The Irishman or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

What if I put a gun to your head ?          

The Irishman

I've said this a lot but I don't think there is a single American from the 20th century who affected peoples lives more than Jimmy Hoffa in a basic and practical way. That's not exactly true of course there's Salk and Hoover etc. but in the day to day life of the vast majority of Americans in his time and what they earned, where they lived and worked, what they could afford to buy and how they retired - and then how that disappeared in America - it feels that way because of Hoffa.

That's  just too good a premise to pass up and it's a premise that has never been done close to right in a theatrical film......AND it's being done by the 2 greatest post-Brando American actors, for a great American director, and by a great American screenwriter. I share stephen 's CGI concerns but I have to cut Scorsese some slack and trust his judgment here.

I am excited about the QT project but I don't have to articulate the "why" there. There is a post in that thread where QT in a Youtube clip discussed the films of that 1969-1970 era before this project was even on the radar and that clip (posted by me, lol) - is basically well, if that doesn't get you excited for it, nothing will. He lays out a clear, concise, insightful analysis of Hollywood in that era and hints at a film that could be made from it.

It is a revelation.

Easily The Irishman. I don't care about the Tarantino film at all.

The Irishman might just be the most anticipated movie of my lifetime. (And I don't care about that original gangster thing everybody (general movie folks) gets so excited by.) pacinoyes is absolutely right in pointing out there's so much more going on with that story.

For the Tarantino one, I really look forward to it, probably the most since I don't no when, in regards to QT's work. I just don't love his, lets say 'Richardson-period', so pretty much everything post Jackie Brown. He's just too enamored with himself and his narrow view of what cinema should be (which a lot of times is no good thing for an artist.) He's way up his own ass, and all the adulation he receives certainly doesn't help. There are things I like in all of his last movies, they just don't 'sing' as a whole. And are certainly not THE great masterpieces everybody makes them out to be. IB especially!
That said, with this project, I have higher hopes for. To spare me some time, I just quote what I've written in the Kirk D. thread (about The War Wagon):



As for The Irishman, that's a project that has a thousand things going against it. (The de-aging / actors past their prime / was Sheeran a liar, like Dan Moldea is running around, telling everybody / some difficult things to navigate to make it work dramatically (like not to present Sheeran as a mere bystander to the mercurial Hoffa/Pacino for example / ...)

But THESE guys doing THAT story at THEIR age with THAT budget at THAT time in their career and the industry overall, using THAT technology....

And there are so much more things going on (that we hopefully can discuss thoroughly in the next few months). For example, and that's actually something one could/should make a separate thread about, has there ever been a film, of which the principal players are so representative of a certain time in film history (New Hollywood) and who are making a film in that old tradition, with them as stars and stars alone (director & actors), with that amount of machinery they were able to put to their use and that DECADES after the fact?

And something that's practically never mentioned is how much the thematic content pulls together all of Scorsese's pet themes. But all this probably belongs into the IRISHMAN thread. But just to illuminate that, here's a Scorsese quote from a few weeks ago:



That's a direct line, from Mean Streets to The Irishman. Two 'brothers and then there's a betrayal'.

And that's that. 🙃😃

Imagine not looking forward to a Scorsese movie with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in it..... lmao.

I've noticed that Stephen is a contrarian edgelord when it comes to Scorsese lol. Who outright hates Taxi Driver besides that guy?

Unpopular opinion apparently: really hyped for both. I voted for Tarantino's, though.

Never liked Scorsese and Tarantino so ew to both and puke @ their fanboys.