Released on November 27, 2019, The Irishman has earned an 8.3 IMDb rating and a 96% on rotten tomatoes, following which Martin Scorsese implored audiences not to watch his films – or those by other directors – on their smartphones.
Scorsese was speaking to the Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers in the wake of the Netflix streaming release of his latest film, The Irishman.
According to The Guardian, Scorsese said, “I would suggest if you ever want to see one of my pictures, or most films – please, please don’t look at it on a phone, please. An iPad, a big iPad, maybe.”
Following a three-week run in cinemas – where it continues to be shown The Irishman was made available on Netflix accounts last Thursday. Netflix does not officially release viewing figures, or box office receipts, but numbers for both are likely to be high.
Opinions however, are divided on social media between people who are more interested in the cinema viewing of the film that stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci and those embracing its smaller-screen accessibility.
Following Scorsese's remark, some viewers actirally uploaded pictures of themselves watching the film on phone and even an Apple watch.
https://twitter.com/fkaswig/status/1201300204508434433
On the other hand, some have offered a guidance on how to break the three-and-a-half-hour film into a manageable mini-series.
I created a viewing guide for everyone who thinks THE IRISHMAN is too damn long for one night. You're welcome! #scorsese #netflix #theirishman pic.twitter.com/sH06AxJ7he
— Alexander Kardelo (@dunerfors) November 28, 2019
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, this format was emphatically rejected by Scorsese. He said "I had never even thought of it” as suited to such divvying.
“Because the point of this picture is the accumulation of detail. It’s an accumulated cumulative effect by the end of the movie – which means you get to see from beginning to end [in one sitting] if you’re so inclined. A series is great. It’s wonderful. You can develop character and plot lines and worlds are recreated, but this wasn’t right for that.”
Scorsese, who made an advert for the iPhone 4s in 2012, is winning some of the best reviews of his career for the film, which employs cutting-edge digital technology to tell a tale spanning many decades.
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