I am not talking about independent films, even if they became popular and made it to all the theatres after a film festival, etc. I'm talking about wide release types of movies.
2007-03-28 16:49:38 · 6 answers · asked by sedela 2 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Movies
At a guess Gone with the Wind... if not Spartacus.
--Lee Ann
2007-03-28 16:53:35 · answer #1 · answered by Lee Ann 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, I don't know if it was THE first to cross the 3-hour mark, but "Birth of a Nation" ran 3 hours and 10 minutes when it came out in 1915 (24 years before Gone With the Wind), which made it the longest movie ever released up to that point. And yes, it was a wide-release movie, and a very popular one (except, quite understandably, with African-Americans). In fact, many film historians credit Birth of a Nation's success with playing a big role in cementing the place of the feature-length film in cinema, since at the time the majority of movies being made (though certainly not all of them) were 10-30 minute short films.
Edit to Add: According to the trivia section on IMDB, Birth of a Nation was the first film to run longer than 100 minutes. I don't know where that claim came from, but if it's true then obviously this would indeed be the first 3-hour movie in film history.
2007-03-29 00:09:17 · answer #2 · answered by joby27 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Gone with the Wind 238 minutes 1939 English
2007-03-29 00:00:49 · answer #3 · answered by sagegranny 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that it would be The Lord of the Rings. it is more than 3 jours long, and it is a trilogy. It was not an independant film, it was created by Hollywood, but I am not sure. I may also be Roots.
2007-03-28 23:57:19 · answer #4 · answered by Shark_Kid 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind
2007-03-28 23:53:59 · answer #5 · answered by jojo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
would say, Titanic, if not then Saving Private Ryan
2007-03-28 23:57:08 · answer #6 · answered by Vicz101 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋