Why are films so bloomin long?
Discussion
Streaming must play a part, since they use watch minutes as a metric and it's not like the cinema where longer means fewer shows a day. But I do agree some modern films are way too long as the vast majority do not need to be over 2 hours. Terrifier 2 is a prime example, it's a campy slasher film which for some reason is 140 minutes long
Edited by CT05 Nose Cone on Sunday 22 February 16:53
The quality of TV drama has probably never been higher, from a production quality, character development and story telling perspective. (There's some rubbish too, but speaking generally.)
These TV shows may have 5 hours over 6 episodes to tell the story. How can they cram something into 2 hours, end c entourage people to come to the cinema...?
It's not the only factor, but I think it is a factor.
These TV shows may have 5 hours over 6 episodes to tell the story. How can they cram something into 2 hours, end c entourage people to come to the cinema...?
It's not the only factor, but I think it is a factor.
jayemm89 said:
You say this, but I often watch an older film where they were typically 90 minutes and it feels rushed.
Marty Supreme does drag though.
Its pacing, not duration which is the problem.
Agreed. I have no issue with watching 2 and a half hour plus films as long as the story keeps me captivated, examples would be Batman the dark knight rises and wolf of Wall Street. Oppenheimer dragged though at 3 hours, I thought it was a terrible film with not much happening. Marty Supreme does drag though.
Its pacing, not duration which is the problem.
Cinema releases were traditionally limited to around 120 minutes as that was the extent of the amount of film a single reel could carry. Whilst some epics went beyond this, that required multiple reels and a decent projectionist to switch the reels over mid-way. It was also very expensive so multi-reel (longer) releases were limited to the big-ticket type productions.
Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
StevieBee said:
Cinema releases were traditionally limited to around 120 minutes as that was the extent of the amount of film a single reel could carry. Whilst some epics went beyond this, that required multiple reels and a decent projectionist to switch the reels over mid-way. It was also very expensive so multi-reel (longer) releases were limited to the big-ticket type productions.
Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
That first bit isn't actually true, even though I know Google tells you it is at the top of the page Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
35mm reels are 10 mins each. There was the introduction of "two reelers" which is exactly what it sounds like (two joined together). Once dual projector set ups were the norm it wasn't an issue anyway. Film lengths have certainly increased, but not by as much overall as you'd think. There have been jumps during different decades for sure. Ultimately, there's a correlation between film length and success; as to which is driving which it's chicken and egg.
There's an issue with films being really long in that it reduces the amount of times they can be shown in cinema, so having a film over 3 hours is a real issue for profitability. Unless you're Avatar and taking up all the IMAX screens in which case you can charge a premium per ticket to mitigate it.
It'll be interesting to see what effect streaming has over the next decade or so, but I'd imagine any increase would be small.
StevieBee said:
Cinema releases were traditionally limited to around 120 minutes as that was the extent of the amount of film a single reel could carry. Whilst some epics went beyond this, that required multiple reels and a decent projectionist to switch the reels over mid-way. It was also very expensive so multi-reel (longer) releases were limited to the big-ticket type productions.
Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
This... Plus also back in the day most Cinemas only had 1 or 2 Screens so it was always about trying to get the maximum showing in a day for all films on release. (you might have up to 3 different films on the one screen in a day) hence why you had so many directors cuts on Video in the 90's as a lot of Directors were forced to cut down their films for cinema release (Aliens spring to mind)Today, no such limit exist which allows directors to extend scenes for creative effect rather than shorten them for practical reasons.
Whether that adds anything to the production is down to personal choice.
The advent of the multiplex changed a lot of that of course but still had an impact (by cutting 15/20 mins down you could get an extra showing of the film everyday = $$)
louiebaby said:
The quality of TV drama has probably never been higher, from a production quality, character development and story telling perspective. (There's some rubbish too, but speaking generally.)
These TV shows may have 5 hours over 6 episodes to tell the story. How can they cram something into 2 hours, end c entourage people to come to the cinema...?
It's not the only factor, but I think it is a factor.
However on occasion its two hours of plot strung out over 8 hours of production. These TV shows may have 5 hours over 6 episodes to tell the story. How can they cram something into 2 hours, end c entourage people to come to the cinema...?
It's not the only factor, but I think it is a factor.
louiebaby said:
With cliff-hangers that aren't really at the end of each episode.
I agree with you!
100% agree - No TV series seems to end with an ending these days and lots of films go the same way.I agree with you!
There are far too many TV series that are 10-12 episodes, stretching a plotline that is 6 episodes at best and then have no actual resolution, these days.
I watched One Battle After Another on a plane recently and that's another film that is far longer than it should have been (actually, had I watched the trailer, that would probably have been enough...)
M
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