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Stories about people who fail themselves and others with their choices in life have just as much to teach us as stories about those who succeed. Maybe more. This goes all the way back to classic Greek tragedy.
It does have that quality, doesn't it? Science-fiction's literary New Wave of the late 1960s/early 1970s was devoted to exploring this sort of "inner space" & is well worth reading now. A pity so much of it has been forgotten.
Like so many Twilight Zone episodes, the film deals with identity, existential emptiness, authenticity (or lack thereof), subjective views of reality, etc. Great stuff!
Definitely one of the best in its scope, its exploration of the human condition & its world-weary sadness at that condition, its bleak humor, its somber meditation on the superficiality of life that so many people settle for in the end ...
Those complaining about "not enough women" in his movies have forgotten about Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, a Scorsese film specifically about a woman of the 1970s, three-dimensional, sympathetic, very true to life. When a film he's making calls for a major woman character, he can deliver.
I tend to agree. His gangster movies are definitely well-made, some are brilliant, but there have been too many of them. I often find Scorsese more interesting when he branches out, whether to something like Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, or Kundun, or The Age of Innocence, to name just a few.
Depends on your preferences in film. The French New Wave was one of the best things to happen to cinema, in my opinion. And this film is a haunting, hypnotic, dreamlike masterpiece that rewards many viewings—for me, at least. As always, YMMV.
A lot of performers would probably prefer to go that way.
For me, one of the most eerily beautiful, dreamlike films ever made.
Well, this really isn't about the Mars of science, it's about the Mars of poetry & metaphor, a landscape to examine the human condition in general & to comment on the destruction of a more lyrical, holistic civilization by a more aggressive, consumerist one. An ode to the highest of human qualities & aspirations, so often threatened by the worst one. So we're meant to accept the breathability of the atmosphere, because it's not important to the theme of the work.
He absolutely deserved that Nobel Prize!
The brilliance of his songs, the technically unpolished voice that's perfect for delivering them, and of course the respect of tens of thousands of songwriters & aspiring songwriters for close to 60 years now.
You say psychedelic as if it's a bad thing … :)
(And thorazine is not a psychedelic, far from it.)
It does have a plot, or a narrative & theme if you prefer, and it's clear to see from the beginning of the film. The protagonist isn't any one individual, but the human species as a whole. And the plot is about the development & growth of that protagonist.
I saw it when it came out, and we didn't need drugs to appreciate it. The finale is as clear & direct as the rest of the film; it's just that it's told visually, rather than via exposition. It's poetry in images, not words. The transcendent ending is inevitable & organic, given all that's established from the first frames of the film.
And you don't have to be a hipster to like, read, or write poetry. Rather sad that so many people believe that.
TV actually used to offer a fair amount of material like this. No longer, alas.
I'd say that you're right. He believed in being honest in his songs, and that included showing his flaws & bad qualities, as well as his best qualities & aspirations. And as he grew older, he obviously developed greater personal insight & could criticize his younger self. Which he did without hesitation or excuses.
No offence taken, Foebane. :)
While I have a special place in my heart for the favorites of my youth—who doesn't?—I'm also very happy to see new classics come along in the subsequent decades. How dreary it would be if they didn't!
Well, here's one Baby Boomer who loved TNG. It built on the best parts of TOS & then added new dimensions to it.
This, exactly.