Director Martin Scorsese will premiere The Irishman at the 2019 New York Film Festival as two first-look images have been released. Based on Charles Brandt’s 2003 novel I Heard You Paint Houses, the film stars Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro as the title character. The Irishman will be distributed by Netflix.
In The Irishman, De Niro portrays Frank Sheeran, a Teamsters official who reportedly admitted to killing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino), one of America’s most infamous unsolved crimes. Pesci portrays Russell Bufalino, a Sicilian-American mobster who ruled the Bufalino crime organization for nearly 30 years. In February, it was reported that The Irishman’s entire first half features digitally de-aged actors, which will undoubtedly remind some viewers of Scorsese and De Niro’s classic ‘70s collaborations such as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. In March 2018, The Irishman completed principal photography. Now, an official date for the highly anticipated film has been set.
Per EW, The Irishman will kick off the 2019 New York Film Festival on Friday, September 27. In a press release, Scorsese noted, “The festival is critical to bringing awareness to cinema from around the world. I am grateful to have the opportunity to premiere my new picture in New York alongside my wonderful cast and crew.” Given the names attached to The Irishman, along with Scorsese’s continued relevancy as a filmmaker, the premiere date news has created a significant amount of buzz on social media. In addition, the two first-look images tease De Niro’s role as Sheeran. In one photo, he appears alongside Pacino as the press clamors around the Teamsters characters, while the other depicts Sheeran in conversation at a bar, with De Niro’s demeanor being reminiscent of so many tough guy characters from his extensive filmography. Check out The Irishman first-look photos below.
In the past decade, Scorsese has further boosted his legacy by releasing a variety of differing film projects. He shot the 2011 family film Hugo in 3D, and earned numerous accolades despite a disappointing box office return. In 2013, Scorsese released the controversial three-hour black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street, which became a massive commercial hit. Then, in 2016, Scorsese released Silence, a meditative historical film about religion that failed to outearn its budget. Earlier this year, Scorsese debuted his first Netflix film Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, in which he teased the audience by blatantly misrepresenting specific historical facts.
While moviegoers can reasonably predict The Irishman’s style and tone, it remains to be seen whether Scorsese will challenge viewers with extreme violence and narrative trickery. Most likely, he’ll stay true to the source material and allow the all-star cast to fill in the blanks with their performances. At age 76, Scorsese continues to experiment with his cinematic approach, and if The Irishman succeeds, the directorial icon will gain even more fans across the globe.
