Scorsese at the Oscars: The Complete Tally

by Cláudio Alves

With Killers of the Flower Moon still in theaters, conversation on the film has drifted from first impressions to Oscar prognostication. Amid these talks, Martin Scorsese's golden record has been heavily debated. Some say he's been severely under-rewarded, while others regard such talking points with disdain usually reserved for teenaged pop stans. Wherever you fall in this spectrum, knowing the director's exact Oscar stats will be helpful, if not enlightening. None of his short or documentary work has ever been recognized by AMPAS, and out of 25 narrative features, 17 have received at least one nomination – or 68%. Seven of those won an Oscar – or roughly 41% of his nominated work.

For a more in-depth analysis, let's consider the complete tally, sorted by category…

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Review: "Killers of the Flower Moon" is a Monument of Sorrow

by Cláudio Alves

Killers of the Flower Moon starts in death, but not of flesh or person. The Frontier is no more, the West has been won, and the Track of Tears travailed when the Osage tribe gathers to mourn a way of life. Their traditions, their beliefs, their language are moving into the twilight, so they bury a sacred pipe and give themselves a symbol to weep over and express unsurmountable grief. As if listening to the lament, the earth responds. Black oil bursts from the ground, a geyser of wealth for the People from the Middle Waters brought to this Oklahoma barrenness after settlers pushed them asunder and away from the Great Plains. A pittance place once thought worthless reveals itself a treasure, and, overnight, the Osage Nation becomes the richest per capita population in the world.

So starts Martin Scorsese's latest opus, a title that, even within the context of his hallowed filmography, feels like a monumental achievement…

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Best Lead Actor - First Round Predictions

by Nathaniel R

Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Colman Domingo (Rustin) are both working the classic 'biopic' angle

As with the first round of Best Supporting Actor predictions, we're opting to pretend that the strike will be resolved in time for most of the movies that are scheduled for awards season to continue with their current plans. We use the word "pretend" because it feels increasingly likely that this awards season will be an unprecented combo of fewer than usual releases and zero celebrity campaigning. We hope the studio powers-that-be will wake from their incessant greed and learn to share the wealth with the people without whom they can't make money (actors/writers) but we're not going to hold out breath lest we asphyxiate.

On to Best Actor. This category is often heavy on biographical 'great men' roles and there's little reason to expect this year will be any different. Cillian Murphy, Colman Domingo, Bradley Cooper, Joaquin Phoenix, and Adam Driver will all potentially benefit from that tried and true awards-appeal genre...

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Cannes: Scorsese triumphs again with "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Leonardo DiCaprio & Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Dear Martin Scorsese, why did you shy away from the main competition for the Palm d’Or? Needless to say, someone with your career and pedigree has almost nothing to lose even when pitted against younger, eager colleagues at a festival. And Killers of the Flower Moon is exactly the kind of movie that is sure to impress. First of all, it is carried with the energy and politics you would expect from someone younger than Scorsese. His trademark intensity is present again. He's ardent to share the forgotten history of how a group of white men in the 1920s orchestrated a slow genocide of the Osage tribe -- at attempt to eradicate them from a land filled with oil. It is not a war but a vicious scheme because the Osage tribe was given the land before its real value was discovered.

As a result, the young USA decides to play nice with the native people, at first, making them immensely wealthy...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Killers of the Flower Moon"

by Cláudio Alves

Ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Apple TV has released the teaser for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. The historical crime drama cum Western epic has been intensely anticipated by film lovers everywhere, making itself the hottest ticket at the Croisette, where it'll screen out of competition. With an exclusive theatrical release scheduled for October before dropping on the streaming service sometime afterward, the picture is well positioned to be one of the awards season's strongest contenders, with many predicting it in early prognostications. Though, when faced with the wonder of Scorsese's cinema, awards talk feels superfluous.

Not all filmmakers slow down in their twilight years, as is the case of this auteur. Indeed, in a recent interview, Scorsese talked about his sense of mortality, how the possibilities of the seventh art keep expanding to him, and there's not enough time to explore them all. It's too late. Following the superb Silence and The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon looks like the work of a master who still has much to show us…

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