Discuss The Irishman
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The Issue of Studio Control: part 2
posted by JustinJackFlashSTAFFMOD on November 28, 2019 at 2:29 AM
So a while ago I posed a horrifying notion about studio control.
The discussion is here if you're interested.
But to summarize: As Netflix frequently provides directors with full control of their films yet directors who have hitherto made very good cinematic releases have often struggled to make a satisfying impact on the streaming service. Does this mean that studio control was a necessary evil all along?
Now a huge director like Scorsese with a massive body of work that everyone is familiar with has made his Netflix debut. And I thought it was very good. But I did think it could have done with a few trims here and there. I did feel there were some parts that were, not bad by any means, but unnecessary. And I wonder if we would have an even better, more focused film with a better flow if Scorsese had shown a bit more self discipline. Even with all this freedom I still don't think that The Irishman is up to the high standard of the great man's heyday.
This also makes me wonder if previous Scorsese classics might be as great as they are because a studio forced him to make cuts. Was Goodfellas originally 3 and a half hours long? Did Taxi Driver take a weird, meandering detour that we will never see?
Are the majority of auteuristic films we love from yesteryear actually the result of studio meddling? Are some of the terrible films a result of the studio giving the director free rein?
I pray it is not true. But I really feel that with such freedoms the overall quality of Netflix films should be a lot higher than it is.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on December 9, 2019 at 1:29 AM
I generally feel that Scorsese has a pretty clinical eye and it's one thing I really love about his cinema. But with this film, it seemed to tire me at times. Either that or the film's long running time did it. Or maybe a combo of the two.
Reply by Nexus71
on January 28, 2020 at 7:12 AM
Well it could be that in the case of Leone's film it was intended to be poetic and emotional and dreamlike.There is this theory surrounding Once Upon A Time that all the events that play out after the phone ringing (so after the death of Noodles' mates) is actually not real and all part of an opium induced pipe dream which Leone himself did not deny after being asked about it (he never confirmed it either)but it could be interpreted as such(which would explain the ending of the shot of De Niro lying on his back looking at the camera above him while he is in the opium den smiling)