A few months back I had the silly thought to binge my way through a few of my favorite Scorsese flicks. This, of course, turned into a deep dive of his filmography. (Excluding documentaries, cable shows, etc.)
They say anything worth doing is worth overdoing, and there is some truth to that I suppose. I blew through twenty-five films, albeit not in chronological order.
It was fun. Occasionally tedious.
Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967) – This felt like I was watching a nineties-era indie film more so than a film from the late-sixties. That says a lot more about the nineties than the sixties or Scorsese methinks.
Boxcar Bertha (1972) – Barbara Hershey and David Carradine in all of their seventies glory. Yes, please.
Mean Streets (1973) – So is the the title sequence of Drugstore Cowboy an homage to the title sequence to Mean Streets? Is this a love connection?
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) – This is the flick that turned me on to All the Way from Memphis by Mott the Hoople. It is also the inspiration for the television series Alice, which I watched incessantly as a child. Kiss my grits y’all.
Taxi Driver (1976) – I realize I’m in the minority here, but Taxi Driver is my least favorite Scorsese film. I hit the scene with Scorsese cameoing as the stalker in the cab and my stomach turns sour each and every time. It completely throws me off the rest of the film.
New York, New York (1977) – I will admit to multitasking during this film. We have three kids in this house, there’s always laundry to be done. I like Liza Minnelli (Arthur!), and I dig DeNiro. Together, we’re just not having that Reeses Peanut Butter Cup moment.
Raging Bull (1980) – If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times. Somewhere Over the Rainbow makes everything better. Still, my heart remains loyal to one Rocky Balboa.
The King of Comedy (1982) – This was a first time viewing for me. Watching it through post-Joker eyes was interesting. Sandra Bernhard was born to play Masha.
After Hours (1985) – Well, that was weird. In a good way, I think.
The Color of Money (1986) – I dig Newman. I dig The Hustler. I’ll leave it at that.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) – Congratulations are in order to Willem Dafoe for being the first actor to portray both Jesus Christ and the Green Goblin.
Goodfellas (1990) – The Godfather for those born in the seventies or later. Not that The Godfather isn’t great. But Goodfellas? Fughetaboutit. Sid Vicious’s My Way at the end? Icing on the cake, baby.
Cape Fear (1991) – DeNiro with a southern accent is a bit off-putting. Juliette Lewis breathes rarified air.
The Age of Innocence (1993) – I’d really like to know what the hat budget was for this film.
Casino (1995) – I once wrote in a question to Frank Rosenthal – the real life Ace Rothstein. He answered on his website. I swooned.
Kundun (1997) – I had to find this one on YouTube. At once not my cup of tea and strangely alluring.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999) – I went through quite the Nicolas Cage phase in the nineties. I have no regrets. Bringing Out the Dead has always been one of my favorites.
Gangs of New York (2002) – I’ve never been a fan of Daniel Day Lewis, but damn if he doesn’t nail it in this one.
The Aviator (2004) – I could really do with a sequel to this. I want the Vegas years. I want Melvin and Howard, the Scorsese treatment.
The Departed (2006) – “What, you on your period?” A well-deserved best picture and a permanent resident of my personal top ten. Ray Winstone is (insert your own series of expletives here) amazing.
Shutter Island (2010) – The first time I saw this flick, I thought it was a Christopher Nolan film because I was thoroughly confused through much of the picture. My second viewing has done nothing to compromise that original reaction. I eventually just bought the book.
Hugo (2011) – Answering the age-old question, what if Martin Scorsese made a Harry Potter film? If you didn’t dig this flick, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Spike Lee, you’re next.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – More decadence and anarchy than the first two Decline of Western Civilization movies put together. So much fun.
Silence (2016) – This is that flick where Kylo Ren and Spider-man 2.0 go on a quest to discover whatever happened to Qui-gon Jinn.
The Irishman (2019) – This is one long-ass movie. The first time I watched it, I broke it up over three days. It’s a slower pace in comparison to other Scorsese flicks, and that takes some getting used to. The second time around I only broke it up into two nights. Third time’s a charm.
25 flicks.
The Order Watched: Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, After Hours, Bringing Out the Dead, The Irishman, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, The Color of Money, Hugo, Shutter Island, The King of Comedy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Silence, The Aviator, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, New York, New York, Gangs of New York, Kundun, Boxcar Bertha, Raging Bull
By the Numbers: 25 Scorsese films. 3,445 minutes of screen time. Approximately 57 1/2 hours. 9 instances of Robert DeNiro. 6 instances of Harvey Keitel. 5 instances of Leonardo DiCaprio. 2 instances of Daniel Day Lewis. 1 somewhat annoyed spouse having to put up with my impromptu career retrospectives.