Movie Legnth

Are Movies Too Long?

There has been some talk among my fellow movie buffs lately about the length of movies. Specifically, some feel King Kong is unnacceptable at 3 hours.

I am not sure I agree. This is one of those topics I go back and forth on. Initially, I wasn't bothered by Kong's length. I thought the film was paced well and the characters were very well developed. I think Jackson made a complex character out of Anne Darrow, made her far more interesting than previous attempts at Kong. I never lost focus while watching the movie or felt bored.

Some people I know feel differently. They feel Kong dragged in tne beginning, that the hour or so that Jackson waited to introduce Kong was way too much. Some have said they tuned the movie out until the principal characters got off the boat. I can understand this point of view.

I think mostly that movies of this length lose their re-watchability more than anything. There have been many occasions when I thought I would like to catch Saving Private Ryan again, but the thought of committing to 3 hours of movie watching seemed daunting.

Perhaps in the long run this will keep these movies from tunrning into true classics, I dont know. When some hack that works for Ted Turner has to massacre a movie so it's suitable for TV, how much will he have to cut? How many people will never see these movies as they were intended by the directors who filmed them?

It's an interesting and worthy debate. Years ago Ghandi was the first of the famous 3 hour movies and it hasn't seemed hurt in it's standing as a classic. I doubt Private Ryan will be either. Some borderline movies though, like the Patriot, may find themselves left out when people speak of great movies. Also, nearly anything made by Kevin Costner that runs too long. The Postman, Waterworld, terrible and long movies. Of course, 5 minutes were too long for these movies.

I think 2 1/2 hours is a great time, but I can see 3. I know of one movie fan in particular that thinks 3 hours is never, ever acceptable. Let's get some other opinions, I would love to hear from you. Keep an eye out for a review of King Kong, by the way, I am looking for a guest reviewer this time, just to keep several perspectives.