MARTIN SCORSESE GANGSTER HISTORY

MARTIN SCORSESE

• Who is he? - Martin Charles Scorsese, born November 17 1942, is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. Part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinema history. In 1990, he founded The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation. He is a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema, and has won an Academy Award, a Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award, Silver Lion, Grammy Award, Emmies, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and DGA Awards.

• Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, modern crime, and gang conflict. Many of his films are also notable for their depiction of violence and liberal use of profanity. He has directed landmark films such as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), and Goodfellas (1990), all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro.[9] He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed (2006). With eight Best Director nominations to date, he is the most nominated living director, and is tied with Billy Wilder for the second most nominations overall. Since Gangs of New York (2002), he has also been noted for his collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio.

HIS MOST-KNOWN GANGSTER FILMS:

• Goodfellas (1990)

• Casino (1995)

• Gangs of New York (1999)

• The Departed (2006)

• Shutter Island (2010)

MARTIN SCORSESE’S STYLE

• Whether making gangster films, period films or biopics, Scorsese explores aspects of masculinity, identity and violence. His protagonists are often loners in a chaotic world trying to make sense of the madness around them, grappling with issues of guilt, penance and spiritual enlightenment. Nostalgia plays a big part in Scorsese’s films, but so do regret and loss. Many of his films end ambiguously, with a sense of irony or with the main character on the decline. Frequently working with the same crew, including editor Thelma Schoonmaker on almost every film, and the same actors (such as Robert De Niro and, more recently, Leonardo DiCaprio), Scorsese is one of the few American auteurs, as his films can be regarded as a personal expression of his author-like direction.

• Throughout his career, Scorsese’s love of music is expressed on his soundtracks, which alternate between original scores by composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Philip Glass and Peter Gabriel, and eclectic pop and rock compilations. He also produced the 2003 documentary series, The Blues, and has made documentaries about Bob Dylan (No Direction Home; 2005), the Rolling Stones (Shine a Light; 2008) and most recently George Harrison (Living in the Material World; 2011). He even directed the ‘Bad’ music video for Michael Jackson in 1987.

THE DEPARTED (2006)

• The plot - An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and a mole in the police force working

for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both

sides realize their outfit has a rat.

• Style – This is a MOB styled gangster film. It features a lot of the common features you would expect to

see.

• The Departed does focus heavily on conventional, and often cliché, elements of the gangster genre. Many

themes which relay back to gangster genre conventions are used within the film. Identity is regularly one

used; gangster’s own individual identities are crucial to their roles, and often a vital ingredient to their

success, and their downfall. The two main characters, Sullivan and Costigan, both seem to have

undeveloped identities that, in the story line, are being nurtured by their father figures – Costello and

Queenan.

• Another example is how Sullivan is being socialised by Costello into an amoral world with no boundaries,

himself being tested by interfering with the authority. Costigan is in the same situation in reverse, and when

his father figure, Captain Queenan, is murdered, he is isolated both professionally and psychologically. At

one point Sullivan says to Costello “I gotta find myself” and Costello replies “You’re telling me, sonny boy”.

This shows the notion that Sullivan is a lost soul, needing to find who he is. When he is appointed to find

the ‘rat’ within the police department, he is actually trying to find himself. This reinforces the convention that

it is dangerous to be alone in gangsters.

In this still, we see a two-shot used effectively to capture

both men’s facial expressions. Costigan’s is one of focus

but also contemptness, whereas Costello is scared,

dejected and defeated. His quest for ultimate materialistic

wealth has been accomplished, despite his otherwise

flawed life. He is a stereotypical underworld figure

operating outside the law, dealing in drugs, using weapons

and showing no conscience. This still is a culmination of his

demise from that.

This still portrays Madeoyn in a close up to show us her caring,

mother-like facial expression. The shot is also taken from a low

angle so we get the impression that we are looking at her from a

child’s perspective, which is essentially what Costigan’s psychy has

been reduced to with the stress of his role. He is desperate for love

and affection which is why she is a very complexed character.

Generally, women are scantily clad and objectified in gangster

films, merely being seen as ‘toys’ by the male characters. Despite

their non-complex nature, they’re often the downfall of the

protagonist. Madolyn however, offers a much more detailed

character, acting as a platform to show Costigan’s psyche and

creating even more rivalry and polarities between the characters.

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GANGSTER FILMS