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The Convenience of Wives: On Goodfellas and Marriage

The first time Karen and Henry meet in Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s pivotal 1990 decades-spanning Italian gangster film, it is on a forced double date that precedes a back room meeting, with the sole purpose being so Tommy can “bang this Jewish broad”. Henry is beyond rude and Karen is timid, although timidly pissed as she has every right to be. Notably, she is dressed to the nines (complete with styled hair and a set of pearls) as she will stay for the duration of the film no matter the situation. When Henry stands her up on the second date she immediately requests, nay demands, to be taken to find him in order to ream him out in front of his cohorts.

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Aztec empire drama coming to HBO from Martin Scorsese, Benicio Del Toro

While everyone is busy labeling Marco Polo as Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones, HBO is looking for their own new project big enough and worthy enough of inspiring copycats, and they may have found it with a new series now in development from Executive Producers Martin Scorsese and Benicio Del Toro. Deadline reported Tuesday …

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Shot Glass Half Empty?: On Boardwalk Empire’s Troubled Legacy

I was a bit hesitant to start watching the series finale for Boardwalk Empire. I didn’t even have it in me to watch it until a few days after it aired. Why was I so hesitant? Probably for a number of reasons. A part of me wasn’t ready to say goodbye to a series I …

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The Definitive Scary Scenes from Non-Horror Films: 40-31

40. Night of the Hunter (1955) Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer …

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7 Filmmakers that should give TV a try

In this new golden age of television that we are currently living in, the television industry is poaching some of cinema’s greatest minds more than ever to create their own long form stories after being restricted to the hour and a half to maximum four hours that film allows. The gap is getting increasingly small …

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Martin Scorsese to direct biopic on The Ramones

As part of a 40th Anniversary celebration of the band’s 1976 debut album, Billboard is reporting that Martin Scorsese is attached to direct a biopic on the iconic punk rock band the Ramones. The last surviving member of the band Tommy Ramone passed away last month, and now their manager of their estate, Jeff Jampol, …

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Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ becoming HBO series

Martin Scorsese’s 2010 hit Shutter Island will be adapted into a TV series for HBO entitled Ashecliffe, named for the mental institution in Scorsese’s film and Dennis Lehane’s novel. Deadline reports that Scorsese and Lehane are attached to produce a pilot for the show beginning next year and that Scorsese will remain on as the …

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‘Life Itself’ a beautiful, humane, and painfully honest celebration of Roger Ebert

Life Itself Directed by Steve James USA, 2014 The new documentary Life Itself, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this week in advance of its theatrical release and subsequent airing on CNN (as this is a CNN Films production), is a rare beast. It is an honest and unflinching celebration of a man’s life, …

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New on Video – Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Part 2

“Within the recognizable forms of, roughly, the melodrama, the musical documentary, and the thriller, these titles peer into their respective cultures via a comparably subtle observation that is in some ways cloaked by a familiar surface style and structure.”

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New on Video – Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Part 1

“Bringing together six diverse titles from six different regions of the globe, the Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project collection is a treasure trove for those seeking obscure, rare, and fascinating titles that extend well beyond film history’s conventional canon.”

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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ a grand, triumphant rebuke of financial excess, and the best Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration to date

The Wolf of Wall Street Written by Terence Winter Directed by Martin Scorsese USA, 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio is a year away from 40, though he still retains the same boyish air and enthusiasm that marked him from Titanic onward. But over the intervening 16 years, he’s thinned down enough that he has a leaner, tighter, …

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‘American Hustle’ an enjoyable, sprawling mess boosted by an over-the-top ensemble cast

American Hustle Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell Directed by David O. Russell USA, 2013 Watching American Hustle puts one in mind of the old anecdote relayed by the late Roger Ebert. He wrote of a child prodigy, invited to play an impossibly difficult piece of music on piano for one of …

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‘Ender’s Game’ a suitably entertaining, if very condensed, young-adult adaptation

Condensing a popular young adult book to its most basic and necessary parts is an unenviable task. No matter how passionate the filmmakers are to the original text, someone’s bound to be disappointed. No film adaptation can satisfy every fan; it doesn’t matter how hard you try. Take out one character or rewrite them to be minimal, and you’re doomed.

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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Image Gallery

A few images from Martin Scorsese’s latest film, The Wolf of Wall Street, have been released to whet your appetite. The film is based on Jordan Belfort’s book of the same name, and developed by its star, Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio is still desperately bagging an Oscar; he got a nomination for The Aviator in 2005, …

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Behind the Scenes Photos From Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

There is always reason to get excited over a new Martin Scorsese film. The director has perhaps the best record of any American filmmaker over the past four decades. From Taxi Driver to Hugo, Scorsese has very rarely disappointed, and more than often, exceeded our expectations. A few behind the scenes images from his latest film, …

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5 Surprising Personal Passion Projects of Legendary Directors

There’s something inherently lonely and tortured about being a director. Yes, you’re the tyrant of the set and dictator of the vision, but you’re also the man (or woman) behind the curtain, the puppet master who never appears on stage….unless you’re Clint Eastwood or Quentin Tarantino. Or Alfred Hitchcock….or Roman Polanski…ANYWAY, the point is that …

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Tribeca 2013: Restoration of Martin Scorsese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ Will Close Festival

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, recently announced that the 30th Anniversary restoration of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, will close its 12th edition on Saturday, April 27.  “Twelve years ago when we announced the first Festival, it was Marty’s idea for us to feature Restored and Rediscovered films. This year we …

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‘Side by Side’ – Keanu Reeves eases into the specifics of photochemical film shooting and exhibition

Side By Side Written by Christopher Kenneally Directed by Christopher Kenneally USA, 2012 A reasonably comprehensive primer on the rise of digital film and its implications on every facet of filmmaking, exhibition, and conservation, Side by Side manages to corral enough of the film world’s most outspoken filmmakers, as well as a less-familiar but equally …

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