To prove our point, we’ve selected ten of the most beloved movies that clock in at longer than three hours, and yet still manage to keep our eyes glued to the screen the entire 180 minutes (or sometimes way more than that). There has been plenty of talk lately about how movies ought to be shorter by far (and with two decades of bloated studio blockbusters pushing two and a half hours, we don’t necessarily disagree), but sometimes longer really is better. There are, however, exceptions to that rule that prove that sometimes movies need to take a little bit more time to let us explore their worlds.
It’s the average length of time a person can sit in a seat without having to stretch their legs or use the bathroom, and we as a culture have come to expect that our filmic entertainment keep to that understood rule. There are few things better than a movie that doesn’t overstay its welcome, clocking in at a tight two hours or anything under.
