Top 10 Martin Scorsese scenes of all time!

By:

Marcus Leshock

From: http://www.chicagonow.com/



Director Martin Scorsese will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards. It's a no brainer when you look at the man's catalog, starting with "Boxcar Bertha" and "Mean Streets," moving on to "Goodfellas," "Cape Fear," and "Casino," and recently "The Departed."

I've compiled my Top 10 moments in Scorsese movie history. He's known for these scenes, series of events that will be stuck in a movie buff's head for eternity.

Here we go...

Honorable Mention: "The Color Of Money" (1986) Pool Scene

Paul Newman and Tom Cruise finally face off in a big match. Scorsese's camera snaps back and forth between the two players. The game is on, and while they each carefully orchestrate their shots, there is chaos in the air, as seen in the spattering of pool balls smacking all over the table. Masterfully edited by Scorsese regular Thelma Schoonmaker.

10. "Raging Bull" (1980) - A Brutal Beating

In this scene, Jake La Motta confronts his wife about her infidelity. Like a sparring opponent, she eggs him on to the point of explosion. The scene finishes in Joey's living room, where Pesci is thrown to the floor and beaten during family dinner. Scorsese is sure to add a tracking shot under the dining room table. The audience needs to see this from a child's perspective. To cap it off, he concludes with a straight medium shot of both children starring in disbelief.

One of the low angle beating shots would be used again in 1990's "Goodfellas."





9. "The Departed" (2006) - Getting to know Frank Costello

I love the scene where Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) walks into the grocery store and first meets Colin Sullivan. It's definitely a nod to earlier films ("Godfather II" and Don Fanucci come to mind), where Costello's character is set up as he shakes down the clerk. But times have changed since the old days, because Costello also lays claim to the man's daughter.

"You get your period yet Carmen?"




8. "Cape Fear" (1991) - Max Cady Goes To The Theater

Robert De Niro will be a frequent contributor to this list. Here, his Max Cady from the film noir remake of "Cape Fear" confronts the Bowden family at the movies. The most disturbing thing about the scene is the film he's laughing at.





7. "Goodfellas" (1990) - Jimmy Plans The Hit

"Goodfellas" is my favorite Scorsese film, one of my favorite movies ever. Here, Robert De Niro's Jimmy takes a few drags on a cigarette. But really, he's planning a massive hit that will reshape the way the crime family is structured. In just 30 seconds, with a little "Sunshine of your Love" thrown in, Scorsese takes Jimmy from thinking about a crazy idea, to fully committed to whacking the people he once loved. Just watch De Niro's eyes.




6. "Gangs of New York" (2002) - Bill the Butcher shares a moment with Amsterdam Vallon

A great example of doing a lot with a little. Here, Scorsese's hands the film over to Daniel Day-Lewis, draped in a tattered American flag, as he confronts Leonardo DiCaprio.

"Cut off his head. Stick it on a pike. Raise it high up so all in the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear."




5. "Taxi Driver" (1976) - The Ending

Talk about not glamorizing violence. Travis Bickle returns to the whorehouse to rescue a teenage hooker. Horrible, horrible things ensue.




4. "Goodfellas" - The Club Scene

In one long shot, Scorsese tells the audience who Henry Hill is. He doesn't wait in line, he knows everybody at the hottest spots in town, and by the time the get their table front and center, he has Karen Hill in his pocket.




3. "Taxi Driver" - You Talkin' to Me?

Legend says that Robert De Niro improvised this scene. When it's finished, we will have watched Travis Bickle go from dreaming of being the anti-hero, to becoming a ready killing machine.




2. "Goodfellas" - Am I Funny?

This scene goes from hilarious to terrifying. Again, another few minutes where we see complete change in a character. We witness Joe Pesci's Tommy turn from charming to menacing on his own friend, foreshadowing events that would take place later in the film.




1. "Raging Bull" - Opening Titles

This is Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement. I know what you're thinking, it's the credits! Are you crazy? Probably. But try to watch this without looking away. As the music swells underneath Jake La Motta dancing in the ring, we see man in his element. The ropes could signify Jake trapped in his own personal jail cell, but these ropes are keeping the other things out. That's where the turmoil will be - outside the ring.

Simple. But maybe the best opening sequence ever put on film.

HBO orders 'Boardwalk Empire'

Martin Scorsese directed the period drama's pilot

By Nellie Andreeva

Sept 1, 2009, 04:10 PM ET

HBO is building a "Boardwalk Empire" with a series order for the Martin Scorsese-directed pilot.

The premium cable network has picked up 11 episodes of the period drama, bringing the total order to 12 hours, including the pilot.

Production on the series is slated to begin this fall for a 2010 premiere.

Written by Terence Winter, "Empire" is set in 1920 at the dawn of Prohibition and chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster.

Scorsese and Winter are executive producing the series with Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Tim Van Patten.

Scorsese is expected to continue to be creatively involved and may direct another episode of "Empire," subject to his availability.

In addition to Buscemi, the cast of the pilot also included Michael Pitt, Kelly MacDonald, Michael Shannon, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Aleksa Palladino, Paul Sparks, Shea Whigham, Anthony Laciura, Michael Kenneth Williams, Dabney Coleman, Michael Stuhlbarg and Paz de la Huerta.

HBO has been beefing up its slate of original series over the past nine months with orders to new comedies "Hung," "Bored to Death" and "How to Make It in America" and drama "Treme."

Scorsese set to direct Sinatra biopic

Screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson penned the script

By Borys Kit and Jay A. Fernandez

Frank Sinatra (Getty Images photo)

Frank Sinatra is finally getting his biopic, directed by no less a celebrity profiler than Martin Scorsese.

Universal Pictures has acquired "Sinatra," a script by "Field of Dreams" screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson with Scorsese attached to helm. Mandalay Pictures' Peter Guber and Cathy Schulman are producing along with Scorsese and his Sikelia Prods.

The deal comes after years of negotiations with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, a joint venture of the crooner's estate and Warner Music Group. Internal politics of the estate, where family members had to form a consensus as to how to tell the story and, more importantly, just how much of the story to tell -- was a hurdle that had to be overcome.

"The obstacles were ones of comfort and trust," Schulman said. "Everybody that was in control of the rights had to unanimously agree to do this. And having Marty at the head of this was the thing that ultimately cracked the code, so to speak."

There were also complicated rights issues, with the entire venture at one point getting bogged down over apparel merchandising rights, which the studio and the family were haggling over. That issue appears to be resolved.

	Casting the crooner Who would you like to see as Frank Sinatra? Harry Connick Jr. (Swing's his thing) Justin Timberlake (In Sinatra synch) Leonardo DiCaprio (Can Marty's fave sing?) Jamie Foxx (Cool is color blind) Michael Imperioli (Jersey roots and croons) Other

Scorsese has taken on a host of historical figures throughout his career, most notably boxer Jake La Motta, billionaire recluse Howard Hughes and Jesus.

"Sinatra" not only will allow Scorsese to tackle the life of a fellow Italian-American with enormous cultural impact, it will also give him a chance to paint a portrait of Sinatra's pal, Dean Martin.

The filmmaker has for more than a decade been developing a biopic on Martin titled "Dino," working with a script by his "Casino" and "Goodfellas" writer Nicholas Pileggi based on the Nick Tosches biography, "Dino: Livin' High in the Dirty Business of Dreams."

"Dino" has been dormant for quite some time, though the research done for that project will likely inform "Sinatra" to an extent.

Speaking of research, Robinson, who was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1989's "Field of Dreams," had amassed 30,000 pages of it for "Sinatra," according to Schulman. And distilling it into a feature film has led the creative team to shun a traditional, linear storytelling approach in favor of a more unconventional one.

"It'll be almost like a collage," Schulman said. "In the way one of his records captures different rhythms and moods, this will have collective scenes and moments that form the overall story as opposed to a conventional timeline. It's about capturing moments as opposed to trying to tell the entire story in too little time."

A comparison could be made to Todd Haynes' 2007 Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There," which sketched out impressions of Dylan's life and work using six different actors, though only one actor is expected to play the Chairman of the Board.

With the artistic and social life he led, Sinatra's personal history is perfectly tailored for dramatic storytelling. Born in Hoboken, N.J., and raised during the Depression, he built a singing career that weathered many changes in popular culture, all the while racking up 31 gold records and countless other honors. He also had a successful career as an actor, proving naysayers wrong by earning an Oscar for 1953's "From Here to Eternity."

His personal life was just as eventful. He suffered from depression, was alleged to have connections to organized crime and was married four times; two of his wives were Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow.

No one has yet been cast in "Sinatra." The icon, who died 11 years ago Thursday, was portrayed on the small screen by Philip Casnoff in a 1992 TV movie and by Ray Liotta in HBO's 1998 movie "The Rat Pack."

Robinson recently signed with Endeavor. Scorsese is also repped by Endeavor.