• Martin Scorsese’s Amazing Stories episode “Mirror, Mirror” stands out as one of the few horror stories he has worked on in his career.
  • The episode features a famous horror author being stalked by a ghoulish figure in a mirror, but it’s a fairly generic horror story that doesn’t have much of an impact.
  • Scorsese’s style in this episode is limited, as Amazing Stories had a strict style of its own. Regardless, it’s still interesting to see him collaborate with Spielberg.

Killers of the Flower Moon It may be the most talked about film in the world at the moment, but Martin Scorsese’s There were also quieter moments in my career. He has made small independent films such as Who’s that knocking on my doorconcert films like inventive Rolling Stones project To shed lightand he’s even worked on TV shows – not many, but a few from time to time during his decades-long career. One of the more obscure series he worked on is Steven Spielberg Amazing storiesthe anthology shows that Jaws the director persuaded many of the most popular directors of the 70s and 80s to work on it. People like it Robert Zemeckis, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooperand even Clint Eastwood had a hand in this! Amazing stories was a big deal at the time it aired, which is why it’s so weird that it’s almost forgotten these days.

Scorsese only worked on Amazing stories for one episode, namely Season 1, Episode 19, “Mirror, Mirror.” The story for this episode was written by Spielberg himself, but final writing credit goes to Joseph Mignon. Interestingly, this is one of the few horror stories that the cult director took on. Cape Fear And Shutter Island being the only two in his filmography. It also stands out in greater Amazing stories project as a whole, given that most of the episodes are a drama or fantasy story. Scorsese’s contribution features the famous horror author (Sam Waterston), who soon finds himself being stalked by a ghoulish figure (Tim Robbins) in your mirror. It’s a fairly typical horror story with very little viscerality, almost no Scorsese-isms, and a rather dull ending that leaves little to no lasting impression. It’s not really the filmmaker’s fault though. If you watch a few episodes you will discover this. Amazing stories their artists seem to have a strong style of their own. However, little flashes of reason are behind Good guys they come here and there… but they are rare.

Poster for Steven Spielberg's 1985 TV series Amazing Stories.

Amazing Stories (1985)

Truly amazing, fantastic, funny and strange, and sometimes frightening, sad and sweet stories are depicted. Many famous actors, actresses and directors appeared as guests.

Date of issue
September 29, 1985

Throw
Charles Durning, Paul Bartel, Sharon Spelman, Douglas Seale

Genres
Anthology, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Comedy, Drama

Rating
TV-PG

Creator
Steven Spielberg, Joshua Brand, John Falsey

Developer
Steven Spielberg, Joshua Brand, John Falsey

Distributor
Amblin Entertainment, Universal Television

Martin Scorsese was a strange choice for Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories series

Steven Spielberg is featured in a promotional image for his 1980s anthology television series Amazing Stories.
Image via NBC

Supernatural horror, Amblin’s tone, and Martin Scorsese aren’t exactly three things you’d expect to combine. Well, not if all of their individual trademarks are on display. Supernatural horror is exactly that – a form of genre that centers around creepy ghosts or spirits, otherworldly phenomena, and the generally unexplained. Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg’s flagship company, is responsible for at least one or two of your favorite films. We’re talking about some of Spielberg’s best films such as Alien alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, GooniesAnd Gremlins. By now, the director has broken the stereotype according to which all his films are focused on heroes who look at the sky with awe and wonder, but at the same time Amazing stories aired, Amblin was not as diverse as it had become.

Then there’s Scorsese, who by March 1986 (when Mirror, Mirror first aired) had yet to set foot in the world of horror or make anything that closely resembled Amblin’s film. Alice doesn’t live here anymore there is a little of Spielberg’s America, but that’s all. This is a guy who was excited about films like Taxi driver, Mean Streets, Mad bullAnd King of Comedy, some of the most cynical stories ever put on screen. He was even going to start shooting. The Last Temptation of Christwhich won the award for the darkest depiction of Jesus Christ ever made into a film (this may change depending on how you read the ending of this film). This film caused so much controversy that some cinemas were burned down because it was shown.

So, did you ever expect Scorsese to join the ranks of Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis in an anthology show? No, but you probably don’t expect Tobe Hooper either, and look how that turned out! That’s not to say that Marty isn’t in the same caliber of director as discussed earlier (in fact, he may just be the greatest director alive), but in tone and by the standards of this show, he’s an odd fit. If Scorsese was going to make an episode for Amazing stories, it seems his only option would be horror! After all, this is definitely not an area that is suitable for Paul Schroeder-story written by Scorsese.

Martin Scorsese talks horror in the Amazing Stories episode “Mirror, Mirror”

Image via NBC

This Amazing stories the sequence is an oddity in Scorsese’s impressive filmography.. “Mirror, Mirror” is essentially a 24-minute campfire story. It all starts with world-renowned horror author Jordan Manmuth being interviewed about his work on The Dick Cavett Show (With Dick Cavett actually playing himself). After this he goes home and shoos away the child, who he assumes has come there to show him some of his own attempts at writing. Manmouth seems like a really nice guy at first when he talks to Dick Cavett, but he shows his true colors in the way he treats this kid. That night, Manmut begins to see a decrepit, eerie figure in the mirror. This thing slowly creeps up on the author, only for him to turn around and see that it’s not actually there. However, every time he looks in the mirror, the figure appears there again, getting closer and closer each time.

The author panics every time he sees a figure in the mirror, which causes his mental state to slowly deteriorate. Eventually, the figure catches up to him and begins to choke him from behind. It’s about what you’d expect from the monstrous figure that keeps reaching for Manmouth’s neck, which is why the episode’s ending seems normal at first. However, things get strange when one shot shows Manmouth struggling, then the camera pans to his girlfriend, then back to him, and he is suddenly horribly disfigured and looks a lot like the figure in the mirror. He gets up and throws himself out of the window, ending his suffering once and for all. His disfigurement is the most random way to end this episode, and it doesn’t feel earned at all. Manmouth was strangled, not diced! For an episode that didn’t have much tension anyway, this revelation gets a few laughs and then fades from your memory pretty quickly. This is not the best.

However, Mirror, Mirror’s disjointed ending doesn’t seem to be Scorsese’s fault. Amazing Stories there was nothing in his modern anthology shows such as Tales from the Dark Side or Tales from the Crypt. Not only Amazing stories” the weekly episodes aren’t as strong as those shows, but the horror in Mirror Mirror isn’t even on the same level. However, it’s not that far off. Mirror, Mirror does have that charming ’80s made-for-TV horror tone that shocked many others at the time, but it just felt trapped within the confines of a cheesy series. This episode is by no means a dull or unpleasant watch, it’s just not that scary. You can still have fun!

Spielberg’s Amazing Stories rarely allows directors to express their style

Unfortunately, as someone who came to this episode was excited to see Scorsese show off his style in a 24-minute horror anthology, this episode has little to offer in that aspect. By and large, it works the same as most others Amazing stories releases. This show doesn’t have the flat sitcom cinematography or anything, but it also doesn’t allow its directors to shine. In this sequence, Scorsese only has a few seconds to express his creativity as Manmouth locks up his house. The montage uses a fast and furious pace as he slams the doors and races through the house to safety. For a moment in “Mirror, Mirror” there is this iconic Thelma Schoonmaker the editing style we all love.

Unfortunately, this moment comes and goes quite quickly. By and large, this episode is no different from the stories that many other directors have made for anthology horror TV shows. If you missed the card that said “Directed by Martin Scorsese”, trust me, you wouldn’t know it. It doesn’t have much style and it’s not that scary, but it feels like it’s straight out of a book. Tales from the Crypt And Tales from the Dark Side, so at least we have that! Who doesn’t love these shows? Scorsese may have just wanted to work with his buddy Steven Spielberg (and make a quick buck), and who can blame the guy?

Martin Scorsese is a master of many genres, including horror.

Image via Paramount Pictures

We all know that no matter what genre Scorsese tackles, he can probably do it masterfully. They may not have known it in 1986, but today we are well aware that Scorsese could go the horror route if he wanted. Cape Fearfor example, turns on and off horror and thriller films, but no matter which way they go, it’s still scary (with one of Robert DeNiromost underrated performances). Then there is Shutter Island, Scorsese’s most straightforward feature-length work in the horror genre. The film has elements of noir and mystery, but is also clearly inspired by a lot of pre-70s supernatural and gothic horror films, although it is not itself supernatural or gothic. Scorsese can do whatever he wants, he just doesn’t do it often.

The plot of Mirror, Mirror actually had the potential to be Scorsese’s most straightforward attempt at the horror genre, and were it not for the limitations of 1980s television or the sentimental, cheesy, gritty nature Amazing storiesperhaps Scorsese could have been a little more flexible with us. Although Martin Scorsese’s contribution to Amazing stories While it may not have been the most… “amazing” episode of television, it’s funny to think that he and Spielberg managed to collaborate on another project.. Luckily, since then we’ve been able to see what Scorsese is truly capable of in the horror genre and continue to enjoy his new releases to this day.