Martin Scorsese needs no introduction when it comes to cinema and his impact on leaving a lasting legacy through his contributions to the art form. He is one of the most influential filmmakers the world has ever seen and his rich and varied filmography is a testament to his passion and commitment to making cinema a truly valuable piece of art. He has made some of the most celebrated and iconic pieces of thought-provoking cinema including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Departed, Shutter Island, and Silence.
He has time and again mentioned how he is inspired by many filmmakers and films that have come before and after him. Filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock, and Akira Kurosawa have left a deep impression on Scorsese, and over the years he has mentioned several films that have impacted him and helped him evolve as a filmmaker. These influences have made him the renowned director that he is today.
Martin Scorsese Praises Cate Blanchett’s Tár, Calls It a High-Wire Act
In a list prepared by IndieWire based on Martin Scorsese‘s favorite films that the has mentioned over the years, the most notable and recent one is Cate Blanchett’s 2022 film Tár. The film which explores the psychological trials and tribulations of a renowned musician/conductor moved Scorsese so much so that he voiced his thoughts about the film at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner (via IndieWire),
“The clouds lifted when I experienced Todd’s film, Tár. What you’ve done, Todd is that the very fabric of the movie you created doesn’t allow this. All the aspects of cinema and the film that you’ve used, attest to this. The shift in locations, for example, the shift in locations alone do what cinema does best, which is to reduce space and time to what they are, which is nothing.
“You make it so that we exist in her head. We experience only through her perception. The world is her. Time, chronology, and space become the music that she lives by. And we don’t know where the film’s going. We just follow the character on her strange, upsetting road to her even stranger final destination. Now, what you’ve done, Todd, it’s a real high-wire act, as all of this is conveyed through a masterful mise-en-scène, as controlled, precise, dangerous, precipitous angles, and edges geometrically kind of chiseled into a wonderful 2:3:5 aspect ratio of frame compositions.”
Scorsese did not hold back in his praise of the film and seems to have listed every detail that he admired about the film. Director Todd Field who directed Tár must be very proud of himself for receiving such accolades from such a renowned figure in cinema history.
Martin Scorsese Has His Own Passion Project Ready For Release
Martin Scorsese has his passion project Killers of the Flower Moon up for release on October 20, 2023. The film which talks about the real-life Osage Nation murders in 1920s Oklahoma was a film that took 6 years to make. After reading David Grann’s non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, he was inspired to bring the story authentically and respectfully. He even rewrote the script for the film to prevent it from being a ‘white savior’ film. He wanted the film to be “a sober look at who we are as a culture” and told Time Magazine,
“After a certain point, I realized I was making a movie about all the white guys. Meaning I was taking the approach from the outside in, which concerned me”
The film was screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where it received a nine-minute standing ovation. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser. It will be released in theatres on October 20, 2023, and will subsequently stream on Apple TV+ after its theatrical run.
Also read: Killers of the Flower Moon: Is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Terrifying New Movie Based on a True Story?
Sources: IndieWire, Time Magazine
