Essential Directors: Martin Scorsese (2007)

Goodfellas-
Definitely one of Scorsese's best and a true masterpiece. It is an amazing story with a great variety of characters. The acting is flawless; Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta are priceless together. It's also quite polished, opposed to Scorsese's earlier work and a change in his filming style.

The Aviator-
Not only is it one of Scorsese's most ambitious projects, it's Leonardo DiCaprio's as well. When you are trying to capture the essence of a man, it's extremely difficult because there's so much to take in all at once. Inevitably you're going to leave something out. However, The Aviator really doesn't do that. It's probably the most well rounded biopic ever made. It centers around a few of Howard Hughes' most important decades in his life. It shows the importance of a man's legacy and also his humanity. You get to see Hughes as a genius and as an OCD driven psychopath, I think it's both honest and fair. Like with all of Scorsese's films, the acting performances are phenomenal. Next to DiCaprio's dead on representation of Howard Hughes, you have Cate Blanchett playing an equally great Katherine Hepburn. The use of color and visuals is stunning and unforgettable, a modern masterpiece.
Not only is it one of Scorsese's most ambitious projects, it's Leonardo DiCaprio's as well. When you are trying to capture the essence of a man, it's extremely difficult because there's so much to take in all at once. Inevitably you're going to leave something out. However, The Aviator really doesn't do that. It's probably the most well rounded biopic ever made. It centers around a few of Howard Hughes' most important decades in his life. It shows the importance of a man's legacy and also his humanity. You get to see Hughes as a genius and as an OCD driven psychopath, I think it's both honest and fair. Like with all of Scorsese's films, the acting performances are phenomenal. Next to DiCaprio's dead on representation of Howard Hughes, you have Cate Blanchett playing an equally great Katherine Hepburn. The use of color and visuals is stunning and unforgettable, a modern masterpiece.

The Departed-
A great cast and amazing return to the crime genre for Martin Scorsese. It has some of the best performances from Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in years and Mark Wahlberg's best. Not to mention another flawless performance from Leonardo DiCaprio. The story is suspenseful and well developed, giving you the best possible connection to the characters. I think it's one of the most visually different films that Scorsese has ever shot, it seemed like a completely different director shot some of the scenes. I think it's just even more evident that Scorsese is always building upon his work and trying new things.