Martin Scorsese Defends Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lengthy Runtime

With the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese has yet again proven why he is considered one of the greatest living directors of all time.

The film – starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone – has already been nominated for 10 Oscars at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, with Scorsese, De Niro, and Gladstone being nominated for one each.

Since the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, the movie has been critically praised for different things, such as Scorsese’s direction, production values, cinematography, musical score, and cast performances. However, there is one thing that has received criticism.

As you have already guessed, the criticism concerns the movie’s lengthy runtime, which is 3 hours and 26 minutes. But if you’re familiar with Scorsese’s works, the runtime is no shocker, as the director has other films with a 3-hour runtime or even more lengthy.

For instance, the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street, starring DiCaprio, had a runtime of 3 hours. Likewise, the 2016 movie Silence and the 2019 film The Irishman had a runtime of 2 hours 41 minutes and 3 hours 29 minutes, respectively.

That said, Scorsese isn’t fazed by the criticisms his newest movie is receiving for its lengthy runtime. The director, alongside DiCaprio and Gladstone, was recently featured in Variety, where the trip talked about different topics, including DiCaprio’s Oscar snub.

As the conversation, published on January 26, 2024, went on, the interviewer asked Scorsese how he felt about the criticism Killers of the Flower Moon is getting regarding its 3-hour and 26-minute runtime, with some saying the film is too long.

Scorsese replied that he didn’t know how to respond to the critics except that many people seemed to go with it. He even mentioned that many people told him they wanted to see it again and that he felt right about the movie’s length.

His statement read, “I really don’t know how to respond to it except for the fact that many people seem to go with it. Some people say, ‘I want to see it again.’” Scorsese then mentioned that not every film is for every person and not every novel is for every reader.

Lily Gladstone with her ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ co-star Leonardo DiCaprio (Photo: Instagram)

“Not every film is for every person. Not every novel is for every reader, not every painting, etc. I don’t know if it’s something that will be universally accepted. This one felt right [at this length], and I felt that while I was watching it. I felt inside of it. And I made it.,” he added.

“There is a big difference. When I watched it again, particularly when I screened the mix, you know, you’re working on the mix, you’re working on the sound of a car, you’re working on the dialogue, you’re working on… you’re like this,” he said.

While saying that, Scorsese showed how his eyes were glued to the screen during post-production. “And you gotta look at the whole thing. And I said, ‘Wow. It’s a long one, too. I don’t know, you know; instead, I watched the movie. I watched the movie,” he concluded.

DiCaprio and Gladstone didn’t share their respective thoughts on this question, and the conversation gradually moved to other topics, with the interviewer asking DiCaprio about playing a villain and what Gladstone taught him that he would take into future performances.

Speaking a little more about the movie, its development started in March 2016 after Imperative Entertainment won the adaptation rights to the book. Scorsese and DiCaprio joined the film in 2017, and the production was expected to start in early 2018.

However, there were many pushbacks and delays, including some due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple TV+ and Paramount Pictures later joined in, with the former financing the movie and the latter distributing it.

As the production continued, other stars – including Gladstone, De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, Cara Jade Myers, Janae Collins, and more – were cast in the movie.

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone at the 76th Cannes Film Festival (Photo: WireImage)

Finally, on May 20, 2023, Killers of the Flower Moon premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Later, on October 20, 2023, the film was theatrically released in the United States for a limited time only and received critical acclaim.

As of this writing, it has been reported that the movie has grossed more than $156 million worldwide — the total budget was $200 million. On January 12, 2024, Killers of the Flower Moon was made available to stream globally on AppleTV+.