Scarecrow Press
Pages: 192
Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-0-8108-4787-3 • Hardback • April 2004 • $73.00 • (£56.00)
Ben Nyce recently retired as professor of literature and film at the University of San Diego. He has written many articles and is the author of Satyajit Ray: A Study of His Films (1988).
Part 1 Acknowledgments
Part 2 To the Reader
Part 3 Chapter 1: Beginnings
Chapter 4 WHAT'S A NICE GIRL LIKE YOU DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?; IT'S NOT JUST YOU MURRAY!; THE BIG SHAVE; WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?; BOX CAR BERTHA
Part 5 Chapter 2: A New Voice
Chapter 6 MEAN STREETS; ITALIANAMERICAN
Part 7 Chapter 3: A Career Choice
Chapter 8 ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
Part 9 Chapter 4: The Strange and Familiar
Chapter 10 TAXI DRIVER
Part 11 Chapter 5: A New, New Musical
Chapter 12 NEW YORK, NEW YORK; THE LAST WALTZ; AMERICAN BOY
Part 13 Chapter 6: Bloodrope
Chapter 14 RAGING BULL
Part 15 Chapter 7: Empty Spaces
Chapter 16 THE KING OF COMEDY
Part 17 Chapter 8: The Bad Ladies
Chapter 18 AFTER HOURS
Part 19 Chapter 9: An Homage and a Career Choice
Chapter 20 THE COLOR OF MONEY
Part 21 Chapter 10: The Agony on the Hill
Chapter 22 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
Part 23 Chapter 11: The Artist as Agonist
Chapter 24 LIFE LESSONS
Part 25 Chapter 12: The Real Crew
Chapter 26 GOODFELLAS
Part 27 Chapter 13: Prelude to Rape
Chapter 28 CAPE FEAR
Part 29 Chapter 14: A Life Unlived
Chapter 30 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
Part 31 Chapter 15: The Mob Again
Chapter 32 CASINO
Part 33 Chapter 16: The Buddhist Soul
Chapter 34 KUNDUN
Part 35 Chapter 17: The Urban Saint
Chapter 36 BRINGING OUT THE DEAD
Part 37 Conclusion
Part 38 Postscript:GANGS OF NEW YORK
Part 39 Bibliography
Part 40 Index
There have been more than two dozen books already written about director Martin Scorsese, so do we really need another one? If it's Ben Nyce's Scorsese Up Close: A Study of the Films (Scarecrow Press), the answer is an unequivocal yes. In only 176 pages, the author gives us a concise study of the cinematic text of the Scorsese oeuvre, from his early student works through Bringing Up the Dead, with a brief postscript on Gangs of New York . This is a perfect introduction to films like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Age of Innocence and all the maestro's other pictures. I really like Nyce's ability to study each picture through certain key sequences, giving us an overview of each project's roots and reception. I also like the fact that Nyce gives high ratings to two of my favorite (and underrated) Scorsese movies - New York, New York and New York Stories: Life Lessons. This book is also a nice supplement to the newly released five-disc Scorsese Collection on DVD.
— The National Board Of Review