The Irishman (2019) (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

I've never once noticed de-aging in a movie but every time it's been used, people act like there's a blinking light and arrow pointing at faces saying "LOOK! DEAGING!!!!!!" Even if I did notice it, I'll take that over another actor playing a character or the actor donning a wig or hair dye and pulling their face tighter to pretend the person is decades younger.

 

[Wayne_j]

I often notice de-aging. But I also know that it is going on in advance so my brain is probably on alert to find anything that looks slightly out of place. If they did it to an actor whom I was less familiar with and didn't know their age and what they look like I would probably not notice it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The aging thing is not going to be perfect and natural I suspect and that could impact a movie of this kind. This is a gritty crime drama and that kind of CG is going to be distracting.

I doubt it as most people watching this new movie are well aware that they're using this process as some of these actors didn't just lose 30-40 years from their faces.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I think, as is always the case, some folks are going to complain about the de-aging process in this. They also age De Niro in this as he is playing the character from 20 to 80 years old.

However, probably the most audience complaints about this film will be over running time (about 3 and a half hours) and pacing...it is paced more like a film from the 1970s.

I think the other side of theaters not wanting much to do with this is the 3.5 hour running time.

 

[PMF]

Today's Wall Street Journal is carrying a front-page story on Apple's intent to showcase their feature films theatrically - and for longer booking periods - in answer to the current Netflix pattern; as seen with "Roma" and "The Irishman".

Meanwhile, for what its worth, I would prefer my first-time viewing of "The Irishman" to be of a theatrical experience and would fully embrace its running time of 3.5 hours.

 

[bujaki]

I am so looking forward to 3.5 hours at my local art house watching what promises to be a great film.

 

[SamT]

 

[Bob Cashill]

https://letterboxd.com/bobcashill/film/the-irishman-2019/

 

[benbess]

I think we pay c.$16 a month for the 4k plan from Netflix. So far every month I feel like I'm getting full value from that in terms of the things I watch, and it's impressive as part of that to get an all-new $160 million dollar Scorsese movie. I do feel like Netflix has gone from being a bargain to being a bit pricey. If they go past $20 a month I might need to start thinking about whether I continue, or maybe what plan I choose.

In other words, I like many of their expensive programs, but at some point I'd like them to start living within their means so that they don't have to raise rates every year or two. Paying c. $500 million for Seinfeld seems rather expensive for a show of that vintage. I would have rather have seen them spend half a billion on new programming, or just on stemming their seemingly endless losses. Could the Irishman have been made for less? I love these actors, but what about younger actors with some make up rather than massive and expensive cgi de-aging?

 

[benbess]

"Netflix still operates at an annual loss and has accrued a growing debt of $12 billion-plus while sporting a troublesome cash burn, or the rate at which a company uses up its cash reserves or balance. Earlier this year, CEO Reed Hastings estimated the content budget to be $1.4 billion per month."

https://observer.com/2019/09/netflix-stock-price-tumbles-amazon-apple-disney-streaming/

"The company spends more than 70 per cent of revenues on content. Analysts estimate that would give it a budget of more than $15bn this year — more than any other media company. Yet Netflix projects it will spend $3.5bn more than it will generate in cash in 2019, while promising that this mismatch will narrow over time. This rate of cash burn means the company has to repeatedly tap debt markets to pay for its content and make other debt repayments. It relies on the faith of investors to fuel the machine, studiously raising more junk-rated debt roughly every six months to help finance its splurge on content."

https://ig.ft.com/netflix-future/

 

[PMF]

Upon watching this interview - and momentarily putting aside all discussions of theatrical versus streaming, and subscriptions versus physical media - we have here the humbling reminder of what it takes to put together such an immense project; regardless of the enormity of collective talents positioned on both sides of the camera. For all involved, Netflix must also be given their full due of credit for bringing "The Irishman" to light.

 

[dpippel]

Guillermo Del Toro reviews The Irishman on his Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/RealGDT/status/1178727839920574464

 

[Worth]

I've never once noticed de-aging in a movie but every time it's been used, people act like there's a blinking light and arrow pointing at faces saying "LOOK! DEAGING!!!!!!" Even if I did notice it, I'll take that over another actor playing a character or the actor donning a wig or hair dye and pulling their face tighter to pretend the person is decades younger.

I find the de-aging thing a real gimmick. I think another actor playing the same character is less distracting than CGI. Not to mention that fact that 70-something De Niro no longer moves like 30-something De Niro, even with his younger face grafted on. And casting a younger actor would have saved them tens of millions.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

I think, as is always the case, some folks are going to complain about the de-aging process in this. They also age De Niro in this as he is playing the character from 20 to 80 years old.

However, probably the most audience complaints about this film will be over running time (about 3 and a half hours) and pacing...it is paced more like a film from the 1970s.

I think the other side of theaters not wanting much to do with this is the 3.5 hour running time.

De-ageing is a tool. Like any tool, it can be used wisely or recklessly. I trust Martin Scorsese.
As for your second point, slow-paced 70s style with 3,5 hours running time is actually a selling point for me
I'd love to see a movie with more than 30 seconds between the cuts.

 

[TravisR]

I find the de-aging thing a real gimmick. I think another actor playing the same character is less distracting than CGI. Not to mention that fact that 70-something De Niro no longer moves like 30-something De Niro, even with his younger face grafted on. And casting a younger actor would have saved them tens of millions.

In the case of a guy like De Niro, everyone knows exactly what he looked like when he was in his 30's so having some other actor play him at that age is far from seamless either. The only real solution is to be Richard Linklater and shoot a movie over a decade so everyone ages naturally.

 

[benbess]

One of my favorite movie reviewers, Owen Gleiberman, has a very positive review in Variety....

https://variety.com/2019/film/revie...obert-de-niro-al-pacino-joe-pesci-1203351142/

"....At 209 minutes, “The Irishman” is longer than “The Godfather” or “The Godfather Part II,” longer than “Titanic” or any of the “Lord of the Rings” films — and that, on the face of it, could make it seem intimidating, like a mountain you have to climb. One might even ask: Why, in the age of skittery attention spans, did Scorsese choose to make a three-and-a-half-hour magnum opus for Netflix? But the answer, it turns out, is rather up-to-the-minute. That running time is a mere blip in the world of binge-watching; if “The Irishman” weren’t a movie at all but, in fact, a show (a limited series, say), we’d be talking all of three episodes. And the reason that connection is so relevant is that what Scorsese has made is, in a sense, a kind of glorified series. I don’t mean that as an insult to his cinematic ambitions. Scorsese, in contrast to what he did in the overly knotted-up “Casino,” is working here at full power — the jittery sweep of his voice, the intuitive music of his camera movement, the classic volcanic eruptions of male rage. Edited, with flowing contrapuntal brilliance, by Thelma Schoonmaker, “The Irishman” unfolds with an ominous momentum that’s heady and engrossing...."

 

[Chris Will]

The LOTR Extended Editions are longer, and those are the only versions that exist in my mind.

Can't wait to watch this once it shows up on Netflix.

 

[Tino]

I was just notified that The Irishman will be screening at the historic Lafayette Theater in nearby Suffern NY (about 45 minutes from NYC).

Wow. What a pleasant surprise. Will definitely see this one on the big screen.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Here's an interview with Scorsese, De Niro, and Pacino. Scorsese says "They don't want to make the pictures I want to make anymore. It's over. It's finished." but speaks highly of Netflix, how they stepped up and let him make exactly what he wanted to make with no interference.

 

[Keith Cobby]

No film should last more than 2 hours.