Martin Scorsese

Biography of Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese, who gave his talent and excellence to the world, is more than just a film director. He is a phenomenon in the world culture, classicist of cinematography who continues to surprise the audience and change while staying true to himself.

In the Picture: Martin Scorsese

Early Life

Martin Scorsese is a third-generation New Yorker, a descendant of Italian immigrants. He was born into a working family of Catherine and Charles Scorsese on November 17, 1942. Martin was growing up in Queens where gangsters made raids and fought every day. He was a delicate child; he suffered recurrent colds and episodes of asthma. Catholic parents insisted on his education in a parochial school, wanting their son to become a priest but Martin had other plans.

Young Martin Scorsese

In his interviews, the film director often joked that he wanted to be a gangster, and later a priest, a later again a gangster because it was the law of streets. But in fact, he has been dreaming of cinematography since early childhood. Films he saw at the cinema where he went with his parents impressed him so much that after a few years at a Сatholic school he decided to enter the College of Arts and Science. Martin's decision was unexpected for Catherine and Charles, and yet they supported him. Their son supposed to become the first Scorsese with higher education.

Martin entered the college, but a short time later, he was called to military service and had to interrupt his studies. After military service, he continued studies in the College of New York.

Creative Career

After graduation, Martin shot several important social full-length pictures that drew attention to the young film director.

Young Martin Scorsese

The first feature film Who's That Knocking at My Door was released in 1967. Zina Bethune and Harvey Keitel portrayed the main characters. The film received positive feedback from critics, but everyone noticed slight defects and expressed their hope that, after gaining experience, Scorsese will shoot more successful films. His following works also wasn't successful. Pictures Street Scenes and Boxcar Bertha were only found to be interesting. But Martin didn't pay attention to critics and colleagues' opinions; he was involved in the idea of a new film.

Martin Scorsese at the Beginning of His Career

The picture Mean Streets based on a popular in the 1970s book by Mario Puzo, idealizing gangster image, uncrowned the mafia-style romanticism. Scorsese who personally knew the disreputable inside world of the gangland filled with blood and drugs created a character of a person who had to join a criminal world or sacrifice his life to save another person.

Martin Scorsese on the Set of Mean Streets

Unlike the following films, this picture described the inner world of a character rather than his path to the criminal world. Harvey Keitel portrayed Charlie who suffered from the sense of guilt for the betrayal he had to commit, and Robert De Niro portrayed Johnny Boy. Scorsese and De Niro's first experience has become a successful messenger of big future success and become the beginning of their long friendship.

The Film Mean Streets Has Become the Beginning of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's Friendship

After the release of the dramedy Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore with Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson, there was the release of the picture that was destined to be a bombshell - nobody had shot anything like that. The urbanistic picture Taxi Driver threw established trends in cinematography a challenge and uncovered vices of society that prefers to ignore evil. The captivating and shocking film touched the heart of each spectator.

Trailer of Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese

The multilayer allusion tragedy, events of which take place in gloomy New York, touches biblical motives and describes current realities. The film touched such topics as loneliness, battle with inner demons, and emotional drama of a character portrayed by De Niro who was a punisher and victim at the same time. Each film frame is a masterpiece of cinematography. Keitel and a very young Jodie Foster who portrayed a prostitute also played in the film.

On the Set of Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver (1976) is one of the best films in the world cinematography that has crowned the era of neo-noir and started the era of post-noir symbolizing paranoid aesthetics of personality disintegration.

The period from 1977 to 1990 was marked by such absolute achievements as the drama Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, The Color of Money, and the thriller Cape Fear in which Scorsese continued to work with De Niro. He also worked with Paul Newman, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Cruise.

On the Set of Raging Bull

The allegory film The Last Temptation of Christ contained the director's meditations about his personal relationship with God. The picture prompted the outrage of the church and almost caused a tragedy. The film director received threats from fanatics and because of fear of reprisals he had to hire body-guards.

Martin Scorsese and Willem Dafoe on the Set of The Last Temptation of Christ

The film Goodfellas with De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci continued the series of gangster films. An idea of the inevitability of punishment reechoing with faithfulness, family values, and religion was skillfully portrayed by the artist. The incredibly brutal and realistic film is one of the best ones in its genre.

Scorsese and De Niro on the Set of Goodfellas

In the early 2000s, the film Gangs of New York was released. Daniel Day-Lewis, Brendan Gleeson, and Jim Broadbent portrayed the main characters. But in his interview for Parade, the master said that the picture couldn't achieve such success without Leonardo DiCaprio whom he invited by following De Niro's advice. Gangs of New York has marked the beginning of the long collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Gangs of New York

Films directed by Scorsese have become masterworks of the world cinematography, and actors who played in his films received awards, including the precious Oscar and British BAFTA. However, the master himself who was nominated for the Academy Award more than nine times received the main award for his film The Departed only in 2006.

Martin Scorsese Receives the Oscar

The picture based on Hong Kong Infernal Affairs tells the story of an Irish mafioso and FBI agent who works on him. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon played the leading roles. Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin also joined them.

On the Set of The Departed

Skillfully directed picture combining features of delicate psychodrama and gorgeous police thriller again caused a furor by its skepticism and lack of happy end symbolizing hopelessness of the city of sins in particular and the whole criminal society in general.

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon

After The Departed, the film director released several pictures that caused mixed reactions among the audience. The full-length film of 2007 The Key to Reserva that's more independent film than a fiction one and shot in the pseudo-comedy genre was a story of Alfred Hitchcock's creative work. Some critics took subtle irony of Scorsese as a mockery, so the film didn't take its place among his masterworks. Simon Baker and Michael Stuhlbarg joined the shooting of the picture.

Scorsese While Working on the Full-Length Film The Key to Reserva

American Boy was shot in 2009 in an unusual even for Scorsese style of conversation of the film director with his old friend as if illustrating the destiny of an imaginary character, some Steven Prince. A companion told Martin about drugs, women, and crimes, about his achievements that passed quietly, and the tragedies he could avoid.

A documentary attempt of rethinking the life of a person who is not involved in the media world and who's not even a real person didn't become the hit of the cinema season but was positively accepted by a thoughtful spectator who is free of prejudice. In this film, Scorsese played with George Memmoli, Kathi McGinnis, and Julia Cameron.

On the Set of the Thriller Shutter Island

In 2010, the film director as if he gave his admirers a break, landed on them the psychological thriller with shocking and dramatic denouement Shutter Island. The complicated drama like puzzles combining destinies and characters played by Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow had the biggest box-office success among all his works. DiCaprio played the lead in Shutter Island. It was the fourth collaboration of two geniuses that has turned into the friendship from mutual attraction and respect.

Their next project has become a sensation and received great success and the mixed reaction of the audience and critics once again. 2013, in addition to all its achievements, has become well-known for the picture The Wolf of Wall Street. Based on Ross Belfort's biography book written in prison, the drama has become the realization of so-called Hollywood cinematography and yet had another Scorsese's provocation.

The Wolf of Wall Street (Trailer)

The film had a really great stellar cast. Such actors as Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Margot Robbie, Jean Dujardin, and Matthew McConaughey played in it. Tons of drugs in elegant decorations, luxury houses, and cars, the word «fuck» used over six hundred times has become a symbol of human tragedy to which the endless pursuit of money led the main character portrayed by DiCaprio. The picture brought Leo over 250 million dollars making him the highest-paid actor in the world, and the film director received another victory over hypocrisy and mediocrity he hates so much.

Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Leonardo DiCaprio on the Set of The Wolf of Wall Street

In 2015, maestro joined film directors of the TV show Vinyl relating about the 1970s, the era of new directions in music, and the beginning of modern history. Even though, spectators loved the TV show presentation, its atmosphere filled with the spirit of freedom that crashed the system of prohibitions and taboos, HBO didn't enter into a contract to shoot the second season.

The release of the picture Silence of 2017 became another matter of dispute on complicated director's relationship with God who appears in the picture as an invisible witness of lawlessness in the world preferring not to intervene in people's lives. That's the third director's film on religion. Andrew Garfield, Ciaran Hinds, and Liam Neeson portrayed the main characters of the film.

Silence (Trailer)

In the nearest future, the film director is going to fulfill new ambitious projects that will surely extend his endless creative achievements. In 2017, he announced about shooting a bibliography drama about Theodore Roosevelt whom DiCaprio will portray. He also announced about shooting a criminal story about a maniac who was active in Chicago and built a hotel on the bones of his victims. Leo will play a maniac as well. In early 2018, Scorsese started to work on a new TV project about Gaius Julius Caesar.

Shooting Process of Martin Scorsese

The film director is actively involved in a fund that searches and restores films of the age of the beginning of cinematography that he created almost 30 years ago. In 2017, the fund had approximately five hundred restored films that were considered lost.

It is difficult to overestimate his contribution into the world culture, but according to the maestro who turned 76 in 2018, he has got a lot of work to do before he will be able to have some rest.

Romance with Music

Music is another story of maestro's creative journey. His romance with rock music began in the late psychedelic 1960s when he worked on the documentary picture about the Woodstock Fair.

Trailer of The Last Waltz (1978) by Martin Scorsese

The director's picture about the last concert of The Band The Last Waltz released in 1978, has been included in educational books as an example of a documentary concert film. Throughout his more than a long career, Scorsese has shot documentary films in which he paid tribute to a genius Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Rolling Stones band.

Michael Jackson - Bad (Video Producer Martin Scorsese)

Scorsese is the author and producer of Michael Jackson's video Bad. King of music and Scorsese were friends. He took the premature death of the singer pretty hard.

Martin Scorsese and Michael Jackson on the Set of Bad

Private Life of Martin Scorsese

Just as a creative career, Scorsese's private life was eventful. The great film director was married six times. In the first marriage with his classmate Laraine Brennan, the film director had a daughter, Catherine. His second marriage was with an actress Sandy Weintraub; they have been married for 11 years.

Scorsese Had Eventful Private Life

Maestro's third wife was a writer and journalist, Julia Cameron; their love affair caused divorce with Sandy Weintraub. She gave birth to his second daughter, Domenica. The director's infatuation for Liza Minnelli caused divorce with Julia; when the wife found out about their relationship, she immediately left Scorsese with their newborn daughter.

Martin Scorsese and Isabella Rossellini

Isabella Rossellini became his next wife in 1979, but she couldn't bear Scorsese's spasms of jealousy who even hired private detectives to spy on the young beauty.

Martin Scorsese and Barbara De Fina

Scorsese's fifth wife was Barbara De Fina who was a producer; they divorced in 1999 because of his infatuation for Helen Morris who was a director of a publishing house and who became his sixth wife. They divorced in 2016 because of his endless affairs and explosive behavior. Helen gave birth to his third daughter, Francesca.

Scorsese doesn't think that the number of his marriages and love affairs is out of the usual, and says that daughters his ex-women have given him are his main awards in life. Because of his divorce with the first wife, Martin, trapped in depression, started to drink alcohol and take drugs, and almost lost his life because of the massive blood loss caused by rupture of the vessel because of the cocaine overdose. According to the film director, his friend Robert De Niro, and also yoga and transcendental meditation helped him to get back to normal.

Martin Scorsese Now

The release of his new painting “The Irishman” took place at the end of 2019. The painting is based on the novel of Charles Brandt and shot in the unique Scorsese gang style. This is a story about real events that happened in America in the 1970s. Fans saw a brilliant group of actors, including De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Joe Sands Al Pacino, who portrays James Hoff, also joined them. The film was quite a big success at the box office and was praised by critics.

De Niro and Scorsese on the Set of The Irishman

Also during the coronavirus pandemic, Martin Scorsese did not stand aside and shot a short film about the effect of self-isolation and this period in general on cinema.

Karen Mason

It is not surprising that all of Scorsese`s significant work was filmed with the participation of DiCaprio. Two very talented people together is power.

2021-04-05 14:31:46
Jesus Palmer

I love Scorsese`s Shutter Island. And DiCaprio is also on top. That`s when everything coincides so it`s just a thrill.

2021-02-19 13:05:49

Photos: Martin Scorsese