Mr. Scorsese (Episodes 1 & 2). 2025. USA. Directed by Rebecca Miller. DCP. 117 min.
While the major beats of Scorsese’s trajectory are well established among cinephiles, the immediate and obvious pleasure of Mr. Scorsese is Miller’s direct access to the man himself. The first episode, “Stranger in a Strange Land”, traces his youth in New York’s Little Italy and introduction to low-budget filmmaking as a disciple of Roger Corman. (Robert De Niro’s appearance in the episode’s climax has been likened to a cliffhanger end-credits scene of a superhero picture.) The second, “All This Filming Isn't Healthy”, dives into the prime era of this historic collaboration between director and star, which fundamentally changed Scorsese’s approach to cinema. But the heights of Scorsese’s 1970s glory are paralleled only by his mounting stresses and considerable capacity for substance abuse, culminating in the 1978 hospitalization which infamously led him and De Niro to make Raging Bull.