Home School: Professor Scorsese

When film schools first came about in the 1960s, they served three main functions:

1. They gave students access to the expensive equipment necessary to make a film
2. They routinely showed lots of movies
3. They gave students a chance to meet each-other and form a community

Cut-to the Present: 

1. Equipment is no longer expensive
2. Nearly any movie is available for instant downloading right to your computer
3. The internet is littered with numerous forums designed to bring like minded people together

So this begs the question - What is the point of film school in the new millennium? As someone who attended four years of film school in the early 2000s, I can authoritatively say, "Not much." Want to learn how to use a camera? Pick one up and start using it! Want to learn how to edit? Start cutting! Practically every computer these days has some sort of editing program built into it. Well what about the history and theory you say? Well that's where this (recurring?) column comes into play. I maintain that with nothing more than a Netflix subscription and a few used books from Amazon, you can be well on your way to revolutionizing the film world in no time!

I now leave you in the more than capable hands of our special guest professor...

I don't think anyone in this world is more passionate about film than Martin Scorsese. He lives and breathes cinema. It simply emanates from him. Need proof? Check out his documentaries A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies and My Voyage To Italy. As both titles indicate, the films covered in these docs are highly personal to him. Hearing him narrate clip after mesmerizing clip, you find yourself in a trance. It doesn't matter that you've probably never heard of most of the films he's discussing, his passion reaches through the screen, grabs you, and doesn't let go. I guarantee that after watching these two films, your queue will have doubled in size!