Five classic movies Martin Scorsese thinks you need to see
Martin Scorsese is almost equally as famous for his taste in film and encyclopaedic knowledge of the medium as he is his directorial work, becoming well known for his efforts to preserve global cinema and nurturing new directors. After directing classic films such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, the director began to share his journey towards becoming a filmmaker and the stories that most inspired him along the way, whether it be Metropolis, Seven Samurai or The Bicycle Thief.
The director has continuously reiterated his love for hundreds of films, unable to narrow it down and instead encouraging people to see as many films as possible. However, Scorsese was given the impossible task of narrowing it down to just five films when programming classic movies for TCM as their new advisor, eventually choosing the lucky few that made it to the top of his list as crucial films that everybody needs to see.
Firstly, the director chose Red Dust, directed in 1932 by Victor Fleming. Starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, the story follows the owner of a rubber plantation called Dennis, who is involved with a woman evading the police after escaping Saigon. However, he unexpectedly finds himself infatuated by someone else’s wife, leading to general chaos all around. While the chemistry between the three leads is electric and all cast members give great performances, this is arguably the best part of the film, while the actual story is nothing particularly memorable.
The director then encouraged viewers to watch Two Sisters from Boston, directed by Henry Koster in 1946, following a woman who convinces her family she is a successful opera singer when she is in fact, a burlesque dancer, attempting to hide the truth from her sister after she pays an unexpected visit. It is very light-hearted and goofy, something that you cannot find traces of Scorsese’s own work.
He also described the influence of Isle of the Dead, a take on the zombie horror that follows a group of doctors who are trying to outlive a deadly plague on a Greek island. Given the era it was made in, it was very progressive and unexpectedly predicted the circumstances we were faced with during COVID-19.
Lastly, Scorsese added Madonna of the Seven Moons to his programme, which the director described as being “pure and unabashed” and also “incredibly trashy”, which was directed by Arthur Crabtree in 1945. The film follows a young woman who is attacked, flashing forward to the future where is is mentally scarred by the incident and goes missing.
To top it off, he added the 1967 melodrama Accident, which was written by legendary playwright Harold Pinter. Scorsese described it as being full of fury and brutality, which perhaps had more of an influence on his own work, especially given his fascination with the gangster genre. While there are many mainstream classic films that you might imagine Scorsese would encourage people to watch, he wanted to choose more obscure choices that would show people a different corner of cinema.
Five movies Martin Scorsese thinks you need to see:
- Red Dust
- Two Sisters from Boston
- Isle of the Dead
- Madonna of the Seven Moons
- Accident
