In recent years, there has been a new force in the film industry that people cannot ignore, and that is Netflix. Last year’s Oscar awards ceremony can be described as Netflix’s grand victory. Netflix’s "Rome" won many awards such as best director, best foreign language film, best photography, etc., even the long-time film fan Cohen The brothers also collaborated with Netflix to film the digital movie "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" last year, which seemed to announce the strong rise of Netflix.
Why did Netflix rise so quickly? What are the advantages of emerging online digital media compared with traditional cinema chains?
The most direct advantage is the diversification of profit models. In addition to the box office revenue of traditional cinema chains, the works produced by Netflix also have a profit model of online broadcasting. The advantage of this profit model allows Netflix to invest more funds for more outstanding niche art theater films, which can be fully demonstrated in last year's "Rome" and this year's "The Irishman".
The director of "Rome" Alfonso Cuarón once said that the film "Rome" was a film he had conceived for a long time. However, this film that focused on the theme of motherhood during the turbulent period of Mexican history has not been considered sufficient. Even after Alfonso Cuarón won the Oscar for Best Director Award for "Gravity", he never got enough funds to support him to complete such a discerning person knowing that he would not be rich. The box office return of the film. Until Netflix agreed to take over, giving Alfonso Cuarón enough creative freedom. The problem faced by "The Irishman" is no more relaxed than that of "Rome". Although Martin Scorsese is a four-star Hollywood star in the 1980s and his status in the film industry is unshakable, he is very concerned about this "The Irishman." The production funding requirements of the film are too high, and the three and a half hours of time makes it difficult for traditional film makers to agree to the production scale of such an old Martin. Only Netflix can afford such a high production cost.
Today, when all kinds of special effects commercials relying on the production of visual spectacles have firmly grasped the mainstream stage of movies, niche and old-school art films seem to gradually lose their positions, and their market share is getting smaller and smaller. Last year, Martin's bombardment of a series of commercial films such as Marvel reflected the difficulties of this part of traditional filmmakers. The emergence of Netflix can become their new way out.
Going back to this movie, "The Irishman" is a film about aging. The film is full of tribute to the gangster films of the 1970s and 1980s. The main story of the film is very similar to Martin's masterpiece "The Good Guy". . Al Pacino, Joe Pessi, Robert De Niro, and director Martin Scorsese, these four people together seem to be half of the gangster movie flourishing years. The difference from the past is that these people are now old, and aging is the deepest core proposition discussed in The Irishman.
Unlike the sad aging portrayed in "Youth and Vigor", Jimmy Hoffa played by Al Pacino shouted "This is my union!!!" at different stages of the film, showing the film’s struggle against aging. Attitude, this attitude exists both on and off the screen. When faced with young younger generations who don’t wear formal clothes, Jimmy Hoffa’s fierce swearing attitude is not the same as old Martin’s bombardment of today’s theme parks? The film "This is wrong" firmly expresses its attitude. Regardless of whether he was facing an aggressive offspring or a new gang that infiltrated the union, Jimmy Hoffa yelled out the phrase "This is my union!!!" like a Don Quixote in the era of gangsters. Germany, until death; when Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro, learned that all those related to him had died, he still kept the secret of the gangster. Of course, some people can say that Jimmy Ho should be given this time. Fa's wife and children confessed, but if Frank said it, he would not be Frank. This group of old people tried their best to defend their previous principles.
(Note: In the real world, Frank in his later years confessed to Jimmy Hoffa and other murders when he narrated to the author of the original novel. The suspicion of deliberately dramatizing and exaggerating one's own experience. The police investigation is not consistent with Frank's statement. The truth may be hidden in history forever. It is different from Frank's confession in reality, even proactively soliciting it, in the film , Old Martin did not arrange for him to confess. In the film, Frank did not tell the truth until everyone passed away and he was sitting in a wheelchair feebly. I believe that the plot that is contrary to reality is Old Martin. The persistence I really want to express.)
At noon on February 10th, Beijing time, 2020, "Parasite", which flexibly used commercial film techniques to describe the subject of class opposition, won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Film, and Best Original Screenplay. The Oscar is well-deserved as the biggest winner. At the same time, "The Irishman" had nine nominations but it was not collected, and accompany the whole race, like Russell Buffalino played by Joe Pesci at the end of the film, sitting in a wheelchair and walking towards the grave.
Iris wrote the following comment on "The Irishman" today: "It is a defender rather than a creator. As a gangster film, "The Irishman" failed to surpass the culmination of such films, "The Godfather", so Oscar will inevitably give it Martin Scorsese respects, but he is destined not to give him the highest award."
Of course, not at all.
It's just not new, but it's by no means pedantic; it's just old school, but it's by no means old-fashioned. If traditional gangster movies are old and modern commercial genre movies are new, are the old ones destined to retreat from the stage of history? The significance of "The Irishman" is that Netflix has explored a new way for many "Irish people" to continue to survive. Isn't this a new one? This is not just nostalgia, in my eyes, this is rebirth.
In my opinion, this is more representative of the future of the movie world than the combination of commercial genres and serious themes.
The network media represented by Netflix has opened up a way of survival for movies that is completely different from commercial movies. This year's Netflix is more suitable than last year to become a symbol of Netflix's enthronement. "The Irishman" and "Marriage Story" received 9 nominations and 6 nominations respectively. The sharp and heavy "The Irishman" and the delicate and profound "Marriage Story" obviously have more capital to impact the best film, but they only won two awards for the best actress and the best documentary feature.
I don’t feel sorry for Netflix or The Irishman. Netflix is bound to become the future of the film industry, and "The Irishman" is bound to become a classic in film history, juxtaposed with "The Godfather" and "Once Upon a Time in America."
I only feel sorry for the Oscars. The 92nd Oscar could have become a symbol of emerging media's enthronement.
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