The Irishman |OT| The Goodfellas are Back in Town (Open Spoilers )

[Moose the Fattest Cat]

Pesci was absolutely incredible. Holy shit.

It's unlikely but I hope he does more projects, I want to see more movies with a subdued Pesci character

 

[Guffers]

It was a brilliant performance, a master class actually. Pesci is 76, I doubt he's going to be doing a whole lot more. But then again, Pacino is nearly 80 and he's constantly busy.

 

[PantherLotus]

I don't think you need to have seen Goodfellas or even Godfather I/II before seeing The Irishman, BUT, I think you'd enjoy it more. And that the other two are such a part of the (american) cultural lexicon, the last act of The Irishman being such a departure from the others makes it that much more interesting -- as if Scorsese is commenting on his own work.

So no, but yes. You should. You should anyway? You have 12 hours?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Finally got around to watching this last night. I can't believe they got Joe Pesci to come out of retirement to do this but he was perfect. What an amazing performance. I've been so used to him being the wild card for decades that seeing him as a quiet, careful, thoughtful character was incredible, and he NAILED it.

I also have to give a lot of props to de Niro playing a low-status version of a high-status type character. Frank was so driven to be part of these crews that never felt like he was in command of his own destiny, always being pulled around by Russell or Hoffa.

 

[Astandahl]

Watched it a few days ago. Simply incredible. Pacino De Niro and especially Pesci have been phenomenal for the all movie.

Scorsese with another masterpiece.

 

[mrmickfran]

I've seen 3 Scorsese films so far: The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman.

I think The Irishman is favorite of the three by far. I love love love mafia stories and this scratched that itch so well.

Pesci was amazing. I missed him since Home Alone and Lethal Weapon. Pacino was fantastic too.

That phone call after Frank whacks Jimmy was fucking rough.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Finally watched it, that was pretty damn good. I don't know if it tops Goodfellas but I definitely liked it a lot.

Pacino as Hoffa was my favorite role but I have pretty much no experience/reference of the actual man because I'm too young.

 

[dean_rcg]

I've seen 3 Scorsese films so far: The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman.

I think The Irishman is favorite of the three by far. I love love love mafia stories and this scratched that itch so well.

Pesci was amazing. I missed him since Home Alone and Lethal Weapon. Pacino was fantastic too.

That phone call after Frank whacks Jimmy was fucking rough.

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Go watch Goodfellas immediately! Casino too.

 

[Deleted member 47700]

 

[CampFreddie]

I liked it. Pesci was amazing. It's very refreshing to see him play the calm-but-menacing boss compared to the unhinged-psychopath he plays in Goodfellas.

I loved the dialogue. The way the characters try to express themselves in this weird position where they want to avoid causing offence while also avoiding being seen as weak (especially Frank). It's telling that Pesci's says something like (possibly slightly misquoted) "People might think that you're failing to demonstrate a proper appreciation" and it comes across as more menacing than "Funny how? Like I'm here to fucking amuse you?"
It's also good to see how all the characters are putting on different masks depending on who they're talking to. Scorcese shows the power dynamics with incredible finesse. And the dialogue is all so natural. I don't know how much is scripted and how much is someone forgetting a line or delivering it badly and Scorcese refusing to yell "cut" and forcing the actors to recover or improv out of it like it's at a theater.

The de-aging was a bit off. DeNiro is too old to ever look less than 50. He never looks younger than Pesci and Pacino.
However, some of the fight/shooting scenes were brutal because of the awkward and understated movement. The way Hoffa or the other mob guy get killed by Frank looks clumsy, but seems more realistic because of that. It's over very quickly with no flashy gunplay and no reaction shots from the victim. It's the opposite of the stylised violence in pretty much any other movie. I'm pretty sure this is intentional and not just "DeNiro's too old to play an action (anti)hero".
In general is much less glamorous than any other mob film like Goodfellas or Casino. Much more like the Sopranos in mixing the terrifying violence into mundane everyday life.

 

[Scullibundo]

Just remembered that Newark releases this year. Hooray!

 

[mrmickfran]

Go watch Goodfellas immediately! Casino too.

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I'm trying! I just need to find a dvd somewhere lol

 

[wartime]

On the VFX process.

 

[bill crystals]

It's amazing that they're touting the de-aging tech they used lol. They really thought it looked good I guess.

 

[Aurongel]

The tech looked the worst for DeNiro which is kind of a shame considering the amount of screen time he has versus Pesci, Pacino, etc. There's something with the size/shape of the eyes that sticks out to me.

I had a similar reaction to a scene in the Rise of Skywalker with CG versions of a young Luke and Leia. They looked like anime characters with cartoonish eyes or the lead from Alita Battle Angel, it was terrible.

 

[shenden]

Finally saw this and the over 3 hours past by like nothing! Great movie, but absolutely not close to Scorseses earlier mob films, more subtle then his earlier work. This is a great sendoff though to all these great legendary actors. The de-aging worked fine, only time it distracted me was, as someone mentioned earlier, that it's a little weird where the young face don't mix well with a visible old mans moving body.

I loved Pesci character trying to get close to Franks daughter and the whole broken connection between father & daughter was very touching.
My score: 4/5

 

[Deleted member 31817]

The tech looked the worst for DeNiro which is kind of a shame considering the amount of screen time he has versus Pesci, Pacino, etc. There's something with the size/shape of the eyes that sticks out to me.

I had a similar reaction to a scene in the Rise of Skywalker with CG versions of a young Luke and Leia. They looked like anime characters with cartoonish eyes or the lead from Alita Battle Angel, it was terrible.

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For me it wasn't that so much as his blue eyes which were either color contacts or VFX.

 

[Book One]

I honestly had no issue with the de-aging. Criticism of movement is actions seem a little more valid to me (like the store owner attack) but the look was fine.

felt even more natural than, say, Sam Jackson in Captain Marvel. And I thought that was still fine

 

[duckroll]

Finally watched it today. It was surprisingly chill and relaxing for a 3.5 hour movie spanning 5 decades. It almost feels like a stage production at times. Pure character acting and just a bunch of old guys who are great friends of the director hanging out together and having tech allow them to pretend that they were young again. it's quite an achievement. Is the deaging tech perfect? By no means, but the fact that they could do it all without using motion capture stuff on the actors was worth it I feel. Even if it looks a little off at times and you can always tell that these are old guys pretending to be younger, I think most people can still buy into it. It's not about creating a perfect illusion but about accepting that acting is pretend to begin with, and it's about a cooperation between the actors and the audience to both want to see that illusion. The tech just helps make it easier to accept.

 

[skrskg]

I got the chance to see this on friday.

That must be the shortest 3,5 hours I ever spent with a movie.

Such a great movie, from beginning to end. I was just captivated by the story, the scenes, the dialogue. The de-aging didn't bother me at all, even if it wasn't perfect at all times. I guess with actors this good, their performances made me believe in the illusion.

I went back and watched Goodfellas again on saturday (it's been years since the last time), and I think I actually prefer The Irishman. The later even seems like some sort of sequel to what happens after the closing shot of Henry in Goodfellas.

 

[Deleted member 37233]

It's amazing that they're touting the de-aging tech they used lol. They really thought it looked good I guess.

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I thought it looked really convincing, but I also thought it was done really well with Tarkin in Rogue One. I'm probably not as sensitive as many others.

 

[snipe_25]

I liked it. My only gripe with the movie was that there was a weird visual focus on Peggy's character and then... nothing, she doesn't even speak. I expected some kind of twist or something other than the obvious hate she had for her father because of course she knows, but nope, nada.

The deaging dind't bother me at all and all the actors were superb. The dynamic between Pesci-De Niro-Pacino was amazing, such a great cast.

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I felt the same way, it felt like it was building up to her turning her dad in to the Feds or something of the sort. I guess the payoff is the intense isolation that De Niro's character feels at the end.

 

[Sunster]

I thought it looked really convincing, but I also thought it was done really well with Tarkin in Rogue One. I'm probably not as sensitive as many others.

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It looked like that episode of Always Sunny when Frank told the story about his brother.

 

[xyla]

I liked it. My only gripe with the movie was that there was a weird visual focus on Peggy's character and then... nothing, she doesn't even speak. I expected some kind of twist or something other than the obvious hate she had for her father because of course she knows, but nope, nada.

The deaging dind't bother me at all and all the actors were superb. The dynamic between Pesci-De Niro-Pacino was amazing, such a great cast.

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It's about movie about looking back on ones life. About key moments that stuck with you when you are at the end and looking back - his severed connection to his daughter haunts him but there is nothing he can do about it. Same with Hoffer - this is what has stuck with him from everything he's done. Not the killings in general - this specific one. He is irritated that he doesn't feel regret about his friend.

I just watched the movie and while I thought it was expertly done, I'm also less interested in the perspective the movie takes the mob from compared to other gangster movies. It's always clear that this is an old person looking back. I think I'll revisit it in a few decades until then I feel like I'm missing perspective.

 

[Dan Thunder]

It's about movie about looking back on ones life. About key moments that stuck with you when you are at the end and looking back - his severed connection to his daughter haunts him but there is nothing he can do about it. Same with Hoffer - this is what has stuck with him from everything he's done. Not the killings in general - this specific one. He is irritated that he doesn't feel regret about his friend.

I just watched the movie and while I thought it was expertly done, I'm also less interested in the perspective the movie takes the mob from compared to other gangster movies. It's always clear that this is an old person looking back. I think I'll revisit it in a few decades until then I feel like I'm missing perspective.

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Just out of curiosity how did you form that view? To me it's the one killing that's hung over him ever since, he specifically questions himself when he discusses calling Hoffa's wife with his priest.

 

[Deleted member 50454]

On the VFX process.

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Imagine being proud of that shit.

 

[Scullibundo]

Imagine being proud of that shit.

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Okay.

 

[Prine]

Imagine being proud of that shit.

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I think they should be proud of implementing new tech into a classical style film. It's not the best but I applaud them for doing so. Scorsese is a genius, and has shown he's open to experiment to fulfill his vision. I can't fault him. Just imagine being in your 70s and still schooling the new generation, it's a tremendous accomplishment (the movie).

 

[Deleted member 50454]

I think they should be proud of implementing new tech into a classical style film. It's not the best but I applaud them for doing so. Scorsese is a genius, and has shown he's open to experiment to fulfill his vision. I can't fault him. Just imagine being in your 70s and still schooling the new generation, it's a tremendous accomplishment (the movie).

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Watching some geriatric actors with facetune shambling about pretending they're 30 isn't what I'd call immersive.

And that fight scene with the CGI glass.

Awful.

 

[xyla]

Just out of curiosity how did you form that view? To me it's the one killing that's hung over him ever since, he specifically questions himself when he discusses calling Hoffa's wife with his priest.

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I'm not really sure because he is obviously upset about it when he calls Hoffers wife.
But overall it seemed to me that he still put it in for following orders - especially when you consider the conversation in the beginning about what happened in the war with taking people in the woods and with the end in how he talks to the priest.

He's not able to form an emotional response to that occasion but he knows that there should be one. If he forms one for this, he has to face everything that he has done and accepted as operating on orders / being a small part of a war.
That's where I see the conflict. If he lets this get to him, he has to come clean with himself about every family he's ever destroyed.

And his broken contact with Peggy is more that he's really able to handle on an emotional front, so he has to shut it out or question his whole life as wasted and being a monster and not a cog.

That's what I got from a first viewing anyway and miles away from really being able to put myself into his shoes. So maybe I interpreted it the wrong way.

 

[HStallion]

Watching some geriatric actors with facetune shambling about pretending they're 30 isn't what I'd call immersive.

And that fight scene with the CGI glass.

Awful.

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The fact of the matter that the fight scene at the grocery store, something that lasts less than a minute, as the big thing everyone points at to show off how bad the effects were to them just shows me how well they pulled it off.

 

[Ocean Bones]

Imagine being proud of that shit.

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Imagine making this post.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Pesci was absolutely incredible. Holy shit.

It's unlikely but I hope he does more projects, I want to see more movies with a subdued Pesci character

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I want to see what Vinny is up to these days.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

Was kind of annoyed by the scene where Pesci gives instructions to De Niro about delivering those guns to the Cubans. His voice and speech pattern sounded different than the rest of the movie. Have to say I liked Pacino as Hoffa better overall IMO.

 

[Deleted member 50454]

The fact of the matter that the fight scene at the grocery store, something that lasts less than a minute, as the big thing everyone points at to show off how bad the effects were to them just shows me how well they pulled it off.

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They didn't even slightly pull it off.

The scene at the beginning where Pesci and De Niro first meet, De Niro's character is meant to be 35.

75 maybe.

 

[Ricky_R]

Movie was nice, but it didn't get nowhere near Goodfellas for me. Also, the de-aging tech (in De Niro mostly) didn't convince me at all and watching De Niro trying to act young while his body clearly behaved like one of his age was kinda off putting. The acting was pretty on point, but that's no surprise.

Movie was long af, but I feel it was nicely paced in general.

 

[HStallion]

They didn't even slightly pull it off.

The scene at the beginning where Pesci and De Niro first meet, De Niro's character is meant to be 35.

75 maybe.

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Just saying that scene tiny scene being the one everyone brings up shows how well they pulled the effect off if that's the biggest offender.Most of the stuff you're talking about I barely even noticed after the first 10 minutes.

 

[Deleted member 50454]

Just saying that scene tiny scene being the one everyone brings up shows how well they pulled the effect off if that's the biggest offender.Most of the stuff you're talking about I barely even noticed after the first 10 minutes.

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It was one of the many problems with the film which, as a whole, wasn't really very good.

I'd rather watch Hoffa any day of the week.

 

[Window]

This is pretty cool. Can't believe it was 7 years ago. These things take time huh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R6fC-RZGJk&feature=emb_title

 

[Ralemont]

I watched it last night. I thought it was good but not a masterpiece.

There's little emotional weight to De Niro's character, in my opinion. The betrayal at the end is tough, but it's tough mostly because we see how and why Hoffa valued Sheeran. How he loved Peggy in a way the movie fails to express Sheeran does until it's too late, and by then we are supposed to sympathize with a man losing a family he barely values at all for 2.5 hours. What makes Sheeran tick? Why does he do the things he does? I'm not really sure beyond his military background ensuring his loyalty to orders, but this does not make an interesting or deep character.

Every other character, on the other hand, is really well-realized. I love love Pesci and Pacino in this. Pesci in particular steals the movie I feel, constantly managing to feel like the older loving brother but also the underlying threat to everything he does. The way he looks at Sheeran after Crazy Joe embarrasses him in the club.

I can't help but feel centering this movie around Peggy might have been a more interesting, though quite different, movie. She feels like the real beating heart of the movie, the intersection of the three main players (Pesci, DeNiro, Pacino) that still evokes emotional response in the viewer. Pacino, in DeNiro's betrayal despite Hoffa's complete faith in him, gets some of this too. But this is only a part of the movie, whereas Peggy has been getting betrayed by Sheeran as a terrible father her whole life.

Many people who don't like this movie call it boring, but I rarely thought it was. Instead when I wasn't enjoying it, I was feeling frustrated by it. Digressions like Crazy Joe didn't bore me, but I also don't feel they quite fit. It felt like a part of many moments in the film that it veers away from character drama into "did you know this happened in history?"

As far as the de-aging, it's largely okay besides when the actor's bodies let down what the CG is doing to their faces. Very distracting though were the fake blue eyes in a failed attempt to make DeNiro seem Irish instead of Italian.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

Finally found the time to watch it. I loved this. It was awesome to see Pesci, De Niro and Al Pacino do another mob movie again. The hours flew by and I was glued to the screen the whole time.

Scorsese did it again!

 

[Kaswa101]

I didn't really like it, but personally it's not my cup of tea anyway. Very well made though.

De Niro is still a legend.

 

[CharlesAznable]

Watched this last night and was a bit underwhelmed. I still really enjoyed it, but it doesn't top Goodfellas or Wolf of Wall Street. Definitely felt like it could've been a lot shorter, though I didn't mind it's length. My biggest issue is that the film has a really weird sense of continuity, where I never really felt like I understood how much time passed between scenes. Sometimes a few days would pass between scene changes and others several years and the film doesn't do a good job of making this readily apparent, it doesn't help that even when they were suppose to be young they still looked like old men during the film. The acting in general was amazing and definitely the best part. Al Pacino especially blew me away. Also while it was nice to see Joe Pesci play against type, I really did want to see him go unhinged one last time.