It's Not Just You, Murray!

It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964) is a short film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film focuses on Murray, a middle-aged mobster who looks back at his beginnings. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1966. It's Not Just You, Murray! won various awards including the Producers Guild Award for Best Student Film, and Jesse L Lasky Intercollegiate Award.

It's Not Just You, Murray!
Directed byMartin Scorsese
Written byMardik Martin
Martin Scorsese
StarringJohn Bicona
Sam De Fazio
Dominick Grieco
Victor Magnotta
Andrea Martin
Music byRichard H. Coll
CinematographyRichard H. Coll
Edited byEli F. Bleich
Release date
November 1992 (Turin Film Festival)
Running time
15 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Murray (played by Ira Rubin), is a middle-aged mobster, looks back at his beginnings from being a bootlegger to becoming wealthy and highly influential. He claims his success and happiness is from the support of his "friend" Joe (played by Sam De Fazio). Murray follows Joe blindly but Joe backstabs him by sleeping with his wife.

Cast

Credits adapted from British Film Institute.[1]

  • Ira Rubin as Murray
  • Sam De Fazio as Joe
  • Andrea Martin as Murray's wife
  • Catherine Scorsese as mother

Production

The film was made at New York University.[2] The film is 15 minutes long, shot in 16 mm film as black and white film.[3][4] While working on the film, Martin Scorsese met Laraine Marie Brennan, whom he married.[5] Much of the film was shot in Scorsese's apartment.[6] The story of the film is based on his uncle.[6] Scorsese co-wrote the script with Mardik Martin.[7] The film marked the debut for Scorsese's mother Catherine Scorsese.[8] It later premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1966.[9]

Reception

In 1964, It's Not Just You, Murray! won the Producers Guild Award for Best Student Film.[9] Later, the film won the Jesse L Lasky Intercollegiate Award.[10]

Patricia Cooper and Ken Dancyger wrote that the film is "among the best student films ever made".[11] Mark Asch of Reverse Shot wrote, "The celebration of one’s influences—a constant in Scorsese's career—is a characteristic It’s Not Just You, Murray! shares with innumerable other student films".[12] Christopher Campbell of Business Insider wrote that the film "features a few more parallels and even seems like a template for a number of later works, including Goodfellas, Casino and now The Wolf of Wall Street."[13] Nora Sayre of The New York Times wrote, "What's pleasing throughout is the way that the narration contradicts what's taking place on the screen".[14]

References
  1. "It's Not Just You, Murray! (1965)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  2. MacDonald, Scott (2008-01-02). Canyon Cinema: The Life and Times of an Independent Film Distributor. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25087-1. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  3. Wernblad, Annette (2014-01-10). The Passion of Martin Scorsese: A Critical Study of the Films. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6232-2. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  4. Monaco, James (1984). American Film Now: The People, the Power, the Money, the Movies. Zoetrope. ISBN 978-0-918432-64-3. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  5. Biskind, Peter (2011-12-13). Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation Save. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-2661-5. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  6. Keyser, Lester J. (1992). Martin Scorsese. Twayne. ISBN 978-0-8057-9315-4. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  7. "Screenwriter Mardik Martin (Mean Streets, Raging Bull) Dies at 84". www.wga.org. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  8. Hamlin, Suzanne (1997-02-19). "Remembering an Italian Mother Just as She Would Like". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  9. Casillo, Robert (2006-01-01). Gangster Priest: The Italian American Cinema of Martin Scorsese. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9113-0. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  10. Mugler, France; Landbeck, Roger (2018-10-10), "It's Just You and the Books", University Teaching, Routledge, pp. 113–136, doi:10.4324/9780429459092-5, ISBN 978-0-429-45909-2
  11. Cooper, Patricia; Dancyger, Ken (2012-09-10). Writing the Short Film. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-04857-9. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  12. "Scorsese's NYU Shorts". Reverse Shot. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  13. "Watch Martin Scorsese's 1964 Student Film That's Like A Template For 'Wolf Of Wall Street'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  14. Sayre, Nora (1974-01-15). "Film: 'Sticky My Fingers' and 4 Other Early Works:The Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
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