prolific and highly influential filmmaker martin scorsese examine a selection of his favorite american film group accord to three different type of director represent the director a an illusionist represent d. w. griffith or f. w. murnau and who create new edit technique among other change that make the appearance of sound and color later step forward while the director a a smuggler represent filmmaker such a douglas sirk and samuel fuller and and mostly vincente minnelli and director who use to disguise rebellious message in their film while and the director a iconoclast represent those filmmaker attack civil observation and social hang ups like orson welles and erich von stroheim and charles chaplin and nicholas ray and stanley kubrick and and arthur penn . he show u how the old studio system in hollywood be and though oppressive and the way in which film director find themselves progress the medium because of how they be bind by political and financial limitation . during his clip from the movie he show u and we not only discover film we have never see before that pique our interest but we also be make to see what he see . he evaluate his stylistic sensibility along with the director of the sequence themselves . the idea of a film canon have be repute a snobbish and hence some movie fan and critic favor to just make list . however and canon merely denote the best and supporter of film canon argue that it be a valuable activity to identify and experience a select compilation of the best film and a lot like a great hit tape and if just a a beginning direction for film student . all in all and one experience have show that all write about film and include review and function to construct a film canon . some film canon can definitely be elitist and but others can be populist . a an example and the internet movie database top 250 movie list include many film include on several elitist film canon but also feature recent hollywood blockbuster at which many film elitist scoff and like the dark knight and which presently mingle in the top ten amidst the first two godfather film and schindler list and one flew over the cuckoo nest and and the fluctuation of similar production far down such a iron man and sin city and die hard and the terminator and kill bill represent vol . 2. writer scorsese taxi driver paul schrader have straightforwardly refer to his canon a elitist and contend that this be positive . scorsese be never particularly vocal at all about his social and political ideology and but when we see this intense and admittedly obsessive history lesson on the birth and growth of american cinema in both ideological realm and we see that there be really no particular virtue in either elitism or populism . elitism concentrate all attention and recognition and thus power on those deem outstanding . that discrimination could easily lead to self indulgence much in the vein of the condescend work of jean luc godard or the overrationalization of the production practice of a filmmaker like michael haneke . yet populism invoke a belief of representative freedom a be only the assertion of the people will . a have be previously assert about the all encompassing misconception the people have about cinema and populism could be the end of the potential power and impact of cinema . one can only continue see film and because it be a vital social and metaphysical practice . and that what martin scorsese spends nearly four hour here try to tell u and something which can not be tell without be see first hand .