What do viewers pay attention to when choosing a movie? An interesting plot, famous actors, an eminent director, the number of awards ... No, most people primarily look at the duration. Films are considered standard if they last no more than 1 hour 40 minutes.
The modern person often has too little time for entertainment. Besides, not everyone has the patience to watch a story that lasts 3 or 4 hours. If you have no problem with either the first or the second, our selection of the longest films in history will not scare you. Watch and enjoy, but don't expect any action or exciting plot. Films are mostly experimental and documentary; the average viewer is unlikely to appreciate them.
10. Napoleon (1927) - 5 hours 30 minutes
Rating Movies Search: 7,384
IMDb rating: 8,1
Historical blockbuster by Abel Hans. A silent movie about the life of Napoleon. This is one of the most ambitious performances of the 20s of the twentieth century. Grandiose decorations, innovative technologies - all of this was new at the time. However, the film did not bring much success to its creator. It was bought out by several film studios and significantly reduced. In the American box office, the version of "Napoleon" lasted no more than 2 hours, in the UK it was 7.5. The box office fell short of expectations.
Nowadays, Abel Gans' film is also of interest to the audience. However, it is now clear that the director filmed it according to his own script, he significantly distorted historical facts and added something. So you shouldn't consider the film as biographical. When the resourceful director was criticized for historical inaccuracy, he changed the title to "Napoleon as Hans Sees Him." In the 2000s, the film was re-edited, as a sequel was found in the archives.
9. Satanic Tango (1994) - 7 hours 12 minutes
Rating Movies Search: 8,015
IMDb rating: 8,5
Creation of the Hungarian director Bela Tarr. A dark black and white film. The story of the inhabitants of a farm that is living its last days. Over time, the land became unusable, and the livestock had to be sold. People don't know what to do next. The most enterprising plan to hide with the money handed over from the sale, but they also decide to stay.
There was a rumor about the return of Irmish and Petrina, who disappeared 1.5 years ago. People have hope. They think that the "resurrected" will be able to show them the ways of salvation. The film caused controversial reviews, many of those who liked it. Still, in difficult moments of life, you shouldn't watch it - it's too depressing.
8. The Evolution of the Filipino Family (2004) - 10 hours 47 minutes
Rating Movies Search: 6,602
IMDb rating: 7,9
Created by director Lava Diaz, a fan of slow cinema. All of his films are at least 4 hours long, "The Evolution of the Filipino Family" has broken all records. It has been filmed for over 10 years. This is the dramatic story of the Gallardo family. Tyrannical regime of Ferdinand Marcos, civil war, struggle for survival.The film is reminiscent of a documentary, the lives of members of the Gallardo family are shown in the smallest detail.
The director did not use special lighting. He tried to achieve maximum naturalness using non-linear editing, mixing film and digital images. Filming lasted so long that even Diaz lost interest in his film and did not release a TV version. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you will be able to watch the entire film; there is also no Russian translation. Although, this is a movie from the "not for everyone" category, it also has its fans.
7. Outside 1: Do not touch with your hands (1971) - 12 hours 53 minutes
Rating Movies Search: 7,492
IMDb rating: 7,90
A film by French director Jacques Rivette. This is an experimental project, it was filmed without a script. The film consists of a variety of stories that are completely unrelated to each other. Although there is something in common between them - it is a mysterious organization called "13". The stories end in the middle, and viewers don't get any clues. The movie is difficult to read, but it has a pretty good rating. The reviews from critics are also mostly positive.
Rivett received more than one proposal to split the film into series, but he was strongly opposed. He insisted that “Out1. Do not touch with your hands ”should be watched only on the big screen. True, the film did not appear at any festival. In 1973, Jacques was forced to shoot a shortened version, it lasts 4 hours and is called Out 1: Spectrum.
6. The longest and most meaningless film in the world (1968) - 48 hours
IMDb rating: 5,6
English director Anthony Scott appears to have set himself apart from the crowd by making an unusual film, which he called the most pointless. Indeed, ordinary people are unlikely to be able to appreciate such an idea and understand for what purpose "this" was filmed? The answer is simple - experimental art, an underground genre, but even fans of such a movie will not watch it. The film consists of cinematic trash, cuts, advertising. Now every viewer who has become acquainted with Scott's work knows that in order to become famous all over the world, it is enough to realize the most delusional idea.
5. Cure for insomnia (1987) - 87 hours
IMDb rating: 5,1
The film was considered the longest for 19 years and even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Project by American director John Henry Timmis IV. The main character is actor Lee Groban. He is reading the poem after which the film is named. From time to time it is replaced by music videos of the genre of "heavy metal" and cuts of porn, so you will hardly be able to fall asleep. The premiere screening took place at the Art Institute of Chicago. Surprisingly, "The Cure for Insomnia" aroused great interest of the audience, the hall was full.
4. Matryoshka (2006) - 95 hours
IMDb rating: 4,40
A documentary by the German director Karin Herler. He managed to stay at the top of the rating of the longest films for 3 years. In "Matryoshka" there is no plot and sound series. The film consists of photographs that replace each other. Nature, the sky, a boy riding a bicycle ... It seems to the viewer that the photos are repeated, but this is not so. Each subsequent one is different from the previous one, but these changes are not visible to the naked eye.
The film was first presented in Frankfurt am Main at the Lumineel 2006 festival. He was shown on the street on an LED screen. At the moment it can only be found on DVD.
3. Cinematon (1984-…) - 208 hours
Rating Movies Search: 6,253
IMDb rating: 6,2
A film by French director Gerard Courant. It consists of small sections, each lasting a little over 3 minutes. New episode - new hero. Most of them are famous people. During this period of time, they can do what they see fit: smoke a cigar or eat a banknote. The film began to be filmed in 1984, at the moment it is not clear whether Gerard finished his project or not, new episodes appear periodically and the film is getting longer. Among the actors there are also Russian celebrities: actress Inna Churikova, film critic Kirill Razlogov, writer Yulianna Semenova, and others.
2. Modernity forever (2011) - 240 hours
IMDb rating: 6,4
The film was shot by the Danish art group Superflex. It has no plot, but the meaning is still there.The "protagonist" is the headquarters of the timber company Stora Enso Oyj, which is located in Helsinki. After the disappearance of humanity, it comes to a dilapidated state.
A documentary about the passage of time. Hardly anyone watched it to the end, but it brought glory to its creators. He held the record for the duration for one year.
1. Logistics (2012) - 857 hours
Country: Sweden
There is no data on the ratings of the film, and this is not surprising. It lasts over 35 days. The authors of "Logistics" were puzzled by the question: how do gadgets appear in the world? In a specific case, this term refers not only to electronic devices, but also food, clothing and other goods. Daniel Andersson and Erika Magnusson decided to travel to China and track the entire path of goods in real time. The main character is an electronic pedometer.
This project can hardly be called entertainment, and even in rating of the most boring films he also did not get it, because this is not a feature film. But at the moment it ranks first in the world in terms of duration.
Soon, Logistics will have to yield it. In Sweden, the film Atmosphere is being shot, which tells the story of two artists. It will premiere in 2020 with a 7-hour trailer already released. The film will run for 40 days.