Research into a Director

1. Research into a director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and
film historian. The famous director was born November 17, 1942 in New York city. His
family moved to the Little Italy section of Manhattan before he started school. His
family moved to the Little Italy section of Manhattan before he started school which
has later become to influence him on making films with a lot of his films being Italian or
American based. Scorsese began his earlier career by making short films at New York
University

2. Career
• Martin Scorsese most known work are mainly big budget films like Wolf of Wall
Street, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and Shutter Island. Scorsese has worked
with world famous actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. His most
famous films are mainly based on his background and the director normally finds
a way of cooperating Italian or American themes into his films. Other themes of
his films include violence, crime, gang conflict, and jealousy. Within his films, he
uses a range of shot types but normally starts his films with establishing shots
and he also includes a lot of voiceovers within a part of his films. Guilt is also a
very common theme and is sometimes expressed through the idea of
Catholicism.

3. Techniques
• Many of Scorsese films contain a lot of the same
techniques. One of these techniques freeze frame. This
technique is used in The King od Comedy when a
characters hands are pressed against a window.
• Another technique Martin Scorsese uses is the idea of
always having a blonde leading lady as a character. He
may do this to appeal fragile and make the male
protagonist seem more powerful. We can see a leading
lady in the film Casino which also stars Robert De Niro
who is another close actor to the director.
• A lot of Scorsese’s films also have western references
with dishonourable authority. For example we can see
this in a modern film called The Departed.

4. Awards
• The film Goodfellas (1990) received the following rewards and more: BAFTA Award for
Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Direction, BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,
Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best
Director, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film, Chicago Film Critics
Association Award for Best Director, Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best
Screenplay, Fotogramas de Plata Best Foreign Film, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award
for Best Film, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director
• The film The Aviator (2004) received the following awards and more: BAFTA Award for
Best Film, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Dallas-Fort Worth
Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for
Best Director, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Director, Los Angeles Film
Critics Association Award for Best Director, London Film Critics Circle Award for Best
Director, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Director, St. Louis Gateway Film
Critics Association Award for Best Director, Nominated – Academy Award for Best
Director, Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing –
Feature Film