The running time for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman will be three hours and 30 minutes, it has been revealed.
Yep, you heard me. Three hours and 30 minutes. In that time, you could travel to a different country, watch an entire Oscars ceremony, or listen to Taylor Swift’s new album three and a half times.
You could even run a marathon if you so fancied it and were a better-than-average runner, because let’s face it three and a half hours is a ridiculously fast time to run 26 miles and I definitely wouldn’t have even reached the halfway point in that time.
Anyway, I digress. The point is, the much anticipated film will be hella long, much to the excitement of Scorsese fans. As per Collider, the New York Film Festival released the expected runtime – along with a disclaimer that the ‘runtime is subject to change’ – although the final cut hasn’t been locked in yet, so nothing is guaranteed.
The reaction to the reveal, which has since been removed by the New York Film Festival, has been mixed though most people seem to think regardless of an edit, the runtime will remain well over the three hour mark.
Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, the film chronicles the life of mobster Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his possible involvement in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).
The full Netflix synopsis reads:
An epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century.
Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.
The Irishman, which was confirmed to be in the works from as early as 2014 but only recently given a release date, is ‘about friendship and loyalty between men who commit unspeakable acts and turn on a dime against each other’, as per the New York Film Festival.
Reuniting De Niro and Joe Pesci with Scorsese for the first time in 22 years – having last starred together in Casino – the film will also bring Pacino along for the ride in his debut Scorsese film.
Although the film has been met with excitement and much deserved anticipation by many, others have claimed the story could be told in less than three hours and 30 minutes. Which, in fairness, it probably could.
But you’ve got to ask yourself this: do you really think you know better than legendary filmmaker Scorsese? In which case the answer is 100 per cent no, you do not. So a three and a half hour running time it is!
The Irishman will make its debut at the film festival on September 27, before hitting select theatres on November 1 and Netflix on November 27.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).