"Into The Wild" running time

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The final running time of Sean Penn's Into The Wild (Paramount Classics, 9.21) -- the story of would-be Alaskan nature dweller Chris McCandless -- is two hours and 28 minutes. There's no such thing as a good movie that runs too long or a bad movie that runs too short, but 148 minutes is...well, attention-getting. Penn is the director, writer and producer. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart and Vince Vaughn.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 11, 2007 at 5:50 PM

comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

Geez, it took me less time than that to read the book.

Posted by Josh Massey at July 11, 2007 6:04 PM

comment #2

erniesouchak says ...

A good movie that runs too long becomes a bad movie.

Posted by erniesouchak at July 11, 2007 8:28 PM

comment #3

MickTravis says ...

Wells, I know how I feel about 148 because I wasn't a fan of "The Indian Runner" or Penn's follow-up.

But I have this suspicion that the length of "Into the Wild" is a drum you have just started beating and you will beat it until you see it. And, then, 85% chance you'll keep beating it afterward.

You get these itches and sometimes you scratch them too much. Sometimes maybe you should save your hunches for the review, then you will seem even more insightful, rather than just the victim of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Posted by MickTravis at July 11, 2007 9:42 PM

comment #4

BurmaShave says ...

THE PLEDGE was pretty good. One of Nicholson's finest performances. Way too many cameos though. It was basically IT'S A MAD MAD MAD CHILD MURDER.

Posted by BurmaShave at July 11, 2007 10:47 PM

comment #5

lazespud says ...

Into the Wild is one of my all-time favorite books; it's one of those that I kept buying copies of at Costco and giving them away; I probably bought 6 different copies of it. So that said, I honestly barely remember another person in the book other than McCandless ("Alexander Supertramp") other than some bits about his parents. When I saw the huge list of supporting actors for the movie I was surprised... maybe Penn "fleshed out" the story and that's where the bloat came in. Either way, I'm giving it a chance; that book was so damned great and I want the movie to be great too...

Posted by lazespud at July 12, 2007 12:17 AM

comment #6

Josh Massey says ...

If memory serves (I read the book almost a decade ago), there are a lot of small roles of people McCandless met along the way.

Posted by Josh Massey at July 12, 2007 5:47 AM

comment #7

Josh Massey says ...

And, by the way, I pray Penn hasn't made McCandless into some kind of noble hero. He was just a pompous, stupid college kid who showed no regard for his family and bit off more than he could chew.

Posted by Josh Massey at July 12, 2007 5:50 AM

comment #8

jesse says ...

And of course, Josh, any fictional movie that says otherwise will be "incorrect," right? Reminds me of the review I read of American Splendor that said that he had dealt with Harvey Pekar in real life, he was an ass, and therefore this movie, which didn't portray him as an ass, was bad.

On to another discussion: Marcia Gay Harden, most overrated actress of this decade? Discuss.

Posted by jesse at July 12, 2007 6:56 AM

comment #9

Rob says ...

I'd rather spend 2 1/2 hours with a serious movie that's actually about something than, say, Spiderman 3.

Posted by Rob at July 12, 2007 8:24 AM

comment #10

Josh Massey says ...

Jesse: Uh, what?

Posted by Josh Massey at July 12, 2007 1:16 PM

comment #11

jesse says ...

Josh, I was saying that it sounds like you have a pretty firm idea of who this dude is, and it sounds like you'll view the movie negatively if its portrayal doesn't match your perception... just as the critic I mentioned didn't like American Splendor because he felt it wasn't true to Harvey Pekar's "real" personality.

Posted by jesse at July 12, 2007 6:47 PM

comment #12

Josh Massey says ...

Well, I've read the book, and many articles about the guy. He took off from about five miles from where I live, so it was a big story locally for awhile. I can't profess to know the guy, but I can profess to know the book that the movie is based on. Krakauer, the author, had no illusions as to what McCandless was, and I hope Penn doesn't either.

Posted by Josh Massey at July 13, 2007 6:40 AM

comment #13