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Avengers: Endgame Directors Comment on Martin Scorsese’s Criticism of Marvel Films

November 18, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Thanos Avengers: Endgame Image Credit: Marvel Studios

The ongoing debate about Martin Scorsese arguing that Marvel films aren’t “cinema” have a new pair of voices in Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. The brothers talked with THR promoting 21 Bridges, which they produced, and were asked about Scorsese’s much-discussed claims that the MCU films are “not cinema, it’s something else.”

“Ultimately, we define cinema as a film that can bring people together to have a shared, emotional experience,” said Joe. “…When we look at the box office [of] Avengers: Endgame, we don’t see that as a signifier of financial success, we see it as a signifier of emotional success. It’s a movie that had an unprecedented impact on audiences around the world in the way that they shared that narrative and the way that they experienced it. And the emotions they felt watching it.”

Anthony added, “The other way to think about it, too, is nobody owns cinema. We don’t own cinema. You don’t own cinema. Scorsese doesn’t own cinema.”