The classic movie Martin Scorsese calls a “masterpiece”
Martin Scorsese is widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, but his contribution to cinema extends far beyond his filmography. Like so many filmmakers, before he stood behind the camera, he sat in front of the screen in awe. Scorsese is a bonafide film lover, and his appreciation for cinema has rarely been quiet. Throughout his lifetime, Scorsese has been a strong advocate for global cinema, and his foundation has conducted beautiful restorations of classics that would have been lost otherwise.
Although Scorsese faced a massive backlash for criticising Marvel movies’ market domination, his stance on film education has been impressively consistent for a long time, and with the box office significantly dwindling, perhaps he was right, and the audience has grown a little woozy, having spent so long on the amusement park of superhero cinema. Scorsese has repeatedly urged young artists to pay attention to their film education, routinely compiling lists of essential masterpieces.
During a conversation with the Criterion Collection, Scorsese was asked to name ten cinematic gems that impacted his journey as a pioneering filmmaker. While other guests added brief explanations to their entries, Scorsese wrote mini-essays for each film he chose for his top ten selection.
Scorsese has always been fascinated by the various visions of Italy, which are shown within the framework of Italian cinema. That’s exactly why five out of the ten films on his list are Italian, made by some of the most esteemed practitioners of cinema—from Roberto Rossellini to Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.
The director also included Luchino Visconti’s seminal 1963 film The Leopard among his top picks. While justifying his selection, Scorsese 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.”
It may not be the easiest connection to make between this work and Scorsese’s own production, but the movie has an undeniable sense of purpose that is about as close to Scorsese’s cinematic lifeblood as is possible to be.
Its rich historical narrative, visual grandeur, and nuanced exploration of power and societal change all connect with what makes Scorsese such a vibrant creator. Visconti’s meticulous craftsmanship, from the lush cinematography to the evocative use of colour and light all pour into Scorsese’s own vision. The epic scope and attention to detail mirror Scorsese’s cinematic style, blending historical depth with personal drama, making it not only one of his favourite movies of all time but one that perhaps inspired him most of all.
