Okay, Okay....

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Despite Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull composer John Williams having said in that recent You Tube video clip that the film is "seven reels long [with] each reel being 20 minutes," and therefore 140 minutes give or take...it's not. Producer Frank Marshall called Paramount publicity today to inform that the film is maybe a tad over two hours including credits. So Williams was blah-blahing...whatever.

comment #1

lazespud says ...

Thank god for small miracles...

I have middlin' expectations for this movie... basically I'm expecting to to be reasonably exciting and move along at a steady clip, and I'll basically enjoy it. But definately not at two and half hours.

I'd compare it to those Pirate of the Caribbean sequels... Weren't they both close to three hours? I'd probably have actually enjoyed them if they had just delivered a two hour run time (well maybe not, but the experience would have been less painful). Action adventure movies should not be more than two hours! (IMHO).

comment #2

Aladdin Sane says ...

Yeah, most action films can't be much longer over 2 hours. Even Michael Bay is wise enough to know this, although Transformers is a tad long (needlessly so) at 2 hrs 20 mins or so...but it seems to be a rule that most action films adhere to (with the obvious exception of the LOTR films and the POTC films).

Out of curiosity, does Batman Begins count as action/adventure for you? While it certainly has those moments, it seems that they were going for more of a dramatic film...I expect TDK to have more action since the backstory is out of the way for Bruce. If it's 2 1/2 hours, I wouldn't give a damn, as long as it's solid entertainment.

comment #3

Spacesheik says ...

That's a pity, I was looking forward to a longer action epic.

Oh, well.

comment #4

aussieanywhere says ...

oh well. Rejoice that the SEX AND THE CITY movie runs 145 min.

comment #5

BurmaShave says ...

Walked past the huge banner hanging on the Verizon Center tonight, suddenly got very excited.

comment #6

Josh Massey says ...

"Action adventure movies should not be more than two hours! (IMHO)."

The Great Escape would like to have a word with you.

comment #7

corey3rd says ...

while a reel can run about 20 minutes, there a chance that the film reels haven't been completely balanced so while there were 7 reels delivered to the studio, a few could be light.

comment #8

Erik Childress says ...

"Yeah, most action films can't be much longer over 2 hours. Even Michael Bay is wise enough to know this..."

In what world are you living in? Since the first Bad Boys, both The Rock and The Island clocked in at 136 mins. Transformers, Armageddon and BAD BOYS II all flirt around the 2-and-a-half mark and Pearl Harbor is over three.

comment #9

Mgmax says ...

"I'd compare it to those Pirate of the Caribbean sequels... Weren't they both close to three hours?"

Right. To update my comment of the other day, four Indiana Jones movies are only about a reel longer than three Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

comment #10

Movie Watcher says ...

Who cares how long the Indy movie is? It is going to make more cash than Iron Man. And after all, isn't that what it's all about?

comment #11

Aladdin Sane says ...

Are they really that long? Man, the Bad Boys films, The Island and The Rock don't feel that long...didn't care for Armageddon and Pearl Harbor so I wasn't really accounting for them. It's been a while since I've seen anything of his beyond Transformers. Apologies. I should fact check before I post.

comment #12

Couperito says ...

Kind of amazed that nobody reading this understands how reels work: they can be UP TO 20 minutes long but are as a rule less than 20 minutes long--see, you need to create a reel break at a point in the movie when there's no sound (or a momentary lull), i.e. not in the middle of a piece of score. So your editor will look for moments like that (usually between scenes) to end a reel. Obviously you want to ship as few reels as possible (it's cheaper) so you want to maximize the length of the reels. But an average of 17-minute reels for INDIANA JONES (which is what Marshall is saying) would be completely normal.

comment #13

Mgmax says ...

"Kind of amazed that nobody reading this understands how reels work"

Where do you get that from this thread?

comment #14

/3rtfu11 says ...

[aussieanywhere says ...
oh well. Rejoice that the SEX AND THE CITY movie runs 145 min.]

Thank God!

comment #15

lazespud says ...

To Couperito --

You certainly know more about the subject of reels than I do, but as near as I can tell in the modern parlance--given coming era of digital distribution and the ubiquity of virtually every theater transferring all reels onto a single platter for showing--a reel has come to mean '20 minutes". I don't doubt what you're saying about the historical defination of reel, and it's possible that's where John Williams was going with his comments, but it's fairly clear that most current references you see use "reel" as a shorthand for 20 minutes.

Oh and to person who mentioned The Great Escape as a long action/adventure film; of course you're right. You can also mention Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. I guess I meant and "Basic" and "Dumb" action adventure should not be more than 2 hours. Meaning that I won't get too mad for turning my brain off for that time period, but any longer I start to feel shame. Escape, Kwai, and even the original Raider film (had it been 3 hours) wouldn't have qualified because they were five cuts about average action adventure flicks)....

comment #16

lazespud says ...

Jesus, I really should preview my comments before posting them; despite what the grammar seems to show in my previous post, I'm not a blithering idiot... just a too-quick typist.

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