Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
I am talking about movies (not tv mini-series) or films that are episodic. (Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring.) I would call a film long if it were over 2 hr and 10 minutes, although some would find 2 hr to be stretching it. I understand that there are physical issues that come into play if a movie is too long without an intermission, but since many of us are at home when we watch films, it seams that you can create your own intermission.
It seems to me that a good movie that runs for 2:10-2:30 seems much shorter than some movies In stead of taking an opportunity to name every film know of that I like that is over 2 hr and 10 min, I'll just start with one. I'll list the movie, the run time, and my opinion about what the writer, director, etc. did to make a longer film work. I'll say up front, that I enjoy films that develop their characters and take extra time to do so. That is a general factor on why I like longer movies. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...82,268_AL_.jpg The first film I would mention would be The Godfather pt 1 It was released in 1972 by Francis Ford Copola and it was 175 minutes (just shy of three hours). This is a good film to make my point about character development. The movie is set primarily in NY City between the late 1940's until the Senate hearings on the mafia, which was early on in Kennedy's administration. I was ready for the Godfather pt. II before the first movie was even over. i was also one of those who had high hopes for pt. III before it was apparent that Copola and Puzio were not going to put the same effort into the story for pt. 3. Even though I did not like pt 3, it was not its length that killed it but its tendency to make a cliche of he first two movies, and some of the casting decisions. They should have brought Robert Duval back, and not have cast Sofia Copola. Thus I would say that the first two Godfather films would be excellent examples of what a long film can do on the positive side, and pt. III is a good example of how much suffering a bad long film can inflict. I have numerous films to mention, but i will see if anybody else wants to take a shot at some of my favorite long movies, before I list them all. |
Heat (1995)
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Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
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Dogvile 2003 came to mind because I've recently watched it. I usually prefer movies that are between 01:20 and 01:45, I think this is long enough for most stories to be told, but for some stories a longer time is required for sure and if done brilliantly they will not feel boring and the time will pass so fast just as if you're watching a short movie |
Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
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One of my favorite movies. |
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Over 7 hours. |
Schindler's List
Blood in Blood Out The Shawshank Redemption The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Considering The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago but need to re-watch both to be sure. |
Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
If a good movie is long then, trivially, the movie has to be long to be good: if a movie that is 4 hours long and could be cut to 2 hours and still be "good" then it was not good to begin with: it has 2 hours of fat.
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Originally Posted by John-Connor (Post 2022845)
Doctor Zhivago
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At 2 hours, 49 minutes, Dragged Across Concrete (2018) felt slow to some. I enjoyed the pacing of the movie. It allowed for time to play out the off beat nature of the plot, dialogue and jokes, giving it a nice relaxed feel. Didn't care for the minimal graphic gore, but that did make for a nice juxtaposition to the leisurely pacing of the film.
Putting aside obvious budgetary considerations, I don't know why a seasoned feature film maker would make a film running less than 1:45. There are oodles of exceptions to that, but I'd be inclined to prefer stories with more meat. ~Doc |
Originally Posted by John-Connor (Post 2022845)
Considering The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago but need to re-watch both to be sure.
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Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
To re-quote the rather trite adage: a bad movie is too long & a good movie is too short. Pulp Fiction, e.g., as mentioned above, could be twice as long again & I would still love it.
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Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
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Paris Texas 1984 Wim Wenders 2 hr 27 min Cost less than 2 million to make, and I think it is one of the best movies around. It is long, and it does not have a lot of entertaining action., but its plot and dialog help it move along just fine. The movie contains two long monologue/ dialog scenes that I think were brilliantly handled by Wenders. |
Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Seven Samurai, Children of Paradise, Das Boot, Boyhood, The Big Country, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Amores Perros to name a few.
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I have never felt the length of Boogie Nights...I was shocked the last time I checked the running time, I couldn't believe it. That movie is so riveting that I never noticed how long it is.
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'Lawrence of Arabia'
'Come and See' '2001 a space odyssey' 'The Shining' 'Mishima' 'The Revenant' 'Paris, Texas' 'Papillon' 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' 'The Handmaiden' 'Boyhood' 'Amores Perros' 'The Square' 'Cinema Paradiso' All over 2hrs 20 minutes long. And better for it. |
Re: Good movies that are long (and better because of it)
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Inception Christopher Nolan 2 hr 28 m A complex story that requires extra time to develop. |
Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 2022990)
I have never felt the length of Boogie Nights...I was shocked the last time I checked the running time, I couldn't believe it. That movie is so riveting that I never noticed how long it is.
Just checked the length of the original Dr. Zhivago & it’s 3 hours + 17 mins. If it were twice as long I would be riveted from start to finish. |
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