It may seem strange in the light of veritable masterpieces like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas, but my favorite Martin Scorcese film is his segment of the anthology feature, New York Stories.
Richard Price's brilliant screenplay is a big reason. I consider him to be among the finest writers on the planet. He once had a great working relationship with Scorcese, penning scripts for The Color of Money, Mad Dog and Glory, and the music video for Michael Jackson's "Bad" for the producer-director. Price's novels are nothing short of breathtaking.
"Life Lessons" is, by far, the best portrait of the creative process I have ever seen. Nick Nolte plays Lionel "The Lion" Dobie, an acclaimed New York painter. Rosanna Arquette plays his beleaguered love interest.
Scorcese is an artist in his own right, and his filmic eye has never been so sharp or penetrating as in "Life Lessons". Every scene is like a painting in motion, every shot is like a still life work of art.
With grace and economy "Life Lessons" shows the torment and the passion, the arrogance and the vulnerability, the rage and violence, the exhilaration, the entire range of emotions a true artist goes through. Nolte is magnificent and perfectly cast. He even looks a little like a lion.
New York Stories is worth owning for "Life Lessons" alone. Woody Allen's "Oedipus Wrecks" is slight, but amusing. Francis Coppola's "Life Without Zoe" is absolutely terrible. They'd have been better off getting Larry Cohen to do the third segment.
I think New York Stories got lost in the shuffle and hasn't been seen by a lot of people. I urge everyone to seek the movie out, and if it's been a long time since you've seen it, "Life Lessons" is more than worth another look.
Written by Mark Sieber
Richard Price's brilliant screenplay is a big reason. I consider him to be among the finest writers on the planet. He once had a great working relationship with Scorcese, penning scripts for The Color of Money, Mad Dog and Glory, and the music video for Michael Jackson's "Bad" for the producer-director. Price's novels are nothing short of breathtaking.
"Life Lessons" is, by far, the best portrait of the creative process I have ever seen. Nick Nolte plays Lionel "The Lion" Dobie, an acclaimed New York painter. Rosanna Arquette plays his beleaguered love interest.
Scorcese is an artist in his own right, and his filmic eye has never been so sharp or penetrating as in "Life Lessons". Every scene is like a painting in motion, every shot is like a still life work of art.
With grace and economy "Life Lessons" shows the torment and the passion, the arrogance and the vulnerability, the rage and violence, the exhilaration, the entire range of emotions a true artist goes through. Nolte is magnificent and perfectly cast. He even looks a little like a lion.New York Stories is worth owning for "Life Lessons" alone. Woody Allen's "Oedipus Wrecks" is slight, but amusing. Francis Coppola's "Life Without Zoe" is absolutely terrible. They'd have been better off getting Larry Cohen to do the third segment.
I think New York Stories got lost in the shuffle and hasn't been seen by a lot of people. I urge everyone to seek the movie out, and if it's been a long time since you've seen it, "Life Lessons" is more than worth another look.
Written by Mark Sieber
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