The Safdie brothers name their favourite Martin Scorsese movie
After a string of feature films that flew fairly under the radar, the Safdie brothers eventually found their home in the cult following of A24 with the release of Good Time. Bringing together Robert Pattinson in a starring role, a thrilling score by Oneohtrix Point Never, and grit both in story and style, the 2017 film quickly endeared itself to the underground film community.
In 2019, they followed this success with Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, and Julia Fox. Following Sandler as jeweller Howard Ratner, the film was lauded for its performances and pace. Uncut Gems was so well-received that it took the title of A24’s highest-grossing film domestically, only surpassed by Everything Everywhere All At Once.
With just two feature films, the Safdie brothers have had a cultural and cinematic impact that few of their contemporaries have managed to reach. With an upcoming television collaboration with Nathan Fielder, the brothers’ reign over the A24 crowd seems set to continue.
Considering the Safdie brothers’ cinematic preoccupation with crime, it’s no surprise that they look up to the iconic gangster film pioneer Martin Scorsese. During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the Safdies named Goodfellas as one of their top five films and dubbed Scorsese “the master”.
After speculating that the film might be “maybe the greatest film ever made – up there with Bicycle Thieves”, the Safdie brothers explained their own love for the film. They suggest that it “has the capability of condensing and expanding time at the same moment” and the “ability to at once sensationalise and also criticize the actions of the characters”, both elements that the Safdie brothers seem to have tried to emulate in their own filmmaking.
The Safdie brothers also shared their admiration for the casting of Goodfellas, which sees Ray Liotta take on a starring role. They said: “It has the courage to put Ray Liotta in the lead role of that film after seeing him as a supporting player in Something Wild, which is transcendent. His performance in Something Wild is amazing. But Scorsese knew to cast the guy who doesn’t look full-on Italian, even, you know what I mean? The fact that Liotta looks like he could never be fully made. The fact that Liotta looks like a cokehead from Long Island.”
The directors concluded that the casting is “so superior to anything ever made, really. I mean, just filling that film with what feels like real gangsters”. The duo seem particularly enthusiastic about the casting of the “real DEA agent who arrested Henry Hill”, dubbing it “genius”.
They also commend the film’s camera movement: “The way [cinematographer Michael] Ballhaus worked with the founder of the Steadicam, who operated at that Copacabana scene. The timing of the film, the fact that you have a 30-minute sequence that feels like four minutes.”
The Safdie brothers rightly conclude that “Scorsese is the master”. Their enthusiasm towards his filmography, especially Goodfellas, the defining gangster film, makes perfect sense. In Uncut Gems, in particular, the influence of Scorsese’s pioneering work in crime cinema can be felt.
