THE SPIKE AND MARTY SHOW:

A Tale of Two Directors
















Will LaDuke
Films of Scorcese/Lee
Prof. Shelleen Greene
Tues/Thurs. 6:00-9:30 pm.



THE SPIKE AND MARTY SHOW:

A Tale of Two Directors

At first glance, they would appear to be an unlikely pair of cinematic bedfellows. The one fellow, an asthmatic film geek and wannabe Gangster Priest from Manhattan’s Little Italy, scratching and clawing his way into filmmaking – riding the crest of the “New Hollywood” movement that rose, phoenix-like from the ashes of the old studio system. Whilst the other, a kid straight out of Brooklyn was nicknamed “Spike” (as Aftab notes: “…in honor of the boys’ petulant nature…” 1), and who made his claim to a career in filmmaking against formidable odds in the wake of the “Blaxploitation” genre of films that were popular in his youth. And, although a generation separates them, on the surface it would appear these two filmmakers would appear to have little, if anything, in common. And there, we would be sadly mistaken. For Martin Scorcese and Spike Lee are both proudly defiant “sons of the Big Apple”, who have used the environs of New York City and its culture as a key element in many of their films. As Lee himself puts it: “I’m definitely a product of New York City in my sensibility.”






Both directors have received their fair share of kudos from critics and film goers alike and have been widely acclaimed as Film Auteurs (ala’ Hitchcock), in their respective films.
And, both Lee and Scorcese are acolytes of the cult of Cinema – with the pair of them referencing and appropriating a number of distinctive film styles from the films they had admired in their youth.

In MEAN STREETS, Martin Scorcese draws upon a number of cinematic influences, including the French New Wave cinema of the 1950’s and, of course, the Italian Neo-Realism school of filmmaking. In bringing his violent fable of life on the streets of Manhattan’s Little Italy to life, the director fashions a slightly fictionalized slice of life in the neighborhoods that he grew up in. Near the start of the film, Scorcese uses a long, continuous tracking shot that allows the camera to follow the film’s protagonist – Charlie – into the somewhat seedy bar that he calls his hangout – that is reminiscent of Truffaut’s 400 BLOWS, or perhaps even Orson Welles’ opening shot in the film TOUCH OF EVIL. Later in the film, we see Harvey Keitel (as Charlie); descend into the depths of substance abuse at the bar again. And this time, the camera is locked upon Keitel/Charlie as both are seemingly propelled through the room in a style that mirrors the camera technique of Fellini or Antonioni.

MEAN STREETS is a film that touches upon many themes that are near and dear to the director’s heart - in prejudice with the Italian American community. The most overt example occurs in the faux romantic subplot involving Charlie and an exotic dancer at the bar, named Diane – who just happens to be black. Charlie first makes a date with Diane – but soon loses his nerve en route to their scheduled assignation. We see the director make use of what are referred to as “free, indirect subjective shots” - or as Hull and Viano have characterized as: “…shots in which the film’s director uses the gaze of a character in their films as an outlet for their own way of seeing…”.2
The twin demons of Religious morality and unpremeditated, unmotivated violence rear their respective ugly heads throughout the Scorcese canon. In MEAN STREETS, the issues of religious morality and unbridled Catholic guilt are exemplified in the character of Scorceses’ alter-ego – Charlie. From virtually the first time we see Charlie – we find that he – like the director – is constantly questioning the very faith that he is bound irretrievably to.

In one instance, Charlie places his hand over an open flame to test his resistance to the concept of eternal damnation and hellfire. As Casillo notes: “The images of self-immolation reflect Scorceses’ adolescent experience of a Catholic retreat, when he still aspired to the priesthood and when priests told him to place his fingers in fire so as to comprehend infernal torture.” 3. And religious symbolism abounds throughout the rest of the film, such as in another sequence where Charlie and his ‘social albatross’ of a friend – Johnny Boy- seek refuge from the violence of the streets in a lonely churchyard. It is a tableau rendered straight out of the New Testament that recalls the betrayal of Christ by his followers in the Garden of Gesthamane.
And yet another theme that runs throughout the director’s work is that of the dichotomy of the Madonna/Whore complex. We see this theme manifested in the ill-fated relationship between Charlie and Johnny Boy’s cousin – Teresa. Charlie carries on sexual relations with Teresa, but will not even consider marriage to her – due to her family’s status within the neighborhood, and an infirmity which has further served to isolate and ostracize Teresa in the Italian American community.

We find an examination of the Madonna/Whore complex told in a slightly different manner in Spike Lee’s 1986 film – SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT. The film’s plot is reminiscent of Kurosawa’s masterpiece – ROSHOMON (1946) – in which we have three different suitors giving their perspective on the film’s title character – Nola Darling. As Houston Baker writes: “Nola Darling represents (the) black woman’s desire incarnate. Hers is a vision quest for the elusive “IT” that provides human satisfaction” 4
C
Nola’s bed provides a central fixed locale upon which lies her tale. The image of the bed – juxtaposed with yet another central image in the film – the Brooklyn Bridge – as focal points to characterize Nola’s struggle to maintain her own sexual identity and realize her own journey to self-reliance and independence. Her vocation as a collage artist is given a bit of a spin with regards to the bed motif during a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner, where Nola and her erstwhile suitors seek refuge together there.

Lee also has some cinematic flourishes up his sleeve as well. Shooting the film mainly in Black and White, the filmmaker makes an abrupt transition to color in a birthday sequence that manages to reference BLOW-UP and the WIZARD OF OZ at the same time.

Lee even manages to make reference to a plot device worthy of Fellini when he depicts a dream sequence of Nola’s that features a “Greek chorus” of former girlfriends that rapidly deteriorates into the stuff of nightmares.






Early on in the film, the director uses a cinematic technique of the French New wave in general and Goddard in particular when he employs a number of “jump cuts” to illustrate the variety of inane “pick-up” lines used by Nola’s former

unsuccessful suitors.

Lee will use this technique again later in the film, to slightly more provocative effect in depicting Nola’s lover Jaime’s “near rape” – a sequence where we see Nola with the two other lovers (Greer and Mars) juxtaposed into the scene in a more than slightly disconcerting manner.

Throughout the course of their film careers, both Martin Scorcese and Spike Lee have crafted a body of films that play specifically to their respective cinematic wheelhouses. Both have made inventive use of their oft-times limited resources and anemic film budgets to make highly personalized, yet socially relevant films. Movies that speak not only to the legion of film critics, analyzing their every move – but also display a broad range of appeal to the average filmgoer in their target demographic markets as well as the general movie going public.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Aftab, Kaleem – “ That’s my Story and I’m Sticking to it.” W.H. Norton & Co. 2005 p. 6
2) Hull, Stephanie and Viano, Mauriziano – “The Image of Blacks in the Works of Coppola, DePalma and Scorcese.” (Electronic Reserve) p. 189.
3) Casillo, Robert – Gangster Priest – “The Italian American Cinema of Martin Scorcese.” University of Toronto Press – 2006. p. 189.
4) Baker, Houston A. – “Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture”. (Electronic Reserve) p. 7