Martin Scorsese - Top Oscar Directors for Actors V
by Andre Soares
Oscar-nominated performances in Martin Scorsese’s films
Unless things change dramatically (and no, I’m not referring only to environmental chaos and apocalyptic wars), 30 or 40 years from now Martin Scorsese is going to be the best remembered name of the current top-five Oscar directors for actors. (The others being William Wyler, Elia Kazan, George Cukor, and Fred Zinnemann. See links below)
In addition to having the most recent career — cultural amnesia is invariably a factor — Scorsese is the single director among the top five whose films can been categorized as belonging to a particular genre — and that much revered tough-guy genre to boot.
And ain’t Scorsese’s men tough. His first male muse, Robert DeNiro, becomes a hero after slaughtering unsavory figures from the New York underworld in Taxi Driver; and then it’s DeNiro again as brutish boxer Jake LaMotta in — one of the most overrated movies of the 20th century — Raging Bull, and again as a psychopathic ex-con in Cape Fear.
Also, Joe Pesci’s deranged thug in Goodfellas, Daniel Day-Lewis equally deranged thug in Gangs of New York, and Jack Nicholson’s foaming-at-the-mouth thug in The Departed. Plus borderline psycho toughies Mark Wahlberg in The
Departed, Harvey Keitel in Mean Streets, and Scorsese’s new box-office friendly male muse, Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York (left), The Aviator, and The Departed.
Even Jerry Lewis comes across as a tough guy in The King of Comedy, while Matt Damon almost passes for one in The Departed. (Willem Dafoe’s conflicted Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ and Griffin Dunne’s hapless office worker in After Hours are a couple of exceptions to the rule.)
As far as the quality of the performances of them tough guys, those range from the terrible (Nicholson in The Departed) to the terrific (Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York).
Women, when they actually have roles in Scorsese’s films, can be either highly effective (Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, Vera Farmiga in The Departed, Catherine O’Hara in After Hours) or highly ineffectual (Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York, Winona Ryder in The Age of Innocence, Cate Blanchett in The Aviator).
One good thing is that the actresses’ generally underwritten roles leave them less room to ham it up a à la Nicholson, DeNiro, Keitel, et al. (Blanchett’s over-the-top mimicry of Katharine Hepburn is an exception to this rule.)
Scorsese’s six Oscar nominations for best direction: Raging Bull, 1980; The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988; Goodfellas, 1990; Gangs of New York, 2002; The Aviator, 2004; and The Departed, 2006. He has thus far never won, but that will most probably change come next Feb. 25.
It’s unlikely that Scorsese will ever beat William Wyler’s record (36 acting nominations), but in the next few years he could easily become No. 2 in the list.
Martin Scorsese
20 Acting Nominations (tied with Fred Zinnemann)
(s) supporting category
(*) Academy Award winner
1974
Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore *
Diane Ladd (s) Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
1976
Robert DeNiro Taxi Driver
Jodie Foster (s) Taxi Driver
1980
Robert DeNiro Raging Bull *
Joe Pesci (s) Raging Bull
Cathy Moriarty (s) Raging Bull
1986
Paul Newman The Color of Money *
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (s) The Color of Money
1990
Joe Pesci (s) Goodfellas *
Lorraine Bracco (s) Goodfellas
1991
Robert DeNiro Cape Fear
Juliette Lewis (s) Cape Fear
1993
Winona Ryder (s) The Age of Innocence
1995
Sharon Stone Casino
2002
Daniel Day-Lewis Gangs of New York
2004
Leonardo DiCaprio The Aviator
Cate Blanchett (s) The Aviator *
2006
Mark Wahlberg (s) The Departed
Ah, in case you’re wondering. The next ones in line in the "best directors for actors" category are:
18 nominations for actors: George Stevens and Sidney Lumet
17 nominations for actors: Billy Wilder and Mike Nichols
16 nominations for actors: John Huston and Stanley Kramer
15 nominations for actors: Woody Allen
14 nominations for actors: Mervyn LeRoy and Francis Ford Coppola
Lumet, Nichols, Allen, and Coppola are all alive and still active.
William Wyler: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - I
Elia Kazan: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - II
George Cukor: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - III
Fred Zinnemann: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - IV
Oscar Nominations 2007 - Article
Fred Zinnemann: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - IV
George Cukor: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - III
Elia Kazan: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - II
William Wyler: Top Oscar Directors for Actors - I
Hanif Kureishi’s VENUS Inspiration
Comments
2 Responses to “Martin Scorsese - Top Oscar Directors for Actors V”
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
Re: Soares’ article: There some excellent and funny assessment’s of Scorcese’s characters (I especially liked the “deranged thug” label)! Speaking of those, how could he have left out Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in “Goodfellas”? It always mystified me that Pesci (whom I like, but not nearly as much as in “Casino”) got the Oscar nomination and not Liotta. But then, the latter has been overlooked far too often.
As for the lack of female roles that match those for males, I basically concur, but NOT when it comes to their strength. First of all, Sharon Stone, as Ginger in “Casino”, “hammed it up” and was every bit as crazed, demanding and in her own way, thug-like (yet pathetic) as most of Scorcese’s male bad-asses!
Her husband, DeNiro’s Ace Rothstein, is actually afraid of her, no matter how much he controls her with money and idle threats. During one of her rages, that lasts for hours, Rothstein actually calls for back-up (Don Rickle’s character, toting a shotgun, and then the police!).Stone’s performance is a powerhouse, right up until her tragic end.
Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, was a BIT too much (sounding more like she came from New Orleans than Connecticut, in her attempt to capture the Yankee, upper-class drawl). But her character’s sense of self, her vanity and assurance humbled and emasculated DeCaprio’s Hughes, just as much as Ginger’s coke-fueled tirades and assaults did to Rothstein!
In “The Age of Innocence”, there are actually TWO powerful women, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Ellen Olenska and Winona Ryder’s May, but powerful in a very different way. Though, through the lens of 19th Century manners, they SEEM demure and powerless, make no mistake; they war over the witless, gutless Newland Archer’s soul like two lionesses disguised in corsets, silk and lace! Their very propriety, especially May’s icy determination, delude the prey (Daniel Day Lewis’ Archer) into finally succumbing, out of sheer exhaustion.
This just goes to show that, when Scorcese WANTS to, his women are just as thuggery and “foaming at the mouth” as are his male characters. I, for one, would like to see more of this!
True, “The Age of Innocence” offers two strong women, though I wasn’t crazy about Ryder’s performance.
I haven’t watched “Casino,” yet, but from what I’ve heard Sharon Stone is quite good in her role.
And you can add me to the list of those who’d like Scorsese to offer more strong roles for women (foaming-at-the-mouth or no) in his films.