merlot is made the same way as its more famous cousin white zinfandel the grapes are crushed and after very brief or even no skin contact the resulting pink must ferments some producers of white merlot include sutter home forest glen and beringer it normally has a hint of raspberry flavor white merlot was reputedly first marketed in the late one nine nine zero s merlot in the media according to anecdotal reports in the us media merlot received sales dampening notoriety due to the following exchange from the two zero zero four film sideways jack if they want to drink merlot we re drinking merlot miles raymond no if anyone orders merlot i m leaving i am not drinking any fucking merlot the source of this claim is a two zero zero five ac nielsen analysis that ironically shows us sales of merlot actually increased after the film s release the analysis does reveal that merlot s relative popularity at the national level compared to other varietals has fallen cited by some to be an indicator of a downturn in sales grape varieties mm or mm or mm can mean or be an abbreviation for military machinist s mate a rating in the united states navy military medal a british and commonwealth decoration commerce million in traditional accounting or investment banking minute maid a brand of orange juice and other beverages mm a bulgarian brand of cigarettes mm a beer produced in the city of varna bulgaria mm the iata code of euroatlantic airways m merry meet the traditional greeting used in pagan circles martin scorsese at cannes in two zero zero two martin scorsese born november one seven one nine four two in queens new york usa is an american film director a highly acclaimed film director scorsese s body of work addresses such themes as italian american identity catholic concepts of guilt and redemption machismo and the violence endemic in american society although he has received much critical acclaim and is one of the most recognizable names in the film industry he has never won an academy award despite numerous nominations scorsese is widely considered one of the most significant and influential of post war american film makers martin scorsese came from a working class italian american family his father luciano charles scorsese one nine one two one nine nine three and mother catherine scorsese one nine one two one nine nine seven both worked in new york s garment district a sickly child he spent much of his time recovering from asthma at home it was at this stage in his life that he developed his passion for cinema his initial desire to become a catholic priest was forsaken for cinema the catholic seminary traded for new york university where he received his m a in film in one nine six six career one nine six zero s and one nine seven zero s scorsese attended new york university s film school b a english one nine six four m a film one nine six six making short films his most famous short is the blackly comic the big shave which featured an unnamed man who shaves himself until he is profusely bleeding ultimately slitting his own throat with his razor many critics have claimed the film is an indictment of america s involvement in vietnam whatever its thematic concerns one can argue its visceral quality prefigured the director s entire oeuvre he made his first feature length film the black and white who s that knocking at my door with fellow student actor harvey keitel and editor thelma schoonmaker both of whom were to become long term collaborators this film was a clear precursor perhaps even a dry run for his later mean streets even in embryonic form the scorsese style was already evident a feel for new york italian american street life rapid editing and an eclectic rock soundtrack from there he became a friend and acquaintance of the so called movie brats of the one nine seven zero s francis ford coppola brian de palma george lucas and steven spielberg it was de palma who introduced actor robert de niro to scorsese and the two figures became close friends working together on many projects scorsese during this period also worked as one of the editors of the movie woodstock in one nine seven two scorsese made his directing debut with a depression set gangster film boxcar bertha for famed b movie producer roger corman who had also helped directors such as francis ford coppola james cameron and john sayles launch their careers widely considered a minor work boxcar bertha however taught scorsese how to make films cheaply and quickly preparing him for his first film with de niro mean streets championed by influential movie critic pauline kael mean streets was a breakthrough for scorsese de niro and keitel by now the signature scorsese style was present and correct macho posturing bloody violence catholic guilt and redemption gritty new york locale rapid fire editing and the obligatory rock soundtrack although extraordinarily fresh innovative and exciting it s wired atmosphere edgy documentary style and gritty street level direction perhaps owes a debt to directors john cassavetes and early jean luc godard indeed the film was completed with much encouragement from cassavetes who felt boxcar bertha was undeserving of the young director s prodigious talent actress ellen burstyn chose scorsese to direct her in the one nine seven four movie alice doesn t live here anymore for which she won an oscar for best actress although well regarded the film remains an anomaly in the director s early career focussing as it does on a central female character returning to little italy in new york city to explore his ethnic roots scorsese next came up with italianamerican a rich documentary featuring his parents charles and catherine scorsese both of whom went on to make cameo appearances in several of his movies for many years his mother worked as the official caterer for all of scorsese s films and his father helped in the wardrobe department black and white publicity still from taxi driver one nine seven six martin scorsese s cameo with robert de niro two years later in one nine seven six scorsese sent shockwaves through the cinema world when he directed the iconic taxi driver an unrelentingly grim and violent portrayal of one mans slow descent in to psychosis in a hellishly conceived manhattan scorsese s direction by now was highly accomplished using jump cuts expressionist lighting point of view shots and slow motion to reflect the protagonist s heightened psychological awareness however taxi driver s immense power was no doubt in part down to robert de niro s intense lead performance notable support was also given by jodie foster and harvey keitel taxi driver also marked the start of a series of collaborations with writer paul schrader the film bares strong thematic links to and makes several allusions to the work of french director robert bresson most explicitly pickpocket in essence the diary of a loner obsessive who finds redemption writer director schrader often returns to bresson s work in films such as american gigolo light sleeper and scorsese s later bringing out the dead five years after taxi driver was released in one nine eight one john hinckley jr made an assassination attempt on the american president ronald reagan he subsequently blamed his act on his obsession with jodie foster s character iris in scorsese s movie in taxi driver de niro s character travis bickle makes an assassination attempt on a senator taxi driver won the palme d or at the cannes film festival and also received four oscar nominations including best picture although all were unsuccessful in this cameo scorsese lounges in front of the building where cybill shepherd s character works according to shepherd scorsese requested a cybill shepherd type for the role she played in taxi driver the critical success of taxi driver encouraged scorsese to move ahead with his first big budget project the highly styilized musical new york new york this heart felt tribute to scorsese s home town and the classic hollywoo
