Hey there and welcome to another installment of "Early Films", where each week I will be digging up some of the first low-budget films, short films, and student films of some of the most famous filmmakers in the world, and this week is definitely a big filmmaker. 

Martin Scorsese is probably one of the most critically acclaimed and well known American Directors of the 20th century, having a career that spans more than 4 and a half DECADES, he has created some of the most influential and important films of the last 30 years.

But it wasn't always like this, and once upon a time Scorsese was a lowly film student at NYU. During his time there he produced many shorts, but probably one of his most well-known from the era is the above video. 1967's "The Big Shave", this symbolic piece of political satire features an unnamed man simply shaving, and shaving, and shaving again.

He stated that the piece was a response to the Vietnam war, and the symbolism can easily begin to be decoded once we take that into account. Where even though the losses in Vietnam were low (skimming off the top as you were) the little cuts, and the small sacrifices begin to add up, even though shaving might not seem that dangerous, only skimming off a little off the top, if you refuse to stop, things are going to eventually break, you can't keep hitting your head against a brick wall. 

And whether you agree with his philosophy or not, it's definitely fascinating to see not only how he makes the symbolism fit, but how he is able to make such a (at it's core) simple film so interesting.

The great shots of the bathroom, with the warm big band score, is so deceptively inviting and calming, as the main character enters the room. A clean cut, handsome guy, who simply begins to shave. 

The shots here are great, he shows something so violent, and makes it all the more violent, by his cuts away, just by seeing the blood fall, rather than focusing constantly on the cuts, we understand how much is really leaking out, how much the character is really losing, and through this we really begin to feel the pain ourselves, fully comprehending the losses. 

The Special effects are also really good, because they really take advantage of the camera, instead of showing every little laceration in vivid detail, he utilizes cuts to apply extra blood between shots, his utilization of the razor as a blood application device is inspired showing you how realistic you can really make an effect by utilizing some of the simplest trickery. 

All in all, this short comes together beautifully, combining great music, great camera work, great effects, and a poignant symbolic message to create a really fantastic short, that I think really shows how talented Martin Scorsese is.