Scorsese ‘surprised and moved’ when told of Trinity College honour

One of the world's most acclaimed film directors, Martin Scorsese, said he was both "surprised and moved" on learning he would receive a gold medal from Trinity College's philosophical society.

Scorsese last night touched upon his influences, his ambitions and his concerns about contemporary politics, in an articulate and energetic interview before an appreciative audience at the college’s Examination Hall.

He was particularly interesting on the legacy of Travis Bickle, the disturbed protagonist of his groundbreaking film Taxi Driver.

“When the attack occurred on September 11th, I knew this was going to be a never-ending situation,” he said. “And then the Iraq invasion. I felt something is wrong. When I saw the cheering for Bin Laden I thought: we have created thousands and thousands of Travis Bickles. Taxi Driver really has a kind of terrible resonance.”

Oscar win

Born and raised in New York City, Scorsese achieved fame in the mid-1970s with films such as Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Any More. Scorsese finally won an Oscar in 2007 for The Departed. His most recent film, Silence, competes for a best cinematography Academy Award on Sunday evening.

With admirable positivity, Scorsese pondered the many battles he has had with financiers and studios down through the decades. He remembered being told that no studio would finance a film so apparently nihilistic as Taxi Driver. When Robert De Niro, who ended up playing Bickle, won an Oscar for The Godfather Part II the financiers budged.

“How can I make films in an industry that needs a certain kind of product?” he said. “I’ve been working for 45 years through all these metamorphoses of Hollywood. But I’ve always been lucky to find somebody I can work with.” Asked if he watched his old films, he said there were films he made a during a difficult time that he would rather not see again. “Hey, if a film is made in 1978 and people say they like it, then it has to have some staying power. Heh, heh!”

Today Scorsese will receive the John Ford Award from President Michael D Higgins at an event hosted by the Irish Film and Television Academy .

Scorsese addressed the increasing dominance of celebrity in contemporary culture. “Well, it is fun to go to a film festival and have your photo taken,” he laughed. “But then it’s hard to get work done. Somebody still has to do the work.”