10 Amazing Movies Over Three Hours Long
2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Runtime: 3 hours 21 minutes
A watershed moment for blockbuster cinema, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King won all eleven Academy Awards it was nominated for - including Best Picture - something unheard of for movies of this scale and genre.
Where the Oscars usually prefer to honour smaller arthouse fare, Return Of The King is a big, exciting movie where an elf murders an elephant with a bow and arrow. The way it blends superb effects, pulse-pounding action and soul-destroying emotion is truly magnificent, and it wholly deserved every single one of those statues that it won.
Because it had to wrap up several stories - Frodo and Sam's quest to destroy the One Ring, Aragorn's rightful kingship - it earns each minute of its huge runtime, and though you could argue that it should have ended 15 minutes sooner, it was important that every major character was given a fitting (sometimes lengthy) conclusion to their tale.
If you want an even longer version, the extended edition adds a bunch of extra scenes, but you're not missing out on anything major by sticking with the regular cut.