David Bianculli

All of them have some informative and wild stories to tell.

Early on, Scorsese sits down with some guys from the old neighborhood, including De Niro, to talk about old times.

But even while growing up in that tough neighborhood, young Marty Scorsese found solace in the local movie theater and began drawing his own make-believe stories.

Essentially, they were comic strip storyboards for the movies in his mind.

Violent period epics with titles like The Eternal City, complete with gladiators and bloody battles.

And with credits that read, even at age 11, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese.

I'm still doing it.

It doesn't quite work all the time.

The documentary Mr. Scorsese spends its first installment on his early days.

His childhood, making student films at NYU, being on the movie camera crew at Woodstock, and eventually getting his break with low-budget movie producer Roger Corman to direct a Bonnie and Clyde knockoff called Boxcar Bertha.

When Scorsese showed it to his filmmaking friends, they were unimpressed.

And when he showed it to his mentor and hero, independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, their reaction was even worse.

And he didn't.

Instead, Martin Scorsese made mean streets with Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro and took all their careers to a higher level.

Mr. Scorsese takes us on that journey, and some of the stops along the way are breathtaking.

The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street.

There are a few regretful omissions in Mr. Scorsese, but in an overview of this type, that's inevitable and completely acceptable.

This new Apple TV Plus series is self-described as a film portrait by Rebecca Miller.

And as portraits go, it's by no means a hasty sketch.

With its many interviews and film clips, and its exciting use of split-screen comparisons and music by the Rolling Stones, Mr. Scorsese is closer to a patiently painted masterpiece.