Scoring Scorsese (and Other Work)

Inspired by how much I loved the chicanery in The Wolf of Wall Street, I recently put together a Martin Scorsese scatterplot/infograph for movies.com. It details his box office dollars (adjusted to 2013), Rotten Tomatoes scores, and frequent collaborators. It’s a quick and easy way to sum up his career.

Re-Watchterpiece Theater: The King of Comedy (1983)

Re-Watchterpiece Theater is a series that explores the organic way that attitudes about films change after you watch them a second time, a third time, or more, further down the line than the original viewing.

It was only through dumb luck that I found out that yesterday was Martin Scorsese’s birthday. If you’re a regular reader here, then you know that I think the world of Scorsese. He’s a perfect embodiment of America as a melting pot, translated to the big screen. And he accomplishes all of it- all of his subtle winks and nods to foreign film movements gone past- without once sacrificing the entertainment value of his films. In that way, you could argue that he’s like Hitchcock- his films are equal parts artful and engaging. All of this discussion of Scorsese appreciation is pointed towards one end. Namely, I honored his birthday by re-watching The King of Comedy (1983).

Infographic: Scorsese at a Glance

Martin Scorsese celebrated his 70th birthday a few weeks ago. Even though it’s almost a month later, it wouldn’t feel right unless his birthday was properly acknowledged here at TDYLF. After all, the man is a national treasure, both for his efforts to preserve classic cinema and for his own tremendous films. To honor the man who’s been as important as anyone to film history in his 70 years on earth, I’ve finally given him the infographic treatment.

Actual Movie/TV Dreams That I’ve Had

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
-John Lennon

We’ve all had dreams with odd circumstances, odd characters, and odd results. It’s part of being human- our subconscious likes to mess with us when we snooze. Dreams are sort of a depository for the random things that enter our skulls throughout the day. And when you take in a lot of pop culture, it’s bound to show up in your dreams. Here are some examples of dreams that I’ve had where movies and TV have forced their way into the equation.

Who is Jordan Belfort and Why is Martin Scorsese Making a Movie About Him?

Martin Scorsese started filming The Wolf of Wall Street a few weeks ago. The film is fertile territory for Scorsese- a biopic about a criminal, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. There’s no official word yet on who will play the madonna/whore but Margot Robbie would seem to be the choice, as Belfort’s wife. Even though the film won’t be released until some time in 2013 (at the earliest), it’s never too early to start deciphering the subject matter. Who is Jordan Belfort and why is Martin Scorsese making a movie about him?

Brief Thoughts about the Sight and Sound Director Lists

A lot of the bluster is finally dying down regarding Sight & Sound’s recent release of their Greatest Films of All-Time list. They have both a list compiled by critics and a list compiled by directors, with various director top 10s trickling out over the last few weeks. Most of the discussion has centered around Vertigo (1958) toppling Citizen Kane (1941) for the top slot. But I don’t care about that. They’re both great, and you should see them both if you like movies. It’s the director lists I’d like to discuss.

15 Images of Martin Scorsese on Set

A lot of things happen to a movie before anyone actually sees it on screen. Most of what happens isn’t even seen on screen when it’s a finished product. The behind the scenes stuff makes up the guts of a film, and I’m in favor of bringing some of that to light. Here are 15 pictures of Martin Scorsese plying his craft throughout his career, on set.

Deconstructing Taxi Driver (1976)

Thanks to the awesome folks at Destroy the Brain, I had an opportunity to see one of the most critically acclaimed films- Taxi Driver (1976)– from one of my very favorite directors, Martin Scorsese, on the big screen over the weekend. I had only seen Taxi Driver once before, about six years ago, although a great deal of it had stuck with me. All the same, the gap between viewings made a spectacular film seem extraordinarily fresh to me. I picked up on a great deal more the second time around.

Rambling Film Reviews: The Last Waltz (1978)

As part of my mad dash to see at least 15 classic or non-new release films on the big screen in 2012, I was recently afforded an opportunity to see Martin Scorsese’s concert documentary about The Band, The Last Waltz (1978). I had seen 24 Scorsese films prior to The Last Waltz. As you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of holes in my Scorsese viewing experience. But The Last Waltz was one of those holes. Much like my pseudo-reviews for two previous big screen items, North by Northwest and The Bride Wore Black, I have quite bit to say about The Last Waltz but nothing that could be melded into a cogent review. That being the case, here are a bunch of rambling thoughts about it.

Great Moments in Movie History: Taxi Driver (1976)

A long time ago (2 years) in a galaxy far, far away (about four miles from where I’m sitting right now), I started this site with no real purpose. But one thing that I knew I wanted to do was institute a series of great moments in movie history, memorialized using stick figures. It’s where the tagline comes from– come for the stick figures, stay for the Bergman. I busted out several early on, especially in the first year of operation. Then it slowed down almost to a crawl. I realized the other day that it’s damn near at a total stop. I haven’t done one since October (you can find the full list here, along with every time I’ve used the phrase ‘Great Moments in Movie History’). I need to get back to my roots. This is all a really long way of saying, “Hey, I turned Travis Bickle and Taxi Driver into a stick figure!” Enjoy: