A masterpiece and one of Scorsese's three best films...

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2019)

I approached this 3.5 hour film as one might a marathon (of sorts): comfortable seating at home; plenty of snacks and beverages; and a 5-minute break every hour for necessary ablutions. Made it through in one sitting and am happy to have been generously rewarded for the experience. This film is a masterpiece, and probably one of Scorsese's three greatest films ever. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it. Pacino is fantastic, as is De Niro and Joe Pesci, all of them performing at the absolute top of their game. I don't usually cotton to such long films, but this was a masterfully told tale, well paced, and incredibly well edited by his long-time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, with not a single minute wasted. I was gripped the entire time and hung on every scene, every line of dialogue, all of it unlike anything I've seen in quite some time. I think it played in some theatres in the US, but most people will watch it on Netflix, which is a more than adequate way to experience it. This is one film well worthy of setting aside some time on a weekend afternoon this month.