TV and Movies

[Oznell]

8:00 p.m. Eastern--  "Italianamerican"  Charles Scorsese, Catherine Scorsese, Martin Scorsese

What a treat!  When celebrated director Martin Scorsese ("The Age of Innocence", "New York, New York", "The Last Temptation of Christ", "Raging Bull",  "Cape Fear", "The Wolf of Wall Street")  was a young man in 1974, he made a priceless documentary featuring his parents, at home in the apartment in which he grew up.

He gets them to open up about life in New York in Little Italy in the first half of the twentieth century.  Their reminiscences provide an invaluable insight into an enduring cultural and family legacy-- it is utterly fascinating.

Love the way Scorsese obviously adores his mother and father and skillfully elicits colorful anecdotes from them.  I can see a resemblance to both of them in him.

Bonus-- Catherine Scorsese shares some of the secrets of her kitchen, including her recipe for marinara sauce and meatballs!

ETA--  Oops, almost forgot the clip!

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/382225/ItalianAmerican-Movie-Clip-Kid-Stuff.html

[just bee]

@Oznell

Marty Scorsese is a nice Sicilian-American boy who put both his parents to work in some of the best films of the past few decades.

That had to be a blast.

[just bee]

Catherine Scorsese in Goodfellas (1990).

[just bee]

@Oznell

Not only did Catherine work on-screen, but she also cooked for cast and crew.

[just bee]

Henry Hill : [narrating]  I felt he used too many onions, but it was still a very good sauce.

Paul Cicero : Vinnie, don't put too many onions in the sauce.

Vinnie : I didn't put too much onions, uh, Paul. Three small onions. That's all I did.

Johnny Dio : Three onions? How many cans of tomatoes you put in there?

Vinnie : I put two cans, two big cans.

Johnny Dio : You don't need three onions.

[twinsister]

@Oznell - thanks so much for this alert - I will definitely set my DVR.  As an Italian-American and a child of parents who grew up in the lower East side in the early 1900's,  I will enjoy it.  My father and grandmother left Sicily and arrived in NYC in 1905 - he was 2 years old.  My grandfather was already here waiting for them. I'm sure the stories told by Scorcese's parents will be similar to what I heard from my parents.

Thanks again!

[Oznell]

Ha, ha, fab pictures, @just bee-- love.   I've always thought it so cute that Scorsese wanted to feature his parents in his films, like a family business.

I say, bring on the onions-- as long as there's plenty of garlic too...

[Oznell]

Oh, terrific, @twinsister!  Hope you'll give us your "insider's" assessment after viewing-- that will be so interesting to hear, since your family's arc of history seems rather close to the Scorseses....

[just bee]

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@Oznell wrote:

Ha, ha, fab pictures, @just bee-- love.   I've always thought it so cute that Scorsese wanted to feature his parents in his films, like a family business.

I say, bring on the onions-- as long as there's plenty of garlic too...

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@Oznell

Francis Ford Coppola put family members to work in his films, too.  So much for "it's not personal -- it's strictly business."

[twinsister]

@Oznell - I watched this today and enjoyed it very much.  The stories his parents told were identical to the stories my parents told me.  His parents and my mother (with her parents and siblings)  lived on the same street in NYC.   My grandparents didn't speak English and my grandmother also did sewing at home to make a few extra dollars. When MS ' mother called it "homework", I remember my mom telling me about my grandmother doing it.  So many similarities - the shared toilet in the hall of the tenement, using the washboard to do laundry, etc. 

Thanks again for the alert.