This is a great piece, and triggered a number of thoughts. Not necessarily particularly well structured ones, though, so apologies if the below is a bit of a random mix:
- On 'bad' Scorsese movies. I agree that Gangs of New York isn't great (my tolerance for Daniel Day Lewis's 'look at me' acting is not high at the best of times), but Bringing Out The Dead still stands out for me, just too crazed and a pretty redundant retread of Taxi Driver (although in retrospect rather less redundant than Joker's remix of King of Comedy).
- On Goodfellas as a 'bro' movie. As a teenager, I think I did see it as straightforward wish fulfilment, but older and (maybe) wiser, that's just a naive view. I felt that at least part of the point of The Irishman (maybe his best since Age of Innocence?) was Scorsese saying 'if you thought the people in Goodfellas were cool and glamorous, you're an idiot, look at how tawdry these people are.' Right from Frank's first hit, everything about them is so pathetic.
- On Casino. I remember being quite disappointed in it at the time, probably because I was looking for Goodfellas 2 and it's not quite that, and I haven't really been back to it since (maybe now's the time!). From memory, though, I was very engaged by Ace and I think saw Ginger along with Nicky as largely baggage that was keeping him from success. Again, I probably hadn't quite worked out by then that the end of Godfather 2 isn't supposed to be aspirational!).
Anyway, not sure if any of that makes sense, but thanks for making me think!
Thanks for your thoughts! Yeah, for me I think Gangs of New York and Shutter Island are my least returned-to among his films. But with Gangs, I do hugely admire the ambition and passion behind the project - it's a fascinating era that he's trying to depict.
I definitely agree with you on the Irishman being such a great thorough takedown of any vicarious thrill-seeking or glamour. Even Frank himself is kind of an uncharismatic presence.
There's a lot to appreciate in Casino, I think. It's a rewarding rewatch regardless of what your takeaways are, I would say.
Yes, Shutter Island is a pot boiler really, a well made pot boiler but a pot boiler all the same. And isn't the twist a bit......predictable? I've seen it crop up on (internet, obviously) lists of his best works which does seem a bit drab. Better that than the Wolf of Wall St bros though I guess.
And I do remember being very excited about Gangs before it was released. It is an incredible bit of history, maybe even more so when you remember that only 60-70 years after that, New York had transformed itself into the most important city in the world (in fact, I think it's set maybe 10 years before Age of Innocence?).
This is a great piece, and triggered a number of thoughts. Not necessarily particularly well structured ones, though, so apologies if the below is a bit of a random mix:
- On 'bad' Scorsese movies. I agree that Gangs of New York isn't great (my tolerance for Daniel Day Lewis's 'look at me' acting is not high at the best of times), but Bringing Out The Dead still stands out for me, just too crazed and a pretty redundant retread of Taxi Driver (although in retrospect rather less redundant than Joker's remix of King of Comedy).
- On Goodfellas as a 'bro' movie. As a teenager, I think I did see it as straightforward wish fulfilment, but older and (maybe) wiser, that's just a naive view. I felt that at least part of the point of The Irishman (maybe his best since Age of Innocence?) was Scorsese saying 'if you thought the people in Goodfellas were cool and glamorous, you're an idiot, look at how tawdry these people are.' Right from Frank's first hit, everything about them is so pathetic.
- On Casino. I remember being quite disappointed in it at the time, probably because I was looking for Goodfellas 2 and it's not quite that, and I haven't really been back to it since (maybe now's the time!). From memory, though, I was very engaged by Ace and I think saw Ginger along with Nicky as largely baggage that was keeping him from success. Again, I probably hadn't quite worked out by then that the end of Godfather 2 isn't supposed to be aspirational!).
Anyway, not sure if any of that makes sense, but thanks for making me think!
Thanks for your thoughts! Yeah, for me I think Gangs of New York and Shutter Island are my least returned-to among his films. But with Gangs, I do hugely admire the ambition and passion behind the project - it's a fascinating era that he's trying to depict.
I definitely agree with you on the Irishman being such a great thorough takedown of any vicarious thrill-seeking or glamour. Even Frank himself is kind of an uncharismatic presence.
There's a lot to appreciate in Casino, I think. It's a rewarding rewatch regardless of what your takeaways are, I would say.
Yes, Shutter Island is a pot boiler really, a well made pot boiler but a pot boiler all the same. And isn't the twist a bit......predictable? I've seen it crop up on (internet, obviously) lists of his best works which does seem a bit drab. Better that than the Wolf of Wall St bros though I guess.
And I do remember being very excited about Gangs before it was released. It is an incredible bit of history, maybe even more so when you remember that only 60-70 years after that, New York had transformed itself into the most important city in the world (in fact, I think it's set maybe 10 years before Age of Innocence?).