In the essence of true auteur theory, Scorsese reuses tons of elements, (whether it be motifs, color palettes, actors, themes etc.) in all of his films, but I find many of them to be apparent in The Irishman. Let's check some of them out!
Breaking the Fourth Wall
One thing Scorsese loves to do is have some of his characters talking to the camera. We see this in the ending of Goodfellas where Henry Hill speaks to the camera about the resolution of his case:
The most interesting part about this effect is that the breaking of the fourth wall might only happen once in the entire film, which completely catches the viewer off-guard. These films aren't the "mockumentary" style, so they seem out of place, but just work in a beautiful, funny way.
Actors
Martin Scorsese loves Robert De Niro, who has been featured in eight of his films. These films include Goodfellas, The Irishman, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, and even more. I think De Niro just loves the versatility De Niro has in the mobster movies that he loves to make (which we'll get to later).
Joe Pesci has also been featured in quite a few Martin Scorsese movies, with Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Casino, and The Irishman. His natural accent bodes well for these mobster movies as well.
Irishman features both.
The Mob
Martin Scorsese has a particular affinity for making movies about the mob. I wouldn't say that it shows his affection, quite the contrary actually, but I think he enjoys the environment of the mob, and how he can portray the human inclination toward power. Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed are great examples of crime films.
The Irishman centers around the Bufalino crime family and how Frank Sheeran is integrated into it.
The Rise and Fall
One thing I think Scorsese enjoys telling to audiences is the story of the rise and fall. This is apparent in Goodfellas with the story of Henry Hill. He was once on top of the world, with tons of connections at only the age of 23, but descended into addiction and an eventual selling out of all his friends, ending up in the witness protection program. You'll see a similar story in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Raging Bull.
The Irishman is supremely about how someone like Frank Sheeran can be so renown amongst his group of confidants, but then loses absolutely everyone he was close with, even his family, essentially dying alone.
The Betrayal
Finally, Scorsese frequently places some sort of betrayal in his films. The most evident to me is that of Henry Hill selling out all of his friends in Goodfellas, including his best friend James Conway in court to protect himself.
Obviously, Sheeran cared a lot for Hoffa and wasn't a fan of "whacking" him, but did it anyway, evidencing a betrayal.
These are just a few of the re-occuring elements of Scorsese that really make him a great example of auteur theory. Very few directors are able to demonstrate such consistency in themes, motifs, and actors while still creating unique stories.
This is a really great blog post. I think you nailed it on the head with his most notable themes. Another thing that I would add that is extremely apparent, is the role of Roman Catholicism in his work. There's so much religious imagery and guilt that is bestowed up on his characters. Since Marty focuses on extremely flawed characters, they usually find themselves on this cosmic desire for repentance, not matter how extreme their crimes are. This is seen mostly in his earlier stuff like Mean Streets, but it had a resurgence with "Silence" and the "Irishman", which was really great to see an old Marty tradition be resurrected (no pun intended) again. The Catholic imagery also goes further with the brotherly betrayal themes. This is something that is littered throughout the Bible, the most famous being the story of Cain and Abel, but also with the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. In fact, one of the reasons why Marty wanted to make to Last Temptation of Christ so much, was to explore the relationship between Christ, Judas, and is fate as the sacrificial messiah of God. Much of the drama in that film are those three forces working together, and its some of Marty Scorsese at his best. Because "Irishman" deals with all of these themes, I agree that it really is the most "Marty" movie out there, and is perhaps his magnum opus.
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