Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese has one request to those planning to watch "The Irishman" on Netflix - just don't do it on a phone. The three-and-a-half-hour long mob drama reunites Scorsese with his favourite star Robert DeNiro as the titular hitman. The movie became available on Netflix from November 28.
"I would suggest — if you ever want to see one of my pictures, or most films — please, please don’t look at it on a phone, please. An iPad, a big iPad, maybe,” Scorsese told critic Peter Travers on his YouTube show, Popcorn With Peter Travers. The director, who had raked up a storm with his criticism of Marvel films during the promotions of "The Irishman", said despite its lengthy runtime, the movie is capable of attracting viewers and sustaining their attention.
"I'm not saying because, ‘Oh, I made it. It was an interesting narrative structure, and it got me involved each time. In a funny way, I think I made it to cover all the bases in terms of how you could watch this picture. Ideally, I’d like you to go to a theater, look at it on a big screen from beginning to end. And I know, it’s long — you gotta get up, you gotta go to the bathroom, that sort of thing, I get it — but also at home, I think if you can make a night of it, or an afternoon thereof, and know that you’re not gonna answer the phone or you’re not gonna get up too much, it might work."
As for making movies specifically for phones, Scorsese said he never has and "I don’t know how to do it. I wish I could, I don’t know how. No, I don’t get it."