Directors from the Genre - Martin Scorsese

Martin C. Scorsese (born November 17, 1942), the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor and film historian. He grew up during the Vietnam War and did not serve as he struggled with asthma throughout childhood. This is said to have an influence on one if not more of his films, including the darkly comic "The Big Shave" in 1967, which is a negative representation of this war, suggested by it's alternative title "Viet '67".

Even from the early days, a "Scorsese Style" was becoming evident; New York Italian American street life, rapid editing and a eclectic rock soundtrack. During the 1970s he befriended many influential people in the film industry, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and was introduced to Robert De Niro.

Scorsese had many director trade marks that he used throughout his films. These include begining the film was segments from the middle or the end. He frequently used slow motion or freeze frames - this is were the image on screen stops and becomes a still picture. His lead characters were often sociopathic or wanted to be accepted by society and the lead women characters are normally shown as "angelic" through the eyes of the protaganist. He also used MOS sequences to put over popular music or a voice over, usually involving rapid camera movement.