If there is a goose in Hollywood that lays golden eggs, it is Martin Scorsese. His movies are always so brilliant that the actors inevitably give some of their best performances and win nominations and awards at the Oscars and Golden Globes. As the director turns 71, we bring you 5 of his movies that you MUST watch before you die – if you haven’t yet!
Taxi Driver (1976)
Robert De Niro has been a very close friend of Martin Scorsese over the years. You would probably have called his association with Scorsese’s projects nepotism if he didn’t give some of his best performances in them. The very first movie that proves this point is ‘Taxi Driver’. Troubled and psychotic after his stint in ‘Nam, Robert De Niro’s character Travis Bickle’s remaining sanity slowly descends further in the urban madness of New York. The movie went on to be nominated for four Oscars.
Raging Bull (1980)
By the late 70s, Scorsese was a complete cocaine addict who would probably have never made another movie if it not were for De Niro’s persuasion. The result: ‘Raging Bull’ – a black and white masterpiece that saw Scorsese reach the zenith of his movie-making. A violent biopic of a boxing champion, played by De Niro, this movie went on to be nominated in eight categories at the Oscars. This movie has to be watched for Scorsese’s directorial genius to be believed.
Goodfellas (1990)
After ‘Raging Bull’ came a period of movies which received relatively lukewarm responses. It was the gangster flick ‘Goodfellas’ that brought Scorsese back on top. The cast was awesome to start with – De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci. This movie marked a shift in the director’s earlier style of direction – making it more emotionally detached, but technically accomplished. The movie went on to win one Oscar, and was nominated in five other categories.
The Departed (2006)
Leonardo DiCaprio replaced Robert De Niro as Scorsese’s lead in his latter movies – and one of the best movies to come out of this collaboration was ‘The Departed’. A police mole in an Irish gang, and a mafia mole in the police – the awesomeness of the plot was only superseded by the awesomeness of the cast – Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Little wonder then that it went on to win four Academy Awards!
Shutter Island (2010)
If there is one more movie that deserves a mention on this list, it is the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer ‘Shutter Island’. Psychological thrillers have always enjoyed popularity in Hollywood – and DiCaprio’s excellent performance truly deserved an Oscar nomination, if not a win! Oscar snubs aside, this movie did go on to become Scorsese’s highest-grossing movie.