Music

NEW YORK, NY March 28, 2008 — No single film director of Martin Scorsese's stature has made such essentially musical films. And they don't just feature great uses of songs or soundtracks - they literally pulse to the rhythms of their settings.

Mean Streets (1973)
For the soundtrack of his first film, Scorcese used a variety of artists, including the Marvelettes, Derek and the Dominoes, and the Rolling Stones. Of course, one of the film’s signature moments comes with Johnny Boy’s swaggering entrance into a bar to the Stones song "Jumpin’ Jack Flash."
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Taxi Driver (1975)

Taxi Driver was the last score of legendary film composer Benard Herrman. The jazz noir mood supports Scorsese’s film about a taxi driver’s decline into insanity.

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New York, New York (1977)

Consider a flop when released, this highly stylized musical used the Frank Sinatra hit as its title track. The movie featured original songs by Broadway composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb.

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The Last Waltz (1978)

His first concert film was billed as the farewell performance of The Band. The huge list of special guests included Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan.

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Raging Bull (1980)

Considered by many critics to be his masterpiece, Scorsese used music of the period including Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett to backdrop the story of boxer Jack LaMotta. However, the trailer features Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo.

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The Last Temptation of Christ (1987)

For this controversial film, Scorsese chose Peter Gabriel to compose the score. The music, Gabriel has said, “was to create a landscape that was part ancient, part contemporary, part familiar, part unknown, and very soulful.” Gabriel also incorporated the Sufi singing of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

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No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

“No Direction Home” is an extensive documentary about Bob Dylan’s career up to 1966. Rare footage includes early recordings as a folk artist and videos of his notoriously heated electric concerts. Trailer: