If you need to divide your viewing experience of The Irishman’s three hour and 29–minute runtime into manageable chunks, that’s between you, God, and the dozen or so people who use your Netflix log-in info. Don’t tell Martin Scorsese about it, though, because he is staunchly against the idea that his new film, now streaming on Netflix, could have been a limited series instead.
“You could say, ‘This is a long story, you can play it out over two seasons.’ I saw somebody mention that. Absolutely no,†the director told Entertainment Weekly. “I’ve never even thought of it. Because the point of this picture is the accumulation of detail. It’s an accumulated cumulative effect by the end of the movie — which means you get to see from beginning to end [in one sitting] if you’re so inclined. A series is great. It’s wonderful. You can develop character and plot lines and worlds are recreated, but this wasn’t right for that.†That being said, if you still can’t sit on your sofa in your sweatpants for over three hours without falling asleep, Twitter user Alexander Dunerfors made this handy little guide for you to watch The Irishman as a miniseries right this very evening, with Mr. Scorsese being none the wiser.