Research into a Director

Research into a director: Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. The famous director was born November 17, 1942 in New York city. His

family moved to the Little Italy section of Manhattan before he started school. His family moved to the Little Italy section of Manhattan before he started school which

has later become to influence him on making films with a lot of his films being Italian or American based. Scorsese began his earlier career by making short films at New York

University

Career • Martin Scorsese most known work are mainly big budget films like Wolf of Wall

Street, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and Shutter Island. Scorsese has worked with world famous actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. His most famous films are mainly based on his background and the director normally finds a way of cooperating Italian or American themes into his films. Other themes of his films include violence, crime, gang conflict, and jealousy. Within his films, he uses a range of shot types but normally starts his films with establishing shots and he also includes a lot of voiceovers within a part of his films. Guilt is also a very common theme and is sometimes expressed through the idea of Catholicism.

Techniques

• Many of Scorsese films contain a lot of the same techniques. One of these techniques freeze frame. This technique is used in The King od Comedy when a characters hands are pressed against a window.

• Another technique Martin Scorsese uses is the idea of always having a blonde leading lady as a character. He may do this to appeal fragile and make the male protagonist seem more powerful. We can see a leading lady in the film Casino which also stars Robert De Niro who is another close actor to the director.

• A lot of Scorsese’s films also have western references with dishonourable authority. For example we can see this in a modern film called The Departed.

Awards

• The film Goodfellas (1990) received the following rewards and more: BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Direction, BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film, Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay, Fotogramas de Plata Best Foreign Film, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director

• The film The Aviator (2004) received the following awards and more: BAFTA Award for Best Film, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Director, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Director, St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Nominated – Academy Award for Best Director, Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film