Martin Scorsese lists the movies that “everyone should see”
For over five decades, Martin Scorsese has entertained us with his distinctive and compelling approach to filmmaking. Rising alongside titan peers like Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese helped channel cinema into a renaissance widely known as the New Hollywood period.
Since 1973’s Mean Streets, Scorsese’s first Robert De Niro collaboration, his associative aesthetic has been considered one of noir gangster violence, anti-hero biopics and stand-out casting. Since 2002, De Niro’s This Boy’s Life co-star Leonardo DiCaprio has also become a recurring presence in Scorsese’s filmography
After triumphant collaborations in Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street, the pair have recently returned with Killers of the Flower Moon.
Earlier in the year, DiCaprio hailed the movie as Scorsese’s “masterpiece”, and in a 4.5-star review, Far Out wrote: “As expected of Scorsese, every shot is perfectly crafted and brings the nature of the true-crime narrative to new cinematic heights. At three and a half hours long, Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly captivating, sensitive in its approach and an essential work in chronicling the power that the United States would eventually become.”
There aren’t many Scorsese movies we wouldn’t brand as essential viewing, but navigating the thick slough of movie titles available across streaming platforms and rental store shelves can help to have a few pointers.
Fortunately, Scorsese is never short of recommendations. In a 1994 appearance on the TV show Hi Octane, co-host Sofia Coppola asked Scorsese to name five movies “everyone should see”. In true Scorsese fashion, he proceeded to name 16 movies he saw as essential.
After beginning with some Golden Age classics from John Ford, Orson Welles and John Sturges, Scorsese took a tangent into his associative gangster genre, picking out landmark titles like Scarface, The Public Enemy and The Godfather. The final selection should perhaps go without saying since Scorsese was speaking to the director’s daughter.
Movies recommended by Martin Scorsese:
- The Magnificent Seven – John Sturges
- Drums Along the Mohawk – John Ford
- Citizen Kane – Orson Welles
- The Grapes of Wrath – John Ford
- High and Low – Akira Kurosawa
- Young Mr. Lincoln – John Ford
- The Searchers – John Ford
- The Red Shoes – Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell
- Stagecoach – John Ford
- Seven Samaurai – Akira Kurosawa
- The Public Enemy – William A. Wellman
- Little Caesar – Mervyn LeRoy
- Scarface – Howard Hawks
- I Walk Alone – Byron Haskin
- Point Blank – John Boorman
- The Godfather – Francis Ford Coppola
Watch the trailer for Martin Scorsese’s latest production, Killers of the Flower Moon, below.
