Friday 31 August 2012

Top 10 Films Over 2.5 Hours

When deciding on a film to watch you may be persuaded to opt for a shorter run time. The advantages are always there: you can be entertained long enough whilst also having time for something else. Running time seldom equates to quality though in many incidents, the longer film is usually the better one. How about comparing 182 minute film The Deer Hunter to the 229 epic Once Upon a Time in America – the latter does provide a 40 minute extension of value. So if you are planning on watching a lengthy film, here are ten of the best to seek out:

1.       Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, 1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s grand, historical masterpiece is easily one of the top ten films of all time. It runs at 207 minutes but never loses momentum. It is also one of the very first action films, which became an inspiration for generations of filmmakers (Steven Spielberg has it as one of his main sources of referral when making his 
own movies).
2.       Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1968)
Beginning with a dialogue-free show down at a run-down railway station, Sergio Leone starts his essential Western with style and bravado. The 175 minute film is packed full of tension, gun fights, and a mesmerizing score from Ennio Morricone. Many may argue Leone’s Dollars trilogy with Clint Eastwood takes the trophy of the paramount western though Once Upon a Time in the West is not only the best of its genre but easily one of the greatest and coolest films ever.

3.       Les Enfants du Paradis/Children of Paradise (Carné, 1945)
This French romantic tragedy revolves around the world of theatre actors. The main character Baptiste (played magnificently by Jean-Louis Barrault) is desperately trying to win the heart of an actress who is also loved by three other men. On the surface the film may not sound enthralling but the 163 minute run time is expertly written and crafted. It is a true cinematic pleasure with practically zero flaws.

4.       Heat (Mann, 1995)
The film that brought Al Pacino and Robert De Niro face to face will always have its place in history. Not only with a fantastic duo leading the film, Michael Mann’s writing and directing propels Heat into an array of top lists. As the tale of bank robbers and cops in chase draws to an end at 170 minutes you are disappointed to see the credits roll. It is surpasses any film of the cops and robbers genre and helps mark the 1990s as the decade with the most sublime crime films.

5.       The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II (Coppola, 1972/74)
Breaking the rules slightly on this list of top ten, Godfather 1 and 2 should not be separated; nor is it easy to choose one over the other. With the first running at 175 minutes and its sequel intensifying at 200 minutes, both may take up a lot of your time but you can never argue that they don’t deserve it. With Part 1 deemed as the greatest film by dozens of movie magazines and websites, and Part 2 named as the ultimate sequel, these are two landmark films.

6.       The Lord of the Rings (Jackson, 2001/2002/2003)
Another break in the rules of the Top 10 (though, in this writer’s opinion, The Fellowship of the Ring would be the deciding entry) yet deserving. Arguably one of the jewels in the cinema-trilogies crown, and a time-consuming one at that (1st film – 178 minutes; 2nd – 179; 3rd – 201), Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy tale is a monumental delight.  

7.       Zodiac (Fincher, 2007)
With a wealth of evidence relating to the 1970 Zodiac crime case, David Fincher could have made an inextricably long film. It’s a shame he didn’t (though there are a few more scenes in the Director’s Cut) but with what he decided on story and length-wise, he created a mysterious, beguiling and nail-biting crime classic. Actors, aesthetic and authenticity all form the exacting director’s stunning 157 minute vision of life during the Zodiac reign. 

8.       Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990)
A thorn in a few movie fans’ sides due to it beating Scorsese’s Goodfellas to the Best Picture Oscar, Kevin Costner’s tremendous Western Adventure still deserves plenty of acclaim.  181 minutes that never stops to thrill, engage or astonish its audience; it is a beautiful vision of the American plains and life with the Native Americans.

9.       Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
Lawrence of Arabia has an immediate connotation of “epic” when mentioned in discussion. David Lean holds an extremely wide-lens up to the story of T. E. Lawrence and captures the sanguine spectacle of the Arabian Desert as Lawrence marks his history on its sand. Another film that inspired hundreds of filmmakers and one that never fails to amaze you. One of the most intricate of cinematic biopics, Lean details Lawrence’s life in a hefty 216 minute run time.

10.   The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)
Nolan’s contemporary classic almost loses out on its place in the list, only just making in to the criteria at 152 minutes long. A film that will forever be celebrated, not only for its Oscar winning performance by Heath Ledger but for the majestic aesthetic that Nolan impeccably constructs.



Notable mentions: JFK (Stone, 1991), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell/Pressburger, 1943), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, 2007), Stalker (Tarkovskiy, 1979), The Birth of a Nation (Griffith, 1915), Once Upon a Time in America (Leone, 1984), The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978), Schindler's List (Spielberg, 1993), The Dark Knight Rises (Nolan, 2012)

By Piers McCarthy. Also posted on Top 10 Films.

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