The first film to be awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes for both its director and lead actresses, this engrossing coming-of-age story follows young Adèle (newcomer Adèle Exarchopoulos) as she discovers untapped sexual desire with a blue-haired art student (Léa Seydoux). The below movies are listed by length, starting with the shortest (exactly three hours long) and ending with the longest.
We wouldn’t necessarily suggest marathoning these films back to back, but watching them one at a time is an experience worth clearing your schedule for. Some of these long movies inflate the familiar three-act structure to epic proportions, while others use their expanded lengths to stretch out and wander into unexpected places. There’s something to be said for movies that get in and out in under 90 minutes, but there’s also a distinct pleasure in watching those movies whose running times sprawl beyond three hours - especially if you happen to, say, be quarantined at home for extended periods of time.
This story was originally published in 2016 and has been updated to include more movies. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photos: 20th Century Studios, Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images, Paramount/Getty Images, 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images, Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images
