Running time: 13 hours, 23 minutes
Argentine filmmaker Mariano Llinás created something truly unusual with La Flor, a six-part film featuring the same four actresses across different genres and stories. Featuring supernatural mysteries and musical adventures, as well as espionage and romance, each section offers a completely different cinematic experience. Its 13-hour runtime definitely makes it a long watch, but the constantly changing approach keeps the experience unpredictable yet enjoyable. | © El Pampero Cine
Running time: 857 hours (35 days, 17 hours)
At 857 hours, Logistics holds the Guinness World Record for the longest film ever made. Directed, written, and produced by Erika Magnusson and Daniel Andersson, this Swedish experimental film follows the journey of a pedometer from a shop in Stockholm back to the factory in China where it was manufactured. Filmed in real time and presented in reverse chronological order, it's an extraordinary exploration of consumerism and the passage of time. | © Erika Magnusson/Daniel Andersson
Running time: 240 hours (10 days)
Modern Times Forever is a Danish documentary film that showcases the slow decay of Helsinki's Stora Enso headquarters building over several centuries. Lasting 10 days, this movie uses time-lapse imagery to depict the gradual deterioration of the building and its surroundings. It's certainly an unusual cinematic experience, but there's a quaint beauty about watching something silently endure the test of time. | © Superflex
Running time: 150 hours (6 days, 6 hours)
French filmmaker Gérard Courant spent more than three decades, starting from 1978 until 2009, creating this enormous collection of silent filmed portraits. Each participant is given approximately three minutes and 25 seconds to express themselves in front of the camera without speaking or moving away. Featuring thousands of personalities, artists, and ordinary people, Cinématon is quite a fascinating experimental film. | © Gérard Courant
Running time: 150 hours (6 days, 6 hours)
Rather than telling a traditional story, Beijing 2003 documents the Chinese capital through incredibly extensive, continuous street-level footage. A camera mounted on a vehicle records the city's streets, capturing its architecture, residents, traffic, and everyday life. On top of that, the film has no dialogue, narration, or soundtrack. The resulting six-day-plus experience offers an unusual look at Beijing and its urban landscape. | © Ai Weiwei
Running time: 14 hours, 33 minutes
Resan, also known as The Journey, is a documentary film made between 1983 and 1985 across several continents. It explores nuclear weapons, international conflict, and the threat of global destruction. Combining interviews, discussions, and footage from different countries, the film examines the consequences of nuclear warfare and the political decisions surrounding it. | © Peter Watkins
Running time: 9 hours, 11 minutes
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks is a Chinese documentary film that examines the decline of China's industrial sector through the experiences of workers and families living in the Tiexi District of Shenyang. Divided into three sections, the 2003 film documents deteriorating factories, struggling communities, and the uncertain futures of people whose livelihoods depend on industrial employment. It's a stark but remarkably detailed portrait of economic and social transformation in a part of the world people probably don't know exists. | © Wang Bing Zhu Zhu
Running time: 10 hours, 24 minutes
Lav Diaz is known for making extraordinarily long films, and Evolution of a Filipino Family is undoubtedly one of his most ambitious projects. Set against the backdrop of political unrest and social changes in the Philippines during the 1970s and 1980s, the film follows a poor farming family struggling with poverty and hardship. Its slow-paced storytelling offers a phenomenally extensive look at Filipino society across several decades. | © Lav Diaz
Running time: 9 hours
Another lengthy production from Lav Diaz, Death in the Land of Encantos follows a Filipino poet returning to his hometown of Bicol after spending years in Russia. His homecoming coincides with the devastating aftermath of a super typhoon, forcing him to confront personal memories and the suffering surrounding him. The film beautifully combines personal drama with social commentary and uses its extended runtime to explore grief and destruction. | © Lav Diaz/Sine Olivia Pilipinas Production
Running time: 12 hours, 55 minutes
Out 1 is a legendary experimental film that follows two theatrical groups in Paris as their members become involved in mysterious activities. Inspired partly by the works of Honoré de Balzac, the film gradually weaves together seemingly unrelated characters, conspiracies, and personal relationships. Its nearly 13-hour runtime gives the story plenty of room to develop, although we'll admit that its unconventional storytelling isn't exactly for everyone. | © Jacques Rivette/Suzanne Schiffman
Running time: 7 hours, 47 minutes
O.J.: Made in America is an extensive documentary examining the life and career of O.J. Simpson, from his rise as a celebrated football star to his highly publicized murder trial. Told across five parts, the film explores issues of race, celebrity, police brutality, and the American justice system. It offers an intriguing look at the social tensions surrounding one of the most infamous criminal cases in modern history. Despite its nearly eight-hour runtime, the film remains a gripping and thought-provoking documentary that earned itself the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. | © ESPN Films/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running time: 7 hours, 5 minutes
Napoléon is a landmark film in the history of silent cinema. Released in 1927, it chronicles the early life and military rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. The film is especially famous for its ambitious visual techniques, including its groundbreaking use of a three-screen projection system known as "Polyvision." Although its original versions and modern restorations have different runtimes, its running time of approximately seven hours is definitely a demanding commitment. | © Pathé-Nathan/Abel Gance
Running time: 7 hours, 19 minutes
Sátántangó is frequently considered one of the greatest examples of slow cinema. Set in a struggling Hungarian village, the film follows a group of residents whose lives become increasingly complicated following the return of a supposedly dead man. Shot in striking black and white, it features long tracking shots, slow pacing, and atmospheric sequences that turn an otherwise simple story into an unforgettable experience. | © Magyar Televízió/Télévision Suisse Romande
Running time: 6 hours, 6 minutes
Originally produced as a TV miniseries, The Best of Youth is a drama that follows two Italian brothers across several decades, beginning in the 1960s. Their lives take increasingly different directions as they experience love, family struggles, and personal tragedies. Its emotional storytelling, combined with its incredibly rich and compelling characters, makes it one of the most worthwhile films on this list. | © Rai Fiction/01 Distribution
Running time: 9 hours, 26 minutes
Shoah is arguably one of the most important documentary films ever made. The 1985 movie features extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, witnesses, and former Nazi officials, allowing them to recount their experiences in their own words. Its nearly nine-and-a-half-hour runtime reflects the immense scale of its subject matter and the filmmaker's determination to preserve these important testimonies. | © Claude Lanzmann/New Yorker Films
Most movies wrap up within two hours or so, but some films have a very different idea of what constitutes a reasonable runtime. Several of these films may be long, but their ambitious storytelling, phenomenal cinematography, and gripping sequences are definitely worth your time. That said, here are 15 of the best movies with extremely long runtimes.
