Since its release at the end of 2024, Brady Corbet’s period drama,The Brutalist, has garnered a great deal of acclaim. Almost every aspect of the film works in concert to advance its themes of artistic integrity, resistance, and assimilation. nother astonishing aspect of the film is just how longThe Brutalistreally is. With a runtime of 215 minutes and a 15-minute intermission, theater-goers could easily spend up to four hours watchingThe Brutalist.
Although positive reviews ofThe Brutalistmake it clear that it more than earns its runtime, the 3 hours and 35 minutes of screentime makes it one ofthe longest movies of 2024. Despite that length, however,The Brutalistis far from the longest movie of all time. Plenty have outdone it in that area, and still managed to keep audiences entertained, as evidenced by their great reviews and enduring popularity.
Lawrence of Arabiais widely considered one of the best films ever made.When it released,Lawrence of Arabiawon 10 Oscars, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTAs,and in the decades since,Lawrence of Arabiahas been recognized by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” With its sweeping shots of the Arabian desert, and Peter O’Toole’s captivating performance as the titular T. E. Lawrence,Lawrence of Arabiaremains as powerful a film in 2025 as it was when it released in 1962.
As for what necessitated such a long runtime, it’s important to note thatLawrence of Arabiaoffers a deep and arduous journey for its main character set primarily in World War I. It goes through the many trials that he went through in painstaking detail, giving every moment some level of value. If the period drama ofThe Brutalistwas appealing, and the length was not a problem, then sitting through one additional minute to watch one of the greatest movies of all time,Lawrence of Arabia, is certainly worthwhile.
2The Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions
All Three Are Longer Than The Brutalist
There were few film series more iconic thanThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy in the early 2000s. From 2001 to 2003, director Peter Jackson released the movie adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s beloved novels by the same names.During the theatrical releases, the films were edited to have shorter run times in order to appeal to a broader audience.This meantcutting out scenes inThe Lord of the Ringsthat highlighted relationships and details from the books, or pieces of backstory that, while not strictly necessary, further fleshed out Tolkien’s “Middle Earth.”
2 hours 58 minutes
3 hours 28 minutes
2 hours 59 minutes
3 hours 55 minutes
3 hours 21 minutes
4 hours 23 minutes
When the trilogy released on Blu-ray, however, Jackson revealed an extended cut of each of the three movies.The Fellowship of the Ringhas a runtime of three hours 48 minutes,The Two Towershas a runtime of 3 hours 55 minutes, andThe Return of the Kinghas a runtime of 4 hours 23 minutes.This easily puts all three extended editions well ahead ofThe Brutalistin terms of lengthand means when friends sit down for aLord of the Ringsmarathon, they are strapping in for about 12 hours of film.
Although far less well-known than some of the other entries on this list,An Elephant Sitting Stillis another excellent film with a runtime surpassingThe Brutalist’s 3 hours 35 minutes.An Elephant Sitting Stillis a Chinese drama that released in China in 2018 and in the United States in 2019, and it tells the story of four people traveling to Northern China to see an elephant that refuses to move from a seated position no matter how it is provoked.
What Happened To Guy Pearce At The End Of The Brutalist
Guy Pearce’s character, Harrison Van Buren, is a major player in parts one and two of The Brutalist, but he is completely absent from the epilogue.
Upon its release,An Elephant Sitting Stillwon numerous rewards from the Berlin International Film Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and many other awards and positive reviews. ButAn Elephant Sitting Stillis also a film mired in tragedy.An Elephant Sitting Stillwas written, directed, and edited by Chinese author Hu Bo. Tragically, Hu passed away shortly after finishing work on the film in 2017, and thus never got to seeAn Elephant Sitting Stillreleased.During production, Hu faced pressure to cut the film down to a more standard 120 minutes, but after Hu’s untimely passing the film was kept true to his artistic vision.
Dances With Wolvesis a genre-defining Western released in 1990. Set during the Civil War,Dances with Wolvestells the story of Union Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Cosner) stationed in the American West.Beyond staring in the movie, however, Kevin Cosner also directed and producedDances with Wolvesas his directorial debut.Although now, 34 years later, some reviewers say that theharsh reality of Kevin Cosner’s careeris thatDances with Wolveswas not representative of the rest of Cosner’s filmography, there is no disputing the fact thatDances with Wolvesitself is iconic.
Dances with Wolvespaved the way for other Western best pictures likeUnforgiven(1992) andNo Country for Old Men(2007).
And as an iconic movie,Dances with Wolvessaw a lot of success despite its nearly 4-hour runtime. During development,Dances with Wolveshad a budget of $15 million, but it grossed $424.2 million at box offices worldwide,makingDances with Wolvesan overwhelming box office triumph. At the 63rd Academy Awards,Dances with Wolveswon 7 Oscars, including “Best Picture.” That madeDances with Wolvesthe second Western ever to win best picture, after 1931’sCimarron, soDances with Wolvespaved the way for other Western best pictures likeUnforgivenandNo Country for Old Men.
WhenGone with the Windreleased in 1939, it was an early example of a long film winning a lot of awards.Gone with the Windreceived 10 Academy Awards and generally positive reviews when it debuted. Clocking in at two minutes shy of four hours,Gone with the Windpremiered with an intermission, much likeThe Brutalist, to allow movie-goers to stretch at the 2-hour mark.Gone with the Windwas also a crowning achievement in starring actressVivien Leigh’s long career of excellent movies.
In 1963, writer and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz astonished audiences with the historical epicCleopatra, based on the real-life events of the historical Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. Starring Elizabeth Taylor as the titular queen,Cleopatrawas, unlike the other movies on this list, something of a flop in spite of its successes.AlthoughCleopatrawon four of the nine Academy Awards for which it was nominated, the movie ultimately did not live up to expectations, and probably the clearest way in whichCleopatrafell flat was financially.
A24’s Best Picture Contender Becomes Its 5th 2024 Movie To Pass A Key Global Box Office Milestone
A24 had a good year in 2024, and its track record just got even better as its Best Picture contender has passed a key global box office milestone.
Production cost an estimated $31 million, a failed British shoot of the film cost $5 million, and distribution and advertising cost an additional $13 million. So, althoughCleopatragrossed $57.7 million in the United States and Canada, making it the highest grossing film of 1963,Cleopatranevertheless lost money initially. For audiences, on the other hand, the stunning visuals and perhapsless-than-historically-accurate naval battles ofCleopatramade the movie’s 4-hour and 11-minute runtime more than worth the time. Besides,whenCleopatrareleased intermissions were still the expected norm for long movies.
7Trenque Lauquen (2022)
Runtime: 4 Hours & 22 Minutes
Argentine director Laura Citarella wrote and directed one of the longest films of 2022in the form of the mystery-epic,Trenque Lauquen.Trenque Lauquentells the story of a woman, who has vanished and the two men who set out to find her, all the while piecing together secrets about both their love for the missing woman and the town from which she vanished, the titular Trenque Lauquen, Argentina. Interestingly,Trenque Lauquenis a follow-up on Citrella’s much shorter 2011 film,Ostende.
WhileThe Brutalistwon the “Silver Lion” for director Brady Corbet at the 81st Venice Film Festival,Trenque Lauquencompeted in the 79th Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section.
LikeThe Brutalist,Trenque Lauquensplits up its immense 4 hour and 22-minute runtime into two parts of roughly equal lengths. But the similarities betweenThe BrutalistandTrenque Lauquenrun deeper than just their runtime: both films premiered at the Venice Film Festival. WhileThe Brutalistwon the “Silver Lion” for director Brady Corbet at the 81st Venice Film Festival,Trenque Lauquencompeted in the 79th Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. AlthoughTrenque Lauquendidn’t get much critical attention,the compelling mystery and vignettes of the film setTrenque Lauquenon track to become a future cult classic.
In some ways,The Weathered Undergroundis perhaps the most unique movie on this list. For one,The Weathered Undergroundnever got any kind of theatrical or festival release. This is becausethe fundamental format ofThe Weathered Undergroundmakes it incompatible with any traditional release format.The Weathered Undergroundis a film inspired by “choose your own adventure” books, and, as such, allows audiences to direct the protagonist, Eric (Michael Ciriaco), through the film.
In a lot of ways,The Weathered Undergroundhas more in common with Netflix’s 2018 filmBlack Mirror: Bandersnatchthan it does withThe Brutalist.However, whileBandersnatchonly has 5 possible endings,The Weathered Undergroundhas 30.With more than 1000 audience choices, there are 5 hours and 10 minutes' worth of movie contained withinThe Weathered Underground, even if most viewers will never see a lot of it.The Weathered Undergroundthen provides an alternative to the 2-part and intermission format of most other films on this list as a way to get audiences to engage with a film longer thanThe Brutalist.
Happy Hourreleased first at the Locarno Film Festival then in Japan in 2015 with relatively little fanfare. The movie follows a group of four women in Kobe, Japan, and how their friendship grows and changes when one woman decides to divorce her husband to pursue a relationship with a younger man. AlthoughHappy Hourwas not overwhelmingly popular, perhaps because its runtime made the movie impossible to release theatrically, reviews ofHappy Hourare overwhelmingly positive, with some reviewers heralding it as one of the best films of its decade.Happy Hour, however, reveals just how much a long runtime can hurt a movie in the end.
Based on Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 novel of the same name,War and Peaceis one of the longest movies of all time, and one of the rare movies over 6 hours long to get a theatrical release.Like Tolstoy’s novel,War and Peacethe movie is split into 4 parts, each of which released separately to make that theatrical release possible.The result is a film so epic in scale and proportion that critics have claimed its success is unrepeatable.
6 Reasons Why Movie Runtimes Are Longer Now
With three-and-a-half-hour films like The Brutalist and Killers of the Flower Moon, movies seem to be getting much longer — but why is that?
One reason for this success wasWar and Peacewas produced with the full support of the government of the USSR.War and Peacehad a budget equivalent to between $60-70 million USD, and the enormous battles utilized thousands of extras and horses provided by the armed forces of the USSR. The result is unparalleled. Despite the Cold War hostilities between the United States and the USSR,War and Peacewon the Golden Globe and Academy Award for best foreign language film. When compared to the immensity ofWar and Peace, the two-and-a-half-hour runtime ofThe Brutalistseems totally trivial.
