James Cameron’s Kids Have Never Seen a Scorsese Movie

Will Leitch
·Editor

During the big Martin Scorsese "Hugo" lovefest over the weekend -- which featured Scorsese lovingly espousing the virtues of 3D, once again making Roger Ebert's head explode -- James Cameron hosted another Q&A himself and said what he thought of the film, and the usage of his beloved 3D. (James Cameron is the great wise man of 3D. The way to become a great wise man is to make billions of dollars.)

He was impressed, to say the least. It is good to know that James Cameron has looked upon Martin Scorsese and said, "I, James Cameron, dub your cinematic artistry satisfactory." Thank you, James Cameron.

James Cameron, who told him Hugo was a "masterpiece." He added, "finally there is a Scorsese film I can take my kids to." And Cameron also told Scorsese it was the best use of 3D he had seen, including his own films.

Strong words, though, to be fair, Cameron was speaking exclusively in Na'vi, so no one could understand him. You just sort of have to nod along with Cameron when he does that. It's just his thing.

Anyway, we were most taken aback by the second part of Cameron's statement: "Finally there is a Scorsese film I can take my kids to." Martin Scorsese is the most important filmmaker of the last 30-some-odd years, and we've never thought of him as some sort of "adult" director. Sure, his movies are sometimes about gangsters and have violence in them ... but Cameron made him sound like some sort of pornographer.

Which got us to thinking: How many of Scorsese's movies have not been rated R? How many could Cameron have legitimately brought his kids to? (Actually, because Cameron is an adult, he could take his kids to all of them as long as he accompanied them, but that's not what he meant, we presume.) So let's take a look at Scorsese's filmography:

Rated R
"Who Could That Be Knocking At My Door?" (1967)
"Boxcar Bertha" (1972)
"Mean Streets" (1973)
"Taxi Driver" (1976)
"Raging Bull" (1980)
"After Hours" (1985)
"The Color of Money" (1986)
"The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988)
"Goodfellas" (1990)
"Cape Fear" (1991)
"Casino" (1995)
"Bringing Out the Dead" (1999)
"Gangs of New York" (2002)
"The Departed" (2006)
"Shutter Island" (2010)

Rated PG-13
"Kundun" (1997)
"The Aviator" (2004)

Rated PG
"Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974)
"New York, New York" (1977)
"The King of Comedy" (1983)
"The Age of Innocence" (1993)
"Hugo" (2011)

So, 15 out of Scorsese's 22 movies have been rated R. That's 68 percent. Five of James Cameron's eight movies have been rated R, for 62 percent. We do hope Martin Scorsese finds a James Cameron movie he can take his kids to.

Scorsese's 'Hugo' Takes Hollywood; Is It A Best Picture Contender — Or Pretender? [Deadline]