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Poll: How long is too long when it comes to movies?

Have your say.

THERE HAS BEEN great anticipation for Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which hits Irish theatres this weekend.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone, the film explores the Osage nation murders that took place in the 1920s after oil was discovered on native land in Oklahoma. It’s also three hours and twenty-six minutes long.

Oppenheimer, already one of the year’s most popular films, had a similarly demanding run time, clocking in at exactly three hours. 

Not everybody is a fan of these epic runtimes, and today we want to know… How long is too long when it comes to movies?


Poll Results:

Two hours is my limit (3402)
Two and a half hours is my limit (2755)
Three hours is my limit (1237)
I would honestly do four hours, and possibly longer (1236)
All films should be 90 minutes or less (805)
Three and a half hours is my limit (493)

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45 Comments
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    Mute Gavin Gray
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    Oct 20th 2023, 9:52 AM

    If it’s a good film then it won’t feel like a long film.

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    Mute Shivers
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:31 AM

    @Gavin Gray: agreed Oppenheimer didn’t feel long. Very enjoyable movie.

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    Mute
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:32 AM

    @Shivers: Indeed

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    Mute Brian Keelty
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:36 AM

    @Gavin Gray: absolutely, Oppenheimer flew by.

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    Mute CC856
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    Oct 20th 2023, 9:52 AM

    Depends on the movie, I’ve gladly sat through the likes of The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition and Once Upon A Time In America and really enjoyed them. The Irishman really felt like an absolute slog through.

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    Mute Luke Vic101
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:13 AM

    @CC856: I’ve literally said the same thing then saw your comment. Completely agree. Found Irishman really hard to get into, felt slow or something.

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    Mute Pat the Baker
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    Oct 20th 2023, 8:20 PM

    @CC856: Lord of the Rings one was fine – the others put me to sleep

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    Mute Daniel Carry
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:07 AM

    Bring back an interval for any films that are 3 hours or over. Let people stretch their legs, refill and then on we go for the second half. I’ve only watched one film that had an intermission and that was Once Upon A Time in America which was nearly 4 hours long.

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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Oct 20th 2023, 11:53 AM

    @Daniel Carry: Fair point. I’d be much happier with an announced interval halfway through. Have seen all three LOTR films recently and at 3 hours you do get a bit stiff no matter how padded the seat!

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    Mute Paul A Kane
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    Oct 20th 2023, 2:26 PM

    @Daniel Carry: last film I went to that had an intermission was Heat back in 95 at the Savoy

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    Mute Ajax Penumbra
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:08 AM

    It depends on where I’m watching it. At home where I can pause it, make a cup of tea, go for a pee… 4+ hours is grand. In the cinema where there’s no intermission to get up and stretch (yes, I’m old); nah. 2 hours max.

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    Mute Kevin Collins
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:33 AM

    A 3 hour film? Nah, I couldn’t possibly be dealing with that…

    … Proceeds to binge watch an entire series of 8x 30minute episodes in a row without a break…

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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:03 PM

    @Kevin Collins: Right with you there!

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    Mute goldiefish72
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:43 AM

    Bring back Intermissions!
    Last one I remember was Dances with Wolves (181 minutes). It also avoids having to get up every ten minutes to leave people out to go to bathroom/for munchies. The recent Marvel and star wars epics were just too long.

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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:02 PM

    @goldiefish72: Yes, thank you. That’s the way

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    Mute Luke Vic101
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:11 AM

    I think it depends on the movie. I’m still trying to watch all of The Irishman, I get bored at the 90min mark lol. But would be able to watch the LOTR trilogy in one go.

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    Mute Mike
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:13 PM

    @Luke Vic101: When you get to 90 mins of The Irishman, Gandalf is all like “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”

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    Mute Keth Tgi
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    Oct 20th 2023, 9:57 AM

    Scorcese’s ‘The Irishman’ was quite long, and worth every minute. In my opinion. I know of shorter films that were too long. Never get those hours back.

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    Mute BadBob
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    Oct 20th 2023, 11:35 AM

    Over here we call them cinemas, not theatres

    35
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    Mute William Tallon
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:54 PM

    @BadBob: I can remember the days when we called them picture houses…

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    Mute North Dub
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    Oct 20th 2023, 1:01 PM

    @William Tallon: Ah the old nickelodeon William where you could watch Mary Pickford in Little Annie Rooney along with a Harold Lloyd short – and all for just two bits.

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Oct 20th 2023, 1:12 PM

    @BadBob: When I was a youngster we called them picture houses and ‘we went to the pictures’. Boiled sweets and fizzy ‘minerals’ were the rage then. The courting couples were ‘snogging’ in the dearer seats at the back.

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    Mute Peter Dunwoody
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    Oct 20th 2023, 5:09 PM

    @William Tallon: I remember the day when it was called going to the flicks, and you got to see two movies, ( mostly westerns in the day) and cartoons, two schillings, paid for your bus fare there and back, the price of the movies, and a snack or two, to eat during them, crisps, sweets, and a drink, way back in the sixties.

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    Mute Conrad Shields
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:23 AM

    I remember Empire magazine reviewing Meet Joe Black (which was 3 hours long), saying at half the time, it would have been twice the film.
    I wasn’t bored watching it. It kept your interest, but it didn’t need to be so long.
    If the story is good, it doesn’t matter if it is 3 hours plus. The only downside is finding the time to watch a long film.

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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:18 AM

    When you go with your girlfriend; half an hour is plenty of time.

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    Mute honey badger
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:25 AM

    If its a good film you won’t notice or care about the time. If its cat, it’ll feel like weeks.
    I’ve happily rewatched GWTW, Lawrence of Arabia, OUATIA and the extended editions of LoTR several times.

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    Mute Kevin Norris
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    Oct 20th 2023, 11:04 AM

    Longest I think I’ve been to was ‘Dances with Wolves’ probably one of the quickest 4 hours of my life. Really depends on the film and of course the person watching it.

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:00 AM

    Two hours is the limit. Longer films encourage viewers to eat more salty popcorn (bad for nutrition) and consume alcohol or coca-pepsi (ibid.).

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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:00 PM

    @Garreth Byrne: Sure who’s stopping you bringing in your own healthier snacks? I’ve sometimes had a drink at the interval to a live play or performance but I’ve never once had a drink in a cinema. Bring water & don’t lecture others, you can only change your own habits.

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    Mute Lin
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:21 AM

    Depends on the movie. Endgame was over 3 hours and it was outstanding, even the credits were superb. I went twice and felt 3 hours was nothing.

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    Mute 2gW5NvBs
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    Oct 20th 2023, 1:22 PM

    My attention span is shot to pieces , must happen with age , even a Youtube clip is too long now .

    13
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    Mute Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh
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    Oct 20th 2023, 11:03 AM

    Movies ? Who needs them.

    Schinders List? Gaza
    Apocolypse Now? Gaza
    Oppenheimer Lite? Gaza
    Saving Private Ryan? Gaza (just swap a Palestinian for a US soldier)
    The Great Escape? Not Gaza
    Inglourious Basterds? Next to Gaza
    Downfall? Next to Gaza
    The Killing Fields? Gaza
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next? The US.

    14
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    Mute Peter McCormack
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:49 PM

    @Caoimín Ó Muircheartaigh: what’s Gaza..

    12
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    Mute Chris Thaunton
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    Oct 20th 2023, 5:04 PM

    @Peter McCormack: Paul Gascoigne.

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2023, 2:05 PM

    Of course it just depends but… Most modern movies need a good editor. Eg Chris Nolan movies are always waaaay to long for no reason.

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    Mute christine downey
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    Oct 20th 2023, 4:26 PM

    Gone with the wind was 4 hours

    5
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    Mute Mary Toilet
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    Oct 20th 2023, 11:20 AM

    Bachelor Party

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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:30 PM

    What a ridiculous pole

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    Mute Peter McCormack
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    Oct 20th 2023, 12:57 PM

    Yes they should have a poll instead..

    36
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    Mute Conrad Shields
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    Oct 20th 2023, 1:14 PM

    Is Carl Kinsella Polish? What have you got against Polish people?

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    Mute James K.
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:43 PM

    For someone who read Empire and Total Film religiously and sometimes went to the cinema three to four times in a week I have to be honest, Avengers: Endgame broke me, I haven’t gone to see anything since that. I stopped reading the magazines as well, I’d been reading them since the late 90′s. I long for a new Heat, or Gladiator, films that made an impact on my psyche and that I sit down to watch over and over if they’re on tv. In the last 15-20 years tv has outshone most movies for intelligent content, interesting characters and gripping storylines, as a general rule not anything on Netflix, Paramount, Amazon or Apple

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    Mute Alan Clarke
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    Oct 20th 2023, 9:28 PM

    I can’t believe the number of people who think Oppenheimer was brilliant. I thought it was way too long, too boring and a slog to get through. Definitely not one I will ever put myself through watching again.

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    Mute Mary Toilet
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    Oct 20th 2023, 10:11 PM

    @Alan Clarke: yeah, it was shite

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    Mute K H
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    Oct 21st 2023, 9:37 AM

    If its quality viewing, what does it really matter . I’ve had someone complain to me that a three hour movie is too long , and this from someone who regularly ‘ binge ‘ watches shows on Netflix , for hours and hours, and more hours. How strange we humans are

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    Mute Margaret Ryan
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    Oct 21st 2023, 11:19 AM

    I sat through “Birth of a nation” in a cinema many years ago. A silent movie accompanied by a live piano player who played co ti uously for the five hours the film ran. It was fantastic.

    1
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