Usually, the goal of a 24-hour movie marathon is to pack as many entertaining movies in as possible. However, you have to wonder: what is the fewest movies in a 24-hour movie marathon? Thanks to the AMC blog (which only counts American movies) and a little scheduling math, the correct answer is “six movies”.
That’s a pretty impressive 4 hours each, minus a little bit of time for breaks. If you want to take on this grueling challenge, the movie descriptions are below, along with a movie marathon schedule where the movies are sorted from from longest to “shortest”.
If you dare to take this one on, I can only wish you good luck and godspeed.
The Really, Really Long Movies
Hamlet
Length: 242 min.
My take: Hamlet is sad and discusses this at length, then manages to kill pretty much everyone in the cast. The best play ever written in the English language.
The Iceman Cometh
Length: 239 min.
My take: Lee Marvin tries to cheer up depressed barflies by telling them to give up their foolish dreams. Amazingly, this does not go as well as Lee thought it would.
Gods and Generals
Length: 231 min.
My take: Another civil war movie that goes on almost as long as the war itself.
Once Upon a Time in America
Length: 229 min.
My take: Sergio Leone makes a sequel to his popular “Once Upon a Time in the West”. This time with gangsters instead of cowboys.
Lawrence of Arabia
Length: 227 min.
My take: One of the greatest movies ever, yada yada – hey – according to the plot synopsis, Lawrence organized guerrilla army “camel attacks”. I would really, really like to see a camel attack squad. Are they armored? Are they bred for their ferocity? I have so many questions.
Gone with the Wind
Length: 226 min.
My take: Unrequited love plus the civil war equals comedy gold! At least, that’s what I’m guessing not having seen the movie.
The Movie Marathon Schedule with the Fewest Movies
| Start Time | Title |
| 12:00 PM | Hamlet |
| 04:15 PM | The Iceman Cometh |
| 08:30 PM | Gods and Generals |
| 12:30 AM | Once Upon a Time in America |
| 04:30 AM | Lawrence of Arabia |
| 08:30 AM | Gone with the Wind |
| 12:30 PM | Finish |
