Martin Scorsese pinpoints “what’s been lacking” from modern cinema
Ahead of the release of his latest feature film, Killers of the Flower Moon, this Friday, October 20th, director Martin Scorsese has reflected on what keeps him going – and identified what he believes is missing from the modern landscape of movie making.
Aged 80, Scorsese is showing no signs of slowing down. His latest film is an expansive epic western that boasts the two most well-regarded and famous actors of their respective generations. He shares the same passion as artists like Picasso or Paul McCartney, who Scorsese asserts in their later years don’t “want to stop”.
In a recent interview for The Times, the director asked, “Why would they? Why would I?” On the renewed zeal for making art at 80, Scorsese explained, “When you’re young, you don’t really look at things that way because your life is before you, and you see time as unlimited. At this point in my life, every moment is precious.”
The director revealed how “Every frame of every picture is precious and every gesture . . . And so my work is to find the truth of existing — ultimately, that’s what I have always been trying to express, whether I was aware of it or not.”
Like Christopher Nolan with Oppenheimer or Greta Gerwig with Barbie, which Scorsese called the combined effect of both “wonderful” for cinema, the director hopes to bring back mature and adult movies to the screens for audiences. Blaming “the establishment who are pouring money into [blockbuster] films and taking over cinemas”, he’s pinpointed what is “lacking”.
The director previously garnered some controversy for his comments on the dominance of superhero movies and big-budget franchises on the big screen, sharing concern for younger audiences who might think that they represent the totality of what cinema is.
“What’s been lacking is richness and depth,” Scorsese explained. “We’d be doing a great disservice if we don’t try to nurture an appreciation of a different kind of film. A different language. In doing so, you invest in the future of cinema.”
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