10 Movies That Were Too Damn Long
Did any of these movies have editors?
Over time movies have become longer and longer. It used to be that a film sat between 90 and 120 minutes, and anything over that was pushing things. Only truly great films such as The Godfather (1972), Titanic (1997) or Avengers: Infinity War (2018) are able to keep themselves afloat despite a three-hour runtime.
As this list will demonstrate, not everyone can make a Godfather and make it work. Film length is dictated (as obvious as it may sound) by the plot and the genre of the movie in question. For example, a light family adventure can't be any longer than an hour and a half, because kids watching it aren't exactly patient. On the flip-side, an epic fantasy tale has to be over around two and a half hours in order to fit the criteria of its genre.
The following films, whether sweeping dramas, gratuitous action flicks or just your standard, run-of-the-mill comedy vehicle, all suffer from being far too long. Some are actually pretty good films which just seemed too drawn out, whilst others are less successful and have no right being as long as they are. All of them fall down because they never seem to end.
With that in mind, here are 10 films (good and bad) that were just too damn long.
10. Dances With Wolves (1990)
Western epics can be hard to get right, and whilst Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves is far from the worst the genre has to offer, it's certainly not the most exciting.
The film follows a Union Army soldier (Costner) during the Civil War, who connects with a Native American tribe and falls in love with one of its members (Mary McDonnell). The plot and the setting offers up some great sweeping sets and an interesting, often powerful assessment of Native American life and the war, but at 181 minutes it really feels its length.
Ultimately, the film is just lots of talking, with Costner learning about the tribe and gaining their trust, and there's not nearly enough going on to keep it from becoming boring and repetitive.
Worse still, Costner decided to release a Director's Cut when the film came out on DVD, with the extended product reaching four hours in length. It's a slog to say the least, with nothing there to justify its runtime or improve the original picture.