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The Irishman



Martin Scorsese’s cinematic mastery is on full display in this sweeping crime saga, which serves as an elegiac summation of his six-decade career. Left behind by the world, former hit man and union truck driver Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) looks back from a nursing home on his life’s journey through the ranks of organized crime: from his involvement with Philadelphia mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) to his association with Teamsters union head Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) to the rift that forced him to choose between the two. An intimate story of loyalty and betrayal writ large across the epic canvas of mid-twentieth-century American history, The Irishman (based on the real-life Sheeran’s confessions, as told to writer Charles Brandt for the book I Heard You Paint Houses) is a uniquely reflective late-career triumph that balances its director’s virtuoso set pieces with a profoundly personal rumination on aging, mortality, and the decisions and regrets that shape a life.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital master, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Newly edited roundtable conversation among Scorsese and actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, originally recorded in 2019
• New documentary about the making of the film featuring Scorsese; the lead actors; producers Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Jane Rosenthal, and Irwin Winkler; director of photography Rodrigo Prieto; and others from the cast and crew
• New video essay written and narrated by film critic Farran Smith Nehme about The Irishman’s synthesis of Scorsese’s singular formal style
• The Evolution of Digital De-aging, a 2019 program on the visual effects created for the film
• Archival interview excerpts with Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran and International Brotherhood of Teamsters trade union leader Jimmy Hoffa
• Trailer and teaser

PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien

New cover by Gregory Manchess

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:46 pm

I'm really leery of this. I really hope it's not an over the hill, last gasp film. I hope I'm surprised.

No idea what you're talking about, "Gimme Shelter" is nowhere near its last gasp.

Netflix!?

swo17 wrote:No idea what you're talking about, "Gimme Shelter" is nowhere near its last gasp.

You can almost play "guess the 70s soundtrack" here.

FrauBlucher wrote:I'm really leery of this. I really hope it's not an over the hill, last gasp film. I hope I'm surprised.

My immediate reaction was to be wary too, but I think Scorsese's too self-aware about the concept to let that happen. From what's been reported, DeNiro, Pacino, Pesci and others are going to be de-aged by decades for what sounds like most of the film. I think it would be cheap cynicism to brush this off as Scorsese et al caving into the nostalgia for the films they once did, as if validating the opinion that they're now shells of the vital artists they once were, and I'm certain there will be critics who will do just that, just as there has been for virtually every film he's done for the last few decades. But consider that the source material is about the last man seen with Hoffa (and who may have killed him or had some role in his death), and consider how much Hoffa represents a bygone era. It could very well be about the passing of an era one helped create, and having to accept that to let go of those things. This is all speculation, but it could be a fruitful reason for Scorsese to return to a very familiar genre.

hearthesilence wrote:From what's been reported, DeNiro, Pacino, Pesci and others are going to be de-aged by decades for what sounds like most of the film.

OK, now I'm leery too.

I'm hearing statements that this is not an official poster so be wary until it's confirmed to be one.

hearthesilence wrote: My immediate reaction was to be wary too, but I think Scorsese's too self-aware about the concept to let that happen. From what's been reported, DeNiro, Pacino, Pesci and others are going to be de-aged by decades for what sounds like most of the film. I think it would be cheap cynicism to brush this off as Scorsese et al caving into the nostalgia for the films they once did, as if validating the opinion that they're now shells of the vital artists they once were, and I'm certain there will be critics who will do just that, just as there has been for virtually every film he's done for the last few decades. But consider that the source material is about the last man seen with Hoffa (and who may have killed him or had some role in his death), and consider how much Hoffa represents a bygone era. It could very well be about the passing of an era one helped create, and having to accept that to let go of those things. This is all speculation, but it could be a fruitful reason for Scorsese to return to a very familiar genre.

They've apparently spent beaucoup bucks to de-age them as well. Unless they do it right we could have a repeat of Justice League (I know there's a substantial difference in quality here but bad CGI is bad CGI).

I concur that this is a strength for Scorsese and his cast is comprised of legends. My real concern is whether or not it can all come together in a feasible manner in this day and age. All the pieces are in place for a victory but we all know that that doesn't mean squat.

Big Ben wrote:I'm hearing statements that this is not an official poster so be wary until it's confirmed to be

Its definitely a fake poster based on this BTS image

Big Ben wrote:They've apparently spent beaucoup bucks to de-age them as well.

There was an IndieWire story about that, yes.

Personally, I don't think de-aging will ever look that convincing to me. It's like having a CG artist doing all the emoting and acting for a performer. But even if it fails in a literal way, de-aging can work on a conceptual level, and I can think of one example where it did just that: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'm not even a fan, the film is generally overwrought, but the scene where we first see a 20-something Brad Pitt is wondrous. It's clearly a CG concoction (it helps that he's partly obscured by the shadows of the dark room they're in). What made it resonate was tapping into the illusory possibility of recapturing our youth. The fact that they're trying to recall Brad Pitt's physical heartthrob heyday magnifies that. The pull and temptation of recapturing something from one's youth, whether it's your own physical youth or something you're nostalgic for or someone you once knew, is potent and universal, and at best, de-aging can be a powerful, Brechtian tool that exploits that sensation.

ng4996 wrote:

Big Ben wrote:I'm hearing statements that this is not an official poster so be wary until it's confirmed to be

Its definitely a fake poster based on this BTS image

Since flu season is apparently making me a cynic today, I also think this poster is fake, for two reasons:
1. This movie is coming out next Christmas at the earliest. Not exactly "soon".
2. I respect both of them as actors, but I don't think Katherine Narducci and Dominick Lombardozzi have the clout for "with" and "and" credits in the credit block on the poster for a Scorsese film.

thirtyframesasecond wrote:

swo17 wrote:No idea what you're talking about, "Gimme Shelter" is nowhere near its last gasp.

You can almost play "guess the 70s soundtrack" here.

I'm leery that there'll be too many Stones songs.


Hearthesilence, I hope you're correct. It'll be a big disappointment if it turns out to be Tough Guyish.

I'm optimistic - of his past four films (Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Silence) not only have they all ranged from very good to excellent, but I don't anyone could accuse Scorsese of resting on his laurels or being unafraid to try new things, both in terms of genre and narrative. It's not like he's making The Irishman straight after The Departed; I think at this point he's earned our faith that he won't just remake Goodfellas.

The Wolf of Wall Street seems to be the favorite here going by the year-end polls, but I've already gone to the mat for Hugo and Silence - two truly excellent films that were high on my lists for their respective years. I didn't like them nearly as much, but Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street did have their merits and they feel often misunderstood.

I agree with heartsilence, Hugo is one of the films of the decade for me. Silence I wasnt as impressed overall by but, as Altair also says above, these are not the works of a filmmaker who is just spinning his wheels or is over the hill.

Apparently, the budget on this has ballooned from $100 million at Paramount to $125 million at Netflix and now up to $140+ million, which I'll just imagine is Martin Scorsese doing his part to put Netflix further into impossible-to-recoup debt

Can’t be too many who don’t want to see this be good. Sad that many younger mainstream audiences don’t know Pacino and De Niro for the all-time greats that they once were.

I'd be seriously shocked if they, especially DeNiro weren't known to the 16-27 crowd by name for some of their respectable work.

You’d be surprised how many people have not seen any of The Godfather, Raging Bull etc. I was the same until I was 19 and got into film! Goodfellas does tend to be on UK TV a fair bit, so there is that. The problem is that De Niro has just shown up in shite and taken the money for 20 years, so I don’t think a lot even conceive of him being held in reverence compared to those who have watched and loved the majority of his golden period.

I started really taking film seriously because of Scorsese. I certainly don't think The Departed is anywhere near a good film now but when I first saw it after it won Best Picture I started taking film very seriously. It was Scorsese's enthusiasm that really got to me. But I can't stress enough that I'm an exception. I seriously doubt you'd be able to convince many modern youth to sit through any of his older films. And not because of a lack of intelligence either but simply because it's not what they're used to.

Rob Netflix blind for all I care. If the film is good I couldn't give two shits if Netflix loses money.

Call me crazy but The Departed remains in my top 3 or 5 Scorsese films of all the time regardless of it being a remake but the script is incredible

TMDaines wrote:You’d be surprised how many people have not seen any of The Godfather, Raging Bull etc. I was the same until I was 19 and got into film! Goodfellas does tend to be on UK TV a fair bit, so there is that. The problem is that De Niro has just shown up in shite and taken the money for 20 years, so I don’t think a lot even conceive of him being held in reverence compared to those who have watched and loved the majority of his golden period.

If IMDB is any indication of youth audience their more well-regarded work has tons of votes. The Godfather has about 1,309,094 votes counted, with an weighted average of 9.2, Raging Bull at 263,239 votes with an weighted average of 8.2. I believe casual millennials don't hold up either actor in the same light as their parents or older folks, though anyone with some interest in film or acting will looked up to their classic performances. We would be having the same discussion about Marlon Brando if this was during the nineties where he couldn't care less about his craft and just went for the easy paycheck.

You need to have an account to vote on IMDb though and I was concerning myself with the more casual, mainstream audience.

Ten or fifteen years ago this would have been different. You couldn’t turn on MTV for Cribs with everyone desperate to show off their gangster movie credentials by highlighting Scarface or The Godfather on their shelves. These films are still top of the pile when it comes to most watched classics, along with Disney fare, but it’s staggering how many people don’t really watch anything they don’t consider “modern” relative to them or foreign.

Anyway, I can imagine this film working well if it takes an approach that many neo-westerns have done and present the characters and these actors as belonging to a world that has now moved on. Portraying them as the last cowboys in the West, so to speak, whilst being an ode to the pictures and genre that was so popular and great during the 70s.

black&huge wrote:Call me crazy but The Departed remains in my top 3 or 5 Scorsese films of all the time regardless of it being a remake but the script is incredible

It’s my second favourite after Raging Bull.

knives wrote:I'd be seriously shocked if they, especially DeNiro weren't known to the 16-27 crowd by name for some of their respectable work.

Are we counting Dirty Grandpa as 'respectable work'?