Original subtitles

-[People Chattering] -[Man]Cut!

There. Save all this.

[Man]Mr. Von Ellstein! Wouldyoucomehereplease.

[ Chattering Continues ]

- You call that directing? - That is what l've been calling it for 32 years.

Why, there are values and dimensions in that sceneyou haven't begun to hit.

Perhaps they are not the values and dimensions l wish to hit.

l could make this scene a climax.

l could make every scene in this picture a climax.

lfl did, l would be a bad director, and l like to think ofmyselfas one ofthe best.

A picture all climaxes is like a necklace without a string-- it falls apart.

Look, when l want a lecture on the aesthetics ofmotion pictures, l'll ask for it.

And it won't be on my time...

and a cover-up for a shallow and inept interpretation ofa great scene.

To be a director, you must have imagination.

Whose imagination, Mr. Shields? Yours or mine?

You know whatyou must do, Mr. Shields,

so thatyou will have it exactly asyou want it?

You must direct this pictureyourself.

To direct a picture,

a man needs humility.

Doyou have humility, Mr. Shields?

[MartinScorsese] ''Film isa disease, ''Frank Caprasaid.

Whenitinfectsyourbloodstream,

it takes overas thenumber-onehormone.

Itplays Iago toyourpsyche.

As withheroin, theantidote to fiilm ismore fiilm.

Very nice!

l guess l have to say that when l was growing up in the '40s and '50s,

l spent a lot oftime in movie theaters.

l became obsessed with movies.

At that time there was nothing really available that l could find written on film...

except one book--

sort ofmy first film book, although l couldn't afford to buy it...

and couldn't find a copy except the only one available from the New York Public Library.

l borrowed it from the library repeatedly.

lt's called A PictorialHistory ofthe Movies by Deems Taylor,

and it was a pictorial history ofthe movies in black-and-white stills,

yearbyyearup to 1949.

Thebook castaspellonme...

'cause back then l hadn't seen many ofthe films shown in the book,

so all l had at my disposal to experience these films were these black-and-white stills.

l'd fantasize about them and theywould play into my dreams.

l was so tempted to steal some ofthese pictures from the book-- a terrible urge.

After all, it's a book from the public library.

Well, l confess-- once or twice l did give in to that urge.

Irememberquite clearly-- it was 1946andI was fouryears old.

Mymothertookme tosee King Vidor's Duel ln The Sun.

l was fanatical about westerns.

My father usually took me to see them, but this time my mother took me.

lt had been condemned by the Church--

Lustin the Dust, they dubbed it.

So she used me as an excuse to see it herself, obviously.

- [Gunshot, BulletRicochets] - [Orchestra, Dramatic]

From the opening titlesalone, I wasmesmerized.

Brightblasts of deliriously vibrantcolor,'

thegunshots,' thesavageintensityofthemusic,'

theburningsun,'

the overtsexuality.

JenniferJones was ahalf-breedservantgirl...

andGregory Peck was the villain,

aruthless rancher'sson whoseducedher.

Fora childit wasapuzzle.

Imean, howcould theheroine fall forthe villain?

[Thunderclap]

It wasallquite overpowering. Frightening, too.

[Rifle Cocking]

The fiinalduelin thesun,

- whereJenniferJones shoots Gregory Peck, - [ Gunshot ]

was toointense forthis fouryearold.

Icoveredmy eyes throughmostofit.

[Gunshot, BulletRicochets]

Youdouble-crossin'bobcat!

A flawedfiilm, butnevertheless...

thehallucinatoryquality oftheimageryhasnever weakenedforme overtheyears.

[Gunshot]

[ Gasps ]

Itseemedthat the twoprotagonists couldonlyconsummate theirpassion...

bykillingeach other.

l guess that does it.

Pearl.

Hey, Pearl!

[Gunshot, BulletRicochets]

l didn't know it, but in 1 946 Hollywood had reached a zenith.

Two decades later, when l embraced filmmaking,

the studio system had collapsed and was taken over by giant corporations.

lt was during the '50s that my passion for films grew and became a vocation.

The movies were entering a new era--

the era ofThe Searchers and The Girl Can't Help lt;

of east of eden and BlackboardJungle;

of BiggerThan Life and Vertigo.

My passion was fueled by all sorts offamous and infamous films,

not necessarily the culturally correct ones.

Films you may never have heard of.

- [Man Mumbling] - The Naked Kiss;

Murder by Contract;

Don'tyou get restless?

lfl get restless, l exercise.

My girl lives in Cleveland.

- Well, this is not Cleveland. - l don't like pigs.

l do.

Human nature.

The Red House.

This is the way it could always be,Jeannie.

We don't need anybody else.

Ain'tyou Zeke Ward's kid?

Aaaaah!

Aaah! Mommy! Mommy!

[Baby Wailing]

Out on the lawn, Mommy! There it is! There it is!

[ Crying ]

[Baby Continues Wailing]

John!

[ Screaming, Wailing Continues ]

Mommy! [ Continues Crying ]

Mommy!

Directors that aresadly forgottennow--

Allan Dwan,'SamuelFuller,'

Phil Karlson,'Ida Lupino,'

DelmerDaves,'Andre De Toth,'

Joseph H. Lewis,'IrvingLerner.

Over theyears l've discovered many an obscured film,

and sometimes theywere more inspirational...

than the prestigious films that were receiving all the attention at the time.

But l can only talk toyou about what has moved me or intrigued me.

l can't really be objective here.

This is like an imaginary museum,

and wejust can't enter every room, unfortunately, because wejust don't have the time.

[ Gasps ]

So I'm talking toyouaboutsome ofthe fiilms thatcoloredmy dreams,

thatchangedmyperceptions andevenmylife, insome cases,'

fiilms thatpromptedme, forbetteror for worse, tobecomea fiilmmakermyself.

As earlyas Icanremember,

the key issue for me was: What did it take to be a filmmaker in Hollywood?

even today l still wonder: What does it take to be a professional,

or maybe even an artist, in Hollywood?

How doyou survive the constant tug-of-war...

between personal expression and commercial imperatives?

What is the priceyou pay to work in Hollywood?

Doyou end up with a split personality?

Doyou make one for them, one foryourself?

How about making Ants In Your Pants in 1 941 ?

- You can have Bob Hope, Mary Martin. - Maybe Bing Crosby.

- The Abbott Dancers. - MaybeJack Benny and Rochester.

- A big-name band. - What? Oh, no.

l want to make OBrother, WhereArt Thou?

[Scorsese]From thebeginningIsaw fiilm asameans ofself-expression.

I wasmostlyinterested in the directors,

especially the ones who circumventedthesystem toget their visions onto thescreen.

This the sort ofthing you had in mind?

- Course they need freshening up. They been hanging quite a while. - l can't get into this.

Sometimesitseemedeverything conspiredtoprevent them from achievingpersonalexpression.

This-- This may be a problem, unless you get a thinner man.

Forthereare rules, manyrules, in Hollywood'spowergame.

Shoulder pads. Straighten it right out.

This'll giveyou the effect. lt'll be good.

[Scorsese] Apoetorapaintercanbealoner,

but theAmerican fiilm directorhas to be, fiirstandforemost, a teamplayer.

Mostimportant was the collaboration between the directorandtheproducer.

In The Bad And The Beautiful, possibly thebestdramaabout Hollywood's creativebattles,

Kirk Douglasplays theproducer...

- What if-- - Suppose we--

andBarrySullivan the director.

Theyboth dream ofmakinggreatfiilms,

butfortheir fiirstproject theyhavebeenassigned alow-budget thrillercalled...

The Doom ofthe Catmen.

Put five men dressed like cats on the screen, what do they look like?

Like five men dressed like cats.

When an audience pays to see a picture like this, what do they pay for?

To get the pants scared off'em.

And what scares the human race more than any other single thing?

- The dark! - Ofcourse. Andwhy?

Because the dark has a life ofits own.

ln the dark, all sorts ofthings come alive.

Suppose we never do show the cat men. ls that whatyou're thinking?

- exactly. - No cat men!

[Scorsese]Moviesare amedium basedon consensus.

In the olddaysyoudealt withmogulsandmajorstudios.

Todayyouhave executives andgiantcorporations instead.

Butoneironrule remains true.'

every decisionisshaped by themoneymen'sperception ofwhat theaudience wants.

l've told you a hundred times, l don't want to win awards.

Give me pictures that end with a kiss and black ink in the books.

l'll make this picture, Harry, or l'll quit.

[Gregory Peck]It wasa time...

when theproducer was thekey fiigure.

l found it and licked it. l wanna produce it so much, l can taste it.

He chose the director-- He cast the director...

that he thought would be right for the material,

which he had directed-- acquired a novel, a play, an original, whatever...

and then given the green light.

Then he would cast the director.

That was pretty much the system when l came into the business.

[Scorsese] Duel ln The Sun isa fascinating example.

Evenan oldmasterlike King Vidor, who practicallyputHollywoodon themap,

wasnotnecessarily calling theshots.

Themajorcreative force on the fiilm was theproducer, David O. Selznick,

an obsessiveperfectionist who wanted to tophis greatestachievement,

Gone With The Wind.

[Peck] Theresult was akindofgrandiose quality...

that wasabitoverthe top,

but to Davidit was greatfun...

to exaggerate, toheighten.

Hisall-encompassingenthusiasm galvanizedeverybody.

Thatenergy,'

thatsense ofplayfulness,

ofrascality--

that wasSelznick.

About 1.'00 or2.'00in themorning,

when theactorshadtogo tosleep,

David wouldsettle down andrewrite thescript...

andwe'dgetdifferentpages thenextmorning.

Thatdidn'talwaysset too well with the directors, butit was David'spicture.

It washisbaby.

King Vidor was directing,

butDavid was overcome byhis own enthusiasm at times...

andbeganmoreandmore to directoverKing'sshoulder.

Andthatcreated considerable tension on theset,

fiinallyleading to themoment when Kingstoodup...

andtoldDavidheknew whathe coulddo with thepictureandwalkedoff.

David's enthusiasm overwhelmedhim...

and William Dieterle fiinishedthepicture.

This is King Vidor. Put him on.

- [ Man On Phone ] Haveyou made upyour mind? - l've made up my mind, Arthur.

Getyourselfanother boy. l'm a director, not a butcher.

[Scorsese]Somehow Vidorsurvived asan on-again/off-again teamplayer.

He even workedagain later withSelznick in television.

Vidor wasprobably themostresilient ofthe fiilmpioneers,

one ofthe few who wereable, time andagain, to convince themoguls...

tolethim experiment with themedium.

Throughouthis careerhesucceededin alternatingstudio assignments--

pictures like The Champ and Stella Dallas--

withpersonalprojects like Hallelujah, Our Daily Bread...

orthismostunusualfiilm.'

MGM's Irving Thalberg agreedto fiinanceit...

because Vidorhadgiven the studioits greatestsuccess of thesilentera-- The Big Parade.

Sometimes Vidor was even willing tomortgagehishouse orgamblehis ownsalary.

Somehowhe founda wayto do one forthestudios, one forhimself.

Now, remember, the Hollywoodof the classicalera-- the '30sand '40s--

wasbasedonapowerful, verticallyintegratedindustry.

Thestudios, particularly the fiivemajors--

MGM, WarnerBrothers, Paramount, RKOandFox--

controlledeveryphase oftheprocess.'

production, distribution, even exhibition,

as theyownedtheirown chains oftheaters worldwide.

Toproduce50picturesayear,

eachstudiohelditsstars, writers, directors, producers...

andanarmyofskilledtechnicians...

underlong-term contracts.

Theyeven cultivatedarecognizable style, oralook, in their fiilms.

MGM was more ofa dream world...

where everything was idealized...

and somewhat sentimentalized.

That came, l think, from L.B. Mayer,

what he thought was classy.

And l think probably Fox leaned more towards,

uh, uh--

Well, l wouldn't exactly say gritty realism,

because they made Betty Grable musicals and ice skating pictures...

and all kinds ofpictures.

But l think the things that Zanuck is remembered for...

are pictures with a social conscience...

and done with a degree of, ofrealism...

that probablywould not be characteristic of MGM.

ln those days l could look at the picture and ifeverything was in white silk-- MGM.

l could look at the picture--

ifit's a Fred Astaire-- RKO.

Subsequently, MGM.

Paramount was a little bit all over the place.

They did not have to--

They did have their own handwriting,

with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope...

orwith Martin and Lewis and--

[ Sings Theme ] We knew exactly--

We went to the same restaurants. We had our own circle.

[Scorsese]Now, ifyou workedatMGM, youhadtoadjust to the MGMstyle.

Andit was quite differentfrom the WarnerBrothers orParamountstyle.

Ifthey didnotconform to thestudio look, themavericks were reignedin.

Some, like Erich vonStroheim, simplyrefusedtobeharnessed,

andhepaidaheavyprice.

BusterKeaton-- very freewheeling--

agonizedwhen MGMputhim undertheyoke oftheirsupervisingproducers.

Hisgenius didn't survive the treatment.

On the otherhand, those who could work comfortably within thesystem, they thrived.

They came to defiine theirstudios'style.

Clarence BrownatMGM,'

Henry KingatFox,'

Raoul Walshat WarnerBrothers,'

they were Hollywoodpros whorose from theranks.

Mostoftheirlengthy careers were spentunderoneroof.

Take MichaelCurtiz, forexample, here directing The Charge ofthe Light Brigade.

Thisguymadenoless than 85 fiilms for WarnerBrothers,

and Casablanca washis 63rd.

That'sanaverage ofthree features ayearoveraperiodof28years.

Three featuresayear. Think oftheincredible opportunities they were given...

tolearn their trade andbecomea trueprofessional.

There werealso talents whoneeded the discipline ofthesystem toblossom.

Aperfectexample was Vincente Minnelli.

Heknewandoftenacknowledged that theproducer/directordynamic...

- was crucialto the quality andsuccess ofapicture. - [ Gunshots ]

Anavant-garde Broadway choreographer,

he was luredto Hollywood byproducerArthur Freed...

andbecame MGM's residentartist for30years,

thanks tosympatheticproducers like Freedand, later,John Houseman.

Minnellihadallof thestudio's resourcesathis disposal.

The cameras werehisbrushes andthesoundstageshis canvas.

All thathehatedandloved aboutHollywoodwas distilled in theharshstory...

ofThe Bad and the Beautiful--

theambition, thepower, the opportunism andthebetrayal.

No one was spared, noteven the director.

Here BarrySullivanhears from his ruthlesspartner...

whathasbecome oftheir dreamproject.

What happened? Didn't he go for Gaucho?

Go for him? He had a hemorrhage. He-- Shh.

The first time a star ever said he'd shine--

Kirk Douglas'character was loosely basedonseveralactualproducers,

among them DavidSelznick.

The Faraway Mountain's gonna be done just the waywe want it.

A million-dollar budget; a location in Veracruz; Von ellstein to direct.

Uh, Gaucho, Wendy forthegirl.

Ants Chapman formy cameraman.

Von ellstein to direct?

You're taken care of. lt won't be a separate panel, butyour name'll be on screen.

Assistant to the producer.

- Thanks. - You know this story better than anyone else.

lt's your baby. l wantyou with me on the set all the time.

You don't have to talk to Von ellstein.

- Any ideas you have, l'll tell him. - Thanks again.

- Von ellstein to direct. - You always said he was the best in the business.

Sure he is.

Fred, l'd rather hurtyou now than kill you off forever.

You'rejust not ready to direct a million-dollar picture.

Butyou're ready to produce a million-dollar picture.

With Von ellstein l am.

Now, to survive, to master the creative process,

each filmmaker had to develop his own strategy.

Some, like Frank Capra, Cecil B. DeMille orAlfred Hitchcock,

carved a niche for themselves...

by excelling in a certain type ofstory and being identified with it.

Their veryname becameaboxoffiice draw.

A fewevenachievedCapra's dream...

andsecuredtheirname above the title.

[Capra] Theyhadwonderful directors atMGM, butyouneverheard theirname.

Butyouheardaboutme.

l was the enemy ofthe major studio.

l believed in one man, one film.

l believed one man should make the film,

and l believed the director should be that one man.

One man should do it-- l didn't give a damn who.

But l thought the director had the most to do with it.

l just couldn't--

l just couldn't accept art as a committee.

l could only accept art as an extension ofan individual.

Ifyouhaven'tgot thestory, youhaven'tgotanything.

Raoul Walsh used to say this, and this is another cardinal rule.

The American filmmaker has always been more interested in creating fiction...

than revealing reality.

early on the documentary form was discarded...

or relegated to a marginal status.

For better orworse, the Hollywood director is an entertainer.

He's in the business oftelling stories.

He's therefore saddled with conventions and stereotypes,

formulas and cliches,

and all these limitations were codified in specific genres.

This was the very foundation ofthestudio system.

Audiences lovedgenrepictures,

andthe oldmasters neverseemedreluctant tosupply them.

WhenJohn Fordrosein themiddle ofa tempestuousmeeting...

at the Directors Guildof America in 1950andintroduced himself, this is whathesaid.'

'' My name isJohn Ford, and l make westerns.''

He was not referring to his more honored pictures, such as The Informer...

or The Grapes ofWrath or HowGreen Was My Valley or The QuietMan.

The westerns were what he was most proud of.

Orsohemayhave wantedus tobelieve.

Eventually fiilmgenres wouldserve to organize assemblylineproduction.

Eachstudiomadesomany westerns, somanymusicals,

somanygangsterfiilms, andso forth.

Edwin S. Porter's THe Great Train Robbery.

This was one ofthe fiirstattempts atscriptingastory,

andfiittinglyit wasalsoa western.

The fiirstmasterstorytellerof theAmericanscreen was D. W. Griffiith.

Hissensibility wassteeped inaliterary tradition,

thatofDickensand Tolstoy, Frank Norrisand Walt Whitman.

Yet, whileborrowing from 19th-centuryliterature,

Griffiith was forging thenewartofthe20th century.

He explored the emotionalimpactoffiilm,

andbefore the outbreak ofWorld WarOne...

hehadalready delineatednearly everygenre, even thegangsterfiilm...

withhisshort The Musketeers of Pig Alley.

Any minute now it may be curtains for Roy earl.

[Scorsese]Genres wereneverrigid.

Creative fiilmmakers keptstretching theirboundaries.

This wasa classicalart, where personalexpression wasstimulated,

ratherthaninhibited, by discipline.

[ Machine Gun Fire ]

Take Raoul Walsh, themostgifted apprenticeanddisciple ofGriffiith.

What's the idea, you? Get backwhereyou belong.

Hisstrongestfiilms were variations ona fewthemesandcharacters.

The fiigure ofthesympatheticoutlaw, forinstance,'

arebelin the tradition ofJesseJames inspiredhim timeandagain.

In High Sierrayoudidn'trootfor thepoliceandthe ordinary citizens--

yourootedforthegangster.

Youknewhe was doomedwhenhe becameseparatedfrom the only person who caredabouthim--

his tarnishedangel, Ida Lupino.

Aw, be smart.Justyell up to him and tell him to put his gun away and come down.

Otherwise we'llgethimsure.

[ Sighs ]

All right.

Go ahead and yell.

- No, l won't! - What's that?

- l won't, l tell ya! - We'llgethim then.

He's gonna die anyway. He'd rather it was this way. Go on, kill him, all ofyou!

- [ Sobbing ] - [Shouting]Earl!

Come down! It'syourlastchance!

Comeandgetme! There'splentyofya down there!

[Scorsese] At the endofhismemoirs,

Walsh quotes Shakespeare, his constantinspiration.

''Eachmaninhis timeplaysmanyparts. ''

This applies to Walshhimself, butalso tohis explosive characters.

These outcasts werebiggerthanlife,' theystoodbeyondgoodandevil.

[ Barks ]

- Theirlustforlife was insatiable, - [Barking Continues]

evenas theiractions precipitatedtheir tragic destiny.

Mary!

The world was toosmall forthem,

and Walsh wouldoftengive them a cosmicbattleground--

Mary! [ echoing ]

- Mt. Whitneyandthe High Sierras. - Mary!

[ Gunshot ]

[ Gasps, Screams ]

[ Gunshot ]

Eightyears later Walsh fiilmed thesamestoryasa western--

Colorado Territory.

Againheprovidedhis desperado witha wide landscape...

which dwarfedhuman fiigures.

This time the Cityofthe Moon in the Canyon ofDeath.

Hey, McQueen!

Yougotno chance!

- Come on down! - Comeandgetme!

- We'llstarveya out! - Goahead!

So dearto theheartofRaoul Walsh was hisheroine, nowahalf-breedoutcast,

thathegaveherasmuchstrength andcharacteras thehero.

You don't wanna leave him up there, buzzards pickin' his bones clean.

Call him out, and we'll split the 20,000 reward with ya.

[ Spits ]

[Scorsese] Youmighteven senseamysticaldimension...

at the endofthe fiilm...

thatclearly transcended anygenre limitation.

- Thelostcityis like aprimitive cathedral. - [ Chanting ]

Ashelistens to the Navajos chanting in thenight,

JoelMcCreareflects onhis fate...

andappears toacceptit.

Wes! [ echoing ]

- Wes! - Colorado.

Wes, they're comin' atya! They found a backway.

- [ Chamber Clicks ] - Come down, Wes!

Hurry, Wes! l got horses!

[Scorsese] Walsh usedsome ofthesame cameraangles as in High Sierra,

but this time themessengerofdeath wasa Navajosharpshooter.

-[Gunshot] - [ Screams ]

Don't!

- Don't! They'll kill ya! - [ Gunshots Continue ]

[Scorsese] Andin Colorado Territory,

the tragedy was complete.

Bothprotagonists were doomed.

Now, tome themostinterestingofthese classicgenresare theindigenous ones--

the western, which was born on the frontier;

the gangster film, which was originated in the east Coast cities;

and the musical, which was spawned by Broadway.

They remind me ofjazz-- they allow for endless, increasingly complex,

sometimes perverse variations,

and when these variations were played by the masters,

they reflected the changing times.

They gaveyou fascinating insights into American culture and the American psyche.

Youcanseehowa fiilmgenre evolved...

justby watching three westerns John Forddirected...

with thesameactor,John Wayne.

The characteroftheherobecomes richer, more complex with each decade.

The Ringo KidofStagecoach...

Sorry. No silver cups.

grewfiirstinto thebenevolentfather fiigure ofShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

They all put in the hat for it, sir.

There's a sentiment on the back ofit.

''To Captain Brittles...

from C Troop.''

[ Sniffles ]

'' Lest we forget.''

[Scorsese]Now watch Ford transformJohn Wayne...

into themisfiitofThe Searchers.

Ethan Edwards returns fromyears ofwandering...

to discoverthathis lovedones havebeenmassacredby the Indians.

- Another one, huh? - John Wayne'sheroicpersona...

has turneddarkandobsessive.

Thephysicaldeath ofthe Indian isnotenough.

Ethan wants to ensure his spiritualdeath as well.

This 'un come a long way before he died, Captain.

Well, ethan, there's another one you can score up foryour brother.

- [ Groans, Whimpers ] -Jorgensen!

Why don'tya finish thejob?

[ Gunshot, echoing ]

[Continues Echoing]

What good did that doya?

Bywhatyou preach, none.

Bywhat that Comanche believes,

ain'tgotno eyes, he can'tenterthespiritland.

He has to wander forever between the winds. You get it, Reverend.

Come on, blanket head.

[Scorsese]Goneis thesimpleblack-and-white moralityofthe early days.

[ Gunshots ]

[ Thunder]

Goneare the old-fashionedvalues oftheseasonedcavalryoffiicer.

[ThunderContinues]

-[Bugle] - [ Gunshots ]

- Nowlookat Ethan Edwards ofThe Searchers. - Hyah! Get in there!

Thesamestar,John Wayne,'

thesamelocation, aroundMonument Valley,'

thesame director,John Ford,'

buta differentcharacter, different attitudes, differentconflicts,

almosta differentcountry.

Ethan Edwardshunts downhisniece,

No, no! ethan!

abductedandraisedby the Indians afterthemassacre ofherparents,

becausehebelieves shehasbeen tarnished.

- [ Shouts, Grunts ] - Living with Comanches, heinsists, isnotbeingalive.

Ethan Edwards isactually themost frightening characterin the fiilm.

- Debbie! - Afteryears ofsearching,

whenhe fiinally fiinds Natalie Wood,

youdon'tknow whether he'sgonnakillherorsaveher.

No, ethan! No!

Let's go home, Debbie.

This isnohappyending, though.

There isnohome, no family waiting forEthan.

He is cursed, justashe cursedthe deadComanche.

He isa drifter, doomedto wanderbetween the winds.

The westernalsoallowedforelaborate psychologicalandeven Freudian dramas.

- Well, patron? - Hang him.

InAnthony Mann's The Furies,

thepatriarchalcattlebaron wantshis rebellious daughter...

tobeghim forherlover's life.

You will not humbleyourself.

This l ask.

WhileJohn Fordonlyalludedto the darkside, Anthony Mann dwelledinit.

[ManSpeaking Spanish]

TheproudMexican chooses to die...

ratherthanallowhis woman tohumiliateherself.

[ Continues ln Spanish ]

Amen.

The Furies could'vebeen a Greek tragedy.

Thepowerfulstory, writtenby Niven Busch, theauthorof Duel in the Sun,

wasactuallyinspired byDostoyevsky'snovel The ldiot.

Juan.

The kiss ofa good friend.

'Til our eyes...

next meet.

'Til then.

Tears a body to see someoneyou love hurt, doesn't it?

Doyou want me to beg? Doyou want me on my knees toyou for his life?

- l'd hang him anyway. - That's what he said.

He did, eh? He always was smart.

Butyou're not. You're old, getting foolish and you've made a mistake.

lt's meyou should've hung,

because now l hateyou in a way l didn't know a human could hate.

Take a good, long look at me, T.C.

You won't see me again until the day l takeyourworld away from you!

[ Murmuring Prayer ln Spanish ]

[Woman Whimpering] Juanito.

Juanito!

Juanito! [Wailing]

[Scorsese] Themythologyofthe frontier,

ofalandinperpetualexpansion,

has given waytogreed, vengeance,

megalomania, sadistic violence.

- Roy! - Anthony Mann'sbroodingheroes werenosaints.

Look out! Let go ofhim!

Seeking revenge was theirobsession,

an obsession that wouldconsume andnearly destroy them.

EvenJamesStewart, theall-American hero ofFrank Capra's fables,

succumbedto outbursts ofsavage violence.

In The Naked Spur,youseehim reelinhis deadprey.

Hehasbecomeabountyhunterin order tobuyback theranchstolen from him...

- whilehe wasaway fiighting in the Civil War. - Cut him loose, Howie!

l'm takin' him back!

This is what l came after, and now l got him! No partners, like l started!

He's gonna pay for my land!

It'snogoodifyou takehim back!

They're dead! Finished!

- He'll never be dead foryou! - l don't care anything about that!

The money! That's all l've ever cared about!

Roy, he called the current. He said face up to it.

All right, that's what l'm doin'. That's what l'm doin'.

Maybe l don't fityour ideas ofme, but that's the way l am.

-Jeff!. - Hey, Hank!

[Man] Youall drop yourgunsandcome on down.

[Scorsese]BuddBoetticherexplored thebare essentials ofthegenre.

Hisstyle was assimple ashis impassiveheroes.

Let me seeyour hands, please.

- Deceptivelysimple. - Put 'em out there!

Thearchetypes ofthegenre were distilledto thepointofabstraction.

Bullfiightinghadbeen Boetticher's fiirst vocation.

The choreographyof basichumanpassions washis forte.

What did you do with Hank?

- Who's he? - The station man here.

He's overyonder in the well.

And the boy?

He's with 'im.

In theseven westerns hemade with RandolphScott,

Boetticheralways gaveprecedence to characteroveraction.

You let us go and we'll never breathe a word about this.

l knowyou won't. Doyou go along with what he said?

lfl said yes, you wouldn't believe me.

Yeah, it's dumb even talkin' about it, ain't it?

Eachadventure wasapokergame,

andtheplayer's complexmoves were more important than theavowedgoal.

- You know what's gonna happen toyou? - l think so.

- You scared? - Yeah.

You're honest about it. l'll say that forya.

- [ Thump ] - Ouch!

[ Laughing ]

Pouryourselfa cup ofcoffee. [ Continues Laughing ]

In thepowerplay, theheroand the villain were complimentary fiigures.

[ Continues Laughing ]

Theysharedthesameloneliness, thesame dreams...

andeven thesame ethicalcode.

Have a seat.

Over there.

[ Continues Laughing ]

Somehow, thegentleman andthe desperado...

were fascinatedbyeach other.

- You got a wife up on your place? - No.

- Should have. Ain't right for a man to be alone. - They say that.

Well, l oughta know.

- You cook good coffee. - Brennan.

Talk.

What about?

Your place. What's it like?

lt's not much. Notyet, anyway.

- You got stock on it? - Some.

Work the ground?

l plan to, yeah.

l'm gonna have me a place someday.

l thought about it. l thought about it a lot.

You figureyou'll get it this way?

Well, sometimes you don't have a choice.

Don'tyou?

- Now, look, Brennan-- - [Man]Frank!

[AutomatedOne-Man Band]

[Scorsese]Fordecades the westerngenre embellished therealityofthe west...

tomakeitmore ''interesting. ''

Butin themid-'50sseveralfiilms startedquestioning themyth...

perpetuatedby Hollywood.

Arthur Penn, forinstance, presentedBilly the Kid asajuvenile delinquent...

- [ Dinging ] - insearch ofa fatherfiigure.

Byhavingajournalistfollowtheyoung misfiit throughhis careerofcrime,

Pennsuggestedhowhistory was distortedevenasit was unfolding.

- Stateyour name. - Garrett.

- Huh? How's that? - Garrett. Pat Garrett.

-[Click] - My--

Little case ofthe quickjump.

Somebody gonna get his head clipped off.

[Resumes]

PaulNewmanportrayedBilly asasuicidalantihero...

whosoughthis own death.

You help me.

We don't wantyou.

Neithera viciouskiller norasympatheticoutlaw,

Billy wasarebel withouta cause.

You help me.

His rageandconfusion hadmore to do with themalaise ofgrowing up in the 1950s...

than with therealities ofthe Old West.

Please.

Billy, don'tgo foryourgun.

Keepyourhands away fromyourside.

- Idon't wannakillya. - He's here.

Billy.

Come to me.

[ Gunshot ]

[ClintEastwood]Just whenyou think the westernhasbeen exhausted,

that there'snowhere else togo withit,

something willcomealong withanewslanton things.

It's very exciting when thathappens.

Unforgiven is a good example...

ofwhat l mean when you can address a situation.

There's a lot ofconcern in society today...

about, about violence and gunplay,

and that film, even though it takes place in 1 880,

it, uh, it addresses that now,

that in order-- when you are a perpetrator ofviolence...

and you get involved in that sort ofthing,

you robyour soul...

as well as the person--

the person you're committing a violent act against.

[Scorsese]In Unforgiven, Eastwoodplaysaprofessionalkiller...

whohas triedtoreform andbecomea farmer.

Physicallyandmentallyscarred,

he'shauntedby his darkandviolentpast.

Judgmentnightcomesafterhisbest friendhasbeen torturedto death...

bySheriffGene Hackman.

- There'snoglamourinkillinganymore. -[Thunderclap]

Thelawmanbehaves asbadlyas therenegade.

They'reboth formergunslingers whohaveshotpeople in theback or when they were unarmed.

Who's the fella owns this shithole?

- Uh, l-l own this establishment. - [ThunderContinues]

- Bought it from Greeley for a thousand dollars. - [ Click]

You'd better clear outta there.

Yes, sir.

Just hold it right there. Hold it!

[ Screaming ]

[ Hammer Clicks ]

Well, sir, you are a cowardly son ofa bitch.

Youjust shot an unarmed man.

Well, he shoulda armed himself...

ifhe's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend.

You'd be William Munny out of Missouri.

Killer ofwomen and children.

That's right.

l've killed women and children.

Killedjust about everything that walks or crawled...

at one time or another.

And l'm here to kill you, Little Bill,

forwhatyou did to Ned.

[ThunderContinues]

You boys had better move away.

[Eastwood]I'vealways felt that the westernmovie...

is one ofthe fewartforms thatAmericans canlay claim to.

Americans are somewhat masochistic, l must say, about that.

Sometimes they can be very blase about their own art forms...

because it doesn't--

The grass is always greener, you know.

lt's, um--

lt's easy to look elsewhere...

when sometimes great art can be right in front ofyou.

[Scorsese]Ofcourse, mostAmerican directorsneverclaimedtobeartists.

Theypridedthemselves onappearingblase.

Holdingone's cards close to the vest wasasurvivalstrategy.

Evenan oldmasterlikeJohn Ford, itseems, hadto wearamask.

- Watchhowheplays the tight-lippedpro... - Take one.

in frontofPeterBogdanovich's camera.

''Take one''? Won't want more than one take, will they? Shoot.

[Bogdanovich] Mr. Ford, I'venoticedthat the, uh--

thatyour viewofthe West hasbecomeincreasinglysad...

andmelancholyovertheyears.

I'm comparing, forinstance, Wagon Master...

to The Man Who Shot LibertyValance.

- Haveyoubeenaware ofthatchangeinmood? - No. No.

NowthatI'vepointeditout,

is thereanything you'dlike tosayaboutit?

l don't know whatyou're talking about.

Can Iaskyou whatparticularelement about the western...

appealedtoyoufrom thebeginning?

l wouldn't know.

Wouldyouagree that thepointof Fort Apache...

was that the tradition ofthearmy...

wasmore important than oneindividual?

Cut.

[LoudBanging]

[Scorsese] Thegangsterfiilm.

Anotherrichgenre whichallowedfiilmmakers...

to dwellonAmerica's fascination with violenceandlawlessness.

- [Banging Continues] - lt's only a coal truck.

Hey, Tom. Waitaminute.

- What happened? - Aw, nothin'. l just got burned up, that's all.

[LoudBanging]

[Banging Continues]

[Machine Gun Fire]

[Gunfiire Continues]

''There'saction onlyif there is danger. ''

This was said by Howard Hawks, an authority on both the western and the gangster film.

''To stay alive or die; this is our greatest drama.''

The gangster film predates World War One,

as with Griffith's Musketeers ofPigAlley...

or Raoul Walsh's picture of 1 91 5 called Regeneration,

which wasshotonlocation on New York's LowerEastSide.

Gangsters then were viewedas the victims ofa depressedenvironment.

Neighborhoodkids growing up on themeanstreets.

But tenyears later, Prohibition broughtabouta tide ofmovies...

thatsignaleda tremendous escalation in urban violence.

[Machine Gun Fire]

Whatstruckmein Scarface was Howard Hawks'coolanddistantobjectivity.

Hey! That's O'Hara's mob.

Heshowed Tony Camonte, alsoknown asAlCapone,

asa vicious, immature, irresponsible character.

- Hey, lookit! They got machine guns you can carry! - [Gunfiire Continues]

- lfl had some ofthem, l could run the whole works in a month! - l'll getyou one!

Yet, that world wasalmostattractive...

because ofits irresponsibility.

And that was disturbing.

At times, ofcourse, the fiilm is very funny.

Notsurprising, as Hawks was asmuch amasterofcomedyas ofaction.

Swell! Look, it's little. You can carry it. Let's get outta here.

Butat the endofthe '30s cameareallypivotalfiilm-- Raoul Walsh's Roaring Twenties.

Don'tyou ever say that to me again. Doyou hear? Never.

This chronicle ofthe Prohibition era...

was thelastgreatgangsterfiilm before theadventoffiilm noir.

Itreadlikea twisted HoratioAlgerstory.

Thegangstercaricatured theAmerican dream.

Ofall the dog-and-ponyjoints l've everworked in, this tops 'em all.

Don't worry, honey. l likeya.

Well, happy New Year.

[Scorsese] This was thegrippingsaga ofa warhero turnedbootlegger...

andhis downfall afterthestockmarketcrash.

- [ Gunshot ] - eddie! eddie!

It wasactually theinspiration behindone ofmystudentfiilms, lt's NotJust You, Murray.

And l'd like to think, uh, GoodFellas comes out ofthe tradition...

ofsomething as extraordinary as The Roaring Twenties and Scarface.

Drop it! Drop it!

eddie!

Thegangsterhadnowbecome a tragic fiigure.

eddie!

Walsh even daredto endthe fiilm...

onasemi-religious image...

thatevokesapieta.

He's dead.

Well, who is this guy?

This is eddie Bartlett.

What was his business?

He used to be a big shot.

After World War Two, thegangsterturnedintoabusinessman.

Thegang was taken over byanonymous corporations.

[ Whistles ] What a layout.

There's only one way to handleyou. Kill me?

lfl have to, yeah. A guy's gotta fight forwhat's his.

[Scorsese] The fiirstfiilm toshow themajorchanges in the underworld...

was Byron Haskins' underrated l WalkAlone.

BurtLancaster,justoutofprison, discovers thenew worldhe's in.

Get him outta here.

He knows all my business. He stays.

You and your boys.

This isn't the Four Kings,'nohidingout behindasteeldoorandapeephole.

This is big business.

We deal with banks, lawyers and a Dunn and Bradstreet rating.

The world's spun right pastyou, Frankie.

ln the '20s you were great.

ln the '30s you might've made the switch, but todayyou're finished,

as dead as the headlines the dayyou went into prison.

- Regional associates-- - Stop tryin' to dizzy me up!

Here. Now, l want simple answers, Dave. No diagrams.

Dink's got the full say around here, right?

- Yes. - Okay, then.

except that it's revocable by a vote ofthe board ofdirectors of Regent Associates.

- Stop the double-talk. - l'm sorry, Frankie.

-Just what does Dink own? - ln which corporation?

[Scorsese] Some fiilms,

notablyAbraham Polonsky's Force of evil,

wenteven furtherandpainted the wholesocietyas corrupt.

The face ofJohn Garfiield, alawyerforthemob,

wasalandscape ofmoralconflicts.

[Man Thinking] People canbemade to talk.

Was myphone talking too?

[ Dial Tone, Click]

[Scorsese] Thesocialbodyitselfwassick.

Thesystem's violencebecame theissue, ratherthanindividual violence.

Yousawa corrupt world implodebeforeyour eyes.

Leo, l arranged with Tucker foryou to quit tonight.

- l'll pay offyour investments. - l don't want it,Joe.

The money l made in this rotten business is no good for me.

- l don't want it back. - The money has no moral opinions.

l find l have,Joe. l find l have.

Abraham Polonsky's dialogue was unusuallypoetic.

l'm glad you called me, Freddy.

l'm glad you thought it over to calm down and listen to me, so l can helpyou.

Coffee.

Please, Mr. Morse. All l want is to quit. That's all. Nothing else.

Theywon't let me quit, and l want to quit. l'll die ifl don't quit.

l'm a man with heart trouble.

l die almost every day myself.

That's the way l live.

lt's a silly habit.

You know, sometimes you feel as though you're dying...

here...

and here.

Here.

You're dying whileyou're breathing.

Freddy, what haveyou done?

[ Car Doors Slamming ]

Freddy, what haveyou done to me?

- Take it easy, Pop, and you won't get hurt. - You're safe with us.

Come on! Itcan't takeallnight!

- Standupandwalk! - Stop him! Stop him! He knows me!

Kill him! Kill him! He knows me!

[ Moans ]

Where's my brother, Ben?

[Scorsese] Youcouldn'tbuck thesystem. You were indebtedto thesyndicate forlife.

Where's my brother? Where's my brother?

Where did Ficco take my brother?

[Scorsese] They were foreverusingyou.

Theyeven wantedyou tosacrifiiceyourown family.

[Joe Thinking]I wantedto fiindLeo, toseehim oncemore.

It wasmorning by then, dawn,

andnaturallyI was feeling verybadthere as I wentdown there.

Ijustkeptgoing downanddown there.

It was likegoing down to thebottom ofthe world...

to fiindmybrother.

[Scorsese] Thismadness culminated...

in Francis Coppola's The Godfather.

AsAlPacino discovered whenhe cameback from World War Two,

thesonhadto follow his father's criminalpath.

Whenyou werea Corleone, there wasnoleaving the outfiit.

It wasan evil family boundby fearandtorn by treachery,

butyouservedit withoutever questioningits legitimacy,

as thoughit wasyourcountry.

American values-- family, free enterprise, patriotism-- became totally twisted.

even individualism was dead.

The organization was a state within the state;

the gangster, a chairman ofthe board; and crime was a way oflife.

By thelate '60s thegangstergenre hadprovenso versatile...

itcouldeven embrace anavant-gardestyle.

Watch theinnovative editinghere ofJohn Boorman's Point Blank.

Theimagesare literally flashing through CarrollO'Connor'smind...

asherealizes who Lee Marvin is--

akiller whosluggedandsmashedhis way to the top ofthe organization...

ina desperate quest to fiindthemanin charge, theman who cansimplypayhim.

- Aaaah! - Walker.

[ Mutters ] Walker.

You're a very bad, destructive man, Walker.

- Why doyou do things like this? What doyou want? - l want my money.

I wantmy93grand.

Ninety-three thousand dollars?

You'd threaten a financial structure like this for $93,000?

- l don't believeyou. What doyou reallywant? - l-l reallywant my money.

l want my money!

Well, l'm not gonna giveya any money, and nobody else is!

- Don'tyou understand that? - [ Gunshot ]

Carter!

- Well, wh-who runs things? - Carter and l run things-- I run things.

What about Fairfax? Will he pay me?

Fairfax is a man who signs checks.

No. Cash.

Cash, checks-- Fairfax isn't gonna giveyou anything. He's finished.

- Fairfax is dead. Hejust doesn't know ityet. - Somebody's gotta pay.

Parallel to the gangster film was the rise ofa very different genre-- the musical.

An interesting coincidence.

The harshness ofthe times-- the Depression--

colored this most escapist ofall film genres.

[ Singing ]

[Scorsese] With BusbyBerkeley, thegenre cameintoits own.

A formerdanceinstructor,

Berkeley was the fiirst torealize thatamoviemusical...

was totally different from astagedmusical.

On fiilm, everything was seen through one eye-- the camera.

In designinghisproductionnumbers,

he would therefore relyon unusualcameramovementsandangles.

The cameraitselfwouldpartake in the choreography.

Berkeley'sballets couldnothave existedoutside ofthemovies.

They werepure cinematic creations.

Berkeley's fiilms were viewed aspure entertainment,

butsometimesheappliedhis wizardryto thegrim realities ofAmericanlife...

caughtin thegrip ofthe Depression.

[Woman] Remembermy forgottenman?

Youputarifle inhishand.

Yousenthim faraway.

Youshouted ''Hip-Hooray. ''

Butlookathim today.

Remembermy forgottenman.

Youhadhim cultivate theland.

He walkedbehindaplow.

Thesweatfell from hisbrow.

Butlookathim rightnow.

'Cause eversince the worldbegan,

a woman'sgot tohaveaman.

Forgettinghim, yousee,

meansyou're forgettingme.

[WomanScreams] Aaaah!

[Scorsese]Alwaysstretching thelimits ofthemusicalgenre,

Berkeleyeven dared choreographhuman tragedies.

Aaaah!

[Crash]

- [Gunshots] - [ Crowd Gasping Shouting ]

[ Women Scream ]

Aaaah!

[CrowdMurmuring]

- [Police Whistle Blows] - [Siren Wailing]

The big parade goes on foryears

l can't do it, l tell ya. l can't!

[Scorsese]Berkeley's earlymusicals at WarnerBrothers...

offeredbackstagestories whosepacing wasnotunlike thatofthegangsterfiilm.

l'm too nervous! l can't do it!

They were dominatedby the fiigure...

ofthe crazed, manic, often embitteredBroadwayproducer.

- What doya wanna do, boss? - Bring up that curtain!

In Footlight Parade, youhadJames Cagney.

- All right, that's you! - No!

In 42nd Street, WarnerBaxter.

Watch that tempo! Watch it, will you?

Getyour feet offofthe floor!

In these times, ifyoushowedanyambition...

-youeitherbecame agangsterorashowbizperformer, - Faster!Faster!

Come on! Faster! Faster!

atleastin the fantasy world ofWarnerBrothers.

-Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! lt's brutal! -[Stops]

Ohh!

May l remind you that PrettyLady's out-of-town opening is not far away?

lt's been advertised as a musical-comedywith dancing!

lfit isn't asking too much,

will you please show me a little?

- Come on. Ready,Jerry? Get into it now! - [Piano Resumes]

[Scorsese]Broadwayofferedametaphor fora desperate, shatteredcountry.

Directororchorus girl, yourlife dependedon theshow'ssuccess.

[ManShouting]

Againstallodds, WarnerBaxterachievedhis dream.

These directors make me sick. Take Marsh.

Putshisnameallovertheprogram, getsall the credit.

Ifit wasn'tforkids likeSawyer, he wouldn'thaveashow.

Marsh would probably say he discovered her. Some guys get all the breaks.

[Scorsese]Buton openingnight he was too drained...

to enjoy theproduction's triumph.

- [Crowd Chattering] - Theshowhadtaken on alife ofits own.

The taskmaster's lot, in the end, wassolitude.

They're sending me to New York for good,

tobeheadofthe offiice ofFenton, RayburnandCompany.

- New York? - What?

New York?

[Scorsese] Tenyears later, Vincente Minnelli's Meet Me ln St. Louis wasamilestone.

- l simply don't believe it. - We'll leave right after Christmas.

l thought we'd all like to have Christmas in St. Louis.

[Scorsese]Firstofall, thestory didn'thavea Broadwaysetting.

New York is a big city.

It wasamemoryalbumsetin the Midwestat the turn ofthe century.

Itsprotagonists were themembers ofamiddle-classhousehold.

[ Tinkling ]

They didnotneedtobe professionalperformers.

- [ Humming ] - Anyone couldsinganddance, ifthey feltlikeit.

[ Continues ]

Singinganddancingbecame asnaturalasbreathingortalking.

- La-da-dah, dah-dah-dah - Also, the tunes were designed to furthertheplot...

andrevealthe characters.

They expressedthe ebbandflow ofpersonalemotions.

lfSanta Claus brings me any toys, l'm taking them with me.

l'm taking all my dolls; the dead ones, too.

l'm taking everything.

Ofcourseyou are.

l'll helpyou pack them myself.

You don't have to leave anything behind,

exceptyour snow people, ofcourse.

[ Laughs ]

Sometimes they were tinged withbittersweetirony...

as the family faced an uncertain future in thebig city.

Haveyourself

A merry little Christmas

Make theyuletide gay

Nextyear all our troubles

Will be miles away

Oh, haveyourself

A merry little

Christmas

Now

Tootie.

[ Sobbing ]

Tootie!

[Scorsese] Sweetnessandinnocence willprevail,

but with the explosion ofa child'spainandrage...

unexpectedshadows weresuddenly caston thisnostalgicperiodpiece.

Nobody's gonna have them! Not ifwe're going to New York!

l've got to kill them ifwe can't take them with us!

Tootie, darling, don'tcry. Youcan buildothersnowpeople in New York.

[ Sobbing ] You can't do anything likeyou do in St. Louis!

Oh, no, darling. You're wrong.

''The rabbit hunters have his private carrot patch surrounded,

and they're closing in.

And what's that sticking up over that bush?''

- Areyou my daddy? - lt's, um-- Hmm?

- [ Chuckles ] No, l'm justyour Uncle Doug. - Oh.

In themid-'40s something interestinghappened.

Hey, fellas. Can Icomein?

[Scorsese]Darkercurrents seepedinto themusical,

as theyhadin the western andthegangsterfiilm.

Even themore conventionalmusicals hintedat thepostwarmalaise.

Root-too-toot-ooh Toot-ooh

Listen to that fiddle player slap, slap, slap

On thesurface My Dream ls Yours hadall the trappings...

ofa Doris Day vehicleproduced on the WarnerBros assemblyline.

Itseemedtobepure escapistfare.

Oh, it's so spacious and peaceful.

No sponsors or agents pushing me around.

Just hitch yourwagon to me and you'll be a star.

No. Thankyou, Gary, but l have too much to do on my own.

- My dream is yours - But the comedyhadabitteredge.

lt isn't much to give

Yousawtheperformer's personalrelationships...

turningsourandbeingsacrifiiced to their careers.

So, darling, may l say

Look, honey, let's have an understanding.

Two careers in one family is one too many.

We'll concentrate on mine, huh?

[Man]Come on. Hereheis!

The fiilm madeyouaware ofhowdiffiicult,

orevenimpossible, relationships arebetween creativepeople.

- [ Chattering ] - It wasamajorinfluence...

onmy fiilm New York, New York.

l'm through with spending time

Doris Day'sbigbreak comes when shehas toreplace Lee Bowman, thepopularcroonersheloves,

who's too drunk toperform on his ownnationalradioshow.

Gary, you can't go on. You're drunk.

Lee Bowman's character was an egotist who felt threatened byDoris Day'ssuccess.

My dream is yours

-Itisn'tmuch togive - In New York, New York, I took that tormentedromance...

andmadeit the verysubjectofthe fiilm.

But while l live My dream is yours

-[Continues] - Lovely girl.

Lovely singer.

Handywith a knife, too.

Begins toshine

[Grunting, Groaning]

Thepinnacle ofthemusical was reachedin the early '50s.

Again wemeet theincomparable Vincente Minnelli.

Lookat The Band Wagon's fiinalproductionnumber, ''The Girl HuntBallet. ''

In thissatire ofMickeySpillane'spulpnovels,

yousee themusicalborrowing andabsorbing theicons offiilm noir--

private eyesanddangeroussirens.

Minnelli'smusicals celebratedthe triumph oftheimaginaryoverthereal.

Anyaspectofreality, howevertrivial,

couldbe transformed, stylized andincorporatedintoaballet.

The world wasastage,

anditbelongedto those who couldsinganddance.

MGM was then themagic factory,

whereproducerArthur Freed nurturedsuch classics as On The Town,

An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain,

lt's Always FairWeather and, ofcourse, The Band Wagon.

He's drunk.

- How bad? - Very.

- What doyou want me to do? - Keep him off.

A horse!

My kingdom for a horse!

George Cukor's A Star ls Born...

took thegenre onestep further.

Get a load of Norman Maine, will ya?

Itgave usJudy Garlandasabandsinger whobecomesamoviestar...

whileJames Mason, hermentor, sabotageshis career.

Sure, butjust a few. l promised the boys.

Takeyour hands offme.

Actually, thestoryhadbeenbrought to thescreen twicebefore...

inanon-musicalform.

''Theshowmustgo on. '' Thatis theperformer's fiirstcommandment.

ButMason's Norman Maine couldn't takeitanymore.

- That does it. -Just a few more.

- l said, that does it. - Butyou got plenty oftime!

[Scorsese]He was trapped in the cruel worldofmake-believe.

l-l'm sorry, gentlemen. No time.

He couldn'tevenbear tolookathimself.

Areyou trying to stop me from going on? ls that it?

[ Women Screaming ]

Thesebrokenmirrors were the fiirststep towardself-destruction.

For the love that's truly true you gotta have me go with you

- You gotta have me - Why the holdout

Andme

-Haveyousoldout - [WomenScreaming]

- Timeyou woke up Timeyouspoke up - [ Screaming, Gasping ]

This line I'm handin'you

It'snotahandout

Asa team we'dbeastandout Fallout

- You wanna live high on a dime - This wasnotamusical-comedy.

This wasamusicaldrama about thesadironies ofshowbusiness.

- Boodely-ooh-boo - Why the holdout

Haveyou sold out

Timeyou woke up Timeyou spoke up

Ooh, you gotta have me go with you

Why theholdout Haveyousoldout

Timeyou woke up Timeyou spoke up

- This line l'm handin' you - [Audience Murmuring]

lt's not a handout

As a team we'd be a standout

- You wanna live high on a dime - [Audience Laughing]

[ Laughing ] You wanna have too harsh a climb

You gotta have me

Go with you

All the time

In spite ofboldattempts by such choreographer-directors...

as Gene Kelly, StanleyDonenand Bob Fosse to open upnewterritories,

themusicalceasedto exist asa fiilmgenre.

But theshowbizperformerstillremains akey fiigure inmusicalbiographies.

Recently themostexciting effort wasprobablyBob Fosse's self-portrait, All ThatJazz.

[ Coughing ] lt's show time, folks.

The fiigure ofthe exhaustedentertainer needing openheartsurgery...

wouldfiitrightinto BusbyBerkeley's galleryofhard-driving, hard-drinking,

chain-smoking directors.

[Beeping]

We're glad thatyou're sorry

Now

- [Man]Cut! - [BellRinging]

You blew it. You forgotyour line.

At the end ofthis number you're supposed to say, uh-- What's he supposed to say?

He's supposed to say, ''l don't want to die. l want to live.''

[ Mumbling ]

Well, ifyou can't say it, you can't say it. We'll just have to cut it.

Cut it. Take me up. Next setup.

Ofcourseit'snotenough forAmerican directors tobejuststorytellers.

So, as we continue ourjourney inparts twoandthree,

I'dlike toshowyouhowI think theyneedalso tobeillusionists,

sometimessmugglers...

andevenat times iconoclasts.

Thatis, iftheyintendto express theirownpersonal vision.