Posted in: Apple, Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: AppleTV, Killers of the Flower Moon, martin scorsese, Paramount Pictures

Martin Scorsese Wants Cinema To Be Given Respect Regardless Of Runtime

Killers of the Flower Moon director Martin Scorsese believes if you can binge-watch 5 hours of TV, you can watch a 3.5-hour film in the theater.

This summer was filled with many movies that weren't doing enough to justify their overly long runtimes. It knocked a lot of good films down into mediocre simply because they were too long, and it screwed up the pacing and structure. Some directors seem to prefer telling longer stories and having longer runtimes, and they can usually justify said runtimes. One of those people is director Martin Scorsese, and his next film, Killers of the Flower Moon, is three and a half hours long. Some people are starting to give that runtime a side eye, but Scorsese wants cinema to get the respect it deserves regardless of the runtime, as he explained in an interview with The Hindustan Times.

"People say it's three hours, but come on," Scorsese said. "You can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours. Also, there are many people who watch theatre for 3.5 hours. There are real actors on stage; you can't get up and walk around. You give it that respect; give cinema some respect."

Mr. Scorsese, This Argument Doesn't Hold Up

So, far be it from us to argue with one of the masters, but this argument doesn't hold up on a fundamental level. Yes, people binge-watch more than three hours of television regularly, and yes, people go to stage shows that are over three hours all the time. The thing is, when you're watching a show, you're doing so at home, and if you are two hours in and need a break, you can stop and use the bathroom, get a snack, or stand up and stretch. As for live theater, those shows are long, but they also come with intermissions, so, once again, people can stretch their legs, pop their backs, and use the restroom. In a movie theater and with a film like Killers of the Flower Moon, there is no pause button and no intermission. You are in your seat, unmoving, for three and a half hours unless you want to get up and miss some of the film to do your business. The circumstances around stage or binge-tv watching are not the same as movie watching, and while Scorsese isn't wrong that cinema deserves respect, trying to make this argument doesn't work because none of these things are like the other. Different media is observed and consumed in different ways; you don't watch a movie like you watch a play, you don't read a book like you watch a TV show; all of these modes of storytelling are different. Scorsese says they are making something that should be seen on the big screen, even if it isn't a blockbuster.

"Are we intending to make a blockbuster? No, we're making a movie, which should watched on the big screen," Scorsese said. "Other pictures I made? Maybe not. Sometimes, it's the strength of the picture, too; if it plays well on a smaller screen, that's interesting. Killers could play on a small screen, but in order to truly immerse yourself, you should take out the time."

Scorsese can make all the movies he wants and make them as long as he wants. There is nothing wrong with the runtime of Killers of the Flower Moon being over three hours; that is fine, but to act like the ability to sit and watch television in the comfort of your own home for hours is akin to watching a movie in a theater is disingenuous at best. Very few people can make films that justify runtimes like Killers of the Flower Moon, and Scorsese is one of them. Still, he also needs to accept that the runtime will be a barrier to entry no matter how good the film is because, with previews, that is four hours in a theater, which is a big commitment without a planned intermission.

Killers of the Flower Moon: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Based on David Grann's broadly lauded best-selling book, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and Screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion.

Hailing from Apple Studios, Killers of the Flower Moon was produced alongside Imperative Entertainment, Sikelia Productions, and Appian Way. Producers are Scorsese, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, and Daniel Lupi, with DiCaprio, Rick Yorn, Adam Somner, Marianne Bower, Lisa Frechette, John Atwood, Shea Kammer, and Niels Juul serving as executive producers. It will be released in theaters on October 20th.

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