MovieChat Forums > Malcolm X (1992) Discussion > Scorsese influence

Scorsese influence

posted 3 years ago by tph890 (489)
4 replies | jump to latest

In my humble opinion, from a filmmaking standpoint, there is a great deal of Scorsese nuance here.
And not just in this joint. I think Spike Lee has received a great deal of inspiration from Scorsese flicks, from the late 80’s on through the 90’s. Though I also feel that Lee has his own style, which is more apparent in his early works.
But I wondered if anyone noticed a resemblance.
I personally notice similarities in pacing and editing, and even camera work. Long takes, slam-bam editing, exquisite production design, meditation on character psychology.
This film reminds me of Goodfellas—and vice versa—every time I watch either, and I think that’s a good thing.
I wonder if anyone else gets similar vibes?

[–] tph890 (489) 3 years ago

Any takers?

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Well they're both alumni of NYU's film school so I'm sure there's a lot of stuff they do similarly. Oliver Stone c. 1990 as well.

[–] tph890 (489) 3 years ago

I didn’t know that! Very fascinating.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

You're correct. Spike's favorite shot, putting someone on the dolly and filming the background move with the dolly while the actor stands still is a shot Scorsese used in Mean Streets. Whether Scorsese stole it from someone else, I don't know. But that's just one example. They're both NY filmmakers, so it makes sense Spike would lift some approaches to film making from Scorsese (and who wouldn't? Scorsese is brilliant [most of the time]).