Scorsese: a revealing insight

Cafe Society
1

It is Oscars night so in that spirit!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Martin Scorsese’s work but I’ve always felt that his treatment of violence has a particular quality that I could never quite put my finger on.
However, I read an interview with him recently where he talks of an incident from his childhood where someone fell to their death right in front of him (I think he was 8 at the time) his description suddenly hit home. He talks of this person falling (from his perspective) from no-where, no run-up to it, no forewarning or anticipation from the young Martin. Just falling and thumping into the ground… Splat!

Could that be it? perhaps the seed of his future treatment of violence? That feeling of even normality tripping straight into gore and death.

I’m particularly thinking of many Goodfellas Scenes (shooting Spider, shooting Stacks, shooting Tommy) or the elevator scene in “The Departed” but perhaps those out there with better memories and depths of cinematic trivia might be able to throw out a few more.

Of course it may be that I am talking piffle and I’m the only one who gets that from his films…you are free to make that observation if you wish.

2

That’s interesting, I didn’t know that about him. Sudden violence with no warning is always shocking. He got a taste of it and knows what the visceral reaction is so, yeah, you might be on to something there.

3

So does that mean that Stephen King, who apparently witnessed another child get hit and killed by a train when he was young, was affected in the same way?

4

As long as he agrees to stop using Rolling Stones songs in his films I’m totally cool. Goodfellas it worked… i found in the departed it was used as a means to simply wrap shit up… def not as good in my opinion.