The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

Like many people, I enjoy Martin Scorese's movies. A director presents a story (written by a screenwriter) and Scorese's presentations are rarely anything but exquisite. I don't know much about camera angles and what not, but I know that Scorese is skilled at pulling the move-watcher into the experience of his films. Here are my top 5 Martin Scorese movies.

5. The Color of Money--This was the first Martin Scorese movie I remember seeing. I didn't know it was a Scorses movie at the time--I was pretty young. I didn't know who Paul Newman was. I knew Tom Cruise, but more than that, it was just a cool movie. I was always a little disappointed with the ending, but it's still a cool movie.

4. Gangs of New York--Many people were disappointed with this film, which was supposed to be Scorese's magnum opus. It is too long and Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are miscast. Still, Daniel Day-Lewis is incredible in what I think is his finest performance. John C. Reilly is also good. More than these things, I'm a sucker for a period piece and it's just neat to see 19th century New York recreated (on a soundstage, at that--no computer generated imagery).

3. Goodfellas--It is generally considered on the of the all-time travesties that Dances with Wolves won the Best Picture Oscar over Goodfellas and Kevin Costner won Best Director Oscar over Martin Scorese. I'm not too upset over the Best Film category--I enjoy Dances with Wolves. But, from a standpoint of storytelling, Goodfellas is one of the best told stories in film. Martin Scorese is the person primarily responsible for that. Yes, there are great acting performances in this movie but the sequences and camera shots in this film are incredibly engaging. It is immaculate story-telling from start to finish.

2. Taxi Driver--This dark, gritty film is a descent into madness that sucks the movie-goer into a filthy, decripit world. We follow Travis Bickle into his madness and then sit on the edge of the seat, waiting to see what will happen, anticipating resolution, longing for emotional relief. What a great movie!

1. The Aviator--Everything about this movie is perfect. It is well-cast; it is well-acted; it is well-written. This is Scorese's best film. Again, I'm a sucker for a period piece, but this is simply an enthralling film no matter what era the setting. This movie looks like it was made during the golden age of cinema, appropriatelyl enough!

NOTE: Everyone always says Raging Bull is the best Scorese film. I haven't seen it.