When many film fans hear the nameMartin Scorsese, they first think of gangster films: “Goodfellas,” “Mean Streets,”“The Irishman.”But the reality is that since the beginning of his career the filmmaker has demonstrated an astonishing range, from documentaries to religious dramas to comedies — even a musical.

His latest non-gangster drama,“Killers of the Flower Moon,”about the murders of Native Americans in Oklahoma in the 1920s, is due out Oct. 20. To whet filmgoers’ appetites, the 4 Star Theatre has programmed a monthlong mafia-free series titled“Scorsese: More Than a Gangster.”

Co-sponsored by Amoeba Music and programmed by the 4 Star’s Ryan McCandless, the series begins at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, with a double feature of two 1970s classics, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and “Taxi Driver,” and closes Sept. 24, with“Rolling Thunder Revue,”his 2019 documentary aboutBob Dylan’s1975 tour. The closing night event will be followed by live music, with performers announced at a later date.

当然,球迷希望经典像“出租车Driver” (which also screens at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3) and “Raging Bull” (Sept. 9-10) to be on the program. But what makes this series so vital is a chance to see infrequently screened films that are underrated entries in his oeuvre, starting with “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (which also screens 5 p.m. Sunday), a rare female-centered Scorsese film, a moving drama about a woman and her young son who travel the American Southwest in search of a better life, which won star Ellen Burstyn the best actress Oscar in 1975.

Then there’s “New York, New York” (Sept. 9), a box-office failure in 1977 and Scorsese’s lone musical, which has saxophone playerRobert De Niroand singer Liza Minnelli in a volatile relationship. The movie is expressive and goes hard, with inspirations as varied as Warner Bros. backstage musicals of the 1930s such as “42nd Street,” theDoris Daymusical “My Dream Is Yours” and the 1950s films of Vincente Minnelli, Liza’s father.

“There has been a mainstream tendency to view Scorsese through a very specific lens, which just is sort of his most iconic films, like ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Irishman,’ which tends to create a very restrictive lens on who he is as a filmmaker,” said McCandless, who became interested in repertory programming while a student at San Francisco State’s film program. “People can forget that he has this extremely varied career that shows experimentation over countless genres. So we’re focusing on films that complicate the idea of Scorsese as a grounded artist, showcasing how he’s managed to redefine himself over several decades.”

Most of the events will be introduced by Bay Area film critics or programmers. One particular program that McCandless is proud of is a collection of avant-garde shorts — not directed by Scorsese, but restored through the Scorsese-founded preservation organization, the Film Foundation. That program, screening Sept. 18 and scheduled to be introduced by National Film Preservation Foundation Executive Director Jeff Lambert, includes “Psychosynthesis” (1975), directed by the late Bay Area filmmaker Barbara Hammer; and “Ophelia/The Cat Lady” (1969), directed by noted New York underground filmmaker Tom Choment, a contemporary of Scorsese’s.

“Archiving and being a spokesperson for the preservation of film and film history has been such an important part of his career as well,” McCandless said. “I feel like Scorsese’s whole career of celebrating all of these different aspects of areas of film and trying to work in so many different areas is a beautiful gateway into what it means to celebrate all film.”

Celebrating film is the reason Amoeba Music got involved, said Audra Wolfmann, the company’s Bay Area marketing and promotions director. While “Martin Scorsese is truly an icon of American film history, the very definition of an American auteur whose range of vision is vast,” she added that “we also love the 4 Star and all of the CinemaSF theaters. They help keep S.F. grounded in its culture, preserving the communal film-going experience.”

The best double feature of the series includes two unhinged comedies from the 1980s, “The King of Comedy” and “After Hours,” which has been restored in 4K. Screening Sept. 14 and 16, the former has psycho-comedian De Niro kidnapping late-night TV hostJerry Lewis, a scathing commentary on fame and obsessive fans; the latter is a one-of-a-kind vision starring Griffin Dunne as a mild-mannered office worker experiencing a crazy night in Manhattan. (Disclosure: I will introduce the Sept. 14 double feature.)

Other highlights include “The Age of Innocence,” Scorsese’s 1993 adaptation of a 1920 Edith Wharton novel starringDaniel Day-Lewis,Michelle Pfeifferand Winona Ryder; andWillem Dafoe’s turn as a conflicted Jesus in 1988’s “The Last Temptation of Christ.” (Both screen Sept. 17.)

Perhaps the most irresistible program is a family-themed screening of “Hugo,” Scorsese’s 2011 film that pays tribute to legendary silent film pioneer Georges Méliès. The Saturday afternoon program on Sept. 23 includes Méliès short films and is scheduled to be hosted byAnita Monga, artistic director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Scorsese made “Hugo” as he was nearing 70. There is no better expression of his childlike enthusiasm for cinema.

Reach G. Allen Johnson:ajohnson@sfchronicle.com