It was 26 years too late, but Martin Scorsese has finally won an Academy Award for directing.
And the icing on that cake -- The Departed won for Best Picture.
Martin Scorsese's mob epic "The Departed" won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday and earned the filmmaker the directing prize that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.
"Could you double-check the envelope?" said Scorsese, who arguably had been the greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar.
Obviously, I still watch the Oscars. For me, the ceremony lost its luster a long time ago.
The awards broadcast is entertaining, sometimes.
The significance of the awards, in terms of achievement in film, is almost nonexistent. The awards are virtually meaningless.
The fact that the greatest director of the past quarter century never received an Oscar, until tonight, proves that.
Scorsese didn't need that statuette. In a way, Oscar isn't worthy of him. If I were Scorsese, I would have been tempted, to say, "I want to thank the Academy, but no thanks."
In the past, first-time directors, former actors, beat out the master Scorsese.
Not only did the Academy shun Scorsese, it shunned his films when it came to the Best Picture Oscar.
No Best Director Oscar or Best Picture Oscar for Raging Bull?
Ridiculous.
No Best Director Oscar or Best Picture Oscar for GoodFellas?
Insane.
Scorsese had to sit there as Robert Redford and Kevin Costner walked off with Best Director and Best Picture Oscars.
Ordinary People and Dances with Wolves are good movies. Actually, I think Ordinary People is an excellent movie.
However, Raging Bull and GoodFellas are great movies.
Martin Scorsese is a great filmmaker.
When I heard that Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas were set to present the Oscar for directing this year, I thought that the momentous occasion when Scorsese would finally be recognized by the Academy for his work was being staged.
American directors of Scorsese's generation, his peers, his friends, would be the ones to bestow the honor on him.
Scorsese was congratulated by fellow directors Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.
Was that supposed to make the moment more special?
It was nice, but for me it further reinforced the many times that the Academy failed to give Scorsese his due.
Congratulations to him.
And to the members of the Academy -- It took you long enough.
2 comments:
There is still some justice left in this world.
Before last October, I guess my favorite Scorsese film was still Taxi Driver, even though I was only about 5 when the film was made.
With The Departed, Scorsese never has to make another film. Ever. It is an unqualified masterpiece. And what makes this win for Scorsese even more special for me is that this was not just a lifetime achievement award for a long-snubbed Scorsese, but this was a film that actually deserved to win anyway. Not true of The Aviator, Casino, or The Age of Innocence.
When he wasn't even trying, Scorsese gave us yet another tour de force. As a fan, I appreciate this more because not all of his works have attained that status.
The Aviator, for example, was a deliberate stab at Oscar's attention. So was The Age of Innocence. But those were, er, departures--no pun intended--from Marty's normal subject matter.
Martin Scorsese is an inspiration to all true artists. The fact that, at his age, he still has the ability to direct like this is amazing.
Congratulations.
It speaks to Scorsese's genius that a number of his films deserve to be considered true masterpieces.
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