Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 435-436: Some More Scorsese

It's very rare that a director will have films nominated across five decades but in this last section of the blog we have two men who have done just that. We'll deal with one of them later on, but in this post we'll look at a man named Martin Scorsese. From his first nomination back in the 1970s for Taxi Driver, the Academy has had a growing love for Scorsese culminating in his Best Director win for The Departed. This relationship carried into the 2010s with two of Scorsese's films featuring in the Best Picture category and I have to say that these two movies couldn't be any more different.

We start with a film that I would say isn't typical Scorsese partly because it's rated PG. Hugo is Scorsese's tribute to early cinema and was his first film to be screened in 3D. The Hugo of the title is a young boy who lives in a Parisian train station in 1932 and is in charge of making sure the clock runs on time. From the start of the film Hugo is portrayed as a lonely young man who is looking for a connection to his late father. He believes rebuilding the automaton that his father gave him before he died will reveal a message from him. Unfortunately finding the parts means that he has to steal from the stall of Monsieur George, a cantankerous man who runs the station's toy store. George catching Hugo in the act sets off a chain of events which eventually changes the life of both for the better. Whilst the first half of the film plays like a family adventure movie the second half is more of a celebration of silent movies when it's revealed that the toy store holder is in fact legendary director George Méliès. I personally feel as if the film slows down when Scorsese explains the importance of Méliès' films and whilst I enjoyed it I'm not sure how much the younger members of the audience would've appreciated it. Thankfully the film speeds up again in its final third when Hugo finally catches the attention of the station's inspector who is obsessed with sending abandoned children to the local audience. The scene in which Hugo is almost hit with a train is visually splendid and feels like it both belongs in the plot and works with the 3D format; a statement that I couldn't use when describing anything that happened in the lacklustre Avatar.

Talking of Avatar, its director James Cameron admitted that Scorsese's film was the one that had made the best use of 3D up to that point. I'd more than concur with Cameron as, even though I didn't watch Hugo in 3D, I could appreciate how he'd properly decided how to utilise the medium. I felt totally immersed in the world of Hugo from the second that Robert Richardson's camera guides you into the world of the train station. This bustling world is lovingly created by a brilliant production design team who rightfully won an Oscar for their work on the film. Hugo is indeed a visual work with each costume suiting its respective character from the Station Inspector's vivid blue uniform to Hugo's slightly ruffled look. Howard Shore's Oscar-nominated score also gave Hugo the feel of a silent movie as he gave each character their own distinctive tune. Throughout the film I was trying to imagine what it would've been like if there had been no spoken words and I believe that it would've worked quite well. That's not a knock against John Logan who brilliantly adapted Brain Selznick's children's novel for the screen. Of the cast, I thought young Asa Butterfield did an admirable job as Hugo as he was likeable without being too annoying which I find is a rarity for a child actor. Similarly impressive was Ben Kingsley who, as Méliès, kept the audience in the dark to his true identity till the big reveal. Scorsese rounded off the cast with a host of great British performers who included Sacha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector and the wonderful Helen McRory as Méliès' cautious wife. Hugo went on to win the most Oscars of the night at that year's ceremony picking up honours for cinematography, art direction, visual effects, sound editing and sound mixing. I feel all of these wins were deserved as Hugo was a lovely film that never patronised its young audience and more than anything found a worthwhile use for 3D.


Two years later Scorsese was reverting to type; teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio for a fifth time and making another film based on people operating outside the law. But rather than making another movie about gangsters, Scorsese turns his attention to the world of stockbrokers in The Wolf of Wall Street. The film is based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort, a man who made plenty of money via a number of nefarious means. The Wolf of Wall Street starts by covering Jordan's early career as a fledgling stockbroker who is forced to work at a lowly company after his prestigious firm collapses on Black Monday. It's not long before Jordan's fast-talking charm gets him his own business and a partner in the form of dorky Donnie who initially lives in the same apartment block as him. Upon setting up their firm, Stratton Oakmoant, Jordan and Donnie set about creating an atmosphere of excess and debauchery. The film also looks at how Donnie leaves his first wife and trades her in for a better model in the form of the gorgeous Naomi. However, Jordan's cheating ways soon mean that his relationship with his wife and children become strained. The last part of the film deals with Jordan's legal problems as he tries to dodge various threats from the FBI. Although all of this content appears to be quite serious, The Wolf of Wall Street primarily plays as a black comedy and I found this to be one of its biggest problems. Plenty of Scorsese's films have blackly comic moments but they are surrounded by plenty of dramatic scenes that balance them out nicely. Here everything was played in a tongue-in-cheek manner and therefore it was hard to take any of the characters particularly seriously. Jordan is a particularly unlikeable character and the fact that he's having his cake and eating too doesn't exactly endear him to the audience. Jordan doesn't even really get the comeuppance he deserves as, even at the end of the film, he's still making a living out of his sales techniques.

Another issue with The Wolf of Wall Street is the amount of scenes that depict the excessive nature of the characters' lives. Almost every other scene featured nudity, drug taking or extreme behaviour of some description and by the end of the film I was fed up. In fact it go to the point where I got bored of seeing topless women, something I never thought would happen. Whereas in his previous films, specifically Goodfellas, Scorsese has always pointed out that this sort of excess comes at a cost but this point really isn't hammered home at any point during The Wolf of Wall Street. Therefore it seems that Scorsese and screenwriter Terrence Winter are almost celebrating Jordan's life rather than using it as a cautionary tale. Sure he does eventually lose his company and his family but there aren't enough of these scenes of heartbreak to counteract the endless partying that has come before. On the positive side, Leonardo DiCaprio gives another outstanding performance as the scheming Belfort. It's Leo's energy and charm that keep the film going at some points and I for one thought he dealt well with some of the more comic set pieces. I am upset to some regard that Scorsese doesn't give Leo the chance to prove himself as the character is possibly the most one-dimensional he's portrayed to date. Jonah Hill's comic sensibilities are employed to great effect here as he brings plenty of humour to the role of Donnie. Hill and DiCaprio have a fine chemistry that makes their character's friendship feel convincing even if some of their scenes are a little bit over-the-top. Australian actress Margot Robbie gives a good accounting of herself as Jordan's wife Naomi and her performance is possibly the film's most serious. Although I did enjoy The Wolf of Wall Street's first hour, by the end I was tired of seeing all of Jordan and Donnie's illegal exploits and wanted more of a light and shade balance from Scorsese. Ultimately I found The Wolf of Wall Street to be a rare misstep for the usually reliable Dicaprio/Scorsese combo and it seems like the director should stick to making beautifully-designed family films in the future.

We hop from an experienced director in this post to a newer director in the next post who found himself in the position of winning an Oscar for what was only his second feature film.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 395-397: Marty & Leo Go for Gold

It's fair to say that Martin Scorsese and Oscar have had a pretty good relationship as he's found one of his films in the Best Picture category in the last three decades. These films; Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, all starred the great Robert De Niro and propelled the actor to stardom. In the early 21st Century, Scorsese all but ditched De Niro in favour of another star; Leonardo DiCaprio. We first met DiCaprio as a young actor who just happened to be cast in the lead role in one of the biggest films of all time; Titanic. Although the film itself was visually spectacular, I didn't really rate DiCaprio's performance and found him a little immature. However, as the noughties rolled on it appeared as if Scorsese and DiCaprio brought out the best in each other and their partnership finally saw the former pick up his well-deserved Best Director Oscar.

Scorsese's first collaboration with DiCaprio was Gangs of New York a film that the director had been working on for several decades. Based loosely on Herbert Asbury's non-fiction work of the same name Gangs of New York looks at the 19th century conflict between Irish immigrants and American natives as they fought for supremacy over several decades. I found that Scorsese dragged you into the picture kicking and screaming with an opening fight between Irish Priest Vallon's Dead Rabbits and the merciless Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting's Natives. This opening fight scene ultimately sees Vallon murdered by Cutting and his son Amsterdam being shipped off to an orphanage. DiCaprio then appears as the older incarnation of Amsterdam whose set on revenge against the man who killed his father. Instead of waging war against Cutting straight away, Amsterdam instead infiltrates his gang and at one point even saves his life. Cutting eventually begins to look upon Amsterdam as a son and therefore feels even more betrayed when he finally learns the truth. The film's third act sees Amsterdam's recovery from Bill's attack on him and his attempts to gain power in the city. It's in this third act that DiCaprio comes alive as Amsterdam empowers his Irish brethren and in doing so appoints one of his father's old allies as the town's sheriff. The film ends with another incredibly engaging fight sequence as Amsterdam takes the place of his father in the new incarnation of The Dead Rabbits. However, this fight plays out slightly differently as it coincides with the New York City Draft Riots and means that Cutting and Amsterdam have to contend with another conflict going on behind them. I found that this final sequence was a fitting end to a film that was problematic but ultimately satisfying.

It's clear to see that Gangs of New York was a labour of love for Scorsese and it apparently took him several years to complete. Part of the reason for this was his struggle to make the piece as authentic as possible down to making sure that each character's accent was spot on. One of the most impressive elements of Gangs of New York was its production design, which shockingly didn't win the Oscar in that category. Production designer Dante Ferretti recreated over a mile of mid-nineteenth century buildings in Rome where the filming took place. Ferretti's design is eye-catching from the initial scene which focuses on Cutting and The Priest's battle for the Five Points. Everything about Gangs of New York is designed within an inch of its life from the outstanding costumes to the perfectly coiffed moustached of Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Bill 'The Butcher' with great aplomb. In fact Day-Lewis holds the film together at times and his performance earned Gangs of New York its only acting Oscar. Day-Lewis dominates the screen and showed us glimpses of There Will be Blood's Daniel Plainview; a role that snatched him his second Best Actor Oscar five years after Gangs of New York. The decision to cast Cameron Diaz as Amsterdam's love interest Jenny was an interesting one and I personally felt she fell short of the mark. Meanwhile, I found DiCaprio's acting style to be rather petulant and didn't think he was a match for Day-Lewis' scenery chewing. At the same time there were hints that Scorsese was bringing the best out in DiCaprio as his performance was certainly more assured than when we saw him in Titanic. As a whole I found Gangs of New York to be overly long and there was at least half a dozen scenes that were surplus to requirements. But it's hard to knock a film to which the director has clearly devoted so much time to perfecting. The combination of exquisite production design, a fine supporting cast and Day-Lewis' turn as The Butcher means that Gangs of New York is an enthralling watch even if it isn't the masterpiece that Scorsese intended it to be.

Two years later, Scorsese found himself at the Oscars once again with his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator being nominated for Best Picture. In contrast to Gangs of New York, The Aviator didn't start of as Scorsese's baby and instead had been an idea floating around Hollywood since the 1970s. The Hughes biopic finally gained legs in the late 1990s with DiCaprio signed on to star whilst Michael Mann was set to direct. However, Mann was later dropped by the studio and replaced by Scorsese; partially due to his prior working relationship with DiCaprio. It was certainly clear that in the two years since Gangs of New York DiCaprio had come on leaps and bounds as an actor. It was also evident that he'd done his research into Howard Hughes' OCD; a condition that made him unable to deal with germs of any kind. If I had a particular issue with The Aviator then it was with John Logan's screenplay which I felt was rather episodic. The first act dealt with Hughes' creation of Hells' Angels before going on to look at his relationship with Katherine Hepburn. It was the Hughes and Hepburn story that really captured my imagination, partially as I'd followed the latter's career throughout the course of this blog. The film then follows Hughes' continued problems with Pan-Am and his eventual trial by the Senate. I thought that this latter half of the film was a lot less interesting with the trial scenes feeling rather clichéd. Additionally, I believe that Ava Gardner wasn't as compelling a female lead as Hepburn had been during the film's earlier moments. However, at least Logan ended the film superbly with a small victory for Hughes being followed by the suggestion that his mental health may be at its worst.

If I remember correctly, The Aviator was the definite favourite to win the Best Picture prize going into the 2005 Oscars. Although it ultimately didn't triumph in that category, it did go on to pick up an impressive five statuettes on the night. Winners included cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom made the aerial scenes absolutely stunning. Dante Farretti was also rewarded with an Oscar for his recreation of Hughes' many aircrafts as well as recreating classic Hollywood landmarks. Most deserving of all was Cate Blanchett who, in my humble opinion, stole the show as the feisty Katherine Hepburn. As somebody who has watched a large amount of Katherine Hepburn films in the last few years, I can say without a doubt that Blanchett captured the actress' key mannerisms to a tea. It's a telling sign of Blanchett's skill that after she leaves the film the quality dips with Kate Beckinsale's Ava Gardner being incredibly inferior in comparison. Alan Alda was given a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as the corrupt Senator Brewster, who attempted to bring down Hughes in order to help his friend at Pan-Am airways. However, the most impressive turn came from DiCaprio himself who I felt perfectly anchored the film as the troubled Hughes. One of Logan's strengths was to gradually build up the theme of Hughes' OCD which was aided by Schoonmaker's editing of certain situations. DiCaprio was therefore able to hint at his character's downfall before he descended briefly into madness. Although DiCaprio lost that year's Best Actor award to Ray's Jamie Foxx he still demonstrated for the first time that he was capable of leading an epic such as The Aviator. Whilst I wasn't a fan of the film's episodic structure, Scorsese once again put together a classic Hollywood epic that looked fantastic. Unfortunately it was yet another film that failed to net him that elusive Best Director prize.

That prize would finally come his way two years later in yet another film that featured Leonardo DiCaprio in one of the lead roles. This time it was The Departed; an adaptation of the Korean Infernal Affairs series which saw the action transplanted to downtown Boston. As well as teaming up with DiCaprio for the third time, The Departed also saw Scorsese work with blog favourite Jack Nicholson in his most recent Oscar-nominated film to date. The film saw Nicholson play Boston mob boss Frank Costello, who was based on real-life Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The early scenes of The Departed focus on Costello's mentoring of the impressionable Michael Sullivan who would later go on to become an officer in the Boston PD. Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, uses his new found position to feed information to Costello in order for him to evade detection. At the same time the Boston Police Chief enlists DiCaprio's police cadet Billy Costigan to go undercover in Costello's gang in order to feed them information. The film then follows Sullivan and Costigan's stories as they attempt to evade detection in the organisations that they've found themselves in. Another connection between the pair is police psychologist Madolyn Madden, who begins a relationship with Sullivan and eventually becomes his live-in girlfriend. At the same time Madden treats Costigan as a patient and the two begin an affair behind Sullivan's back. Like Gangs of New York and The Aviator before it, The Departed is a little overlong and like Scorsese's previous two Oscar contenders it clocks in at two and a half hours. However, after a slow start, The Departed finally gets going in its final hour where revelations are thrown out at an alarming speed. The finale is especially breathtaking and I remember being taken aback the first time I watched it over seven years ago.

When Scorsese won his Oscar for The Departed, which itself was that year's Best Picture winner, it was said that it was like him being awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for an inferior film. Although The Departed is far from Scorsese's most accomplished film it's still an interesting crime picture which has a lot to say about identity and what truly defines us. Screenwriter William Monahan's screenplay was definitely the strongest of the three films in this post and all of the major characters' motives are perfectly explained. Though it doesn't look as good as the two prior films, I believe that The Departed is Scorsese at his best as it's a grimy film that explores the underbelly of city life. Boston appears as a character in its own right thanks to Michael Ballhaus' fantastic cinematography. Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio shines once again as the conflicted Costigan who is constantly looking over his shoulder just in case he gets rumbled. Costigan is definitely the most interested role that DiCaprio has played up to this point although he wasn't awarded with a Best Actor nomination for this particular film. However DiCaprio did feature in that year's line-up for his turn in another film; Blood Diamond and I think this is possibly due to the fact that he and Matt Damon share equal screen time. I was also impressed by Damon's turn as the quick-witted Sullivan who ultimately destroys the man he work so hard to protect. Elsewhere Nicholson gives a scene-stealing turn as the terrifying Costello and Vera Farmiga held her own as Madolyn; the only woman to really feature strongly in the film. It was odd then that none of these performers earned an Oscar nod with The Departed's only acting nomination being given to Mark Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed Staff Sgt. Dignam. The Departed also utilised popular music well with The Rolling Stone's 'Gimme Shelter' and Dropkick Murphys' 'Shipping Up to Boston' being used several time throughout its run time. Ultimately, though not Scorsese's best work, The Departed deserved the plaudits it garnered thanks to its enthralling final act and a fine ensemble cast. It also proved that DiCaprio and Scorsese were a winning partnership and I think this post proved that they definitely brought out the best in one another.

That's not the end for Scorsese and DiCaprio whose partnership would result in another Oscar-nominated film in the following decade but that's another story. Next time however we look at a little British film that struck a chord with audiences and critics alike.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 311-312: A Gaggle of Gangsters

As the decades have gone on some of the films on the Oscar Challenge have become more violent as film-makers began to push the envelope. The 1970s in particular featured plenty of nominees that had a violent tone and often focused on those operating outside the law. The gangster genre was revived to an extent in the 1990s with two films focusing on mobsters with both being slightly different in tone.

The first was 1991 nominee Goodfellas, a film I'm ashamed to say I've never watched up until this point. The film covers 25 years in the life of Henry Hill who famously always wanted to be a gangster. The opening of the film sees Henry ingratiate himself into the gang and proves himself to them when he refuses to give them up when he first appears in court. Henry's main associate throughout the course of the film is the incredibly volatile Tommy DeVito, who even clashes with his friends on occasion. The other character who recurs throughout the film is the more senior Jimmy Conway who is seen as a gentleman by those who know him. The majority of the film's first half sees the glamorous life that Henry's new position has earned him especially after partaking in numerous robberies. At the same time Tommy's temper gets the trio in a lot of trouble and they end up trying to bury an important member of the mob who was trying to humiliate Tommy. In fact Tommy later kills a young bartender just for insulting him, this coming after he injured the boy's feet. As the years pass Henry find himself in jail, whilst his relationship with his wife Karen deteriorates when he takes on a mistress. The final third of the film deals with Henry's new line in drug-dealing, something he started in prison, and the gang's involvement in the Lufthansa Heist at JFK airport. These latter scenes strip away the glamour of the criminal life as Henry's associates are either murdered or jailed. Despite all that's happened to him Henry still longs for the glamorous life that he no longer has now he's in witness protection.

Goodfellas is often held up as one of the best films of all time but while I enjoyed it throughout there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Narratively the film has issues as it is led by an expositional voiceover delivered by Ray Liotta as the adult Henry Hill. Voiceovers like this are one of my pet hates in visual storytelling as part of the film mantra is usually 'don't tell us, show us'. In fact Goodfellas really riled me up when it introduced a second voiceover by Lorraine Bracco who played Henry's wife Karen. Although it does have faults, the script moves along quite sharply so we get all of the key facts about Henry's life without every settling down for too long. Director Martin Scorsese really focuses on the opulent life the gangsters enjoy, both at home and in their social life at the Copacabana. I feel that both the art direction and the costume design deserved to be recognised at the Oscars with the latter brilliantly changing to indicate the style of the time. In the role of Henry, Ray Liotta was a dependable presence who really came alive in the latter scenes when his character started to develop a serious amount of paranoia. As we've seen him become a star name over the past couple of decades it's odd that Robert De Niro was used sparingly until the film's final third. I think it works quite well as Jimmy is an interesting character who is explored more as the film goes on. But obviously the most famous performance in the film, and the one that won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, was that of Joe Pesci as Tommy. From the moment he delivers his iconic 'Funny how?' speech you know you're in the presence of an actor at the top of his game. He employs a frantic energy which means you never know what Tommy will do next but at the same time he makes you sympathise with him when he unsuspectingly gets murdered on one of the happiest days of his life. Action-packed, well-shot and with a fantastic cast; Goodfellas is definitely a fun film to watch but I wouldn't add it to the list of my all-time favourites.

One of the films that I knew very little about before watching it was Barry Levinson's Bugsy which featured in the Best Picture line-up the next year. The film stars Warren Beatty as Ben Siegel who is known as Bugsy to everybody but doesn't like the nickname used in his presence. Bugsy looks at two aspects of Siegel's life both of which happen when he travels from New York to L.A. to sort outside business in the city's betting parlours. Almost instantly Ben falls in love with small-time actress Virginia Hill, who appears to really know how to play to a man's weaknesses. When they meet Ben is already married whilst Virginia is in a relationship with one of Bugsy's acquaintances. Despite that, after a night filled with banter, the two decide that they can't keep their hands off one another. The relationship between Virginia and Ben is rocky at best as he fails to get a divorce and he gets insanely jealous when she even looks at another man. Similarly Virginia is frightened of Ben's violent temper and occasionally he beats somebody up just because they annoy him in some small way. After being abandoned in the desert by Virginia, Ben realises that Las Vegas would be the perfect place to build a hotel and casino. Ben's mobster chums are less than thrilled by the prospect of ploughing a million dollars into a risky venture but they change their minds when they realise that gambling is legal in Nevada. While planning the hotel, Ben puts Virginia in charge of finances and so the project goes way over budget. Eventually Ben is facing problems from every side with his wife wanting a divorce and the mobsters needing a return on the money they've invested. Ultimately Ben's dream for hotel-filled Las Vegas survived but unfortunately he didn't.

Although both feature characters that essentially rob and murder for a living, Bugsy and Goodfellas are very different films. The main difference is that a lot of the violence in Bugsy takes place off-screen whilst Goodfellas is incredibly graphic from the word go. Although we do see Bugsy get physical on a fair few occasions the key murders in the piece are either only heard or performed a lot more subtly than they are in Goodfellas. Even though Goodfellas had the odd funny line, Bugsy is incredibly comedic at times with the dialogue spoken between Ben and Virginia being reminiscent of that of a screwball comedy. This central relationship forms the basis for a film which has a lot of great one-liners and plenty of energy throughout. Most of this energy is provided by Warren Beatty, who probably gives the best performance that I've seen during this challenge. Beatty makes you care about Bugsy and I couldn't help but be one over by his frantic movements and undying love for Virginia. Beatty plays brilliantly off Annette Bening, who one year later would become his wife, and the pair utilise their real life chemistry to great effect. Brilliant support is also provided by Ben Kingsley Ben's associate Meyer Lansky and by Harvey Keitel as the quick-talking Micky Cohen. Unlike Goodfellas, Bugsy also took home awards for its outstanding period costumes and art direction both of which helped to give the film a glamorous look. Again, like with Goodfellas, Bugsy isn't a film that's ever going to be one of my favourites but overall I found it entertaining and surprisingly funny. Additionally, as he was definitely the star of the show, I feel that Beatty should have won his Best Actor Oscar for Bugsy as it is a prize that has eluded him his entire career.

Next time we head to Italy for the two foreign language films that were nominated for Best Picture in the 1990s.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 299-300: De Niro Fights for Victory

One of the recurring themes of the Best Picture nominees of the 1980s has been the reappearance of plenty of featured stars from the 1970s. We've seen Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson and more continue their careers by playing a variety of diverse roles. Somebody else who appeared in a few of the film we reviewed in the 1970s was one Robert De Niro, who himself won a Supporting Actor Oscar for The Godfather Part II. De Niro would see this success spread through into the 1980s where he'd become triumphant in the Best Actor category by teaming up with a regular collaborator.

The collaborator in question was director Martin Scorsese, who previously worked with De Niro on Best Picture Nominee Taxi Driver, and the film itself was Raging Bull. Based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull had long been a pet project of De Niro's since he'd read LaMotta's autobiography and become fascinated with the man. De Niro eventually convinced Scorsese to direct the film even though he was initially sceptical of the project as he didn't have the first idea about boxing. However I feel that Raging Bull isn't a boxing film but rather a film about a man that just happens to be a boxer. LaMotta is a man plagued by insecurities whether it be about his weight, if he's better than his opponents or if his wife is cheating on him. The aforementioned wife, and LaMotta's second, is Vicky a neighbourhood girl that Jake first meets when she's fifteen. Over a period of time Jake marries Vicky and also attempts to get a shot at the middleweight title thanks to his brother Joey's connections with the Mafia. Jake's goals don't come too easy as he's forced to take a dive but he does it in such a way that he is suspended altogether. Meanwhile, his personal life suffers ups and downs when he constantly believes that Vicky is cheating on him and even accuses Joey of sleeping with his wife. Although Jake eventually wins the title, and defends it in a physically gruelling match-up, his personal woes eventual impact on his in-ring career and he loses the belt eventually giving up boxing altogether. I personally found the latter part of the film incredibly sad as Jake piles on weight, opens a nightclub and eventually loses everything he holds dear. Though there is hint of redemption for LaMotta at the end of the film, I did feel it was a rather dour conclusion.

Raging Bull is an incredibly powerful film that takes its audience on an extremely emotional journey while at the same time getting us involved in every single fight. As well as being a passion project for De Niro, Scorsese was incredibly exacting in both the editing and sound mixing processes partly as he believed that this would be his first major feature. To me the editing and sound were two elements of Raging Bull that really stood out due to the way that certain sequences were put together and the sounds we hear when Jake is in the boxing ring. Thelma Schoomaker won her first of three Best Editing Oscars, all of which were for her work with Scorsese, and I feel that she more than deserved the prize. It's clear that every fight sequence is choreographed move for move which means that we really connect with Jake when he's doing what he loves. Michael Chapman's black-and-white cinematography is brilliantly imagined and adds to the artistic feel of the whole film. Additionally, I loved the home movies sequence that moved the action along which appeared to be more realistic due to the fact it was the only part of the film shot in colour. One of the things that most associate with Raging Bull is the fact that De Niro put on 60 pounds to play Jake in his later days. His commitment to the role alone earned him the Best Actor award and I believe that his performance throughout the piece was truly spectacular. De Niro portrays LaMotta as a talented boxer but one who has his vices which eventually overwhelm his life. However he's able to make what could be considered an unlikeable character into an incredibly sympathetic protagonist. The then unknown Joe Pesci was perfectly cast as Joey LaMotta and his chemistry with DeNiro (who suggested him for the role) is undeniably brilliant. Similarly new to acting was Cathy Moriarty who, as Vicky, was just astounding as he was able to play every stage of her characters development from wide-eyed teenager to jaded wife and mother. I personally can't believe that Raging Bull received mixed reviews when it was first released as to me it's an almost perfect film. I'm equally stunned that Raging Bull didn't win Best Picture and soon enough you'll be able to see my verdict on whether the right film triumphed over Scorsese's boxing masterpiece.

A film which I wouldn't describe as a masterpiece is the other 1980s Oscar nominated picture that De Niro starred in The Mission. Set in the 1750s, De Niro plays Rodrigo Mendoza a slave owner operating in South America who is one of the most powerful me in the region. Mendoza soon discovers that his half-brother Felipe is having an affair with his fiancée and kills the former in a duel. Although he is cleared of any wrongdoing, Mendoza later suffers a crisis of faith and nobody get help him out of his depression. Meanwhile, Jesuit priest Father Gabriel is attempting to build a mission for the Guaraní community who live in the jungle although he has previously come up against opposition from Mendoza. However it is Gabriel who becomes Mendoza's saviour when he challenges the former slaver to come up with his own penance. Mendoza eventually learns the errors of his ways and asks Father Gabriel if he can take vows and become a Jesuit himself, which he later agrees to. However, all is not well as the safety that the Jesuit missions had come under threat when the ownership of their land was transferred from the Spanish to the Portuguese. With the missions proving a threat to the Portuguese's potential enslavement of the natives, the papacy sends Cardinal Altamirano to discover if any of these institutions should remain open. Despite Altamirano's shock at the financial success of the missions, he ultimately has no choice but to shut them down. But Mendoza doesn't think the brotherhood should go down without a fight as he takes up his sword once again, but this time for the right cause.

The one thing I really knew about The Mission going in was that the score was fantastic. Indeed Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for The Mission was incredibly powerful throughout and really stayed with me after the end credits had rolled. But when a film is best known for its soundtrack you know you're in trouble and I have to say I found The Mission more than a little bit dull. I feel my primary issue with Roland Joffé's film was that it was incredibly earnest and was more concerned it providing an accurate historical story than it was in creating entertainment. Whereas I really enjoyed Joffé's previous work The Killing Fields, which dealt with similar themes of cultural identity and conflict, I never found myself truly immersed in The Mission. It didn't help that stars Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons appeared to be in two different films with the former channelling Don Quixote and the latter seeming like he's in some sort of BBC costume drama. I have to say that, while it's admirable that he wanted to extend his repertoire, I don't think The Mission was the sort of film that De Niro should be involved with especially due to his incredibly hammy turn. Irons fared better in the sincere role of Father Gabriel while it was also good to see Liam Neeson running around shooting foreigners, even if The Mission wasn't really on the same level as Taken. The best performance in the entire film came from Ray McAnally as Altamirano, the narrator of the piece and the only level-headed character that the picture had to offer. There's no denying the film looked fantastic, with Chris Menges' cinematography being awarded with The Mission's only Oscar, but at times this felt more like a History Channel documentary than a film made for our entertainment. Ultimately I have to say I was disappointed by The Mission, a film I had high hopes for, but at least Morricone's score didn't let me down.

Next time we have a father and son who, despite appearing in different films, are fighting in the same war.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 242-243: Robert De Niro's Waiting

As you've seen so far in this blog, a lot of stars came into their own in the 1970s. One of them was definitely Robert De Niro, who we've already seen in Oscar-winning form when he appeared in The Godfather Part Two. However, it was only later in the decade that De Niro became a leading man and this was partly thanks to his association with director Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese and De Niro's first Oscar-nominated collaboration came in the form of Taxi Driver. The film saw De Niro playing Travis Bickle, a former marine turned cabbie whose insomnia meant that he often trawled the streets of New York late at night. The episodic structure of Taxi Driver saw Travis struggle to comprehend the stresses of modern day life as we quickly learnt that he was a fairly unhinged young man. The first half of the film sees Travis attempt to woo young campaigner Betsy but their relationship is cut short after he takes her to see a fairly explicit Swedish film. Betsy's rejection sends Travis further down a dark street as he get himself into tip top condition and buys a gun which he later uses to stop an armed robbery at a convenience store. The final half of the film watches Travis' plan to assassinate presidential candidate Charles Palantine which is ultimately quashed when he is spotted by secret service guards. Instead, Travis sees it as his mission to prevent young prostitute Iris from being corrupted by her pimp Sport. The relationship between Travis and Iris is an interesting one as he attempts to be a positive influence on this young soul. As the film reaches its violent and bloody conclusion, the once incredibly isolated Travis finds himself becoming something of a hero.

From the first strains of Bernard Hermann's haunting score, I was completely entranced by Taxi Driver. Though I have seen the film before, I think that I appreciate it a lot more than I did when I first saw it ten years ago. I personally feel that this was the film that put Scorsese on the map and showed what an interesting film-maker he could be. Oddly, he wasn't nominated for Best Director and there was no love either for Paul Schrader's brilliantly dark screenplay. I have to say Schrader's script perfectly constructs one of film's most memorable anti-heroes and he and Scorsese do a brilliant job of making us identify with someone who is as mentally unstable as Bickle. But I believe that the primary reason that we want to follow Travis is because of De Niro's Oscar-nominated performance. I feel that he makes you understand Bickle's mind and the reasons he has behind all of his ideas from taking Betsy to the adult cinema to attempting to rescue Iris from Sport. De Niro is ably supported by Jodie Foster, the only other cast member to be nominated for an Oscar, who is absolutely brilliant as the aforementioned Iris. Foster plays Iris as someone who has plenty of experience beyond her years but you can see behind her eyes that she's just a frightened little girl. Cybil Shepherd is equally great as the stuck-up Betsy while Harvey Keitel is fairly frightening as Iris' pimp. As with a lot of Scorsese's films, Taxi Driver is an ode to New York, a city which is captured here by Michael Chapman's superb cinematography which lets us see the area through the eyes of Travis. Not always an easy watch, Taxi Driver isn't as violent as I remembered and instead Scorsese really makes you anticipate the violence by building up the tension. I'm personally not sure if the ending makes sense after what has come before, but ultimately I feel that Taxi Driver is one of the best films of the 1970s and the fact that it didn't win one Oscar is a literal travesty.

Another De Niro starring feature that did a lot better at the Oscars was The Deer Hunter, which won the Best Picture prize at the 1979 ceremony. Set over three acts; The Deer Hunter tells the story of a group of smalltown steel workers who go to war in Vietnam and are later unable to shake the horrors of the conflict following the fighting. De Niro plays the de facto leader of the group, Michael Vronsky, a strong silent man who loves to hunt deer but isn't great with talking about his emotions. The first act sees Michael and his friends celebrate the impending wedding of their friend Steve before the pair journey to Vietnam alongside Steve's best man Nick. The scenes before and during the wedding appear to be there to set up the relationships between the characters namely the fact that Michael has a crush on Nick's girlfriend Linda. This almost hour-long act concludes with the characters going on the first of two infamous deer hunts. The second act is definitely the film's most powerful; as we see the trio put in a Prisoner of War camp and forced into playing Russian Roulette. Though Michael engineers their escape, the resulting rescue sees Steve lose his legs and Nick being mentally scarred by their actions. Michael later returns home alone and can't seem to fit into the life that he once had. He attempts to start a relationship with Linda but feels he must return to Saigon, if only to find out what happened to Nick.

The Deer Hunter is often held up as one of the best films of all time, and according to the Academy it was the best film released in 1978, but I have to say I was a little unimpressed. Firstly the positives, Vilmos Zsigmond's brilliant cinematography which brought the entire film to life and put the viewer firmly in the middle of the action. Zsigmond was able to shoot everything to perfection whether it be an incredibly bloody scene in Vietnam or a simple bowling came back in America. The performances were incredibly involving throughout with De Niro underplaying his role as Michael. Unlike the characters he's previously played; Michael really is a man of action and so De Niro really had to tone down his usually animated expressions. I feel that he pulled this off, even if it did mean he was outshone by several members of the supporting cast. Christopher Walken in particular was the stand-out here, and the only member of the cast to win an Oscar, as Steve who goes on a dark journey after his time in Vietnam. Walken was absolutely spellbinding in the final Russian Roulette scenes and he more than deserved his Best Supporting Actor award. Another performer who became a big name thanks to The Deer Hunter was Meryl Streep, who garnered her first of many Oscar nominations. As Linda, Streep really added an emotional core to the film as she sort of let us know how the war had affected those in America. The Deer Hunter sadly marked the end of the career of John Cazale, who died of cancer before the film was completed. In fact Cazale's role of Stanley was almost re-cast before his real-life girlfriend Streep threatened to walk out if this was done. As he has done throughout all of the films we've seen him appear in, Cazale adds a nervous energy to the role of Stanley. Just like with Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter has a similarly memorable score and I do feel that composer Stanley Myers deserved at least a nomination for the film's music.

To me the biggest negative about The Deer Hunter is that it feels a little over-indulgent, primarily due to its almost three-hour running time. I do feel that Michael Cimino really needed to edit down some of the scenes, especially those in the first act, as a lot of them don't seem particularly necessary. While I understand the importance of letting us get to know the characters, some of the scenes at Stanley's wedding added nothing to the overall story of the film. The film's screenplay was similarly baggy and some of the dialogue felt a little clunky and uneven. The final scene in particular was a little too patriotic for my liking as we see the surviving characters spontaneously break out into a chorus of 'God Bless America'. That's not to say The Deer Hunter was a poor film, it just needed to have been cut down a little bit more as the pace was poor at best. The ironic thing is that a film that needed serious editing down actually won the Oscar for Best Editing.

Next time we have a right royal film which features a well-told story.