Anyone else struggle with long movies?

I’ve honestly never actually finished watching Scarface, despite having sat through it three separate times🙂

Somehow I’m getting lumped back into those weird generalizations again
about women... 🙄
It’s not even like I have an issue with long movies,
if I don't bail in the first 15 minutes, I'm usually sticking it out until the end. 🙂

Long movies aren't really an issue for me... 🙂

Except in one specific scenario... when I'm watching them at the theater, my back starts to seize up and my seat gets incredibly uncomfortable 🤣

But I suppose things have improved since those modern multiplexes with the plush reclining seats were introduced... it's definitely better 😁 Though, I must admit, I sometimes feel a bit of sentimental nostalgia for those old wooden seats 😬

Still, a stiff back or an uncomfortable seat won't ruin the experience if the movie is actually good!!! 🧐 🙂

At the end of the day, the quality of the film is the absolute priority—it’s everything—and honestly, the runtime shouldn't even matter; though, I will admit, if you have a truly magnificent masterpiece that happens to be long, then that duration is just the icing on the cake. On the flip side, a mediocre movie that drags on forever can leave an audience feeling completely drained—but hey, there’s always a way to fix that too.

Henry Hall said:At the end of the day, quality is everything. Runtime doesn't matter—if a great movie happens to be long, even better. But a bad movie that drags on? That just leaves you exhausted. Though, I guess there's always a way to deal with that...

you just gotta know how to play the game ☕

If a movie is truly, fundamentally terrible—I mean, beyond saving—there really are some much more radical ways to handle it.🤣

rustywalker42 said:Not me either. I’m just sitting here waiting for the rest of the crowd to weigh in. Honestly, I don't get how anyone could care about runtime—especially when it comes to a great movie (you only really know if it works once you see how the pacing feels).
If Leo had wanted Once Upon a Time in America to run for over six hours, personally, I wouldn't have complained; in fact, I probably would've enjoyed it even more.
Of course, because it was "too long" for the average American audience at barely four hours, they went ahead and chopped it down by a good ninety minutes.😵

I generally don't pay attention to the clock; if a movie is actually good, let it run as long as it needs to.
Though, I will admit, Once Upon a Time in America felt a bit overextended to me.

Jerry Martin19 said:

you just have to know the local slang or common idioms. ☕

😂 solid!

Exactly. It’s often the case that some of our absolute favorites end up being the longest ones out there. 😁

It feels like if a movie is truly exceptional, a longer runtime actually works in its favor—it gives the story more room to breathe. 😁

In my view, the rule remains: less is more...
Some directors suffer from pure megalomania, though it’s just as likely they are simply incompetent...👎
They seem to operate under the delusion that a longer runtime automatically equates to a better film...

Naturally, there are exceptions to any rule, 😁
but crafting a long-form film that actually succeeds requires true mastery....

The last instance of that was THE REVENANT.

Come on, who actually likes movies that drag on forever? I guess two hours max is plenty for me.

I used to be quite an avid cinephile—it was practically a hobby of mine—but these days, I find most films exceeding the ninety-minute mark to be unnecessarily bloated. It feels as though directors are simply running out of substance; they stretch a narrative to three and a half hours just so the critics can pat themselves on the back and label it "high art."

I can handle long movies. I didn't mind the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Harry Potter was fine too... but this Benjamin thing just didn't hit for me. 😁 The movie was just off—too watered down, way too long, and honestly, just dragged on forever.
I mean, I usually enjoy a longer runtime, but
not this one.

Most of the time, yeah, totally—but honestly, there are definitely some franchises where I wish they’d just stretch things out way longer, you know? Like, I’d love for them to have enough juice to spin off five different mini-series from a single concept... Take something like *Aliens*, for instance. 🙂

Whenever I finish watching a truly incredible movie, I honestly just have to go sit in a corner by myself and cry because it’s over.😁

I really like his longer movies. They feel more relaxed, you know? The pacing and everything... 🙂

It all really boils down to the genre. I mean, you could lose yourself in a deep fantasy epic or a gripping psychological thriller for hours on end without blinking, but if someone tries to pitch me a standard crime procedural, I’m out—even if it’s just fifteen minutes too long.

I think the real question here is whether you find it easier to commit to a shorter film or one that runs longer than two hours.🤷

I am formally contesting the quality of this. Much like Ben-Hur. 😉

Yeah, I’m watching them. Used to go for the long-form stuff, but lately... short films feel right 🙂. Why? Honestly, I just can't deal with how bloated and messy the plots get in feature films these days 😁