'Absolutely no': Martin Scorsese hits back at claims The Irishman would work better as a TV series

NZ Herald

29 Nov, 2019 09:33 PM2 mins to read

The Irishman is three and a half hours long. Would it have worked better as TV show? Photo / Supplied

Martin Scorsese's new gangster epic landed on Netflix this week, and time-poor viewers have been tempted to watch the 210-minute movie over multiple sittings.

However, Scorsese is not impressed by the suggestion The Irishman would have worked better as a limited series.

A journalist Alexander Dunerfos received backlash when he created his own viewing guide of the movie, splitting the nearly three and half hour film into four separate episodes.

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

"It's three and a half hours long. That's not even close to too long," a person wrote.

Another said: "Are people living with such short attention spans that they can't watch a movie shorter than a play?"

The director of The Irishman also thinkings splitting the film up is wrong . He told Entertainment Weekly: "You could say, 'This is a long story, you can play it out over two seasons' - I saw somebody mention that," he says. "Absolutely no. I've never even though of it. Because the point of this picture is the accumulation of detail."

Director of The Irishman Martin Scorsese argues the movie wouldn't have worked as a TV show. Photo / Getty Images

He went on to justify why The Irishman wouldn't work as a TV show.

"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,".

According to Variety, Scorsese wants viewers to watch the film in its entirety to fully experience the journeys of the main characters.

The movie had a staggering $175 million budget, in part because of its use of de-aging technology on its stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci.

The Irishman is streaming on Netflix now.