Martin Scorsese:An Investigation of his Film Making Style Outside of the Italian American Gangster

Genre

Martin Scorsese:An Investigation of his Film Making Style Outside of the Italian American Gangster

Genre

Kiera BridgesKiera Bridges

Pre-lude

Martin Scorsese is an esteemed director who has been described by many as an auteur, although his work within the Italian American Gangster genre is his most recognisable body of work, his work outside of this genre is less recognised by his audience.In this investigation I will discuss his hallmarks/trademarks and their prominence within his films, his repeated work with actors Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and crew members and the the themes and issues that his films address and their importance to the man himself.

Hallmarks• Truthfulness to his characters

• Verbal intensity

• Use of popular music during fictional scene depicting everyday life(a lot of use of period rock and roll)

• Allowing actors great freedom

• Slow motion at unexpected moments

• Protagonists always searching for their humanity

• Recurrent themes of violence and a graphic and realistic portrayal of violence

• The use of the colour red

• Frequent collaborations with Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio

• Begins films with segments from the middle or end of the narrative

• Extensive white lighting

• Female characters are often depicted as angelic when looking from the protagonist point of view.They also always wear whit in their first scene in the movie.

• Often uses tracking shots, his most famous one being the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas (1990)

• Strong religious themes and and use of religious symbolism

Collaboration with Actors and Crew

RoleNumber of Times worked with

Scorsese

Robert DeNiro Leading Actor 8

Leonardo DiCaprio Leading Actor 4

Joe Pesci Leading Actor 3

Harvey Keitel Leading Actor 5

Thelma Schoonmaker Editor 18

Paul Schrader Writer 4

Cis Corman Casting Director 3

Dante Ferretti Production Designer 8

Robert Richardson Cinematographer 5

Themes and Statements

• Italian American Identity

• Roman Catholic Concepts of Guilt and Redemption

• Modern Crime and Violence

• Ostracization

• Lead Character often longs to accepted by society

• Search for humanity within lead characters

• Masculinity (Machismo)

• Strong emotions (emotional interaction of characters dealing with themes of drugs, Violence, sex; Scorsese explores these themes emotionally)

• Characters Psychological Perspectives

• The role of women within society and their struggle

Summary

Martin Scorsese’s style is consistent within every single genre he has explored, this is evident from his use of hallmarks that have been present within his work from the every beginning of his career to the themes and issues he explores and the actors and crew he works with.Scorsese’s work is lesser known by audiences who are not entirely familiar his work outside of the crime genre; to understand why Martin Scorsese is an auteur you would need to have some knowledge of Scorsese’s work.