Martin Scorsese said Sunday he's keeping an open mind about the cinema "revolution" sparked by the rise of video streaming services, as his Netflix-backed mafia epic "The Irishman" closed the London Film Festival .
The director said the rise of streaming platforms was "an even bigger revolution than sound brought to cinema" because it "opens up the original conception of what a film is" and how it should be seen.
Scorsese told reporters he thought it was still important that movies be experienced communally.
"Homes are becoming theatres too but it's a major change and I think one has to keep an open mind," he said.
"The Irishman" — about the reflections of a former Jimmy Hoffa associate and hitman — is due to have a theatrical run from Nov. 1 before its Nov. 27 release on Netflix.
Scorsese took the project to Netflix after other studios turned it down, partly due to its length and the expensive de-aging digital effects used to make stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci appear decades younger.
Scorsese said the CGI effects, which have come in for some criticism, were simply "an evolution of makeup."
"You accept certain norms in make-up — you know he's not that old, she's not that young," he said. "You accept the illusion."
The 209-minute film is Sunday's closing night gala for the 12-day London festival.
On Saturday the festival awarded its best film prize to Colombian director Alejandro Landes' child soldier thriller "Monos."
The first feature prize went to French director Mati Diop's Senegal-set drama "Atlantics," and the documentary award was won by Rubika Shah for "White Riot," the story of the 1970s British movement Rock Against Racism.
"Fault Line" by Iran's Soheil Amirsharifi won the short film trophy.
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More