A history of surprising — and sometimes puzzling — Academy Award wins

Few names carry as much clout in modern American cinema as Martin Scorsese. The filmmaker behind classics like “Mean Streets,” “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” helped define a new Hollywood in the 1970s that championed the role of the director above studios.

But it took Scorsese six nominations spread across three-and-a-half decades to finally win a Best Director award.

After so many near-wins, it had begun to feel like Scorsese would join the ranks of directors like Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa who never won an Oscar.

In 2006, though, Scorsese was finally recognized by the Academy for his gritty crime drama “The Departed,” which also won Best Picture.