50 Greatest Martin Scorsese Moments

Thin And Angry

The Source: The Muse (1999)

Shoot The Dog

The Source: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

The Moment: Scorsese proved his range early in his career by directing Ellen Burstyn to a Best Actress Oscar as the titular heroine, headed West in search of a new life. Part of the film's recognition stemmed from the naturalistic, improvised ease between Burstyn and screen son Tommy (Alfred Lutter), especially in this charming character beat as chatterbox Tommy attempts to explain the punchline to a joke.

Human Sculpture

The Source: After Hours (1985)

Rockumentary

The Source: The Last Waltz (1978)

Celebrity Dating

The Source: The King Of Comedy (1983)

Don't Blink

The Source: Mirror, Mirror from Amazing Stories (1986)

Casting Gatsby

The Source: Entourage episode Return To Queens Blvd (2008)

The Moment: After disastrous project Smoke Jumpers goes up in flames, down-on-his-luck Hollywood star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) gets the call he's been waiting for his entire life. Scorsese (whose brief, punch-the-air cameo captures his status as the best in the business) wants him for the title role in his modern-day update of Gatsby . [Perhaps he knew his regular go-to guy, DiCaprio, was already lined up to play the same role for Baz Luhrmann?]

Ward C

The Source: Shutter Island (2010)

Initiation

The Source: The Departed (2006)

Wrapped In A Flag

The Source: Gangs Of New York (2002)

Tempest In A Teapot

The Source: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

The Moment: In tandem with his film career, Scorsese is gradually amassing a definitive record of the baby-boomer rock that inspired him. His four-hour Dylan doc unearths amazing testimony, not least from folk musician Dave Lee Ronk who tells of the "tempest in a teapot" over ownership to the song House Of The Rising Sun , whose arrangement Dylan lifted from Lee Ronk before The Animals did the same to Dylan.

We'll Make 'Em Turn Their Heads

The Source: Mean Streets (1973)

Victory Celebrations

The Source: New York, New York (1977)

The Whole World Has To Answer Right Now

The Source: Bad (1987)

Sex And Violence

The Source: Cape Fear (1991)

The House Wins

The Source: Casino (1995)

Cut Up

The Source: The Big Shave (1967)

Life Is A Canvas

The Source: Life Lessons from New York Stories (1988)

Bodies

The Source: Kundun (1997)

Along Came A Spider

The Source: Goodfellas (1990)

Meatballs

The Source: Italianamerican (1974)

Prohibition Blues

The Source: Boardwalk Empire (2010)

Joey Clams

The Source: Mean Streets (1973)

Average Nobody

The Source: Goodfellas (1990)

Dignam vs Dignity

The Source: The Departed (2006)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

The Source: The Last Waltz (1978)

Crash!

The Source: The Aviator (2004)

History Lesson

The Source: Hugo (2011)

All The Animals Come Out At Night

The Source: Taxi Driver (1976)

Scorsese The Teacher

The Source: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

Dead And Buried

The Source: Casino (1995)

Upper Class Gangsters

The Source: The Age Of Innocence (1993)

The Moment: Many were surprised when Scorsese announced plans to adapt Edith Wharton's 19th century tale of upper class manners. But with this early scene at a party - where Scorsese's camera glides through the sets while Joanne Woodward's narrator sardonically explains the rules of society - reveals the film as a companion piece to Goodfellas . Both are about the anthropology of New York subcultures and, in its own way, this one is as cruel as the Mob.

Boxing Outside The Ring

The Source: Raging Bull (1980)

Career Ambitions

The Source: Goodfellas (1990)

The Moment: The opening flash-forward throws us straight into hell as mobsters Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) realise that the body in the truck isn't quite dead. As the trio finish off the job, Hill informs us in voiceover that, "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Cut to credits - and Scorsese has our attention.

A Contender

The Source: Raging Bull (1980)

The Moment: Scorsese helped to raise the bar for immersive acting by shutting down principal photography to allow Robert De Niro to put on 70 lbs of weight through binge eating in order to portray the older, fatter Jake LaMotta. The results are transformative - and De Niro won the Oscar - but the film's final scene shows it's not just about the surface. As LaMotta rehearses the "I could've been a contender" monologue from On The Waterfront , the film captures the fall of a hugely talented man who let it all go to waste.

A Normal Life

The Source: The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)

The Moment: Scorsese revolutionises the Passion as Jesus Christ (Willem Dafoe) imagines escaping from the Cross, starting a family and getting old. This remains the filmmaker's single most controversial scene - a French cinema was firebombed in protest - but exemplifies Scorsese's tough but thoughtful approach to his Catholicism. If anything, it ennobles Christ even more by showing what he sacrificed.

Basement Legend

The Source: The King Of Comedy (1983)

Pool Hall Fight

The Source: Mean Streets (1973)

Never Got Me Down

The Source: Raging Bull (1980)

The Moment: Hard to pick only one of the film's many superbly staged boxing matches but Jake LaMotta's (Robert De Niro) defeat to Sugar Ray Robinson edges the rest, by virtue of its vital character work. The self-hating LaMotta allows Robinson to beat the crap out of him (Scorsese capturing the blood spurting off his face in agonising slo-mo) but is still cocky enough to tell his opponent afterwards, "You never got me down, Ray."