Overdoing Is Never Good | The Big Shave (Martin Scorsese) | Short Film Analysis

Video Description

Watch the film: https://youtu.be/Ot-QYUJwq5M An analysis into the short film The Big Shave. A film by Martin Scorsese Cinematography by Ares Demertzis Art Direction by Ken Gaulin Starring Peter Bernuth The Big Shave shows how Martin Scorsese manages to say so much with so little. One location, one character and only non-diegetic music. It’s done on a scale that seems achievable by many, showing that you do not need a big budget to make a film work. It may be challenging to find a story that’s impactful, but not impossible. He keeps you engaged from the mundane beginning, and sparks your interest with the first sign of blood before heading into a full-on gore-fest that was completely unexpected. The jazz music also adds-on to the effect. If this was set in a run-down bathroom, with eerie and suspenseful music, it would create a different effect. It’s not jump scares and shocking visual effects, it’s peaceful and almost charming, more American Psycho than Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is Scorsese’s only experimental short, made in 1967, and before he went on to create acclaimed films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Before he had the big budgets and movie stars. In this video, we take a closer look at the way Scorsese takes a very simple concept and a shoestring budget to make something much greater than the sum of its parts.