The best scene in cinema, according to Martin Scorsese, this is it!

A delicious face-off between Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas, Robert De Niro’s memorable nervous breakdown in front of an ice cream cone in Taxi Driver, Leonardo DiCaprio’s astonishing speeches in The Wolf of Wall Street or even a fascinating conclusion. silence…

Unforgettable scenes, moments of pure cinema, Martin Scorsese has never stopped offering us throughout his brilliant career. But what is the sequence that excites him? What films gave him the most beautiful memories of the audience and what inspired his passion for cinema?

When asked at the release of Shutter Island in 2010 what his favorite scene was, the Raging Bull and Casino director revealed his admiration for a sequence from Red Slippers, Michael Powell and Emerick’s musical drama. Pressburger.

Released in 1949, this great film classic tells the tragic love story of Julian, a young unknown composer, and Vicky, a ballerina who is ready to sacrifice everything to join a prestigious company. A sequence described by Scorsese depicts the meeting between this young dancer and Boris Lermontov, the ballet director she dreams of joining.

“There’s that great scene at the beginning of Les Chaussons Rouges where Anton Walbrook is invited to a cocktail party.”Develops a film director.

“He finds out that his host’s niece is going to give a dance demonstration. He doesn’t want to watch it, because he is invited to a cocktail party, not an audition. In the evening, he accidentally bumps into a young girl. . (…) He then teaches her that she should be the one to dance when he just insulted her about it. He then asks her, “Why do you want to dance?” And he answers her: “Why do you want to live?” He then replies, “I don’t know… but I have to live.”

Fascinated by the British cinema icon, who he regularly cites when discussing his major influences, Martin Scorsese goes on to explain the resonance the scene has had with his creative process:

“It’s a scene that’s about art, both good and bad. It doesn’t matter how good it is, it’s just a forced aspect of art. An artist has no choice but to practice his art. You have to have this passion and this desire to become an artist.”

Besides Les Chaussons rouges, Scorsese also lists Roberto Rossellini’s Paisà, Jean Renoir’s Le Fleuve, Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura and Luchino Visconti’s Le Guépard among his favorite films.

(Re)discover The Red Slippers Trailer…