10 of the Longest Movies of the Past Decade, Ranked by Runtime

During certain periods of the 20th century, massively long films were all the rage. From the sweeping epics of Classic Hollywood to the sprawling samurai sagas of Japan, cinema was an art form that wasn’t afraid to go big. Then, as filmmaking started to change, movies longer than three hours became less and less common, with those who passed 180 minutes standing out as oddities.

In the past ten years, however, long movies have begun to make a comeback. As these ambitious epics become more common, it’s worth looking at the longest of the long, the recent movies that have been unafraid to keep audiences in their seats for quite a while. From Martin Scorsese masterworks like Killers of the Flower Moon to genre experiments as daring as Zack Snyder’s Justice League, old-school-style epics are here to stay, and it’s time for audiences to appreciate their length.

10 ‘Never Look Away’ (2018)

Runtime: 3h, 9m

Never Look Away is a staggering biopic about German artist Kurt Barnert, who was tormented by his childhood under the Nazi regime while living peacefully in West Germany. One of the best biopics of the 21st century thus far, as well as one of the most ambitious, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was praised for the use of his film’s daunting runtime to frame history in a fresh yet compelling way.

Although many critics and viewers didn’t appreciate von Donnersmarck’s use of traditional melodrama tropes, most people found it tremendously easy to be immersed in the story and interested in its characters. The film received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Foreign Language Film, and though it has faded into relative obscurity as the years have gone by, it’s more than deserving of a resurgence in popularity.

Watch on Starz

9 ‘Babylon’ (2022)

Runtime: 3h, 9m

Since his second feature (one of the best sophomore movies of all time, no doubt), Whiplash, director Damien Chazelle let audiences know that he was an artistic voice to look out for. He cemented that claim with his latest outing, Babylon, about the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled depravity in early Hollywood. No matter how they feel about this shockingly divisive film, everyone who saw it has to admit that Babylon is one of the most formidable achievements in recent Hollywood history.

A tale of unchecked ambition, outrageous excess, and pure love for the craft, Babylon is so relentlessly energetic and chaotic that its 189-minute runtime often feels like it’s flying right by. Thankfully, however, there are also plenty of moments where Chazelle lets the story breathe, expanding on its characters and themes beautifully. Whether they end up loving or hating it, Chazelle’s latest is a movie that will leave no viewers indifferent.

Watch on Prime Video

8 ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (2022)

Runtime: 3h, 12m

Since very early in his career, James Cameron has been known as one of the most innovative and ambitious artists cinema has ever seen. A visual effects magician with a passion for grand, epic storytelling, his talents culminated in Avatar: The Way of Water, a sequel to his über successful 2009 sci-fi spectacle. In the film, Jake and his family must flee from a familiar threat in order to protect their home.

A passion project over a decade in the making, Avatar: The Way of Water turned out to be everything audiences expected and more. For those who love sci-fi movies with vast runtimes, this is one that they’re bound to have a great time with. The love and dedication that went into the film are nearly palpable in every single frame, and by the time the credits roll, one can’t help but want to see more of the riveting world that Cameron and his team created.

Watch on Disney+

7 ‘Winter Sleep’ (2014)

Runtime: 3h, 16m

The Turkish drama Winter Sleep is a bleak and incredibly powerful meditation on isolation and emotion about a landlord in a remote Turkish village dealing with family conflicts and a tenant behind on his rent. It may not sound like a concept that merits nearly three-and-a-half hours of film, but director Nuri Bilge Ceylan constantly justifies his masterpiece’s length with powerful themes, strong character work, and gripping drama.

Winter Sleep demands undivided attention and makes it easy to give it that with its transfixing story and dialogue. Every scene is packed with profound meaning worthy of being analyzed long after the movie’s over, and all the characters have as much to say in their body language as they do in their masterfully written words. With a tone that would make Anton Chekhov (by whose short stories the movie was inspired) proud, Ceylan created one of the most emotionally stirring dramatic epics of the 21st century and one of the best foreign films of the 2010s.

Watch on Kanopy

6 ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (2023)

Runtime: 3h, 26m

It’s incredibly admirable that at 80 years old, Martin Scorsese made his first foray into the Western genre; as it turns out, it fits his style like a glove. Killers of the Flower Moon, praised as one of his greatest late works, is a drama about the mysterious Osage murders of the 1920s. Told with the same solemnity and elegance that has characterized the director’s latest pictures, it’s a sensitive approach to the subject matter that’s fully aware of its flaws and makes all possible efforts to overcome them.

At a staggering 206 minutes, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of the longest biopics ever made. It would be impossible to have it any other way, as Scorsese makes the best of every second to convey the full complexity of the story and all who were involved in it. It’s certainly a slow-burner, but it has explosive moments of emotion and dramatic payoff to reward viewers’ patience.

Rent on Apple TV+

5 ‘The Irishman’ (2019)

Runtime: 3h, 29m

Scorsese has proved his incredible versatility on repeated occasions, but he’ll always be best known for revolutionizing and defining the gangster genre for all generations to come. In The Irishman, one of his best collaborations with Robert De Niro, he finally made his long-awaited return to the genre, telling the real story of Frank Sheeran‘s connection to the Bufalino crime family and his close friend Jimmy Hoffa.

The Irishman reads like Scorsese’s farewell to the mob genre that made him famous, a coda that’s as moving and meditative as it is downright thrilling. Everyone involved in the film is at the top of their game, from the legendary cast to Scorsese himself, causing the extensive runtime to feel well-earned and extremely welcome.

Watch on Netflix

4 ‘An Elephant Sitting Still’ (2018)

Runtime: 3h, 50m

A devastatingly raw and realistic Chinese crime drama, An Elephant Sitting Still is about four people in a Chinese city living through a complicated day as their lives intersect. A harrowing depiction of violence, despair, and the grimness of daily life, the film is surprisingly engaging and thoughtful for a 4-hour-long drama so focused on realism.

Shortly after completing the film, 29-year-old writer-director Hu Bo tragically took his own life, meaning that An Elephant Sitting Still is both a stunning debut and a beautiful swan song from an artist gone far too soon. The legacy that Bo left behind is tremendous: An Elephant Sitting Still is one of the most impressively long films of the 2010s and one of the best-ever movies over three hours long.

Watch on Kanopy

3 ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)

Runtime: 4h, 2m

To this day, Zack Snyder’s Justice League stands as a triumph of creative freedom and the power of audiences. In 2017, Zack Snyder stepped away from Justice League after a family tragedy. Despite having no proof of its existence, fans were convinced that Warner Bros. had some kind of vastly superior director’s cut locked up in some kind of vault somewhere. After endless campaigning, numerous reshoots, and lots of effort, Snyder put out his definitive vision of the story of DC Comics’ most famous superhero lineup, resulting in one of the DCEU’s most acclaimed outings.

With Zack Snyder’s Justice League, what you see is what you get. For those who don’t like the director’s style, it’ll certainly be hard to enjoy for over four hours. But for those already converted or even just for those curious about what an arthouse-like superhero epic by a legendary blockbuster filmmaker might look like, this movie is a must. What’s undeniable is that Zack Snyder’s Justice League‘s very existence is a testament to the endurance of creativity, even in the face of terrible, misguided corporate greed.

Watch on Max

2 ‘Happy Hour’ (2015)

Runtime: 5h, 17m

Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s Happy Hour isn’t only one of the longest movies in the history of Japanese cinema; at nearly 5 and a half hours long, it can be considered among the longest cinematic films ever, period. It chronicles the emotional journey of four thirty-something women in seaside Kobe as they all begin to reevaluate their relationships and life after a startling revelation concerning one’s marriage.

A slow-burner for sure, Happy Hour isn’t the right fit for audiences looking for quick and carefree entertainment. Like many of the director’s previous efforts, this film is demanding, if not necessarily challenging. Powerfully subtle and nuanced, Hamaguchi’s magnum opus revels in the quiet happenings of daily life and finds its strength in the moments of catharsis provided to the characters by the simple plot.

Watch on the Criterion Channel

1 ‘La Flor’ (2018)

Runtime: 13h, 28m

Clocking in at over 800 minutes, the Argentinian drama La Flor is astonishing purely because it exists. Divided into six episodes connected by four actresses and shot over ten years, it’s a powerful multiple-storyline film that toys with the very concepts of narrative, structure, and genre.

Arthouse movie fans looking for a challenge ought to give director Mariano Llinás‘ incredible achievement a chance. Its six sections bolster each other wonderfully, proving the inimitable magic of anthology films as they spiral deeper and deeper into the themes and concepts that keep them glued together. The very fact that a movie over 13 hours long was made is amazing in itself, but La Flor‘s undeniable quality and rewarding narrative make it even more remarkable.

Rent on Apple TV+

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