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Martin Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in New York City — a metropolis that would go on to have a profound effect on the filmmaker’s creative output. He is one of modern cinema’s defining auteurs, and in honor of the director’s 73rd birthday, we’ve declared it Scorsese Week here at Decider. Click here to follow our coverage.
For Alfred Hitchcock, it was mastering the art of the twist. For Robert Altman, it was making visual epics like M*A*S*H and Nashville as naturalistic as possible. With Wes Anderson, his fixation with visual symmetry affects his films’ overall tone before any character has the chance to speak. Just about every groundbreaking filmmaker you can think of has at least one recognizable compulsion that carries over from film to film. For Martin Scorsese, his signature comes in shades of red.
The director, who refuses to discriminate against any one genre, has used the color red as a way to convey nuances in human emotion, establish deeper relationships between characters, comment on religion, and even as a foreshadowing device (i.e. the beginning and end of Taxi Driver jog your memory?).
The color red has even stood as a deciding factor in the end result of Scorsese’s films — most notably Raging Bull. When shooting the 1980 Jake LaMotta boxing biography, the director felt Robert De Niro’s vibrant boxing gloves were so red they were distracting; hence, one of the main reasons to scrap color for the film altogether and change it to a black-and-white production.
So, where does Scorsese’s obsession come from? He’s admitted numerous times that seeing Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ballet drama, The Red Shoes, had a profound, lifelong effect on his creative choices — particularly when it comes to toying with color as a way to further the plot and instill emotion (the latter of which his films never fail to do). Below, we analyze the director’s various uses of his favorite hue across a wide range of genre, including documentary, crime, biography, and sweeping romantic dramas.
While attending NYU Film School, Scorsese visualized his anxieties and depression with The Big Shave; a bloodied, fantasy of his morning routine.
[Where to stream The Big Shave] Photo: McGraw Hill Filmes
After film school and Boxcar Bertha, the director aimed to reimagine his childhood growing up on the "mean streets" of Little Italy in Manhattan. Photo: Everett Collection
Sometimes the motive behind Scorsese's use of red is far more simple; as an easy but powerful way to draw attention to a singular character. In the case of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, red is used to project the importance and vulnerability of Ellen Burstyn's newly widowed character.
[Where to stream Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]Photo: Everett Collection
Red takes on a character all its own in Taxi Driver, particularly as a way to convey how the filth and sin of New York City's (now shuttered) Red Light District can spill out of its confined blocks and into the lives of those who pass through.Photo: Colombia Pictures
Bold red hues can be seen all over Scorsese's Liza Minnelli-Robert De Niro musical, but particularly as an indicator of power and success.
[Where to stream New York, New York]Photo: Everett Collection
Even in documentary, the director manages to capture moments amplified by his favorite primary color.
[Where to stream The Last Waltz]Photo: Everett Collection
Scorsese's perennial crime drama is saturated in red from beginning to end. The hue even kicks off Henry Hill's (Ray Liotta) infamous story of, "As fas back as I could remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."Photo: Warner Bros.
Red is peppered sporadically throughout Scorsese's stalker tale, but when it's featured as part of Max Cady's (De Niro) attire and tattoos; it takes on an almost menacing quality.
[Where to stream Cape Fear]Photo: Everett Collection
Scorsese's sweeping period drama uses red as a signifier of social class and royalty: a shade that quite literally sets his female characters above the rest. Photo: Everett Collection
Red used as a way to portray looming guilt and sin is a dominant creative choice in the director's Las Vegas tale.
[Where to stream Casino]Photo: Everett Collection
When Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) confined himself to his home theater for months at a time, the flashing red light was a way to show how truly petrified he was of the outside world.
[Where to stream The Aviator]Photo: Forward Pass/Appian Way
The Best Picture-winner stands as one of the few Scorsese films without his excessive motifs; but occasionally throughout we're graced with eerie shades of red to help portray the pure evil of Jack Nicholson's Frank Costello.
[Where to stream The Departed]Photo: Warner Bros.
Even in a film where red takes a backseat to blues and greens (to hammer home themes of confidence, freedom, and greed), Scorsese juxtaposes red to show Jordan Belfort's (DiCaprio) living embodiment of a modern American dream.
[Where to stream The Wolf of Wall Street]Photo: Everett Collection
Gifs: Tumblr, Quotesgram
