After seeing "Silence" in 2016 Terrence Malick wrote Scorsese a letter asking "What is it that Christ asks of us?" That same year, Malick would start production on his own film examining that same question: "A Hidden Life" I write more about Malick's letter and the conversation between the two films in the latest issue of my newsletter: thomasflight.substack.com/p/malicks-letter-to-scorsese-thomas
I’m glad that I found this channel. I’m a HUGE Scorsese fan (He just might be my favorite director. Taxi Driver is my favorite movie.), and this makes me want to actually see the movie Silence (Religion isn’t my thing, and I know that the movie is looooong!). I can appreciate his work a little bit more now. Thanks for doing this video.
"A Hidden Life" is one of the most beautiful, intense, and difficult-to-watch films I've ever seen. "Stays with you long after the credits roll" is thrown around liberally, but I think about that film quite a bit.
@@plasticweapon People get the most creative when they have a deep personal interest in the task. It comes because of the deep emotional investment they jave in the job. Office clerks usually don't love their job the way PABLO PICASSO or STEVE JOBS did. A successful artists work ALWAYS reflects their personal tastes and points of view in some way. - A PRACTICAL PERSON.
The Hollywood theater near my home played Mean Streets in theater, it was amazing to see on the big screen with an audience, people cheered when they first introduced DeNiro walking in slow motion through the bar
The Irishman hit me the hardest because at the end I realized how old Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino are. I can't imagine a world without them, and I think the film's layer of vulnerability reflects on how the characters' interact with each other when they reach their final years.
Also, just shockingly easy to watch for a three and a half hour movie. I went to see it at my local indie and thought I'd be in for a marathon, but it plays so well that I kept going "wait, was that half an hour?"
I am with you there. I don't think old age and regret have ever been so well portrayed in a film as they are in the scene where De Niro and Pesci eat the bread and grape juice in prison. All those power plays, all those deaths, all that exploitation to make a buck...and for what?!
@@davidlean1060 Oh yes. And it actually recontextualises something like Goodfellas in fascinating ways. You look at Henry at the end, commencing life "as a schnook" and honestly, he's luckier than he knows.
Seeing all these Goodfellas clips reminds me, Deniro and Pesci are the ones that always get showered with praise, as they should. But Liotta was incredible in that movie.
As someone who works as a full-time pastor and is currently a seminary student, I have to say that I really enjoyed this video. I've seen many of these films. Oddly enough the two I haven't are The Last Temptation and Silence. Silence is one I've always wanted to see and The Last Temptation is one I was driven away from as a child because of its reputation. However, now I plan to watch it. I find the tension between Christ's humanity and divinity very compelling and knowing that's the main theme of the movie makes it a must-watch. I think what you have highlighted in this video is that Scorsese isn't afraid to address the very real and challenging aspects of faith. Temptation and doubt are two things I have struggled with throughout my walk with Christ yet are often not discussed in Christian music and films. And when they are the message is very heavy-handed and not as well directed lol. I wish more Christians were open to engaging in the conversations that these movies were having.
I just saw your post! And I agree with most of it! A lot of christian music is driven by its popular appeal and has difficulty to approach such themes. Music that has less of a large appeal in the christian community can go these lengths though, which makes them always interesting listens for me. the songs Clarity by Andy Mineo is an example, Prophet by Fit For a King or music by the band Red :)
As a lapsed Catholic, I will tell you that I've never felt holier and more in touch with what God is than after reading Kazantzakis' book "The Last Temptation of Christ." It engaged me more than 20 years of going to church and going to a Catholic high school ever had. I can guarantee that few, if any, of the people who were so outraged over the movie coming out had read it. If they had, I wonder if they would have felt the same outrage. I recommend watching the movie, but highly recommend reading the book.
@@goodial Oh my gosh, yes! Prophet is definitely the best song on The Path. God of Fire is also pretty great, as I love Ryo Kinoshita’s voice, but I’m biased because I was at the show where it made its debut before the album was even announced. I highly recommend Oblivion off their album Dark Skies, which is probably my favorite metal album. Fit for a King is undoubtably one of my favorite bands.
It's truly remarkable that we're seeing Scorsese's battling of his inner demons, play out through all his films. It's sad that he has to go through this, in order to give us these masterpieces of cinema. On the other hand...He is giving us MASTERPIECES!! An excellent video.
The inner struggle is especially evident to me recently in The Irishman and Silence. Both ask the question of whether this character will, not only be redeemed in the mind of the audience, but forgiven by God in the afterlife. This is the ultimate question for Christians, and it’s honestly refreshing to have a filmmaker ask “Will God forgive me?”, because we cannot have that answer in this life.
@@jakek1735 It's interesting though, they'd be so similar, isn't it? And I always thought, okay, Hunchback of Notre Dame. You also got your quarterback and halfback of Notre Dame.
Mean Streets Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Taxi Driver Raging Bull The King of Comedy After Hours The Color of Money The Last Temptation of Christ Goodfellas Cape Fear The Age of Innocence Casino Bringing Out The Dead Gangs of New York The Aviator The Departed Shutter Island Hugo The Wolf of Wall Street Silence The Irishman [Killers of The Flower Moon] One of the most eclectic and versatile filmographies ever displayed in cinema history. Scorsese, the greatest and most consistent filmmaker of the last 40 years of cinema. Unparalleled GOAT.
Consistency is the one thing he should always be praised for. While other directors of his time like Cameron, Spielburg, and Lucas created films that have made more money and left even more of an impact, Martin is pretty much the only one out of all of them that has put out a consistent and versatile filmography over the course of his entire career. The years have done him down but he still hasn't wavered, not one bit
So few film makers have managed to walk the line of both trying to say something profound with his creative works and being successful with the general public. Even if not with every movie. We are blessed to have him enrich our lives.
And that’s why Martin Scorsese remains my all-time favorite filmmaker; even when it doesn’t appear that he’s saying anything profound or significant on the surface, you can look on his work after the fact and deconstruct how he “speaks” about violence itself.
Excellent essay, as always. The quote referenced at the beginning of this piece was a tribute to Haig Manoogian, the director of the NYU Film Program who championed his student Scorsese’s work, even putting a second mortgage on his house to help finance Scorsese’s first feature “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”. Manoogian died during the making of “Raging Bull”, and the quote directly refers to how the teacher, Manoogian, brought light to the student, Scorsese. In his last year at NYU Haig let me into his film program on his instinct and my colorful back story. He brought light to me as well. Impossible to imagine that happening today.
The way I always interpreted that quote is that Scorsese after New York New York was at a low point personally, had almost died by an overdose and he had lost his passion for living, hurting people around him and nearly losing his career. Only under that circumstances he could relate to the character of Jake LaMotta. Dedicating the movie to his teacher he was affirming that he'd been saved by the love of cinema that Manoogian taught him.
When I heard Scorses speak at Tribeca, he touched on this very poignantly: “For me, that faith I was instilled with when I was a kid - that changes. You get older. You go through the sixties and everything is open, stuff is going on. You start to question everything. Ultimately, it’s been a long kind of struggle - I’m not finished, of course - towards a mature faith, whatever that is. This film Silence is one that took me a long time to pull together. Jay Cox and I wrote the script, based on Shusaku Endo, his novel, and it took so long because I didn’t know how to write it based on the script. I didn’t know what he was getting to. Finally, I think I got it. I think. I’m not sure. Ultimately, it’s a struggle towards the very essence of faith, not certainty. Right now faith, I don’t know, at a certain level is very surface… the kind of thing I’m dealing with here and even The Last Temptation of Christ is not fashionable. But, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. It doesn’t mean you don’t do it with conviction. It doesn’t mean there isn’t room for it. We may wind up against a wall, who knows. But, what is faith? [Terrance] Malick wrote me a letter when he saw the picture and he said, “What does Christ want from us?” It’s interesting, but it’s not in-demand.”
Conservative Christianity: “The film is an attack and mockery of Orthodox Christian authority” Scorsese: “It’s a sincere attempt depiction and consideration of what it means to earnestly grapple with humanity in the context of faith, forgiveness, and salvation”. Conservative Christianity: “Then we agree. Good.”
Scorsese is a gem. Every current and upcoming filmmaker owes him. I am more than willing to give him 20 years of my life. May he live long and continue making great films
When discussing Scorsese, most people focus on the way he potrays violence, which is understandable, as violence is a prevalent aspect in most of his works, even when it isn't explicit. But people totally miss the point of why he even focuses on violence so much. I find really baffling that Scorsese is sometimes criticized for the extreme violence, and also by religious groups when he made Last Temptation, because that really proves the point that I want to make. When Mel Gibson made the Passion of the Christ, it was a harrowing, gratuitous, display of brutal violence that was well received by some religious groups, the same that condemn other displays of violence. When you look at religion, at leats the christian ones, it is bloated with horrible acts of violence, but what differenciates something of substance from something shallow, is the meaning behind it. I argue, that Scorsese's use of violence is his extreme way of showcasing what he really wants to tell, he isn't concerned so much with violence itself but with the moral implications that it carries. Scorsese uses violence as just one aspect of sin, just like he also potrays several cases of greed, corruption, lust and pride. But what truly makes Scorsese films so powerful, is that at the end, he understands catholicism theology as that of redemption. As a humanist, Scorsese understand that we all are, to a degree, sinners, but we all have the chance to redeem ourselves and become better people. Which is why I finf Scorsese films to be the most compasionate, spiritual and human films out of any filmmaker. I'm not a religious person myself, but watching The Last Temptation of Christ touched me very deeply unlike any other potray of Jesus Christ.
TL;DR- Religious groups hated a nuanced portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ by Scorsese but loved a more brutal and shallow portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ by Gibson. Right?
@@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747 This is what I hate. They're not willing to see the flaws of humanity and how we use sin to reflect ourselves from a guy who questions his faith but will pay to see a film about strawmaning atheism and philosophy from a guy who knows nothing about his faith. Edit: I'm referencing that trash God Is Not Dead.
I always thought that Last Temptation is actually the best Jesus movie for how it actually tries to engage with Christianity's contention that Christ is both man and God fully. Very few depictions of Jesus actually attempt to even explore this belief and its implication. To think he wouldn't have doubts or a full spectrum of human emotions is just lying.
Bang on the money. Jesus is tempted by Satan and he rejects him. He takes the pain and dies. How is that not a triumphant story? Modern Christians know fuck all about the teachings of the man, let's face it!
Absolutely. I believe there's even a part of the Bible where Jesus is *literally* tempted and he has to deal with his internal conflict of being a human with temptations and also trying to accept his Godly purpose. And either before or during the crucifixion, he actually asks God if he has to go through with it. (At least, that's what I remember from growing up a Christian).
That is a Nestorianism (a Christian heresy). The devil tried to tempt Christ but Christ was never tempted due to His divinity. Many Christians (from Orthodox, to Catholics to Protestants) had a problem with this when depicted because it is entirely inconsistent with our beliefs.
@@shmadstawhat you should know and remember, is that regardless of temptation, Jesus never sinned, GOD has never and will never sin, all humans are sinners, so what man can live and bear no sin? God in the flesh, Jesus Christ!
1) Jesus was back on the cross, saying "it is finished" at the end of the Last Temptation of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled his role as Savior, after struggling with his humanity. I wish the local town minister I grew up in, my pops, would have actually watched it. He would have loved it. 2) Silence is, in my opinion, Martin's best film. I realize I'm coming from a different experience so I'm looking at them differently. The priest that abandoned Jesus to save the lives of the villagers did the most Christian thing he could have done- sacrifice himself for the innocent! 3) thank you so much for shedding a light on the themes present in Mr. Scorece's films. I look forward to rewatching them with this on mind. 4) you've earned a Patreon.
Being a christian who wants to be a filmmaker, Scorsese is really really interesting to me! Now I really want to watch more of his films (I’ve only seen 4) to see this relationship with faith they have!
If you like Scorsese's explorations of faith, I also highly recommend Ingmar Bergman. The way he deals with faith in Winter Light and The Seventh Seal is equally as thought provoking and profound.
His belief in a make believe god is ridiculous and he knows it but his Catholic guilt won’t let him believe in the logical it tells him to only believe in fairy stories. I was brought up an Irish Catholic (as a young teenager in Dublin I even considered joining the priesthood,I visited seminary’s with my parents. For those who don’t know what a Catholic seminary is it’s a boarding school where they teach you on the priesthood)and a tiny bit of me makes me feel guilty for even making this comment,which is outrageous when I believe there’s no God!!!! I feel sorry for him,a little
I'd recommend you Tarkovsky's films like Stalker or The Sacrifice, or The Gospel According Matthew by Pasolini and as the video's creator said Bergman films like The Silence or Through a Glass Darkly are very good to start.
@@CashelOConnolly yeah yeah you're an atheist, we get it, only we stopped acting like that made us cool when we were 15. You're a little behind on schedule apparently.
Martin Scorsese is great at setting up a character who seems like they have it all but then shows that anything achieved through violence or crime is short lived and never worth it. People think he glorifies it but in reality he gives warnings of where that road leads. Only someone who was raised around that life will appreciate it
@@madmax2778 I meant, here in RUclips by more recent content creators. But I guess you're right, people were still pissed off because of how "controversial" it was.
Scorsese makes me a more spiritual and "classical" (whatever that means) filmmaker. And I love him for that. "The Last Temptation of Christ" is a masterpiece.
"The Last Temptation of Christ" is my favorite film ever, love to see it get more attention. Love Scorsese, all his films and his exploration of faith.
The conflict of stepping on the image of Christ in Silence to me is pretty interesting, as all 12 of the Apostles, including Peter in his three denials, essentially did this when they abandoned Christ at Gethsemene and went in to hiding. But after His resurrection, Jesus' first words to them is "Peace be with you", denoting that he understood their fear at the time and forgave their abandonment. He even foreshadows this insight in telling them while at Gethsemne "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
I always felt that Scorsese framed Jordan Belfort as a religious/cult figure in his movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Belfort is a priest of mammon, the religion that blatantly worships the power of money. Even when he ended up in prison, he still played this role to the inmates, as the camera sweeps over their pious faces looking up to Belfort to mediate such power to them.
It's sad that people think of Pure Flix when it comes to Christian film. As a Catholic child, I thought of The Prince of Egypt and The Passion of The Christ when it came to religious movies; my parents would have pointed and laughed at things like God's Not Dead. A film like Silence, which challenges the viewer and encourages them to ponder on the nature of faith, is what should be encouraged by our religious leaders.
@@starwarsroo2448 God does many things unlikely. But i agree with you that perhaps we ought not look to movies for spiritual guidance. It is not movies that are God breathed, but scripture, God's holy Word.
The Last Temptation of Christ is the most spiritual film I’ve ever watched. Hands down. For all its faults it’s one of my absolute favorite movies ever made. The knee jerk reaction against it by Christian groups is telling: they are more concerned with religious iconography (idolatry) than an actually spiritual message of man’s struggle to honor the divine in a profane world. The vitriol was misguided and sad and not very Christ-like! Me, I came away from it deeply inspired
Silence is truly one of the most impactful films I have ever seen. I genuinely think it is a movie everyone should watch at least once. It left me so conflicted and drained.
As a Catholic, it makes perfect sense to me that the Good Fellas guy was raised Catholic. I think if you only see the faith from the outside, it can be easy to overlook just how visceral and dramatic it gets at times.
Silence was a pretty great adaptation of a pretty great book. Both helped me begin to understand religious conviction, even if I'm not 100% on board with it.
I really needed this lens to view Scorcese's work, I'm really interested to see how watching the rest of his films goes now that I have this overview of his filmography
I honestly want to become a Pateron just to watch your analysis on Silence because it's my favorite movie ever and I love how there a lot of different interpretations of it and what it means.
I've been enjoying Scorsese's most famous films this week, most of them for the first time. And it's so sad to see a man who's so devoted to the christian church and making sense of it, and in response the church feels absent. There's a great clip on youtube of Marti asking to the pope a very profound question about poverty in the streets he grew up in and how could they help these people, and the pope's response was some stupid platitude that basically ignored the question. I guess at least his suffering brings us exceptional art.
The Last Temptation is based on the 1955 novel of Nikos Kazantzakis (nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years) and they almost banned his books because of this.
It was very interesting to see Satyajit Ray being mentioned towards the end of this video. Martin Scorsese actually played a great role in the preservation and restoration of Ray's films and was also one of the most important individuals behind Ray's honorary Academy Award win in 1992. He has mentioned in the past that Ray's Panther Panchali struck him very early when he was growing up and that Ray's films have inspired him as a filmmaker, you can find some inspiration from Ray's 1962 classic Abhijan in Scorcese's Taxi Driver.
I remember Scorsese being on Inside The Actors Studio (I believe.) with James Lipton , and he was asked during the roundup what his favorite curse word (All of the guests were asked that.)is. He said that he didn’t even like to curse (And he joked that Joe Pesci should say it instead.).
I saw the "Last Temptation of Christ" at the show when it first came out back in the Detroit area. It was disturbing to have those strange people try to block us from seeing the movie. I never had an experience like that, before or since. The movie affected me deeply, as did "The Mission" which came out a year before this one, I think. Over the years I wondered what it was that mobilized so many to try to keep others from seeing it. The story showed Jesus in conflict between being just a man or embracing his role as a savior. I thought it was an interesting film and don't what anyone would be offended about. If anything it humanized Jesus, which is a good thing. Maybe the movie was too much like real life and folks don't like this topic to be too real.........I don't know. Anyway, I thought I had a point to make, but maybe not.,sorry.
As Christians we should always look and appreciate both the divinity and humanity of Christ inorder to understand ourselves as the book of Romans states
I thought Shutter Island was such an outlier in his filmography, in both tone and subject. But your framing of his spiritual themes makes even that film fit easily. Would I rather be sane & guilty or deluded and a hero? Without divine intervention, these are the only options. Great video thank you!
Good observation. I admittedly am familiar with only a hand full of Scorsese's films, but I LOVE Shutter Island. As a horror/thriller fan, it is one of the very best in that genre. And yes I can see how that theme ties into the ending of Shutter Island.
To see Last Temptation, I crossed those picket lines… I am a Catholic and had no problem exploring my insight and faith with this film. I was fascinated by this subject and went on to look into the book Holy Blood Holy Grail to explore my Lord even more… and all before The Da Vinci Code. Redemption is a personal business between you and your faith… nothing stands between these two parties EVER. If you want to be redeemed, you’re halfway there already. Martin is Motivated to do it his way, just like Charlie.
@@davidlean1060 O’boy, thanks for telling me… Now I will change into a complete cynic. 😊 The entire world is full of unprovable nonsense. Dark Matter, anyone? Thanks for playing.
@@StephenRansom47 No need for that. To me, the book seemed to be trying to take the king of the common man and turn him into a literal king. Do you think the real Jesus, if he existed, would have stood for that? I don't. The man who stormed the temple and threw out the merchants, the man who stood up for the poor, the sick and the down trodden then marries into european Royalty? The very premise is balderdash!
@@davidlean1060 Sorry for that… it felt unnecessary. No Prob. About that book and all of the other info out there, I just take it all in and let my mind sift the information. It’s like sniffing milk to see if its okay. I believe in the instinct to sense evil and lies. I remain a skeptic about it and merely use it to speculate on events. Information is powerful but insight is divine. In these strange time anything could be going on and several groups will take advantage of anything. For instance, how does this info correlate with Italy being an epicenter in the recent crisis. Just think of our “group” dealing with all of this. For that matter, how about ALL secret groups. Continue to think openly.
Scorsese almost quit filmmaking when The Last Temptation of Christ was cancelled two weeks before filming was supposed to start. Luckily, he was sent ‘After Hours’ script and decided to shoot that while negotiations were going on again for The Last Temptation of Christ. Imagine how many masterpieces we wouldn’t have today had he quit.
Haven't seen the whole video because I haven't seen all the films you mention and want to, but the editing choices in the first half mimicking the style in Scorsese's films is a neat little touch!
I'm surprised that Scorsese has never done an adaptation of any of Graham Greene's works. They deal almost exactly with the same themes right down to the Catholicism.
I've watched many Scorsese's films analysis and his themes of faith, but this must be the first to clearly illustrate how his filmography dealth with the internal conflict of "absolute forgiveness". It was also the belief that pulled me away from Christianity, which intrigued me that someone as religious also struggled with that. You make me want to rewatched many of his films now. Great video!
I've struggled with all of this as well. To me, it's better in the long run to accept those aspects of faith as just that - faith, not absolute certainty. Struggling instead of turning away from these issues in faith has been a more fulfilling challenge imo
I would really like it if you would go in depth on the Sopranos, David Chase is a brilliant but troubled mind and I think the whole series is taking on big themes, both personal and on a society level
random thought i had while watching about cinema: is it more deep to ask a bold question, but leave it ambiguous for the audience, or attempt to answer it yourself? I believe i finally release why some films sometimes have such a great divide in opinions.
I havent yet watched the video, but I just wanted to say your title made me immediately think of 'the sacred and the propane' from the Sopranos , which is fitting for a Scorsese essay lol...would love it if you ever made a Sopranos essay
The thing I couldn't stand about the Last Temptation protest movement was its dishonesty, which this video implicitly points out without directly discussing. The protesters claimed it was an attack on Christians and Christianity, while it was actually a devout Christian work that took a somewhat unorthodox approach. They portrayed themselves as persecuted by big, bad Hollywood, when the actual situation was that they were attacking a fellow Christian for not adhering to the exact way they wanted Christian issues discussed. Most of the picketers were probably just gullible dupes, but I regard the right-wing Christian opinion makers who led the charge as liars who took advantage of a pop cultural target to stir up their followers and get donations.
My wife and I loved the film and insisted that my mother-in-law watch it too. Being a devout Catholic, she was reluctant because of all the hype around it. When she finally saw it she was profoundly moved and said that it only made her faith stronger. If only people would just sit down and watch a movie before condemning it...
This. THIS is a youtube video! This is what i want when watching a youtube video. Professional and well made, you can "see" the time and care it took to make this. Good job, man! Have a sub
Hoping you bring up his first film Who's That Knocking which is about a failed relationship between a Catholic boy and a Protestant girl and ends with a music video sequence set to the titular song which is not a romantic montage but rather inside a cathedral
Excellent video, filled with astute reflexion and great insights from amazing films. A couple years back, I remember hearing that Scorsese was attached to an adaptation of Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter, which also explores a man's crisis of faith. Would still love to see it.
I genuinely thought that line was a reference to a biblical quote or something "as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a missionary." Like they took that scripture and just replaced it with 'gangster'. Great video
Yes, in "Mean Streets", Charlie isn't killing ppl. He's just a small time hustler who makes his bones to get by. He just cares about his good friend,who he's trying to get him out of trouble and trying to get him to pay his debts for his own well being. Yes there are some scenes of physical violence and ppl brutally fist fighting and beating each other. But Charlie just gets himself in these smalltime illegal activity for a quick buck. Charlie is just doing some quick street crimes for some quick yet alright cash.
I like The Departed because not only did they buy the rights of the original film but Scorsese and Team ran freely with the premise and were able to make their own thing. For me The Departed is to Infernal Affairs what Herzog's Nosferatu is to the original Murneau film is, fantastic remakes that stand in their own two feet as to be separately unique films.
Great video. I've been trying to get my fellow Christian friends to watch Silence, as I think it's one of the deepest examinations if faith I've seen on film, and would spark great conversation. This video helped give me words to use, thank you.
Then I'd recommend you to read The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago. A very similar, 'humanised' perspective on the figure of Christ and god.
@@DuncanUdaho67 Hell no. I'm an atheist. I only watch religious films that religious people hate and want banned. Like Saved, or Dogma, those are fun movies.
@@botz77 lol dude Pasolini himself was an atheist. He was literally murdered for making movies like this. I’m telling you, it’s a very interesting film. It heavily inspired this film.
*Spoilers for Killers of the Flower Moon* One of the many things I loved about Scorsese's latest is how it extends the theme of confession, redemption and forgiveness in the final scene with Mollie and Earnest. The film builds to Earnest's 'confession' in the courtroom. Owning up to his part in the murderous conspiracy. He did done his duty in the eyes of the law and his 'sins' were 'forgiven' (i.e. not jailed). But this was not his true moment of judgement and potential redemption. That came in his quiet confrontation with Mollie where she asks him to confess how he wronged her, how he had poisioned her, and he lies. Its an agonising moment. Mollie, a Christian, is giving him an oppertunity to be honest and be forgiven (she even said earlier in the film that she dreamed about taking their secrets and throwing them away; alluding that she would be willing to forgive him in line with her beliefs) but he chose to lie, to attempt to manipulate her once again. But he fails and Mollie leaves him, unforgiven. All that's left is for history (as depicted in the true crime radio show that ends the film) and us, the audience, to judge him, Hale and everyone else involved. Can they be forgiven?
Excellent video. I'm fascinated by Scorcese's religious approach - Silence and Kundun are among my favorite films. So interestingly what this video does it making me see these themes in his secular movies which I like but am in general less interested in. Thank you! I was curious about hearing more about Kundun however. I find it very interesting how in a way, Buddhist practicioners play a role of "victims" in Kundun, and of "villains" in Silence.
I LOVE how Scorsese’s message is: “Christ is pushing us to forgive completely”, juxtaposed to the church’s response to LTOC: “I hope they rot in Hell”. Classic Church- if you think Christ would step foot today anywhere near those den of vipers, you’re still asleep.
loved the video, I think what was missing is the fact that most of these films, not all of them, are based on books. So it is very interesting to see what Scorsese highlights from these books, and what he adds to them in terms of faith, moral, and violence as well. I love movies based on books, and I think he does it better than most, but I think also that those books were just as equally good and their own thing, as Martin's.
Had a Christianity class in college (movie class) and we had to pick a movie to do a report on. I chose Last Temptation of Christ b/c I was a Scorsese fanatic. Truth be told, wished I went with Mean Streets.
Scorsese to me, is like a Hollywood version of the incredible classic writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. There's part of him that is deeply spiritual, but there's parts of him that have great doubts. His characters much like Dostoevsky characters are narcissist at best and sociopaths at their worst. But they both write them in ammoral ways that makes us question the boundaries of right and wrong. They are on a redemption arc and we're being asked by them to decide if we can forgive these people? To them the divine and the profane coexist everywhere even to the core of our consciousness. That's what reality is like. Scorsese is exploring what Dostoevsky called, "The Great Doubt." I love his movies. They always leave me thinking, doubting and questioning everything I believe.
I really love The Last Temptation of Christ! As a movie it is so underrated. I am not a religious person so I don't care if it portrays Jesus in a bad light, . William Dafoe is incredible in that movie!!
It's ridiculous that Christian groups got upset at the portrayal of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ when the Bible makes it clear that the entire point of him becoming human was that he would experience everything humans do, notably including the same sinful temptations.
The last temptation of Christ is one of my favorite depictions of Jesus. It’s a very gnostic view of him that allows Jesus to decide his own role in redemption.
I definitely need to watch more of his movies. Been meaning to watch Taxi Driver ever since Joker came out and all the comparisons were made, but just haven't. Never been super into mob movies but The Departed and Goodfellas were both good movies, and Cape Fear was good but didn't stick with me in any way, and I don't think I ever finished Wolf (tendency to fall asleep watching movies, unfortunately). Silence sounds interesting, and I always forget that Willem Dafoe played Jesus, should check that out.
REALLY excellent video. Haven't had the chance to explore this topicin relation to Scorsese. Overall I enjoy Scorsese, but some of them,Taxi Driver being one of them, left me feeling so vacant-- And not in the human explorative/Introspective/existentialism kind of way. i’d be interested in re-watching a few with this particular topic in focus.
After seeing "Silence" in 2016 Terrence Malick wrote Scorsese a letter asking "What is it that Christ asks of us?" That same year, Malick would start production on his own film examining that same question: "A Hidden Life"
I write more about Malick's letter and the conversation between the two films in the latest issue of my newsletter: thomasflight.substack.com/p/malicks-letter-to-scorsese-thomas
He could've just read the Bible...
I’m glad that I found this channel. I’m a HUGE Scorsese fan (He just might be my favorite director. Taxi Driver is my favorite movie.), and this makes me want to actually see the movie Silence (Religion isn’t my thing, and I know that the movie is looooong!). I can appreciate his work a little bit more now. Thanks for doing this video.
MALICK wrote Scorsese that? Damn! That’s a HUGE achievement (Malick is supposed to be a hermit.)!
"A Hidden Life" is one of the most beautiful, intense, and difficult-to-watch films I've ever seen. "Stays with you long after the credits roll" is thrown around liberally, but I think about that film quite a bit.
Video is interesting. I wonder why you didn't discuss Bringing Out the Dead much, though. Like that is one of his most religious films.
The most personal is the most creative. - Martin Scorsese
not necessarily - a realist
@@plasticweapon People get the most creative when they have a deep personal interest in the task. It comes because of the deep emotional investment they jave in the job. Office clerks usually don't love their job the way PABLO PICASSO or STEVE JOBS did. A successful artists work ALWAYS reflects their personal tastes and points of view in some way. - A PRACTICAL PERSON.
"Believe it or not, Mean Streets is my most spiritual film."
“Can you elaborate on that?”
“No.”
The Hollywood theater near my home played Mean Streets in theater, it was amazing to see on the big screen with an audience, people cheered when they first introduced DeNiro walking in slow motion through the bar
@@ThomasFlight sigma male grindset
”Focus on the donut, not the hole”
@@wiseauserious8750 thst was like his introduction to the world
The Irishman hit me the hardest because at the end I realized how old Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino are. I can't imagine a world without them, and I think the film's layer of vulnerability reflects on how the characters' interact with each other when they reach their final years.
Also, just shockingly easy to watch for a three and a half hour movie. I went to see it at my local indie and thought I'd be in for a marathon, but it plays so well that I kept going "wait, was that half an hour?"
its really sad to think his next movie will probably be his last :(
I am with you there. I don't think old age and regret have ever been so well portrayed in a film as they are in the scene where De Niro and Pesci eat the bread and grape juice in prison. All those power plays, all those deaths, all that exploitation to make a buck...and for what?!
The Irishman is total crap
@@davidlean1060 Oh yes. And it actually recontextualises something like Goodfellas in fascinating ways. You look at Henry at the end, commencing life "as a schnook" and honestly, he's luckier than he knows.
Seeing all these Goodfellas clips reminds me, Deniro and Pesci are the ones that always get showered with praise, as they should. But Liotta was incredible in that movie.
I agree.
I still feel EXTREMELY BAD for Ray Liotta!! Nothing to do with Goodfellas, though. Remember "Killing Them Softly"?? Poor Trattman. 😞
Crashed hard afterwards. Sad.
Ray Liotta Private Select?
"This isn't a goodfella! This is a baaaad fella!"
- Barry B Benson, Bee Movie
As someone who works as a full-time pastor and is currently a seminary student, I have to say that I really enjoyed this video. I've seen many of these films. Oddly enough the two I haven't are The Last Temptation and Silence. Silence is one I've always wanted to see and The Last Temptation is one I was driven away from as a child because of its reputation. However, now I plan to watch it. I find the tension between Christ's humanity and divinity very compelling and knowing that's the main theme of the movie makes it a must-watch.
I think what you have highlighted in this video is that Scorsese isn't afraid to address the very real and challenging aspects of faith. Temptation and doubt are two things I have struggled with throughout my walk with Christ yet are often not discussed in Christian music and films. And when they are the message is very heavy-handed and not as well directed lol.
I wish more Christians were open to engaging in the conversations that these movies were having.
If you haven't seen it yet, I implore you to see Silence. It truly is a beautiful, poignant film.
I just saw your post! And I agree with most of it! A lot of christian music is driven by its popular appeal and has difficulty to approach such themes. Music that has less of a large appeal in the christian community can go these lengths though, which makes them always interesting listens for me. the songs Clarity by Andy Mineo is an example, Prophet by Fit For a King or music by the band Red :)
As a lapsed Catholic, I will tell you that I've never felt holier and more in touch with what God is than after reading Kazantzakis' book "The Last Temptation of Christ." It engaged me more than 20 years of going to church and going to a Catholic high school ever had. I can guarantee that few, if any, of the people who were so outraged over the movie coming out had read it. If they had, I wonder if they would have felt the same outrage. I recommend watching the movie, but highly recommend reading the book.
Possibly unrelated.. but Im finding your wording "someone who works as a full time pastor" interesting... Why did you not say "I am a pastor"? 🤔
@@goodial Oh my gosh, yes! Prophet is definitely the best song on The Path. God of Fire is also pretty great, as I love Ryo Kinoshita’s voice, but I’m biased because I was at the show where it made its debut before the album was even announced. I highly recommend Oblivion off their album Dark Skies, which is probably my favorite metal album. Fit for a King is undoubtably one of my favorite bands.
It's truly remarkable that we're seeing Scorsese's battling of his inner demons, play out through all his films.
It's sad that he has to go through this, in order to give us these masterpieces of cinema.
On the other hand...He is giving us MASTERPIECES!!
An excellent video.
The inner struggle is especially evident to me recently in The Irishman and Silence. Both ask the question of whether this character will, not only be redeemed in the mind of the audience, but forgiven by God in the afterlife. This is the ultimate question for Christians, and it’s honestly refreshing to have a filmmaker ask “Will God forgive me?”, because we cannot have that answer in this life.
Hugo a masterpiece!?! I don’t think so!!!!
@@CashelOConnolly,
I saw _Hugo_ for the homage to the craft of filmmaking itself, even though I didn't care for it too much.
I don’t think demons are exclusive to scorsese everyone deals w this question
@@josh3112 I presume you don’t mean demons as in the Biblical sense because they’re fiction
_"You're very observant: the sacred AND the _*_propane."_*
("Little" Carmine Lupertazzi Jr., The Sopranos, 1999)
Glad you caught that Alexandra
I thought this was a hank hill quote
You know Quasimodo predicted all of this
@@jakek1735 It's interesting though, they'd be so similar, isn't it?
And I always thought, okay, Hunchback of Notre Dame. You also got your quarterback and halfback of Notre Dame.
@@DatBoi-mo9vc underrated as FUCK
Mean Streets
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
The King of Comedy
After Hours
The Color of Money
The Last Temptation of Christ
Goodfellas
Cape Fear
The Age of Innocence
Casino
Bringing Out The Dead
Gangs of New York
The Aviator
The Departed
Shutter Island
Hugo
The Wolf of Wall Street
Silence
The Irishman
[Killers of The Flower Moon]
One of the most eclectic and versatile filmographies ever displayed in cinema history.
Scorsese, the greatest and most consistent filmmaker of the last 40 years of cinema.
Unparalleled GOAT.
@Da Dole99 also "Who's That Knocking At My Door?", "Boxcar Bertha", "New York, New York" and "Kundun"
Consistency is the one thing he should always be praised for. While other directors of his time like Cameron, Spielburg, and Lucas created films that have made more money and left even more of an impact, Martin is pretty much the only one out of all of them that has put out a consistent and versatile filmography over the course of his entire career. The years have done him down but he still hasn't wavered, not one bit
@@krypticunlimited6925 100% agree, Taxi Driver is my favorite and The Irishman my second favorite, he's always been amazing!
So few film makers have managed to walk the line of both trying to say something profound with his creative works and being successful with the general public. Even if not with every movie. We are blessed to have him enrich our lives.
And that’s why Martin Scorsese remains my all-time favorite filmmaker; even when it doesn’t appear that he’s saying anything profound or significant on the surface, you can look on his work after the fact and deconstruct how he “speaks” about violence itself.
@Da Dole99 he doesn't achieve mainstream, widespread success with every movie, the silence didn't make much money for example
I always thought Scorsese as a very religious filmmaker. The religious theme is pretty prevalent in almost all his films.
The characters pay for their sins in one way or another.
He is a friend to Fr. James Martin, that clues you in he isnt religious.
@@nenabunena uhm, being friends with someone does not mean both peoples views and beliefs line up in every aspect of life...
@@bradleewalsh8995 you are who your friends are.
@@nenabunena Nonsense. I'm atheist and one of my best friends is Muslim.
Excellent essay, as always. The quote referenced at the beginning of this piece was a tribute to Haig Manoogian, the director of the NYU Film Program who championed his student Scorsese’s work, even putting a second mortgage on his house to help finance Scorsese’s first feature “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”. Manoogian died during the making of “Raging Bull”, and the quote directly refers to how the teacher, Manoogian, brought light to the student, Scorsese. In his last year at NYU Haig let me into his film program on his instinct and my colorful back story. He brought light to me as well. Impossible to imagine that happening today.
Wow, that's awesome you knew the guy. I bet you have some stories to tell.
The way I always interpreted that quote is that Scorsese after New York New York was at a low point personally, had almost died by an overdose and he had lost his passion for living, hurting people around him and nearly losing his career. Only under that circumstances he could relate to the character of Jake LaMotta. Dedicating the movie to his teacher he was affirming that he'd been saved by the love of cinema that Manoogian taught him.
When I heard Scorses speak at Tribeca, he touched on this very poignantly:
“For me, that faith I was instilled with when I was a kid - that changes. You get older. You go through the sixties and everything is open, stuff is going on. You start to question everything. Ultimately, it’s been a long kind of struggle - I’m not finished, of course - towards a mature faith, whatever that is. This film Silence is one that took me a long time to pull together.
Jay Cox and I wrote the script, based on Shusaku Endo, his novel, and it took so long because I didn’t know how to write it based on the script. I didn’t know what he was getting to. Finally, I think I got it. I think. I’m not sure.
Ultimately, it’s a struggle towards the very essence of faith, not certainty. Right now faith, I don’t know, at a certain level is very surface… the kind of thing I’m dealing with here and even The Last Temptation of Christ is not fashionable. But, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. It doesn’t mean you don’t do it with conviction. It doesn’t mean there isn’t room for it. We may wind up against a wall, who knows. But, what is faith?
[Terrance] Malick wrote me a letter when he saw the picture and he said, “What does Christ want from us?” It’s interesting, but it’s not in-demand.”
Damn, what he said at Tribeca, I relate to it so much.
Conservative Christianity: “The film is an attack and mockery of Orthodox Christian authority”
Scorsese: “It’s a sincere attempt depiction and consideration of what it means to earnestly grapple with humanity in the context of faith, forgiveness, and salvation”.
Conservative Christianity: “Then we agree. Good.”
The book of Romans outlines what apostle Paul went through. The same struggle I have noticed in myself and also in Martin Scorsese
Silence was my favorite movie of that year. An unappreciated masterpiece.
@Da Dole99 Yeah, But that resulted in Scorsese going the streaming way with The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon
Paramount totally foocked it up with the marketing of the movie.
I stand by my belief that Andrew Garfield should have been nominated for that film.
Scorsese is a gem. Every current and upcoming filmmaker owes him. I am more than willing to give him 20 years of my life. May he live long and continue making great films
When discussing Scorsese, most people focus on the way he potrays violence, which is understandable, as violence is a prevalent aspect in most of his works, even when it isn't explicit. But people totally miss the point of why he even focuses on violence so much.
I find really baffling that Scorsese is sometimes criticized for the extreme violence, and also by religious groups when he made Last Temptation, because that really proves the point that I want to make.
When Mel Gibson made the Passion of the Christ, it was a harrowing, gratuitous, display of brutal violence that was well received by some religious groups, the same that condemn other displays of violence. When you look at religion, at leats the christian ones, it is bloated with horrible acts of violence, but what differenciates something of substance from something shallow, is the meaning behind it.
I argue, that Scorsese's use of violence is his extreme way of showcasing what he really wants to tell, he isn't concerned so much with violence itself but with the moral implications that it carries.
Scorsese uses violence as just one aspect of sin, just like he also potrays several cases of greed, corruption, lust and pride. But what truly makes Scorsese films so powerful, is that at the end, he understands catholicism theology as that of redemption. As a humanist, Scorsese understand that we all are, to a degree, sinners, but we all have the chance to redeem ourselves and become better people.
Which is why I finf Scorsese films to be the most compasionate, spiritual and human films out of any filmmaker. I'm not a religious person myself, but watching The Last Temptation of Christ touched me very deeply unlike any other potray of Jesus Christ.
Wow 😣😳
TL;DR- Religious groups hated a nuanced portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ by Scorsese but loved a more brutal and shallow portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ by Gibson. Right?
@@rickardkaufman3988 Yes, that's what happened and I hate it.
@@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747 This is what I hate. They're not willing to see the flaws of humanity and how we use sin to reflect ourselves from a guy who questions his faith but will pay to see a film about strawmaning atheism and philosophy from a guy who knows nothing about his faith.
Edit: I'm referencing that trash God Is Not Dead.
The Passion of Christ is by no means shallow
I always thought that Last Temptation is actually the best Jesus movie for how it actually tries to engage with Christianity's contention that Christ is both man and God fully. Very few depictions of Jesus actually attempt to even explore this belief and its implication. To think he wouldn't have doubts or a full spectrum of human emotions is just lying.
Bang on the money. Jesus is tempted by Satan and he rejects him. He takes the pain and dies. How is that not a triumphant story? Modern Christians know fuck all about the teachings of the man, let's face it!
Absolutely. I believe there's even a part of the Bible where Jesus is *literally* tempted and he has to deal with his internal conflict of being a human with temptations and also trying to accept his Godly purpose. And either before or during the crucifixion, he actually asks God if he has to go through with it. (At least, that's what I remember from growing up a Christian).
That is a Nestorianism (a Christian heresy). The devil tried to tempt Christ but Christ was never tempted due to His divinity. Many Christians (from Orthodox, to Catholics to Protestants) had a problem with this when depicted because it is entirely inconsistent with our beliefs.
@@shmadstawhat you should know and remember, is that regardless of temptation, Jesus never sinned, GOD has never and will never sin, all humans are sinners, so what man can live and bear no sin? God in the flesh, Jesus Christ!
The funny thing is that now a lot of Christian media is less afraid to go there.
1) Jesus was back on the cross, saying "it is finished" at the end of the Last Temptation of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled his role as Savior, after struggling with his humanity. I wish the local town minister I grew up in, my pops, would have actually watched it. He would have loved it.
2) Silence is, in my opinion, Martin's best film. I realize I'm coming from a different experience so I'm looking at them differently. The priest that abandoned Jesus to save the lives of the villagers did the most Christian thing he could have done- sacrifice himself for the innocent!
3) thank you so much for shedding a light on the themes present in Mr. Scorece's films. I look forward to rewatching them with this on mind.
4) you've earned a Patreon.
Being a christian who wants to be a filmmaker, Scorsese is really really interesting to me! Now I really want to watch more of his films (I’ve only seen 4) to see this relationship with faith they have!
If you like Scorsese's explorations of faith, I also highly recommend Ingmar Bergman. The way he deals with faith in Winter Light and The Seventh Seal is equally as thought provoking and profound.
@@ThomasFlight I’ll check it out for sure!!
His belief in a make believe god is ridiculous and he knows it but his Catholic guilt won’t let him believe in the logical it tells him to only believe in fairy stories.
I was brought up an Irish Catholic (as a young teenager in Dublin I even considered joining the priesthood,I visited seminary’s with my parents. For those who don’t know what a Catholic seminary is it’s a boarding school where they teach you on the priesthood)and a tiny bit of me makes me feel guilty for even making this comment,which is outrageous when I believe there’s no God!!!! I feel sorry for him,a little
I'd recommend you Tarkovsky's films like Stalker or The Sacrifice, or The Gospel According Matthew by Pasolini and as the video's creator said Bergman films like The Silence or Through a Glass Darkly are very good to start.
@@CashelOConnolly yeah yeah you're an atheist, we get it, only we stopped acting like that made us cool when we were 15. You're a little behind on schedule apparently.
Martin Scorsese is great at setting up a character who seems like they have it all but then shows that anything achieved through violence or crime is short lived and never worth it. People think he glorifies it but in reality he gives warnings of where that road leads. Only someone who was raised around that life will appreciate it
Thank god. Finally someone talked about this. That is why I love Thomas Flight.
Finally! someone acknowledge the brilliant jewel masterpiece that is The Last Temptation of Christ.
Well done Tom.
I mean Roger Ebert did it years ago.
@@madmax2778 I meant, here in RUclips by more recent content creators. But I guess you're right, people were still pissed off because of how "controversial" it was.
It’s by far my favorite of his films, which is not something I say lightly.
What do you mean "finally"?
Last Temptation is widely considered a great film.
I’m my opinion bringing out the dead is his most underrated film. Those Paul Schrader collabs hit different
Paul Schrader is great. Hardcore is underrated
Scorsese makes me a more spiritual and "classical" (whatever that means) filmmaker. And I love him for that.
"The Last Temptation of Christ" is a masterpiece.
"The Last Temptation of Christ" is my favorite film ever, love to see it get more attention. Love Scorsese, all his films and his exploration of faith.
The conflict of stepping on the image of Christ in Silence to me is pretty interesting, as all 12 of the Apostles, including Peter in his three denials, essentially did this when they abandoned Christ at Gethsemene and went in to hiding. But after His resurrection, Jesus' first words to them is "Peace be with you", denoting that he understood their fear at the time and forgave their abandonment. He even foreshadows this insight in telling them while at Gethsemne "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
I always felt that Scorsese framed Jordan Belfort as a religious/cult figure in his movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Belfort is a priest of mammon, the religion that blatantly worships the power of money. Even when he ended up in prison, he still played this role to the inmates, as the camera sweeps over their pious faces looking up to Belfort to mediate such power to them.
It's sad that people think of Pure Flix when it comes to Christian film. As a Catholic child, I thought of The Prince of Egypt and The Passion of The Christ when it came to religious movies; my parents would have pointed and laughed at things like God's Not Dead. A film like Silence, which challenges the viewer and encourages them to ponder on the nature of faith, is what should be encouraged by our religious leaders.
Maybe we shouldn’t be looking to movies for spiritual guidance
Let's have a wisdom that God is not limited to anything. He can use anything to reveal His will. All glory to the Most High.
@@chevychelios4672 so why would he be using Hollywood to further his message? It’s unlikely
@@starwarsroo2448 God does many things unlikely. But i agree with you that perhaps we ought not look to movies for spiritual guidance. It is not movies that are God breathed, but scripture, God's holy Word.
@@Jupiter862 that’s exactly the point
I’m glad you caught that, Thomas Flight. Very observant. The Sacred AND the Propane.
The Last Temptation of Christ is the most spiritual film I’ve ever watched. Hands down. For all its faults it’s one of my absolute favorite movies ever made. The knee jerk reaction against it by Christian groups is telling: they are more concerned with religious iconography (idolatry) than an actually spiritual message of man’s struggle to honor the divine in a profane world. The vitriol was misguided and sad and not very Christ-like! Me, I came away from it deeply inspired
Silence is truly one of the most impactful films I have ever seen. I genuinely think it is a movie everyone should watch at least once. It left me so conflicted and drained.
As a Catholic, it makes perfect sense to me that the Good Fellas guy was raised Catholic. I think if you only see the faith from the outside, it can be easy to overlook just how visceral and dramatic it gets at times.
This was wonderful... always learning more about your favorite artists and their work. Thanks.
Silence was a pretty great adaptation of a pretty great book. Both helped me begin to understand religious conviction, even if I'm not 100% on board with it.
Silence is one of Scorsese's most beautiful films. Every shot is a painting and adds so much to the message
I really needed this lens to view Scorcese's work, I'm really interested to see how watching the rest of his films goes now that I have this overview of his filmography
I honestly want to become a Pateron just to watch your analysis on Silence because it's my favorite movie ever and I love how there a lot of different interpretations of it and what it means.
I've been enjoying Scorsese's most famous films this week, most of them for the first time. And it's so sad to see a man who's so devoted to the christian church and making sense of it, and in response the church feels absent. There's a great clip on youtube of Marti asking to the pope a very profound question about poverty in the streets he grew up in and how could they help these people, and the pope's response was some stupid platitude that basically ignored the question.
I guess at least his suffering brings us exceptional art.
Your video essays continue to astound me. My personal goal is to make one of these half of good.
The Last Temptation is based on the 1955 novel of Nikos Kazantzakis (nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years) and they almost banned his books because of this.
It was very interesting to see Satyajit Ray being mentioned towards the end of this video. Martin Scorsese actually played a great role in the preservation and restoration of Ray's films and was also one of the most important individuals behind Ray's honorary Academy Award win in 1992. He has mentioned in the past that Ray's Panther Panchali struck him very early when he was growing up and that Ray's films have inspired him as a filmmaker, you can find some inspiration from Ray's 1962 classic Abhijan in Scorcese's Taxi Driver.
I remember Scorsese being on Inside The Actors Studio (I believe.) with James Lipton , and he was asked during the roundup what his favorite curse word (All of the guests were asked that.)is. He said that he didn’t even like to curse (And he joked that Joe Pesci should say it instead.).
I would like to meet Martin Scorsese.He seems like a guy who's very spiritual.
I saw the "Last Temptation of Christ" at the show when it first came out back in the Detroit area. It was disturbing to have those strange people try to block us from seeing the movie. I never had an experience like that, before or since. The movie affected me deeply, as did "The Mission" which came out a year before this one, I think. Over the years I wondered what it was that mobilized so many to try to keep others from seeing it. The story showed Jesus in conflict between being just a man or embracing his role as a savior. I thought it was an interesting film and don't what anyone would be offended about. If anything it humanized Jesus, which is a good thing. Maybe the movie was too much like real life and folks don't like this topic to be too real.........I don't know. Anyway, I thought I had a point to make, but maybe not.,sorry.
As Christians we should always look and appreciate both the divinity and humanity of Christ inorder to understand ourselves as the book of Romans states
This video makes me want to buy up Scorsese's entire filmography on Criterion. Impeccable work as always Thomas.
I thought Shutter Island was such an outlier in his filmography, in both tone and subject. But your framing of his spiritual themes makes even that film fit easily. Would I rather be sane & guilty or deluded and a hero? Without divine intervention, these are the only options. Great video thank you!
Good observation. I admittedly am familiar with only a hand full of Scorsese's films, but I LOVE Shutter Island. As a horror/thriller fan, it is one of the very best in that genre. And yes I can see how that theme ties into the ending of Shutter Island.
To see Last Temptation, I crossed those picket lines… I am a Catholic and had no problem exploring my insight and faith with this film. I was fascinated by this subject and went on to look into the book Holy Blood Holy Grail to explore my Lord even more… and all before The Da Vinci Code.
Redemption is a personal business between you and your faith… nothing stands between these two parties EVER. If you want to be redeemed, you’re halfway there already. Martin is Motivated to do it his way, just like Charlie.
That book has been refuted since mind you. Much of it is nonsense.
@@davidlean1060 O’boy, thanks for telling me… Now I will change into a complete cynic. 😊
The entire world is full of unprovable nonsense. Dark Matter, anyone? Thanks for playing.
@@StephenRansom47 No need for that. To me, the book seemed to be trying to take the king of the common man and turn him into a literal king. Do you think the real Jesus, if he existed, would have stood for that? I don't. The man who stormed the temple and threw out the merchants, the man who stood up for the poor, the sick and the down trodden then marries into european Royalty? The very premise is balderdash!
@@davidlean1060 Sorry for that… it felt unnecessary. No Prob.
About that book and all of the other info out there, I just take it all in and let my mind sift the information. It’s like sniffing milk to see if its okay. I believe in the instinct to sense evil and lies. I remain a skeptic about it and merely use it to speculate on events. Information is powerful but insight is divine. In these strange time anything could be going on and several groups will take advantage of anything. For instance, how does this info correlate with Italy being an epicenter in the recent crisis. Just think of our “group” dealing with all of this. For that matter, how about ALL secret groups.
Continue to think openly.
Thanks!
I appreciate the support!
Scorsese almost quit filmmaking when The Last Temptation of Christ was cancelled two weeks before filming was supposed to start. Luckily, he was sent ‘After Hours’ script and decided to shoot that while negotiations were going on again for The Last Temptation of Christ.
Imagine how many masterpieces we wouldn’t have today had he quit.
Haven't seen the whole video because I haven't seen all the films you mention and want to, but the editing choices in the first half mimicking the style in Scorsese's films is a neat little touch!
Wow! Thank you for one of the most well done, insightful, & worthwhile dives into Scorsese's work out there!!
Marty Scorcese owes a BIG nod to Blake Edwards for that whole sequence in Wolf of Wall Street.
When they showed “The Last Temptation of Christ” in Ithaca, NY, some lunatic drove a bus into the front of the theater.
Scorsese should do A Quiet Place Part 3: Electric Vowofsilencealoo!
I'm surprised that Scorsese has never done an adaptation of any of Graham Greene's works. They deal almost exactly with the same themes right down to the Catholicism.
I've watched many Scorsese's films analysis and his themes of faith, but this must be the first to clearly illustrate how his filmography dealth with the internal conflict of "absolute forgiveness".
It was also the belief that pulled me away from Christianity, which intrigued me that someone as religious also struggled with that. You make me want to rewatched many of his films now. Great video!
I've struggled with all of this as well. To me, it's better in the long run to accept those aspects of faith as just that - faith, not absolute certainty. Struggling instead of turning away from these issues in faith has been a more fulfilling challenge imo
I would really like it if you would go in depth on the Sopranos, David Chase is a brilliant but troubled mind and I think the whole series is taking on big themes, both personal and on a society level
random thought i had while watching about cinema: is it more deep to ask a bold question, but leave it ambiguous for the audience, or attempt to answer it yourself? I believe i finally release why some films sometimes have such a great divide in opinions.
Your analysis has given me a whole new take on the layers in Scorsese's films. Really found this to be valuable and perspective building. 🙏.
I havent yet watched the video, but I just wanted to say your title made me immediately think of 'the sacred and the propane' from the Sopranos , which is fitting for a Scorsese essay lol...would love it if you ever made a Sopranos essay
The thing I couldn't stand about the Last Temptation protest movement was its dishonesty, which this video implicitly points out without directly discussing. The protesters claimed it was an attack on Christians and Christianity, while it was actually a devout Christian work that took a somewhat unorthodox approach. They portrayed themselves as persecuted by big, bad Hollywood, when the actual situation was that they were attacking a fellow Christian for not adhering to the exact way they wanted Christian issues discussed. Most of the picketers were probably just gullible dupes, but I regard the right-wing Christian opinion makers who led the charge as liars who took advantage of a pop cultural target to stir up their followers and get donations.
My wife and I loved the film and insisted that my mother-in-law watch it too. Being a devout Catholic, she was reluctant because of all the hype around it. When she finally saw it she was profoundly moved and said that it only made her faith stronger. If only people would just sit down and watch a movie before condemning it...
It's probably because Scorsese portrayed Jesus to be fallible, something some Christians would find offensive.
From what I’ve read of the Bible, some Christians seem to act in direct opposition to his teachings. Nasty and hateful.
Your commentary is amazing thank you
I appreciate that!
I love the silence movie to the core.
This. THIS is a youtube video! This is what i want when watching a youtube video. Professional and well made, you can "see" the time and care it took to make this.
Good job, man! Have a sub
Reflecting on humans wallowing in the profane is one of the most spiritual things one can do. That's exactly where the sacred comes to meet us.
Your videos keep getting better and better. No idea how you're doing it
Hoping you bring up his first film Who's That Knocking which is about a failed relationship between a Catholic boy and a Protestant girl and ends with a music video sequence set to the titular song which is not a romantic montage but rather inside a cathedral
Excellent video, filled with astute reflexion and great insights from amazing films.
A couple years back, I remember hearing that Scorsese was attached to an adaptation of Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter, which also explores a man's crisis of faith. Would still love to see it.
Wow, I didn’t know this. Is the project still in the works, or did it go by the wayside?
@@matthewschwartz6607 It was about ten years ago, so I imagine it's no longer on the top of the list. But here's wishing!
I genuinely thought that line was a reference to a biblical quote or something "as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a missionary." Like they took that scripture and just replaced it with 'gangster'. Great video
Yes, in "Mean Streets", Charlie isn't killing ppl. He's just a small time hustler who makes his bones to get by. He just cares about his good friend,who he's trying to get him out of trouble and trying to get him to pay his debts for his own well being. Yes there are some scenes of physical violence and ppl brutally fist fighting and beating each other. But Charlie just gets himself in these smalltime illegal activity for a quick buck. Charlie is just doing some quick street crimes for some quick yet alright cash.
I like The Departed because not only did they buy the rights of the original film but Scorsese and Team ran freely with the premise and were able to make their own thing. For me The Departed is to Infernal Affairs what Herzog's Nosferatu is to the original Murneau film is, fantastic remakes that stand in their own two feet as to be separately unique films.
After Hours is also underrated
Great video. I've been trying to get my fellow Christian friends to watch Silence, as I think it's one of the deepest examinations if faith I've seen on film, and would spark great conversation. This video helped give me words to use, thank you.
i'm glad you caught that, Alexandra. very observant. the sacred AND the propane.
The Last Temptation was the only depiction of Jesus I ever found interesting.
Then I'd recommend you to read The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago. A very similar, 'humanised' perspective on the figure of Christ and god.
You should watch Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew.
@@DuncanUdaho67 Hell no. I'm an atheist. I only watch religious films that religious people hate and want banned. Like Saved, or Dogma, those are fun movies.
@@botz77 lol dude Pasolini himself was an atheist. He was literally murdered for making movies like this. I’m telling you, it’s a very interesting film. It heavily inspired this film.
@@DuncanUdaho67 I don't care.
*Spoilers for Killers of the Flower Moon*
One of the many things I loved about Scorsese's latest is how it extends the theme of confession, redemption and forgiveness in the final scene with Mollie and Earnest. The film builds to Earnest's 'confession' in the courtroom. Owning up to his part in the murderous conspiracy. He did done his duty in the eyes of the law and his 'sins' were 'forgiven' (i.e. not jailed). But this was not his true moment of judgement and potential redemption. That came in his quiet confrontation with Mollie where she asks him to confess how he wronged her, how he had poisioned her, and he lies. Its an agonising moment. Mollie, a Christian, is giving him an oppertunity to be honest and be forgiven (she even said earlier in the film that she dreamed about taking their secrets and throwing them away; alluding that she would be willing to forgive him in line with her beliefs) but he chose to lie, to attempt to manipulate her once again. But he fails and Mollie leaves him, unforgiven. All that's left is for history (as depicted in the true crime radio show that ends the film) and us, the audience, to judge him, Hale and everyone else involved. Can they be forgiven?
Excellent video. I'm fascinated by Scorcese's religious approach - Silence and Kundun are among my favorite films. So interestingly what this video does it making me see these themes in his secular movies which I like but am in general less interested in. Thank you! I was curious about hearing more about Kundun however. I find it very interesting how in a way, Buddhist practicioners play a role of "victims" in Kundun, and of "villains" in Silence.
Great analysis. Would love to see a video on Paul Schrader's "First Reformed."
I LOVE how Scorsese’s message is: “Christ is pushing us to forgive completely”, juxtaposed to the church’s response to LTOC: “I hope they rot in Hell”.
Classic Church- if you think Christ would step foot today anywhere near those den of vipers, you’re still asleep.
loved the video, I think what was missing is the fact that most of these films, not all of them, are based on books. So it is very interesting to see what Scorsese highlights from these books, and what he adds to them in terms of faith, moral, and violence as well. I love movies based on books, and I think he does it better than most, but I think also that those books were just as equally good and their own thing, as Martin's.
Beautifully made essay Tom
Please do a full video on Silence! It's one of my personal favorite movies
Had a Christianity class in college (movie class) and we had to pick a movie to do a report on. I chose Last Temptation of Christ b/c I was a Scorsese fanatic. Truth be told, wished I went with Mean Streets.
Scorsese to me, is like a Hollywood version of the incredible classic writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. There's part of him that is deeply spiritual, but there's parts of him that have great doubts. His characters much like Dostoevsky characters are narcissist at best and sociopaths at their worst. But they both write them in ammoral ways that makes us question the boundaries of right and wrong. They are on a redemption arc and we're being asked by them to decide if we can forgive these people? To them the divine and the profane coexist everywhere even to the core of our consciousness. That's what reality is like. Scorsese is exploring what Dostoevsky called, "The Great Doubt." I love his movies. They always leave me thinking, doubting and questioning everything I believe.
I really love The Last Temptation of Christ! As a movie it is so underrated. I am not a religious person so I don't care if it portrays Jesus in a bad light, . William Dafoe is incredible in that movie!!
It's ridiculous that Christian groups got upset at the portrayal of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ when the Bible makes it clear that the entire point of him becoming human was that he would experience everything humans do, notably including the same sinful temptations.
Such an amazing video exploring what makes Scorcese's work so great.
Wonderful video essay. So thoughtful and thought provoking. What a sojourn it is to discovery our absolution. 💛
Most aren't corrupt...What seperates is those who can or cannot be corrupted.
Brilliant video Thomas, we love you!
The Last Temptation Of Christ is my personal favorite of all Scorsese films.
The last temptation of Christ is one of my favorite depictions of Jesus. It’s a very gnostic view of him that allows Jesus to decide his own role in redemption.
Amazing video
I definitely need to watch more of his movies. Been meaning to watch Taxi Driver ever since Joker came out and all the comparisons were made, but just haven't. Never been super into mob movies but The Departed and Goodfellas were both good movies, and Cape Fear was good but didn't stick with me in any way, and I don't think I ever finished Wolf (tendency to fall asleep watching movies, unfortunately). Silence sounds interesting, and I always forget that Willem Dafoe played Jesus, should check that out.
Also mubi is awesome, just wish the app was more widely available (no Xbox app, for instance. But Roku and android have it)
“You’re very observant. The sacred and the propane.” Little Carmine
“The Sacred and the Propane”-Little Carmine
Interesting video that offered me a new perspective on his films, thank you! Keep up the wonderful work :) I really enjoy your content.
You should definitely check out his short films as well, like ‘The Shave’ and ‘what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?’
I haven’t seen The Shave yet but What’s a nice girl doing is great!
REALLY excellent video. Haven't had the chance to explore this topicin relation to Scorsese. Overall I enjoy Scorsese, but some of them,Taxi Driver being one of them, left me feeling so vacant-- And not in the human explorative/Introspective/existentialism kind of way. i’d be interested in re-watching a few with this particular topic in focus.
Great observation Thomas Flight, very allegorical. The sacred and the propane