The gangster movies Martin Scorsese calls “genuinely great, extremely elegant”
Whilst there are some directors like Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky who are jack of all trades, other filmmakers prefer to put all of their expertise into just one genre. Just look at Wes Anderson and his proficiency for quirky comedy, Wes Craven and his bold love of horror movies, and Martin Scorsese, whose gangster crime flicks would go on to have a remarkable impact on the world of contemporary cinema.
Rising to prominence in the late 1960s with such films as Who’s That Knocking at My Door and the horror short The Big Shave, Scorsese wasted little time in establishing his imprint on the world of crime cinema, releasing the seminal 1973 movie Mean Streets, propelling him to international acclaim. Whilst he forayed into different genres following the release, his work in crime cinema, with such works as Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy and Goodfellas, would make him a household name.
A student of cinema, Scorsese learnt his trade from some of the industry’s greatest minds, naming the likes of John Boorman’s Point Blank, Alberto Lattuada’s Mafioso and Jules Dassin’s Night and the City as some of his all-time favourite gangster movies. “There are many gangster films I’ve admired in the last 40 years,” Scorsese said before adding: “Performance, the Godfather saga, [Sergio] Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, The Long Good Friday, Sexy Beast, John Woo’s Hong Kong films.”
Yet, there is a collection of other gangster flicks that Scorsese holds in the highest of regard, stating: “The French master Jean-Pierre Melville, a close student of American moviemaking, made a series of genuinely great, extremely elegant, intricate, and lovingly crafted gangster pictures, in which criminals and cops stick to a code of honour like knights in the age of chivalry. Le Doulos is one of the best, and it might be my personal favourite.”
An iconic filmmaker known for his crime movies, Melville released such movies as 1956’s Bob the Gambler, 1962’s Le Doulos, 1966’s Second Wind and the critically acclaimed 1967 film Le Samouraï. Perhaps one of cinema’s most underappreciated filmmakers, Melville never gained industry praise for his movies, narrowly missing out on Academy Awards or Cannes adoration.
Scorsese’s foray into crime wasn’t restricted to the 20th century, with the director excelling in the new millennium with such classics as Gangs of New York, The Departed and The Irishman.
Take a look at the trailer for Le Doulos, below, Melville’s movie that Scorsese considers a “personal favourite”.
