Top 10 Longest Movies Ever Made

The title “Amra Ekta Cinema Banabo” means “We make a film”. With a running time of over 21 hours, this Bengali film from 2019 is the longest “real” (narrative) film ever made. The film deals with themes such as love, dreams, war and the struggle for independence in Bangladesh. It is an epic black-and-white drama that completely pushes the boundaries of traditional cinema. Taste is of course subjective, but this list requires a lot of patience. Have you ever seen a movie that was longer than four hours? Let us know!

“Berlin Alexanderplatz” by Rainer Werner Fassbinder is a monument in film history. Although originally a 14-part television miniseries, the total length of over 15.5 hours is often shown as one film in special marathon sessions. The story follows Franz Biberkopf, a man who tries to build an honest life in 1920s Berlin after his release from prison.

This fourteen and a half hour documentary by Peter Watkins focuses on nuclear weapons, military spending and global poverty. The “common man” around the world is being asked about his awareness of these crucial issues. It is an impressive social document that forces the viewer to think about the future of humanity.

“La Flor” is a 2018 Argentinian film that lasts almost 14 hours. The director, Mariano Llinás, worked on this project for ten years. The film is divided into six different episodes, each in a different genre: from a B-movie about a mummy to a musical and a spy thriller. The special thing is that the same four actresses play the leading roles in each episode, but each time as a different character.

The 1971 film “Out 1” is a masterpiece by the French director Jacques Rivette. This almost thirteen hour long film follows a number of characters while a theater group rehearses for a play. The focus is on Colin, who receives mysterious messages that send him on a quest through Paris. The film is known for its improvisation and loose structure, which was characteristic of the French Nouvelle Vague.

In 2025, the record for the longest film of all time was finally shattered by “The Freedom of Uselessness”. This experimental film by Samuel Felinton and Declan Mungovan lasts no less than 2,400 hours. The film is a reflection on time and futility in the modern world. Anyone who wants to see the film in its entirety will have to sit in the theater for more than three months without a break — a feat that no one has yet accomplished.

“Logistics” is a Swedish art project that follows the journey of a pedometer, but in reverse. The film starts in a store in Stockholm and ends in the factory in China where the product is made. The journey is shown in real time: every second that the truck, train or enormous container ship is on its way is in the film. With 857 hours of footage, it is a real test for the viewer.

For a long time “Modern Times Forever” was the undisputed number one. The film shows decades of decay of the Stora Enso building in Helsinki, accelerated over a period of 240 hours. The film was originally shown on a giant screen opposite the building itself, so that passersby saw the building decay in real time in the film.

Director Gérard Courant worked for no less than 36 years on his life's work “Cinématon”. The film consists of more than 3,000 silent “vignettes” of exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds each. It features several celebrities, artists and friends of the director. As the director continued to add vignettes, the film has grown over the years to a running time of over 200 hours.

“Beijing 2003” is a film by the famous artist Ai Weiwei. The film shows the city where he lives and its inhabitants in an extremely minimalist way. A car with a camera drives through literally every street within the fourth ring road of the gigantic metropolis of Beijing. The result is a hypnotic, 150-hour journey through the urban landscape.