A small heart attack
Posted by Nick Milne on October 7, 2009
That’s what I just had when I checked Martin Scorsese’s page at IMDB a few minutes ago and discovered that he will apparently be directing an adaptation of Edmund Morris’ superb The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, which is about as good a use of 962 pages as has ever been made. Scorcese himself I could take or leave; I’m just jazzed that this movie will actually exist.
Dude said
You could take or leave the man who will direct a film in which two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan in the 17th century to locate their mentor and spread the gospel of Christianity?
Scorsese is not just another director. All due respect, show some.
Julie D. said
Who is also the director who completely butchered Infernal Affairs.
Indeed he is not just another director. One wonders how many times we might get to hear Teddy drop the “f” bomb under his direction, just in the interest of “keepin’ it real.” :-D
Dude said
Not being an American, I have no such qualms. Let men be men, Ms. D.
Julie D. said
Ahhhh … well, if that if your definition of manhood, then my Mom is a helluva gal! :-D
And NOT being from Hong Kong, I still resent the way he butchered Infernal Affairs. See it’s not about nationality, it’s about doing a good job. Which he can do very well when he stops remembering that he’s Martin Scorsese. Kind of the way one of the kids was astounded when seeing Jack Nicholson in old movie and said, “Wow, he really was a good actor! Now he just plays himself over and over and over …”
Julie D. said
Oops … I meant to say my Mom is a helluva MAN!
She could swear Marty into the dirt and come back for more. :-D
Brian Patrick Cork said
I think I like this Julie D.
Meanwhile, I know I thoroughly enjoyed Morris’s “The Rise of Theordore Rooselvelt”.
I’ll put it on par with Manchester’s biography of Winston Churchill, “The Last Lion”.
Personally, I’m expecting Scorsese to offer an edge for the film that just might put Roosevelt’s ferocity in the right light.
Cork
Nick Milne said
Dude:
I take or leave him based upon his current body of work. Once the movie you’ve described is in the can my opinion might change, but it will likely only be my opinion of that movie and his direction thereof rather than of the man himself and his whole body of work. He has made some tremendously good films, but he has also made some very long and miserable ones. That The Departed won the Academy’s award for “Best Picture” is insane, and would be so even in an off year. But 2006 was not an off year, and it wasn’t even the best picture out of all those that COULD have been nominated, let alone those that actually were.
I’ve defended Scorsese’s skills and status as recently as last week (elsewhere), but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass or that I’m bound by duty to like him and his work.
Dude said
Nick,
I guess the expression “take or leave” in this context means something less dismissive than I assumed. As you know, English isn’t my first language, so you’ll understand.
I thought The Departed was fun at best, and that’s all. “Best Picture” or not. Marty is old, sure, he can’t hack it like he used to. But who can?
There is no duty to like anyone, but there should be some respect for the old man; for the kind of films he’s willing to make. Who the hell wants to see Jesuits in Japan nowadays? Guys like you and me, as far as I can tell. And we aren’t the ones who make a full house.
Nick Milne said
Dude,
I guess it must! What did you think I was saying about him? I mean, I don’t race out to see everything he produces, but he’s certainly made several movies that I’ve enjoyed a great deal and which were demonstrably excellent.
Also, Werner Herzog can hack it like he used to.
Dude said
I thought you meant you were completely indifferent to him.
I’m not a fan of Scorsese either, but he’s earned my respect over the years. And I’m really looking forward to Silence, particularly because it’s a collaboration with Day-Lewis.
Herzog doesn’t make films like Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre anymore, does he? I enjoyed Rescue Dawn and Grizzly Man, but not as much as I enjoyed the former. I have yet to see Bad Lieutenant, but Nick Cage is a bit of a stretch.