Q 01/05

In which New York neighbourhood did Scorsese grow up?

A) Bensonhurst

B) Hell's Kitchen

C) Little Italy

D) Flushing

Answer · why

C) Little Italy

He was born in Flushing, Queens; both parents worked in the Garment District and all four grandparents came from Sicily.

Q 02/05

What was the family's original surname, changed by a transcription error?

A) Sciortino

B) Scorsi

C) Scorzese

D) Scozzese

Answer · why

D) Scozzese

It means 'Scot' or 'Scottish' in Italian.

Q 03/05

Which childhood condition kept Scorsese from sports and sent him to the movies instead?

A) Asthma

B) Rheumatic fever

C) Poor eyesight

D) Polio

Answer · why

A) Asthma

His parents and older brother took him to the cinema, where he fell for Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes.

Q 04/05

Which future director shared the Bronx's only rental copy of The Tales of Hoffmann with the teenage Scorsese?

A) Brian De Palma

B) Francis Ford Coppola

C) George A. Romero

D) John Carpenter

Answer · why

C) George A. Romero

The Powell and Pressburger film was a lifelong obsession; Scorsese later narrated a documentary about the pair.

Q 05/05

What career did Scorsese initially want before failing his first year at a preparatory seminary?

A) Teacher

B) Lawyer

C) Doctor

D) Priest

Answer · why

D) Priest

Catholic guilt and redemption became recurring themes from Mean Streets to Silence.