If you have Netflix, then you can watch “The Irishman” at your leisure from anywhere you like, granted you have access to the internet and a device that has the streaming service. And though director Martin Scorsese wishes the world would have been able to see his film in the theaters, he understands that most people will see it on the streaming platform. He just has one request — don’t watch it on your phone.
Speaking to film critic Peter Travers on his YouTube show “Popcorn with Peter Travers,” Scorsese talked about the idea of people watching his three-and-a-half-hour film on their tiny phone screens. And while he is willing to compromise with a tablet (a big one), the filmmaker wishes people would skip watching “The Irishman” on their phones.
READ MORE: Martin Scorsese Doesn’t Think ‘The Irishman’ Would Have Worked As A TV Show
“I would suggest — if you ever want to see one of my pictures, or most films — please, please don’t look at it on a phone, please. An iPad, a big iPad, maybe,” Scorsese said.
Unfortunately, for Scorsese, if the initial days of “The Irishman” being available on Netflix is any indication, there are plenty of people that have been seen watching on their phones, tablets, and laptops, or many just complaining the three-and-a-half-hour movie is too long. Hell, for a lot of Netflix subscribers, that’s just how they watch content (some are even creating chapter guides to watch it like TV episodes).
The filmmaker understands this and feels like he’s made a film that should be able to engage audiences, whether they’re at a theater or sitting on their couch.
“In a funny way, I think I made it to cover all the bases in terms of how you could watch this picture,” said the filmmaker. “Ideally, I’d like you to go to a theater, look at it on a big screen from beginning to end. And I know, it’s long — you gotta get up, you gotta go to the bathroom, that sort of thing, I get it — but also at home, I think if you can make a night of it, or an afternoon thereof, and know that you’re not gonna answer the phone or you’re not gonna get up too much, it might work.”
“The Irishman” is available now on Netflix. And don’t worry, if you watch on your phone, Scorsese won’t crawl through the screen to reprimand you. Just know that he’s judging you from a distance.
You can watch the full interview below: