Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Martin Scorsese doubles down on Marvel critique and says cinema is being ‘invaded by theme park’ films

Renowned filmmaker refuses to back down on his criticism of the Marvel franchise

Roisin O'Connor
Monday 14 October 2019 02:33 EDT
Comments
The Irishman: Official Trailer Premiere

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Martin Scorsese has doubled down on his comments regarding Marvel, after causing a stir when he claimed the Avengers films were “not cinema” and comparing them to a “theme park”.

The revered director made the comments to Empire magazine earlier this month. Attending a BFI London Film Festival press conference for his new film The Irishman on Sunday 13 October, he didn’t seem to have changed his mind.

“It’s not cinema. It’s something else,” he said at the conference, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We shouldn’t be invaded by it. We need cinemas to step up and show films that are narrative films.”

Scorsese’s latest comments follow an additional critique he made the previous day, at Bafta’s David Lean Lecture.

“Theatres have become amusement parks,” he said. “That is all fine and good but don’t invade everything else in that sense.

“That is fine and good for those who enjoy that type of film and, by the way, knowing what goes into them now, I admire what they do. It’s not my kind of thing, it simply is not. It’s creating another kind of audience that thinks cinema is that.”

The Irishman is released to UK cinemas on 1 November. It will stream on Netflix from 27 November.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in