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The Irishman running time: Netflix gangster epic will be Martin Scorsese's longest ever film

The majority of people will have to watch Marty's latest at home

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 28 August 2019 16:21 BST
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The Irishman - Netflix Official Teaser

The epic runtime for Martin Scorsese‘s gangster film The Irishman has been revealed.

His new release, which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, has been in development for several years and now we know why: it’s three and a half hours long.

This makes the film Scorsese’s longest to date, easily surpassing Silence's length of two hours 40 minutes.

The news comes following the announcement that Netflix will forego a wide theatrical release for the film, meaning that independent chains will be the only ones to show the film in cinemas.

This means the majority of people will have no choice but to watch the movie at home on the streaming service, which acquired worldwide rights to the film in 2017 for a reported $105m.

In an interview in June, Scorsese said Netflix was the only one willing to bankroll the new movie.

“We decided to make it with the understanding that it’ll maybe never be shown in theatres,” he told AP.

“They said, ‘You would have a time in theatres’ – a few weeks or whatever. I said fine. The idea was to make the movie, you see.”

Based on Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses, The Irishman marks the ninth collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese – and they’ve also set plans to work on a tenth project alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Irishman will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on 27 September. The limited theatrical run will start on 1 November before its Netflix premiere on 27 November.

Just like Roma in 2018, The Irishman will still be able to compete at next year's Oscars.

This year, two British films produced by Scorsese will be released: new Joanna Hogg film The Souvenir and Tomorrow, which stars Stephen Fry and Joss Stone (watch the trailer here).

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