NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Scorsese’s "The Irishman" premiered Friday at the New York Film
Festival, finally raising the curtain on the director’s long-awaited, 209-minute crime-drama opus.
Though the film’s genre and cast, including Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, has led some to expect a
gangster thriller in the mold of "GoodFellas" or "Casino," ”The Irishman" is a
more reflective, less flashy rumination on morality, violence and American power. Through de-aging
visual effects, the performances by De Niro, Pesci and Al Pacino span decades.
"The Irishman" was screened for members of the press Friday morning ahead of its evening red
carpet premiere as the opening night gala for the New York Film Festival. The film’s debut has loomed
like few other events on the film calendar, and a rare frenzy greeted it at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully
Hall. Reviews from critics were largely laudatory.
Variety called it "a coldly enthralling triumph" and "a stately, ominous,
suck-in-your-breath summing up." The Hollywood Reporter called the film’s length a weakness but
still hailed "a sprawling gangland saga that’s by turns flinty, amusing and richly nostalgic."
The New York Times called it "a gift for cinephiles … but also a somber acknowledgement of
limitations."
The film is also one of Netflix’s biggest bets yet. The streaming company plunked down $159 million to
make "The Irishman" after other studios passed. Scorsese, speaking in a Q&A alongside
cast and producers, said that Netflix was the only one willing to bankroll the movie.
"We couldn’t get backing for years," Scorsese said. "It’s a costly experiment, but
(Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos) and everyone at Netflix was like, ‘We’ll go with it.’"
Scorsese called his film "an interesting hybrid" as both something made for theaters and for
watching at home. It will open theatrically Nov. 1 and begin streaming on Nov. 27.
"All of us now are in an extraordinary time of change," Scorsese said. "But when it comes
down to it, I felt — Bob (De Niro) felt — the picture had to be made for ourselves."
Based on Charles Brandt’s book "I Heard You Paint Houses," ”The Irishman" has been in
development, on and off, for more than a decade. It stars De Niro as Frank Sheeran, a mafia hitman and
high-ranking Teamster official. Shortly before his death, he confessed to killing Jimmy Hoffa (played by
Pacino). Pesci plays the mob boss Russell Bufalino.
"The Irishman" surveys Sheeran’s long life in crime. But where "GoodFellas" was
glamorous, "The Irishman" is sober.
It’s a big statement for the 76-year-old director. Scorsese and his producers offered some impressive
statistics on the movie’s scope: 108 days of shooting, 117 locations, 309 scenes.
The ambitious size of "The Irishman" is part of what scared away other studios, along with the
expensive de-aging process used to make De Niro, Pesci and Pacino appear years younger in significant
sections of the movie. Nine cameras were used to film those scenes.
Scorsese initially did a screen test and compared his digitally altered De Niro to the De Niro of
"GoodFellas." When the actor, 76, saw himself de-aged, he joked that he could extend his
career another 30 years.
Scorsese described the intensive effects process as more than making their faces more youthful.
"It isn’t just about noses and computer imagery, it’s about posture, it’s about movement, it’s about
clouding the eyes," said Scorsese, noting that meant giving De Niro directions like reminding him
that he had to stand up from a chair "like you’re 49."
For many, the biggest excitement about "The Irishman" is seeing Scorsese and De Niro back
together for the first time since 1995’s "Casino." Pesci has acted only a handful of times in
the two decades since "Lethal Weapon 4." And even though many assume they’ve made numerous
films together, this is Scorsese’s first movie with Pacino.
"Finally," the director said.
___
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
