Originally titled I Called First, Martin Scorsese's debut feature was made while he was an instructor at the NYU's film school. Like all of Scorsese's films, this small-scale drama, about an Italian-American youth, has strong autobiographical elements. It also shows what would become the director's forte: Strong, complex characterization rather than conventional plot.
Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1968): Scorsese’s Feature Directing Debut, Starring Harvey Keitel, Zina Bethune, Catherine Scorsese (his Mother), and Scorsese Himself in Cameo
January 15, 2007 by
Last Temptation of Christ, The
July 28, 2006 by
Raging Bull (1980): Scorsese and De Niro in Top Form
April 21, 2006 by
In Raging Bull, Scorsese equates sexuality with brute force and erratic violence; it's a vicious circle. Freud has called it the "Madonna-whore complex." Prizefighter Jake LaMotta suffers such low self-esteem and insecure masculinity that he cannot respect a woman who would sleep with him, and is convinced that given the choice she would rather sleep with another man.
