Suddenly she had assistants for the first time ever. It’s clear the movie changed her life and took her career into a whole new stratosphere. When people force Thelma Schoonmaker to pick a favorite of her collaborations with Martin Scorsese over the years, she always says “Raging Bull.” Indeed, when talking with her about a myriad of other projects, the 1980 Jake LaMotta biopic always finds its way into the conversation. Each of them – “Who’s That Knocking At My Door,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Goodfellas,” “Bringing Out the Dead” and “The Departed” – will get its own space in the next few days. I couldn’t help but play the retrospective game with her, and while I of course didn’t address all 19 feature collaborations, I was curious about six films in particular that I think represent a nice cross-section of their work together. Talking with Thelma Schoonmaker recently, it became quickly apparent that I wasn’t even going to scratch the surface of her career’s work with Martin Scorsese in a single piece.
