When Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman was released on Netflix in 2019 much was said about the film’s uncomfortable runtime. It took just under three and a half hours for the sprawling gangster flick to reach its conclusion, which for many younger cinemagoers proved a task in itself. Scorsese didn’t see a problem with it – and neither did I – and it seems the legendary director wants to go even further than that with his latest work, Killers of the Flower Moon reportedly clocking in with a whopping four-hour runtime.
With the film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Fraser, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemmons, locked in for its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has confirmed the unconventional runtime, which just falls short of the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (four hours and 10 minutes).
It’s unclear whether or not the film will play during or outside the normal hours of the iconic film festival, but we do know that the film will screen on May 20, which is a Saturday, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Regardless, attendees are in for the long haul as Killers of the Flower Moon becomes both Scorsese’s and DiCaprio’s longest movie to date.
The western crime drama, which also stars John Lithgow and musician Jack White, is based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name by journalist David Grann, detailing a series of Native American murders that took place in Oklahoma during the 1920s after oil was discovered on tribal land. It was originally scheduled for a November 2022 release but has since been pushed back and will now hit cinemas in early October.
Much like The Irishman, Scorsese’s latest project – and his seventh collaboration with DiCaprio – will first enjoy a theatrical release before heading to streaming. Although instead of Netflix, this time Apple TV+ will hold exclusive streaming rights for the film. Whether or not audiences will be put off the Killers of the Flower Moon runtime during the theatrical release, where you can’t pause for toilet breaks and whatnot, remains to be seen but as it stands, those who don’t necessarily want to sit through a four-hour film might prefer to wait until it hits streaming so they can control the pace themselves.
Either way, it’s looking like a major win for Apple TV+ and movie fans in general. Scorsese and DiCaprio have never let us down.
