Rebecca Miller’s ‘Mr. Scorsese’ docuseries to premiere on Apple TV

Director Rebecca Miller's comprehensive five-part documentary series "Mr. Scorsese" premieres Friday on Apple TV+ ↗ 0.43%, offering what critics are calling the definitive portrait of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The series, five years in the making, chronicles the 82-year-old director's journey from an asthmatic child in New York's Little Italy to cinema's most revered elder statesman.bigissue+2

Intimate Portrait of Cinema's Master

Miller, the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller and wife of actor Daniel Day-Lewis, secured unprecedented access to Scorsese's private archives and conducted over 20 hours of interviews with the filmmaker himself. The documentary features extensive conversations with Scorsese's most prominent collaborators, including Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, Thelma Schoonmaker, and Spike Lee.apnews+3

"I didn't realize how big of an undertaking it was when I started," Miller told ABC Chicago. "My curiosity about, on the one hand, his work and, on the other hand, his spiritual journey and his life as a Catholic, and how yet he has this fascination with violence… Who is this person? How did he come to be?"abc7chicago

The series explores Scorsese's most challenging personal moments, including his near-fatal drug overdose in the late 1970s when De Niro visited him in the hospital and asked whether he wanted to live and complete "Raging Bull" or succumb to his addiction. "A significant part of me wanted to die," Scorsese confides to Miller in the documentary.yahoo+1

Critical Acclaim and Essential Viewing

Rolling Stone's review calls the documentary "everything a fan of the director of 'Taxi Driver,' 'Goodfellas,' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' could want — and more," noting that "the only drawback of this project is that it isn't twice as long". Roger Ebert's site describes it as "largely a love letter to creativity, a story of a man who pushed through every valley in his career to create a higher peak".rollingstone+1

IndieWire praised Miller's "vivid, studied, enormously entertaining portrait," highlighting how the series "juxtaposes the angels and demons that have long defined one of cinema's true 'cornerstones'". Critics consistently note the documentary's entertainment value, featuring behind-the-scenes anecdotes and insights into Scorsese's creative process across his most iconic films.rogerebert+2

The series premieres all five episodes on Friday, October 17, on Apple TV+, joining the streaming service's award-winning documentary slate that includes Emmy winners "STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie" and "Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me".apple+1