“It’s on a different level”: the only one of his movies that Martin Scorsese can bear rewatching
Even though he’s got one of the most rewatchable filmographies in Hollywood history, there’s only one of his credits that Martin Scorsese can even stomach the thought of revisiting.
Most cinephiles would disagree, since the number of classic movies he’s helmed that are rewatched on a regular basis runs well into double figures. That’s the mark of greatness, and with so many seminal titles in his back catalogue, it’s surprising that the sole outlier isn’t one of his inarguable masterpieces.
For some folks, it might be, but it’s not one of his definitive pictures. When you think of the films that define Scorsese’s cinematic legacy, the same usual suspects come to mind: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ, Gangs of New York, and The Departed.
The latter may not be in the same rarefied air as the others, in regard to its overall qualities as an unadulterated masterwork, but since it finally won him that elusive Academy Award for ‘Best Director’, you can’t leave it out. Being as good as he is, even second-tier Scorsese is better than most auteurs could ever dream of.
No disrespect intended, but movies like The Irishman, Shutter Island, The Age of Innocence, The Aviator, and The Color of Money exist in a pantheon just below his most timeless contributions to cinema, but that doesn’t make them any less brilliant. However, where does Kundun fall? That’s a tough one, although the man himself holds it in higher esteem than anything else he’s ever made.
“It’s one of the few films of mine that I can look at; probably the only one, I think,” he revealed. “I mean, not that I don’t like my films, it’s just that they remind me of certain times and people, some of whom are gone now. I get too sentimental about it. I can’t watch them. Some of them are far too personal for me to go through that process again. I just won’t do it. But Kundun is something else.”
It’s memorable for getting him banned in China, and it’s also memorable for being one of his biggest-ever flops at the box office, with Disney getting cold feet and effectively sabotaging its release through the company’s Buena Vista Pictures subsidiary to ensure the ‘Mouse House’ didn’t make any enemies.
Kundun did land four Oscar nominations, but only in the technical categories, and while it’s a typically engrossing effort from Scorsese that’s absolutely stunning on a visual level, you wouldn’t necessarily make the jump and name it as the obvious contender for the legend’s most rewatchable effort.
“It’s peaceful and interior rather than exterior,” he explained. “It’s not according to traditional Western drama. It’s on a different level entirely. I tried to explore where inaction becomes action. Passivity becomes active.” If it’s good enough for him, then who are we to argue?
