Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema featured a look at “cabin fever” movies. These are long films that make for good viewing when we’re stuck inside by bad weather or shelter in place orders. Make some comfort food, get comfortable under your favorite blanket, and settle in with the commentary from the show as well as a few additional titles.
The Ten Commandments
Extravagant period films and Biblical epics were quite popular in 1950s Hollywood. Of these one of the best and most popular titles was Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. Adapted from the Biblical Book of Exodus as well as several other works, The Ten Commandments was the story of Moses leading the liberation of the Jewish people from Egypt. This remains one of the most popular religious films ever made. Adjusted for inflation, The Ten Commandments is still one of the top ten grossing films ever released. The movie’s continued popularity has been driven by its annual television broadcast which usually coincides with the Easter holiday. However, the television version of The Ten Commandments is trimmed from the theatrical release which runs 220 minutes and includes an overture and intermission as well as an introduction by Cecil B. DeMille all of which are usually excised from the television broadcast.
Hamlet
There have been lots of film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Viewers who are trapped indoors and looking for a long viewing experience ought to check out Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version which runs four hours. Possibly because of its length, Branagh’s version of Hamlet was not a success at the box office in 1996 but it was very well received by critics with several calling it one of the best cinematic adaptations of a Shakespeare play.
The Godfather Saga
The first two entries in The Godfather series are generally regarded as among the best films Hollywood has ever produced. The first movie is a straightforward linear narrative but The Godfather Part II leaps backward and forward in time, showing how the young Vito Corleone arrived in America and established himself as well as how Vito’s son Michael expanded the Corleone family’s criminal empire. In 1977, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola edited the two movies into a single film called The Godfather Saga. Originally broadcast on NBC as a miniseries event, The Godfather Saga tells the story of the first two films linearly and adds some footage that was unused in the theatrical cuts. The seven hour Godfather Saga has not been released on disc although a version that was not censored for television has aired on HBO. A shorter version running 386 minutes and titled The Godfather 1902–1959: The Complete Epic was released on home video in 1981. After the release of The Godfather Part III, Coppola created another expanded version titled The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980, and it also included footage unused in the theatrical cuts. This version, which runs nearly ten hours, was released on VHS and laserdisc but it has not seen a DVD or Blu-Ray or streaming release yet.
Dances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves is based upon the novel by Daniel Blake. Directed by and starring Kevin Costner, the movie tells the story of a United States’ Army lieutenant who travels to a military post at Fort Hayes and befriends the local Native Americans. The theatrical cut ran three hours and was a critical and commercial success. An extended version of Dances with Wolves, which reinserts an additional hour of footage, was released subsequently. The four hour cut of Dances with Wolves has become the dominant version most readily available on Blu-ray although Kevin Costner claims that the theatrical cut is his version of Dances with Wolves and that he had nothing to do with the four hour version.
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in America was a crime drama and the last film to be directed by Sergio Leone. The movie was a sprawling drama about young men living in the Jewish neighborhoods of New York City and how they rise to the top of the city’s criminal underworld. As finished by Leone, Once Upon a Time in America ran 269 minutes. The movie was drastically edited for its North American release but without Leone’s involvement. The theatrical cut of Once Upon a Time in America was cut in half to 139 minutes and it was not well received. Film critic Gene Siskel named the uncut version of Once Upon a Time in America the best film of 1984 but called the shortened, studio-edited version the worst film of that year. In 2012 Once Upon a Time in America was mostly restored to 251 minutes. While Leone’s original cut still hasn’t been made available, the 251 minute cut is regarded as a masterwork.
Cleopatra
The 1963 epic Cleopatra is probably better known for the drama behind the scenes than for anything in the movie itself. Cleopatra is the story of the Egyptian queen and her relationships with Roman emperor Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The production was troubled in part because of its enormous scale but also because of the tempestuous relationship between stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. By any normal measure, Cleopatra was a box office success; it was the highest grossing movie of 1963. But Cleopatra cost so much to make that it was a financial loss and nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. The original cut of Cleopatra was 243 minutes but it was cut down to 194 minutes for its theatrical release. The versions of the film available on video and cable television are the original cut.
Gone with the Wind
Classic movies, especially the long ones, are like large works of classic literature. Most of us have heard of War and Peace and Don Quixote but fewer people have actually read them, sometimes because the length seems intimidating. Some very popular classic movies have also been passed over, among them Gone with the Wind. Fans of classic Hollywood may have seen this film but many younger viewers may have missed this title. An NPR story from 2014 found that contemporary film students were familiar with Gone with the Wind but few had actually watched it. It is a movie that has fallen out of fashion, and understandably so. Even at the time of its release in 1939 Gone with the Wind was criticized for its watered-down depiction of slavery and romanticized view of the Confederacy and those problems have made Gone with the Wind a harder sell to contemporary audiences especially viewers who are more conscientious about these themes and images. Whatever its problems, and there are many, Gone with the Wind is one of Hollywood’s signature titles and those interested in cinema history ought to seek it out.
The Hateful Eight
Most of Quentin Tarantino’s feature films have an excessive length. Kill Bill can certainly fill an afternoon. The two-volume movie runs in excess of four hours and there exists a composite version, subtitled The Whole Bloody Affair, which assembles the pieces of the story chronologically and includes some alternate and additional footage. Unfortunately, The Whole Bloody Affair has yet to be commercially released. Tarantino has also said that a four hour version of Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is on the way. But for now, those looking to shelter in place with a Tarantino movie will probably want to turn to The Hateful Eight. The theatrical cut ran 168 minutes but in 2019 a miniseries version of The Hateful Eight appeared on Netflix. This version was split into four episodes and included some extra footage, bringing the total running time to 210 minutes. The Hateful Eight makes for appropriate cabin fever viewing, as nearly the entire film takes place in and around an isolated haberdashery during a snow storm in 1877 Wyoming.
Lawrence of Arabia
Cold winter days and shelter in place orders can be a good opportunity to check out classic films that you might have avoided because they are so long. One of the most popular titles in that niche is 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia. The movie is one of the great epics and tells the story of British officer T.E. Lawrence who rallied groups of Arab people against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. In 1962 the movie was shown in its full length of 216 minutes. However, Lawrence of Arabia was cut for subsequent releases until it was restored in 1989. Lawrence of Arabia was not a film that transferred well to television especially in the days of 4:3 tube screens. Many scenes use the widescreen format to its advantage, especially desert sequences in which characters are dwarfed by the landscape. Lawrence of Arabia really deserves to be seen in a theater on a big screen but with Blu-ray discs that offer the correct aspect ratio and the availability of large, widescreen televisions, home viewing of Lawrence of Arabia can be a workable substitute.
Nixon
Oliver Stone’s masterpiece is 1995’s Nixon. This biopic of the thirty-seventh President of the United States was a surprise at the time; given Oliver Stone’s politics and his sometimes histrionic filmmaking style, it was widely assumed that the movie would be a cinematic hatchet job. Instead, Nixon was a nuanced and empathetic portrait of the man and his presidency. Stone’s thesis is that Richard Nixon was a complicated figure who accomplished extraordinary things during his administration but he was undone by his own worst tendencies. In its theatrical release, Nixon was over three hours in length. The Director’s Cut, which is the superior version, runs 212 minutes. Despite its length, Nixon is one of the shortest long movies. It moves along at a clip and is full of energy and extraordinary performances including Anthony Hopkins and Joan Allen and Richard and Pat Nixon.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was adapted from the classic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. The three films were shot in one simultaneous production although significant reshoots were done between the installments, and the films were released in consecutive years between 2001 and 2003. As a matter of scale alone, the Lord of the Rings movies were a staggering achievement in spectacle, bridging contemporary sci-fi and fantasy with the old fashioned historical and Biblical epics of the Hollywood studio era. The theatrical versions of The Lord of the Rings were not exactly short; each installment ran about three hours long. For the home video release, filmmaker Peter Jackson offered significantly longer expanded editions. The extended cut of Return of the King runs over four hours. The three movies fit together to form for a complete story making this a good option for an afternoon on the couch.
Nymphomaniac
Most of the films discussed on today’s show have been epic in their scale and are generally mainstream entertainment. Those looking to fill up a day with a more intimate and challenging film could seek out Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. This two part film is the story of a sexually aggressive woman who recounts her life. It’s an explicit film and not for the squeamish. But, in typical Lars von Trier fashion, it is as emotionally devastating as it is visceral. And Nymphomaniac isn’t just an act of provocation; it is an intelligent movie with something to say about sexuality and identity and power. The theatrical version of Nymphomaniac’s two volumes ran two hours apiece. There is also a director’s cut of Nymphomaniac that adds over eighty minutes of footage, bringing the total running time to five and a half hours. Even in its shorter version, Nymphomaniac is a grueling and often unpleasant journey but for viewers who are up to it, Nymphomaniac is a fascinating picture.
Planet of the Apes Series
Most of the films discussed on today’s show have been single titles of an epic length. One franchise that makes for satisfying binge viewing is the original Planet of the Apes series. Starting with the 1968 original and culminating with 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes, these movies tell a coherent story that mostly comes together. The series is five movies in all but most of them run about ninety-minutes and so ambitious viewers could get through the entire series in a single day. Despite their hokey reputation, the Planet of the Apes series is gratifyingly smart. Four of the five movies were officially rated G by the MPA but the films are darker and more mature than that rating suggests.
Seven Samurai
Seven Samurai is arguably the signature work of Akira Kurosawa’s career. Taking place in sixteenth century Japan, a group of unemployed samurai are recruited by a small village as protection from bandits. The movie runs three and a half hours. It was cut down by 50 minutes for its original American release but most versions of the movie now available are the full 207 minute cut. Seven Samurai was unofficially remade as the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven (which itself was subsequently remade in 2016) and Pixar’s 1998 feature A Bug’s Life, making any combination of these films candidates for a double or triple feature.