Martin Scorsese to Pen Introduction for Midsommar Director’s Cut Release

In his explanatory essay where he elaborated on his thoughts that “Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema,” Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese gave a few examples of filmmakers whose work he considered the polar opposite of the MCU. In The New York Times he wrote that Marvel movies are “everything” that movies from directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, and Wes Anderson “are not.” Another director he included in his list is somewhat newcomer Ari Aster, who exploded onto the scene with his 2018 movie Hereditary, his debut feature length movie after years of developing shorts. Scorsese’s love of Aster has clearly reached new heights in the months since as a new release indicates.

A24 has announced that the director’s cut of Aster’s second film, 2019’s Midsommar, will officially be released on home media next month. Included in the special re-release of the film are a few exclusives unseen from previous versions, but the big one is that will include an illustrated 62-page booklet featuring original art from the film by Ragnar Persson and a foreword by, you guessed it, Martin Scorsese.

It’s unclear just what Scorsese’s forward on the film will say, but the director has previously had high-praise for Aster’s work in the past. While speaking at a Q&A for his film The Irishman during the New York Film Festival, he gave Aster a shoutout and praised Hereditary.

“That’s a remarkable film,” Scorsese said. “The restraint in the frame is extraordinary…Again there’s one cut – one camera move when (Toni Collette) stands up that’s quite something. The restraint in the frame is extraordinary…I try to watch films…it’s very hard sometimes to be able to find the time, and when you do, something that stands out is amazing. This did. I was really electrified by the dynamic, which is expressed in this scene.”

Scorsese went on to give it some even higher praise by saying it reminded him of the best horror films.

“Disturbing, there’s no doubt, it’s a horror film in that way. But it’s more than that. It reminds of the best of horror films,” Scorsese says, adding: “Now the story, I’ve forgotten some of it I’m sorry, but what I didn’t forget was the family, the three of them. That’s what’s important in terms of this filmmaker. And these actors, they’re astounding. Toni Collette, I mean…”

It’s unclear what Scorsese will write in his Midsommar introduction but considering his previous very vocal suppoer of Aster he’ll likely have penned a rave of an essay about the film. You can pick up your copy of the Midsommar Director’s Cut here and find out more details about its release here.

(Scorsese quotes H/T SlashFilm)