Running Times...

As I stated in my previous post, the main reason it had taken me so long to watch My Fair Lady was its running time of 170 minutes. Seeing that, all I could think was, "Ugh... Maybe later."

To be honest, I don't understand why movies need to run past the 120 minute mark. It just seems so long, and there's every chance that you may not like the film. That's two whole hours of your life wasted. And even if you do end up liking a movie, it's highly unlikely that it would keep you interested for the full sometimes-three-or-more hours you're sitting there.

Now don't get me wrong: I do realize that some movies need to run past the two hour mark in order to show everything that needs to be shown. And when I say everything, I'm referring to films based around historical events that have a factual timeline to be followed. It would look pretty silly if one minute Jack was boarding Titanic and the next, Titanic was sinking. But there is no way a piece of fiction, even if based on a book, could not be squeezed into 120 minutes. I'm not saying that it would be easy to do, but with a little more effort, I'm sure it could be done.

However, as I sit here and type this, I find myself fighting both sides. You see, some of my favourite movies run longer than two hours. My favourite movie, Die Hard (Which I will review before year's end), is an example of this, as it runs 131 minutes. Mind you, every one of those minutes is action-packed; something is always happening. Terminator 2: Judgement Day is another example of this, with a run time of 137 minutes, and that's just the theatrical version. I always watch the Special Edition version, which runs a further 15 minutes.

I suppose runtimes only bother me when I haven't yet seen a movie. I mean, I wouldn't think twice about spending over three hours watching Titanic (194 minutes), meanwhile, the thought of watching another one of the Lord of the Rings movies is enought to make me cry (I really disliked the first - I needed the toilet the whole time, and my Dad would not stand up to let me go. Bad times.).

Each to his or her own, I suppose. I'm sure some people delight at the the idea of sitting down for 120+ minutes to watch something new. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people...

- Vixtastr43