Earlier this week, Film at Lincoln Center announced its opening attraction for its September 27 launch of the 57th New York Film Festival l with Martin Scorsese’s new crime epic, The Irishman.
On Wednesday, Netflix, who is rolling out the new star-studded work later this year by the acclaimed director next to a partial theatrical release, unveiled the first official teaser which you can view just above.
Based on Charles Brandt’s “I Heard You Paint Houses” and from a script by Steve Zaillian, The Irishman is described as “a richly textured epic of American crime, a dense, complex story told with astonishing fluidity.”
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.
Academy Award winner Joe Pesci stars as Pennsylvania mob boss Russell Bufalino, with Al Pacino as Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and the distinguished Robert De Niro as their right-hand man, Frank Sheeran. For this, you would also be right to feel any nostalgia there is considering three of the biggest actors to shape the mob subgenre of crime cinema thusfar – films like The Untouchables, Goodfellas, Casino and Heat are back on the big screen.
“The Irishman is so many things: rich, funny, troubling, entertaining and, like all great movies, absolutely singular,” said New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones. “It’s the work of masters, made with a command of the art of cinema that I’ve seen very rarely in my lifetime, and it plays out at a level of subtlety and human intimacy that truly stunned me. All I can say is that the minute it was over my immediate reaction was that I wanted to watch it all over again.”
“It’s an incredible honor that The Irishman has been selected as the Opening Night of the New York Film Festival. I greatly admire the bold and visionary selections that the festival presents to audiences year after year,” said Martin Scorsese. “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.”