“Regenerate me”: Martin Scorsese on his compulsion to make documentaries
Rising to prominence during the New Hollywood era, Martin Scorsese impressed critics and movie lovers with films like Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, asserting himself as one of the most necessary filmmakers of his generation. After winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Scorsese’s position was elevated even further, and within a few years, he had secured his first Academy Award nomination for Raging Bull.
Scorsese might not have won anything, but Robert De Niro took home ‘Best Actor’ while Thelma Schoonmaker won ‘Best Film Editing’. Raging Bull is often considered one of the greatest movies of all time – a testament to Scorsese’s ability to work closely with his actors and bring out their greatest performances. While he has made many other acclaimed feature films during his career, like Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed, Scorsese has also found significant success as a documentary filmmaker.
Just as Raging Bull took influence from the real story of Jake LaMotta, Scorsese has often turned to real figures – bands or filmmakers he loves – to create compelling documentaries. From his devotion to blues music to his obsession with certain movies, Scorsese’s fascination with decades worth of art and culture has culminated in documentaries and concert films like George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, The Last Waltz, and Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger.
In an interview with the Independent, Scorsese once admitted that he feels a “compulsion” to make documentaries, creating a visual record of a moment in time that so importantly reflects the ever-changing state of art and culture. His interest in documentaries was perhaps spawned when he worked as an editor on the classic 1970 movie Woodstock, the definitive record of the performances that took place during one of the most iconic festivals in rock and roll history.
Having lived through the 1960s, Scorsese was a young man when he discovered groundbreaking new talents, explaining: “It was a working-class, conservative background in my family, so we listened to AM radio. But FM was just beginning with rock’n’roll. So then I heard The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.” These artists would become some of his favourites – and favourite subjects – and he has since used songs by The Rolling Stones in multiple feature films, as well as making the 2008 concert film Shine A Light about the band.
For the filmmaker, being able to tell real stories is one of his favourite aspects of documentaries. He revealed, “The documentaries on music and film regenerate me,” which makes sense considering that he seems to return to the format on a regular basis, whether that be in the form of a television series like The Blues and Pretend It’s a City or feature-length films.
It’s a joy to watch a Scorsese documentary, with his passion for cinema or music always bleeding through each scene. Whether he’s filming a live performance, interviewing a star, or sharing his own thoughts on a person or topic, he never fails to create engaging and informative documentaries that have only helped to assert his status as a genius filmmaker even further.
