MovieChat Forums > La Belle Noiseuse (1991) Discussion > 3 hours too long

3 hours too long

posted 13 years ago by ram-30
3 replies | jump to latest

I tried to have an open mind about this film considering by strong bias against French (so called) classics but, I am sorry to say, it was 3 hours too long (no joke; it really is); I constantly kept saying to myself that the 40 minute Nick Nolte segment from New York Stories was what this should have film should have reached for. I never saw the 2 hour version but I think it might have be a marked improvement. This film simply solidified my disdain for French cinema.

The Lord giveth and the wife taketh away!

[–] cdjunkee-1 13 years ago

That's too bad... there are many good French films. you shouldn't let one film ruin your enjoyment of them. just my 2 cents. it could be worse... you could've been watching the 8 hour cut of "Greed"! ;-)

I agree this movie wasn't my cup of tea. it was a chore to watch. but as far as French films go the good ones outweigh the bad.

~I love the rhythm it is my methoood!~

[–] diceman89 12 years ago

Try watching the 9 hour Shoah or the 16 hour Berlin Alexanderplatz.

[–] joachimt-IMDB 11 years ago

Watched them both. Loved them! I don't mind long movies. Satantango for example is among my favorites.

I watched the 2-hour version of La belle noiseuse a few years ago and I just watched the 4-hour version. I wasn't really looking forward to it, because I was expecting it to be less interesting. I must say I'm glad I did watch it. I think the movie was more powerful in the 4-hour cut. To watch this movie you need patience and attention, just like the painter needs to make the painting. Not easy cinema, though.

If you liked this, try "El sol del membrillo". Also about a painter trying to create masterpiece, although I missed the human relations in that movie, which I liked in "La belle noiseuse".