How Long Has This Been going On?

[Frayed Knot]

No real point here, except that the recent discussion of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA got me thinking about lengthy movies. In the case of L-of-A Vic's comment of "four hours long and still not long enough" was dead on.

I make no claims about the list here being by any means complete, I pulled these off an interweb search as all were either made during the lifetime of many of us here or at least still easily findable via cable station rotations in the present day (although I have absolutely no memory/knowledge of either GETTYSBURG or MAGNOLIA despite their release date and name casts).

Personally, I've only seen about 1/3 of these but still count several all-time favorites among them (GODFATHER II, REDS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. THE RIGHT STUFF)
Feel free to add, comment, etc.


GETTYSBURG - 1993 -- 4 H, 31 M

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - 1956 -- 4 H, 0 M

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA - 1984 -- 3 H, 49 M

GONE WITH THE WIND - 1939 -- 3 H, 46 M

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - 1962 -- 3 H, 36 M

BEN-HUR - 1959 -- 3 H, 22 M

EXODUS - 1960 -- 3 H, 28 M

WAR AND PEACE - 1956 -- 3 H, 28 M

SEVEN SAMURI - 1954 -- 3 H, 27 M

MALCOLM X - 1992 -- 3 H, 22 M

LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING - 2003 -- 3 H, 21M

THE GODFATHER, PART II - 1974 -- 3 H, 20 M [Part 1, btw, clocked in at 2:55]

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO - 1965 -- 3 H, 17 M

SCHINDLER�S LIST - 1993 -- 3 H, 15 M

RYAN�S DAUGHTER - 1970 -- 3 H, 15 M

TITANIC - 1997 -- 3 H, 14 M

REDS - 1981 -- 3 H, 14 M

THE RIGHT STUFF - 1983 -- 3 H, 13 M

NIXON - 1995 -- 3 H, 12 M

CLEOPATRA - 1963 -- 3 H, 12 M

GANDHI - 1982 -- 3 H, 11 M

THE GREEN MILE - 1999 -- 3 H, 9 M

JFK - 1991 -- 3 H, 9 M

MAGNOLIA - 1999 -- 3 H, 8 M

FANNY AND ALEXANDER - 1982 -- 3 H, 8 M

KING KONG - 2005 -- 3 H, 7 M

SHORT CUTS - 1993 -- 3 H, 7 M

BARRY LYNDON - 1975 -- 3 H, 4 M

SPARTACUS - 1960 -- 3 H, 4 M

PEARL HARBOR - 2001 -- 3 H, 3 M

THE DEER HUNTER - 1978 -- 3 H, 2 M

DANCES WITH WOLVES - 1990 -- 3 H, 1 M

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - 1971 -- 3 H, 1 M

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK - 1959 -- 3 H, 0 M

[RealityChuck]

Greed Original cut -- 9 hours, Director's first cut -- 6 hours. Director's final cut -- 4 hours (which has been reconstructed)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Dr. Zhivago seemed about an hour too long for me. Would have been much better if it was shorter.

Fiddler on the Roof was great. In that case, I didn't mind the length at all.

[MFS62]

Abel Gance's Napoleon - original version ran about seven hours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_(1927_film)
This 1927 classic has been restored and re-cut many times. I saw it in 1965.

Later

[Guest sharpie]

Kind of funny that Short Cuts makes the list of long movies. Had its moments but Altman's notion of stringing together Raymond Carver stories into something cohesive just didn't work. Also, his changing the setting from working-stiff Washington to LA was a terrible idea.

[Edgy MD]

I've probably mentioned this but I had a chance to spend an evening with Kathleen Howard. I had adored her all through college, but the timing never worked out. She was wit' somebody when I was not, and vice versa.

So we make plans to meet. It was going to be after work, but something came up and she was going to work late. "Catch a movie after work and I'll see you after," she says. I "catch" a movie called Short Cuts and damn it, but the time I get up to Morningside Heights afterwards, she's in her pajamas.

Robert Altman was not my best buddy.