Martin Scorsese has long praised Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave – but one of his deepest cinematic influences remains far less known: the Polish Film School.

In this video essay, we explore how directors like Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk, and Wojciech Has helped inspire the visual language, moral complexity, and emotional intensity of films like Mean Streets and Raging Bull.

This exclusive video essay is based on an essay originally written by Samuel Goff and published on the Klassiki Journal.