Why Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' is a big deal

'The Irishman', streaming on Netflix from November 27, brings together three Hollywood icons working together for the first time: director Martin Scorsese and acclaimed actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The film also stars Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jesse Plemons and Harvey Keitel in supporting roles.

'The Irishman' is based on the book 'I Heard You Paint Houses' by former homicide prosecutor, investigator and defense attorney Charles Brandt that chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran. Sheeran is played by De Niro while Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa, a friend of Sheeran's and a union leader who was known for his involvement with organised crime in the 70s.

The film took more than a decade to make mostly because of the digital de-ageing effects that stretch the actors’ performances across decades. Also, it cost $159 million (Dh583.9 million), which Netflix footed.

While Scorsese and De Niro have worked together in nine feature films, Pacino has, despite the odds, never made a film with Scorsese. He compared the experience to walking a high wire “only Marty was the net.” They’ve been close to working together before. “Al, I always wanted to work with. We met through Francis Coppola,” Scorsese told the AP in an interview. “By the time other projects came up, I didn’t have the cachet, or certain types of stories, you had already covered the territory, like in ‘Scarface’ or ‘Carlito’s Way.’

'The Irishman’ is Scorsese’s second film this year with Netflix and, as he has repeatedly proclaimed, they were the only ones willing to pay for it. His complaints about a blockbuster-dominated Hollywood and his comments about Marvel movies drew the ire of many, including top executives at Disney, which owns Marvel. Scorsese’s strongest belief is that cinema should be about more than placating fans. “It’s all been about servicing the audience and not challenging them. Challenging a bit — maybe more than a bit — enriches the audience. And it enriches our children. Don’t make the audience adolescent or childlike. The audience is ahead of you,” Scorsese said in the AP interview, standing his ground.

'The Irishman' is also Scorsese's longest film to date with a running time of three-and-a-half hours. But the fact that it's on Netflix, where audiences are used to bingeing on TV shows, should make it a breeze. It did have a short run at the cinemas in the US earlier this month.

Reviews have been glowing for the film. The Chicago Sun-Times called it "the best movie of the year so far and one of the best films of the decade." The Washington Post called it "genuinely new and deeply satisfying" and the Rolling Stone said Scorsese is "at the peak of his powers directing". It currently has a 96% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Finally, 'The Irishman' is made by 70-something Hollywood legends acutely aware that they have only so much of it left: Scorsese is 77, Pacino is 79 and De Niro is 76. “As they say in the movie, it’s gonna happen," Scorsese said in AP interview. "We’re all human. We’re gonna die.

'The Irishman' streams in the UAE from November 27.