You can stop pretending.
Have you noticed that the word “epic” in a film description often means “long and boring”? We may be spoiled by social media and short videos, but there are few examples in the history of cinema where a three-hour+ runtime was truly justified.
Often, it seems, directors simply want to add dimension and epicness to the amount of time the viewer will have to spend with their film. And yes, this also applies to acknowledged masterpieces like ‘Titanic’, ‘War and Peace’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Here are 15 striking examples.
Many of the films in our selection are adaptations of groundbreaking books, which can hardly be called light novels, adapted to film language. Oh no, we are talking about Boris Pasternak, Leo Tolstoy and John Tolkien, which means long descriptions, carefully constructed worlds and well-written characters. Such large-scale works are of course difficult to fit into the usual hour and a half.
This does not mean, however, that you should make big films that last 3-4 hours. Firstly, it is physically difficult to sit in front of the screen for such a long time, but the filmmakers clearly want no detail to escape the viewer. Secondly, if literature allows such a scale, cinema is by definition a much more laconic art form, whether you like it or not, but you have to be able to be concise and expressive.
With all due respect, the director’s cut of The Return of the King, which clocks in at four hours and eleven minutes (that’s half a workday!), is not “short and snappy.” It’s “oh my god, I have to take the day off for this movie!”
Source: Popcorn News
Kenneth Weaver is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He focuses on writing about celebrity-related news, keeping his readers up to date with the latest happenings in the entertainment industry. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for writing, Kenneth brings his unique perspective to every article he writes, making him a trusted source for all things celebrity.
