Whenever I see that Martin Scorsese has a new long-form interview, I stop what I’m doing and watch it. I mean, how can you skip any time with the director behind Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Silence, The Departed, The Irishman, and Killers of The Flower Moon?
There’s a lot of wisdom and fun anecdotes inside that guy, and when he recently sat down with TCM, I found their 45-minute conversation to be so engaging.
In it, Scorsese tackled the topics of old movies, his early film experiences, and working with De Niro, among many other things.
Let’s dive in.
The Martin Scorsese Interview is All Encompassing
As part of the TCMFF Pop-Up at 92NY, Scorsese spoke with TCM’s Dave Karger about his storied career and why he’s TCM’s biggest fan.
Inside the chat, I really loved Scorsese championing classic films, and why they’re so important for filmmakers to watch. It’s not just about looking at the classic form and function of cinema, it’s about being inspired by other people’s dreams and visions.
Scorsese shared his personal connection to cinema, from childhood asthma leading to movie theater visits to witnessing the evolution of film presentation on television. I loved hearing him express concern about the overwhelming amount of available films and emphasizing TCM’s role in curating and presenting films with a sense of freshness, making them accessible and relevant to new audiences.
TCM aside, there really is no feeling like finding a new movie you can’t wait to tell people about. And there are so few services out there catering to older movies.
Scorsese recalled being influenced by films like The Red Shoes and The River, sharing an anecdote about screening Cyrano de Bergerac with his daughter, which shows these films can resonate with any generation.
Of course, there was a lot of directing wisdom in this conversation.
Scorsese shares his approach to directing actors, which emphasizes the importance of communication and creating a collaborative environment.
A lot of these lessons come with working with Robert De Niro, who helped him learn to direct on the job via the actor’s ability to embody characters fully and their shared understanding of the world they come from.
This collaboration allowed Scorsese to make some memorable movies, but over the years it allowed him to also explore things he never would, with De Niro being such a moldable guy for different genres.
I loved this conversation and just being steeped in Scorsese’s world.
What were your favorite parts?
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
