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Everybody Loves Martin

Friday, February 16, 2007

Martin Scorsese is almost unanimously hailed as one of the world's best filmmakers. And yet, he's never won an Academy Award, despite being nominated five times. Now he's up for a sixth time for The Departed, the gritty story of an undercover cop who's hunted by a duplicitous police officer. It's out on DVD this week so you can judge for yourself whether it's worthy of the little golden man or not.

And while you're at the movie store, you should also check out some of these lesser-known Scorsese films usually hidden by the towering shadows cast by classics like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Raging Bull. They're just four more reasons why Scorsese, even though his mantle may lack the presence of that Mr. Oscar, is a master of his art.

Mean Streets (1973) - Similar themes of crime and redemption run through most of Scorsese's movies. His first major personal project and first collaboration with Robert DeNiro shows them off in their purest form. It's riveting from start to finish.

Kundun (1997) - A haunting biopic of the current Dalai Lama, beginning with his selection from a small village in the mountains of Tibet and ending with his struggle to free his people from Chinese control. Inspirational and beautifully shot.

After Hours (1985) - This far-out headtrip of a movie is unlike anything Scorsese's ever done (except maybe the video for Michael Jackson's "Bad" - yep, Scorsese did that). Some poor guy just wants to get home after a weird date, but everything from a maniacal ice-cream-van driver to Cheech and Chong won't let him. Hysterical.

King of Comedy (1983) - DeNiro is aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin. He's also a crazed stalker who kidnaps a talk show host played by Jerry Lewis, holding him hostage unless he lets Pupkin perform on TV. Funny and creepy with an amazing, underrated performance by DeNiro.

And movie buffs won't want to miss this week's Contest you could win ten tickets to the films of your choice at the new Vancity Theatre. And did you see how we spiced things up in Vancouver Trends yesterday?