Scorsese Talking About His Final Years Has Me Sad As Hell

DEADLINE: You’re 80. Do you still have that fire to get right back behind the camera and get the next one going?

SCORSESE: Got to. Got to. Yeah. I wish I could take a break for eight weeks and make a film at the same time [laughs]. The whole world has opened up to me, but it’s too late. It’s too late.

DEADLINE: What do you mean by that?

SCORSESE: I’m old. I read stuff. I see things. I want to tell stories, and there’s no more time. Kurosawa, when he got his Oscar, when George [Lucas] and Steven [Spielberg] gave it to him, he said, “I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late.” He was 83. At the time, I said, “What does he mean?” Now I know what he means.

I don't think it's a hot take to say Scorsese is easily our greatest living director. He's been pumping out hit after hit for 56 god damn years without pause and has made the careers of some of the greatest living actors. To hear him talk like this? It hurts. It hurts bad, man. Old people talking about their mortality in general sucks but this one really hit me in the gut. 

I think what gets me is his comp to the late career of Kurosawa. If you're not a nerd cinema guy, you may not even know who Kurosawa is but he is to the Scorsese/Spielberg/Lucas generation what those guys are to the younger generation. Almost every smash hit movie for the last 40 years uses camerawork, re-purposed stories, and techniques built by him. So for Kurosawa, at the mountaintop, to think that he was still only starting to understand how to climb, is sad. The same goes with Scorsese. We all know the clock is ticking, but for him to acknowledge it and think that he is only starting to understand movie making makes me depressed but also inspired as hell. 

Anyway, I'm gonna get over it by watching one of his classics tonight. Heres a little watch guide. 

Goodfellas, The Departed, Mean Streets, Raging Bull and After Hours are all on HBO Max

The King of Comedy: Plex or rent 

Taxi Driver: Rent only 

Casino: Fubo, Showtime

The Wolf of Wall Street: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+, Fubo

The Irishman: Netflix

Silence: Hoopla or Rent

The Color of Money: Rent only