Director's Cut
let's talk about our favorite long movies
One of the prevailing ideas around movies is that they need to be short. People loooove to tell you that 90 minutes is “the perfect movie time” and that editing is a lost art.
I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment. I love a nice, tight hour-and-a-half movie as much as the next person. I also think people who are scared of a long movie are cowards. Movies are art! Sometimes they’re an escape, sometimes they’re a reflection of reality, but every time, they’re an artistic expression. Not every artistic expression is gonna fit in a 90-minute window (Although, sometimes they probably should. There’s a difference between your artistic vision needing room to breathe and making a bad, bloated movie.)
Since we’re fully in the holidays and approaching the week between Christmas and New Year’s when work is actually illegal, it feels like a good time to recommend some of our favorite movies that run long. No 90-minute movies here, we’re talking 2 and a half hours MINIMUM. Fire up these bad boys and avoid talking to that relative you don’t particularly want to engage with or, like me, take advantage of your lack of work during that aforementioned dead week to watch a ton of movies.
So get comfortable and let’s talk about some long movies. As always, there are lots of great movies out there that have a runtime of over 3 hours, these are just our favorites and there will no doubt be one you like that doesn’t make the list.
Movie: The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition
Running Time: 715 minutes (between 3 movies. Fellowship of the Ring: 3h 48m. The Two Towers: 3h 55m. The Return of the King: 4:12 minutes)
Where To Watch: HBO Max or, if you’re able to, I really recommend buying the Blu-ray Collection
These movies were the genesis of writing this edition of the newsletter. Like many people, watching this trilogy has been a tradition ever since they were available to watch at home. Peter Jackson’s staggering fantasy trilogy are some of my favorite movies and the extended edition really is the way to watch them. I usually make it a day-long event and spend a day watching all 3.
There’s not really much to write about these films that haven’t already been written. They’re coming up on 20 years old and they still look and sound incredible. You can watch all 3 on HBO MAX but if you are in a position to do so, I really recommend seeking out the Blu-Ray box set. They come with what are essentially full-length documentaries about the making of each film that provide incredible details into what it took to put these films together. It all makes for an incredible collection.
Movie: RRR
Running Time: 3h 7m
Where To Watch: Netflix
We’ll be doing our Favorite Movies of 2022 next week and I don’t want to step on that list by writing too extensively about this movie, but without getting too spoiler-ish, this was one of my absolute favorite movies of the year. When I say it has everything, I mean it. It’s one of the best action movies of the year, it’s a musical, it’s funny, it’s a story about friendship, and, above all else, it is batshit insane. Like I said, tune in next week when I’ll go more in-depth, but until then just trust me and throw it up on Netflix.
Movie: Saving Private Ryan / Munich
Running Time: Saving Private Ryan: 2h 49minutes Munich: 2h 44m
Where To Watch: Saving Private Ryan (Amazon Prime), Munich (rent wherever you rent)
A couple of weeks ago, I saw THE FABELMANS and it made me want to revisit Steven Spielberg’s filmography. I’ve been primarily watching ones I haven’t seen in a while. MUNICH was first on my list because I only saw it once when it first came out in 2005. I was a dumb teenager then and didn’t appreciate that film for what it was and probably dismissed it as boring.
Now, as a grown-ass man, I really was able to soak in how good it is. MUNICH covers Operation Wrath of God, the Israeli government's secret retaliation against the Palestine Liberation Organization after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. It’s sometimes viewed as one of Spielberg’s weaker offerings, but I definitely enjoyed it. It’s a slow-burn spy thriller seeped in paranoia and internal turmoil. Eric Bana and an earl Bond-era Daniel Craig turn in stellar performances. This one is a lot to chew on at times but is ultimately another entry from a filmmaker that is in my personal hall of fame of filmmakers. Definitely worth a revisit if you haven’t thought about it in a while.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is not a movie that needs an introduction. Often referred to as one of, if not THE best WWII movie of all time, it’s still one that I hadn’t re-watched in a while. I remedied that on a particularly long plane ride (I know) recently and hot damn, I forgot how much this movie rips. All the performances are good at worst and amazing at best. It’s an incredible “that guy” movie as well. It’s also not a walk in the park and I was reminded often why it’s not one that I just throw on for a casual watch, despite how good it
Movie: Magnolia
Running Time: 3h 8m
Where To Watch: Rent wherever you normally rent movies
This is probably my favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie, although INHERENT VICE and THE MASTER might claim that title on any given day. This movie tells the story of different people who come across each other across a day or 2 in LA, specifically the San Fernando Valley. It features my no-joke favorite performance by Tom Cruise as well as PTA regulars like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, and Julieanne Moore. It’s a movie about trying your best, failing miserably and begging and hoping for forgiveness. It features an incredible soundtrack by Aimee Mann (the film was inspired by her music) and has one absolute banger of an ending.
Movie: Malcolm X
Running Time: 3h 20m
Where To Watch: HBO MAX
One of my favorite Spike Lee movies and one of Denzel Washington’s finest performances, MALCOLM X manages to wrangle one of the most complicated figures into a wildly entertaining movie. Washington is dazzling and you can’t take your eyes off him the entire movie. This is one of those movies where you won’t even realize you’ve been watching it for 3 hours. Pure heat.
Movie: The Deer Hunter
Running Time: 3h 3m
Where To Watch: Rent wherever you normally rent movies
I love APOCALYPSE NOW, but this is the ultimate Vietnam War Movie to me personally. It features incredible performances from 3 HUGE stars in Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. This movie is not exactly an easy watch. It’s intense as hell and you might not view the game of roulette the same again, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it before.
Movie: The Godfather Pt II
Running Time: 3h 3m
Where To Watch: Rent wherever you normally rent movies
This movie’s reputation precedes it. The sequel that’s better and longer than the original (a film that is also considered a masterpiece in its own right.) The scope of this movie is something to behold and the story of the rise of the crime boss Vito Corleone (and the spiritual and emotional fall of his son) is still one of the most compelling stories put to screen. It also features a kiss that can only be described as devastating.
Movie: The Wolf of Wall Street
Running Time: 3h
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime & Paramount+
I understand that this movie isn’t for everyone. It glorifies highly immoral and illegal behavior including but not limited to: fraud, mass marital infidelity, drug use, operating a vehicle while impaired, and being an overall asshole and bad person. That said, goddam, this movie is so funny dude. Scorcese has an incredible sense of humor that is overlooked a lot of the time, but it’s on full display here. This is the movie that Leo should have won an Oscar for and Jonah Hill goes toe-to-toe with him in every scene he’s in. No matter what you think about this movie, I guarantee you’ll be entertained.
Movie: Inland Empire
Running Time: 3h
Where To Watch: you can only find this movie on DVD on Amazon or the Criterion Collection
This one is for the sickos. I’m putting this one last for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a commitment to watch. It’s not streaming anywhere and you have to buy a physical copy if you want to watch this film. Secondly, I’m putting this last because I’ve seen this movie 3 times now and I still can’t tell you what it’s about. I don’t think I even really understand it. What I do know is that it makes me feel things. It’s by David Lynch and it’s weird even by Lynch’s standards, which are already high on the scale of strange and discomforting.
It’s filmed on digital video and looks like a soap opera. It has a moment of a group dancing that is genuinely one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen on film even though there’s nothing scary about the people doing the dancing themselves. Laura Dern puts forth an incredible performance in this movie.
This movie is one that makes me feel so uncomfortable in ways that are hard to articulate but there’s something that keeps drawing me back to it. I don’t want to try to understand it but I do want to spend time with it and see what it reveals to me because it’s something different each time. If you’re in the market and feeling brave, give it a whirl. There’s something really rewarding about engaging with something as challenging as this movie and I think society is better off when movies like this are made.
Thanks for reading another edition of Working Title! What a year we’ve had together. As I said up top, next week I’ll be joined by Steph Mill as we recap our favorite movies of 2022! That’s gonna be a real treat and I can’t wait to review the year in film with y’all.
As I always ask, if you enjoy Working Title and my writing about movies, please consider sharing this newsletter with your network! It’s the best way to help me continue growing my readership.
See you next week!
The Morbius fake out had me clutching my pearls.