Although Martin Scorsese's iconic camera shots are often what can stick out most in his projects, but many other elements combine to create his stories.

Not best directors of all time and has already gone down in history as one of the talented filmmakers to bear that prestigious title. While his more recent efforts like 2023's Killers of the Flower Moon prove he's still making terrific movies, Scorsese's HBO show proves he has talents in adjacent areas of the industry too.

Boardwalk Empire Told A Compelling Story Over 5 Seasons About Prohibition-Era America

Steve Buscemi led the Boardwalk Empire cast for all 5 seasons

Boardwalk Empire is based on a 2002 non-fiction book of the same name, with the source material bearing the subtitle of The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. Creator and showrunner Terrence Winter even based the character of his leading man, Steve Buscemi, on the genuine historical figure that the book revolved around - Enoch L. Johnson. Just like his real-life counterpart, Steve Buscemi's Enoch "Nucky" Thompson was a politician involved in a wide variety of criminal enterprises - but the show focuses primarily on his bootlegging endeavors.

Boardwalk Empire takes some creative liberties with the source material, but the original characters and storylines feel very authentic to the era in which the show is set. The 1920s New Jersey gangster period narrative is incredibly entertaining and has a little bit of everything, including a sort of education-by-context concerning what it would have been like to live in the US during the early 20th century - both for those in positions of power and those who were not quite so fortunate.

What Made Boardwalk Empire So Great (& How Much Was Martin Scorsese Involved?)

Scorsese's involvement went beyond simply directing Boardwalk Empire's pilot

Boardwalk Empire's cast is stacked with big names who were either very famous at the time or have since experienced even greater success. Of course, the presence of Steven Buscemi was one of the show's biggest attractions. Although having a Hollywood movie star leading a TV cast may seem like business as usual now, Buscemi's casting was wildly exciting in 2010. As well as Nucky, Charlie Cox's Owen Sleater and Jeffrey Wright's Valentin Narcisse were two more of Boardwalk Empire's standout characters.

Every director who stepped in to make an episode of Boardwalk Empire had to allow themselves to be influenced by Scorsese's lone effort, so his work permeates the show.

Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire involvement was arguably quite limited. However, another perspective places him as a vital figure. Of all the episodes of Boardwalk Empire, Scorsese only directed the pilot. That being said, directing a pilot of any show is a very specific skill, as it requires setting up how all the following episodes will look and feel. Every director who stepped in to make an episode of Boardwalk Empire had to allow themselves to be influenced by Scorsese's lone effort, so his work permeates the show. He's also credited as a producer on all 56 episodes.

Boardwalk Empire's Pilot Episode Costing So Much Ended Up Being Justified

The HBO prohibition-era story is among a rare group

Martin Scorsese's episode of Boardwalk Empire is reported to have cost around $18 million to make, which would easily place it near the top of the list of the most expensive pilots of all time. If HBO hadn't picked the show up, that hefty price tag would have looked like a giant mistake, but thankfully, Boardwalk Empire hit the ground running and was allowed to end on its own . Interestingly, this isn't always the case for high-budget pilot episodes, as cancelation is seemingly always on the cards if the show doesn't continue to perform well enough.

To give a couple of examples, Westworld and Terra Nova are two other shows that were launched with enormous budgets, with their pilots costing somewhere in the region of what HBO spent on making the first episode of Boardwalk Empire. Unfortunately, Terra Nova was widely panned despite an intriguing premise and was canceled after a single season. While Westworld got off to a very strong start, the show's viewing figures started to gradually decline and HBO pulled the plug in 2022 after season 4. So, Boardwalk Empire is among the lucky few survivors of the high-budget pilot club.