Formal Film Study: Martin Scorsese

Before taking film studies, i’ve never seen a Scorsese film. I always heard about him and his very successful films, so I decided to make him the focus of my formal film study. I viewed a total of four films: Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Departed(2006).

Taxi Driver is considered to be Scorsese’s darkest film and definitely the most different of the four films I watched. In this film, Robert De Niro plays the role of an honorably discharged Marine named Travis Bickle set in New York City. We Travis’ mental state deteriorate throughout the film and ultimately leads him to try to assassinate presidential candidate Senator Palatine. However, in a crazy plot twist, Scorsese creates one of the best endings to a film I have seen. Stylistically, I felt this film was very different from the other films I viewed. Scorsese used many interesting shots throughout the movie that were different from the rest of his works. These shots make the city feel alive. I liked Taxi Driver and can see why it is widely regarded as one of the best films of the seventies. 

Goodfellas is considered my many, including myself, to be one of the greatest gangster films of all time. The film is about the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family associates Henry Hill and his friends from 1955 to 1980. This film stars Ray Liotta as Henry Hil, Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway, and Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito. In this film, the cast really stands out. Scorsese did a great job of casting characters that felt real and brought the movie to life. Scorsese comes from Sicilian descent so he really knows how to cast mobsters. Scorsese’s use of the camera in this film was absolutely great especially the long tracking shot through the Copacabana nightclub, which is probably the best long tracking shot in film history. Sound was nothing really special in this film. The one complaint I have for this film is probably how fast paced the first half was compared to the second half. Other than that, this film was fantastic. 

Casino is another organized crime movie that brings back Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci from Goodfellas. De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a top bookie who is called upon by the mob to oversee day to day operations at the Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. Joe Pesci plays the role of plays Nicky Santoro, a role very similar to the one he had in Goodfellas. In Casino, Scorsese tells the story of the rise and fall of “Ace,” as well as the mob. I felt that I already heard this story once in Goodfellas. This film is very similar to Goodfellas, but it should not take away from Casino, which is a good film. Set in Vegas, camera work was very important in telling the story and making Vegas come to life. I think Scorsese did a good job of that in this film. Although this film was not on the level that Taxi Driver or Goodfellas, I believe that Casino is a good film. 

The Departed is yet another organized crime movie set in Boston. The basic plot is basically both the Irish mob and Massachusetts State Police plant informants in each others ‘crews.’ Both sides realize the situation and try to uncover each other’s identity before their own is blown. This film is led by a star studded cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and of course Jack Nicholson as the antagonist. I thought the casting in this movie was very good and very believable. The sound and visuals in this film were fantastic and brought a very nice realism to the film.  This film felt very fast paced compared to Casino and Goodfellas. I enjoyed The Departed very much. 

One director I would compare Scorsese to is Steven Spielberg. I wouldn’t say they are stylistically similar, but they both have been relevant for the past 30 years and are almost always up for awards every year. They are both very great directors and will go down in film history as legends. 

There are a few things in Scorsese’s films that reoccur. One being his use of the same actors in many of his films. For instance, Robert De Niro was in many of Scorsese’s earlier films and played a variety of different roles. Another example would be Leonardo DiCaprio who has starred in many of Scorsese’s newer films. The theme of violence also reoccurs in Scorsese’s films often. In each of the films I viewed,  violence played a large role and an important way of telling the story. One last thing is his classic use of long shots in his films. 

After researching and viewing his films, I can say with little doubt that Martin Scorsese is probably my favorite director. His films have an authentic feel that make the films timeless. No director has done a better job of staying relevant because of this. I’m excited to see what else he has in store for us. 

Citizen Kane Response

I think the title "The American" comments on the idea of the American Dream. Kane went from an orphanage to being on the richest people in America and having all the material goods he wanted. Many would say that this is the American dream. However, throughout the film we find out that these 'goods' do not make Kane very happy at all and he longs to go back to the peacefulness of the orphanage. I think that the film opposes the American Dream and calls it false by telling the story of somebody who had it all and wished he had nothing.

MIYST: Argo

The Movie Was Fake. The Mission Was Real. Argo is a 2012 film directed and produced by actor Ben Affleck, based on the true story of Tony Mendez, a CIA operative, who led a rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. The screenplay for the film was based on Joshuah Bearman's 2007 article in The Wire, “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.” The film has been widely critically acclaimed, which drew me to watching it. Argo has received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor in a supporting role. Argo is among the top films of 2012 for many major critics. 

Argo starts out with different shots of both the US embassy and a large group of very angry Iranians. The camera switches back and forth between the embassy and the Iranians, adding a dramatic tension as the Americans try to destroy documents knowing that the Iranians will be storming the embassy.  Visuals of American flags burning and Iranian chants add a lot to this scene as well. The effects of the scene were great. Just as the Iranians storm the embassy, six Americans decide to make an escape and avoid capture. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the film. Following the opening scene, the CIA starts planning ways they could extract the six out of Iran, this is where Mendez (Affleck) comes in. With no ideas coming up, Mendez comes up with idea watching Planet of the Apes with his son. The idea is that the escapees are Canadian film makers scouting locations for a new film entitled “Argo.” Mendez and his supervisor Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) contact John Chambers (John Goodman), a Hollywood make-up artist. I feel like these two characters cold have developed more throughout the film. They then link up with film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), to try to come up with details that could trick the Iranians into believing the story that they are film makers. Acting as a producer for the new film, Mendez enters Iran and meets up with the escapees. After a few days of learning identities and hesitation, the Americans finally go to the airport posing as Canadians. After learning that the mission is off, Mendez forces O’Donnell to go through with the mission anyway. The last scene is filled with tense moments of the Iranians approving identities at the last moment. Great visual effects added to tension that made this film stand out. The film ends with the Americans barely escaping and clips of actual news reels of President Jimmy Carter giving the Canadians all the credit for helping the Americans escape.

Ben Affleck

I thought this film was very good and very different from what has came out lately. This film is very dependent of plot rather than visuals, which is a breath of fresh air for me at least. The visuals of Iran were great and added a very nice realism to the film. As far as acting goes Affleck was great, as well as Arkin as the film producer. Affleck played a very different role in this film than he did another one of his films Good Will Hunting. It was nice to see Affleck play a more serious role in Argo compared to his jokester role in Good Will Hunting. My only complaint of the film was how we got introduced to so many characters but never rally got to know any  of them. All in all, I thought Argo was a good film with a great plot. Definitely one of the better films of the past few years. I give 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Review of the Reviews

        I have decided that I will use the film Goodfellas for my review of reviews. Goodfellas is a classic 1990 gangster film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is set in New York City over the span of 25 years based on the true story of the rise and fall of Lucchese crime family associates Henry Hill and his friends, Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito. Henry Hill is played by Ray Liotta, Jimmy Conway is played by Robert De Niro, and Tommy DeVito is played by Joe Pesci. The film was critically acclaimed, receiving six Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best director. However, the film only won one, that being Joe Pesci for Best Supporting Actor. I really enjoyed this film, so I am interested in what these reviews have to say about the film.

Positive Review: Roger Ebert - 4 stars out of 4 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19900902/REVIEWS/9020301

Roger Ebert starts this review about how the mood of the film lingered within him refusing to leave. He describes the mood of “guilt and regret, of quick stupid decisions leading to wasted lifetimes,” which could be themes of the film. Ebert later goes on to say that “no finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even The Godfather,” which is his thesis statement and a very large claim. He backs up this claim by saying that most movies ‘evaporate like mist’ one you return to the real world, but not this one. This review is in paragraph form and I would consider it long. I feel excitement from Ebert in this review because you can tell he really enjoyed this film. Ebert focuses mostly on the phenomenal acting, the terrific performance by director Martin Scorsese, as well as the plot. He writes, “Scorsese is the right director - the only director - for this material.” Throughout the review Ebert raves about the plot and realism. He compares this film to other classic Scorsese films such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, as well as The Godfather. Ebert says Scorsese has never done a more compelling job than he did with Goodfellas. The Godfather was obviously compared because both films are consider two of the top crime movies of all time. Ebert absolutely loves the film and ranks it as one of the best ever. 

Negative Review: Joseph McBride- Variety  http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789056/?categoryid=31&cs=1 

“Simultaneously fascinating and repellent, "Goodfellas" is Martin Scorsese's colorful but dramatically unsatisfying inside look at Mafia life in 1955 - 80 New York City,” this is how McBride describes this film Goodfellas. Let’s see how he came to this conclusion. This review is shorter and set in a small paragraph form. McBride says the first half of this film is ‘wonderful’ “introing Ray Liotta and viewer to the Mafia milieu.” He applauds Scorsese’s “perfectly cast friezes of grotesque hoodlum types are caricatures in the best sense of the word.” However, he says the second half of the film is very undramatic. McBride explains the plot about how Liotta becomes a flashy gangster and then eventually builds up to a change of heart by Liotta which he says is unspectacular. McBride also compares this film to The Godfather, but with more negativity saying that Goodfellas “ doesn't share the "Godfather" films' examination of the Mafia’s evolution in reaction to social injustice.” Another major complaint of McBride was not necessarily the acting but how the actors were used. He felt De Niro was not given enough screen time to fully explore his character. He does compliment the tech contributions and the setting. McBride was expecting far more from Goodfellas and his review shows it. 

Having seen the film, here are two points that I agree with from both reviews. “Most films, even great ones, evaporate like mist once you've returned to the real world; they leave memories behind, but their reality fades fairly quickly. Not this film, which shows America's finest filmmaker at the peak of his form(Ebert).” I completely agree with this statement. The following day after viewing the film, I constantly thought about the themes of regret and wasted lifetimes. No other movie has made me think into the next day. The next quote I chose was “Scorsese's perfectly cast friezes of grotesque hoodlum types are caricatures in the best sense of the word(McBride).” The film felt so real to me and a big part of this was because of Scorsese, he did a great job of casting this film. 

Had I never seen this movie, I would probably have found Ebert’s review more convincing. One and perhaps the biggest reason is Ebert’s reputation as a film critic. He is among the best in the world and his reviews seem to be trusted throughout the film industry. I also like how he describes the plot and the realism the film brings to the viewer. Ebert’s ‘passion’ for this movie is also very intriguing for the reader because you can tell that he truly enjoyed this film. Ebert’s reputation would probably be my main reason for trusting this review.

If I had to write a one page film review I would have to make sure I include a few key components to this film. First off, I would have to say what a great job Scorsese did with this film. He made this film feel so real with great casting and good scene locations. I would also have to write about the great acting performances by Liotta, De Niro, and Pesci. Those three alone had great performances in the film and are well deserving of the awards they won. Lastly, I would make sure that I wrote about the plot and how well written it was. Goodfellas was an exceptional film and I would make sure I would let the reader know.

Film Intro Survey

1. What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?
The first Toy Story movie was the first I remember enjoying and actually payed attention to.

2. What are 3-4 of your favorite genres?
Gangster/Crime, Classics, Comedy, Drama

3. What are 3-4 of your least favorite genres?
Silent, Musical, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

4. What are your five favorite films?
Training Day, Boyz in the Hood, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather Part II

5. List three characteristics of what you would consider to be a good movie.
Well written, visually pleasing, good soundtrack

6. What are 3-5 of your least favorite movies?
 Year One, The Love Guru, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

7. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a bad movie.
Not funny when trying to be, terrible plot twists, terrible acting

8. List 3-5 of your favorite directors.
Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino

9.List 3-5 of your favorite actors.
Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, Harrison Ford

10. List 3 films you consider important films to see.
Boyz in the Hood, The Shawshank Redemption, Good Will Hunting

11.Whats your favorite old movie?
Rear Window

12. Best Movie you've seen in the last 2 years.
Moneyball

13. What are five movies in your queue?
Django Unchained, Skyfall, Taxi Driver, Gangs of New York, Rain Man