Italianamerican

1974 0h 49m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 84

Documentary

Synopsis

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Filmmaker Martin Scorsese interviews his mother and father about their life in New York and family history back in Sicily.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Catherine Scorsese
Self
Charles Scorsese
Self
Martin Scorsese
Self (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Lawrence D. Cohen, Mardik Martin
Languages: Italian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 49-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Alec Hirschfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bert Lovitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Catherine Scorsese and Charles Scorsese and Martin Scorsese carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0071680 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Scorsese directs. Alec Hirschfeld behind the camera. Bert Lovitt cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 49-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
252 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Alec Hirschfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Bert Lovitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Catherine Scorsese and Charles Scorsese and Martin Scorsese carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0071680 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 84 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alec Hirschfeld
Editing: Bert Lovitt
Runtime: 49 min · 0h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Italianamerican (1974)

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Martin Scorsese

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What people are saying

tmdb534000182017-08-12
★ 7/10
Italianamerican is a 1974 documentary, not even an hour long, wherein acclaimed director Martin Scorsese interviews his parents, Catherine (she played Tommy DeVito's mother in Goodfellas) and Charles (he played Henry Hill's cellmate in the same film), forming an interesting time capsule of the Italian-American experience. Scorsese's parents relate detailed accounts of being Sicilian immigrants in New York City, their family lives, and "the old country" after the war. This is a very talking heads-ish doc with numerous still photos and a bit of footage interspersed in it. However, Catherine has a lot of personality, whereas Charles takes awhile to open up to the camera(s?). Oh, Catherine shows us how to make meatballs, and if the viewer needs more info, a complete recipe is given at the end of the film's credits! This is really necessary viewing for any fan of Scorsese's. It's available to watch at Youtube.

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