Italo-American, native New Yorker and one of the most important, award-winning and popular directors around the world - that's Martin Scorsese. This diminutive, almost 80-year-old gentleman with large glasses and thick eyebrows originally wanted to become a Catholic priest. Instead, to date he has made dozens of films in a variety of genres and is considered one of the most respected auteurs in world cinema. He has been directing and writing screenplays for over fifty years, and his cinematic palette stretches across genres
and formats. The origins of his work in the 1970s can be traced to the so-called New Hollywood, a period when American cinema was emerging from censorship and regulation. The themes of violence, sex, introspection and social criticism first came to the fore at this time. All of these aspects, which shaped world cinema for decades to come, appear in Scorsese's work
and gradually develop. His primary focus is on portraying colourful characters from the edges of society and the image of the United States as a melting pot of diverse cultures. In addition to his obvious influence as an auteur on subsequent generations of (not only) American filmmakers, he has received dozens of nominations as well as awards from the most prestigious film festivals and annual awards, including the Oscars. His love of film as an artistic medium is reflected in his documentary work and in the fact that he manages one of the world's largest funds - The Film Foundation - for the preservation, restoration and redistribution of the world's oldest film works. It is characteristic of Scorsese that he repeatedly collaborates with his court actors, and it should be noted that they are, as a rule, absolute top actors. It was he, for example, who first cast the fledgling Robert De Niro and then, after 2000, significantly and successfully nurtured the fame and talent of Leonardo DiCaprio. You can meet both living acting legends with us on Mondays in April. The Telegraph Cinema will show three films that fall into the genre that Scorsese helped reincarnate and with which many audiences exclusively associate the auteur. These are, of course, the gangster genre.
The first film to be screened as part of this retrospective will be Scorsese's feature debut in the gangster genre, SPINNY STREETS / MEAN STREETS (1973), in which today's acting megastars, the then 30-year-old Harvey Keitel, have just made their first appearance
and Robert DeNiro. Scorsese, who also wrote the screenplay, here autobiographically recounts the vicissitudes of life in a community of Italian-American mobsters and hustlers in the New York underground. The true essence of the 1970s in the US and the first demonstration of Scorsese's genius.
The second film of the show is a must-see for any cinephile. That's because it's a critically and fan-acclaimed crime blockbuster - Scorsese's MAFIANS / GOODFELLAS (1990). This gripping, funny and appropriately gritty film based on true events follows Brooklyn schoolboy Henry (Ray Liotta) as he becomes one of the most notorious gangsters of the twentieth century. He and his cronies Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and Tommy (Oscar-winning Joe Pesci) embark on one of the biggest heists in American history. Watching what it's like to rise and fall up and down the mafia hierarchy has never been so interesting.
The last film of the show is then the star-studded police thriller SKETCHED IDENTITY / THE DEPARTED (2006), which earned four Oscar wins in its time in the categories of Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and most importantly, Best Picture. The cast is made up of such big names as Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg. More than 15 years since its Czech premiere, the film has been sporadically appearing on Czech TV screens, but unfortunately always with a terrible dubbing that simply never gives a true impression of the Boston mafia environment. That's why there's Kino Telegraph. This and films like it simply belong on the big screen.
Come with us on Mondays in April to immerse yourself in the world of the American Mafia and enjoy the best of this renowned American director's work on screen, in first-class quality, with Czech subtitles and always with an introduction. Or...
By Michael Bukovansky
