Martin Scorsese Compares Marvel Superhero Films to "Theme Park Rides"

Is that you Marty?

Kind of ironic don't you think? Complaining about movies that don't push the boundaries and are like groundhog day, by being upset about me saying another movie doesn't push the boundaries, and are sort of groundhog day movies themselves in many ways, being made by someone complaining about the other movies that don't push the boundaries and are like groundhog day...feeling dizzy now

Anyway, it's a shame you missed the smiley face I had at the end of my comment though as I was just having a bit of fun.

You know, even in the good old days of cinema, he still needed De Niro involved with Goodfellas before he could finally secure the funds to make that film (IIRC) and he was only spending $25M back then ($49M according to the inflation calculator that actually never resembles reality)

 

He’s not wrong but few want to admit that.

 

Bit snobby. But then again it's kind of amusing to watch older clips of Stan Lee trying to defend his comics on talk shows where hosts talk to him in a fairly condescending way. This was of course before comics were seen as a possible commercial enterprise or art form for the big screen. And now that both the MCU films are generally well regarded and commercially viable, Scorcese's comments just seem to be controversial at best.

 

Hasn't The Joker being compared to Scorsese's own Taxi Driver lately? I haven't seen it yet myself, but I could imagine that from the trailer.

 

I have liked all the MCU movies (seen all) but have to admit when I finished Infinity War, five minutes later I could not remember a thing about it. Had to re-see it the day before watching Endgame. Of which I only remember the big death scene at the end, moving as it was.

Anyway, I think the world is making too much out of a very mild comment, which was hardly offensive or even critical. He tried them and found them not his thing, but could see the fun factor in them.

Another vote for Brazil as a great, relatively unknown movie. Also The Fisher King from the same director.

 

Get out of here with your rational thinking and common-sense analysis. It's so last decade!

 

Wasn't MS part of the filming crew for Woodstock (or some other involvement with the movie), and got an onscreen credit for it? To say nothing of that little waltz movie he made a bit later! I would think he would get a big pass around here.

Too bad he never made anything music- related again. Not that we seem to recall around here.


Just saying, he is certainly entitled to his (very reasonable and learned) opinion.

 

So which actor is going to get a Oscar for The Irishman? De Niro is one of the Producers( 17 actually). Best actor ? Maybe. Al Pacino another contender I guess!!!!

 

I don't know if he meant all his movies are masterpieces or Oscar caliber either....(although paul got one for color of money....decent flick i thought, stubbed its toe with the ending tho…..but before that, nice. tom cruise was actually really good too. I mean its no Hustler but...I dug it)

i still don't get why does everyone get all riled up when a celeb comes for the superhero/star wars films? I mean.....theyre winning the war. kajillions of dollars every year on these movies. marty says "I don't get it"....? hes in his 70's probably, more familiar with Italian neorealism and Ingmar Bergman. hes just stating his opinion. I guess cause its from comics everyone gets defensive.

 

im a fan! its been years since ive seen it

heh heh

 

In some ways Scorsese’s films are like comic book movies - not subtle and very in your face.

 

Scorsese and longtime collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker edited Woodstock and I were nominated for an Oscar for it (rare for a documentary). That's an extremely well-edited film. Scorsese is an unusual guy in that he's extremely aware of a lot of facets of filmmaking far beyond just writing and directing. (BTW, that film was largely synced up by eye, which is all the more remarkable when you consider the primitive conditions in which it was made, and the fact that it eventually had a 70mm release.)

 

Newman's Oscar was largely viewed as a "lifetime achievement" award, just like Pacino's for "Scent of a Woman". Though that comparison insults Newman: he was still pretty good in a superficial version of the character, whereas Pacino was obnoxious and awful in "Scent".

As I mentioned, I enjoyed "Color of Money" back in the 80s, and I disliked "Hustler" back then. These positions have reversed!

It just smacks of a small-minded attitude and bitterness to me. His comments seem dismissive - especially from a guy who I'd think would go to the mat to defend the "popcorn movies" of his youth as "cinema".

His remarks betray the attitudes of someone who doesn't really know the genre and who pooh-poohs it via ignorance. He believes there are no character arcs in these movies and that audiences don't form an emotional bond with the characters, which is just nuts...

 

You could make the same statement of any genre.

 

I agree with him. The MCU isn't cinema, it's not really supposed to be though. It's summer blockbuster stuff, plain and simple. It's very well done to be sure, and I myself enjoy it for what it is, which is basically a CGI thrill ride. But I would agree with him these movies aren't cinema, they aren't in the same league as lawerence of arabia, citizen kane, the Godfather, etc. The thing for me is the many people see these MCU movies as great cinema but won't give citizen kane or lawerence a second look because "it's boring". We begin to think this is great cinema, when in fact it's not. It's a thrill ride with some good story lines and decent acting and a joke every couple minutes, which is totally fine and enjoyable for what it is, but cinema they are not.

 

If ya wanna go all snooty and make out "cinema" to be only the toppermost of the poppermost, go for it.

But Marty shoots himself in the foot with this: "It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."

That's where he turns elitist and ignorant...

 

But not with all the same characters.

 

It's a semantic debate. Pesci plays pretty much the same character in Goodfellas and Casino with the same basic arc, semi-inspired by Cagney/Public Enemy. Whereas, has Peter or Rocket from Guardians ever been brought to the screen before?

 

I am a 30 year old man. I agree totally with him. I was voicing this 15 years ago when i was in high school and they were starting to put out a crap ton of these movies (transformers made me want to vomit.)

I remember being a kid and enjoying a new batman movie every three years or so, but now we have like 4 different spiderman movies coming out within a year. It's just too much.

Just one man's opinion and i know in this day and age it's an unpopular one. I just ignore these movies and don't pay attention to them. It does sadden me that social issues get raised with them though. (Black Panther, Wonder Woman..) Kinda cheapens the issue if you ask me.

 

I mean, he’s not wrong. And that’s coming from someone who has enjoyed most of the MCU films. But let’s not pretend it’s high art/cinema as art. Its candy for the eyes and ears; spectacle ahead of story. It’s slickly packaged and marketed, and generally speaking, these are vehicles designed to make money, and gobs of it.

 

Yeah, that's not accurate. There was the animated Spidey film last December and the live-action on in July.

There really aren't as many comic book movies as detractors claim. I think @Chris DeVoe showed that earlier...

 

The thing is though, I feel like he was referring to the glut of them that's saturated the market for over ten years. And that I can understand & relate to. Marty's always championed genre films, & there are genre films that have attained the status of "cinema". Perhaps even some of the comic book films have/will. But, it's hard to decide which ones have/will, when the surfeit of them has all but drowned out everything else, to the point where they're like white noise. Luckily that trend seems to be slowing a bit.

I place the nonstop drone of computer animated movies in that same category, & yes, some are indeed "cinema". But when they're shoving them out on a weekly basis, they become annoying.

I live in a small town in rural Iowa. Our theater has a grand total of three screens. And, when two, & sometimes all three of them are cluttered up with the same type of movies, yes, one does tend to get annoyed by that. We have to drive an hour one way to get to an actual multiplex, & sometimes comic book &/or computer animated movies are playing on more than one screen, (& I'm referring to individual movies across 2-3-4 screens in an 18 screen multiplex), so even then our choices become limited. That's not a good thing.

Now, don't get me wrong, there have been some fairly recent comic book films we've enjoyed. Kingsmen was a blast, & was as perfect a comic book movie as was possible, down to the point of some scenes being framed to look just like a panel from a comic book. The second one was entertaining, but missed the spark of the first. And though not a comic book movie, we are looking forward to Zombieland Double Tap. But, we're also looking forward to The Irishman, Ford Vs Ferrari & 21 Bridges just as much & in at least a couple of cases more. If you were to look through my DVD/BD collection, you'd see a lot of genre films, especially horror, & three complete franches in 007, Mission Impossible & Jason Bourne, (actually more than three complete franchises if you include my collection of Universal Horrors films).

I don't want to see all comic book based movies vanish, even if they don't interest me, but we do need some breathing room, which I think we're finally getting.

 

Let me check what opens tomorrow at the AMC River East 21:

1. Joker
2. The Addams Family
3. Gemini Man
4. Abominable
5. Downton Abbey
6. Jexi
7. Hustlers
8. Judy
9. IT Chapter Two
10. Ad Astra
11. The Lion King
12. War
13. Lucy in the Sky
14. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
15. The Sky Is Pink
16. High Strung Free Dance
17. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
18. Pain and Glory
19. My People, My Country
20. First Love

20 films, none are superhero films. A new Pedro Almodóvar film, a new animated film, a film about Broadway dancers, a film about Siri going crazy...

 

But not in films several times a year.

 

Here's what is playing at the Lenexa, KS AMC Studio 28:

1. Joker
2. The Addams Family
3. Gemini Man
4. Abominable
5. Downton Abbey
6. Jexi
7. Hustlers
8. Rambo: Last Blood
9. Judy
10. IT Chapter Two
11. Ad Astra
12. The Lion King
13. Good Boys
14. The Peanut Butter Falcon
15. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
16. Overcomer
17. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
18. War
19. Dora and the Lost City of Gold
20. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
21. The Sky Is Pink
22. The Angry Birds Movie 2
23. Brittany Runs a Marathon

23 films, none are superhero films.