Comment on ‘Holy Grail’ of digital effects rewinding the clock for aging actors

LONDON – With Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” expected to battle “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” and “1917” for the best picture Oscar in February, all eyes are on the special effects team that made the sprawling crime epic possible. “The Irishman” unfolds over decades, with the 76-year-old Robert De Niro and his co-stars playing their characters from their 30s into retirement age, a feat that’s made the film one of 2019’s most acclaimed movies. It’s all possible through new digital de-aging techniques that in the past year in cinemas have shaved decades from Samuel L.