Interviews with Martin Scorsese (2nd edition updated)

This is the second updated edition of this book of interviews covering the entire career Scorsese, interviews having been made progressively between 1974 and 2011. The first was called Martin Scorsese - Interviews with Michael Henry Wilson and covered almost all the movies to the "Departed" (interview before editing). This includes a discussion on the film after assembly and goes to "Boardwalk Empire" (supervised by Scorsese series, for which he directed the pilot), and thus also includes "Shine a Light" and "Shutter Island" . As in the 1st edition, the talks are preceded and followed by analysis of the work by Wilson, entitled "Praise of Folly" and "All memory of the world", each longer than ten pages of dense and very well written. It was somewhat altered from one version to another. Layout and reproductions were little changed, these changes are not always tremendously convincing. However, overall a well done book, with rich and varied iconography (pictures and filming movies, but also various documents - personal photos, drawings, scenarios and storyboards extracts - directly from the archives of the filmmaker), which gives almost all its place to what Scorsese but does not sacrifice much for completely analyzing the work and the author.

It must be said that besides being a quality analyst - he wrote two books on precious Raoul Walsh and Jacques Tourneur (exhausted) and collected some of his review articles in a book that is essential figure sum: At the door of paradise - One hundred years of American cinema. Fifty-eight filmmakers - Wilson is an outstanding interviewer. Co-author with Martin Scorsese's "Journey Through American Cinema", the documentary and the book, Wilson became force to dissect his movies and go meet with him one of his best specialists but also, therefore, collaborator and friend. Hence the high quality of these interviews conducted by Wilson with Scorsese, mostly published over the years in Positive (except the last) and published by Cahiers du cinema on the occasion of the retrospective at Beaubourg there a few years. He also created a special relationship with Clint Eastwood, which led to a similar book talks, also from far one of the best books on the author: Eastwood Eastwood.

Martin Scorsese, certainly known to be talkative and verbose maintenance, has probably rarely as delivered with Michael Henry Wilson. The first interview, which dates from 1974 and follows the discovery dazzled by "Mean Streets" to that of 2011 on "Shutter Island", through the excavated interviews on "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" or "Casino" but also on "After Hours," "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun", one can see their relationship deepen and most interviews on major films of the 70-2000 benefit from this complicity. One aspect that particularly clear from these interviews published over 35 years is certainly how his career has Scorsese struggled with his obsessions, that they feed his films deep, or they end being processed for themselves, to the caricature. So even if we are less convinced by some of his films - for many, every last - one can not deny the filmmaker's passion with which he continues to lead an internal struggle to give them shape: in this respect, maintenance of "Shutter Island" turns exciting, and it is not surprising to learn that making the film was left on the floor, as how he has searched all his subjects (or their externalization somewhat forced), if it can ultimately seem quite futile to the viewer, has not been so easy for him. In addition, the interviews help to return to progressively over temptation Scorsese has almost always had to fully belong to the Hollywood system, while distinguishing itself in and conquering in it, and hard struggle, a special place - is to be, for the period following the resumption hands of creation by the studios in the 80s, a kind of super "smuggler" (to use his typology of "Journey Through American Cinema") .

If the movie edition is not doing very well, the books on Martin Scorsese, like Clint Eastwood - among the few filmmakers likely to sell books on their behalf in sufficient quantity - abound. We can only advise you to get yourself them first. They combine the great interest there is to read about the interest in the pleasant side of the richly illustrated album, through an analysis of the work relatively brief but happens to go around so pretty penetrating. In short, on Scorsese like Eastwood, one of the very best fine books on a great filmmaker still active. Even if one was disappointed with some of his films, especially the most recent, we find both fun and interest to read what he has to say, not to mention on how that Wilson was to bring to light the sources of its creation.

This is precisely what is missing in the Conversations With Scorsese Richard Schickel, long interview recently conducted rightful throughout the author's career, which sometimes remains on the surface and somewhat anecdotal as it takes over the conversation sticks and lights broken references without always put them in perspective - the Sonatine editions out the French version in November 2011: Conversations with Martin Scorsese. Let us agree: if you love Scorsese, both these works are worth buying because they complement each other perfectly, but we must choose one, I recommend priority that of Michael Henry Wilson. The only flaw of this book is, unfortunately, its price. Here's one to put under the tree ...

PS Those who prefer to read these interviews in the original language should know that Phaidon, now editor of Cahiers du cinema, published simultaneously in English: Scorsese on Scorsese. Ditto for the Eastwood is Eastwood.

It is with sadness that I ended this comment by the announcement of the death in late June 2014, Michael Henry Wilson. This unparalleled cinephile, passionate for what I could see more affable, will be missed. One can only deeply regret that he has not had time to complete the work of updating its books of interviews, which was apparently planned for next year. Even in the state, however, they will remain indispensable. I note also that the documentary (more than just a making-of) directed by Wilson while filming Kundun is included in the Blu-ray film, which has so far not been published in France but is German import (with French subtitles): Kundun [Blu-ray] Import German.