Before he discovered Bobby or Leo, he was just Marty, an unknown filmmaker fresh out of NYU, and Hollywood wasnt exactly knocking on his door in Little Italy. Made between 1963-1978, the short films in Five by Scorsese reveal future interests and paths not taken in his long and eventually Oscar-winning career. Its Not Just You, Murray and Whats a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? are actually comic, an element usually missing from Scorseses work. Italianamerican is a loving, black-and-white tribute to his parents and the whole immigrant experience. American Boy, made after Taxi Driver, is an unsettling documentary profile of a real-life Travis Bickle. The Big Shavein which one innocent bathroom cut leads to a bloodbathcan be read as a Vietnam allegory (it was made in 67), but its interesting as a formal exercise. Today, of course, Scorsese enjoys big budgets and A-list talent. His Dennis Lehane adaptation Shutter Island opens next February, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring. (NR) BRIAN MILLER
Aug. 21-27, 6:30 & 9 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 22, 4 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 23, 4 p.m., 2009