Martin Scorsese studied at a film school so that directors like us can never have an excuse not to study. He possesses a vast amount of knowledge in film history and techniques from renowned directors like Truffaut, Renoir, Kurosawa so his recommendations on how to approach the film-making process are extremely useful for anyone interested for making a movie. For those fortunate to never receive any schooling in cinema, the list of 39 foreign films as selected by Scorsese is a goldmine all his own.
In 2006 a young man named Colin Levy who wants to become a filmmaker, won the competition of short films from New York City to receive a meeting with Martin Scorsese. Levy, himself, who has been familiar with the works of Scorsese in a limited extent, regarded it as an experience. It is stated that he actually knows very little about the history of cinema and foreign cinema films, thus making Scorsese draw a list of must-watch films.
This list, so dear to many, is a proof that Scorsese thinks that learning film history is crucial in order to create something new. They let viewers peek at the flame of inspiration that started in Scorsese’s mind and burned the film onto celluloid.
The films in the Scorsese’s list are diverse in genres and years, which makes them a perfect tutor in cinema. Films such as François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” Jean Renoir’s “The Rules of the Game,” and Akira Kurosawa’ “Seven Samurai” to mention but a few. All of them present a colourful director’s vision and creativity that have inspired generations of film-makers.
All these movies are still easily findable in the platforms such as Hulu and Amazon. That being said, there are some that are a little tougher to come across, like Abel Gance’s five hour movie “Napoleon” made in 1927 which only exists on VHS.
In these masterpieces you will be able develop appreciation for the art of film making and find where Scorsese and other Directors got their ideas and started from. So why not take your inspiration from these all time best foreign films and catch your next movie in theaters with a pack of popcorn.
