MEAN STREETS

Mean Streets, even more than Who's That Knocking At My Door?, shows Scorsese really beginning to harness his talents and successfully explore his obsessions on screen. I'd love to know what you thought of this film, especially in relationship to the one we saw last week. Write whatever you like, just be sure to incorporate answers to the following three questions in your response.

• What is Charlie's main conflict throughout the film?
• Why does the film end the way it does?
• What are some of the motifs Scorsese employs throughout the film? What purpose do they serve?

I look forward to reading your thoughtful and thorough response to this film and the above questions - by no later than midnight next Monday of course.

WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?

Welcome to our class blog, everybody!

So what did you think of Martin Scorsese's first feature, Who's That Knocking on My Door? Do you agree with this extremely positive review of the film by a very young Roger Ebert? And what about his two shorts, It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964) and The Big Shave (1967)? How do these two early films further your understanding of Martin Scorsese?

I hope you'll be completely honest and write whatever you like. All I ask is that you try to be as specific as possible with your language and that you work to support your critical assertions with examples from the film. Vague proclamations like "that was incredible" or "the acting is great" don't mean much. I instead encourage you to highlight specific moments and sequences to support what you're feeling. If you think a film or a scene or a performance is "great," please go further to let us know why.

I also ask that your response address the ways in which you think Martin Scorsese's first feature does or does not relate to his more recent films - thematically, aesthetically, or otherwise. You can reference the shorts we watched in this part of your response as well, especially if you see strong similarities and/or differences in them to more current Scorsese work.

If you write a lot you might get cut off, so please save your response in a separate file before posting. And be sure to post by no later than midnight on Monday so I have time to read what you wrote before our Tuesday afternoon class.

I'm glad you're in class, and I look forward to reading your thoughtful and thorough responses before we meet again. If you have any questions in the meantime, just let me know.