“American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince” (1978)
This little-seen gem from Scorsese’s fertile 70s period is the cinematic equivalent of a longform profile story. Friend and collaborator Steven Prince (you probably remember his memorable appearance as the slimy but knowledgeable gun salesman in “Taxi Driver”) is the subject; Scorsese and his small crew are merely the conduit to exploit Prince’s gift as a storyteller. The opening scene sets the stage properly and hilariously as Prince enjoys a hot tub with Scorsese, moaning and getting a little too comfortable next to the famously Catholic filmmaker. Scorsese asks him to not get so close, and then the opening credits roll to the sounds of Neil Young. As enjoyable and loose as the film is, it’s not without its own fascinating and potentially damning piece of cinema trivia: in this film one can find the ne plus ultra of Quentin Tarantino’s penchant for borrowing/stealing from more obscure films. It’s blatant and will no doubt only add more fuel to the fire of those who accuse him of being a thief, but if you remember the sequence from “Pulp Fiction” in which Uma Thurman overdoses on heroin, and John Travolta must give her an adrenaline shot to wake her up, well, that just so happens to be an experience that Prince was a witness to, and tells in detail in ‘American Boy’. It’s kind of shocking when you hear the story, as Tarantino lifted entire chunks of Prince’s description (“in a stabbing motion,” the use of a magic marker as a target, and much more). So this is pretty much must-see viewing for cinephiles for the debates on the ethics of homage and theft in cinema are sure to follow. [B+]
“Raging Bull” (1980)
It’s hard to believe now, but heading into “Raging Bull”—a film he had initially turned down—Martin Scorsese was in a bit of trouble. While he entered the 1970s with the one-two punch of “Mean Streets” and “Taxi Driver,” he was leaving the decade with the sting of the expensive, ambitious flop “New York, New York” hanging over him (though yes, “The Last Waltz” did help soothe that bruise away a bit). And that’s not to mention that the director had almost died, following a drug overdose. Yet if there is anything that defines “Raging Bull,” it’s the absolute, undeniable vitality in every frame. From the camerawork of DOP Michael Chapman in the ring, to the unsparing, symphonic black-and-white photography to one of Robert De Niro’s defining performances, the film may run 129 minutes but by the time the credits roll, you’ll swear you just heard the bell 90 seconds before. A complex portrait of a man who was a champion in the ring and a loser outside of it, both Scorsese and De Niro key in on the fury that drove Jake LaMotta in both arenas, making “Raging Bull” so much more than just a picture about a pugilist. Importantly, when it comes to the career of Scorsese, if there was any doubt that he was an artist it was erased here. “Raging Bull” finds the filmmaker repaying the investment in his considerable talents to date with interest, with ferocity even; indeed he believed it would be his final picture. Thankfully for himself and for all of us, it wasn’t. While he would go on to shoot a startling variety of movies in the ‘80s alone, and the competition over his whole career is fierce, “Raging Bull” is not just his finest of that decade, but one of the best his career. [A]