In new comments, The Irishman director Martin Scorsese has doubled down on his comparison between Marvel movies and theme parks, reiterating that they are “not cinema”.
The filmmaker had made the controversial remarks in an interview to Empire magazine earlier this month, saying he had “tried” to see Marvel films, “but that’s not cinema”.
He added, “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Scorsese stood by his stance on Marvel films at a press conference before The Irishman premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday October 13, the Independent reported.
“The value of a film that is like a theme park film, Marvel-type pictures, where theatres become amusement parks, that’s a different experience,” he said. “It’s not cinema, it’s something else, we shouldn’t be invaded by it, so that is a big issue and we need the theatre owners to step up to allow theatres to show films that are narrative films.”
Scorsese’s initial comments caused a furore in the movie world, with Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn saying he was “saddened” by his remarks, and Marvel cast members like Samuel L. Jackson, Karen Gillan and Robert Downey Jr. chiming in.
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Scorsese’s The Irishman – which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci – will premiere on Netflix November 27. Before the gangster epic goes wide on the streaming service, it will show in selected cinemas in the UK and USA. It will screen at a Broadway theatre in New York City, reportedly after major US cinema chains refused to show the film.