This is topic Long movies in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-24-2001, 01:33 PM:
My booker just informed me that he's heard "Lord of the Rings" is going to be about 3 hours long. Can anyone confirm?With this, and with Harry Potter being long too, sounds like some people are in for scheduling nightmares!
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-24-2001, 01:50 PM:
Upcomingmovies.com lists it at 165 minutes:
http://www.upcomingmovies.com/fellowshipofthering.html Another "fan" site agrees with that running time:
http://www.theonering.net/movie/faq/page08.html
And another site:
http://www2.ringbearer.org/docs/3943.html
But, as with all movies, last minute edits and credit changes can change the running time up until the final cut is delivered to the lab for printing, a week or two before the film is in theatres.
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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-24-2001, 04:16 PM:
We heard the same thing. Approx. three hours! Makes for very interesting booking, since the holiday season is badly backloaded. Glad that I just run 'um and don't have to deal with what comes and goes. Looks like the holiday season is going to be a real nightmare.
Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 10-24-2001, 07:52 PM:
I havent seen a running time for ALI yet, but I'm guessing it will run long also given the fact that its from MICHAEL MANN whose last two movies also ran about 3 hours.
Posted by Mike Jones (Member # 522) on 10-26-2001, 01:55 AM:
Funny you should mention this.
New Line set up a special press teaser screening on Thursday in the 12 largest markets. Luckily my theatre was fortunate enough to get a copy. The reel was about 25 minutes long. It contained approximately 5 minutes of clips in trailer format, followed by a 15 minute action scene and then another 5 minutes of trailer clips.I am NOT a fan of the books, but this thing was amazing. It shocked me how well produced it was. Look out for Dec. 19.
As for the running time, it's slightly over 2.5 hours. The 3 hour version of which you speak is the rated R version that will be included on the DVD.
Harry Potter on the other hand officially has a running time of 150 minutes exactly. Since when is a movie, marketed largely to children, this long?? It's absurd! Fortuantely for those guys here who make showtimes, its very convienent. Every 3 hours...not too shabby.
Posted by Zach Zagar (Member # 379) on 10-28-2001, 11:01 AM:
However, on the bright side of the long showtimes, Hollywood generally allows a 4 show run per day, versus the average 5. That being said, sometimes long movies, with less runs allows you more drop/clean/whatever you each call it, time in between shows.4 shows also only means 4 rushes. Just keep Rings away from Potter by 1/2 hour the whole day (should be possible, unless you're one of those unfortunate souls with 6 PRINTS OF HARRY!).
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If ya smell, what the Zach is cooking.
Zach Zagar, the most electrifying man in theater entertainment today.
Posted by Carl King (Member # 398) on 10-30-2001, 01:55 PM:
Someone once told me that long movies are more prevalent during tough economic times. Apparently it is so that people feel they are getting their money's worth.Any thoughts?
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-30-2001, 02:04 PM:
With out doing any research I would tend to agree that during economic difficulties the movies would get longer. However today with the theatres charging higher prices, where you use to be able to escape your troubles for under a dollar, I think forking over $6.00 for a matinee people will pass the box office by.
You can rent three films for $6.00 of less at your local video store.
We may be our own worst enemy.
By the way Carl, you look just like Zach and Mike. Are you related?
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-30-2001, 07:01 PM:
You guys are forgetting "Mary Poppins." One of the most popular kids' movies of all time. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.If the movie is good, the kids won't mind. It's those 2-hour piles of crap like "Rocky and Bullwinkle" or "Osmosis Jones" that can make 90 minutes seem like 3 hours.
Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 10-30-2001, 10:08 PM:
And don't forget two 70mm "classics" from the roadshow era, "Doctor Dolittle" (Todd-AO) and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (Super Panavision 70)each close to 150 minutes, not including intermission (mandatory for reserved seat films of the 60's.
Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 10-31-2001, 09:51 AM:
Mike: 'The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle' was one of the most intelligent and funny movies I have seen in the last year or so. It certainly isn't rubbish (in my opinion)!Have a look - it is very clever and very warm, with a great message to go with it at no extra charge. 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-31-2001, 06:05 PM:
Michael -While I did like the animation, I thought the movie as a whole was not too great. Although the only time I saw it was at a matinee showing with a buncha screaming kids, so it wasn't under the best circumstances. I still think the cartoon (TV show) was better. Pretty hard to top classic Jay Ward!
Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 10-31-2001, 06:31 PM:
Some of those old "B" movies are stupid, nostaligic and fun to watch. Bullwinkle was still the good ole cold war jokes and not made over like the new Batman films. Anyone remember the Batman movie from the 1960s w/ Adam West, Burt Ward, Cesear Romero, Burgess Meridith .....and the Batmobile and Bat Cycle by George Barris!? Some of the younger members of this forum might wonder who George Barris is--a legend in automobile customization! Barris now owns most of the cars he built for Hollywood including the Munsters, Beverly Hillbilly Wagon, ET Bicycle, Batmobile and Batcycle and many many more. A few years ago he brought the cars from the Munsters on the Tonight Show w/Jay Leno and started them up--grugingly--but with an audience ovation--all I can say is WOW! Anyhow, even though those films were stupid, they were still much, much better than today's crap! Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it! 
Posted by Michael Hunt (Member # 772) on 10-31-2001, 07:17 PM:
Well, I've just screened Lagaan, to a predominantly Hindi audience... as some of you may know, its about three and three quarters hours long, and that's without the intermission...Just about every 'Bollywood' movie I've screened has been about three hours long, with or without the interval, and boy, did we get some flak from the audience the one time we showed a feature without an intermission (we'd removed it due to lack of space on our 5-deck platter)...
When I was a kid, I'd go to my local cinema and get a supporting feature, cartoons, adverts and the main feature for my cash - but that was the early 70's and unless the film was extremely popular, you could go in part way through the first screening, and stay all day... managed about six hours of a Bond film and extras once, before being asked to leave... I would say that 1977 George Lucas film kinda stopped that, but it was actually Superman, which was screened in the smallest of the local flix auditoria... kinda miss queuing around the block for movies...
Pity that the old cinema closed when its operators opened a six screen just out of town... Its a megapub now....
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Uncle to JEDI Hunt,
honest!
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 11-01-2001, 05:30 PM:
The Green Mile ran 180 minutes. Mulholland Drive runs 147 minutes. What Mike B said is correct: If a movie is compelling there's really no reason to bitch about the running length. I do believe, though, that kid flicks tend to work best at 90 minutes or so.OTOH when you run an epic -- say, Bollywood product or Apocalypse Now Redux -- it really cuts into your potential box office. 3 shows a day of Lagaan equals 4 shows of Mulholland Drive, 5 shows of Training Day or 6 shows of Waking Life. Lagaan is 1 reel longer than Ben-Hur from what I've heard.