Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		5.0

Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 16, 2020

There was a rather funny throwaway line in the recently reviewed mockumentary Brutal Massacre: A Comedy, where a hapless horror film director was discussing film shoots fraught with peril and disappointment. This director, the sort of guy who really wants to impress his interviewer even if he's manifestly short on any actually impressive achievements, mentions Apocalypse Now as a prime example of this phenomenon and then adds "just go ask Scorsese" to make his point. Those who aren't confused about Scorsese's filmography may think of his feature film career starting with at least Mean Streets, though diehard Scorsese fans will of course know about Boxcar Bertha and perhaps even Who's That Knocking at My Door? . But even before Who's That Knocking at My Door? came out in 1967, Scorsese had started making a name for himself with both documentaries and some more whimsically minded shorts, and this Criterion release aggregates several of them, giving fans an opportunity to see one of the titans of contemporary cinema beginning to define his style.

For reviews of the five films in this set, please click on the following links:

Italianamerican Blu-ray review

American Boy Blu-ray review

The Big Shave Blu-ray review

It's Not Just You, Murray! Blu-ray review

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Blu-ray review

Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Martin Scorsese and Farran Smith Nehme (1080p; 43:37) is a really interesting in depth interview with Scorsese which was conducted in New York in February of 2020. This has both broader biographical tidbits as well as more particular anecdotes about individual films and should be enjoyed by all Scorsese fans.


• The Safdie Brothers and Ari Aster (1080p; 24:48) features the trio discussing Scorsese in New York City in January of 2020.


• Scorsese on WNYC, 1970 (1080p; 22:32) is a really fun archival audio interview conducted by Doris Freedman with a 27 year old Scorsese, who was then curating New York City's first Movies in the Park series. This plays to a slightly peculiar still of Scorsese that's out of focus and "jiggly" looking.

The very nicely appointed insert booklet contains production data on all of the films in the collection, an essay by Bilge Ebiri, stills and technical information.

Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Any fan of Martin Scorsese will certainly find at least something to enjoy here, even if some individual efforts don't appeal as much as others. This is an appealing overview of a creative genius at the beginning of his career, and some of the offerings here clearly foreshadow both themes and techniques that Scorsese would address in his later, better known, offerings. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package very appealing. Highly recommended.