The Art of... The Runtime

Some films are too long, some too short others hit that sweet spot but what makes a good runtime and does it really matter?

I say that runtime does matter and as the years go on the so called "blockbusters" appear to be getting shorter or at least staying comfortably around 120-130 mins. This all started with Independence Day Resurgence seeing as the original was roughly 140 mins i assumed that the sequel would be close to that or at least 130, but to my surprise the film was dead on 120. That made me look further into the idea of the runtime and most blockbusters or at least the bigger films are not really pushing 140, sure there are a few here and there but unless its Nolan, Bay or Scorsese its roughly 120 to 130.

I feel that blockbusters do need a sense of scale and sometimes a film being too short can actually make the film itself feel lesser than it actually was. Imagine if David Lean made Lawrence of Arabia around 130 mins long, sure the amazing cinematography and the cast of thousands would still be there to some extent but would we still see it as being an Epic or even a major film.

Another example is The Last of the Mohicans, the title and subject matter alone scream to me of a runtime at least 140, yet its just shy of 2 hours long which in some way devalued the film to an extent. Don't get me wrong, i really enjoyed The Last of the Mohicans, but its runtime does affect the way i see it, compare that to another Michael Mann film Heat. Heat is on the other end, maybe a bit long but its runtime does conjure up this notion that the film is big, or at least worth devoting time to.

Of course some films would not benefit from a longer runtime, there are many good films that are barely over 90 mins, but i believe that if you have a massive budget and we don't feel the money somewhere then the film devalues itself. An example would be if a film cost $200 million and it was 94 mins long, you would feel cheated, thats why i feel we are seeing a decline in quality of modern cinema. Most modern blockbusters feel less important than films from 20 years ago.

So overall i would like to see more mainstream films breach that 150 mark and really make the audience feel like they are experiencing something special and not watching an expensive trailer to a sequel.

Written By
Ashley Harvey