A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

As a "rebuttle" of sorts to the AFI's top 100 films, the British Film Institute worked out a documentary with Martin Scorsese.

Now. I am a huge film fan and pride myself on having seen many, many films. But, I am nowheres in comparrison with my idol. In this fantastic (though long) documentary, Scorsese walks the viewer through several stages of the American History on film. This is divided in to several sections including the Western, the Gangster film and the Noir. Full of bouncy enthusiasm, Martin Scorsese is a great tour guide as well as a fantastic professor.

I was in danger of getting a neck cramp watching this movie, from all the nodding I was doing. Nodding in agreement with Scorsese's observations and especially his choice of films. It might have been called "A Personal Journey Through My DVD Collection" as he touched on many of my personal favorites, too many to start listing. His selection avoids many of the obvious milestones and leans towards the more obscure (although in the DVD era, most of them are widely available and now highly-regarded), especially when it comes to my beloved film noir. His passion is clear, his knowledge is thorough, and his comments are insightful. The documentary flows nicely, although occasionally he dwells on a certain clip or movie for too long. I can't say I learned a lot from this movie, but I did pick up a couple of new titles to check out, and it should be a fantastic intro for blossoming film buffs.

....so intense and intimate is this rundown on the films that shaped

the greatest filmmaker this country has ever produced. Centered

around the idea of "The Director's Dilemma"--how to reconcile art

and commerce--Scorsese treats this century-long war as one

largely fought through subversion (by the auteur heroes whose B

movies he champions), then triumphing through the birth pangs of

the Personal Movie...represented here by Cassavetes, Kubrick,

and (though he modestly declines to say it) himself. PERSONAL

JOURNEY rivets not just because of its exquisitely chosen scenes

(nobody on this planet has better taste in or a more encyclopedic

knoeldge of movies), nor because of its idiosyncrasy (Scorsese

finds every imaginable scene of hideous violence in the section on

musicals), but because of its acute, delirious subjectivity. This is

the closest to spot-on Scorsese autobiography we will probably

ever get.

There's a mystical air you get when Martin Scorsese's talking about movies, his passion, especially if it's a shared passion with the viewer. The second his mouth opens you start to slowly realize, he knows what he's talking about.

What a tremendous opportunity to listen to such a brilliant director discuss his inspirations. It was especially magical to watch over and over this three part documentary set for that reason. It's a wonderful gift to be able to find out what your inspiration is inspired by. I especially enjoyed listening to Scorsese directly credit films that effected the way he made some of his films. HIGHLY recommended to any movie buff with the balls to learn something new from a fantastic teacher.

Thank the Lord for Martin Scorsese, and his love of the movies.

This is the perfect introduction into the mind of the most talented American artist working in cinema today, and I couldn't recommend it more. I was enthralled through the whole thing and you will be too. Just relax and let him take you on a ride through his world, you'll love it.