The director who accused Martin Scorsese of making “terrible movies that nobody needs”
Most people can agree that Martin Scorsese is, without a doubt, one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Most, but not all, apparently.
While the average cinemagoer is more than entitled to dislike Scorsese’s work, whether that’s some of his movies or all of them, the one thing you’re almost likely never to hear is another filmmaker calling the industry legend and influential auteur a hack who makes crap films.
And yet, there are always exceptions to the rule. There’s a massive amount of irony to this exception, though, since the director who called Scorsese out for churning out cinematic turd after cinematic turd is themselves, perhaps the single worst excuse for a director the business has ever seen.
Fighting out of one corner is the mastermind behind Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, The Last Temptation of Christ, Casino, and The King of Comedy, a mere handful of credits from a lifelong cinephile with a filmography that stacks up against anyone to ever do it.
Fighting out of the other corner, quite literally, seeing as this is the guy who brawled with his critics in a boxing ring, is Uwe fucking Boll, of all people, the mastermind behind In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Bloodrayne, Alone in the Dark, Postal, and many other crimes against cinema.
For whatever reason, Boll has a higher opinion of himself than he should. While he’s generally regarded as an untalented hack who couldn’t make even a half-decent picture to save his life, he’s always carried himself as someone who thinks the filmic sun shines out of their arse, which it absolutely does not.
When casting an oblivious eye over the current landscape, the contentious and altogether horrendous director focused his ire on “directors who already make terrible movies that nobody needs, yet they get a pass.” What was the first name out of his mouth after making that claim? Martin Scorsese, obviously.
It wasn’t an entirely deluded rant, with Boll semi-accurately pointing to Oliver Stone as someone “who made awful films like World Trade Centre and Alexander and never made anything good again,” which isn’t necessarily wrong, although Stone does have three Academy Awards from 11 nominations, whereas Boll has three Razzies for ‘Worst Director’.
According to Boll, Scorsese makes terrible movies that nobody needs, which would be the same Scorsese who’s seen four of his last five films shortlisted for ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ at the Oscars. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion, but sometimes, those opinions are complete and utter nonsense.
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