Highlights
- The gangsters have been an integral part of Martin Scorsese's cinema but not many know that the director was saved from joining the life on street because of asthma.
- The director, whose credits include cult movies like Goodfellas, The Departed and Gangs of New York, grew up in Little Italy in the 1940s and 50s when Manhattan neighborhood was ruled by mob, Contactmusic reported.
- According to Scorsese's longtime cinematographer Michael Ballhaus says the director would have turned to crime had a bout of asthma not forced him to stay away from street life.
- Instead, Scorsese spent hours watching television and cultivating his love of film.
The gangsters have been an integral part of Martin Scorsese's cinema but not many know that the director was saved from joining the life on street because of asthma.
The director, whose credits include cult movies like Goodfellas, The Departed and Gangs of New York, grew up in Little Italy in the 1940s and 50s when Manhattan neighborhood was ruled by mob, Contactmusic reported.
According to Scorsese's longtime cinematographer Michael Ballhaus says the director would have turned to crime had a bout of asthma not forced him to stay away from street life.
Instead, Scorsese spent hours watching television and cultivating his love of film.
"(Scorsese's) best friend was the son of the Mafia boss there. When he was a kid, he had asthma, so he couldn't go on the streets. He went home and watched movies on television, hours and hours.
"He told me once that if he were a big guy like his friend, 'I probably would have been one of them'," Ballhaus said.