2019: The Year of Long Movies?

[MifuneFan]

Is it me, or does it seem like 2019 has way more longer movies (~2.5 hours and longer) than in recent years? I mean, when a superhero movie is over 3 hours then you know something is up. Even kids movies, and Disney live-action adaptations are clocking in over 2 hours now. So, do you think this is a growing trend, or an anomaly? Or maybe it's like this every near and I just haven't noticed lol

Here are some I can think of, please feel free to post others, and I'll add them to the list

Motherless Brooklyn - 144 mins
Midsommar - 147 mins (theatrical) / 171 mins (drector's cut)
Goldfinch, The - 149 mins
Ford v Ferrari - 152 mins
Dragged Across Concrete - 159 Mins (

[Show spoiler]had a film festival premier in 2018, but theateically released in 2019

)
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood - 161 mins
It: Chapter 2 - 169 mins
Painted Bird, The - 169 mins
A Hidden Life - 173 mins
Avengers; Endgame - 181 mins
Irishman, The - 209 mins
Amra Ekta Cinema Banabo - 1265 mins (over 21 hours)

[imsounoriginal]

Probably a fluke year. But I do hope studios have noticed the runtimes on the highest-grossing movies. Sacrificing narrative cohesion just to fit in an extra showtime or two per day isn't the answer. If the movie's good enough, people will sit through it regardless of length.

[SleazyForWeasley]

I'm referring to it as "The Endgame Effect," and it needs to stop. For every great film like "Midsommar" there is an "It Chapter 2" that had no reason to be as long as it was. "The Goldfinch" could have done with some good editing, whereas "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" breezed by for me, with the exception of one scene in the third act. Some studios are just giving too much leeway to directors.

[imsounoriginal]

I'm fine with directors getting more leeway; feels like we've been complaining for years about studios having too much input on creative decisions, so I'm not about to turn around and blame the actual filmmakers. But a good editor is going to become an increasingly important commodity if this trend of longer movies takes off (and I'll reiterate that I think this was really just a fluke year).

[MifuneFan]

Netflix has given directors a lot more creative freedom than major studios, and have clearly attracted major filmmakers for this reason, so it's possible that studios are sort of responding to that by loosening their own grips on directors.

[AaronJ]

If it isn't just a fluke, does anyone think that it could have something to do with how popular some original content/limited series is from places like Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/HBO/Showtime?

It was just a passing thought, and probably bonkers.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

If it isn't just a fluke, does anyone think that it could have something to do with how popular some original content/limited series is from places like Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/HBO/Showtime?

It was just a passing thought, and probably bonkers.

Maybe, in terms of allowing a movie to take its time developing characters and storylines. But the types of movies that would do that (low-to-mid-budget adult dramas) are increasingly finding themselves on streaming services anyway. The ones that stay in theaters tend to be Oscar hopefuls like The Goldfinch (we saw what happened there), and the Academy has shown itself to be partial to movies that make money.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Maybe, in terms of allowing a movie to take its time developing characters and storylines. But the types of movies that would do that (low-to-mid-budget adult dramas) are increasingly finding themselves on streaming services anyway. The ones that stay in theaters tend to be Oscar hopefuls like The Goldfinch (we saw what happened there), and the Academy has shown itself to be partial to movies that make money.

True. Good points.

[PS-RagE]

I'm fine with long movies but they need to reinstate "Intermission".

[Ernest Rister]

Episode IX is alleged to be the longest Star Wars film, so more to add to the list and we're still in September.

[Creed]

Out of the films I've seen, Endgame, DAC and Midsommar (hearing that the longer director's cut is better, is surprising) worked well, with their runtimes. It's all about the pacing.

[Mothravka]

There are a lot of long movies made pretty much every year. You would have to do some huge stats to get some good facts to compare, but that's maybe a bit of an impossible task. It seems that people say similar things every year.

One of the best movies so far this year, Heimat is a Space in Time (2019) is 218 minutes.

The newest film by Lav Diaz, The Halt (2019) is 276 minutes. But on the other hand, most movies by Lav Diaz are long. Dau (2019) is 330 minutes too. There's more examples if you check IMDb or any other database.

[LegacyCosts]

It was 3 hours and had zero narrative cohesion.

[Brightstar]

Back in the day movies where only 2 hours long

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

Back in the day movies where only 2 hours long

Like Gone With the Wind.

[Member-222782]

I've always been a proponent of letting films breathe by way of allowing filmmakers full control of their projects so they can make them as long as necessary. Having said that, I'm more likely to skip a theatrical showing if the running time approaches butthurt levels (2:45 or longer for me) unless the theater has reserved seating and I'm able to choose a seat near the aisle. I haven't seen any of the films on the OP's list theatrically, BTW. There's a lot of stuff on his list that only got limited showings or none at all in my area.

[Brightstar]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Like Gone With the Wind.

Movies that where made in the 80s and 90s

[Chaotic]

It Chapter 2 flew by for me. Felt a little over 2 hrs.

[thecooldud]

I'm in two minds. Once Upon... did not feel like nearly 3 hours, but these run times have put me off sometimes (particularly IT Chapter 2).
On the other hand Crawl was like 90 minutes and still felt like 3 hours...

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

Movies that where made in the 80s and 90s

Kenneth Branagh’a Hamlet (1996), 4 hours 2 minutes
JFK - 3 hours 8 minutes
Nixon - 3 hours 12 minutes
Schindler’s List - 3 hours 15 minutes