Martin Scorsese, My Life in Music

Martin Scorsese is renowned for his masterful use of music in his films. His relationship with music is deep and complex; he considers it a crucial element of cinematic storytelling. In many of his films, music plays a role almost as important as the characters themselves. It can serve to underscore the characters’ emotions, reinforce the film’s themes, or evoke a particular era.

While Scorsese regularly collaborates with renowned composers to create memorable soundtracks—ranging from Bernard Herrmann to Elmer Bernstein, and from Robbie Robertson to Howard Shore—what he loves most is incorporating existing music tracks: “the soundtrack of his life,” as he calls it.

“I lived in an overcrowded neighborhood where you could hear music coming from the windows of every apartment on the street, from bars and candy stores. The radio was on all day long; you could hear the jukebox from across the street; and in the housing projects, you could hear opera from one window, Benny Goodman from another, and rock ‘n’ roll from the ground floor. It was really a crazy neighborhood; and I thought: why don’t we ever see that in movies?”

Filmmakers : Clara Kuperberg & Julia Kuperberg
Production : Wichita Films
In association with : Kali Pictures
Producers : Clara Kuperberg & Julia Kuperberg
Co producer : Martine Melloul
Network : OCS Ciné +
Year : 2024
Distribution : Kino Lorber
Running Time : 54 minutes

Casting

Martin Scorsese
Himself

🎬 Selected at Cinéma Ritrovato Bologna 2025

🎬 Selected at the Beverly Hills Film Festival 2025