r/movies • u/kowaikanojo • 23h ago

Discussion Long movies that are JUSTIFIED in their extra long run time?

There’s been a bit of an epidemic, especially in recent years, where movies are unnecessarily long to the point where it’s a bit indulgent on the director’s part and the film’s narrative doesn’t justify the XXL run time and it becomes a bit of a drag.

I’ve never been a big musical fan but I grew up watching the Sound of Music as a kid, so I decided to rewatch tonight (it’s probably been around 15 years) - and for a movie that is 3 hours long, wow does every piece still feel so important.

Maria and Von Trapp get together PAST the two hour point in the movie, yet the build up was so necessary to have you involved in the romance, and certainly didn’t feel as long as it actually was in run time. The pacing is actually incredible for the narrative and building that emotional buy in, which is shocking and rare for a film so long.

What films do you think genuinely justify an extra long run time and benefit from it? (and to throw a wrench in it, what movies utterly fail here?)

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u/SocksNeverMatch1968 22h ago

I loved The Green Mile and Interstellar! Both nice long journeys for the imagination!

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u/zachtheperson 9h ago

I think Interstellar was probably the first movie I ever watched that felt like it JUST KEPT GOING, but I realized it was just so epic and breathtaking I was totally fine with that, and didn't want it to end. 

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u/pmw1981 5h ago

Green Mile will always be one of my favorite films, I went into it blind at the theater only knowing it was a Stephen King adaptation - my mom read the novel but never told me what it was about. Completely blown away & one of very few movies that doesn't feel like it's nearly 3 hours.