A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

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"I can only talk about what has moved me or intrigued me," says filmmaker Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull) at the beginning of this four-hour documentary about his passion for U.S. cinema. "I can't really be objective here." Hallelujah! A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies is the perfect antidote to the forced and artificial doctrine of the American Film Institute's so-called 100 best films. The AFI's English cousin, the British Film Institute, did a brilliant thing in enlisting Scorsese--probably the most famous student of cinema in the U.S.--to open up and speak at length for this project about the history of artistic survival among Hollywood directors. Working with cowriter and codirector Michael Henry Wilson, Scorsese takes a highly intuitive and heartfelt approach in describing how a number of filmmakers--some famous and some forgotten--carefully layered their visions into their work, often against the great resistance or eccentric whims of powerful producers. Film clips are plentiful, but they are also more than window dressing for nostalgia buffs. For instance, it's not unusual for Scorsese to return repeatedly to the same film (such as Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful) in order to make a series of connecting, deepening points. In the end, this work is truly one of Scorsese's most direct bridges to his imagination and personality, and it has the sort of restorative properties that can make a cinephile wearied by today's junk culture fall in love with movies again. A companion book is also available. --Tom Keogh

Description

Martin Scorsese narrates an overview of American film history, beginning with D.W. Griffith and ending in 1969.

Customer Reviews:

Can't Get Enough!.......2007-08-27

I've watched this whole multi-segment documentary at least four or five times--including a marathon session of the entire 3 hours and 45-some minute at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum! It has never become stale. The only hazard from watching it is the increasing temptation to envy of Mr. Scorsese's opportunity to have seen the multitude of films that he discusses and analyzes.

The Finest Movie Documentary of All Time........2005-09-11

Anyone who knows anything about Martin Scorsese knows that he is a walking film encyclopedia. But I do not know if those who know Scorsese know about this movie. Made with the BFI, as kind of an antidote to those dull AFI lists, this movie about movies gives viewers all kinds of information that few people in this world know about. Or at least they didn't before they saw this movie.

The movie is broken down into sections. Scorsese examines all types of genres and styles of film in his four hours on camera. The only shame about the movie is that some of the titles that Scorsese reccomends are not available on DVD. I, like most film fans, have abandoned the VHS format many moons ago. But be prepared to spend months of your life searching independent video stores to see a single one of Scorsese's picks. He has given the film community yet another gift.

A walk down Hollywood Blvd .......2005-02-21

How much do I love Martin Scorsese ? more than any other director alive or dead. How objective am I when it comes to his work ? very !!! Therefore when I write that this is good, it is reaaaally good.

Here we meet with Marty the film geek during a 4hours long walk down memory lane. This documentary is constructed as MS's introduction to American Cinema, but far from being dry it is a passionate presentation that opens many perspectives, both on the history of cinema and on Scorsese's own filmmaking.

I recommend this documentary to anyone who calls himself a cinephile or anyone willing to do the work necessary to become a fully-fledged one. Yes, it is only US films but just give MS time enough and he might come up with an anthology of japanese cinema ;o)
This works perfectly with his Journey in Italy that maps out the key moments of Italian cinema, and is therefore an even more personal insight into MS's influences (good to see with his documentary on his parents Italianamerican, a very moving film with the incredible Catherine Scorsese !).

This documentary is a pure pleasure to watch, listening to MS talking about films is a delightful experience and will provide the attentive viewer with a better understanding of a bunch of cult/classic films. I would advise you to pay special attention to the part on The Searchers (in the westerns section), and then to screen Taxi Driver with this John Ford classic in mind, just to realize how influences and reinterpretation work in Scorsese's work.

Some can complain that MS doesn't speak about recent films, nevertheless I don't think it is relevant. What the film is trying to do is to actually give us tools to read into recent movies, into our film viewing experience ... I would like to hear more of what Scorsese has to say about The Godfather for instance, and I would loove to hear him saying awfull (and deserved things) about films such as Lethal Weapon, but that's not what he's here for. Moreover, it's harder to determine which recent movies are worth talking about/most important. Let's leave time to history to make a selection and hope for some other cinephile to take a look at the nineties in 30 years for instance.

Anyway, this DVD along with the one on the Italian cinema are true must have's or at least must see's (repeatedly!!!) for anyone who loves cinema / Scorsese.

Magnificient View.......2003-02-12

This is an incredible look at the history of American Cinema through the eyes of the greatest American Filmmaker. Martin Scorsese's ability to tell story is moving. The man loves movies and shares this love through his extensive knowledge of the subject, but somehow manages to remain humble and lets you know that this is of course his view, His Personal Journey. It is amazing to think that if a younger filmmaker were to be asked what his influences were they would surely include Scorsese among their greater influences and give praise to such a master. In watching this DVD you can see the same admiration any young filmmaker would have for Scorsese coming from Scorsese himself towards the Greats that came before him and shaped his View.

Every cinema buff and film student should own a copy.......2003-02-05

How close is this to the syllabus of Prof. Scorsese's course at NYU? It really doesn't really make a difference to me whether these are his "personal" opinions or not--it's an incredibly valuable survey of cinematic technique. Particularly striking is the section entitled "The Director as Smuggler," highlighting how once-controversial themes were cloaked in the familiar fabric of genre pictures. Today when everything has to be so in-your-face obvious, there's a lot to be learned from these subtle visual and narrative tricks.

Charlie Rose with Martin Scorsese (January 16, 1998)

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Charlie Rose with Martin Scorsese (January 16, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Charlie Rose with Martin Scorsese; Barbara De Fina (November 17, 1995)

ASIN: B000IU34FA
Release Date: 2006-09-18

Description

Charlie talks to Martin Scorsese for the hour. Scorsese began his career at NYU film school, where he drew notice for his gritty realism and inventive camera work. His filmography features some of the classics of contemporary cinema, including Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas. He has challenged the medium with such diverse films as The Last Temptation of Christ and The Age of Innocence. Tonight, Scorsese is on to discuss his life, a new book, A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, and a new film, Kundun.

Century Of Cinema - A personal journey with Martin Scorcese through American movies / Istoriya amerikanskogo kino ot Martina Skorseze (3 DVD)

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Century Of Cinema - A personal journey with Martin Scorcese through American movies / Istoriya amerikanskogo kino ot Martina Skorseze (3 DVD)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Karmen Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Language: English, Russian. Subtitles: Russian.

ASIN: B000RJ6PVW

Product Description

Kak rodilsja amerikanskij kinematograf? Kto prisutstvoval pri ego rodah? Kuda smotrel v jeto vremja Griffit? Otchego na svete studii? CHto oni vytvorjajut s rezhissjorami i skol'ko raz v den'? Privedite desjat' naibolee vyrazitel'nyh scen amerikanskogo kino. Dumat', budto otvety na jeti i drugie voprosy v takoj jekzamenacionnoj forme vy poluchite v jetom fil'me, - oshibochno. No na ochen' mnogie iz nih vy smozhete posle prosmotra otvetit' samostojatel'no. Vopreki original'nomu nazvaniju fil'ma, podcherkivajuwemu ego sub#ektivnost', Skorseze obladaet dostatochnym obajaniem i masterstvom, chtoby pokazat' vam vse samye jarkie dostizhenija Gollivuda i ego okrestnostej vplot' do 80-h gg., a samomu pri jetom rastvorit'sja, kak budto ego zdes' i ne sidelo.