Every Martin Scorsese Movie from the 1970s, Ranked
There will be very few directors in history who come close to building a similar body of work as Martin Scorsese. From the very beginning of his time as a filmmaker in the late 1960s, Scorsese challenged himself with projects that forced him out of his comfort zone with a willingness to try anything.
The ’70s saw the rise of Scorsese from unknown to critical darling, with the young director creating everything from modern crime tragedies to rock documentaries. The following is a ranking of Scorsese’s films of the ’70s, ranked by how impactful they were to cinema and to the auteur’s career.
8
‘American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince’ (1978)
Starring Steven Prince
An old friend of Scorsese’s is in the spotlight for American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince. The short records an extended conversation with Steven Prince, who has a brief appearance as Easy Andy in Taxi Driver. Prince shares stories about his battle with drug addiction, his time as a road manager for singer Neil Diamond, and stories about his family.
American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince is a combination of interviews conducted over two weekends with Prince by Scorsese. The setting is relaxed, like watching a house party that has died down into a comfortable lull of sharing stories with old friends. Prince is an animated subject, recounting memories both pleasant and painful with lively enthusiasm that makes for an interesting watch.
7
‘Italianamerican’ (1974)
Starring Catherine Scorsese and Charles Scorsese
Film fans have a chance to learn more about Scorsese’s parents, Catherine and Charles Scorsese, in the short documentary Italianamerican. In the short, Scorsese sits down with his parents over dinner for a discussion about everything from their marriage to memories of their early lives. Italianamerican is easily the director’s most personal work, turning the cameras inward on his family to celebrate his heritage.
Catherine is entertaining to watch with a bombastic personality that plays well for the camera, while Charles is softer spoken and more relaxed. The couple seem unbothered by the film crew, playfully picking at one another in between answering questions. Italianamerican gives Scorsese’s disciples incredible insight into his upbringing, and, as an added bonus, the recipe for Catherine’s meatball at the end of the documentary.
6
‘Boxcar Bertha’ (1972)
Starring Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, and Barry Primus
A desperate young woman makes her fortune through bloodshed and robbery in the low-budget Boxcar Bertha. Bertha Thompson (Barbara Hershey) is a poor southern drifter doing her best to survive the Great Depression when she falls for the dangerous Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine). Before long, the two have amassed a motley crew of criminals, and, as a surrogate family, they rob banks and trains with violent glee.
Boxcar Bertha is a crucial film for Scorsese, ultimately opening up doors for him in Hollywood to make more personal, artistically driven films later on. Scorsese was picking up the occasional job as an editor, but it was producer Roger Corman who gave the young director a chance to lead a cheap studio film and prove he could produce a cut on time and within the low budget. On that front, Scorsese delivered an elevated exploitation film that hinted at what his talents were capable of.
- Release Date
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June 14, 1972
- Runtime
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88 Minutes
- Writers
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Ben L. Reitman, Joyce Hooper Corrington, John William Corrington
5
‘New York, New York’ (1977)
Starring Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, and Lionel Stander
New York, New York tells the story of two drastically different people who turn a shared creative spirit into romance. Liza Minnelli is Francine Evans, a USO singer with aspirations of bigger things, who meets the hotheaded Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) while working at a nightclub. Although the two find themselves in a passionate romance, their attraction to one another is equally toxic, causing long-term heartache for both.
Scorsese had intentions of mixing the iconography of big studio musicals with a more realistic depiction of life, but critics and audiences struggled to connect with the ideas. The production of New York, New York, would prove to be especially draining on the director, whose ambitions for the film would be too large to manage. Scorsese fans who haven’t seen New York, New York should give it a watch, if for no other reason than to see the director stretch his creative muscles.
4
‘The Last Waltz’ (1978)
Starring Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Garth Hudson
Scorsese combined his love of music and film into the critically praised rock documentary The Last Waltz. The documentary covers the final performance of the Canadian-American rock band, The Band, with the concert bringing out famous friends to play in honor of them. Alongside the final performance, The Last Waltz includes interviews with the band conducted by Scorsese and peeks inside The Band’s studio.
The Last Waltz is a film chronicling reunions, farewells, and the celebration of the unifying power of music. Scorsese was still working on the post-production of New York, New York, when he took on filming The Band’s final concert, leaving him the unenviable task of editing two films at the same time. The overlap in projects caused a delay in releasing The Last Waltz, but that didn’t stop the documentary from becoming one of the most important music documentaries ever made.
3
‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ (1974)
Starring Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, and Jodie Foster
A single mom pursues her dreams of being a singer to create a better life in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Ellen Burstyn stars as Alice Hyatt, a woman struggling to support her son and herself when her husband unexpectedly dies. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore follows Alice as she attempts to pick up a singing career she left behind, but the challenges of providing a stable home force her into working as a waitress in a diner. It’s at her new job that she meets David (Kris Kristofferson), a man whom she falls in love with, despite what it could mean for her singing professionally.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was a project handpicked by Burstyn, who was in demand based on her performance in The Exorcist. It would also be Burstyn who would pick Scorsese to direct after Francis Ford Coppola recommended him for the job. The pick turned out to be the correct one, as the film was a hit both critically and commercially. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore would win Burstyn an Academy Award for Best Actress and demonstrate Scorsese’s versatility as a director. The film would, interestingly enough, also be the inspiration for the long-running sitcom Alice, which highlighted Alice’s time working in a diner.
2
‘Mean Streets’ (1973)
Starring Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Amy Robinson
A man is torn between his loyalty to family and his own happiness in the seminal Scorsese drama, Mean Streets. The film follows Charlie (Harvey Keitel), a small-time criminal who works for his mafioso Uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova), collecting debts. When his best friend Johnny Boy (De Niro) racks up gambling debts with the mafia, it forces Charlie to be placed in an unwinnable situation between his family and his friends.
After making Boxcar Bertha for Corman, Scorsese had garnered enough creative freedom to pursue a film that spoke to his own struggles with faith and growing up in Little Italy. Mean Streets would be the film to raise Scorsese’s profile as a new voice in Hollywood, firmly establishing his place as a director with commercial and artistic viability. The compelling and nuanced relationship between Keitel and De Niro anchors the film, and it started a long partnership between Scorsese and De Niro.
1
‘Taxi Driver’ (1976)
Starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, and Albert Brooks
Taxi Driver is unquestionably one of Scorsese’s and De Niro’s most famous works, and a masterpiece of modern noir. Taxi Driver follows Travis Bickle (De Niro), an ex-marine in New York City who makes a living driving a taxi cab at night. A loner by nature, Travis becomes increasingly isolated and agitated by the crime surrounding him in the city, becoming fixated with violent fantasies. As Travis delves further into his psychosis, he trains himself for a violent confrontation that will allow him an outlet for his rage.
Working from a script written by Paul Schrader, Scorsese does a masterful job of allowing the audience inside Travis’ mindset, following his slow descent into misguided vigilantism. The violence in the third act of Taxi Driver almost landed the film an X rating, but Scorsese was able to make adjustments in order to avoid the financial kiss of death that would accompany such a ruling. Even almost 50 years later, Taxi Driver is a haunting character study with violence so raw that it’s still controversial for some modern audiences.
