The opening shaving scene, inspiration shaving seb. Scorsese has directed twentyfive narrative films to date. Spanning the years from scorseses time at nyu in the mid1960s to the late 70s, when he was emerging as one of the eras most electrifying talents, scorsese shorts centers on the intimate home movie italianamericana loving snapshot of the directors parentsand american boy, a freewheeling portrait of a largerthanlife raconteur. A man walks into a meticulously clean and sterile bathroom, concentrating on the polished porcelain and shiny metal motif. Peter bernuth stars as the recipient of the title shave, repeatedly shaving away hair, then skin, in an increasingly bloody and graphic bathroom scene. Charles was a clothes presser and an actor while catherine was a seamstress and an actress. He goes past the hair, skin and then the bottom of his face gets bloody. While working on what would become his first feature film, whos that knocking at my door, martin scorsese made the short film the big shave, starring peter bernuth. After watching it this gave me idea to start my short film with a shaving scene, as i needed a beginning scene with some diegetic sound in it because the rest of my film would have none. His movies mean streets, taxi driver, raging bull, and goodfellas are often cited among the greatest films ever made. In the second half of the big shave, as the film starts to live up to its title, the pace of the cutting accelerates, and is timed more forcefully to the tempo of the song, with edits coming on each toot of the horn left profile, right profile, frontal closeup.
In 1967, martin scorsese put out a short film with a simple concept and the kind of execution youd expect from a young martin scorsese. Why you should watch scorseses debut short the big shave. His family moved to little italy in manhattan before he started school. A man walks into a meticulously clean and sterile bathroom, concentrating on the polished porcelain and shiny. Im surprised that this is one of scorsese s more underrated masterpieces.
Unlike kubrick, whose first efforts were commercial news reels and industrials, martin scorsese was a member of the socalled film school generation, attending nyu in the 60s. Martin scorsese s 23rd featurelength fiction film, the wolf of wall street, is now in theaters. The big shave 1968 short film by martin scorsese 0 posted by cinematheia january 21, 2014 short films in the process of shaving, a young man cuts himself. In my research for this documentary, ive come across the original screenplay as sent in by scorsese. Lauren carroll harris looks at how scorseses debut short film the big shave laid the groundwork for the themes he refined and perfect from. Hess wanted to capture the art of a full body shave, so he hired a gorgeous male swimmer to model for the video. Shot for a class at nyu film school, scorsese s sixminute short features actor peter bernuth, yet again in front of a mirror, at a sink, shaving himself closer and closer until he bleeds and. The third film, the big shave, is the simplest of the three, and the first in. Scorsese s vision of death and american politics set in a bathroom. The directing history of martin scorsese quiz 10 questions. He was raised in the neighborhood of little italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films. Watch three student films made by martin scorsese while at nyu. Why you should watch scorseses debut short the big shave acmi.
To try something a bit different, he applied for the experimental movies festivals grant with a script for a short film entitled the big shave. Tags mature themes, scary short films, short short film, well known actors. Martin scorseses short film the big shave from 1967. Scorsese s passion for films started at a young age, as he was an 8yearold, pintsized filmmaker. The audition is a 2015 short film directed by martin scorsese. Scorsese felt he was headed in the right direction when a 10minute comedy short. In the process of shaving, a young man cuts himself.
In 1967, martin scorsese used shaving as a powerful metaphor for vietnam. Peter bernuth stars as the recipient of the title shave, repeatedly shaving away hair, then skin, in an increasingly bloody and graphic bathroom. Alone award winning postapocalyptic short film duration. The big shave also gains a strong temporal trajectory from the contrast between the shaver at the beginning and at the end of the short. I just wrote about the early documentaries of stanley kubrick, and now, in an embarrassment of riches, we have three early student films by martin scorsese to look at. The result was the third film by scorsese to be released, and his first in color. Lyndon johnsons decision to escalate american intervention in the war in vietnam during the earlymid 1960s is, as they say, a key historical moment. The big shave short film by martin scorsese 1967 youtube. This is from a current project the past as imagined future. Only he keeps shaving and shaving and shaving until his face starts profusely bleeding. Editing techniques in the films of scorsese duration. This compilation of five early short films by martin scorsese offers a fascinating window onto his artistic development.
Scorsese made the film as a metaphor for the united states self destruction in the vietnam war. A very illustrative short film from martin scorsese referencing the most important sociopolitical elements of the vietnam war portrayed in a simple way. It is not so much the decision to fight a war in vietnam that scorsese criticizes, but the horrific ending that such a decision will bring. It is about a man who is shaving and does not stop. Instead of the standard retrospective of his wellknown features, film threat looks back at scorsess short films from early in his career. The filmmaker made the short while attending film school at. Spanning the years from scorsese s time at nyu in the mid1960s to the late 70s, when he was emerging as one of the eras most electrifying talents, scorsese shorts centers on the intimate home movie italianamericana loving snapshot of the directors parents. It is but one of numerous projects to which the directors name has been attached for. Martin scorsese found some notes depicting a three minute scene from an unrealized hithcock film called the key to reserva. The camerawork is fluid and flawless, the scene very bloody, but wonderfully done, one of the best short films ive seen. The sixminute short film featured a young man shaving in the bathroom, meticulously applying shaving cream and then brutalizing his face with a razor. Martin scorsese born november 17, 1942 is an american film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and film historian whose career spans more than fifty years. Martin scorsese was born on november 17, 1942, in the flushing area of new york citys queens borough. Scorsese decided to film the three minutes in the style of hitchcock, basically the style of late 1950s hitch the man.
I can see how this film doesnt have the outward appeal of the departed or goodfellas, but its deeper themes, amazing character study, and societal commentary is nearly on par with taxi driver. This film was largely inspired by martin scorseses short film the big shave as well as a few other f. The american society selfmutilating itself is something we still see today. Peter bernuth stars as the recipient of the title shave. Whether youre a fan of hairy or shaved men, dutch filmmaker bart hess created a beautiful short film entitled shave. The film threat audience voted, and 78% feel that this is the year martin scorsese finally wins that academy award. Excellent martin scorsese short film about a young man who is shaving and cuts himself, with the results symbolic of the vietnam war, which scorsese was. After looking at early short films by famous directors i stumbled upon on one of martin scorsese s earliest works.
The big shave is a 1967 sixminute short film directed by martin scorsese. Scorseses short films, shot on 16mm and edited by hand, give an. Martin scorsese best movie moments jason solomons film. Scorsese tracks and magnifies the impact of every cutin both senses of the word. Martin scorsese s short film the big shave stars peter bernuth as a man shaving in his bathroom who cuts his skin and continues to cut deeper. Why you should watch scorsese s debut the big shave read posted on. When his face is clean, however, he only continues to shave until he pierces through his skin. Before he made it into the mainstream with his movie mean street, martin scorsese made a film called the big shave. Multimedia interpretations of american intervention in vietnam. In 1967, young martin scorsese sent in a script to the exprmntl festival of knokke, belgium, as the filmmakers who participated could get free agfagevaert filmstock. Martin scorsese teaches us how to shave in this short film. In a bathroom that may represent the american psyche haunted by the vietnam war, writes wilson in a synopsis of the film, the daily ritual of shaving turns into a scene of horror.
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