Martin Scorsese attributes the rhythm and duration of “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Ari Aster’s “Midsommar.” According to Scorsese, the 206-minute running time of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is comparable to other auteur horror films by directors like Aster or Val Lewton. “Killers of the Flower Moon” incorporates elements of both horror and facades of Westernization. Scorsese stated, “I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Beau Is Afraid, The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’ or ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’ Just going a little slower, a little quieter.”
Scorsese also added, “I was very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom, like the baby namings, the funerals, and the weddings — so we could begin to understand a little more about the people. I felt confident that a lot of people would allow themselves to be immersed in the world of the film.”
Regarding the impending Paramount/Apple true crime movie, he continued, “It’s not a whodunit. We know exactly whodunit. The audience is way ahead of us.” Even though “Killers of the Flower Moon” isn’t being advertised as an occidental, Scorsese noted how the movie’s roots are in the genre from the middle of the 20th century, particularly John Ford’s “Searchers,” which served as the model for the majority of his oeuvre.
“You know, I always wanted to make a Western, but I thought the Western genre really ended with Sam Peckinpah and ‘The Wild Bunch,’” Scorsese said. “The Western became something else, something about form, something that doesn’t reflect the values of America today.”
The director disclosed in a recent interview with The Irish Times that he and co-writer Eric Roth had been working on the “Flower Moon” script for two full years when DiCaprio objected to the method.
“Myself and [my co-screenwriter] Eric Roth talked about telling the story from the point of view of the bureau agents coming in to investigate,” Scorsese said. “After two years of working on the script, Leo came to me and asked, ‘Where is the heart of this story?’ I had had meetings and dinners with the Osage, and I thought, ‘Well, there’s the story.’ The real story, we felt, was not necessarily coming from the outside, with the bureau, but rather from the inside, from Oklahoma.” Recently, Scorsese defended the lengthy running time of “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
“People say it’s three hours, but come on, you can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours,” Scorsese said, according to The Hindustan Times. “Also, there are many people who watch theater for 3.5 hours. There are real actors on stage, you can’t get up and walk around. You give it that respect. Give cinema some respect.”