8List.ph
  • Lockdown Diaries
    • Updates
    • Good News
    • Life Under Quarantine
    • Humor
    • Health Tips
  • News
    • Opinion
    • People
  • Pop
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Showbiz
    • Geek
    • Sports
    • Retro
    • Weird
  • Life
    • Health
    • Nest
    • Life-Hacks
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel
    • Style
      • Beauty
      • Inspiration
      • Shop
      • OOTD
  • Videos
    • Filgood
    • Isabuhay Ang Panata
    • #8MinutesWith
    • Pagsubeks
    • 8list Plays
    • 8List Asks
    • 8List Explores
    • 8List Presents
    • 8secs
    • 88 Seconds
    • YOUth DECIDE
    • Str8 Up with Delamar
    • Toughest Job 2016
  • Comics
    • H8 Mondays
  • Breathe
  • #YOUthDECIDE
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Archive
  • Bitesized.ph
  • Windowseat.ph

 

 

 

8List.ph is published by ID8, Inc.

Subscribe
8List.ph
8List.ph
  • Lockdown Diaries
    • Updates
    • Good News
    • Life Under Quarantine
    • Humor
    • Health Tips
  • News
    • Opinion
    • People
  • Pop
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Showbiz
    • Geek
    • Sports
    • Retro
    • Weird
  • Life
    • Health
    • Nest
    • Life-Hacks
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel
    • Style
      • Beauty
      • Inspiration
      • Shop
      • OOTD
  • Videos
    • Filgood
    • Isabuhay Ang Panata
    • #8MinutesWith
    • Pagsubeks
    • 8list Plays
    • 8List Asks
    • 8List Explores
    • 8List Presents
    • 8secs
    • 88 Seconds
    • YOUth DECIDE
    • Str8 Up with Delamar
    • Toughest Job 2016
  • Comics
    • H8 Mondays
  • Breathe
  • #YOUthDECIDE
  • Pop

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Shares Interesting Company with these Unbelievably Long Movies

  • Posted on Apr 12, 2019Apr 11, 2019
  • 4 minute read
  • Matthew Arcilla
Total
1
Shares
1
0
1

Longer or shorter than Star Wars?” is a bit of a joke line a friend and I trade about how long movies are that we cribbed from a favorite movie podcast. It’s a play on the fact that while movies can be shorter or longer than a hundred and twenty-one (121) minutes, some turkeys feel way, waaaay longer than that.

This month, Marvel Studios set the Internet ablaze with news that Avengers: Endgame, the sequel to the conclusion of the saga of the pretty rocks that made a bunch of heroes very scared, will run over three hours long. One hundred and eighty-two minutes (182) to be exact. And while long runtimes are usually the domain of experimental films not meant for wide release or made by slow cinema auteurs like our own Lav Diaz.

But Avengers: Endgame won’t be the first Hollywood production to run over three hours! Many were bursting with ambition, some were products of indulgence, and many were very very self-important! These are eight of the most notably long-ass movies Hollywood has made. For the purposes of this list, we limit the selection only to films that saw wide release – at least 600 screens in the United States – and do not include alternate edits and director’s cuts developed for home video.

The Lord of The Rings: Return of the King (2003)

Image source: New Line Home Entertainment

Running time: 3 hours and 20 minutes

Return of the King eclipsed the runtimes of the already lengthy chapters that preceded it. The film is long, but never a drag or a bore, with battle scenes executed with the kind of focus and clarity that puts modern blockbusters to shame. Return of the King also lets the production pull out all the stops, with a spectral army, a gigantic spider and show stopping set pieces that would make Cecil B. Demile choke on his popcorn.

 


The Godfather: Part 2 (1974)

Image source: DVD Beaver

Running time: 3 hours and 20 minutes

The first Godfather was already an ambitious film for its time, but Godfather: Part II goes for even more. It spans multiple decades and is interspersed with flashbacks to Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), The sprawling epic chronicles the ambitions of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he seeks to build his own empire, and the inevitable unraveling of his own inner decency.

 

Malcolm X (1992)

Image source: Eskipaper

Running time: 3 hours and 21 minutes

When Spike Lee’s biopic of the controversial activist was greenlit, the intention was a film no longer than 135 minutes. But when Lee refused and the production went over budget, he took his passion project to black celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson and Prince, who all ended up providing additional funds. The result is a monumental film that depicts a complete arc of a complicated man.

 

Exodus (1960)

Image source: MGM Home Entertainment

Running time: 3 hours and 27 minutes

This adaptation of Leon Uris bestselling novel centers on the founding of the State of Israel. Dalton Trumbo was on the Hollywood blacklist when he wrote the script despite being known as one of Tinseltown’s most highly regarded screenwriters. Exodus isn’t the best thing Trumbo ever wrote, but with the support of legendary director Otto Preminger, it helped break the Hollywood blacklist.

 

Ben-Hur (1959)

Image source: Emanuel Levy

Running time: 3 hours and 32 minutes

From a technical standpoint, Ben-Hur is a monument to sheer production values in Hollywood. With special effects scenes and an extras cast that numbers in the thousands, this Biblical epic is a testament to how much blood, sweat and tears is needed to match the computer wizardry of today. Equally amazing is that its hefty running time didn’t deter audiences from reveling in the widescreen spectacle.

 

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Image source: DVD Beaver

Running time: 3 hours and 42 minutes

The cinematic swan song of Cecil B. Demile, this 1956 Biblical epic is a staple of Easter and Passover, despite its terrible dialogue and anemic performances. Charlton Heston plays the lead as Moses, following him from birth to the acquisiton of the titular Commandments. I love Yul Brynner much as any old cinephile, but the scenes with him and Nefertiti feel like unnecessary padding.

 

Gone With The Wind (1939)

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
(from left): Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh

Image source: Entertainment Weekly

Running time: 3 hours and 42 minutes

From a pure moviegoing perspective, this 1939 adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s bestseller about a Southern family’s struggles during the Civil War is an engrossing epic. Unfortunate though is its romanticization of the Old South and sanitization of the evils of racism. However, it remains an iconic classic especially due to Scarlett O’Hara, one of the most fully developed female characters in cinema.

 

Cleopatra (1963)

Image source: DVDBeaver

Running time: 4 hours and 3 minutes

At its time, Cleopatra was the most expensive film in history, which in 2017 dollars would have spent a staggering $240 million. Fortunately, it more than made its money back in box office receipts, but it still nearly bankrupt the studio. The resulting film was an overindulgent mess, written off by some as more glitzy Vegas-style showmanship than actual historical drama.

 

Know of other long movies that should be on this list? Share them with us below!


Total
2
Shares
1
0
1
Matthew Arcilla


Previous Article
  • Music

2019 Epic Summer Jams

  • Posted on Apr 12, 2019Apr 12, 2019
  • Karina Sitaldas
View Post
Next Article
  • Pop

Game Over: 8 GoT characters in Search of an Exit (Part 2)

  • Posted on Apr 13, 2019Apr 13, 2019
  • Edwin P. Sallan
View Post
You May Also Like
Metro Manila Malls
View Post
  • Pop

RANKED: 8 Metro Manila Malls That Are Confusing AF According to Netizens

  • Posted on Jun 20, 2022Jun 23, 2022
  • Kaira Guererro
Mayor Vico Sotto Food Blogger
View Post
  • Pop

‘Food Blogger Era’? Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto Rates Netizens’ Meals on Instagram

  • Posted on Jun 17, 2022Jun 17, 2022
  • Meryl Medel
View Post
  • Pop

Don’t Miss Your Faves! Bookmark these Fanmeets and Concerts for 2022 and 2023

  • Posted on Jun 17, 2022Jun 16, 2022
  • Ina Louise Manto
View Post
  • Pop

ATTN PLDT Subscribers: You Can Now Get FREE Access to Lionsgate Play

  • Posted on Jun 14, 2022Jun 14, 2022
  • Cristina Morales
View Post
  • Pop

These Fascinating Reddit Accounts on TikTok Are So Addicting, You’ll Be Scrolling For Hours

  • Posted on Jun 14, 2022Jun 14, 2022
  • Kyzia Maramara
View Post
  • Health
  • Pop

Justin Bieber Announced He Has Ramsay Hunt Syndrome — What Is It?

  • Posted on Jun 13, 2022
  • Meryl Medel
View Post
  • Pop

iOS 16 is Coming: We’re Excited to Experience These New Features

  • Posted on Jun 7, 2022Jun 7, 2022
  • Ina Louise Manto
View Post
  • Pop

Filipino Food in Pokémon? Netizens Are Losing It Over Lechonk from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

  • Posted on Jun 2, 2022
  • Meryl Medel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the l8est delivered right to your inbox.

8List.ph
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Archive
  • Bitesized.ph
  • Windowseat.ph
Your daily dose of entertaining, useful and informative lists.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.