The Irishman ( I Heard You Paint Houses ) *****
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci
Director: Martin Scorsese
Running Time (approx) : 3 Hrs 29 Mins. (209 Minutes)
CERTIFICATE : 15
DISTRIBUTOR : Netflix, Tribeca Productions
Martin Charles Scorsese,born November,17, 1942, is an Italian - American filmmaker, Actor & Historian, whose career spans more than 50 yrs, during which he has directed in more than 36 movies during his lifetime with his production company- SIKELIA PRODUCTIONS.
His diverse subjects include crime dramas, period dramas, religious epics, musical epics, black comedies, historical biopics, biographical sports dramas, psychological thrillers & crime epics.
He has also worked on television as well where he directed the pilot episodes of BOARDWALK EMPIRE featuring STEVE BUSCEMI, (who portrayed ENOCH '' NUCKY'' THOMPSON,(based on the historical ENOCH '' NUCKY'' JOHNSON, a political figure & rose to prominence & controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the prohibition era period of the 1920's & early 1930's), & VINYL, featuring BOBBY CANNAVALE, ( who portrayed RICHIE FINESTRA, a record executive who works in the music industry which was set in New York City during the 1970's), the latter of which he co-created with Mick Jagger & Terence Winter '' THE SOPRANOS''.
Cannavale also appeared in Season 3 of BOARDWALK EMPIRE as mobster GYP ROSETTI.
As a rock fan he has directed many documentaries featuring THE BAND - ROBBIE ROBERTSON, (his regular collaborator),THE LAST WALTZ,- THE ROLLING STONES, SHINE A LIGHT- GEORGE HARRISON LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, & BOB DYLAN. ROLLING THUNDER,- A MUSICAL REVUE. Between the late 60's & early 80's, an American New Wave aka NEW HOLLYWOOD, where a new generation of up & coming future movie makers came into fruition.
SCORSESE, along with FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA,STEVEN SPIELBERG, GEORGE LUCAS & BRIAN DE PALMA, who in the early 1970's became friends, & were known as '' THE MOVIE BRATS'', were just some of the up & coming directors breaking all the rules who directed movies during that decade when they smashed it all up, broke the mould, & changed Hollywood forever in the process,winning various awards in the process.
Then in 2006,he directed THE DEPARTED, which is actually a remake of INFERNAL AFFAIRS - 2002,set in Hong Kong, directed by ANDREW LAU & ALAN MAK, ( described as the Chinese version of THE GODFATHER (1972)). In 2007, at the 79th Academy Awards THE DEPARTED(relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, USA,),starring LEONARDO DiCAPRIO, MATT DAMON, & JACK NICHOLSON, won 4 Oscars including BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY,- WILLIAM MONAHAN,-BEST FILM EDITING-THELMA SCHOONMAKER,(widow of MICHAEL POWELL, who along with EMERIC PRESSBURGER, during the 1940's made some of the best pictures of all-time,- (''THE RED SHOES'',''THE LIFE & DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP'', ''A MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH''), their collaboration of the production company was known as THE ARCHERS. BEST PICTURE,- GRAHAM KING, & after being nominated so many times, he finally won his 1st ever Oscar as BEST DIRECTOR.
Out of all the 36 feature films,24 of them have grossed an amazing lifetime gross of over $1.9 billion (￡0.77346) to be exact.
His latest, the 37th feature in his career, he's about to take us on an epic personal journey of his own - a quest if you will, being the genre where it all began - the ultimate criminal underworld of the gangster movie. THE IRISHMAN.
THE IRISHMAN, is based on the 2004 memoir I HEARD YOU PAINT HOUSES by CHARLES BRANDT & tells the extraordinary story of FRANK ''THE IRISHMAN'' SHEERAN, (DE NIRO). Sheeran is a WWII veteran who during his time served over 1yr & 46 days, or 411 days to be exact (a significant length of time as the average was 100 days) in combat experience duties - the Italian campaign involving the invasion of Sicily, the Salerno landings & the Anzio campaign, he was also involved in the landings of Southern France & the Invasion of Germany.
He also had secured jobs as a hustler, truck driver, & hitman & worked along side some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Sheeran also worked as an American Labor union official who was accused of having links to the Bufalino crime family & develops a striking friendship with RUSSELL BUFALINO, aka ''MCGEE & THE OLD MAN'' (PESCI).
BUFALINO introduces him to JIMMY HOFFA, (PACINO), the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, he was President between 1957- 1971, who has financial ties with the Bufalino crime family including WILLIAM F. BUFALINO - ( RAY ROMANO), his lawyer for the teamster's union, also Russell's cousin & his struggling to deal with fellow teamster ANTHONY '' TONY PRO'' PROVENZANO, (STEPHEN GRAHAM), as well as mounting pressure from the federal government.
Spaning decades beginning from the 1950's, this chronicles one of the greatest mysteries in American history, the disappearance of JIMMY HOFFA in late July 1975, just 2 wks after reported pension raid of offering a monumental epic journey through the hidden corridors of organised crime, its inner workings, rivalries & many connections to mainstream politics. The story of Jimmy Hoffa, has been told before in the biopic HOFFA (1992),directed by DANNY DE VITO & starring Oscar-Winner NICHOLSON as HOFFA, however, Sheeran was not even mentioned during that time.
Scorsese who is now aged 77, lives, breathes, sleeps, dreams & eats movies - for its in his DNA, he really is an absolute perfectionst & really knows his knowledge of movies, he is after all a bonafide cinephile,
As for the main 3 characters in this movie they have a combined age of 231 yrs between them,- DE NIRO (76), PACINO (80), & PESCI (76)., because there is a lot of state- of -the- art visual effects de-ageing between the 3 of them in the process.(think JOSE MOURINHO vs JURGEN KLOPP).
Originally Paramount Pictures & STX Films took on this massive project by backing this & they were due to release this at a budget cost worth $100m, but with CEO chairman Brad Grey heading out the door after 12 yrs in charge the studio were not taking any risks,due to a budget concern simply because there was a sign of the ongoing power shift in Hollywood involving major studios.
However,in desperation to find a distribution backer,basically to finance their film because no other Hollywood studio would help, Scorsese's team - which included legendary Hollywood producer IRWIN WINKLER, decided to go to NETFLIX,a streaming service with over 93m subscribers in over 190 countries.
The result is that NETFLIX scooped it up, providing that they would be in a better position than any other major studio company to make a MARTIN SCORSESE / ROBERT DE NIRO collaboration (their 9th) of a superior gangster movie, but they also let SCORSESE have a free rein & to have his way with the company during the shooting, where other Hollywood Studios wouldn't help out. In the words of RHETT BUTLER,- CLARK GABLE in '' GONE WITH THE WIND'','' Frankly my dear- I don't give a damn''. NETFLIX, on the other hand would not comment on the deal itself.
The main 3 characters that DE NIRO. PACINO. & PESCI portray in this movie are without doubt brilliant, DE NIRO, is the master as he is also the producer.TRIBECA FILMS is his own production company His performance is mind-blowing wether serious as TRAVIS BICKLE, ''TAXI DRIVER,'' JAKE La MOTTA, ''RAGING BULL'' or even funny such as RUPERT PUPKIN,'' THE KING OF COMEDY'' or maybe the recent TV commercial as the new boss of BOLTON for a bread product called WARBURTON'S in which they take the mickey out of ''GOODFELLAS'', by calling it GOOD BAGELS.
Right from the 1st frame you are completely transfixed into the story of his life but also you are completely sucked into his world of a life of organised crime.
As the lead character of Frank'' THE IRISHMAN'' Sheeran, he is superb.
PACINO, is chilling for his debut working for SCORSESE, they are simply a perfect match.
His performance as JIMMY HOFFA, who doesn't appear until about 46 mins into the movie has been described as an ice-cold union official, super-charged persona freezing chilled which simply sends a shiver down your spine, will numb your bones & leaves you gasping for breath - very apt for this time of year.
As for PESCI, his performance as BUFALINO is simply a cross between KARL LAGERFELD & MARLON BRANDO - which is simply amazing. Interestingly,he was coaxed out of retirement to portray this character who also resembles FREDO CORLEONE, ( JOHN CAZALE) in '' THE GODFATHER,'' &'' THE GODFATHER: PART II'' & the end result was amazing.
The supporting cast consisting of HARVEY KEITEL, ANNA PAQUIN, ROMANO, JESSE PLEMONS & CANNAVALE give memorable performances as well. The supporting characters that KEITEL, GRAHAM, ROMANO, & CANNAVALE, portray are simply mesmerising, KEITEL,(80), portrays ANGELO BRUNO, who is a direct descendant - a long-lost relation younger brother of WINSTON WOLF, - 1st seen in PULP FICTION released in 1994,from QUENTIN TARANTINO & which he later reprised the character in the DIRECT LINE TV commercials,CANNAVALE's stunning performance as FELIX '' SKINNY RAZOR'' DETULLIO, whose character resembles a very young SYLVESTER STALLONE, who, during the 70's was in a small role as FRANK '' THE ENFORCER'' R. NITTI in '' CAPONE'', starring BEN GAZZARA,& JOHN CASSAVETES, as for ROMANO,his performance as WILLIAM 'BILL' BUFALINO,is wonderful, while GRAHAM, who was also in BOARDWALK EMPIRE, as ALPHONSE GABRIEL''AL'' CAPONE, known as'' SCARFACE'',(PACINO portrayed him as ANTONIO'' TONY'' MONTANA in the 1983 epic violent remake from Brian De Palma while PAUL MUNI, portrayed him as TONY CAMONTE in the 1932 original from HOWARD HAWKS), portrays PROVENZANO who trades fists with HOFFA in a dramatic key prison scene.
Both these characters that PACINO & GRAHAM portray seem to have trained for a boxing match with TYSON FURY or maybe they watched the likes of BORIS JOHNSON vs JEREMY CORBYN with the prize of the keys to #10 Downing Street,as the British PM,with the winner taking all the glory while the loser not only endures pride but also the pleasure of pain as well,-to the victor come the spoils.
After all you wouldn't want to mess around with these wise guys - just experience the company of spending time with them.
领英推荐
This is a bladder-bursting, bum-numbing, slow burning marathon of an epic movie, at about 3 hrs 29 mins., & being an epic movie which is almost 3 & a 1/2 hours.
As you know, major cinema chains are simply boycotting this because there are few cinemas who are showing, but on a very short limited engagement.
At the 91st Academy Awards,when ROMA was released the movie was nominated for 10 awards & won only 3 awards - including the 1st Mexican submission for BEST FOREIGN FILM & BEST DIRECTOR ALFONSO CUARON among others & back in April, 2018, NETFLIX had acquired distribution rights to the film.
Normally films are submitted to be nominated in awards season shown at film festivals such as the LONDON FILM FESTIVAL before they are announced at the GOLDEN GLOBES, the BAFTA's & the OSCARS. At the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, however,according to a report, they are exempt from showing NETFLIX movies because due to a French law, streaming services are not available on home platforms for at least 3 yrs, after being shown in cinemas, this of course lead to a fallout between them, & so therefore the movie wasn't screened at the festival,simply because the film wasn't completed in time.
THE IRISHMAN, however, is longer than THE GODFATHER,2.55(175mins),THE GODFATHER PART II, 3.20(200mins), TITANIC, 3.14 (194mins),HEAT, 2.50(170mins), featuring both DE NIRO & PACINO & even longer than all of SCORSESE'S EPICS:- GOODFELLAS, 2.26(146mins), CASINO, 2.58(178mins),THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, 3.00 (180mins),SILENCE, 2.41(161mins), GANGS OF NEW YORK,2.47(167mins) THE AVIATOR, 2.50(170mins) & even THE DEPARTED,(2.31)151mins in which Nicholson's character of FRANK COSTELLO is based on JAMES WHITEY BULGER, an Irish-American gangster,who was the lead member of a South Boston gang as well.The character was also featured in BLACK MASS,released in 2015 & described as an American biographical crime drama directed by SCOTT COOPER & featured JOHNNY DEPP(CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise) as Bulger.
As with all SCORSESE'S movies the soundtrack adds a kaleidoscope of all-time classic-hits from all-time classic artists, ranging from the 1950's to the present day, it also has an important ingredient by adding the flavour to a gormet dinner served very hot to perfection while watching this washed down with a glass of champagne without getting dyspepsia-,aka indigestion in the process- which is ideal if you've over done it with the very rich Yuletide Christmas pudding,& trying to pull a festive cracker & injuring yourself after overdosing on the sherries or any other alcoholic beverages.
Throughout his career, Scorsese shot most of his movies on celluloid but has since made the switch to digital after abandoning because it is cheaper & more cost-effective to run in today's standards in the future of the film industry. A documentary, - ''SIDE BY SIDE'',- produced & narrated by KEANU REEVES tackled this subject & Scorsese was involved with the discussions that KEANU REEVES interviewed.
However, many other filmmakers that were involved in this documentary being interviewed, include the likes of DAVID FINCHER, JAMES CAMERON & STEVEN SODERBERGH.- they were all in favour of DIGITAL. Only CHRISTOPHER NOLAN stood alone with the fact that CELLULOID stood the test of time, but he was outnumbered by the vast majority.
In Quentin Tarantino's epic movie '' ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'' set during the changing face of the film industry & the final moments of the golden age in Hollywood set in Los Angeles- CIRCA 1969., is available in both 35mm & 70mm format film prints, this is because in February, 2010, Tarantino bought the New Beverly cinema in downtown Los Angeles. He allowed the owners of the cinema to continue operating the theatre providing that it would also show movies shot in 35mm only because at the time movies were only screened in 35mm, at that theatre when he was growing up.
This was also the 1st movie not involving THE WEINSTEIN BROTHERS- HARVEY & BOB. They were simply known as the'' NEW MESSIAHS'' of Hollywood & formed MIRAMAX FILMS, an Independent film production company originally formed in 1979 who released movies such as '' GOOD WILL HUNTING'', NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN'','' KILL BILL VOLS 1 & 2'', & ''PULP FICTION'', to name a few. They also had Oscar success as well with '' SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE'' & '' THE ENGLISH PATIENT'' as well.
In 1993, MIRAMAX was acquired by THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY,until 2005,when they left the company & formed THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY, TWC. But soon after, the company was in the news for all the wrong reasons as allegations of abuse involving Harvey who was accused of the crime at the time was reaching boiling point & the eruption of this started to flow over at extreme boiling point.
On February 24th,2020, in New York City, Weinstein arrived at the courthouse awaiting his fate & the VERDICT was announced.
He has since been found GUILTY of the crime & will be sentenced on March 11th, 2020, as he will serve a prison sentence for at least 29 yrs.
In the words of THE LATE TERRY JONES'S character MANDY- in '' MONTY PYTHON'S THE LIFE OF BRIAN,''( originally released in 1979 in the days when it was very controversial at the time & many cities BANNED the film, simply because of its religious beliefs,) '' He's not the messiah,- he's a very naughty boy''.
Over the festive period if your gifts consists of either a new tablet, new laptop or even a new SMART ''60 INCH TV, the chances are that this will be the ''only chance'', time & opportunity to see this as it won't be shown in cinemas.
OK, so the experience of watching it on a cold winter's evening may be a different home viewing experience, however the only way to experience this is on a big screen in a pristine 35mm film print & that this should be re-issued in cinemas for who don't have access to the internet.
I also believe that as we approach the awards season (GOLDEN GLOBES, BAFTA's & OSCARS)I would personally predict that this will be showered with awards.
Just for the record, although the movie was nominated for many awards - it came away 'empty -handed'.
For this isn't just a gangster movie, - it's also a mystery movie as well.
So all in all, this epic violent movie has all the key ingredients of a fab movie, stunning photography, RODRIGO PRIETO, superior editing,THELMA SCHOONMAKER, a great score, ROBBIE ROBERTSON & a powerful screenplay, STEVEN ZAILLIAN : SCHINDLER'S LIST, GANGS OF NEW YORK, HANNIBAL, & AMERICAN GANGSTER. -all of which being classed as A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE,it goes the distance all the way of being an epic movie,directed by an absolute genius,who is regarded by many as 1 of the greatest filmmakers of all-time,& this is without doubt as'' THE ULTIMATE MASTERPIECE.'' , which it is.Scorsese, himself, will give you an offer that you can't refuse, simply because you won't.because let me tell you that this is a slow burning, super-sonic charge of a fabulous film.
Quite simply, this is without doubt THE MOVIE EVENT OF 2019. Do yourself a favour DROP EVERYTHING, & SEE THIS.
THIS IS WITHOUT DOUBT- A BONIFIDE CLASSIC - MY # 1 MOVIE OF 2019
DON'T MISS IT!
David M. Mitchell