Martin Scorsese Forbids You to Watch ‘The Irishman' on a Phone, But “An iPad, a Big iPad, Maybe" Is Fine

The fascinating part of the 3 and a half-hour “The Irishman” now streaming at your own leisure on Netflix, is the fact that many will now watch Scorsese’s magnum opus in variously different ways; with multiple breaks, on their tablets, on their TVs, split into a few days, etc. Of course, the best way to watch “The Irishman” is on the big screen and uninterrupted, alas, now that the film is streaming I would think most have given up on that idea ..

Although ‘Irishman’ director Martin Scorsese wishes the world would have been able to see his Oscar contender in theaters, he knows that his movie will be seen in numerous ways. He just has one request — don’t watch it on your phone. Speaking to film critic Peter Travers on his ABC show “Popcorn with Peter Travers,” Scorsese talked about the idea of people watching his three-and-a-half-hour film on their tiny phone screens.

“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,” Scorsese said. “In a funny way, I think I made it to cover all the bases in terms of how you could watch this picture,” the filmmaker added. “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.”

“The Irishman” is available now on Netflix.