They say good things come to those who wait, and in the case of Martin Scorsese, he knows that the extended runtime of his western drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” is more than worth it.
In a new one Interview with Hindustan TimesScorsese, 80, refuted criticism of his upcoming film’s long running time of 3 hours and 26 minutes by comparing it to the amount of time the average viewer spends bingeing TV.
With hit films like “Casino,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Irishman,” Scorsese is no stranger to captivating moviegoers with visually stunning films that last nearly three hours or more.
“People say it’s three hours, but come on,” the director said. “You can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours. Also, there are a lot of people who watch theater for 3.5 hours. There are real actors on stage, you can’t stand up and walk around. Give him that respect, give the cinema some respect.”
Scorsese may have caught wind of critics fretting about the length of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” but many of the filmmaker’s fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to rave about their excitement at seeing the flick, which clocks in at 206 minutes.
At a time when many theatrical releases are moving to streaming services, Scorsese admitted that fans would be doing themselves a disservice by not watching “Killers of the Flower Moon” on the big screen.
“Are we planning to make a blockbuster? No, we’re making a film, and that’s how it should be [be] seen on the big screen,” Scorsese told the outlet.
He added: “Other pictures I’ve taken? Maybe not. Sometimes it’s the strength of the image. If it plays well on a smaller screen, that’s interesting. Killers could play on a small screen, but to really immerse yourself in the game you should take the time.”
Set in 1920s Oklahoma, “Killers of the Flower Moon” tells the true story of the tragic series of massacres against the Osage Nation known as the “Reign of Terror.” The film is based on the popular book of the same name by journalist David Grann.
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, hits theaters on October 20th. Check out the trailer below.