The Films of Martin Scorsese, 1978 99
Also by Leighton Grist THE FILMS OF MARTIN SCORSESE, 1963 77: Authorship and Context
The Films of Martin Scorsese, 1978 99 Authorship and Context II Leighton Grist University of Winchester, UK
Leighton Grist 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-4039-2035-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Leighton Grist has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-51459-5 ISBN 978-1-137-30204-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137302045 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
Aum dakshane Ganeshaya namah
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Contents Acknowledgements viii 1 Evolving Authorship, Developing Contexts: Life Lessons 1 2 Scorsese and Documentary: The Last Waltz 21 3 Masculinity, Violence, Resistance: Raging Bull 39 4 Back to Travis #1: The King of Comedy 68 5 Adventures in Reagan and Bush Sr s USA: The Color of Money and GoodFellas 90 6 Yuppies in Peril: After Hours and Cape Fear 122 7 Religion, Blasphemy and the Hollywood Institution: The Last Temptation of Christ 153 8 Style, Narrative, Adaptation: The Age of Innocence 183 9 Power and the Look: Casino 212 10 Cinema of Transcendence, Cinema as Transcendence: Kundun 243 11 Back to Travis #2: Bringing Out the Dead 272 12 Conclusion: Of course, there s less time 301 Notes 311 Bibliography 326 Index 339 vii
Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Faculty of Arts Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee at the University of Winchester for granting the sabbatical that enabled the final drafting of this book. Thanks also to the Faculty s Head of Research, Inga Bryden, who has been supportive of this project throughout its long development, and to my colleagues in the School of Media and Film, but especially a clutch of old stagers Imruh Bakari, Paul Carter, Laura Hubner and Fran Mason. Two people are due special thanks: my good friend and colleague Michael Walker, who has been steadfast in his help and advice, and my wife Rita, who has been an unstinting source of patience, understanding and good humour, and who is as well a damn fine proofreader. I would like to dedicate this book to my father, Wyndham Grist, who passed away during its writing. Known as Pop to his family, he gifted me many things a politics, a slow heartbeat, a football team to support but also a love of cinema and cinema going, and the hours spent together in Rhondda Valley picture houses are among my best memories. This one s for you, Pop. Parts of this book have been previously published. Much of the analysis of Raging Bull in Chapter 3 appeared in Masculinity, Violence, Resistance: A New Psychoanalytic Reading of Raging Bull, in Atlantis, vol. 29, no. 1 ( June 2007). Some of the material on The Last Temptation of Christ in Chapter 7 appeared in Protest as Reaction, Reaction as Text: The (Con)Textual Logics of The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ, in Eric Christianson and Christopher Partridge (eds), Holy Terror: Understanding Religion and Violence in Popular Culture (London: Equinox, 2010). A shorter version of the analysis of Life Lessons in Chapter 1, as well as some points regarding The King of Comedy, After Hours, The Age of Innocence and Kundun, appeared in You a Graffiti Artist? : The Representation of Artists and the Visual Arts in the Film- Making of Martin Scorsese, in Steven Allen and Laura Hubner (eds), Framing Film: Cinema and the Visual Arts (Bristol: Equinox, 2012). The cover still is courtesy of the Ronald Grant Archive and Universal Pictures. viii