Conversations with Scorsese

A veritable library of criticism and collected interviews has been published on Martin Scorsese in the last ten years, but none remotely as valuable as this entry. A renowned film critic and documentary filmmaker, Schickel (Elia Kazan: A Biography) began this series of conversations with Scorsese in 2004, and the combination of his insightful questions and Scorsese's rapid-fire patter and stream-of-consciousness style makes this an educational and entertaining read. The interviews cover not only Scorsese's films but also film in general, and both men's excitement and admiration for the art and history of filmmaking fills every page. This is no shallow series of how and why questions but a true conversation about art and how one individual has endeavored to create it. The book concludes with the section "The Onrush of Time," in which Schickel and Scorsese discuss what's next for the director; readers will be left simply wanting more.