Genre, Institution and Audience of Martin Scorsese

Genre and Style: Although some people may argue that Scorsese is an Auteur director it would be foolish to say that he sticks to a certain genre. Although Scorsese is fond of directing Mafia and Gangster movies he often dives into other genres such as Horror with Cape Fear and Shutter Island, Comedy with the King of Comedy, Sports movies with Raging Bull and even movies more accessible for children such as Scorsese's latest release Hugo. However he is probably most successful at directing movies about the Gangs. He directed Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Gangs of New York. Two of which were deemed 'culturally significant' and preserved in the National Film Registry. Scorsese's style of directing has changed over the years but he renown for his focus on the mental state of the pro or antagonists of the movie and decisions or conflicts they are in such whether or not Jonny Boy is Charlie's responsibility or not in Mean Streets. Most of his movies are based around New York where the seedy underbelly of The Big Apple are often showcased.

Institution and Audience: Scorsese's first two critically acclaimed movies were 1973's Mean Streets and 1976's Taxi Driver, both movies were low budget but were both highly praised by critics and turned Scorsese into one of the most sought after directors in hollywood. Scorsese's first big budget movie was 1977's New York, New York which was a box-office failure and received very bad reviews. Following this failure Scorsese developed a hard Cocaine addiction which halted his career until the release of Raging Bull, a movie considered to be one of the greatest of all time. Scorsese since then has gone on to mainly direct Big budget movies along starring Hollywood's most glamourous actors, including Leonardo Di Caprio who he was frequently collaborated with in recent years. Scorsese's audience is generally that of adults as a lot of his movies include extreme violence, excessive swearing as well as sexual conduct, however he has made movies more suitable for children such as Hugo.