Martin Scorsese & His Finest Works

Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Martin Scorsese has made his mark on the film industry – that’s for sure. The man is dedicated to his craft, having formed The Film Foundation to help preserve cinematic works and, more recently, the World Cinema Foundation as well. Over the years, he has won awards, and he is even a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the screen. Today, we’re looking at some of his finest moments in the form of his best movies and films.

Casino

Based on a book – Love and Honor in Las Vegas – the epic crime movie, Casino, made waves when released in 1995. Starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci, it’s argued that the all-star cast contributed to its success, but this is undoubtedly down to Scorsese’s direction as well. De Niro and Scorsese work well together – the film marked the eighth time they collaborated. The plot features the marks of a really good thriller – mobsters, murder and the Mafia.

So, how has the movie aged? As the modern world embraces the casino spirit more than ever before, thanks to the uptake of various casino games on sites like Voodoo Dreams, which carries the popular Slotfather title, this particular movie has never been more relevant for the modern age. However, in real life, there seems to be far less drama and crime!

The Wolf of Wall Street

Featuring yet another actor that Scorsese works incredibly well with, 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio (it saw them collaborate for the fifth time). While the movie was controversial for its sexual content, profanity (it says the “f” word more than any other fiction movie in history), and drug use, it was widely received with a positive reception and received nominations for numerous rewards.

So, why was the film so popular? Well, despite the fact that it was brilliantly acted and directed, it was based on a true story. The real life “Wolf of Wall Street” was one Jordan Belfort, a man who says his debauchery was in actual fact “even worse” than in the film.

Gangs of New York

It’s hard to choose just one more Scorsese film to feature here but Gangs of New York simply had to make the cut. Starring DiCaprio again, along with Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz and many more, the 2002 epic is yet another brilliant movie set in New York featuring characters who are up to no good.

This movie really highlight’s Scorsese’s ability to portray violence and confrontation in a way that’s both gritty and rough around the edges, while most importantly – real. Featuring an array of human emotions, the film accurately deals with a full spectrum of feelings.

The inspiration for the movie came from Scorsese himself and it’s perhaps his curiosity to investigate the area of New York where he grew up – Little Italy – and dig deeper into its past, that actually made for such an intricate and exciting film.

That’s what we love about Scorsese; he understands that depth in a movie is the most important thing of all.