Most films clock in around two hours, but some notable films tip over the edge into a saga on the screen. Of course, there are record-breaking films that span hundreds of hours, but those are not the movies we are focusing on here. These ten long movies have been blockbuster hits and do not need more than an afternoon to watch. Continue reading to see which film is the longest movie ever made, and enjoy these other longer pieces of film.
10. Spartacus (1960) – 3 Hours, 17 Minutes
Our first longest movie selection is Spartacus, which clocks in at nearly three and a half hours. In the film rebellious slave Thracian Spartacus is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. As he is trained for performance in the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves to revolt. As the group of rebels travels from town to town, they continue to add more freed slaves to their numbers. They are all searching for the same thing – getting to southern Italy and crossing the sea back to their homes.
9. The Godfather Part II (1974) – 3 Hours, 20 Minutes
If you enjoy gangster movies or The Godfather series, you’ll be pleased to know that The Godfather Part II is one of the longest movies ever made. The second installment tells the story of a young Vito Corleone growing up in Sicily and 1910s New York, while also following the path of Michael Corleone in the 1950s as he tries to expand the business into Las Vegas, Hollywood, and Cuba.
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8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – 3 Hours, 21 Minutes
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga ends with our eighth selection for the longest movie. The Return of the King is the final movie in the trilogy, where the final confrontation between good and evil will occur. The future of Middle-earth is at stake, and Frodo and Sam have reached Mordor in their quest to destroy the One Ring, while Aragorn leads the forces of good against Sauron’s evil army in an epic clash.
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7. Seven Samurai (1954) – 3 Hours, 27 Minutes
One of the oldest movies on our list is Seven Samurai, premiering in 1954 with a runtime of almost three and a half hours. The film centers on a veteran samurai who answers a village’s request for protection from bandits, hoping to redeem himself. Gathering six other samurai, they teach the townspeople how to fight while the community provides them with meals. This all culminates in a battle when 40 bandits attack the village.
6. Ben Hur (1959) – 3 Hours, 32 Minutes
Ben Hur tips the scales over the three-and-a-half-hour mark and earns its spot as number sixth on our longest movies list. Ben-Hur is Judah, a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem living during the beginning of the 1st century. When he reconnects with his friend and new governor Messala, things go well until their political views drive a wall between them, and only gets worse when Judah is blamed for a roof tile falling on Messala’s head. As punishment Judah is sent to the galleys, but threatens revenge as he is taken away.
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5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – 3 Hours, 36 Minutes
Journey across the desert in our fifth selection Lawrence of Arabia, with a run time of three hours and thirty-six minutes. British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal and serve as a liaison between Arabs and the British due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes. Instead of saving the prince though he goes off with native Serif Ali on a camel journey to attack a well-guarded Turkish port.
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4. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) – 3 Hours, 49 Minutes
Edging closer to the four-hour run time is Once Upon a Time in America, our fourth selection for the longest movie ever made. The film is set in 1968 with elderly David Aaronson who returns to New York, where he had a life in the criminal underground in the 20s and 30s. Though most of his friends are long gone, the film transforms into flashbacks of Aaronson when he was younger and his journey to become a Mafia boss.
3. Gone With the Wind (1939) – 3 Hours, 58 Minutes
One of the more well-known longest movies is Gone With the Wind which spans three hours and fifty-eight minutes! This is a film you’ll want to set aside an afternoon for. Though it has recently been critically reviewed for racial prejudice present between whites and blacks, it does give a brief glimpse into the South during the Civil War. The film follows Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara as she not only navigates the worn-torn South but her tangled love affairs with Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler as well.
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2. Hamlet (1996) – 4 Hours, 2 Minutes
Our second-to-last movie tips over the four-hour mark by two minutes, and is based on one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In this version of Hamlet, the only unabridged version, the cast is updated to the 19th century as Prince Hamlet learns his father was murdered by the present king Claudius. As Hamlet constructs a plot for revenge, he mistakingly kills Polonius, the father of his lover Ophelia. This sets Hamlet down a climactic path that will only end in tragedy.
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1. 1900 (1976) – 5 Hours, 17 Minutes / Longest Movie Ever Made
Last but not least is the longest movie ever made, premiering in 1976 with a run time of five hours and seventeen minutes. The film is titled 1900 and is set in Italy, following the lives and interactions between two boys as they grow into men. One of them is born a bastard of peasants, while the other is born to a land owner. As we watch the boys grow from 1900-1945, the focus turns instead to the rise of Fascism and Communism, and how these choices will define the lives of the main characters Olmo and Alfredo, respectively.
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