The most renowned filmmaker of his era, Martin Scorsese virtually defined the state of modern American cinema during the nineteen seventies and eighties. A consummate storyteller and visual stylist who lived and breathed movies, he won fame translating his passion and energy into a brand of filmmaking that crackled with kinetic excitement. Working well outside of the mainstream, Scorsese nevertheless emerged in the seventies as a towering figure throughout the industry, achieving the kind of fame and universal recognition typically reserved for more commercially successful talents. A tireless supporter of film preservation, "Scorsese has worked to bridge the gap between cinema's history and future like no other director." (Rottentomatoes.com) Channeling the lessons of his inspirations primarily classic Hollywood, the French New Wave, and the New York underground movement of the early nineteen sixties into an extraordinarily personal and singular vision, he has remained perennially positioned at the vanguard of the medium, always pushing the envelope of the film experience with an intensity and courage unmatched by any of his contemporaries.

The films of his I am most interested in are: Hugo, The Departed, Raging Bull and Goodfellas. Besides the charming tale of Hugo, all of these films have something in common, extreme violence. Scorsese seems to have worked largely in the medium of violence for most of his career. However, unlike a blockbuster director such as Michael Bay, he doesn't use violence to draw crowds in with explosions. Scorsese uses violence to portray cultural feelings and to show the hardships of many of the characters in his movies. He uses themes such as Roman Catholic guilt, machismo and gang violence. I believe what drives Scorsese and his films is the want to show how violence exists. He wants to show the emotions and complicated scenarios in which violence arises.

Scorsese career breaks down into three successive phases. Scorsese leapt on to the Hollywood scene in 1973 with the film mean streets, a gritty crime drama. It was hailed with critical appeal, but little commercial success. Unfortunately, this period is also associated with his addiction to cocaine in the late 70's. "I was always angry, throwing glasses, provoking people, really unpleasant to be around," he recalls. "I always found, no matter what anybody said, something to take offense at." (Sotinel, 70) His films during the time reflected that, with the violent Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980) earning him more critical acclaim despite protest from moviegoers about the violent nature of the films.

Scorsese then transitioned into a middle period of his career. Scorsese's next project was his fifth collaboration with Robert De Niro, The King of Comedy (1983). A satire on the world of media and celebrity, it was an obvious departure from the more emotionally committed films he had become associated with. (Rotten Tomatoes) Scorsese during this period was considerably less focused on reckless violence films. He made comedies (The King of Comedy in 1983), religiously themed films (The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ in 1989) and even a 19th century period romance (The Age of Innocence in 1993.)

Hailed as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinema history, Scorsese has directed landmark films such as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990) - all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed (2006). With eight Best Director Oscar nominations to date, he is tied with Billy Wilder for most.

There is no doubt that Scorsese is well loved by critics. AMC ranks him as the 12th best director of all time. Famed critic Roger Ebert considered him a good friend. However, it was not always this way. When he first started directing, many critics were off put by the incredible violence of his films. Taxi Driver, in particular, raised a lot of concern over its whole hearted use of violence.

Scorsese based his movies off the following sources: The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
Selznick, the oldest of three children, was born and grew up in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. His grandfather was a cousin of Hollywood producer David O. Selznick. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and then worked for three years at Eeyore's Books for Children in Manhattan while working on The Houdini Box, about a boy's chance encounter with Harry Houdini and its aftermath. It became his debut work, a 56page picture book published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1991.

Selznick won the 2008 Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association for the year's best illustrated picture book, recognizing The Invention of Hugo Cabret. At the time it was "by far the longest and most involved book I've ever worked on. The book of Hugo was inspired by a passage in the book Edison's Eve by Gaby Wood that tells of the collection of automata that belonged to Georges Méliès. After his death they were thrown away by the museum that he donated them to. Selznick, a fan of Méliès and automata envisioned a young boy stealing an automaton from the garbage. The Invention of Hugo Cabret was adapted as a film, Hugo by director Martin Scorsese and released in November 2011. Selznick cites Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, and Remy Charlip, author of fortunately, as strong influences on his books. Prior to winning the 2008 Caldecott Medal, Selznick had been a runner-up in 2002 for The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: an illuminating history of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, artist and lecturer. Other awards include the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Christopher Award. Hugo was his first full-length book written entirely by him.

Hugo is an orphan who lives in a Paris railway station, tending to the station clocks during his uncle's mysterious absence. He scrounges food from the vendors and steals mechanical parts from the owner of a toy shop, Georges Melies. In fact, Hugo's father was a watchmaker and he has inherited his father's talents for all things mechanical. Years before, Hugo's father found an intricate mechanical man, but they could never figure out how it worked. Hugo befriends Melies's ward, Isabelle, and together they have an adventure, one that centers on Melies himself. They end up stealing a necklace, and finding out that the Melies was a once famous filmmaker. The book contains almost as many pictures as it does pages of text. This is because Selznick was enthralled by the movies, so he wanted to paint a scene of this book, literally.

The movie has a fair amount of imagery in it. At one point, the automaton draws a picture of The Man on the Moon, one of Mieles movies. There's a reason the automaton draws that particular scene instead of any other image from the movie. For one thing, that image of the moon, with a spaceship landing in its eye, is one of the most famous shots in all of cinema. It's a nod to the wonderful history of the silver screen and a tribute to one of movie making's great innovators-Georges Méliès. Plus, it's a hint of what's to come. Those movies, and the automaton, were some of George's greatest accomplishments. So when he's reunited with them, thanks to a little help from Rene Talbard and Hugo, he can finally accept his past and be proud of his history, failures and all. Although Hugo and George Melies eventually become friends, this part would show the viewer that Melies was a very bitter and angry old man before Hugo won him over.

As for the cinematography, this scene would have several beautiful images. We would see and empty train hall, usually busy but now devoid of all life. The snow would fall softly to the earth. The dialogue between George and Hugo would be tense. George is getting more and angrier with Hugo for following him around. He finally snaps at Hugo. He threatens to take Hugo to the station inspector (the train policeman.) For the actor who plays George, it would be a nice moment to show anger and exasperation. For the child actor of Hugo, it would be a great moment to show fear.

Goodfellas ,1990:
Goodfellas also has no shortage of gang violence. The movie follows Henry Hill, and up and comer in the Italian mob. It traces his history, from an innocent boy to a coke snorting, gambling murderer. Along the way, Scorsese portrays the tough life decisions Hill made because of societal pressure to turn out that way. He also uses lighting and camera movement to capture the setting that turned young boys into mobsters in New York during the 60's.

Goodfellas implemented several techniques of the formalist style. Many are used to impress upon the audience the gravity of the brutal and anxious events of this true story depicted on film. First and foremost, the opening scene, that when more of the film is viewed seems to be out of position, places the characters, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), in the woods standing behind a car in a long shot. The camera switches to zooming in on the trunk of the car for a close-up while loud noises seem to come from inside it. It then switches to zooming in for a medium shot of De Niro and Pesci as they prepare to take some sort of action against the thumping resonating from their trunk as the shot pans over to Liotta's character opening the trunk with his keys. When the trunk is open it is revealed that a man is occupying it and Tommy DeVito lunges at him with a huge kitchen knife with the violence being shown in medium shots as well as the shooting of the body by Conway with the blood splattering on the camera, a deliberate choice of Scorsese. Henry Hill then enters into view again as narration begins while he slams the trunk shut and the camera tilts up. It is an incredibly violent opening scene, and it is set in the middle of the actual story. The violence depicted here is continued throughout the entire film. Scorsese throughout his career was never afraid of using violence to show the characters inner emotions, and for this film, it worked quite well.

Raging Bull, 1980:
In Raging Bull, the violent Biopic of boxer Jake la Motta, Scorsese uses black and white footage, slow motion and exaggerated boxing glove sounds to evoke the pain and brain dead feelings of la Motta's boxing career.

Some of the best cinematography in Scorsese films is from the various boxing fights la Motta fights throughout the film. Scorsese makes us feel pure joy as la Motta beats another boxer, showing why la Motta would box, even if the potential for injuries is large. Consequently, we also feel the pain when la Motta's face in beaten and bloodied during the fights in which he lost. During his winning fights, Scorsese used music and faster motion to make the fights seem glorious. During the fights in which la Motta lost, Scorsese would use lengthy shots, slowed down with the exaggerated sound of a boxing glove coming into contact with la Motta's face. It was hard, and painful to watch, and it showed why la Motta was bitter and unmotivated for the rest of the movie. (Hugo 2011): Hugo is a rarity in a Scorsese movie. Not a SINGLE person gets shot or killed. Amazing. Even though Scorsese didn't have to use his cinematic talents to show violence, he used them for other purposes in Hugo, to show the emotions of Hugo, the protagonist. Hugo is an orphan, and thus is sad for much of the first part of the movie. Scorsese shows these feelings with darker camera shots of the train station where he lives in the first half of the movie. When Hugo meets George Mieiles, his eventual caretaker, the lighting brightens up, showing lighter images of old film and of bright Parisian streetlights.

"Scorsese exceeded boundaries in visual aesthetics as it relates to fantastic storytelling. He used the magical quality of 3D to enhance the story."(TCM.com) Scorsese made the resurrection of the past all the more phenomenal. Today's digital technology allowed Scorsese to create his elaborate illusion of 1930s Paris, and to add haunting depth and vibrancy to the images.
Theatrical aspects: Raging Bull:
Raging Bull was one of Scorsese crowning achievements in terms of acting and diction. Scorsese got marvelous performances out of Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and newcomer actress Cathy Moriarty. he did this by emphasizing the accents and going deep into the characters. Scorsese also made de Niro actually train to be a boxer. De Niro spent hours in the gym to get the physique and technique of a boxer down perfectly.
Scorsese also forced the actor to gain weight for his role as his 50 year old self in the movie. "De Niro gained weight for the later scenes by going on a culinary tour of Italy and France, binging on three large meals per day, with lots of pasta, meat, butter, ice cream and beer."(FilmJournal.com) The weight gain gave de Niro real health problems, and was considered harsh by Scorsese critics. Goodfellas, 1990:
While most of Scorsese films are known for their powerful characterization and method acting, Goodfellas combined those aspects with fantastic set design and props. The film Goodfellas was extremely well done theatrically. All of the locations where the film was shot were immaculately designed. Kristi Zea designed all of the sets, under Scorsese direction, and she went into very fine detail doing so. From the house of Henry Hill, with all the glitzy 70's decor you could think of, to the nightclub with its sleazy booths and more liquor than you can shake a stick at, the sets were above all else, believable. The sets, along with the tremendous acting of Oscar winners Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, put you in 1970's queens, or Brooklyn, or wherever the gangsters happened to be. Personal Reflections: These films have opened me up to a whole style of filmmaking that I had not been aware of. It's not necessarily that these films make me joyful. The Departed, Goodfellas and Raging Bull leave you feeling terrible. However, it's not terrible in the sense that the movies were poorly directed. Scorsese is such a good director that he makes me feel vast array of emotions such as sadness, remorse and anxiety. Scorsese has the ability to twist the audience's emotions at a snap of his fingers. This project was great for me because I got to learn how he did that. Conclusion:
Martin Scorsese is a master of the cinematic dark arts. He takes the sophisticated topic of violence and inverts it. He shows the roots and beginning of violence, and shows the viewer why and how these acts of violence could be committed. He then makes the audience believe the story by making his actors breathe the story. He uses complex cinematography, such as lighting, camera angles and sound (as previously discussed) to solidify the horrifying images into their brains. He makes the audience feel unwanted emotions, and the audience thanks him for it, by going to see his renowned films by the millions.

Resources
Bibliography: Sotinel, Thomas, and Imogen Forster. Martin Scorsese. Paris: Cahiers Du Cinéma Sarl, 2010. Print.
Scorsese, Martin, and Peter Brunette. Martin Scorsese: Interviews. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 1999. Print.
Duncan, Paul. Martin Scorsese. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials, 2004. Print. Internet Sources: Figgis, Cyril. "Raging Bull." Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, 06 Feb. 2011.
Web. 1 Apr. 2014. Tunt, Cheryl. Tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, 4 Jan. 2009.
Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Kreiger, Adolph, M.D. "Peter Pan Complex Global Advanced Personality Test Trait Descriptions." Similarminds.com. 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.