Among the handful of viable candidates for “America’s Greatest Living Filmmaker,” Martin Scorsese may have the strongest case. Best known for weaponizing Hollywood violence to tell stories of a fallen America, Scorsese’s six-decade-spanning career is more kaleidoscopic than conventional wisdom suggests. His first years of filmmaking saw him turn his hand to B-movie exploitation, concert films, and sports dramas, to name only a few, revivifying each with his pulsing, sweeping vision. Exploring a pivotal early stretch in his influential career, this collection finds a voracious young artist leaving no cinematic stone unturned.
Working within the formulaic constraints of legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman, Scorsese turns lurid material into a sly commentary on American sin in his unapologetically scrappy second feature, Boxcar Bertha (1972). In an explosive demonstration of his cinephilic iconoclasm, Scorsese revisits The Wizard of Oz by way of Bonnie and Clyde, sending a northern Yankee, a communist, a Black man, and a farm girl–turned–sex worker on a bloody crime spree through the nation’s Southern states.
Scorsese kicked off his storied career as a music documentarian in style with one of the great concert films of all time: his electrifying record of The Band’s farewell concert, The Last Waltz (1978). Bursting at the seams with era-defining talent, this exuberant celebration of musical Americana captured a once-in-a-generation meeting of icons, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Muddy Waters. With the bruising Raging Bull (1980), Scorsese took the boxing movie to unprecedented heights of style and substance. Winning a pugilistic Robert DeNiro his only Best Actor Oscar®, this iconic film is quintessential Scorsese—a resolutely unromantic study of violence and the American way of life.

Among the handful of viable candidates for &#8220;America&#8217;s Greatest Living Filmmaker,&#8221; Martin Scorsese may have the strongest case. Best known for weaponizing Hollywood violence to tell stories of a fallen America, Scorsese&#8217;s six-decade-spanning career is more kaleidoscopic than conventional wisdom suggests. His first years of filmmaking saw him turn his hand to B-movie exploitation, concert films, and sports dramas, to name only a few, revivifying each with his pulsing, sweeping vision. Exploring a pivotal early stretch in his influential career, this collection finds a voracious young artist leaving no cinematic stone unturned.
Working within the formulaic constraints of legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman, Scorsese turns lurid material into a sly commentary on American sin in his unapologetically scrappy second feature, Boxcar Bertha (1972). In an explosive demonstration of his cinephilic iconoclasm, Scorsese revisits The Wizard of Oz by way of Bonnie and Clyde, sending a northern Yankee, a communist, a Black man, and a farm girl–turned–sex worker on a bloody crime spree through the nation&#8217;s Southern states.
Scorsese kicked off his storied career as a music documentarian in style with one of the great concert films of all time: his electrifying record of The Band&#8217;s farewell concert, The Last Waltz (1978). Bursting at the seams with era-defining talent, this exuberant celebration of musical Americana captured a once-in-a-generation meeting of icons, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Muddy Waters. With the bruising Raging Bull (1980), Scorsese took the boxing movie to unprecedented heights of style and substance. Winning a pugilistic Robert DeNiro his only Best Actor Oscar®, this iconic film is quintessential Scorsese&#8212;a resolutely unromantic study of violence and the American way of life.

Martin Scorsese: The Early Years

MARTIN SCORSESE: THE EARLY YEARS

Among the handful of candidates for “America’s Greatest Living Filmmaker,” Martin Scorsese may have the strongest case. Revisiting the first decade of his iconic career, this collection showcases the director’s kaleidoscopic portraiture of America in films that leave no cinematic stone unturned.

Among the handful of candidates for &#8220;America&#8217;s Greatest Living Filmmaker,&#8221; Martin Scorsese may have the strongest case. Revisiting the first decade of his iconic career, this collection showcases the director&#8217;s kaleidoscopic portraiture of America in films that leave no cinematic stone unturned.