No one is ever going to accuse Quentin Tarantino of making a bad movie – because quite frankly he has yet to (in my humble opinion). As he has grown throughout his career, though, many of Tarantino's films have become defined by their longer running time – a decision that has a tendency to polarize some moviegoers. The upcoming The Hateful Eight is expected to be the director’s longest film to date, which begs the question: is that a good or bad thing?
It was revealed, during Deadline’s Contenders event, that The Hateful Eight – which is already generating awards buzz – would be Tarantino’s longest film yet at over three hours long. Although it’s not necessarily a linear progression, Quentin Tarantino’s films have very clearly gotten longer in length as his career has progressed. His freshman foray into the world of cinema – Reservoir Dogs – was by far his shortest feature length film to date, clocking in at a mere 99 minutes. His most recently released film – Django Unchained – dwarfed that number by over an hour.
To get a better overall sense of the progression, here’s the run time for every Tarantino feature film to date, from his shortest to his alleged longest:
Reservoir Dogs: 1h 39m
Kill Bill Volume 1: 1h 52m
Death Proof: 2h 7m
Kill Bill: Volume 2: 2h 18m
Inglourious Basterds: 2h 33m
Pulp Fiction: 2h 34m
Jackie Brownn: 2h 34m
Django Unchained: 2h 45m
The Hateful Eight: 3h 2m
It’s difficult to determine whether or not such a long running time will serve as a benefit or a detriment to the film’s quality. On one hand, it will allow Tarantino a bit of breathing room – he has often executed amazing dialogue scenes when he paces himself, and is not beholden to a clock. On the other hand, many casual moviegoers simply cannot sit in a movie theater for that long without getting bored.
The Hateful Eight centers around eight strangers taking shelter in a single cabin during a violent blizzard. Stuck together due to circumstances, it seems the characters will likely not venture far from the aforementioned cabin, meaning the majority of the film will take place in a single location. With this in mind, The Hateful Eight could – like many of Tarantino’s movies – draw a line in the sand between true cinephiles who can tolerate such lengthy running times in the name of art, and the average Joe who merely wishes to see an entertaining film. Check out the trailer for The Hateful Eight below if you have yet to:
What do you think of The Hateful Eight’s lengthy run time? Is it excessive, or is it refreshing to see a director taking his or her time with a story? Take part in CinemaBlend’s poll below to give us your take on the matter.
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