Two distinctive things have often been noted about legendary Hollywood director Martin Scorsese. One, he prefers casting either Robert De Niro or Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead character and two, he prefers adapting books into movies rather than creating new stories.
Ever since he made his first film in 1967, Scorsese has adapted dozens of books into films. Some of the movies have gone on to be much better than the books they were based on while some have failed to impress. Here are the director’s best and worst book-to-movie adaptations.
Impressed: Raging Bull
Raging Bull was the first-ever film to be chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry in its year of release. It marked the first collaboration between Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, The trio would go on to have a strong working relationship in the future. De Niro also had to gain 60 pounds for his role.
The sports drama is adapted from boxing middleweight champion Jake LaMotta’s memoir Raging Bull: My Story. The movie revolves around Jake (Robert De Niro)who is phenomenal in the ring but an emotional wreck out of it. Despite desiring love from family and friends, his anger issues alienate him from them.
Didn’t Impress: Silence
Unlike most Scorsese movies, this 2018 historical drama starring Andre Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson failed to generate any buzz. The book is based on the 1966 novel with a similar title by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō. The film only managed a worldwide gross of #$23.7 million against a budget of $50 million.
Silence follows Christian missionaries Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) and Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) who travel to Japan to search for their missing mentor Jesuit Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson). Interestingly, the movie had been in development hell for 28 years. Maybe Scorsese now wishes he had just left it alone.
Impressed: The Wolf Of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street is adapted from former Wall Street broker Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name. The movie follows Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he rises from a junior stockbroker in Wall Street to a multi-millionaire owner of the firm Stratton Oakmont. However, he is soon brought down by the authorities due to fraudulent dealings.
The real-life Jordan Belfort praised the movie for being mostly accurate. It grossed $392 million worldwide, thus becoming Martin Scorsese’s best-performing movie. At the 86th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Didn’t Impress: Shutter Island
Shutter Island was one of the few Martin Scorsese films that didn’t receive a single Oscar nomination. It also has a score of 68% which is quite low as per Scorsese standards. Even though praise was given for the soundtrack and performances by DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, the general reception was mixed.
The movie was adapted from Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel which has a similar title. Shutter Island is set in 1954 and it revolves around the investigations by U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) about the disappearance of a mentally ill patient from the Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. Soon, Teddy discovers that things aren’t exactly as they seem.
Impressed: Casino
Casino is based on Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. The author was also brought in by Scorsese to co-write the screenplay. The film starred Scorsese’s favorite muses, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Sharon Stone was also cast as a lead and ended up getting a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Ginger.
The movie follows mobster Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (Robert De Niro) who runs a casino in Las Vegas. Ace falls for party girl Ginger and marries her but she ends up being too wild for his liking. Ace’s childhood friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci)also starts living recklessly, has an affair with Ginger and is soon marked for death by the mob.
Didn’t Impress: The Age Of Innocence
The Age of Innocence was adapted from the 1920 Edith Wharton novel. It was a failure at both the American and global box office, grossing just $32 million against a budget of $34 million. Scorsese’s father also had a cameo in the film but died shortly before its release.
The movie follows Newland Archer ((Daniel Day-Lewis), a rich lawyer who gets engaged to a New York City socialite in the 1870s New York. Their marriage is tested when his wife’s beautiful cousin arrives in two and Newland falls deeply for her.
Impressed: Goodfellas
Goodfellas is also based on a Nicholas Pileggi book. Scorsese must really love his work. This time, the director choose Pileggi’s Wiseguy as the source material. The movie revolved around the rise and fall of gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in the mob as well as his dealings with gangsters James Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci).
Alongside The Godfather, Scorsese’s Goodfellas is widely considered one of the two best gangster films ever made. Interestingly, Liotta almost never got his role because the studio wanted a well-known actor. He was once quoted saying, “I think they would’ve rather had Eddie Murphy than me.” Luckily, Scorsese’s word to the executives made him get the role.
Didn’t Impress: The Aviator
Though it was popular among critics upon its release, this film is hardly ever talked about. It just didn’t have the ingredients needed to make it a classic. It was the second film in which Leonardo DiCaprio was flying planes or pretending to do so. He had previously given a spectacular performance as a con artist and fake pilot in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can.
This biographical film is based on Charles Higham’s non-fiction book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life. It follows Howard (Leonardo DiCaprio) who decides to become a film producer after inheriting 75% of his father’s wealth. He goes on to produce a couple of classic films such as Hell’s Angels which Scorsese has actually named as one of his favorite films. Later on, he branches into the aviation industry, founding TWA Airlines.
Impressed: The Irishman
The Irishman revolves around former mob hitman Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his close relationship with Northeastern Pennsylvania crime boss Russel Buffalino (Joe Pesci) and controversial Teamster Union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Later on, Frank is forced to turn on Hoffa and kill him after he angers the mob.
The Netflix film is based on the non-fiction book I Heard You Paint Houses, which was penned by Frank with the help of his lawyer as per his own recollections. Though some historians have questioned Frank’s claim that he killed Jimmy Hoffa, most of the film’s story is said to be true. The Irishman received 10 Oscar nominations.
Didn’t Impress: Hugo
With his criticism of Marvel, Scorsese has made it clear that he hates fantasy and science fiction films. So, it’s quite a surprise that he made this movie back in 2011. The lack of passion was clearly evident. Even though the plot was solid, the movie was just not as fun as other offerings in its genre. As a result, it made a $100 million loss at the box office. Producer Graham King commented about the failure, saying. “There’s no finger-pointing—I’m the producer and I take the responsibility.”
Hugo was based on Brian Selznick’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It followed a boy who lived in solitude at the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris. It was the first-ever film that Scorsese shot in 3D after admitting to being impressed by the technology.
