We screened three Martin Scorsese films in class this week - lots of clips from New York, New York and The Last Waltz, as well as the rarely seen American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince in its entirety. Of the three, which one had the greatest impact on you? Which one interested you the least? And, most importantly, why?Please include your answers to my questions in this week's response. And, as always, back up your comments as to why the films you chose were your favorite and least favorite with aesthetic and thematic references to specific scenes and moments from each film.
19 comments:
Matt Fagerholm
Before I began film classes at Columbia, I made a documentary about my high school theater troupe, which formed somewhat of a crazed countercultural family in the midst of our small northern Illinois football town. The film was called Role Play, and it studied how each member of the troupe played various profound roles in each other’s lives—sometimes unconsciously, sometimes manipulatively, sometimes for the betterment of others and sometimes to their detriment. Much of the footage had a rowdy, chaotic quality similar to that of a Cassavetes film, and I found that it’s most effective moments occurred when I just focused on someone’s face, which ended up exposing the levels of complexity beneath. I felt rather embarrassed by the number of close-ups in the film, and ended up forgetting about it (though it was warmly received by my local community).
Seeing Scorsese’s American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince was somewhat of a revelation to me. Nearly the entire film consisted of piercing close-ups of its lone subject, which revealed psychological depths that may have remained untapped with the use of any other technique. It proved to me that documentaries don’t have to consist of the traditional balance of talking heads and action, just as long as the subject was fascinating enough. Looking up Prince on Imdb, I find very few credits to his name. He associate produced The Last Waltz, and acted in three films—two back-to-back for Scorsese in the mid-70’s and one for Richard Linklater (Waking Life) twenty four years later. He’s not exactly an important figure in film history, but his anecdotal stories are so entertaining, so shocking, and reveal so much about his inner psyche that he becomes one of the most unforgettable film characters you’ve ever seen. His story about emptying bullets into a knife-wielding criminal is as disturbing as any onscreen violence could be. It’s a little amazing how simple, and yet tremendously powerful, Scorsese’s filmic choices are, such as the titles separating Prince’s stories, which are superimposed over old home movie footage of Prince as a once carefree kid. The extraordinary final sequence places the construct of filmmaking in full view, as Scorsese makes Prince tell a story about an interaction he had with his dying father until he ‘gets it right.’ The cut to black following Prince’s line, “Yeah, I was happy,” is absolutely breathtaking.
To be truthful, I was interested the least by The Last Waltz, which is largely hailed as the greatest rock concert film ever made, and I have no doubt that it is. I guess concert films have just never interested me. I’d much rather see music played live, and though this film is an invaluable visual log of some of the greatest rock artists who ever lived, I found myself quickly growing bored. I wonder if one must have some sort of attachment to The Band before truly becoming involved in the film. I do, however, thoroughly admire Scorsese’s passion for music, and feel that his decision to only film the artists onstage was a perfect way to get the viewer actively caught up in the rhythm and spirit of their performance. Yet even in this exemplary case, I just feel that a little concert footage goes a very, very long way. I found New York, New York to be far more fascinating, despite the searing unpleasantness of its scenes. The juxtaposition of gritty human relationships and artificial studio-made backdrops was very powerful, and the performances of Robert DeNiro and Liza Minnelli were dizzying in their emotional nakedness. I wouldn’t mind seeing that film all the way through. Watching The Last Waltz from beginning to end, however, would be a trial for me.
What film out of the three we watched on Tuesday was the most significant for me, and which one was the least and list my reasons with scenes that support my statements. Man… the more and more I really, really think about it, each film actually resonated for me in some way or form. Really! I’ll get to them all and the one I’d pick out of the bunch is my arm where being twisted, which it is.
Okay, I'll be one of the few to say it. I didn’t have a problem with New Work, New York, and… I actually found it surprising a lot of people found Jimmy’s character almost unbearable to watch. The characters, their dialogue, and the actions they took really were not that foreign for me to really be that much appalled by their actions. I could understand how someone could watch DeNiro and him in such a film such as Once Upon a Time in America and be completely overwhelmed by the “horribleness” of the character. However, I accept DeNiro’s characters in these films for this reason I’m sure many can debate and criticize. I’ve met the man, literally. Time and time again. Plenty of times. I’m an Italian-American descendant from a strong Italian community. There was back when I was younger and still are a lot of men I’ve meet who are just like Jimmy in New York, New York. It’s all fun and games for the audience when Joe Pesci’s stabbing some guy in the neck with a pen, and we like it cause he’s Joe Pesci. It’s somewhat comedic. Yet here, Scorsese is bringing out and revealing one of the “real” characters he’s met from his streets. In my opinion, Jimmy’s probably not just based on Scorsese personally like we talked about, yet also an assemblage of mean, irate, inward Italian men he knew/knows. (Note: The men Jimmy was based on could be of a great many other ethnicities also. I could be and am perhaps horribly wrong and inadvertently reinforcing negative stereotypes upon my own ethnicity! Please take no offense to this. I’m not trying to single out Southside Chicago or Brooklyn Italians. Yet, through my personal experience, I saw the traits of the Jimmy character in a lot of Italian-descended men, and I assume it is possible given Scorsese’s background he did too.)
The Last Waltz I loved! I’m a huge fan of rock music so for me, yes it was probably my favorite of the three just for that fact. I believe Scorsese was able to grab the energy levels and the spirit of the show that he wanted to capture on film. The Band playing Helpless with Neil Young was great. Getting them all up there and playing that old CSNY tune seemed like the very definition of a “classic moment.” The last clip we watched also where everyone joined the band on stage for that giant sing-a-long where Scorsese pulled the camera back for that epic feeling wide shot also was a moment of the film that just made it special. He was undeniably able there to capture the giant “celebration” aspect he was trying to convey to the audience. I believe it was a great choice for him to shake off the stiffness of New York, New York, and it shows in the film. The Last Waltz looks, sounds, feels, and is a liberation, a celebration… rock and roll at its finest.
Finally, what can I say about American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince? I tell you what, as I’m writing this I just found out I lost two football bets. God-damn KC! However, I’m still willing to bet that while most people were watching this film, most of them got the sense, the feeling that they had met Stevie before. Not him personally! Yet that they’d had a conversation with someone resembling the same behaviors, the same personality, the same qualities that encompasses what would be defining Steven Prince. This is the reaction I got from watching American Boy. It seemed real familiar personally. The film is kind of like going to the bar after your work shift, and having this conversation with this guy that you don’t even. Sooner or later, you get to talking to the guy and it turns out he’s as crazy as you are. Perhaps crazier. Then after three hours the two of you and everone else for that matter are drunk off their asses telling each other some of the wildest, craziest, most insane stories you’ve ever experienced. Then you get to the point where the whiskey starts flying around. Some have left. Some have stayed. Soon, the crazy stories start mixing in with the real deep, personal stories that sort of spill out of the story teller by either fate, fortune, or straight up coincidence. Eventually all the stories being swapped between the drinkers are personal, and it seems everyone who used to come across like strangers at the beginning of the night have somehow been incorporated as family members. This is the exact feeling I got from experiencing American Boy, a great experience for any film lover I believe. I also believe this is the feeling many felt when they watched American Boy also. Yet then again, I was wrong about Jacksonville at Kansas City. I could be wrong about New York, New York. I was positively wrong about Detroit at Washington… and I might be wrong here too…maybe.
By far, my favorite film screened last week was American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince, but not because the other films were bad. This film is just particularly amazing. I realize that The Last Waltz is considered the best rock & roll film ever made (Rolling Stone issue last month made this claim) and it is a great film. But what separates it from American Boy (though I haven't seen the entire film) is its lack of force. American Boy can be really funny, really depressing, or both--sometimes in the same scenes. The Last Waltz seemed to be a film that never really wavered from the range of emotional control exerted over the material by both Scorsese and the subjects. It's a different kind of documentary completely and it's really unfair to compare the two.
New York, New York is also difficult to compare with these documentaries. I like this film but it doesen't have any business in this discussion, from my point of view.
American Boy is the gem here. This film is truly inspiring; you want to make documentaries after watching this film. In fact, Scorsese's documentaries are the most under-appreciated, under-exposed of his films. Why? I think American Boy, Italianamerican, No Direction Home, My Voyage to Italy, etc. are just as important and valuable as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, etc. Scorsese's documentaries are just as valuable and important. Prior to taking this class I had no idea of just how important this aspect of his directorial career these films were. I know now.
Back to American Boy. There wasn't a single unnecessary moment. I hung on every word. How much of this is Steven Prince's personality and how much is Scorsese's talent? It's probably a combination. But as Italianamerican shows, Scorsese had a definite style and approach to documentaries that he continues to pursue in this film. I can't say enough about how great this film is.
One final thing: Why is it plagirism to use someone's words and ideas in print without recognizing them as the source of the information and yet the same can be done in a film and no one cares? (I'm thinking of Pulp Fiction and Steven Prince's shot of adrenaline to the heart story.) Why is Prince's story, as told in American Boy, not the intellectual property of Scorsese or Prince or both? And as such, doesn't Quentin Tarrantino owe them money or something? (I realize this is a hairy subject since Scorsese himself is extremely well-versed in film history and has consciously applied lessons learned from films he loves to his own work. It should be noted that he never shies away from acknowledging these debts, as it were, to directors of the past. Ultimately, if what Tarrantino has done in Pulp Fiction and in every film he's ever made is ok and even the same as what Scorsese does (though I don't think it is) then what is plagirism anyway? Why do we make such a big deal of it on paper and not on film? What's the difference?
Vlady Oszkiel
To cut to the chase right away, I had strong antipathetic feelings towards American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince. It seemed disturbing and completely of no interest to me to listen to this young guy whom I haven’t heard of nor read anything about. I was annoyed; I didn’t understand why we were even watching that film. And yet it left more of an impression on me than the other two movies that we watched clips from.
As mentioned last week in class, to be leaving the tails of shots of Steven longer and resting on his face was both reflecting on what has just been said and a proof of authentic stories of a troubled lost soul. I didn’t find anything else inspiring or admirable, I was not amazingly intrigued by the stories he told, nor was the documentary as a whole special, but little details as the mentioned lasting shots of staring Steven went very deep and made this documentary worthwhile seeing.
New York, New York; surprisingly enough I enjoyed several scenes from this film and although I share the common opinion that the characters seemed out of place moving within a flat world which apparently goes back to shooting in a studio and the sometimes stylized backdrops, I still appreciated the dialogue between DeNiro and Minelli. And yes, it seemed off sometimes but for example the rehearsal with the musicians worked very well for me in terms of the characters, their profession, and their relationship to each other. I totally lost it though at the end during the long performance of Minelli, and I don’t know why but I didn’t like her as an actress in this film – not likeable.
The Last Waltz is another interesting doc. Knowing that Scorsese had so many cameramen running around and recording the songs, I wonder if there is sometimes a little too much of praising put into critiquing Scorsese’s work. How many storyboard pictures he may have drawn before, this piece I’m sure got created in the editing room. I like it, some of the shots are nice but as I can remember somebody saying, the music is the center, and the music, the harmony and the whole atmosphere make this piece remarkable, the cameras happened to be there capturing the whole thing.
New York New York was the least of my favorites of the films we screened last week. I am usually a fan of the films Scorsese was trying to mimic in the film, such as the musicals that were released from Hollywood in the late thirties and forties. The film had a distinct visual style that largely reflected on Scorsese’s influence from the films from that era. The faux and stylized sets that were noticeably fake and staged, to the color of the film stock.
Though I believe this film was a valiant effort on Scorsese’s part, it didn’t turn out to be a success not only in the box office, but also on screen. The environment, though intentionally falsified, appear overly fake causing the actors performances to awkwardly stick out because it didn’t match the visual style.
The performance by Robert DeNiro is dark and violent and rarely seemed to waver causing every scene to become uncomfortable. There was never a moment to sympathize with DeNiro because he would sympathize with himself. He would yell at Liza Minnelli about how she is at fault and then explain to her why his actions are justified. Such as the scene where DeNiro is yelling at her in the car then threatens to give up playing the Saxophone. He makes Minnelli feel at fault for his behavior causing her to feel guilty.
This constant drama between the two drains me. I don’t want to watch it. I don’t even have the chance to sympathize with Minnelli because I am too frightened too. The film makes me uncomfortable and trapped in a dark stylized world that is too real for me to handle..
Logan M. Futej
10/08/07
Among the three films we viewed in class I really can relate to “Last Waltz” and “New York New York” the most. I think that “American Boy” is one of the most interesting documentations of someone that I’ve ever seen, but I was somewhat detached from it while watching. I do believe that Scorsese truly captured the essence of Steven Prince. With Scorsese putting himself in the work, and clearly making it personal for himself, I truly believe it was something personal for Steven Prince as well.
Growing up, all I listened to was The Stones, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, Led Zeppelin, Joe Cocker, and the list could go on and on, but it’s all I was exposed to. It’s what my parents grew up on, and I somewhat followed suit. Not that I grew up in the times of these great bands, which obviously I didn’t, but when watching “The Last Waltz” it actually takes me back to my childhood. I believe there will never be music like the music that came from this era. Although Van Morrison is my favorite of the group in the “The Last Waltz”, I think the greatest moment is when Neil Young sings “Helpless”. There is a tight close up, where Neil Young joins Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko. At one point they all are singing into the same mic. This to me is rock and roll. This film is just a group of amazing artists getting together and jamming out. As Martin Scorsese has stated in a lot of cases the music comes first then the movies, and with the “Last Waltz” it is very evident his passion for music.
“New York New York” is a movie I think all people need to watch before getting married. This hits relationships, at least in terms of one of my experiences right on the nose. We see a dueling couple who are both artists, and who I think really love each other, but still cannot make it work. I love how De Niro is arguing with the guy who wants his parking space along with arguing with Liza Minnelli, which leads to them both yelling at the guy in the car. Here we see that no matter how bad the couple is arguing they will both stick together against outsiders. De Niro becomes viscious in most of the parts we saw which I think really suits the mind of an artist. I have never seen this film in its entirety but what I have seen shows plenty. It’s one of those things that are horrible to watch, only because it’s so true as we stated in class. With De Niro’s character dealing with the dilemma of balancing out his passion, and his girlfriend/wife, it truly exemplifies the life of an artist. I think at one point in any artist’s life, whatever the medium, this is something they may have to deal with at one time or another.
New York, New York, The Last Waltz, and American Boy
Last week was a bombardment of clips from two of Scorsese’s films as followed by the full screening of American Boy. While all these films focused on different topics, I found that there was one common thread that held them together; honesty. New York, New York, while being my least favorite, painting an intensely honest portrait of two people, two artists in particular, trying desperately to make their relationship work even though they are pulled in different directions. The reason I did not like this film was because it was so hard to watch. Not necessarily hard to watch because it was a bad film, but hard to watch because the on screen fighting between the couple was so difficult to make it through over and over again. The fights between Jimmy and Francine are portrayed in such an honest light that it reaches the point of discomfort for the audience. It becomes like watching your parents fight or even reliving past fights with loved ones. While I appreciated Scorsese capturing this intense honesty and delivering it without apologizing, making us watch this couple even in their darkest moments, I definitely could not have made it through this entire film. Even the several clips we watched seemed to take it out of me and felt like they lasted an eternity. I suppose that is exactly what fighting in relationships does to us, it taxes us and takes its toll. Perhaps this was what Scorsese was illustrating for us in these sequences, once again depicting this issue with great honesty.
The Last Waltz, from the clips we watched, was a film I was indifferent on. I appreciated the way Scorsese shot the concert as well as his choice to allow the band to speak honestly about their career in order to let the audience get to know the men behind The Band. However, I do not think I would sit through the rest of the film in my leisure time. Personally, concert recordings have only been able to keep my attention for so long, I would much rather be in the crowd experiencing them myself. I think that trying to capture the emotion of a live show is just a very hard thing to do justice to and while Scorsese has come the closest to those I have seen, it still did not scratch me where I itched.
Last but not least was American Boy. This film was by far my favorite of the day and after it was finished I immediately wanted to watch it again. Steven Prince was such an amazing real life character whose experiences recounted in this film were so mind blowing, interesting, and deeply personal that I could have listened to his tales all day. I mentioned in class after the film that the moments during Prince’s stories, while extremely captivating and emotional, were not the most striking, however, the most affective moments for me personally occurred when Prince was finished telling the stories and Scorsese lingered on his face. It is at this point Prince takes off the mask of entertainer and shows his real self. There is such intense honesty and feeling behind his eyes during these brief shots that it is really remarkable and tells more about this man than most of his stories. Watching this film especially, along with the other two films we saw clips from, I noticed that perhaps one of Scorsese’s greatest themes is in fact honesty. Throughout all the films we’ve watched thus far this theme has been present in character and story. I am really looking forward to seeing how this theme presents itself in his other works and how through analysis of this theme I might be able to learn more about the man behind the film
Between THE LAST WALTZ, AMERICAN BOY, and NEW YORK, NEW YORK, I can’t really say that there was one that I didn’t really enjoy. I thought they were all great, but I suppose if I had to choose a film that I didn’t like as much as the others, I’d go with NEW YORK, NEW YORK. But it’s not because the drama was too much or anything like that. I loved the drama, the destructive character that DeNiro played was really interesting. No, the reason I’d choose this movie is because of its length, I don’t think I could watch a 4-hour musical. On the other hand, I could definitely watch THE LAST WALTZ, I feel like I could watch the entire 7 hour concert if it were available.
THE LAST WALTZ was just so amazing to me; it just had so much energy and made me really admire all the artists. It made me think that one day a long time ago, when all these guys were just kids, they were just playing whatever instrument they did, but they were alone. I’m sure they were good, but it wasn’t anything special. It’s not until all these guys came together that they were able to create the music and the sounds that made them an amazing band, The Band. Although I think all the footage we saw was great, I’d have to say “Take a load off, Annie” was probably the one little segment that I thought was the most amazing.
I’ve always really loved that song since I first heard it as a young boy, it was playing on the radio the day that I moved from Rochester to Naperville, and I’ve always felt that it’s a great song for goodbyes. It’s tempo and pace just seem so relaxing, but at the same time, there’s almost this bitter sweet energy from the song. Watching Scorsese direct this music video was amazing, it captured everything I’ve ever felt about the song, but it captured it through The Band and how they must’ve felt. It was like this was the last time they’d be playing that song and it just really hit me, one shot in particular really got to me. It was a medium shot of Robbie Robertson and the bass player, on each side of the frame, just smiling at each other while they played the chorus. Their fluid movements in sync with one another, something about it just really spoke to me.
What I also really loved was all the reveals in the song. The camera would start on Robertson and start to pull back as the chorus would end, to reveal a new singer. And then when her part of the chorus was done, the camera panned again to reveal even another singer. I guess I feel the song just kept building and just kept gathering energy.
What I also really liked was when each person would sing; a single light in the background would fade in. It wouldn’t actually light anything, it was just a small blur of color far away, but it seemed to add to this feeling of the music. It was this surreal touch that Scorsese gave the scene, it seemed to heighten the feeling of how amazing it was that these three sets or artists were all up there singing together. Like the fact that they were singing was in fact, unbelievable, it would only happen in a dream or something.
And wow, the entire song where all the artists were up on stage all singing the chorus together, that was just amazing. Like when Neil Young was singing with them and instead of sticking to his mic, he moved over so that all three of the singers were now sharing the same mic. I don’t know why, but it just seemed amazing, he really captured the energy of the event in my mind.
I've heard that New York New York was one of the worst movies Scorsese's ever made and I heard it was a musical. Those were the only two things I had heard of the movie until we watched the clips. So when Dan told us that's what we'd be watching I cringed but it actually turned out to be one of the better films I thought we screened in class.
I think what I liked about it the most was that it was yeah, a 'musical' but not in the sense I thought it was. Like most of the movies Scorsese makes this movie seemed pretty grounded in reality (sans the trippy happy ending musical number at the end of the film). There was just something about the way I felt like I was watching this couple just tear themselves apart by being together that really spoke to me. I didn't see Scorsese's worst film when I saw that film (Gangs of New York, what?).
I would say the weakest of the three films we saw in class would be The Last Waltz, but only because I've never really like The Band or their music, it's just not my thing. However I found myself engrossed while we were watching the movie so I can't say I didn't enjoy or that I wouldn't see it again on my own time. Scorsese just really seemed to capture the energy that seemed to be there that night (the way Gimme Shelter did when the Maysles brothers did at Altamont) and that really says something for someone who is so not a fan of that kind of music.
The film that got to me the most would have to have been American Boy. I think it was the way the whole documentary was constructed. It started off so innocent, some guy who has obviously lead an interesting life telling stories from it. However it soon slowly degraded into a guy telling stories about his out of control drug problem and how he's actually killed a man before. But the story keeps the same "feel" it had when it fist started out, that is a guy telling a close friend some strange things he's done in his life. But you just lose the guy at some point and it's really sad now that I think about it.
Brandon Schiffli
The film that had the biggest impact on me was “American Boy.” Scorsese has the most interesting forms of documentaries. I really enjoyed his previous one about his parents. All he did was set up the camera and have his parents talk to him. It was fascinating from start to finish. The same holds true for “American Boy.” He sets the camera up, as if it was a person at the party, and allows the viewers to see this conversation as if the audience were in the room with him.
Besides the very natural setting, the subject matter was fascinating. He didn’t just show us a guy talking about his day-to-day. He showed us a really interesting individual who is young yet very accomplished in terms of what he has seen and experienced. The stories he told were bizarre and abnormal. They were also very different in structure. One story was a comedy, another was sad, another was very dramatic. True or not, this guy made us believe they were real. Scorsese helped with the emotion of the story by holding the pauses and editing.
“New York, New York” was least interesting. I didn’t understand it. I see what he was trying to do with the 1940s musicals inspired style. The realism of the actors didn’t fit. As stated in class, it gets very annoying and frustrating. I was jarred by the setting. I was disinterested in the subject matter because of the realistic story and acting. It seems like the story should be stylized. It reminds me of “Dick Tracy,” yet it doesn’t hold up content wise. I also thought that De Niro was too out of it. He was focused more on his own punk way and didn’t take the rest of the setting around him into consideration. Minnelli fit into the story because she is a stage actress. She knows this world. De Niro stuck out a lot.
Blake Burkhart
The film that holds the most significance for me, from the three films we saw last Tuesday, is also a film that I consider to be one of the most significant documentary films I have ever seen. I am referring to The Last Waltz, a film I had seen numerous times before, and have always enjoyed immensely. In terms of being the least interesting, and I feel this will be a popular answer; New York, New York may not have been "painful" to watch, but it was certainly far from being entertaining. While it did have lavish sets and impressive choreography, the scenes we watched were ultimately disappointing.
I came to Columbia to study screen-writing, but quickly became fascinated by the documentary center, the doc classes, and the hands on experience that the doc teachers offered, I wound up studying predominantly documentaries in my time here. In this time, I have made a few documentaries, and seen tons of them. Music documentaries have always been my favorites, and The Last Waltz in particular has always stood out as a wonderful piece of film making that captures both the performance, and the back story of a genuinely interesting group of musicians. The way that the film shows an amazing line-up of songs sung by some of the greats of the time, and can cut seamlessly to true stories of a life in the music industry, which range from funny to touching, always impressed me. It is almost as if part of you wants to just watch the concert, while the other wants to know all about these people, and ultimately both sides will be appeased. The film is truly a wonderful documentary in my opinion, and shows the way that a vision can be followed through without any form of script.
If each scene of New York, New York was literally cut in half by length and what feels like redundant dialogue, we might have an entertaining movie on our hands. Instead, we have an annoying mess of a film that seems to almost want to have people grinding their teeth over it. To be fair, there is a possibility that I may have enjoyed the film more if it was suddenly on AMC one night, rather than in a critical studies class on Tuesday afternoon when a cigarette break could not have come soon enough. I appreciated the film in some ways, and saw value in De Niro's performance, but truly I was neither interested nor entertained by this film.
Being very involved with music for all of my life I was naturally attracted to The Last Waltz. I had only heard one or two songs by The Band prior to the film and I had not known anything about their history. This film had a very profound impact on me. So much that I immediately went to the store and purchased an album by The Band.
I thought Martin Scorsese captured the music in a way I have not seen in any other live concert. He was able to keep quite an eloquent intimacy during The Band’s performances. I found myself becoming touched by not only the music, but by the members as well. There are probably only a couple of shots where we see the audience. And when we do see them it is for a very brief moment. Scorsese created a very personal atmosphere. Most of his shots consisted of medium to close up shots, which an effect left the viewer with the feeling of watching them practically in their living rooms.
One shot in particular I really liked was when Scorsese set up a medium shot of the bass player and the guitar player jamming. Then, as the saxophone begins to play the saxophonist enters the frame with Scorsese rack focusing on him. This was such a brilliantly maneuvered shot. He did not move the camera at all and the saxophonist just gently walked into the frame.
In addition to that, the editing was a real nice touch to the film. Most of the time it corresponded to the beat of the music, which helps keep the viewer interested. I’ve seen many concerts on DVD and it is very hard for me to watch if the editing cuts do not match the music.
I appreciated the intimate close ups Scorsese used, but in doing this he was unable to show the musicians playing their instruments. I kept fighting with myself because I liked the close ups, but then I also wanted to see what the musicians were doing, what notes they were playing, what chords, etc. In the eyes of a musician, it helps me appreciate the talent when I can clearly see what the musicians are doing. If Robbie Robertson plays a gnarly solo I want to be able to see how he played it and not just his facial expressions.
As in his other documentaries, Scorsese likes to put “goof ups” in the film. For instance, the film starts off with Robbie Robertson asking Scorsese if he should repeat a certain line for the film. Scorsese says yes, which would make sense if he wanted to cut out the first bit and then just use the clean whole bit he made Robbie repeat. I don’t understand why he elects to keep these types of things in his film. I understand that he is trying to make it as raw and real as possible, but for me it is more or less distracting than anything.
In general, I really enjoyed and appreciated the filmmaking of The Last Waltz. Martin Scorsese proved that he can not only direct movies, but live concerts as well.
American Boy
I would have to pick American Boy out of the three movies. I didn’t hate the other two, in fact I took a contemporary music class a couple of years ago and one of the weeks was devoted to The Band which I enjoyed very much. I like that music, but I don’t really follow it. I also thought that New York, New York wasn’t awful, but it was sort of difficult to get through. The colors were amazing and I enjoyed the shots, but DeNiro’s character drove me insane. The constant selfishness didn’t remind me of anyone I really know, so I had a hard time relating. I know some really selfish people, but no one that selfish. The fighting scenes were good though, they felt real, emotional, and powerful. Other than that, I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t hate it! I just couldn’t get into it.
I liked American Boy because of the stories. A guy sitting there who looks really strung out telling really cool and interesting stories is entertaining to me. I saw the movie My Dinner With Andre, where two guys are sitting at a dinner table telling interesting stories. Now, it wasn’t my favorite movie, but the stories were all interesting. I particularly liked the story about him shooting the guy on acid. Okay, that sounded kind of bad. I liked it because it seemed so real. It brought tears to his eyes and brought out emotions within everyone who was listening. The story is funny if you think about it, but if you were him, it would never be funny to you. To go through something that is so traumatic, to pull a gun on someone and end their life is something you never lose.
Another thing I liked about the movie was the camera movement and the editing. I liked how the camera showed everyone in the room because they were part of the story being told. Their reactions make his story that much more powerful. He could have done the entire movie with a camera fixed on a guy sitting in a chair, but I thought he made a creative decision and it paid off. I also enjoyed the editing. Where they would pause and cut the sound after he is done telling a story. It gave what he said more emphasis and meaning.
I would have to say that the most impactful of the three films for me was New York New York, followed vary closely by American Boy, while both of these films carry elements in them that hit close to home, New York New York is nearer to my heart at this point.
Scorsese plums the depths of a relationship that should work perfectly, but in reality it is just a disaster. Like communism relationships between creative people always seem like a good idea on paper, but in reality someone is always trying to get on top. New York New York expresses the politicking, uncomfortable passive aggression, and sheer hate that goes into the battle for “winner” of the relationship, the reality that Scorsese makes clear is that there is no winner, because it’s not a competition, but for the two characters competition is all they know. They are bound to there lives and there creativity, the work does nothing but take from them, so in turn they know only how to take from each other.
The bar scene is a good example for this, Liza’s in a business meeting, is unable to give or have taken from her the attention that Deniro craves, so he does what any experienced Toddler or Wiemerriner would do, he acts out causing a scene that forces Liza as well as the rest of the bar to take notice. He is expressing need in this scene, but he is expressing it so poorly that it makes want to look away.
American Boy is almost harder then New York New York, your watching your friend as he deteriorates and with no ability stop or change him, protect or make him feel better, you do the only thing you can for him, you film him, as he performs for you. You laugh at his triumphs, and go silent at his failures, you let yourself get lost in who he was, and forget who he has become. You do all of this for him, but also for yourself, I find this film to be selfish, it is in a way a film about denial, a film about your denial of your friend’s health, and a denial of your own health.
I am drawn to the scene were Steven pulls a gun from his pants, in the background a blank Scorsese stares off into the middle distance, when he becomes aware that his subject is wielding a gun, Scorsese calmly sashays out of frame, it is this blankness on his face that interests me, Steven may be the performer standing center stage but Scorsese is the shadow of that performer, he is Steven Prince, but because he is a shadow Scorsese gets to be ambiguous, safe and selfish.
Wow, well, this is a pretty difficult call to make, ordering all of these pieces from least favorite to favorite. While watching New York, New York I found myself not only finding it enjoyable, but seeing it as one of the most powerful performances I've seen by Robert DeNiro. I hadn't seen a Liza Minelli picture before this and I found her the perfect juxtoposition to the loud rants DeNiro would go on. The clip that really tore me apart was the scene in the car when DeNiro starts yelling at the people who park next to them. Everything they say through this film feels so real, like it could come from any dysfunctional household, and it shouldn't be the plastic sets that make us dislike this movie. The audience goes in expecting a lavish musical and gets something so much better. Their is always a certain stigma to and artist who portrays other artists in their work, but when it's done well, it's the production of art that has a direct impact on their life relationships. At any level when two artists become romantic they are both on the defensive and offensive at the same time. They want their partner to respect and have passion for the work that they do but at the same time their is competition and they want to be considered better than that person. When we see the power struggle while trying to instruct their band, it's understood that their is no way these two individuals can survive as one, they are both too self absorbed and obsessive. The pastel, plastic backgrounds only further this identity of artists being swept away into their dreams together, though this dream turns out to be more of a nightmare.
The Last Waltz, shows one of the great pre war, war and post war bands at the last concert they would ever hold. This one is a visceral experience. Martin Scorsese practically single handedly changes the way concerts are shot with this documentary. Today we see less and less crowd shots because people are so devoted to the artists performance. It's only sad that more of this style footage doesn't exist from a time period that consisted of the greatest musical autors America has known. The consistant close-ups and sweeping track shots show the great devotion this band had to it's music. When Dylan and Joni Mitchell enter the stage there is full understanding of why this was one of the most important musical events in history. All captured by one of the most important filmmakers of that generation. Intermixed with excellent interviews with THE BAND, we are sucked into a world that could last and last without causing boredom. The only thing that I didn't care for with this piece was his decision to put the last song first from the set. This said, it is equal and superior to any musical documentary I'd seen previously.
Lastly, American Boy, which seemed to be the runaway hit in our class, got to me for a reason that wasn't mentioned. It was when I watched Scorsese himself that I was effected. Steven Prince is just a man telling stories while intoxicated, interesting stories yes, but nonetheless they are stories from his life, things that everyone reflects on when they can draw an audience. It was the way they were effecting Scorsese and dragging him through the mud that effested me. There was one shot that included both of them in frame while Prince talked about shooting the man in the chest. Scorsese's look was entirely vacant for almost two minutes, until he snapped back into consciousness. His reflective nature speaks valumes about who he is as a person, that time in his life and his feelings over his own decisions. It was haunting and human, everyone can remember a time at a party when they hear someone indirectly pick apart their weakness, and we can feel ourselves ask what we've done wrong and how we can fix it.
I think all three works are genius, I think their are obvious problems with the question that asks to compare three entirely different pieces that each speak volumes about life, society and art. This is why I love Scorsese, there is a sense of honesty that he accepts with self sacrifice.
Martin Scorsese is a director best known for his extremely precise shots and intricate camera moves. He is a master of the camera and in complete control of his craft. Even with all this talent he still knows when it’s best to just turn the camera on and let the subject speak for himself. His little known film American Boy is the sterling example of this technique. In it Scorsese doesn’t have smooth dolly shots or any snap zooms, all that he does is turn the camera on and let the subject speak. This was the best strategy that he could’ve employed because the stories that Prince tells are all together fascinating, and any camera tricks would severely detract from the star.
Prince was the road manager for Neil Young, which I can honestly say was his most tame credential. He also played Andy the guns salesman in Taxi Driver the year before. But it’s not his professional resume that we’re interested in, it’s the extraordinary life that his man has lived and the almost unbelievable amount of things that have happened to him.
Drug addiction, draft dodging, rock and roll tours. This guy has really been through a lot at such a young age. The one story that really stuck out to me was when he was working at a gas station in high school and a guy pulled up and started stealing tires. Steven went out and got the guy’s attention, only to have the shirtless Native American get a machete and start running full force towards him. Steven picks up the owner’s gun and unloads six bullets into his chest, killing him. It is experiences like this one, and the charismatic way that he tells the story that make this film a rich and engrossing experience.
Of the films that we watched last week New York, New York interested me the least. Musicals have never been my favorite genre of film, but when one is well-done and fun to watch or interesting I can sit through it such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. But New York, New York was just so convoluted that it became a test to sit through the few scenes that we watched. I believe that musicals are traditionally light and airy, which suit the genre well since nobody would want to listen to a series of depressing songs. So Scorsese decided to make it with an extremely real aesthetic and to include such disturbing behavior, I think that he should have cut out the musical aspects. It seems almost ridiculous to have a couple arguing about whether to have a kid or not, and then to break out into a song and dance number in the next scene.
American Boy is almost instantly captivating, and it reinforces that, among all things, good storytelling makes all the difference. I could sit and watch Steven Prince tell stories all day. He injects life into people, places, moments, and builds you up, animates details. It’s what filmmakers try to do in movies, only this is just a one-man show. And Scorsese, by virtue of doing very little to add to this documentary, has proven that he can make a good movie, because just filming something fascinating is sometimes all it takes. Of course, little clips of Steven as a child and the urging of him to elaborate and retell one of his last stories only helps us believe that Scorsese at least has an intuition, or an understanding, of people, or at least people he feels a personal connection to.
And that’s really what I’m beginning to learn about Scorsese and the films he does. Every one of them in personal, in large part because of the characters, and I can understand why all of them mean so much, are such a big deal when they get screened and reviewed, and take so much out of him. I’d imagine, since American Boy is filmed much like ItalianAmerican, that Scorsese sees something of himself in Steven Price, since he obviously sees a lot of himself in his parents, and he lets his subjects unveil themselves. That’s something, I think, for a documentary about someone else to reveal something more about your self.
I took interest in all three of the movies screened. Not that I’d Netflix New York, New York unless I felt like torturing myself. It’s like watching your parents fight. It’s too real, and at the same time, can’t be real. Scorsese does this so much in his movies. He combines raw and grit with something surreal, in this case, musical numbers and sets, and the result is oddly powerful. You’d think some on-the-ground documentary-style war footage would be the most jarring thing. But adding some kind of style or mixture of elements, real or not, creates stronger moments.
And of course, you know, who could really complain about The Last Waltz? What I thought was strange about it, though, was that Scorsese did this at all. Doing Woodstock had to be so meticulous and time-consuming, and yet Scorsese took on just as tedious and taxing of a project. That’s something big for an OCD filmmaker to sink his teeth into.
The Last Waltz left a lasting impression on me. I feel this is documentary on this concert is a key point in america musicial history. It will go done in history and will be something our children's children's will be able to see.
I found new york new york very interesting it would not be one of my favorites. It seemed jumbled and uncomfortable. It reminded me of when there is a wreck on the high way you dont want to look but you can't help but watch.
American Boy was very similar. It did make me wonder if Steven sees anything wrong with what he is doing to himself. Also did that look at Steven Prince open up Scorsese's eyes to what he was doing to himself?
Out of New York, New York, The Last Waltz and American Boy I enjoyed American Boy the most. To me the film had the most substance to it the most interesting subject matter. New York looked to be to much, to over done and over the top at least for my taste. For example all the back ground sets I didn't like, though it was supposed to be a fake made up reality I couldn't get past them to appreciate the characters.
The Last Waltz I appreciate for the idea of why Scorsese did it, which was for its structure and the way it could be planned so well. Also probably because it was for only one night and then some interviews. I didn't like the interviews though or Scorsese in them which I usually like. I kind of just wanted a talking head.
American Boy was an amazing documentary that had the interesting character that you wanted to learn as much about as possible.
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