Killers of the Flower Moon director Martin Scorsese recently expressed opposition to the popular practice of making “10 Best Movies” lists.
Scorsese admitted he wasn’t a fan of ranking his top 10 films in a video shared by Time on X (formerly Twitter). “I’ve tried to make lists over the years of films I personally feel are my favorites, whatever that means,” he said. “And then you find out that the word ‘favorite’ has different levels: Films that have impressed you the most, as opposed to films you just like to keep watching, as opposed to those you keep watching and learning from, or experiencing anew. So, they’re varied. And I’m always sort of against ’10 best’ lists.”
Scorsese’s distaste for the “10 Best Movies” lists reflects his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema, which he has demonstrated in numerous interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes features throughout his career. The Oscar-winning director is known to share his passion for film in other ways, as well. Notably, Scorsese recently teamed up with fellow acclaimed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson to lobby Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to ensure Turner Classic Movies’ programming remained “untouched and protected” after a wave of layoffs at the network.
Scorsese Slams Hollywood’s Focus on Box Office Numbers
Scorsese also regularly goes to bat for less commercially oriented directors, slamming Hollywood’s fixation on box office performance over artistic merit in October 2022. “Since the ’80s, there’s been a focus on numbers. It’s kind of repulsive. The cost of a movie is one thing. Understand that a film costs a certain amount, they expect to at least get the amount back… The emphasis is now on numbers, cost, the opening weekend… how much it made in the entire world, how many viewers it got. As a filmmaker, and as a person who can’t imagine life without cinema, I always find it really insulting,” he said.
Scorsese’s purist sensibilities have prevented him from moving with the times, though. He produced his 2019 crime epic The Irishman with Netflix, while his next movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ following a brief theatrical release in October 2023. Killers of the Flower Moon is arguably one of the most anticipated titles of the year, in part due to the numerous COVID-19 pandemic-related delays the production endured. Star Lily Gladstone recently indicated that the wait will be worth it, however, as it gave Scorsese and screenwriter Eric Roth time to overhaul the original shooting script.
Source: X