Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
A Personal Journey... Part 1
The first part of Martin Scorsese's 'personal journey' through American Cinema.
Documentary 1995 72 mins Not rated
Director: Martin Scorsese
Overview
Film director Martin Scorsese considers the American cinema, divided into short chapters each looking at one aspect of American film, including: the studio system past and present; the question of narrative; technique - both technical and the development of visual literacy specific to films. He also looks at B-movies, films noirs, Westerns, gangster movies and musicals and some of the great figures in American cinema, from von Stroheim and Welles to Kubrick and Cassavetes.
Using as his starting point the film industry's perennial antagonism between art and commerce, Scorsese structures his journey in different chapters, starting with this antagonism which he styles the "Director's Dilemma". He examines strategies adopted by directors for dealing with the problem, first considering the primary role of the "Director as Storyteller", then highlighting the director as "Illusionist", "Smuggler" and "Iconoclast". Under these chapter headings, he features and analyses the works of filmmakers from D.W. Griffith and F.W. Murnau, Jacques Tourneur and Sam Fuller, John Cassavetes and Stanley Kubrick. Illustrated with numerous extracts from a wide range of films, including classics of the silent era (`Intolerance' and `The Crowd') and exemplars of the major American genres: westerns (from `The Searchers' to `Unforgiven'), musicals (Busby Berkeley to `All That Jazz') and gangster films (`Public Enemy' to `Point Blank'). Mould-breaking masterpieces are also saluted, including `Sunrise' `Citizen Kane' and `2001 - A Space Odyssey'.
Accessibility
Related
Documentary
The Street The Street
Documentary 2019 95 mins Director: Zed Nelson
The working-class community of Hoxton Street face the upheavals of gentrification, austerity and the eruption of Brexit, in this portrait of a rapidly changing London.
Madame Madame
Documentary 2019 93 mins Director: Stephane Riethauser
A grandmother and her grandson engage in an intimate conversation, exploring gender, sexuality and transmission of identity.
Adolescentes Adolescentes
Documentary 2019 130 mins Director: Sébastien Lifshitz
This captivating coming-of-age documentary follows best friends Anaïs and Emma for five years of teenagehood.
Glastonbury Fayre Glastonbury Fayre
Documentary 1971 87 mins Director: Peter Neal
Nic Roeg made this film of the first Glastonbury Festival to feature the pyramid stage - with a line up including Melanie, Terry Reid, Family, Fairport Convention, Traffic, Linda Lewis and Arthur Brown.
Varda by Agnès Varda by Agnès
Biopic 2018 115 mins Director: Agnès Varda
In her final film, Agnès Varda offers a personal insight into her oeuvre, using excerpts from her work to illustrate her unique artistic visions and ideas.
Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema Part 5 Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema Part 5
Documentary 2019 122 mins Director: Mark Cousins
The journey ends with the biggest themes of love, death and the meaning of life.
Filmmaking in Focus
Le Mépris Le Mépris
Drama 1963 103 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard conducts an autopsy of love and the creative process, as a boorish film producer dismantles a seemingly strong marriage.
Room 237 Room 237
Documentary 2012 103 mins Director: Rodney Ascher
Rodney Ascher's enigmatic essay film weaves together the contrasting theories of five different narrators who believe Stanley Kubrick deliberately buried hidden messages in his 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.
8½ 8½
Drama 1963 138 mins Director: Federico Fellini
Fellini triumphantly conjured himself out of writer's block with this magnum opus about a film director experiencing his own creative crisis.
Speaking of Buñuel Speaking of Buñuel
Documentary 2000 99 mins Director: José Luis López Linares
José Luis López-Linares and Javier Rioyo’s incisive documentary about Luis Buñuel.
Irma Vep Irma Vep
Drama 1996 99 mins Director: Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas' sexy and stylish ode to the madness of filmmaking, with Maggie Cheung as the Hong Kong movie star playing a Catwoman-style anti-heroine.
Celluloid Man Celluloid Man
Documentary 2012 156 mins Director: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
A tribute to film archivist and obsessive cinephile P.K. Nair, and his long, hard fight to preserve India's precious film heritage.
Featuring Martin Scorsese
My Voyage to Italy (part two) My Voyage to Italy (part two)
Documentary 2001 126 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s two-part love letter to Italian cinema is epic and sprawling in scope but also a deeply personal and moving testament to his passion for film.
My Voyage to Italy (part one) My Voyage to Italy (part one)
Documentary 2001 120 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s two-part love letter to Italian cinema is epic and sprawling in scope but also a deeply personal and moving testament to his passion for film.
Directed by Martin Scorsese
My Voyage to Italy (part two) My Voyage to Italy (part two)
Documentary 2001 126 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s two-part love letter to Italian cinema is epic and sprawling in scope but also a deeply personal and moving testament to his passion for film.
My Voyage to Italy (part one) My Voyage to Italy (part one)
Documentary 2001 120 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s two-part love letter to Italian cinema is epic and sprawling in scope but also a deeply personal and moving testament to his passion for film.
A Personal Journey… Part 3 A Personal Journey… Part 3
Documentary 1995 74 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
The third part of Martin Scorsese's 'personal journey' through American Cinema
A Personal Journey… Part 2 A Personal Journey… Part 2
Documentary 1995 79 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
The second part of Martin Scorsese's 'personal journey' through American Cinema.
New
The Street The Street
Documentary 2019 95 mins Director: Zed Nelson
The working-class community of Hoxton Street face the upheavals of gentrification, austerity and the eruption of Brexit, in this portrait of a rapidly changing London.
Madame Madame
Documentary 2019 93 mins Director: Stephane Riethauser
A grandmother and her grandson engage in an intimate conversation, exploring gender, sexuality and transmission of identity.
Adolescentes Adolescentes
Documentary 2019 130 mins Director: Sébastien Lifshitz
This captivating coming-of-age documentary follows best friends Anaïs and Emma for five years of teenagehood.
Camille Camille
Drama 2019 92 mins Director: Boris Lojkine
A poignant biopic of photojournalist Camille Lepage.
Felicità Felicità
Comedy 2020 82 mins Director: Bruno Merle
11 year old Tommy is desperate to make it for the first day of the school term, but with parents as eccentric hers, she knows she has the odds against her.
Kuessipan Kuessipan
Drama 2019 117 mins Director: Myriam Verreault
A powerful story of how life can test even the strongest of bonds, Mikuan and Shaniss, best of friends since childhood, find themselves drifting apart because of forces beyond their control.