Mean Streets (1973)
The director posed on the corner of Hester and Baxter Streets in NYC, a location he used in his breakout film (which marked the first time he worked with longtime collaborator Robert De Niro), Oct. 17, 1973.
The director posed on the corner of Hester and Baxter Streets in NYC, a location he used in his breakout film (which marked the first time he worked with longtime collaborator Robert De Niro), Oct. 17, 1973.
Just two years later, Scorsese partnered with De Niro again to make Taxi Driver. "The subject matter, even at that time, was a difficult subject matter for a studio," the director said of the film about a mentally unstable Vietnam vet. "It was film that we didn't think was going to be seen by anybody, we just had to make it."
De Niro approached the director about making Raging Bull after reading Jake La Motta's autobiography. "We hadn't planned to make that many films together…we seemed to relate to the same material," Scorsese said of collaborating on the film, which earned the actor an Oscar and the filmmaker his first directorial nomination.
Scorsese's vision of Christ's life (which included sex, marriage and children with Mary Magdalene) was condemned by Christian groups and banned from over 3,500 theaters nationwide. Despite the controversy, the director received his second Oscar nomination from the Academy.
The gangster film once again reunited Scorsese and De Niro, and earned Joe Pesci (who also starred in Raging Bull) a best actor Oscar win, and another nomination for Scorsese.
Fresh off of their Goodfellas success, Scorsese and De Niro took on a different type of crime thriller in this film about a convicted rapist who stalks the lawyer that unsuccessfully defended him. Both the actor and his co-star, Juliette Lewis, received Oscar nods.
"You gave me the most incredible experience of my life," star Winona Ryder said of working with the filmmaker (as well as Michelle Pfeiffer) on this love story. "You are the best director in the world."
Sharon Stone called her part in Casino, which earned her a best actress nomination, "the role of lifetime."
"What was so amazing to work with him was that he creates this collaborative environment," Kate Beckinsale said of playing Ava Gardner under Scorsese's direction. The director was nominated for yet another Oscar, and the film also scored a best actor nod for its star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Jack Nicholson (with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, the director, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and Ray Winstone on set) famously tried to torment his co-star with a fire extinguisher and a threat to set him on fire while shooting the film, which won the director his first Oscar. "I was terrified," said DiCaprio.
"As soon as Martin Scorsese is involved in making a movie, I'm immediately excited about it," the movie's star Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured with the director, Ben Kingsley, and Mark Ruffalo) said. "He is one of the great directors of our time. I learn so much by working with him every single time."
Scorsese directed the October premiere episode of the HBO prohibition drama, which was estimated to cost more than $30 million. He continues to serve as executive producer.