The Bloody Sultan and The Irishmen | Hollywood & History Episode 7

There's not too much that brings these titual characters together (there probably are; just not in this video), but this week's episode begins by first delving into the aspects of the life of the late Ottoman Empire's perhaps most infamous ruler, Sultan Abdülhamid II (reign as Sultan: 1876-1909). Armen provides some historical context to how this long-reigning monarch rose to his throne and some of the ways in which he managed to consolidate and hold on to power for such a long period of time. The "Red Sultan," as he would forever go down in history, oversaw one of the most violent episodes in the late Ottoman era, when tens of thousands of Ottoman Armenians were killed during a two-year span in the final years of the 19th century.

From here, it's a sharp pivot to a film that Armen chose but was less than enamored with, as he and Michael review Martin Scorsese's hit 2019 film, "The Irishman." This nearly three and a half hour long movie does some things right and some things not so right, at least as far they are concerned.