In Variety awards pundit Kristopher Tapley's latest column, entitled "Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' To Remain Quiet Until December," Tapley tells us that Scorsese's Japanese-set epic will not screen for critics until December. That means it won't be in the mix for the National Board of Review awards, New York Film Critics Circle awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Circle awards and the Broadcast Film Critics Awards. A strange move for an awards contender, but nevertheless something that has been done before, most notably Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained." We have no trailer, although an internet rumor 'claims' it will be released this week and, hell, not even a movie poster. I have been all over the rumors the last year or so. Here are the most important things that we do know about Scorsese's film.
10 Things We Do Know About Scorsese's Epic:
1- Scorsese has been trying to get 'Silence' made since the 80s.
2- It stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asanoand Ciarán Hinds.
3-The official synopsis states: "Set in the seventeenth century, it follows two Portuguese Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor (Liam Neeson) and propagate Christianity."
4- It finished shooting and has been in post production for 18 months. Principal photography was completed May of 2015!
5- The running time changed from 195 minutes to 160 minutes, although not officially.
6- Andrew Garfield and Irwin Winkler seem to be the only people to have publicly said they have seen 'Silence.' Garfield calling it "meditative and brutal simultaneously" and Winkler calling it 'Marty's best film'
7- Scorsese is 'deep at work' on the film and won't finish it until the 'eleventh hour' according to a source close to the production.
8- The official release date is December 23rd in a 'very limited' run
9- Only a few production stills have been released, six to be precise.
10- There has been no trailer and no movie poster released as of November 8th, 2017.