Martin Scorsese, 2000 (Photo: Paramount Pictures/Touchstone Pictures)
Fans of the American Directing icon Martin Scorsese will have to board a plane to Germany if they want to visit the first ever museum dedicated toward his work. The Academy Award winner has directed a vast amount of film classics including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Departed, which is why the Museum for Film and Television in Berlin is dedicating an entire exhibit to him.
In a video message during the opening of the museum, Scorsese commented that he was honored to be featured at the Museum for Film and Television, which has focused on displaying the works of many film icons including Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau. Martin Scorsese was actively involved in getting the exhibit up and running by providing most of the items on display, including iconic wardrobes, props, and a rare look at his personal scripts filled with notes and early storyboards. He also provided the narration to the audio guide tour, giving the entire walkthrough a more personal touch.
Section “Lonely Heroes” (Photo: Marian Stefanowski)
The idea of this first ever show dedicated to his works isn’t just to show what iconic films he has made so far in his career, but to instead highlight the passion and mastery that he puts into the work from beginning to end. One example of this is a letter between Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on display that captures the process of developing some of films most unforgettable characters.
In order to fully capture his work, the exhibit is divided into three sections, with the first paying tribute to his early family life and childhood neighborhood in Manhattan’s Little Italy. Scorsese often goes back to his own roots in his films, so it is interesting to see actual childhood artifacts that are commonly found being depicted in his work.
Martin Scorsese with parents Charles & Catherine Scorsese – 1974
(Photo: Martin Scorsese Collection, New York)
Scorsese’s efforts towards preserving classic cinema history is the focus of the second section. This area of his work is often overlooked, but he is just as passionate about keeping movie classics in pristine condition as he is at creating masterpieces of his own. And it is his unforgettable cinematic works that fill up the third section of the exhibit.
Berlin’s Museum for Film and Television will run the exhibit through May 12, 2013 and then move it to Turin and Geneva. The on-site cinema will also be showing a special retrospective of Martin Scorsese’s films until January 15, and the timing of the event seems very fitting with the 63rd Berlin film festival kicking off in just a few weeks.
Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, The Telegraph
