In 1994, in anticipation of the centenary mark of the movies, the British Film Institute commissioned The Century of Cinema, an ambitious series of documentaries in which the world's leading filmmakers were asked to interpret their native country's cinema. From day one there was no question that the American segment belonged to Martin Scorsese, the eminent scholar and artist, former teacher and eternal student, tireless film preservationist and his generation's most gifted moviemaker.

When we embarked upon this journey, none of us expected to be so emotional. Originally, the format agreed upon was two 52-minute programs. However, as soon as we started charting or vast subject, conventional industry standards fell away. We had to create our own parameters, without fear of being selective or subjective. Marty could only talk about what had moved or intrigued him. This was a labor of love. It needed to breathe and grow and develop. It needed to become a truly personal journey, very much like the special films we wished to celebrate. Remarkably, the BFI understood and accepted our commitment. For the next two years we roamed freely about Marty's imaginary museum, a fabulous treasure chest of thousands of pictures. . . .

At first, we planned to include almost every director that had inspired him before he embraced filmmaking. But there was no room to do justice to them all, no time to stroll and meander within the script's tight structure. All along we agonized about this, and even today Marty laments the sites we never visited, or geniuses we didn't discuss, from Ernst Lubitsch to Alfred Hitchcock to Jean Renoir. . . . Fortunately, they had been duly honored elsewhere. I should add that our natural inclination was to favor the neglected figures -- those forgotten artists or unsung craftsmen who somehow managed to communicate an original vision.

While we were editing in Las Vegas, Marty, who also had to cope with a mammoth feature production, made a casual remark that startled me: "In the long run," he smiled, "this documentary is probably more important than Casino." I think I know why. To Marty, a fervent disciple, the old masters of Hollywood are alive; they have something to tell us, and are a constant source of inspiration. When he talks about them, he is also talking about himself. Their energy, resilience, and courage have shown him the way: how to alternate projects and make "one for them, one for yourself," or when to be a smuggler or an iconoclast.

In delving into the past, we were in fact reaching for the present and the future. In other words, this Personal Journey is really designed for the new generations, particularly our young spectators, film students, and aspiring filmmakers -- the generations that will help the American cinema reinvent itself. My hope is that this film encourages them and encourages us all.

--Michael Henry Wilson

Michael Henry Wilson, the co-writer and co-producer of A Personal Journey, is a screenwriter, film historian, and documentary filmmaker. His other work includes Hollywood Mavericks, When the Lion Roars, and Diary of a Journey.

CREDITS

A BFI TV production for Channel 4 in association with Miramax Films

Written and directed by ... Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson

Produced by ... Florence Dauman

Executive producers ... Colin MacCabe & Bob Last

Supervising editor ... Thelma Schoonmaker

Editors ... David Lindblom & Kenneth I. Levis

Music ... Elmer Bernstein

Titles ... Saul Bass

Associate producer ... Raffaele Donato

Line producer ... Dale Ann Stieber

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