Born in Queens, New York, in 1942, Martin Scorsese seriously contemplated the priesthood but finally embraced cinema and, following Mean Streets (1973) emerged as the pre-eminent American director of his generation. Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1976; Raging Bull (1980) is considered the greatest American film of its decade. His more recent works include GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995), Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and Gangs of New York (2002).
