Visual Arts And Film Studies

Running head: Visual Arts and Film Studies 1

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Visual And Film Studies 2

Martin Scorsese

This research paper is based on the life of a renowned filmmaker and director

Martin Scorsese. Martin Scorsese is known for having produced the most memorable

films in the cinema history. He is known for his gritty and meticulous filmmaking style

which has earned him a space among the most important directors of all time. He rose to

fame in the film industries by producing a film by using a raw formula of storytelling.

Despite producing first significant films like Taxi Driver, Who’s That Knocking at My

Door? Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Mean Streets he is considered a good director

because of the perceptions towards the film he directed.

Martin Scorsese is known to have virtually defined the state of the modern

American cinema especially during the year 1970s and 1980s, and he is well known as a

consummate storyteller and visual stylist who breathed life into movies. He won his fame

by producing classic Hollywood movies putting his passion and energy into producing

films that stoke excitement amongst his fans (Ebert 2008).

Martin Scorsese whose real name is Martin Charles Scorsese was born on

November 17, 1942, in Queens, New York. His parents were Catherine Scorsese and

Charles Scorsese who lived and worked in Manhattan District. The families of his parents

hailed from Palermo, Sicily. Martin Scorsese grew up in the neighborhood of Little Italy

which inspired him and formed most parts of his films (Ebert 2008). He went to the New

York University’s School of Film where he earned his first Bachelor Degree in Film

Communications in the year 1964. He also earned masters in arts in the same university

in the year 1966. During his life as a student in the college, he produced short films

Visual And Film Studies 3

which earned him numerous prize and awards including The Big Shave and Who’s

Knocking at My Door which was a feature film in the year 1967(Raymond 2013).

Martin Charles Scorsese got himself in the film at a tender age when he was

diagnosed with severe asthma which hindered him from participating in sports and other

childhood activities; he started seeking refuge in the area movie house where he got

obsessed with cinema specifically with the work of Michael Powell. He was raised in a

devoutly Catholic family, and he wanted to be a priest, but he later opted out of the clergy

to join the film school at New York University.

Martin Charles Scorsese got inspired into the film industry at a tender age when

he first saw the movie, murder by contract, by Irving Lerner. This is one of the obscure

Hollywood that left a feeling of love for films on him. These are some of the movies

which have stimulated his cinematic imagination, and he even tried to capture some of its

snippet in his work in the film Mean Street.

Some of the other films which had a sweeping influence on him when he was still

a student at the New York University include Shadows produced by John Cassavetes in

the 1960 and Accatone produced by Pier Paolo Pasolini which had created immediacy in

him to film production. He confessed that the film citizen Kane made him realize what a

director does, and the film Shadow gave him the urgency and courage to try out making

his films. The film Shadow is paired with Martin Charles Scorsese first feature film,

Who's That Knocking at My Door, produced in 1968, a film based on the interracial love

affairs and its setbacks. The Shadows inspired him to use improvisation selectively in his

films to generate immediacy and emotional heat.

Visual And Film Studies 4

Accatone by Paolo Pasolini, a film about the life of a pimp in Rome also inspired

him by giving the confidence to deal with characters and themes fetched from his

surrounding background in New York City. Martin Scorsese was greatly impressed by

the film’s portrayal of concern for both the lowlife characters and the use of religious

imagery and prayers which defined the environmental setting he grew up.

Martin Charles Scorsese before becoming a director he served several stints to

groom himself in filmmaking. He has since served as an assistant director and editor of

the documentary Woodstock in 1970. He won awards for his movie the Mean Streets in

1973 which made him pair up and collaborate with actors like Robert De Niro. In the

year 1976, his film Taxi Driver which also starred Robert De Niro won the award Palme

d’Or at the Cannes Film festival (Rausch 2010).

Together with Robert De Niro, Martin Charles Scorsese directed De Niro to an

Oscar-winning performance as a boxer Jake LaMotta in his film Raging Bull which was

produced in 1980. Raging Bull received eight Academy Award nominations which

included the best picture and best director.

Some of the major films he directed include the following; in 1986 was The

Colony of Money, in 1988 was the last temptation of Christ, in 1990 was the Goodfellas,

in 1991 was Cape Fear, the age of innocence in 1993, the casino in 1995, and Kundun in

1997 (Ebert 2008).

He was commissioned by the British Film Institute in 1995 to celebrate the 100

anniversary of the birth of cinema; Martin Charles Scorsese directed a four hours

documentary together with his co-director Michael Henry Wilson called A Personal

Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies (Rausch 2010).

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One of the Martin Charles Scorsese ground-breaking projects was the Gangs of

New York in 2002 which earned numerous honors including a Golden Globe Award for

the Best Director. Another film of his which won five Academy Awards plus the Golden

Globe and BAFTA awards for Best picture was The Aviator.

One of the major criticisms leveled against Martin Charles Scorsese was against

his argument that the current technological era is hurting creativity and focusing only on

the business of making movies as content manufacturers. He argues that filmmakers have

reduced themselves to the business of doing movies and the viewers have turned

themselves into unadventurous consumers at the expense of intelligent viewing and

creation of creative contents. Critics have counteracted his argument that people consume

art for various reasons, some want to be entertained, some wants to be challenged by the

film, and others just have an inherent love for the art form. Martin Scorsese argument

falters here and doesn’t hold water (Coates 2017).

Martin Scorsese is renowned for his influential editing techniques as a director.

His film is defined by the ability to recall precise images, sounds, and objects. What

makes him a complete filmmaker is his ability to remember every shot in every film he

has ever seen. He is a master of technique conjuring any cinematic effect he likes and

makes it as he owns it. He enhances his films by putting freeze frames artfully which play

with the temporality of his film. This effect is seen in his film the Goodfellas. In the

movie, Goodfellas freeze frame is used to serve as kinetic as well as a narrative function

while narrating the story of Henry Hill’s life. The freeze frames deliver a visual punch

and a signpost which is intended to call the attention of the viewer.

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Another cinema effect used in one of his films, The Aviator, is flashbulb. One

instance where flashbulb is used is seen where Howard Hughes walks down the red

carpet. The effect of the flashbulb in this scene is to disorient effects in a sequence. The

flash of the camera is seen as an intrusion and an explosion.

In the film, Goodfellas, he uses an in-camera effect called dully-zoom which

gives the eye an impression that the background is changing in size. This effect can be

seen in other films he has produced like the Raging Bull during Jake and Robinson’s final

fight. One shot is another effect he is known to use in his films; he usually moves the

camera around on tracks, gips, cranes, Steadicam's for several times before cutting. This

is seen in the Goodfellas too and in the film Raging Bull where LaMotta walks from his

changing room to the ring (Martin Scorsese Camera Techniques 2012).

Another camera technique is the pull focus which highlights the importance of

what is being shown on the screen. This technique is almost similar to Steadicam one

shot and the more subtle it is done, the more epic the screen appears. In the film, Casino,

this is seen when Nikki brings in his crew.

Finally, bokeh technique which is lighting in an image which is out of focus, with

the right aperture setting the lights will appear blurred creating a depth of field as seen in

the movie Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese Camera Techniques 2012).

In conclusion, Martin Charles Scorsese is good film director who not only

entertains by his epic work but tackles big issues and hard questions which are above

personal level.

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References

Ebert, R. (2008). Scorsese by Ebert. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Marker, J. W. (2009). Martin Scorsese: A biography. Journal of Popular Culture, 42(2),

378-380. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2009.00684_9.x

Martin Scorsese Camera Techniques. (2012). Retrieved from

http://officialtombennett.blogspot.co.ke/2012/10/martin-Scorsese-camera-techniques.html

Scorsese by Ebert (2008). PWxyz, LLC.

Scorsese, M., & Schickel, R. (2011). Conversations with Scorsese (1st ed.). New York:

Alfred A. Knopf.

Tyler Coates. (2017). Martin Scorsese Is Wrong About Rotten Tomatoes Ruining the

Movie Business. Retrieved from

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a12814123/martin-scorsese-rotten-tomatoes/

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