The Irishman [CRITERION COLLECTION] (DVD) [2020]

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The film is 3hours and 30 minutes long but it never felt that long honestly. The first 2 hours went by a breeze but the 3rd hour was unapologetically slow. It felt a bit dragged on during the final hour and felt it was skipping ahead at the same time. it wasn't boring in any way but felt it could've been handled better. The CGI de-aging is so good that after a while you get confused how old the lead actors actually are. This is the best de-aging tech I've ever seen honestly.

The Irishman [CRITERION COLLECTION] (Blu-ray) [2020]

The Irishman isn't Scorsese's best film, but it's a film that perfectly sums up the man, his style, and what he means to the motion picture industry. It's also a movie that, in its purest sense, reminds us what movies are all about. No one except Scorsese makes 'em like this anymore, and that's a crying shame.Featurette: "The Evolution of Digital De-Aging as Seen in The Irishman"(HD, 13 minutes) - This promotional Netflix piece examines the revolutionary and controversial de-aging process that's such a major part of The Irishman. Visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman and a host of technical craftsmen from Industrial Light & Magic outline the development, execution, and philosophy of this fascinating technique. Split-screen shots show the striking transformations of the actors and myriad computer images provide glimpses of the meticulous methodology used to create this latest form of movie magic. Anatomy of a Scene"(HD, 5 minutes) - Scorsese comments about the structure, elements, tone, and subtext of a pivotal sequence in The Irishman for this installment of a popular feature that regularly appears in the The New York Times. The plot is a lot like Godfather 2 from De Niros perspective but that's all there is. It is more grounded and far too subtle compared to Goodfellas. And that's a good thing considering the age of the lead actors in the movie. But that doesn't mean its dull, gray and dreary because it isn't. It is surprisingly humorous, has some very serious scenes and doesn't shy away from giving us a blast of nostalgia every now and then.

The Irishman - Criterion Collection - High Def Digest The Irishman - Criterion Collection - High Def Digest

Make no mistake, The Irishman is a true work of art, but its languorous pacing and talky script produce some draggy stretches and its excessive length ultimately dulls the story's power. (The last 30 minutes could have been significantly condensed without harming the narrative or disrupting the mood.) Much like running a marathon, watching the film is an endurance test, but if you can make it to the finish line, The Irishmanbreeds not only immense satisfaction, but also a deep appreciation for the artistry on display and boundless admiration for the man who so brilliantly conceived and executed this ambitious and frequently fascinating movie.Table for Four: Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci"(HD, 19 minutes) - This 2019 roundtable discussion unites the four legends, who reminisce about how they met and chat about the genesis of The Irishman, the film's length, tone, and characters, the joys of working together, and the movie's unique technical challenges. Terrific rapport and some great anecdotes distinguish this jovial yet substantive dialogue. And boy have I missed Joe Pesci over the years and don't worry he's still intense as usual. And that's weird considering he is extremely toned down in this movie. If you're looking for a violent Joe Pesci like he was in Goodfellas you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for an intimidating Pesci with a huge presence then you're in the right place. Newly edited roundtable conversation among Scorsese and actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, originally recorded in 2019 In reality, Sheeran told his life story to author and former investigator Charles Brandt for the 2004 memoir I Heard You Paint Houses, which is the basis for the film’s screenplay by Steven Zaillian. (The book’s title is mob code for blood splattering the walls during a contract killing.) In The Irishman, which spans the mid-1940s to the early aughts, Sheeran is effectively chatting with the audience about his rise from a low-level hood to the right-hand man to labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), who he also claims to have killed in 1975. Yet the degree to which Sheeran is an unreliable narrator, perhaps even to himself, is always debatable in the film, and not just because the Hoffa case has never been officially closed. Criterion also includes a 19-minute discussion between Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, the four sitting around a table (used in the film I believe) to discuss the film. At first I thought this would be the same as the In Conversation featurette that is available on Netflix, and while this uses a lot of the same material, it’s a different edit with some alternate material as well (and it runs a few minutes shorter). Nothing mind-blowing is said but it is a bit of blast to see the four just talk about the film and the experience of them all working together for what is probably one last time. It’s also fun listening to them recall what they were expecting from one another, like how Pesci was expecting Pacino to really go off the rails, as he can do, in a few scenes (“blowup” as Pesci puts it) and planning how he was going to work around that. There’s also some discussion around working with the de-aging technology.