by Royce Radcliffe

Created on: May 02, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

There is no doubt that the giant that is Martin Scorcese has blazed trails and set trends that have been greatly influential on filmmakers the world over. His refreshing and searingly honest approach combined with his unstoppable energy make his narrative threads some of the most enjoyable to follow in all of film history.

Many would describe his point of view as morbid, the anti-Spielberg. But in a cynical world it can be very refreshing to see someone who is not afraid of the dark side of life. Scorcese never backed down from ugly truths and in fact seemed to embrace them. To me a movie like Taxi Driver is actually a tragedy that rivals anything Shakespeare ever gave us.

I think this is truly his greatest influence on cinema today. He tapped into the appeal of evil better than any director alive. He could put his finger on the pulse of madness and feel its heartbeat. Raging Bull was a great example of that. He also showed a compassion for madmen that most directors would deny, even as their works seemed to glorify them, making for half a film in my opinion. Scorcese loved all of his characters, especially the crazy ones, because he sympathized.

He portrayed the world of such men to perfection. Travis Bickle prowling the drug and hooker infested streets of New York-loathing everything but driving on silently-haunts me to this day. He sticks the camera right behind their eyes and let us see the world precisely from their perspective.

I feel like he makes it seem not as if these men were born broken but as if they were brought to these states by the inherent confusion and disappointment of life itself. He blames life; he finds it excruciatingly painful. The fact that he kept the camera on the gore scenes in Taxi Driver but had to pan away when Travis is getting rejected by the woman he loves should tell you everything.

He also reinvented the gangster genre. Before him all the world had were the two extremes of the Godfather and Scarface to operate from. He brought a new sense of realism, modernism and energetic enthrallment to the gangster film. To this day he is thought of as the only working director who knows how to make them....

He always had the best soundtracks and his use of music is highlighted in each film. Soundtracks to Goodfellas and Casino highlight the action and the montages to these pieces are some of the best in movie history. By the time you are done with these movies you have taken a ride through danger and glamor and greed that you will never forget. I honestly do not think we would have things like The Sopranos were it not for his work in Goodfellas.

This man is not afraid of a bad ending and that is another strong point. This pervasive need to work everything out and leave the characters to some happy fate has killed many a Hollywood picture. He suffers from none of these illusions and simply tells it the way he thinks it would really happen, which makes his films as unpredictable as the world they reflect.

I think Scorcese is one of the best filmmakers ever and that his talent knows no bounds. I do think he can illustrate the lighter side of life, I just think he finds it less compelling and truthful. While I may disagree with some of his films I can never deny the power of his point of view. I have been hypnotized by his articulation of this world as a dark place and I think it has had a profound impact that will last for the duration of film throughout history, such is his greatness.

Learn more about this author, Royce Radcliffe.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.