's new partnership with DiCaprio with his previous one with De Niro.[192][193] Frequent collaborators also include:Victor Argo (6), Harvey Keitel (6),Harry Northup (6),J. C. MacKenzie (5), Murray Moston (5),Illeana Douglas (4), Joe Pesci (4),Frank Vincent (3),Barry Primus (3), andVerna Bloom (3). Others who have appeared in multiple Scorsese projects include Daniel Day-Lewis, who had become very reclusive to the Hollywood scene,Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law,Dick Miller, Liam Neeson, Emily Mortimer,Jesse Plemons,John C. Reilly,David Carradine, Barbara Hershey,Kevin Corrigan,Jake Hoffman,Frank Sivero,Ray Winstone andNick Nolte. Before their deaths, Scorsese's parents, Charles Scorsese andCatherine Scorsese, appeared in bit parts, walk-ons or supporting roles, such as inGoodfellas.[194]
For his crew, Scorsese frequently worked with editorsMarcia Lucas[195] and Thelma Schoonmaker,[196] cinematographersMichael Ballhaus,[197]Robert Richardson, Michael Chapman andRodrigo Prieto, screenwriters Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin, Jay Cocks, Terrence Winter,John Logan andSteven Zaillian, costume designerSandy Powell, production designersDante Ferretti and Bob Shaw, music producerRobbie Robertson, and composersHoward Shore[198] andElmer Bernstein.[199] Schoonmaker, Richardson, Powell, and Ferretti have each won Academy Awards in their respective categories on collaborations with Scorsese. Elaine andSaul Bass, the latter being Hitchcock's frequent title designer, designed the opening credits forGoodfellas,The Age of Innocence,Casino andCape Fear.
In 1965, Scorsese married Laraine Marie Brennan. They have a daughter, Catherine, who was named after Scorsese's mother.[200] The couple remained together until 1971.[citation needed]
In 1976, Scorsese married writerJulia Cameron. They have a daughter,Domenica Cameron-Scorsese,[201] an actress who appeared inThe 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 comedyGod's Will,[202] which also starred their daughter.[203][204] The latter had a small role inCape Fear using the name Domenica Scorsese and has continued to act, write, direct and produce.[205]
In March 1983, Scorsese metDawn Steel (then-junior executive atParamount) at an annualShoWest Convention (in Las Vegas, Nevada), after which the pair began a romantic relationship. Scorsese moved from New York to live in herSunset Plaza residence while hisLast 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 theCannes Film Festival premiere ofThe King of Comedy and later location scouting inTunisia together. The two would reconnect professionally in 1987, jump-starting the restoration ofLawrence of Arabia (shortly after Steel's installation as president atColumbia Pictures).[207]
In 1985, Scorsese married producerBarbara De Fina. The couple divorced in 1991.
From 1989 to 1997, Scorsese was romantically involved with actressIlleana Douglas.[208]
In March 2024, Scorsese settled a lawsuit with aspiring screenwriter Simon Afram.[214][215] Afram accused him of pocketing $500,000 to help handle casting, production and postproduction of his screenplay about World War II'sOperation Fortitude, which was titledOperation Fortitude, only for Scorsese to then do nothing.[214][215]
Scorsese previously identified as alapsed Catholic, declaring "I'm a lapsed Catholic. But I amRoman Catholic; there's no way out of it."[216] 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."[32]
The foundation has restored more than 800 films from around the world and conducts a free educational curriculum for young people on the language and history of film. Scorsese and the Foundation spearheaded fundraising for the film restoration ofMichael Powell, andEmeric Pressburger'sThe Red Shoes (1948).[221] For his advocacy in film restoration he received the Robert Osborne Award at the 2018TCM Film Festival. The award was given to Scorsese as "an individual who has significantly contributed to preserving the cultural heritage of classic films".[222]
In November 2020,The Criterion Channel released a 30-minute video titled,30 Years of The Film Foundation: Martin Scorsese andAri Aster in Conversation, celebrating the "mission, evolution, and ongoing work of The Film Foundation". Scorsese stated as of 2020, the Foundation has helped restore 850 films.
In 2017, Scorsese also introduced The African Film Heritage Project (AFHP), which is a joint initiative between Scorsese's non-profitThe Film Foundation,UNESCO,Cineteca di Bologna, and thePan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI).[229] The project aims to locate and preserve 50 classic African films, some thought lost and others beyond repair, with hopes to make them available to audiences everywhere. In an interview withCinema Escapist in 2018, Scorsese talked about the ambitious collaboration saying, "Our first goal is to launch and conduct a thorough investigation in film archives and laboratories around the world, in order to locate the best surviving elements—original negatives, we hope—for our first 50 titles."[230] He also stated that "Restoration is always the primary goal, of course, but within the initiative, it's also a starting point of a process that follows through with exhibition and dissemination in Africa and abroad. And of course, our restoration process always includes the creation of preservation elements."[230]
In 2012, Scorsese participated in theSight & Sound film polls of that year. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Scorsese, however, picked 12, which are listed below in alphabetical order:[244]
In 1999, after the death ofGene Siskel, Scorsese joinedRoger Ebert as the guest co-host for an episode ofSiskel & Ebert where they each stated their 10 favorite films of the 1990s.[246][247] Scorsese's list numerically is:
In 2012, Scorsese recommended 39 foreign films toColin Levy.[248]
In 2019, Martin Scorsese contributed his list of favorite films to LaCinetek, a streaming platform that compiles film lists from filmmakers worldwide.[249] As a tireless cinephile, Scorsese submitted two lists: one featuring 73 "founding" films and another "alternative list" with 106 films.[250] He also included a letter toCédric Klapisch, one of LaCinetek's founders, explaining his selections and noting that many filmmakers and films he admires are not included in these lists.[251]
Scorsese receives theGolden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from actressMonica Vitti at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
Scorsese's films have been nominated for numerous awards both nationally and internationally, with an Academy Award win forThe Departed. In 1991, he received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[252] In 1997, Scorsese received theAFI Life Achievement Award. In 1998, the American Film Institute placed three Scorsese films on their list of the greatest American movies:Raging Bull at No. 24,Taxi Driver at No. 47, andGoodfellas at No. 94. Forthe tenth-anniversary edition of their list,Raging Bull was moved to No. 4,Taxi Driver was moved to No. 52, andGoodfellas was moved to No. 92.[253] In 2001, the American Film Institute placed two Scorsese films ontheir list of the most "heart-pounding movies" in American cinema:Taxi Driver at No. 22 andRaging Bull at No. 51. At a ceremony in Paris, France, on January 5, 2005, Martin Scorsese was awarded the FrenchLegion of Honour in recognition of his contribution to cinema. On February 8, 2006, at the48th Annual Grammy Awards, Scorsese was awarded theGrammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video forNo Direction Home.
In 2007, Scorsese was listed amongTime magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.[255] In August 2007, Scorsese was named the second-greatest director of all time in a poll byTotal Film magazine, in front of Steven Spielberg and behind Alfred Hitchcock.[256] In 2007, Scorsese was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (N.I.A.F.) at the nonprofit's thirty-second Anniversary Gala. During the ceremony, Scorsese helped launch N.I.A.F.'sJack Valenti Institute in memory of former foundation board member and past president of the Motion Picture Association of America (M.P.A.A.) Jack Valenti. The Institute provides support to Italian film students in the U.S. Scorsese received his award from Mary Margaret Valenti, Jack Valenti's widow. Certain pieces of Scorsese's film-related material and personal papers are contained in theWesleyan University Cinema Archives, to which scholars and media experts from around the world may have full access.[257] On September 11, 2007, theKennedy Center Honors committee, which recognizes career excellence and cultural influence, named Scorsese as one of the honorees for the year. On June 17, 2008, the American Film Institute placed two of Scorsese's films on theAFI's 10 Top 10 list:Raging Bull at number one for the Sports genre andGoodfellas at number two for the Gangster genre. In 2013, the staff ofEntertainment Weekly votedMean Streets the seventh greatest film ever made.[258]
On September 16, 2012, Scorsese won twoEmmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Nonfiction Special for his work on the documentaryGeorge Harrison: Living in the Material World.[260] In 2013, theNational Endowment for the Humanities selected Scorsese for theJefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in thehumanities. He was the first filmmaker chosen for the honor.[261] His lecture, delivered on April 1, 2013, at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, was titled "Persistence of Vision: Reading the Language of Cinema".[262] Scorsese was appointed to the PolishGold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis on April 11, 2017, in recognition of his contribution to Polish cinema.[263] He received the Medal on May 29, 2025.[264]
Scorsese has also garnered favorable responses from numerous film giants including Ingmar Bergman,[265]Frank Capra,[266] Jean-Luc Godard,[267]Werner Herzog,[268]Elia Kazan,[269] Akira Kurosawa,[270]David Lean,[271] Michael Powell,[272] Satyajit Ray,[273] andFrançois Truffaut.[274] He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 2008.[275] He was awarded anHonorary Doctorate from theUniversity of Oxford on June 20, 2018.[276] As of 2021, four of Scorsese's films (Mean Streets,Taxi Driver,Raging Bull, andGoodfellas) have been selected by theLibrary of Congress for preservation in theNational Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[277] In commenting on Scorsese's 2019 filmThe Irishman,Guillermo del Toro cited Scorsese's ability as a director for the depiction ofcharacter development comparable to the films of "Renoir, Bresson, Bergman, Oliveira or Kurosawa".[278]Sam Mendes, in his acceptance speech after winning the 2020Golden Globe Award for Best Director for1917, praised Scorsese's contribution to cinema, stating, "There's not one director in this room, not one director in the world, that is not in the shadow of Martin Scorsese... I just have to say that."[279]Bong Joon-ho, in his acceptance speech for the 2020Academy Award for Best Director forParasite, said, "When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is, the most personal is the most creative." He then said that this quote had come from Scorsese, which prompted the audience to give Scorsese a standing ovation.[280]
In 2021, lifelong friendGeorge Lucas and his wifeMellody Hobson through the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation made a donation to NYU to establish the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts.[281]
^Dubois, Régis (2019)."Résurrection".Martin Scorsese, l'infiltré (in French). France: Nouveau Monde Editions.ISBN9782369427780.Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. RetrievedOctober 3, 2020.
^"Scorsese, DiCaprio's 'Flower Moon' Eyes March 2020 Start," by Zack Sharf. December 2, 2019,IndieWire.[1]Archived December 27, 2019, at theWayback Machine
^"WatchingThe Irishman on Netflix Is the Best Way to See It." By Richard Brody. December 2, 2019.The New Yorker.[2]Archived December 3, 2019, at theWayback Machine.
^Steel, Dawn (October 1, 1993).They Can Kill You... But They Can't Eat You: Lessons from the Front. New York, NY: Pocket Books. pp. 167–179.ISBN9780671738327.
^Jewel, Dan (March 1, 1999)."Note Worthy".People.Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. RetrievedOctober 25, 2018.
^Pond, Steve."Save the Day"Archived April 7, 2020, at theWayback Machine,DGA Quarterly, Directors Guild of America, Spring 2007, accessed November 12, 2014
.png)
-.jpg)
_(53241781347).jpg)
.jpg)
