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Martin Scorsese was born in 1942 in New York City, and was raised in the downtown neighborhood of Little Italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films. Scorsese earned a BS degree in film communications in 1964, followed by an MA in the same field in 1966 at New York University's School of Film. During this time, he made numerous prize-winning short films, including The Big Shave.

In 1968, Scorsese directed his first feature film, entitled Who's That Knocking at My Door? He served as assistant director and an editor of the documentary Woodstock in 1970, and won critical and popular acclaim for his 1973 film Mean Streets. Scorsese directed his first documentary, Italianamerican, in 1974. In 1976, Scorsese's Taxi Driver was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He followed with New York, New York in 1977, The Last Waltz in 1978 and Raging Bull in 1980, which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Scorsese went on to direct The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Kundun and The Age of Innocence, among other films. In 1996, Scorsese completed a four-hour documentary, "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies," co-directed by Michael Henry Wilson. The documentary was commissioned by the British Film Institute to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinema.

In 2001, Scorsese released Il Mio Viaggio in Italia, an epic documentary that affectionately chronicles his love for Italian cinema. His long-cherished project Gangs of New York was released in 2002, earning numerous critical honors including a Golden Globe Award for Best Director. In 2003, PBS broadcast the seven-film documentary series Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues.

The Aviator was released in December of 2004 and earned five Academy Awards in addition to the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for Best Picture. In 2005, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan was broadcast as part of the American Masters series on PBS and released on DVD worldwide by Paramount Home Entertainment. Scorsese's most recent feature, The Departed, was released to critical acclaim in October 2006 and has been honored with the Director's Guild of America, Golden Globe, New York Film Critics, National Board of Review and Critic's Choice Awards for Best Director, in addition to four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Scorsese will next direct the thriller Shutter Island for Paramount Pictures.

Scorsese's additional awards and honors include the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival (1995), the AFI Life Achievement Award (1997), the Honoree at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 25th Gala Tribute (1998), and the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award (2003). Scorsese is the founder and chair of The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of motion picture history.