Netflix Responds to Fans Calling The Irishman Boring

Netflix users have been binging up a storm over the Thanksgiving break and The Irishman has been [...]

By Aaron Perine

Netflix users have been binging up a storm over the Thanksgiving break and The Irishman has been on the top of the queue for a lot of people. But, the Internet reception has been mixed with a lot of people calling Martin Scorsese's latest boring. This weekend, the streaming giant fired back with a tweet responding to one such user who made light of the controversy surrounding people finding the best way to watch the film. One account was joking that they didn't want to watch The Irishman on their phone after some comments from the director this week about the best way to experience his work. This whole thing sparked a sort of groundswell of people discussing the best way to watch The Irishman, including one very nifty episode guide that sliced it into manageable chunks. But, the clever people over at Netflix couldn't help themselves and quickly thought up a witty retort to this clearly comedic tweet. The free publicity for both the service and the title has probably been super helpful in proving the viability of the platform amongst more and more options for streaming entertainment.

In response to the tweet about Scorsese appearing next to an unexpecting viewer after watching on their phone, Netflix said, "he absolutely WILL appear but instead of a beating he will simply sit across from you for the entire film and twinkle his eyes in a grandfatherly way that says "it's ok my child, formats and presentation matter, but your experience of art is valid no matter how you receive it."

Hilariously, this seems to completely counter what Scorsese said about the experience recently. While not exactly the most adamant, he does want his films to be enjoyed somewhere near the dimensions his previous work was featured in.

"That I never thought of. That I never thought of," Scorsese revealed on Popcorn with Peter Travers when asked if he was mindful of The Irishman being watched on palm-sized phone screens. "Certainly, I could say, the past 20-some odd years, I've made films both for television and — in terms of the screen size — for the theater. Never for a phone. I don't know how to do it. I wish I could, I don't know how. No, I don't get it."

He acknowledged that "films will be made for phones" and will probably end up on mobile devices, Scorsese also said, "Well, 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."

"I'm not saying because, 'Oh, I made it.' It was an interesting narrative structure, and it got me involved each time," Scorsese concluded. "In a funny way, I think I made it to cover all the bases in terms of how you could watch this picture. 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."

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