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The Irishman


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Not a real fan of violent (or semi-) films but with this cast and director I might have to make an exception. It sounds fascinating because it is the actors playing actual persons over several decades. It is also Scorsese's most expensive film to date.

 

Martin Scorsese

Robert DeNiro

Joe Pesce

Al Pacino

Harvey Keitel

Bobby Cannavale

Ray Romano

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302006/videoplayer/vi2119285785?ref_=vi_nxt_ap

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/09/the-irishman-official-trailer-scorsese-de-niro-pesci-pacino-1202176617/

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There's been a lot written about this movie lately. Apparently it's a front runner for best picture at this point, as well as in directing and acting categories. However, a lot of the debate about it is about Netflix' unwillingness to give it a proper wide theatrical release.

 

Here's a couple of articles, pro and against Netflix's decision.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/irishman-why-netflix-shouldnt-give-theaters-demands-guest-column-1254033

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/business/irishman-netflix-theaters.html

 

Definitely interesting times for both Netflix and the National Association of Theater Owners. It could be the beginning of the end for either of their reigns.

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Just had the 'privilege' of seeing this on the big screen in LA. I feel bad for those who have to settle for watching this epic on Netflix at home with even a decent big screen TV. It's just not the same. I'm really not liking the way Netflix is shaking up the Hollywood business model.

And I am super happy because projects are getting financed that never would be before by people whose stories weren't being told.

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THAT'S a different problem with today's Hollywood...

It's all a tradeoff. Bigger screens may be more important to you. They're not to me. I pay Netflix less per month than a full price movie ticket and I have access to a lot of content, some of it in languages other than English, that I wouldn't have otherwise. And most of what I watch on Netflix is more analogous to a TV series or miniseries than a movie anyway. (Some of what I watch are actual TV series.)

 

Netflix has its downsides (doesn't everything?) but I am glad they are blowing up Hollywood.

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US domestic movie theater attendance contributes a small fraction to "Hollywood", and even at that, those numbers are not terrible, so overall the motion picture industry is doing better than ever. Technology has rapidly changed how people get their entertainment, just like the true smartphone era has only started to alter society in ways we won't understand for decades.

 

I can say that the changes movie theaters have been forced to make to remain competitive have me going to more movies than I have in decades. Reserved, very comfortable, widely spaced seating is da bomb.

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Just had the 'privilege' of seeing this on the big screen in LA. I feel bad for those who have to settle for watching this epic on Netflix at home with even a decent big screen TV. It's just not the same. I'm really not liking the way Netflix is shaking up the Hollywood business model.

 

I agree, but I live in city that is showing this film.

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I feel that no one would have boycotted or cancelled their Netflix membership if The Irishman had shown in theatres for 60 days prior to being available for online streaming. I also feel that Netflix has always been super innovative in everything they do, yet here I feel that they got stuck in their own business model. It's one thing to have an intent to stream everything you make right away, yet it's another to stumble upon a major cinematic event, as this movie is being described, and refuse to give it a wide theatrical release, where all you could gain is extra box office revenue, and still keep the subscribers happy with plenty of other content. I just don't get it. I'm sure Netflix has their reasons, and big directors can chose to either go with it or not make films for them, but the repercussions of this move could spell death for the movie theaters as we know it, and I'm not sure I'm completely on board with that.

Edited by manTOman
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Another question I ponder about this new Netflix working model. If THE IRISHMAN, for instance, is just another tile on the vast Netflix menu, how do they gauge it's value / success / failure? If someone signs on to Netflix just because they want to see THE IRISHMAN (for instance), how does Netflix know? It will pretty much always be there (and nowhere else) just like another episode of Pokemon. Until it's not. Then where does it go?

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I feel that no one would have boycotted or cancelled their Netflix membership if The Irishman had shown in theatres for 60 days prior to being available for online streaming. I also feel that Netflix has always been super innovative in everything they do, yet here I feel that they got stuck in their own business model. It's one thing to have an intent to stream everything you make right away, yet it's another to stumble upon a major cinematic event, as this movie is being described, and refuse to give it a wide theatrical release, where all you could gain is extra box office revenue, and still keep the subscribers happy with plenty of other content. I just don't get it. I'm sure Netflix has their reasons, and big directors can chose to either go with it or not make films for them, but the repercussions of this move could spell death for the movie theaters as we know it, and I'm not sure I'm completely on board with that.

 

I feel the exact opposite. The large chains are refusing to acknowledge that their industry is changing, content providers are changing, and they need to figure out how to grow their business in this new environment. In New York we've lost the City Cinema on 86th Street, the Beekman, the Paris and rumors are the Kips Bay and Landmark will soon follow. The old model isn't working.

At the moment Netflix is in negotiation to take over the Paris and I believe they already have a theater in Hollywood. We, the subscribers to Netflix, paid for the Irishman to be made and delaying the time we can see it would be very destructive of their business model. I have friends who subscribe to Netflix who decided to see Roma in theaters because they wanted the movie going experience for an important movie. Plus, most think no Hollywood studio would have made The Irishman at a cost of 180 million for a three and a half hour movie. The times they are a changing.

Edited by Cash4Trash
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I feel the exact opposite. The large chains are refusing to acknowledge that their industry is changing, content providers are changing, and they need to figure out how to grow their business in this new environment. In New York we've lost the City Cinema on 86th Street, the Beekman, the Paris and rumors are the Kips Bay and Landmark will soon follow. The old model isn't working.

At the moment Netflix is in negotiation to take over the Paris and I believe they already have a theater in Hollywood. We, the subscribers to Netflix, paid for the Irishman to be made and delaying the time we can see it would be very destructive of their business model. I have friends who subscribe to Netflix who decided to sere Roma in theaters because that wanted the movie going experience for an important movie. Plus, most think no Hollywood studio would have made The Irishman at a cost of 180 million for a three and a half hour movie. The times they are a changing.

 

I think Netflix is a great innovator and as I said I think they've adapted extremely well with times. They started mailing DVDs, then streaming, then original content, and today they've become a very powerful Studio. That is all great and I appreciate them for brining some of the very best content to the comfort of my own home. However, I am a Netflix subscriber and yet I don't have the option to see The Irishman in theatres and that is something that I don't like.

 

Roma was a great movie that I enjoyed very much, but it was in a foreign language, in black and white, by a known but foreign director and without any stars. A tough box office sell at any time. The Irishman is a movie by an iconic American director who has enjoyed tremendous critical acclaim as well as box office success. In addition to that there's plenty of big time American stars who haven't worked together on screen in a long time. The genre is the one that has had enormous box office success in the past with both the director and the cast. The critical acclaim, that has been nothing but overwhelmingly positive, is yet another factor to predict that The Irishman would do great at the box office had it been given a chance. As I said I don't think anyone would have cancelled their subscription by having to wait for this movie for two months. According to current release dates, it would have been available on Netflix the first week of January, just as the award season was starting to get into full swing. The shareholders, would certainly appreciate the extra box office revenue the movie was almost certain to generate. It would have been a win-win for everyone.

 

As a Netflix subscriber, I would have appreciated this choice even at the expense of the delayed streaming release date. However, Netflix decided that as their subscriber I was not worthy that choice. And as their subscriber I'm not sure I like them making that decision for me. While I feel strongly about this, I'm not at the point where I'm going to cancel my subscription. But if they continue to jeopardize the future of movie theaters I might just do that.

 

You live in NYC where you get a lot more opportunities to see films be it at festivals or limited releases. While New York will always have it's benefits in this regard, folks in other parts of the country as well as outside of it should be given a chance to enjoy great cinematic masterpieces in cinemas, the way they are meant to be seen. Or maybe I'm just too old fashioned.

Edited by manTOman
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As a Netflix subscriber, I would have appreciated this choice even at the expense of the delayed streaming release date. However, Netflix decided that as their subscriber I was not worthy that choice. And as their subscriber I'm not sure I like them making that decision for me. While I feel strongly about this, I'm not at the point where I'm going to cancel my subscription. But if they continue to jeopardize the future of movie theaters I might just do that.

 

I agree completely with this. And it harkens back to one of my questions: If one were to cancel their Netflix subscription over an issue like this, how does Netflix know that's the reason? (Not that they'd care, I'm sure.)

 

Another point. At some point, even THE IRISHMAN will be bumped off the menu and added to the 'what's leaving this month' list. As a semi-collector, there are a few titles I like to own on Blu-Ray or DVD so that they are ALWAYS available to me when I want. Perhaps someone has a collection of Scorcese movies or Cohen Bros. movies. In the new streaming universe, this option of owning physical media will be going away, just like the option of seeing a movie on a big screen theater. Another decision Netflix, et al. have made for us. I don't like it. I don't see why we can't have it ALL.

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Nothing here concerning Netflix, but an interesting interview. I was at the Castro premiere, along with 1400 others. Its not as violent as one might expect. The 3 1/2 hours went by quickly. Highly recommended.

 

Martin Scorsese on ‘The Irishman,’ old friends, and loving Castro Theatre

The veteran filmmaker's latest brings together Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesce: He tells us how it all came about.

 

https://48hills.org/2019/11/martin-scorsese-on-the-irishman-castro-theatre/

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I saw it yesterday. About 30 minutes in, it came to mind I was watching a finely crafted film. The sequences at the end, later in life, are an interesting mirror for the creatives behind the film to hold up to themselves. The time flew by.

@oldNbusted nails it....I was mesmerized by the film. Watched at home on Netflix, only minor gripe was personal...I had to divide then 3 hr 29 min into two watching windows Wednesday.

 

Amazing film, the special on Netflix after with Scorsese/Pacino/Deniro/Pesci is worth the watch. Amazing chemistry among the four, and some interesting insights into a couple of the technical aspects of making the film.

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Didn't see the actual report ... teaser on the news today: "Netflix in trouble? How will they respond to new Disney and AppleTV threats?"

 

The give away this is not a serious story is that AppleTV+ (the streaming video service) is not a threat to anyone, Apple is giving it away to everyone they can. Someone asked me about it and I described it as 1/10th of Netflix originals and zero back catalog and they were like 'why would I pay for that?'.

 

Disney+, on the other hand, I can easily see replacing Netflix in households that need to choose between the services.

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I too watched at home divided at the assassination of Hoffa. The acting is great from top to bottom. I’m old enough to remember most of the events. On a business trip I even managed to drive by the Red Fox Restaurant about 2 weeks after Hoffa’s “disappearance”. The attention to detail is almost OCD. I winced as all those checker cabs were trashed. I used to love riding in a checker cab in NYC.

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I seem to be the only one who thinks MEH. The acting was superb but halfway through I thought I would rather rewatch Once Upon a Time in America, the long version of course. Similar story line. Similar attention to detail and a lot more content in OUATIA. The little pop up video type recounting the deaths of minor characters added little but distraction for me. Mafia bad and kill people is not a point that needs to be stressed to anyone interested in watching this movie. The Mafia involved in killing Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs is old territory and speculative and I do not think this movie added any insight to that. Perhaps those that did not know of the hatred between Bobby Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa found that informative. I do think the line after the Kennedy assassination when Hoffa says: Bobby Kennedy is now just another lawyer, was a powerful moment.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the film but I doubt it is winning a Best Picture Oscar. Tom Hanks and Mr. Rogers are probably taking the acting and the Best Picture Oscars back to their neighborhood.

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