Yahoo Movies Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' will be his longest movie ever at three and half hours
The runtime for Martin Scorsese's The Irishman has been revealed and – cushions at the ready – it will be his longest ever movie at a stunning three-and-a-half hours.
The mob epic stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, telling the story of the disappearance of union boss and mob cohort Jimmy Hoffa, played by Pacino.
At 210 minutes, it's the longest mainstream US movie to be released in over 20 years, and even by Scorsese's verbose filmmaking standards, dwarfs his previous efforts.
Read more: First look at the de-aged De Niro in The Irishman
His previous longest movie was The Wolf of Wall Street, at 180 minutes, followed by Casino at 178 minutes, Gangs of New York at 167 minutes, Silence at 161 minutes and Goodfellas at 147 minutes.
Film fans have mixed feelings over the news, but most can’t wait to luxuriate in over three hours of Scorsese.
i was made for a 3hr long gangster movie let’s go!!!!! #THEIRISHMAN pic.twitter.com/2VW5kshmmE
— sara clements (@mildredsfierce) August 28, 2019
If you can binge-watch multiple episodes of a Netflix series, you can easily watch a 210 minute Martin Scorsese film. #TheIrishman pic.twitter.com/IHT4Y7LyMl
— Doug Jamieson (@itsdougjam) August 28, 2019
THE IRISHMAN's runtime is so long that they had to de-age the cast just so they could look the same through the entire movie.
— Sleepy Skunk™ (@sleepyskunk) August 28, 2019
Do we think Netflix will ask “Are you still watching?” during the runtime of THE IRISHMAN?
— Mike Eisenberg (@Eisentower30) August 28, 2019
The movie will open the New York Film Festival on 27 September, and will be screened without an intermission, according to reports.
It follows news that Netflix, which has produced the movie, will give The Irishman only a limited theatrical release at 'selected' cinemas from 8 November.
The movie will then be available to stream from 27 November, which will draw the ire of some in the industry, particularly as awards season approaches.
Many high profile directors, including the likes of Steven Spielberg, have lobbied the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to argue that movies made by streaming studios which then only receive a cursory theatrical release should not be eligible for the Oscars.
Read more: First trailer for The Irishman
Spanning decades, the movie follows the story of De Niro's Frank Sheeran, a notorious mob hitman reflecting on his professional life working for the Bufalino crime family, and notably his involvement in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa in 1975.
Hoffa's body was never found, and he was eventually declared legally dead in 1982.
The movie, which use de-ageing special effects, also stars Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Kathrine Narducci and Ray Romano.
