Mr. Scorsese Could Be Twice as Long and It Still Wouldn't Be Enough

"Rebecca Miller has a clear thesis in Mr. Scorsese: There will never be another Martin Scorsese. Over five episodes of the Apple TV+ docuseries, Miller augments this argument through interviews with Scorsese and people from his life - childhood friends, recurring collaborators like editor Thelma Schoonmaker and actor Robert De Niro, relatives including his three daughters - and select clips from his decades of work."

"Every time Miller whips out a split screen to trace common themes between Scorsese's various films and influences (like a comparison between the fights in Raging Bull and the shower-stabbing scene in Psycho), she proves her own deep understanding of Scorsese as an artist. Mr. Scorsese is an eye-opening and deeply moving viewing experience, one that had me crying within the first three minutes of the premiere episode."

"Mr. Scorsese is convincing in its suggestion that Scorsese is perhaps the defining American filmmaker of his time, someone whose persistent interest in masculinity and money and the corrupting influence of both on our morality is a mirror held up to our national identity. The docuseries is so successful in hitting these points that I wanted to see more of the connections Miller was making; Scorsese's career is rich and varied enough that Mr. Scorsese could have been, I don't know, five more episodes?"

Mr. Scorsese presents Martin Scorsese as a singular, defining American filmmaker whose work repeatedly probes masculinity, money and the corrosive effects of both on morality. The series uses interviews with Scorsese, childhood friends, collaborators like Thelma Schoonmaker and Robert De Niro, family members, and curated film clips to trace thematic throughlines. Chronological structure and comparative split screens illuminate connections across decades of work. The series delivers emotional resonance yet feels insufficient at 287 minutes, prompting a desire for many more episodes to explore Scorsese's rich, varied career and the dozen elements identified as needing further screen time.

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