The most renowned filmmaker of his era, Martin Scorsese virtually defined the state of modern American cinema during the 1970s and ’80s. A consummate storyteller and visual stylist who lived and breathed movies, he won fame translating his passion and energy into a brand of filmmaking that crackled with kinetic excitement. Working well outside of the mainstream, Scorsese nevertheless emerged in the 1970s as a towering figure throughout the industry, achieving the kind of fame and universal recognition typically reserved for more commercially successful talents. A tireless supporter of film preservation, Scorsese has worked to bridge the gap between cinema’s history and future like no other director. Channeling the lessons of his inspirations — primarily classic Hollywood, the French New Wave, and the New York underground movement of the early ’60s — into an extraordinarily personal and singular vision, he has remained perennially positioned at the vanguard of the medium, always pushing the envelope of the film experience with an intensity and courage unmatched by any of his contemporaries.