The Best Movies That Are Super Long

Updated January 7, 2021 37.2k votes 4.3k voters 83.2k views69 items

List RulesVote up the best movies that run 2 hr 20 min (140 minutes) or longer

Hollywood movies typically run about 1.5 to 2 hours. The patented three act structure unfolds onscreen and the credits roll before backs begin to ache and minds begin to wonder. But sometimes two hours is not enough and this list has them all. These are the best movies that are super long.

All the films on this list run at least 2 hours and 20 minutes. Most of them are even longer than that and some of them are twice as long as the average movie. Why would a filmmaker keep someone glued to the screen for over three hours with a really long movie? Not every great movie is packaged with a simple beginning, middle, and an end. Epic stories need to percolate and their characters need more room to develop.

Imagine The Godfather without the legendary opening wedding scene. That sequence alone lasts over thirty minutes, and it has very little to do with moving the story forward. Instead, it’s basically thirty minutes of director Francis Ford Coppola introducing the audience to the Corleone family.

Several films on this list run over three hours. Think that’s too long? Check out their Rotten Tomatoes scores - every single one of them received an outstanding rating. When a person sees Schindler’s List or Lawrence of Arabia for the first time, they do not walk away from the experience worried that they’ve spent too long looking at a movie screen. Sure, some movies with long running times could afford a clip or two in the editing room. But you won’t find any of those movies on this list.

These good films warrant and demand your full attention, no matter how long they are. Be sure to upvote for your favorite long movies to watch, those with an epic runtime.

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Forrest Gump
Tom Hanks, Sally Field
Released: 1994
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Running Time: 2 hr. 22 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%

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Saving Private Ryan
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon
Released: 1998
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Running Time: 2 hr. 41 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
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The Green Mile
Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise
Released: 1999
Directed by: Frank Darabont
Running Time: 3 hr. 9 min.
Rotton Tomatoes Score: 80%
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Gone with the Wind
Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh
Released: 1939
Directed by: Sam Wood, George Cukor, Victor Fleming
Running Time: 3 hr. 42 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

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Pulp Fiction
John Travolta, Bruce Willis
Released: 1994
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Running Time: 2 hr. 34 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
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The Godfather Part II
Al Pacino, Robert De Niro
Released: 1974
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Running Time: 3 hr. 20 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
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Casino
Sharon Stone, Robert De Niro
Released: 1995
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Running Time: 3 hr. 2 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

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Goodfellas
Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson
Released: 1990
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Running Time: 2 hr. 26 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
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Braveheart
Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau
Released: 1995
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Running Time: 3 hr. 2 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley
Released: 2003
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Running Time: 2 hr. 23 min.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

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Lawrence of Arabia
Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole
Released: 1962
Directed by: David Lean
Running Time: 3 hr. 36 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%
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Scarface
Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer
Released: 1983
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Running Time: 2 hr. 50 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
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The Departed
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson
Released: 2006
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Running Time: 2 hr. 32 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
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The Avengers
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans
Released: 2012
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Running Time: 2 hr. 23 min.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

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The Bridge on the River Kwai
Alec Guinness, William Holden
Released: 1957
Directed by: David Lean
Running Time: 2 hr. 41 min.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

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Avengers: Infinity War
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth
Released: 2018
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Running Time: 2 hr. 36 min.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

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The Godfather
Al Pacino, Marlon Brando
Released: 1972
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Running Time: 2 hr. 55 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%
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Avatar
Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
Released: 2009
Directed by: James Cameron
Running Time: 2 hr. 42 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen
Released: 2001
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Running Time: 3 hr. 48 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
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Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Released: 2012
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Running Time: 2 hr. 45 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
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Apocalypse Now
Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford
Released: 1979
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Running Time: 2 hr. 33 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach
Released: 1966
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Running Time: 3 hr. 6 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
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The Sound of Music
Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Released: 1965
Directed by: Robert Wise
Running Time: 2 hr. 54min.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

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Schindler's List
Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
Released: 1993
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Running Time: 3 hr. 16 min.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen
Released: 2003
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Running Time: 3 hr. 21 min.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
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