Martin Scorsese explains how Killers Of The Flower Moon had a very different opening scene

Martin Scorsese explains how Flower Moon Killer It originally had a very different opening scene. Scorsese’s latest masterpiece hits theaters on October 20 and centers on the tragic murders of members of the Osage Nation that occurred in the 1920s after oil was discovered on their tribal lands in Oklahoma. Flower Moon Killer begins with Osage elders ceremoniously burying a pipe and Osage members dancing in the oil bubbling from the ground.

In an interview with IndieWireScorsese explained in detail how Flower Moon Killer It originally started with a scene depicting the land rush in Oklahoma. The director says his co-writer Eric Roth wrote the scene in its entirety. However, when they decided to change the perspective of the entire film, they also decided to change the opening scene. Read what Scorsese shared below:

Eric and I originally had the idea to do the land race in Oklahoma. I had written a five or seven page description with beautiful vignettes and I wanted to film it all in one take. It was clear to us that with a separate entity it would take another month… I thought it really captured the spirit of the times, which was, ‘Do you want the land?’ There it is, run, get it.” “. “There are people.” “It doesn’t matter, don’t pay attention to them, just get rid of them.” If they get in your way, move them, kill them and just take the land.”

We changed the Bureau of Investigation’s vision from the outside to one that worked from within. Together with Ernest and Mollie, we are in the middle of it and we realize that the landslide in Oklahoma actually occurred too early in our history.

Why Killers Of The Flower Moon changed the opening scene

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In the first drafts of the script Flower Moon Killer It began with a long scene depicting the land rush in Oklahoma, in which settlers reclaimed land previously allotted to Native Americans. This opening scene would have allowed Scorsese to pay tribute to some of the westerns that inspired him Flower Moon Killers, which used to represent the land rush in Oklahoma. This also includes the film that was voted best film of 1931. brown and the 1960 remake, directed by one of Scorsese’s favorite filmmakers, Anthony Mann.

The original opening scene would also have served as a perfect metaphor for the themes Flower Moon Killer investigated, including exploitation, greed, violence and corruption. However, Scorsese and Roth eventually changed the entire perspective of the film from the Bureau of Investigation to the real Osages who witnessed the murders. This change was made at the request of Leonardo DiCaprio, who was originally cast to play Tom White (the BOI’s top agent, played by Jesse Plemons). Instead, he wanted to play Ernest Burkhart and focus on his complex relationship with Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone).

After changing the focus of the film, Scorsese and Roth realized that the Oklahoma Land Rush, which took place in 1889, happened too early for the film, which begins around 1919. Furthermore, by furthering the Osage perspective, Scorsese and Roth also decided that white settlers fighting for the land would have been an inappropriate beginning to the film. Instead of, Flower Moon Killer The film opens with scenes of the Osage people that quickly establish the mood and time period, along with newsreel footage that acclimates the audience to the proper historical context.

Source: IndieWire