Martin Scorsese is the embodiment of film history. Ever since his directorial debut with 1967’s Who’s That Knocking at My Door, Scorsese’s best movies have been held in high esteem by audiences, critics, and the National Film Registry. You would think that being 80 years old would be a reason to retire. However, that’s clearly not the case for the New Hollywood era director’s style, because he’s got several projects planned after his latest movie Killers of the Flower Moon is released. However, he is aware of how “precious” time is.
In one month, Martin Scorsese will be 81-years-old. He could retire right now if he wanted to. But as he told The Times, he has several projects in the works for after Killers of the Flower Moon, however, he knows very well how “precious” time is for him. He said:
I don’t want to slow down…At my age, your body tells you at a certain point you need to pace yourself, but I’m still searching for, as I mentioned earlier, the answer to how we take care of each other. I thought that my films should reflect that…I have tried the best that I can. Every frame of every picture is precious and every gesture . . . And so my work is to find the truth of existing — ultimately, that’s what I have always been trying to express, whether I was aware of it or not.
It’s very interesting how Martin Scorsese said the underlying themes of his movies center around the struggle to find ways to take care of each other. When you look back on them, it’s very true as he creates complex characters who think they’re doing the right thing, but they have unconventional methods of doing so.
For example, Taxi Driver had the character of Travis Bickle try to save a young prostitute, but he used heavy methods of violence to make that happen. In one of the best gangster movies, Goodfellas, a close-knit community of criminals take care of each other through the means of illegal activities. The means of protection may not always be the right way to go about it, but it’s this underlying theme that turns into the heart of the story.
If the Oscar-winning director doesn’t want to slow down, then he shouldn’t have to. With his films from the last decade, like Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Killers of the Flower Moon, being complete works of art, this filmmaker is still clearly on his A-game. At the same time, it’s good that Scorsese is aware of the importance of listening to your body. But for now, it looks like the Raging Bull director has a mission to keep the cinema he grew up with alive.
He once wrote an open letter to his daughter, Francesca, about how cinema may not be the same cinema he grew up with. But at the same time, the American director found the future bright for the industry in being able to use cost-effective ways to make great movies. It appears that Scorsese still wants to contribute to the business for as long as he can.
Martin Scorsese told The Times about a few projects that are at the back of his mind. He plans on re-teaming with his frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio for the Apple film The Wager, which is about a British ship that travels to South America in pursuit of a big treasure but gets stranded on a deserted island. The interesting part occurs when another ship washes ashore and accuses the previous ship of leading a mutiny on them in the open sea.
Scorsese also wants to adapt Marilynne Robinson’s book Home, which is about a religious family in 1960s Iowa. The AFI Life Achievement Award recipient even told Variety that he’s considered directing and writing a movie about Jesus. It looks like we have a lot of upcoming Scorsese movies to look forward to.
Time may be “precious” for the soon-to-be 81-year-old director, but that seems to be all the more reason why he doesn’t want the upcoming film projects in his head to escape him. The 2023 movie release of Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 20th, and it will eventually land on your Apple TV+ subscription soon.