Martin Scorsese‘s latest lengthy masterpiece was partially inspired by another three-hour movie. No, it’s not Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, although I would enjoy it if “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” becomes his new “Sympathy for the Devil.” The filmmaker told the Irish Times that the movies of director Ari Aster, specifically Midsommar and the bladder-testing Beau Is Afraid, helped influence the pacing of Killers of the Flower Moon.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid,” he said. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People, or I Walked With a Zombie. Just going a little slower. A little quieter.”
Scorsese was “very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom, like the baby namings, the funerals and the weddings — so we could begin to understand a little more about the people. I felt confident that a lot of people would allow themselves to be immersed in the world of the film. One has to take these chances. At this age, what else can I do?”
Every Scorsese interview turns into a reflection of death. Don’t take a new film of his for granted. There might not be many left.
(Via the Irish Times)