Food Inc. Revisited

PBS recently aired the 2009 documentary Food Inc. I wrote about it here before, but took notes this time and wanted to write some more about it since it brings up important topics which affect us all.

The way we eat has changed more in the past 50 years than the previous 10,000. 47,000 products in the average supermarket give us the illusion of diversity. The food industry does not want you to know where the food comes from, otherwise you would not eat it. A small group of multinational corporations control food, from seed to supermarket. 70% of supermarket food is genetically modified.

McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, and they want a hamburger to taste the same in every one of their establishments. As far as meat producers, in 1970 the top 5 controlled 20% of the market. Today, the top 4 control 80% of the market. The big meat companies include Tyson, Smithfield, ADM and Cargill. Cows are fed corn not grass since it is cheaper and they put on weight faster. Farmers are given subsidies to grow corn, and high fructose corn syrup is included in a wide range of products since it is cheaper than sugar to use as a sweetener. Foods that contain this are highly processed. Corn is found in so many products these days, including ketchup, cheese, twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, cheese-its, salad dressing, coke, jelly, charcoal, diapers, motrin and meat. So much cheap corn being fed to animals creates low meat prices. Grass fed beef will not have as many e.coli bacteria issues as corn fed beef. Acid resistant e. coli develops from feeding cows corn. The cows are ankle deep in manure and their hides are caked with manure, which often ends up in the meat. Ammonia is being added to meat to cut down on the chances of e. coli contamination, but do we really want to be ingesting ammonia? What are the long term health consequences? In 1996 Oprah Winfrey was sued by the beef industry for making disparaging remarks about beef after the mad cow outbreak. Regulations are not enforced like they should be since often it is former beef industry people who work for the FDA and determine policy. In 1972, the FDA performed 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006 that number fell to 9,164. In the 1970s there were thousands of slaughterhouses, and today there are only 13. Illegal aliens are sometimes used to work there since they provide cheap labor. That type of work has become very dangerous.

"Cheap food" is not really cheap in terms of health consequences, effects on the environment and the workers in the food factories are often mistreated. Our country has skewed the costs toward the bad calories. The junk food is subsidized which makes it so cheap. Humans are hard wired to crave salt, fat and sugar. High fructose corn syrup and refined carbohydrates lead to spikes in insulin levels. This wears down the system by which the body processes sugar, and can lead to diabetes. Of the children born after 2000, 1 in 3 will get diabetes.

Monsanto made the chemicals DDT and agent orange, and they rule the farming industry with an iron fist. Farmers who save Monsanto seeds and re-plant them will be investigated and prosecuted. They operate like Microsoft in that they own the intellectual property and the patents. Farmers do not have the money to battle a multinational corporation like Monsanto, so they must do as they dictate. Many former Monsanto executives have gone to work for the federal government where they can make and enforce laws that benefit that company. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto employee.

Growth hormones and antibiotics are put into animals, and chickens that used to be full grown after 70 days in 1950 are now full grown in 48 days. The chickens get so big so quickly that they often cannot walk since their legs cannot support their bodies. Companies like Tyson and Perdue would not be interviewed for the film. They did not want the insides of their chicken houses to be shown. They have regulations that chicken farmers must follow or their contracts will be cancelled. It costs $300,000 to build a poultry house, so farmers need to accumulate lots of debt. The average farmer only makes $18,000 per year so they become slaves to the companies that buy their goods.

The film Food Inc. showed some bleak facts about agriculture and nutrition, but also said that we have the power to change the industry. We can vote with our wallets and make the right choices by staying away from bad foods. If we do not support fast food restaurants and quit buying the processed foods and junk food it will cause change. The film makers pointed at the tobacco industry and how their power has declined due to the evidence of negative health consequences. I have to wonder, what role does what we eat play in health issues that have become epidemic in this country? Does the food we eat contribute to cancer, alzheimers, parkinsons, autism or other issues? What can we do? Grow a garden. Support your local farmers market. Buy food that is locally produced or organic if you can. Look for foods that do not contain hormones or antibiotics. Buy beef that comes from grass fed cows, not corn fed. You can change the world with each bite.

The Career of Comedy Icon Woody Allen

In his 74 years, Woody Allen has had an amazing, varied career which any artist would envy. He is more than just a film director. He has written many of his best films, as well as books, (Without Feathers, Side Effects and Getting Even), plays and he has written for television dating back to the 1950s. He wrote for Sid Caesar, Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show and Candid Camera. In the 1960s he worked as a stand up comedian. In 1966, Allen made his directorial debut with What's Up Tiger Lily. Starting with 1969's Take the Money and Run, Woody started an amazing string of comedic triumphs. The period between 1969 and 1979 included his most acclaimed fims. The 1980s saw some moody, melodramatic films which pay tribute to Allen's hero, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Woody's films are not $200 million dollar blockbusters full of special effects, but he does have loyal followers, especially overseas in France and Spain. The city of Oviedo, Spain, erected a life size statue of Woody in 2002. Post-2000, he has shot many of his films in Europe, a change of pace since most of his are shot in his beloved New York. He has been nominated for Academy Awards 21 times and he has won 3. He has a large following in New York City and the surrounding areas. His films often deal with the same issues of intellectuals, psychological challenges, Jewish life, and sexuality.

Here are some of his most significant films;

1969--- Take the Money and Run--- A slapstick screwball comedy about an incompetent bank robber. I think this was one of his funniest movies.

1971--- Bananas--- A wacky comedy in which Woody plays a Castro-style revolutionary.

1972--- Play it Again Sam--- Allen was the writer and actor in this, but he did not direct it. This was shot in San Francisco, which is unusual for a Woody Allen film. Woody is a neurotic man who wants to be smooth with women like his hero, Humphrey Bogart.

1972--- Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)--- This was broken into several sections, each dealing with different sexual topics.

1973--- Sleeper--- Woody's look into the future.

1977--- Annie Hall--- Woody co-starred with Diane Keaton, and this was his most acclaimed, best known work. This is a landmark film in the genre of romantic comedies. It won 4 Oscars, including best picture, best actress, best director and best screenplay. It featured Christopher Walken, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, Jeff Goldblum and Sigourney Weaver.

1978--- Interiors--- I loved this, but many did not since it was so moody and a complete departure from Annie Hall. It was Allen's homage to Ingmar Bergman.

1979--- Manhattan--- Other than Annie Hall, Manhattan is Woody's most popular film. It is a black and white love letter to New York City. It is well known for its soundtrack by George Gershwin, especially Rhapsody in Blue over the opening sequences. The irony is that this film foreshadowed a romantic relationship which would shock the world. In the movie Woody played a 42 year old comedy writer dating a 17 year old high school student. He would be criticized later for marrying his wife Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Manhattan featured Mariel Hemingway, Diane Keaton, and Meryl Streep.

1980--- Stardust Memories--- The ironic thing about this movie is that Woody plays a film director who has people coming up to him saying they prefer his "earlier, funnier films". Along with The Purple Rose of Cairo, Allen considers this one of his best films. This was also shot in black and white, reminiscent of the films of Fellini.

1983--- Zelig--- This was a mockumentary about an insecure man who is a human chameleon that morphs into whoever surrounds him in an attempt to be accepted.

1986--- Hannah and Her Sisters--- This is one of my favorites and it starred Mia Farrow, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Weist. This film dealt with family strife and infidelity. These themes seemed to be more common for Woody's films starting in the 1980s. Grossing just over $40 million, it is one of Woody's biggest financial hits. It was praised heartily by critic Roger Ebert.

1987--- September--- This film along with 1988's Another Woman and 1992's Shadows and Fog and Husbands and Wives, was a very moody and dark film, perhaps tied to the turbulence in Allen's life. These films are polar opposites of his early screwball films like Bananas or Sleeper.

1989--- New York Stories--- This was broke up into three sections, each directed by an iconic director. The first section was directed by Martin Scorsese, the middle directed by Francis Ford Coppola and the final is directed by Woody Allen. Woody's portion deals with his relationship with his mother who wants him to meet a nice Jewish girl and settle down.

1995--- Mighty Aphrodite--- This film earned Allen plenty of attention since its star Mira Sorvino won the Oscar for best supporting actress. She also won many other awards for her role such as a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA award (British Academy of Film and Television Awards).

1996--- Everyone Says I Love You--- This was Woody's first musical and it starred Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn and Natalie Portman. Roger Ebert called it his favorite of Woody's films. It was set in New York, Paris and Venice.

1997--- Wild Man Blues--- I enjoyed this very much since it was a documentary about a side of Woody Allen we do not see. It chronicles his tour overseas playing clarinet with a jazz band. This film shows how much Allen is idolized in Europe. It is unique to see since Allen is such a private man and in this film we are able to see him unguarded, not hiding behind a character. He has played with his jazz band for over 25 years. They perform in Manhattan regularly.

2005--- Match Point--- This was a dramatic thriller starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. Two things that make this significant is that is was a big hit at the bos office and Woody was satified with how the picture turned out. He said Match Point "arguably may be the best film I've made." Its worldwide gross was $85 million.

2008--- Vicky Cristina Barcelona--- This was shot in Spain, marking Woody's fourth consecutive film shot outside the US. It was successful, taking in $96 million worldwide. Penelope Cruz won many awards for this, including an Oscar.

2009--- Whatever Works--- I liked this since it featured Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), as a Woody Allen type of character who is a neurotic older man dating a younger woman.

I think it is amazing how Woody Allen has had such a varied, lengthy career, and he has been prolific as a writer-director for films over the past 40 years. He makes films by his own standards and does not aim for the lowest common denominator, as so may films do these days. He may not make blockbusters like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, but he makes thought provoking films that are appreciated by those who like to be challenged intellectually. I think he is one of the most under appreciated artists working in the genre of film. To people who have not seen his work, I would recommend Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, New York Stories and Everyone Says I Love You.

* Some information from en.wikipedia.org.

2010 Academy Award Recap

Last night the 82nd Academy Awards were held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The hosts were Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. For the first time since 1943, ten films were nominated for best picture instead of five. Casablanca won in 1943. This year's telecast featured a tribute to the late writer/director/producer John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone). There was also a tribute to horror films with clips from The Shining, The Exorcist, Child's Play, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Shining, and more. Here are some of the big winners from the night;

Best supporting actor-Christoph Waltz for Inglorius Basterds

Best animated feature-Up

Best song-The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

Best original screenplay-The Hurt Locker

Best supporting actress-Mo'Nique for Precious

Best actor-Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

Best actress-Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side

Best director-Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Best picture-The Hurt Locker

Oliver Stone's 1987 Masterpiece, Wall Street

Later this year a sequel to Wall Street will be released. The film will be called Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps, which was a line from the first movie. It has been 23 years since the original film came out, and it is still the quintissential movie about New York stockbrokers and the world of high finance. An Oliver Stone film has never had a sequel. According to a documentary on the Blu Ray DVD version of Wall Street, stock brokers still quote lines from the film all of these years later. Traders have said that this movie is the best representation of what really goes on at the New York stock exchange. Michael Douglas says he gets people coming up to him all of the time telling him that his character influenced them to go into finance. He says that people do not seem to realize that his character of Gordon Gekko was not a good guy, but a bad person whom no one should view as a role model. Nevertheless, people seem to love the bad characters more than the good ones.

The multi-talented Oliver Stone co-wrote and directed Wall Street after writing and directing Platoon just a year earlier. He has an impressive resume, having written Scarface, Midnight Express and Conan the Barbarian. Post-Wall Street his writer/director resume grew with the films Talk Radio, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, Nixon, Natural Born Killers, and more. His father had worked as a Wall Street trader, so he wanted to make a film about what goes on in that environment.

Wall Street is the story of Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young hotshot stock broker who wants to make as much money as he can, and he will do anything to get what he wants. He persistently calls Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) every day in an attempt to meet him and give him stock tips to make him money. Gekko is a giant in the finance industry. He buys companies, breaks them into pieces and sells the parts for enourmous profit. He is one of the richest people on Wall Street and Bud Fox becomes his protege. Fox realizes that to make the kind of money Gekko makes, one needs to engage in the illegal practice of insider trading. Fox's dad Carl (Martin Sheen) is an airline mechanic for Blue Star airlines and Bud gets inside information about that company that he gives to Gekko. Carl Fox wants his son to be successful, but he also wants him to stay on the right side of the law. He is concerned that Gekko has taken his son under his wing, and he does not like that his son seems to idolize Gordon more than him.

Wall Street is a morality tale. There is good money to be made as a stockbroker who follows the rules, but one who breaks the law can make endless money, but this comes with consequences. Hal Holbrook plays Lou Mannheim, Bud Fox's boss. He has a feeling that Bud is getting stock tips illegally and he has a memorable quote in the film:

"Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss."

Lou also says: "The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do."

The most quoted line from the film is when Gekko says "Greed is good." This is the context of where he says that, at a stockholder's meeting.


"Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents. The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. Thank you. I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much."

There are so many outstanding quotes from this film. The relationship between Bud Fox and his father explodes with this exchange:

Carl Fox: He's using you, kid. He's got your prick in his back pocket, but you're too blind to see it.
Bud Fox: No. What I see is a jealous old machinist who can't stand the fact that his son has become more successful than he has!
Carl Fox: What you see is a guy who never measured a man's success by the size of his WALLET!
Bud Fox: That's because you never had the GUTS to go out into the world and stake your own claim!
[Long Pause]
Carl Fox: Boy, if that's the way you feel, I must have done a really lousy job as a father.


Gekko and Bud Fox see the world of Wall Street as not unlike a conflict on the battlefield. At one point when about to buy stock, Gekko says: "We're in the killzone." Bud Fox, quoting "The Art of War" says: "Sun-tzu: If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate." Gordon Gekko enjoys the thrill of being in a battle with someone else. There is a scene at Gordon's house where he is negotiating a stock deal with a rival. He shows off his collection of vintage pistols. Stone has drawn comparisons between the world of Wall Street, the Vietnam war battles, and the drug dealers in Miami he chronicled in the film Scarface.

I think that Wall Street is Stone's best film. Like directors such as Hitchcock and Scorsese, Stone had a cameo in his film where he played a broker on the phone during a montage of deals being made. Richard Gere and Warren Beatty almost got the role of Gekko instead of Douglas. Tom Cruise almost was given the part of Bud Fox. Stone worked with him in Born on the Fourth of July. Michael Douglas deservedly won a best actor Oscar for his pivotal role. The storyline was loosely based on Ivan Boesky and the insider trading scandals of the 1980s. Daryl Hannah played the role of Bud Fox's girlfriend and she has never seen the film. She has said that she had an "unhealthy working relationship" with Oliver Stone. I love all aspects of this film, even the soundtrack. Frank Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon plays over the opening credits and later a song by The Talking Heads is used (This Must be the Place-Naive Melody). The film Boiler Room (2000) is a must see for fans of Wall Street. It is also about stock brokers, and the characters in the film are obsessed with Gordon Gekko and Oliver Stone's portrayal of the world of finance. Another film that Wall Street fans should check out is American Psycho (2000) since it also features the 1980s New York yuppie era. It is based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis (Less than Zero), and it stars Christian Bale as a self obsessed, materialistic psychotic executive.

* Some information from imdb.com.

The Artistic Vision of Martin Scorsese

I wanted to write about this fantastic director since I admire his work so much. I will list his films which are some of my favorites, and provide a few words about each one. From 1968's Who's that Knocking at my Door, to this year's Shutter Island, Scorsese has had an amazing career. His 21 feature films have earned 64 Oscar nominations and 15 wins. He did not win a best director Oscar until 2007, for The Departed, a film about the Irish mafia. He had lost this coveted best director Oscar five times previously. But, after all, greats such as Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles never won best director Oscars. He has also directed several documentaries and short films, often about the classic rock artists he admires so much. He has had small roles in many of his films, just like another legendary director, Alfred Hitchcock. He is probably best known for his many films that are about the Italian mafia, but he has not limited himself to that genre. He did a period piece (The Age of Innocence) and a film about the Dalai Lama in Tibet (Kundun). Many of his films deal with emotional longing, loneliness, and some feature scenes of unflinching violence. He grew up in New York's Little Italy but lived a sheltered life due to being an asthmatic. He spent lots of time in church and going to the movies. Scorsese is known for his distinctive directing style in which the camera is often moving throughout the scene. Throughout the final three decades of the 20th century, Scorsese films often featured one of best actors of our time, Robert DeNiro. In recent years he has directed many starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He is a graduate of the legendary New York University film school, where his students included Oliver Stone and Spike Lee. Here are my favorites:

Mean Streets (1973) This was a breakthrough for Scorsese as well as stars Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel. It featured a gritty, violent New York setting where the mafia rules, rapid fire editing and a rock soundtrack. This film is his most autobiographical, and it is a favorite film of many real life gangsters.

Taxi Driver (1976) This is one of the greatest masterpieces of film of all time, and my favorite Scorsese work. It is not a film for everyone. It is disturbing to say the least. It follows Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro), a New York cabbie who says "Loneliness has followed me all of my life. I'm God's lonely man." He is man who has been broken by his time in Vietnam, his challenges to navigate through society and his worst enemy is himself. He is a powder keg ready to explode in a flurry of violence, and he does. He is trapped in a life which is an angry nightmare from which he cannot awake. He sees the world through twisted eyes and tries to "save" a prostitute from her lifestyle which she sees as her only option. On the other hand, he seeks revenge on another woman who had rejected his advances. Travis Bickle seems to view women as either angelic or as prostitutes. Cybill Shepard's character first appears wearing white and moving in slow motion, and Travis writes in his diary "They cannot touch her." He wants her, but at the same time his self destructive feelings are more powerful, and they keep him from doing the right things to win her over. This featured Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepard, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and Harvey Keitel. Reagan assassin John Hinckley was obsessed with this film, and he thought that killing the president would impress Jodie Foster. Overhead shots are used repeatedly in this film showing guns for sale laid out on a bed, junk food at the adult movie theatre, and an long overhead tracking shot towards the end depicting the bloody mayhem left in the wake of Travis' killing spree. Scorsese has said that Travis Bickle saw what he had to do and it was a ritualistic, religious, sacrifice for him. The ultra violent, grimy, New York of the 1970s is much different than the more sanitized New York of today. Screenwriter Paul Schrader (Hardcore, Blue Collar, Last Temptation of Christ, Bringing Out the Dead), and the haunting melodies of composer Bernard Herrmann deserve a lot of credit for this masterwork. Herrmann also did the music for Citizen Kane (one of Scorsese's favorites) and Psycho, among other Hitchcock films. His final film to score was Taxi Driver, and he died just hours after recording it. The main title theme with its sultry saxophone fit the mood of the film perfectly. This was nominated for a total of 4 Academy Awards, including the best picture Oscar, but it lost to Rocky. It won the highly coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. One of Scorsese's biggest fans is my favorite film critic, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. He gave a perfect 4-star review to 14 of Scorsese's films. These include; Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Casino, After Hours, The Departed, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and others. Regarding Taxi Driver he says "Taxi Driver is a brilliant nightmare and like all nightmares it doesn't tell us half of what we want to know. Taxi Driver is a hell, from the opening shot of a cab emerging from stygian clouds of steam to the climactic killing scene in which the camera finally looks straight down." Ebert has insights into film like no one else. He is the only film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.


Raging Bull (1980) This is a tale of the violent, aggressive world of professional boxing where Robert DeNiro plays Jake LaMotta. DeNiro's character has trouble separating the world in the ring, where violence is applauded, with the world outside the ring, where violence is not allowed. This film was in black and white, with use of slow motion and a moving camera. Many view this as the director's greatest work. Actor Joe Pesci played a key role, just as he would in later Scorsese works. Cathy Moriarty plays the wife of LaMotta, and she must deal with his violent outbursts. This was nominated for 8 Oscars, and it won 2.

The King of Comedy (1983) This comedic film was a change of pace for the director known largely for his dramatic films based around Italian American life in New York. DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, who is a sad character who has lost touch with reality. His dream is to host a late night talk show. Jerry Lewis plays Pupkin's idol, Jerry Langford, a Johnny Carson-like comedian/talk show host. Carson was actually considered to play the role, as well as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. DeNiro's character lives at home with his parents and interviews cardboard cut-outs of celebrities in his basement as practice for hosting his own show one day. The story turns dark as Rupert Pupkin finds a way to make his dream come true, by any means he can. In the film Rupert says "It's better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime." Scorsese has said this was an emotionally grueling film to direct. He and DeNiro did not work together again for seven years.

New York Stories (1989) This was a different approach for a film since it was broken up into 3 sections, each directed by a legendary film maker. It was not a big hit with critics or at the box office, but I enjoyed it. The first segment, titled Life Lessons was directed by Scorsese. The other 2 were directed by Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. Life Lessons was the story of a New York painter played by Nick Nolte who takes on a protege played by Rosanna Arquette who becomes his love interest. This included use of Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone in the soundtrack.

GoodFellas (1990) This film featured Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta as powerful figures in the world of the Italian-American mafia. I think that this film is on the same level as The Godfather, also directed by a legendary Italian-American, Francis Ford Coppola. It has scenes of disturbing violence and a great classic rock soundtrack. Roger Ebert called it "the best mob movie ever". Four years earlier, Scorsese's film The Color of Money was released, and it starred Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in a story about pool hall husters. This was his least personal film, but its success at the box office made a film like GoodFellas possible. The studios want nothing but blockbusters. This was nominated for 6 Oscars and it won 1, for Joe Pesci.

Cape Fear (1991) This marked the director's seventh time working with Robert DeNiro, and it is a remake of the 1962 film starring Robert Mitchum. Other Scorsese films have violent scenes, but Cape Fear felt more like a horror film than his other work. Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis also star in the disturbing but brilliant work.

Casino (1995) This mobster film takes place largely in Las Vegas and has a running time of about 3 hours. It is so well written and performed, the 3 hours goes by quickly and it left me wanting even more. I have only said this about 2 other works, The Godfather, and Brian DePalma's Scarface. It features Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and the best performance of Sharon Stone's career.

The Aviator (2004) Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, this was a biopic about the odd but incredibly successful tycoon, Howard Hughes. It chronicles the love life, the business life and the obsessive-compulsive disorder which ruined a life which had so much potential. Like other films by this director, it shows one man's descent into madness. This was nominated for an amazing 11 Oscars, and it won 5.

Scorsese has a passion for music, and he directed directed the video Bad for Michael Jackson, the film The Last Waltz, about the musical group The Band, and Shine a Light featuring the Rolling Stones. He directed New York New York, which was a film where Robert DeNiro played a sax player, released in 1977, and it featured Liza Minelli. The original director's cut was 4 and a half hours, but it had to be trimmed significantly to play in theatres. There were challenges with this film in shooting the musical numbers, with the choreography, the lip-synching and the illusion of DeNiro playing a saxophone as well as his character. In May 2009, he confirmed he will direct a biopic about legendary crooner Frank Sinatra. In 2010 a Scorsese documentary will be released about former Beatle George Harrison. In 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Scorsese directed the singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson. It made money, so this opened doors for him, and the film studios put trust in him to make more films. The TV show Alice, starring Linda Lavin, was loosely based on this film.

* Some information from en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, movies.yahoo.com, "Roger Ebert's Four Star Reviews 1967-2007" and "Martin Scorsese Interviews", Edited by Peter Brunette.