Paula Hammond - Features EditorThames & Hudson’s new volume celebrating the work of Martin Scorsese arrives at the perfect time to make it into the Christmas stocking of anyone with a passion for film and the art of film-making.
Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective by Tom Shone is a an absolute joy of a book. Written in close collaboration with Scorsese himself, the volume is impeccably designed and copiously illustrated with more than 220 images, including movie stills, advertising posters, and shots taken on set during filmmaking. As the maestro enters his 80th year, this lavish retrospective is a fitting tribute to a remarkable director, whose work constantly challenges, entertains, and shines new light on the human experience.
Since his emergence in the early seventies, Martin Scorsese has become one of the most respected names in cinema, with classics such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas regularly lauded as some of the finest films ever made.
Iris “Easy” Steensma, Taxi Driver (1976). Image from Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective by Tom Shone.
Leading film writer Tom Shone draws on his in-depth knowledge and distinctive viewpoint to present refreshing commentaries on all twenty-three of Scorsese’s main features, from the rarely shown Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967) to his latest release, The Irishman (2019), as well as covering Scorsese’s parallel career as a documentary maker.
The result is a a book that is every bit as inspiring and intriguing as its subject matter. Tom Shone is a film critic who knows clearly not only film but revels in it. The text is crisp and accessible, packed full of insights, behind-the-scenes know-how, and a film lover’s enthusiasm for the a medium that’s often dismissed as too popular, too successful to be true art. But there’s no doubt here that Scorsese produces art in the very truest sense of the word, producing works that can be appreciated for their visual impact and emotional resonance.
Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective by Tom Shone is out now in paperback, from by Thames & Hudson, RRP, £30.
