RAGING BULL

Please give me your thoughts and feelings about Raging Bull, which - as I said in class - is currently considered one of the greatest American films of all time. Besides giving me your honest thoughts and feelings (which you can hopefully back up with references from specific moments/scenes) - I would like you to briefly reflect on why you think critics and the general public alike hold Raging Bull in such very high regard.

Finally, at the end of your response, consider the following: at the end of the film, Jake LaMotta sits in front of a backstage mirror reciting a monologue from On the Waterfront. One reviewer called it the most violent scene in the film. Scorsese himself said: "When [Jake] says in the mirror, 'It was you, Charlie,' is he playing his brother, or putting the blame on himself?' It's certainly very disturbing to me." Please respond to Scorsese's question: do you think Jake is 'playing his brother' or putting the blame on himself? And why do you think this is 'very disturbing' to Scorsese?

I look forward to reading what you write by no later than midnight next Monday.

King of Comedy - here we come!

TAXI DRIVER

In her rave review of Taxi Driver, esteemed American film critic Pauline Kael wrote "Martin Scorsese achieves the quality of trance in some scenes, and the whole movie has a sense of vertigo." Scorsese himself said that Taxi Driver arose from his feeling that "movies are really kind of a dream-state, or like taking dope."

Write whatever you'd like about this classic - which received a fresh rave review as recently as last Thursday - just be sure to address the way Scorsese uses one aesthetic of cinema (sound, cinematography, mise-en-scene, etc.) to achieve this "sense of vertigo" or "dream-like state." Please support your chosen aesthetic with an example of how it was employed during a specific moment in the film.

I look forward to reading what you write by no later than midnight next Monday.

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

I look forward to hearing what you thought of Scorsese's first foray into "Hollywood filmmaking" here, and I would very much appreciate if in your response you could try highlighting some of the ways in which Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore resembles Mean Streets and/or Who's That Knocking At My Door - narratively, thematically, aesthetically, etc.

Write whatever you'd like about the film, but I encourage you to backup your likes and dislikes by referencing specific scenes, sequences, or moments. The more specific you are with your language and your examples from the movie, the better.

Additionally, please be sure to watch these two video essays about women in the works of Martin Scorsese, and based on the three early features we've screened up to this point - including Alice - and let me know what you think about the director's representation and treatment of women so far.

And if you can watch Scorsese's documentary about his family Italianamerican (1974, 49min) and incorporate observations from your viewing experience of that film into your comments here as well, that would be amazing.

Have fun, and I look forward to reading your thoughtful and thorough responses here by no later than midnight next Monday, February 13.