Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on May 30, 2005 at 00:48:10

In Reply to: Scorscese: what a small percentage of good posted by tinear on May 29, 2005 at 15:43:33:

I'm not a big fan of Gangs of New York because I think Director Scorsese overreached in regards to the symbolism he was attempting (i.e., a history of America as a nation of immigrants told through the microcosm of life in mid-19th century New York City). However, in my estimation the biggest failing of GoNY is that the acting was very uneven.

OTOH, many of MS's films are critically acclaimed gems, especially those dealing honestly and compassionately with gritty underworld subjects (i.e., the seemier side of humanity). Indeed, there is a great deal of ugliness in crime drama as there is in real life and in many a well told story from Shakespeare to Mickey Spillane! IMHO, your failure to embrace the nuggets of humanity embodied in Martin Scorsese's richly hewn characters is not HIS failing.

For instance, Taxi Driver, Goodfellows and Casino are all brilliant achievements and every bit as impressive as Mean Streets, except that the craftsmanship of his later efforts demonstrate more maturity as a filmmaker. BTW, Raging Bull may not be everybody's cuppa tea, but it is rightfully regarded a minor masterpiece, and the King of Comedy seems to improve with age and multiple viewings.

I concur with your opinion of The Age of Innocence, and I haven't seen After Hours, Bring Out the Dead, Kundun or Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore so I'll yield to your impressions of those films. BTW, you didn't mention his most recent film, The Aviator. While I don't consider it to be one of Scorsese's better/best films, it does have it's moments.

Last Temptation is controversial, but that's not necessarily a bad thing and may be unavoidable when contemplating religious subjects. While LToC may not be a masterpiece by any stretch of the word, it's inarguably a better crafted film than Mr. Gibson's Passion, which has received far more praise than it probably deserves. In point of fact, Last Temptation is far less violent than TP, if depictions of graphic violence offends you.

In short, how anyone can downgrade the achievements of a talented filmmaker like Martin Scorsese is beyond me, but I reiterate, you certainly have a right to your opinion, as I do to mine.

AuPh