Press Release Criterion Press Release: The Irishman (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

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.

FILM INFO

• Martin Scorsese
• United States
• 2019
• 208 minutes
• Color
• 1.85:1
• English
• Spine #1058

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

November 24, 2020

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases

 

[Jeffrey D]

I figured this announcement was coming. I’ll pick it up.

 

[Dick]

Good. I'm in line.

 

[Reed Grele]

Gotta have it... But was hoping for a 4K UHD release.

 

[Detour (1945)]

Can't wait.

 

[PMF]

Gotta have it... But was hoping for a 4K UHD release.

I, too, would like to see a 4K/UHD release; but, as it is, I don’t recall Criterion ever holding out that possibility to us. Do correct me if I’m wrong.

Now, with that said, I’m feeling mighty lucky to have this release. Indeed, not so long ago, I feared that we would never get to have anything that came out of Netflix; but thanks to Criterion, we’ve got “Roma”, “A Marriage Story” and, now, “The Irishman”.

 

[cadavra]

Allow me to merely add:

YES! YES! YES! GOD, YES!

Thank you. As you were.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases

 

[bujaki]

Allow me to merely add:

YES! YES! YES! GOD, YES!

Thank you. As you were.

Mike, you sound like Molly Bloom in "Ulysses."

 

[Dick]

I, too, would like to see a 4K/UHD release; but, as it is, I don’t recall Criterion ever holding out that possibility to us. Do correct me if I’m wrong.

Now, with that said, I’m feeling mighty lucky to have this release. Indeed, not so long ago, I feared that we would never get to have anything that came out of Netflix; but thanks to Criterion, we’ve got “Roma”, “A Marriage Story” and, now, “The Irishman”.

I would love to see Netflix now go back and license MUDBOUND, OKJA, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS and other marvelous but stream-locked titles.

 

[lark144]

Mike, you sound like Molly Bloom in "Ulysses."

Or Rodney Dangerfield upon meeting Sally Kellerman in "Back to School".

 

[David Wilkins]

Never thought I’d say it, but I’m getting tired of Criterion. How much longer can their “fear”, “aversion”, or whatever you want to call it, of UHD last? They’re not the only “boutique” label around, but many of the others have taken the plunge, at least to a limited degree. Why can’t the flagship label take at least a limited plunge? Nobody said they have to go “whole hog”. Why can lesser labels do it, but they “just can’t”? Their ultra-conservative posturing is becoming ultra-annoying.

The clock keeps ticking, the calendar pages keep turning, and even if they announce tomorrow, nothing is going to hit the shelves for a long while. That rollout would take many months to be realized. Continuing my stand of the past couple of years, I will buy only the handful of Criterion’s that are “must have”, and are least likely to see a UHD edition, from anyone. My days of double and triple dipping have grown extraordinarily thin.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

They may have just decided it’s not a market worth pursuing. This was reported in another thread, but UHD disc represents less than 1% of consumer spending on home media. That just may not translate into enough copies to make it viable for them. Kino has only put out one UHD disc so far (with another on the way) but reported that sales were below expectation and canceled several other planned UHD titles as a result.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Considering that Netflix loves their exclusivity, I doubt this film would be receiving a physical release at all from any other distributor. Criterion's higher prices and more niche appeal mean that Netflix will still be the primary destination most average Joes will use to watch the film, while they can appease Scorsese and diehard collectors by letting Criterion license it. I understand that fans want the UHD, which is totally valid, but I would be grateful that it is being released on disc at all. The vast majority of Netflix films are not so lucky.