10 Classics That Secretly Shaped Martin Scorsese’s Movies, Ranked By IMDb
If you're a fan of Goodfellas or Taxi Driver, you're in for a treat. This is a look at 10 iconic movies that inspired Martin Scorsese's vision. Here's what we know.
Martin Scorsese is a genius behind some of the most iconic films of our time. But even legends find inspiration somewhere. During “Mean Screens: Martin Scorsese at the Movies”, Scorsese revealed the cinematic masterpieces that shaped his distinctive style. (via The New York Times)
Ready for a peek into what influenced the master himself? Let's count down his 10 most influential inspirations, ranked by IMDb scores.
10. ‘Getting Gertie's Garter’ (1945)
IMDb: 6.4/10.
Influenced: After Hours.
Getting Gertie's Garter follows a frantic scientist who must recover an inscribed garter he gifted to an old flame before her wedding day ignites a scandal.
“It's really important to me for some of these films to be seen, if just for fun. But I'm also trying to make a point that you never know how certain things will affect certain people. Out of Getting Gertie's Garter, you can have an After Hours,” Scorsese said.
9. ‘Station Six Sahara’ (1963)
IMDb: 6.4/10.
Influenced: The King of Comedy.
Station Six-Sahara is a scorching drama set at a remote oil pumping station where tensions flare when a beautiful woman crashes her car nearby, disrupting the all-male crew's isolated existence.
Scorsese said that both Station Six Sahara and The King of Comedy involve “a battle of nerves.”
Available on: BFI Player Amazon Channel.
8. ‘Take Care of My Little Girl’ (1951)
IMDb: 6.4/10.
Influenced: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
Take Care of My Little Girl shows us what really goes down in the sorority world. Jeanne Crain plays a college freshman who joins her mom's old sorority, only to discover it's full of mean-girl drama.
7. ‘Ocean's Eleven’ (1960)
IMDb: 6.5/10.
Influenced: Goodfellas.
It’s the OG heist movie. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. play WWII buddies teaming up to rob multiple Vegas casinos in one night. Scorsese thinks that Ocean's Eleven connects to Goodfellas through friendship and how characters express it.
Available on Hoopla for free.
6. ‘The Man I Love’ (1946)
IMDb: 6.6/10.
Influenced: New York, New York.
Ida Lupino kills it as Petey Brown, a tough-talking nightclub singer who gets caught up with a washed-up pianist while trying to help her family.
“The Man I Love is dark; it's a film noir musical, and it's what I was going for in New York, New York,” said Scorsese.
5. ‘Before the Revolution’ (1964)
IMDb: 6.8/10.
Influenced: Mean Streets.
Before the Revolution follows a young man torn between his background and revolutionary politics, complicated by an affair with his aunt.
“What I liked about the picture was the excitement of the film making, which inspired me to keep working. Since I come from a totally different background, I didn't understand the politics of it. But it was surprising and had moments of great beauty. It was like an opera to me,” the director noted.
Available on Amazon Video.
4. ‘Murder by Contract’ (1958)
IMDb: 7.2/10.
Influenced: Taxi Driver.
A cold-blooded hitman's approach to killing unravels when his target turns out to be a woman.
“When Murder by Contract came on the screen, it was surprising and lean and purposeful, and not like anything my friends and I had seen. Afterward we talked about it on the street for days,” Scorsese pointed out.
3. ‘Shadows’ (1958)
IMDb: 7.2/10.
Influenced: Who's That Knocking at My Door?
John Cassavetes' groundbreaking debut used improvisation to explore racial tensions and relationships in Beat-era New York. It has a documentary-like approach to capturing city life and dialogue.
“It was Shadows that gave me the urgency and the courage to actually try to make films,” Scorsese said.
2. ‘Accatone!’ (1961)
IMDb: 7.6/10.
Influenced: The Last Temptation of Christ.
Accatone! follows a pimp whose life spirals when his main girl gets locked up. Director Pasolini used Bach's music and real street people to create a raw look at life in Rome's slums.
Available on: Criterion Channel; for free with ads on Mometu.
1. ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)
IMDb: 8.3/10.
Influenced: Citizen Kane's influence on Scorsese went deeper.
“It was Citizen Kane that made me aware of what a director actually did,” he revealed.
This movie changed everything about how films are made. It follows reporters trying to figure out why a dying millionaire's last word was “Rosebud.”
Available on: Microsoft Store, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Spectrum On Demand.
