Scorsese is one of America's most distinctive and successful filmmakers. For twenty-five years, he has provided audiences with tough, gritty, yet beautifully composed movies - many of them all-time classics.

From the urban violence, psychosis, and isolation of Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, and Goodfellas, through the opulent lyricism of The Age of Innocence, to the operatic and controversial Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese has not compromised his vision of the human heart and its struggles.

Scorsese has wrestled hard with his ambivalence over the legacy of his Catholicism. As a second-generation Sicilian-American, he also has had to come to grips with the stereotypes of organized crime while recognizing the dramatic interest of these fascinating and complex characters. In this book, each of Scorsese's films is thoughtfully discussed in a way that will help readers understand these and other themes in order to discern the overall patterns of the filmmaker's career.