Martin Scorsese revealed a huge list of his 125 favourite movies of all time
Martin Scorsese was a part of the new wave in American filmmaking, one which ultimately redefined the country’s cinema for the better, pushing new boundaries and exploring the potential of the cinematic medium. Through his masterpieces, such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Scorsese managed to weave together glimpses of an America that was overflowing with the filth of modernity.
Scorsese’s movies have grappled with various issues, ranging from comparative studies between the institution of crime and the corruption of the government to questions of spirituality and faith. Given that he was mentored by none other than John Cassavetes, another pioneer of the ‘American New Wave’ whose improvisational style, it should come as no surprise that these elements bled into the artistic sensibilities of a young Scorsese.
The king of crime movies and slick gangster flicks, Martin Scorsese, is rightfully considered to be one of the greatest American filmmakers of all time, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick. Known for his intense approach to storytelling that uses his constant inspiration from foreign cinema, Scorsese is more than just a director; he is a scholar of cinema.
A vocal advocate of world cinema, very few filmmakers have done as much as Scorsese to spread awareness about the cinematic masterpieces produced in the world’s remotest corners. He has consistently reminded the world of the need for visual literacy, claiming that the history of cinema is far too important to be ignored and forgotten.
For this, he has been vilified by many younger audiences because some struggled to understand why Scorsese cannot appreciate Marvel movies instead of going on and on about John Ford westerns. However, the ageing auteur warns against the direction in which the market is heading because it only signifies the slow death of modern independent filmmaking.
An avid cinephile who immersed himself in the world of films from a very young age, Scorsese’s knowledge of film history is unparalleled. That is why he ended up selecting 125 of his favourite films when other directors satisfied themselves with a top ten pick. What’s more, over the years, he has picked many, many different variations on that list, too.
From his selections, it is evident that Scorsese’s mental library of films is extremely intimidating. An eclectic mix of some of the definitive masterpieces of the 20th century, Scorsese has managed to single out the essential films you need to watch in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of the history of cinema.
Despite this huge list, Scorsese does have a few favourites out of all these brilliant and important works. When asked to select just five, the auteur reluctantly picked The Searchers and Citizen Kane before adding The Red Shoes, Federico Fellini’s 8½ and The Leopard by Luchino Visconti to his personal top five.
When speaking in more detail about the 1963 film The Leopard, among his top picks, Scorsese justified his selection and commented: “Another masterpiece about Sicily, another meditation on eternity, and an endlessly rich historical tapestry, meticulously composed in colour and on 70 mm.”
The director added: “Time itself is the protagonist of The Leopard: the cosmic scale of time, of centuries and epochs, on which the prince muses; Sicilian time, in which days and nights stretch to infinity; and aristocratic time, in which nothing is ever rushed and everything happens just as it should happen, as it has always happened.”
A stunning historical epic, The Leopard, conducts a grand exploration of 19th-century social structures in Italy and the aristocracy in Sicily. Scorsese concluded: “I could go on and on about The Leopard. It’s a film that has become more and more important to me as the years have gone by.”
Check out an extensive list of Martin Scorsese’s film recommendations below.
Martin Scorsese’s 125 favourite movies:
- The Infernal Cakewalk (1903)
- Secrets of the Soul (1912)
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
- Nosferatu (1922)
- Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)
- Metropolis (1927)
- Napoleon (1927)
- The Power and the Glory (1933)
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
- La Grande Illusion (1937)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Stagecoach (1939)
- The Roaring Twenties (1939)
- The Rules Of The Game (1939)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- How Green Was My Valley (1941)
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- Cat People (1942)
- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
- Rome, Open City (1945)
- Children Of Paradise (1945)
- Duel in the Sun (1946)
- Gilda (1946)
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- Paisan (1946)
- Beauty & The Beast (1946)
- The Lady From Shanghai (1947)
- T-Men (1947)
- I Walk Alone (1947)
- The Red Shoes (1948)
- Germany Year Zero (1948)
- Force of Evil (1948)
- La Terra Trema (1948)
- Macbeth (1948)
- Raw Deal (1948)
- Bicycle Thieves (1948)
- Caught (1949)
- The Third Man (1949)
- Stromboli (1950)
- The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
- Gun Crazy (1950)
- Night and the City (1950)
- An American in Paris (1951)
- The River (1951)
- Ace in the Hole (1951)
- The Magic Box (1951)
- The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
- Europa ’51 (1952)
- Othello (1952)
- Umberto D. (1952)
- Ikiru (1952)
- The Band Wagon (1953)
- House of Wax (1953)
- Julius Caesar (1953)
- Pickup on South Street (1953)
- Ugetsu (1953)
- Tokyo Story (1953)
- Dial M for Murder (1954)
- Journey to Italy (1954)
- Senso (1954)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
- All that Heaven Allows (1955)
- Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
- The Searchers (1956)
- Forty Guns (1957)
- Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
- Some Came Running (1958)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
- Big Deal On Madonna Street (1958)
- Shadows (1959)
- The 400 Blows (1959)
- Peeping Tom (1960)
- Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
- Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
- Breathless (1960)
- L’Avventura (1960)
- The Hustler (1961)
- One, Two, Three (1961)
- Cape Fear (1962)
- The Trial (1962)
- Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
- Salvatore Giuliano (1962)
- Il Sorpasso (1962)
- America, America (1963)
- Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
- The Leopard (1963)
- Shock Corridor (1963)
- High and Low (1963)
- 8½ (1963)
- The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
- Band of Outsiders (1964)
- Before the Revolution (1964)
- The Rise of Louis XIV (1966)
- Blow-Up (1966)
- Weekend (1967)
- Faces (1968)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- Death by Hanging (1968)
- Midnight Cowboy (1969)
- The Butcher (1970)
- M*A*S*H (1970)
- The American Friend (1970)
- Klute (1971)
- McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
- The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971)
- The Godfather (1972)
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
- The Conversation (1974)
- Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (1974)
- The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
- The Messiah (1975)
- Nashville (1975)
- Kings of the Road (1976)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
- Health (1980)
- Heaven’s Gate (1980)
- Mishima (1985)
- Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- The Player (1992)
