Scorsese Gets His Oscar
I was thrilled to death to see Martin Scorsese win an Oscar for his directing The Departed. I am of the belief that honoring this wonderfully talented and visionary director has taken way too long. After all, Scorsese has directed some of the most widely remembered movies in American cinematic history. He always has an eye for the keen, and makes movies that are of such high quality they are generally unmatched by his peers.
The one thing that I truly find odd about Scorsese being honored for The Departed is that this particular script is merely a remake of a Hong Kong movie entitled Infernal Affairs. Although I think most followers of the Academy Awards are breathing a collective sigh of relief knowing that Scorsese finally received what he has long deserved, it certainly comes at a peculiar time. Why not recognize the true talent of this man when he directed something a little more original?
I know, I should feel good that he was finally honored, especially knowing how odd the Academy is when it comes to sniffing their own asses, but come on. Scorsese deserved this years ago and it is just strange to award him for essentially a remake, even though he did do the story some major justice.
Anyhow, on top of all that, congrats to Scorsese and his family. He is a genuine guy who totally deserved this long overdue award.
I’m with you Scott. It was long overdue. Let’s face it though - the Oscars rarely seem to follow the public vote on the major titles. Hopefully this will be the first of many for Martin Scorsese.
You know how I feel about the subject, as we have discussed it so often.
Yes, he deserved this several times over, for Best Director. His previous films were all incredible, and filled with thought-provoking subjects.
I was ecstatic, needless to say. And, he is such a class act, accepting with humility and grace, honoring his family, and showing the class he has.
Oh, and yes, it is a remake, but Scorsese can take a film, remake it, applicable to current trends, new faces, new ethnic backgrounds, etc., and the film is alive and refreshed, as if it was the first of its kind.
I actually just wrote a post on a similar topic not five minutes ago, believe it or not. It’s nice to see homage finally being paid to a brilliant film maker, and more importantly, a key figure in the development of modern thrill cinema.
That being said, I don’t think the fact it’s ‘merely a remake’ as it seems should really play into it much. The man has a million tricks up his sleeve, and you can bet your ass there is not another film maker out there who would do it like he does. You can give a huge number of directors the same script and the same resources, and to have any of them come out in the ballpark of what he does would be something truly special indeed.
Congratulations and about time, I say.