Friday, November 14, 2008
Opening Scene In The Departed
I'll say it once, I'll say it a million times, there is nobody who can deliver a line quite like Jack Nicholson. He is the epitome of cool.
In The Departed, another in the long line of Martin Scorsese classic films, the opening scene tells you exactly what you are in for. You get an idea of what kind of scumbag Nicholson's character is.
You can tell he runs the show. You can tell people are scared of him. You can tell he gets whatever he wants. You can tell people are scared to death of him.
The opening scene also has another staple in Martin Scorsese repertoire. The famous "Gimme Shelter" song by the Rolling Stone. If you are a fan of Scorcese, you know its been in A LOT of hiss films.
You'll never hear me complain about it though, as it just happens to be one of my favorite of songs. Its just an unbelievable piece of music. The subtle guitar that slowly builds gives me chills even if I heard the song a million times by now.
It works so perfectly with Scorsese's gritty crime dramas (Goodfellas, Casino, etc).
The Departed finally gave Scorsese the Oscar for Best Director that has been long overdue and it also was his first film to ever win Best Picture.
The irony is I wouldn't even rank The Departed in my top 5 Scorsese films of all time. That's how great a director he is.
For those counting at home my top 5 Scorsese films are:
1) Goodfellas
2) Raging Bull
3) Taxi Driver
4) Casino
5) After Hours (way....way underrated movie)
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2 comments:
I really liked your comments on this scene, and the fact that "The Departed" is over-rated. In fact, your Scorsese is perfect.
I meant to say, you Scorsese list is perfect. Scorsese is one of the top directors of all time, so I found it somewhat aggravating that they waited until "The Departed" to give him best Dir. He deserved it earlier. Basically he's a genius.
Have you seen American Boy: A Profile of: Steven Prince? Steven Prince played the gun dealer small role in Taxi Driver, and he's had a wild life. You know that scene in "Pulp Fiction" where Travolta jams the long needle into the woman who overdoses on heroin? Well, that actually happened to Steven Prince. That's where they got the idea to use that in the movie.
Scorsese is a friend of Prince, and he interviews him about his wild life. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
Also, "the Last Waltz" is the best rock movie ever made. Genius.
Here's American Boy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxaNe2SY-AI
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