He does though. Fear of abandoment. This kind of view of historical consequences that's almost Mizoguchi like. And he's the heir to Kurosawa in directing spectacle. The special effects in WOTW happen to be in the back of the frame most of the time! I love how it hews so closely to Cruise's POV that there is a major battle going on over the hill but we never see it. We just hear it and see barest remnants of gunfire. He uses whip pans all the time so I don't see why you think every shot looks perfect. And Scorsese has an MA in film so he's the last one to just let things slide. If a shot looks off its because he wanted it that way. It's every bit as calculated as any money shot.
I don't even know how to respond to the Kurosawa comment. You're obviously a smart guy, so I'll chalk it up to a temporary loss of perspective.
The difference between Scorsese and Spielberg is that
Scorsese has somehow retained his connection with actual people. One of the benefits of l Scorsese's iving in NYC, I suppose. All of Spielberg's people are based on a "theory of people" rather than actual knowledge of people. I won't go so far as to say he's a "hollywood elite" because I don't know what that means, but he should definitely get out and about more. Talk to someone other than his laura ahsley wearing hordes and studio executives.