Short blockbusters
Napoleon Plural
LondonPosts: 10,308MI6 Agent
I'm putting this in the QoS thread as it relates to its short running time, a cause of some apprehension, not withstanding the similar duration of Goldfinger.
Men in Black was only 96 minutes.
Any other classics with a surprisingly brief running time?
Men in Black was only 96 minutes.
Any other classics with a surprisingly brief running time?
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Comments
Better than the horrible trend for long films, though- Dark Knight, Pirates and friends need to find that mid point.
There are classics, older films, that are just slightly over the hour mark. Usually horror, probably not in the secret agent genre. 99% of the time I prefer their running time. The only exception is Bond and today's historical fiction. With those two, I become very greedy.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Though the latter has its moments, I definitely favour the original.
As a writer (i.e: unemployed and jobbing scripts around) the first rule of thumb other wirters have stated is that it's better if your script is shorter than normal, this means you:
a: will have a streamlined plot that runs through and ties up at the end.
b: if need be, have room for manaevouer to character develop and so forth.
Still counting down the days now!!!
Older popcorn movies tend to be the opposite, and if you watch movies of, say, the 1940s, you'll hear the actors talking about twice as fast as they do today -- hence, a 90-minute movie from that era can seem far richer than a 120-minute movie from today, and certainly more than most 90-minute movies today. Since movies today often use a minimalist approach to character development -- a bit of trivia in dialogue or a close up of an expression to stand in for actually witnessing onscreen character growth -- the problem is compounded.
I believe Casino Royale needed another 10 minutes to flesh out Vesper's character and make the romance more believable. As it was, I understood they fell in love, but I didn't feel it all that much. I would have cut some of the superfluous moments if time was immutable -- I didn't need to see Craig come out of the sea twice, for instance, and while the action sequences were strong, trimming down the director's and producer's cameos would have been okay with me. So, I'm a little concerned with keeping Quantum of Solace under two hours -- my guess is that this really has much more to do with getting in more screenings and trailer/commercials each day than an artistic choice.
That would be my only criticism of CR. Some of the earlier set pieces could have been trimmed down, in my opinion, to make way for more Bond/Vesper development. The building site chase was far too long and I felt the Miami airport scene was a little overcooked too.
To me, CR was a bit like Dark Knight in that sense, it's a three-part or more serial crammed into a single movie. In a serial on tv, there's a week or more between meetings, so naturally it feels like you've known the character far longer because you have, even if the screen time is not hugely different. It was hard to get to grips with a new Bat love interest (new as in new actress) and it is a bit crammed.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Surely that's illegal.