Apple TV+ Releases Five-Part Martin Scorsese Documentary Series
Apple TV+ launched its five-part documentary series "Mr. Scorsese" on October 17, 2025, offering an intimate portrait of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese through director Rebecca Miller's lens. The documentary premiered at the 2025 New York Film Festival before its global streaming release, featuring exclusive access to Scorsese's private archives and conversations with Hollywood's most celebrated names.
The series marks a significant documentary event for Apple TV+, providing viewers unprecedented insight into the 82-year-old director's life and creative process. Miller spent five years developing the project, which was originally conceived as a feature-length documentary before expanding to accommodate the breadth of Scorsese's career and influence.
Unprecedented Access and Star-Studded Interviews
"Mr. Scorsese" features extensive conversations with the filmmaker himself, filmed across various locations including vacation homes, urban offices, and restaurants where he reminisces with childhood friends. The documentary includes never-before-seen interviews with an impressive roster of collaborators: Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, and Mick Jagger
Miller was granted unrestricted access to Scorsese's personal archives, allowing her to pair clips from his films with family snapshots, student work from his New York University days, and insights from long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker. The documentary also features Scorsese's children, wife Helen Morris, and close childhood friends, creating a comprehensive portrait that extends beyond his professional achievements.
Five Episodes Chronicling a Cinematic Journey
The series spans Scorsese's entire career, from his NYU student films to present day. Each episode explores different facets of the director's work and life, examining recurring themes including the nature of good and evil in humanity, Catholic guilt, and the violence that shaped his early years in New York. The documentary candidly addresses Scorsese's personal struggles, including his near-death experience with drug abuse and his ongoing battles with stress and anger management.
The five episodes
Stranger in a Strange Land
All This Filming Isn't Healthy
Saint/Sinner
Total Cinema
Method Director
All premiered simultaneously on October 17, 2025.
Critical Acclaim and Reception
"Mr. Scorsese" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 98% approval rating based on 53 reviews, with the site's consensus praising Miller's approach: "By being just as interested in Martin Scorsese the man as it is in Martin Scorsese the director, Rebecca Miller's rollicking documentary provides as revelatory a portrait of the master filmmaker as admirers could've ever hoped for".
Metacritic assigned the series a score of 84 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Critics highlighted the documentary's balance between reverence and critical examination, with The New York Times noting Miller's ability to balance "her esteem for the director with a clear eye toward his struggles".
RogerEbert.com described the project as "largely a love letter to creativity, a story of a man who pushed through every valley in his career to create a higher peak," emphasizing the open-hearted approach to biography and the comfort between Miller and Scorsese. The Hollywood Reporter noted that while the series leans toward "conventionality and deference," it effectively captures Scorsese's essence through thoughtful filmmaking techniques including split-screens that illustrate parallels between art and artist.
A Celebration at New York Film Festival
The documentary's world premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival was a major event, with hundreds of film enthusiasts filling the theater for a special screening of all five episodes. Miller introduced the premiere alongside executive producers Damon Cardasis and Cindy Tolan, expressing gratitude for Scorsese's "honesty and trust" during their five-year conversation.
Following the screening, "Mr. Scorsese" received a standing ovation from the audience, with Miller, Scorsese, and Robert De Niro present for the spotlight moment. In her introduction, Miller called the project "one of the great privileges of my life," describing her vision to present all episodes as a "single portrait".
Adding to Apple TV+'s Documentary Slate
"Mr. Scorsese" joins Apple TV+'s growing collection of acclaimed documentary content, including Emmy and Critics Choice Award-winning "STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie," Emmy Award-nominated "Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me," and "STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces". The series demonstrates Apple TV+'s continued investment in prestige documentary programming featuring iconic cultural figures.
The documentary explores how Scorsese's colorful life experiences informed his artistic vision, examining the filmmaker's perspective on storytelling and his lifelong exploration of humanity's fundamental nature. For both longtime admirers and new audiences, "Mr. Scorsese" offers an engaging examination of one of cinema's most influential directors, revealing the man behind the camera with unprecedented candor and depth.