Researching Thriller Films - Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was born in 1942, in New York City. An Academy-Award winner, he has directed over 20 feature length films, and has been named the 2nd best director of all time.

In early life, his parents used to take him to the cinema, and Martin took a big interest in historical films. This obviously influenced his future choice of career, and also what type of films he made. Originally, he wished to be a priest, but decided to attend film school instead.

After passing from film school, Scorsese released his first feature-length film with a friend from school, in 1968 - 'Who's Knocking At My Door?' The next 5 years was spent learning, experimenting and creating 3 more films, but it wasn't until 1974, when Martin released 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore', that he suddenly hit the big stage. The film was nominated for 3 Academy Awards, and won 1, for Best Acress.

'Taxi Driver' came next, in 1976.It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, but won none. However, this did catapult Scorsese into the spotlight, and suddenly he was offered parts within films. It was his second collaboration with Robert De Niro - a man who would become very closely associated with Scorsese.

'New York New York' followed in 1977, and was Scorsese's first venture into musical cinema. De Niro returned, with Liza Minnelli appearing. It flopped massively at the box office, and was known for its Frank Sinatra-covered theme tune. It was almost like a baby for Scorsese, and with the film being so poorly received, he went into a state of depression, and developed a cocaine addiction.

This addiction continued all the way until 1980, when Robert De Niro returned to 'save' Scorsese's life. He told him to kick the addiction, and when he released 'Raging Bull', it became his masterpiece. It received 8 nominations at the Academy Awards, of which it won 2 - Scorsese won his only Best Director Oscar. It has been voted the best sports film of all time.

It wasn't until 1986, however, that his run of blockbusters began. 'The Colour of Money' (1986), 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988), 'Goodfellas' (1990), 'Cape Fear' (1991), 'The Age of Innocence' (1993), 'Casino' (1995), and 'Kundun' (1997) all received Oscar nominations - 23 in total. It only won 3, but made Scorsese one of the best known directors of all time.

More recently, 'Gangs of New York', from 2002, gained Scorsese critical acclaim for a stunning work. Some say it is his best ever film. It gained 10 Academy Award nominations, but didn't win any. 'The Aviator' came next, in 2004, and this was another film that was said to be one of the best films ever made. It won 5 Oscars from a possible 11. 'The Departed' was released in 2006, and towards the end of February this year, 'Shutter Island' will be released, in time for Oscars in 2011.