WATANI International
24 January 2010
The rising sun of knowledge that is the Bibliotheca Alexandrina late last December hosted the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese who treated the audience to a talk on his work and the films that inspired him throughout his career.
The talk, which took the form of an open dialogue between Scorsese and Bibliotheca director Ismail Serageldin, was attended by some major film enthusiasts as well as prominent figures from the Egyptian and Arab film industry.
Mr Scorsese, whom Dr Serageldin introduced as one of the best directors in the world today, expressed his belief that cinema could contribute to communication between nations. He said that he was following new films, was informed of all the news about the Arabic cinema, and had seen and learnt a lot about international films such as those by international Egyptian director Youssef Shahine (1926 – 2008).
Good old days
Mr Scorsese spoke about his family, who were Italian immigrants to the United States, and also about the Sicilian quarter of the Italian neighbourhood in New York where he grew up and where many of the ideas and characters for his films came from. He maintains that cinema has always captivated him.
“When I was three years old I contracted asthma and wasn’t allowed to do sports,” Mr Scorsese explained. “My parents didn’t know what to do with me, so they took me to the movie theatre.”
He studied at Catholic schools, which helped him create a special relationship with Christ. The Italian priests who taught him had a great influence on his mind and education. Later he came under the influence of fresh graduates from France, who caused an explosion in the French modern cinema in the late 1950s.
Mr Scorsese recalled his old-time friend and Hollywood superstar Robert De Niro, describing him as a ‘soul mate’ and one of the people who absorbed issues he himself wished to tackle.
Best works
The director admitted to a time when his enthusiasm was not as strong. “I didn’t want to make Raging Bull, he says of what is now one of the most highly-acclaimed films of all time. “De Niro talked me into it. At first, I wasn’t interested. I told him I didn’t know anything about boxing. But De Niro insisted and convinced me to read the biography of the American-Italian boxing world middleweight champion, Jake La Motta.” Raging Bull won two Oscars for best actor (De Niro) and best film editing.
Dr Serageldin referred to the fact that some of Mr Scorsese’s films delved into the unknown side of the American story. In his film Gangs of New York, Mr Scorsese depicted the corruption in society during the civil war.
The director claims he also felt a similarity with another film he made with De Niro, Cape Fear which at the time of release in 1991 was his biggest financial success. “He said I’d be the right director for the film,” Mr Scorsese explained, citing evidence of the strong bond with De Niro, which has resulted in eight screen collaborations.
On whether his films were linked to his religious beliefs, Scorsese explained that art could be manifested on both the spiritual and intellectual sides. “I attempted to centre on the human side, and to manifest the idea of humanity of the Christ in the film The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988,” Mr Scorsese said. The film is based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis first published in 1960. Mr Scorsese chose this novel because it expressed his own thoughts, he said.