Does a movie have to be long to be good?
That’s certainly a case you could make with this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominees.
While “The Brutalist†checks in at three hours and 35 minutes, it’s not the longest film ever nominated – that honor goes to “Cleopatra,†which went over the four-hour mark – but it does have an intermission, which could ease the pain.
"The Brutalist" is a top contender for the best picture Oscar, and Adrien Brody is potentially unbeatable in the lead actor category.
Other hefty titles that won: “Gone With the Wind,†at nearly four hours; “Ben-Hur,†which hit three-and-a-half hours; “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,†which hit three hours and 35 minutes.
Recent nominees punched over the average weight, too. “Killers of the Flower Moon†ran 206 minutes; “The Irishman†required 209 minutes of sitting time.
This year, most best picture nominees are in the two-hours-plus category.
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“Conclave†is the shortest of the 10 nominees, coming in at two hours. “Wicked†(161 minutes) and “Dune Part Two†(166 minutes) are next after “The Brutalist.â€
In the history of Best Picture winners, “Marty†wins the shortest prize – 90 minutes. But “Annie Hall†wasn’t far behind, at 93, and “Sunrise,†one of the first films to win Best Picture, was 94.
Last year’s best picture, “Oppenheimer,†checked in at three hours.
While “War and Peace,†which won best foreign language film in 1966, ran seven hours and 11 minutes, it doesn’t hold the “longest of all†title. That goes to “O.J. Simpson: Made in America,†a documentary that ran seven hours and 47 minutes. Because it was a multi-part documentary, it’s likely no other film will best it. The Academy changed the rules so multi-part films aren’t eligible in the category.
If you were to watch all 10 nominees for best picture this year, you’d have to set aside more than a day. Added together, they run 24.8 hours long.
Had “The Last Showgirl†figured into the nominations, it would have brought the time numbers down considerably. It’s only one hour and 29 minutes long, one of the shortest of the year.
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be better, but it certainly will attract attention if producers flaunt its length. What may be more telling is how much it cost to make.
Even though “The Brutalist†is the longest film of the 2024, it’s also one of the cheaper ones. It reportedly cost less than $10 million to make. That says something about return on investment.
The long and the short of it? “The Brutalist†has several categories locked up.
Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal entertainment editor, says "the Brutalist" is a film that will stand the test of time and remind others just how important creativity is to the moviemaking process.
