Scorsese was born in 1942 and is well known as a director for many successful films like 'The Goodfellas', 'The Departed', 'Casino' and 'Taxi Driver'. He was raised in an Italian-American family and graduated from New York University with a film major in 1964. 'Who's That Knocking at my Door' was his first film which he directed 1967, and is still directing with his latest project being the historical drama feature 'Silence'.In his films, Scorsese usually starts off with the protagonist and uses slow motion flashbulbs and accented camera/flash/shutter sound. He also includes references to Westerns.
'Goodfellas' (1990) and 'The Departed' (2006) is among his films that really shows him as an auteur. His character studies which allow him to incorporate violence into his films in a realistic way, his use of still frames that allows him to talk directly to the audience and long tracking shots combined with classic rock gives him control of the viewer's emotions.
Scorsese is a big fan of music and uses a lot of music in his film. A prime example of Scorsese's "musical madness" is 'Goodfellas' where he uses more than 42 songs throughout the film. In the film you meet Henry Hill, a low-level gangster, and his friends who work their way up through the mob Hierarchy. The film is packed with the best of Scorsese's tricks like long tracking shots and freeze frames, he even pulls off an infamous 181-seconcond long tracking shot where Henry is leading Karen Hill through the underbelly of the Copacabana ending onstage, all set to the tune of 'Then He Kissed Me' by The Crystals. It's a scene where he truly manages to turn the camera into a character, not just a camera.
Even though Scorsese said in an interview that the process of making 'The Departed' was highly unpleasant and that he was tired of it, feeling it was maddening, the film ended up being the one that would finally earn Scorcese his first Best Director Academy Award.
'The Departed' is about 2 men who are hiding within false personas, trying to infiltrate an Irish gang in South Boston. The film takes up identity and focuses on the thin line between the cop and the criminal, and uses 'The Rolling Stones' as musical reinforcements to create the right mood.
I would definitely class Martin Scorsese as an auteur. His films have consistent themes, pacing and aesthetics. How he make use of pop music in his films are similar to many of his films as well. Though some of his movies have more of the "Scorsesian touch" in them than others, there is a continuity and his style remains true.
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Scorsese is always a good choice for 'auteur theory', but I really would have liked to see more examination of common themes across his body of work ('interior meaning')
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