The Irishman reviews

[mlrg]

the thought of Scorsese possibly winning a career-capping Oscar as well as many other awards and honors is very exciting to me (assuming it happens), even if I don't see the film itself.

I have the same feeling although the thought of Pacino even being nominated (let alone win) is even more exciting

[Sonic Youth]

1) The merger of cinema and television is now complete.

2) Am I the only person on the planet with an interest in (whatever we now call what was once cinema/film) that is actually not remotely interested in seeing this?

I barely participate on this message board because I've pretty much given up watching movies. Last year, I saw Blackkklansman and the Mary Poppins movie, and that was it. I also saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last month, which I really enjoyed. I watched the first twenty minutes of Buster Scruggs (meaning, the first segment) and the first twenty minutes of Roma, then shut it off. Not because I thought they were bad. What happens is, I watch, then think "OK, this looks worthwhile. I'll watch the whole thing another time" then never get back to it." I'm watching no movies, no television, no binge-watching, none of that. Blame it on my kid. Full-time fatherhood really has a way of refocusing your mind and interests. This is why I'm barely here anymore, because I don't feel I have much to contribute.

So yes, the prospect of watching a 3-and-a-half hour movie is off-putting to me, even if it's by Scorsese. Even so, the thought of Scorsese possibly winning a career-capping Oscar as well as many other awards and honors is very exciting to me (assuming it happens), even if I don't see the film itself.

[Precious Doll]

1) The merger of cinema and television is now complete.

2) Am I the only person on the planet with an interest in (whatever we now call what was once cinema/film) that is actually not remotely interested in seeing this?

[Sabin]

I’d imagine Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Pacino), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing are likely. Visual Effects seems to be a room splitter with the aging techniques being effective but still distracting. Nods for DeNiro and Pesci depend on strength competition but coattail noms wouldn’t be surprising. Production Design and Costume Design don’t seem like winners but Sandy Powell did the costumes so a nomination is probably feasible.

Anyway, that’s a total that hovers around ten. If Production Design, Costume Design, and Sound Editing miss out, that’s seven.

Mister Tee wrote
But I did want to chime in and say I largely take Sonic's view here: The Irishman seems like something the Academy could view as Scorsese's Big One. Oscar voters used to always look to honor directors for ambitious, wide-ranging efforts -- Wyler for The Best Years of Our Lives (and I guess Ben-Hur, though that's less to my taste), Lean for both River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, Cimino for The Deer Hunter, Spielberg for Schindler's List, even Cameron for Titanic. It's been kind of refreshing that Oscar voters have chosen more idiosyncratic films for best film/director in this millennium, but I think, in their heart of hearts, many of them still would like to unite behind a film they view as major.

I agree. It’s been refreshing that Oscar voters have chosen some more idiosyncratic films.... but we haven’t really seen a major one in a while. I guess Slumdog Millionaire best fits the bill. Maybe 12 Years a Slave but with three wins and not one for directing that’s a stretch.

[Reza]

I have no doubt The Irishman will pick up north of seven nominations but it might also end up with something like four wins for Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Film Editing.

Seems like the front-runner for those four wins, but aside from Sound Editing, Visual Effects and Pacino, what other nods are you sure of to put its total at more than seven? De Niro would push it to eight, but beyond that might be a stretch.

Add nods for Joe Pesci and Rodrigo Prieto.

[Big Magilla]

I have no doubt The Irishman will pick up north of seven nominations but it might also end up with something like four wins for Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Film Editing.

Seems like the front-runner for those four wins, but aside from Sound Editing, Visual Effects and Pacino, what other nods are you sure of to put its total at more than seven? De Niro would push it to eight, but beyond that might be a stretch.

[Mister Tee]

It's too late for me to respond fully to all of what Sonic and Sabin have written -- if I find time tomorrow, I'll elaborate on both Spielberg's and Scorsese's complicated, winding relationships with the Oscars (short preview: Spielberg didn't have it easy, either -- he waited what seemed a VERY long time to both him and his fans...but not as long as Scorsese, and that's because they were coming from different directions.)

But I did want to chime in and say I largely take Sonic's view here: The Irishman seems like something the Academy could view as Scorsese's Big One. Oscar voters used to always look to honor directors for ambitious, wide-ranging efforts -- Wyler for The Best Years of Our Lives (and I guess Ben-Hur, though that's less to my taste), Lean for both River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, Cimino for The Deer Hunter, Spielberg for Schindler's List, even Cameron for Titanic. It's been kind of refreshing that Oscar voters have chosen more idiosyncratic films for best film/director in this millennium, but I think, in their heart of hearts, many of them still would like to unite behind a film they view as major. I think they also think Scorsese (who, with a nomination for this, would ascend to the all-time number two position for directors, behind Wyler) is a person who deserves to win more than one Oscar. The Departed kind of lucked into its win -- there was no consensus choice, the film was very popular, and it seemed a good time to make sure Marty didn't go to his grave unacknowledged. This would be more a choice of enthusiasm, and could well lead to the kind of ovation Sonic envisions.

[Sabin]

Sonic Youth wrote
If you mean as an Oscar-winner, I concur. The reviews are saying this one is really special, not just an excellent Scorsese film - and a mob epic, no less - but a summing up of everything Scorsese is, a monumental final statement in a monumental career. (Not that this will be Scorsese's last film, but it's very possible. He is 76 after all.) Best Picture and especially Director practically feels like an inevitability. The Departed was a "We've got to give him an Oscar some time!" type of winner, but The Irishman seems more like the Scorsese film AMPAS has been wanting for years to reward him for, a chance to give him a proper "Thank you". Any misgivings - 3 1/2 hours! It's Netflix! - will be easily overlooked. After all, does Steven Spielberg really hate Netflix more than he loves Scorsese?

I know, I could be wrong. But I, for one, would like to see one of the longest, loudest standing ovations in Oscar telecast history, and I'm sure there are some AMPAS voters who feel likewise.

Short answer: yeah.

Long answer: for years, Martin Scorsese's journey to the Academy Awards meant being held to an impossible standard. The Academy wanted to honor a Martin Scorsese film, which means it had to be new, different, but also the same. Steven Spielberg did not have this problem. Very few directors have had this problem like Martin Scorsese. If they did, it was in a time when nobody cared about this shit and the internet was blissfully not a thing. Casino and Bringing Out the Dead were greeted as retreads, non-events. The Aviator and Gangs of New York were greeted as trying too hard. The Departed offered voters a chance to honor Martin Scorsese from the past in the present. The Irishman looks like it offers voters a chance to do that as well.

I obviously haven't seen The Irishman but this one looks like a winner. Not just one for the road. But The Departed only won four Oscars off of admittedly five nominations. One thing that both films have in common is that by all accounts this is not a flashy film either. I have no doubt The Irishman will pick up north of seven nominations but it might also end up with something like four wins for Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Film Editing.

[Sonic Youth]

Seems more like The Departed to me.

If you mean as an Oscar-winner, I concur. The reviews are saying this one is really special, not just an excellent Scorsese film - and a mob epic, no less - but a summing up of everything Scorsese is, a monumental final statement in a monumental career. (Not that this will be Scorsese's last film, but it's very possible. He is 76 after all.) Best Picture and especially Director practically feels like an inevitability. The Departed was a "We've got to give him an Oscar some time!" type of winner, but The Irishman seems more like the Scorsese film AMPAS has been wanting for years to reward him for, a chance to give him a proper "Thank you". Any misgivings - 3 1/2 hours! It's Netflix! - will be easily overlooked. After all, does Steven Spielberg really hate Netflix more than he loves Scorsese?

I know, I could be wrong. But I, for one, would like to see one of the longest, loudest standing ovations in Oscar telecast history, and I'm sure there are some AMPAS voters who feel likewise.

[Sabin]

Seems more like The Departed to me.

[Big Magilla]

Pacino is a surefire contender for supporting actor. De Niro is a strong contender for a best actor nod but has tougher competition than Pacino who will surely be up there with Pitt, Hanks, Hopkins and either Dafoe or Foxx in the first ever all-star lineup in his category.

No nod for Joe Pesci? He is also getting great reviews.

Possibly, but there are only five slots.

[Reza]

Pacino is a surefire contender for supporting actor. De Niro is a strong contender for a best actor nod but has tougher competition than Pacino who will surely be up there with Pitt, Hanks, Hopkins and either Dafoe or Foxx in the first ever all-star lineup in his category.

No nod for Joe Pesci? He is also getting great reviews.

[Big Magilla]

Although none of the reviews mention it, I get the feeling that this one may be closer to Gangs of New York in its intensity as well as its historical inaccuracy than it may be to GoodFellas and the first two Godfather films but yes, it's a contender in all the categories they've been predicting all along. Pacino is a surefire contender for supporting actor. De Niro is a strong contender for a best actor nod but has tougher competition than Pacino who will surely be up there with Pitt, Hanks, Hopkins and either Dafoe or Foxx in the first ever all-star lineup in his category.

[Precious Doll]

Another very good review from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/s ... ix-de-niro

[Mister Tee]

With 20 critics in, a 92 on Metacritic:

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-irishman?ref=hp

In other words: a hot contender.