Nov 1, 2016
Apologies to Mr. Scorsese and Mr. De Niro, but we at Flixwise think the true star of the 53rd movie on the Sight and Sound list, Raging Bull (1980), is editor extraordinaire Thelma Schoonmaker. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese are often thought of as the quintessential actor/director tag-team. From Mean Streets through Casino the pair have amassed an impressive collection of great studies in toxic masculinity, perhaps none more noxious than today's first topic, Raging Bull. It's true that Raging Bull remains a terrific showcase for Scorsese's visual flourishes and De Niro's Capital-A Acting, and it's clear that this pair of heavyweights shared a strong conviction that the story of boxer Jake LaMotta needed to be brought to the screen. That said, today's panelists - Lady P, Martin Kessler, and Marya E. Gates - spend a good deal of today's episode explaining why they think the woman stringing the story together is the true champion of this production.
For the second topic, the panel discusses other famous actor/director collaborators. They discuss why audiences enjoy watching recurring team-ups and they also discuss some of the pitfalls of going to the same actor well over and over again. Then they each offer up some of their personal favorite duos.
Finally, Marya tells listeners why they should check out her latest podcast project: Female Filmmaker Friday.