24 Hour Movie Marathon!

Hayao Miyazaki Movie Marathon

Hayao Miyazaki, the famous Japanese animator and director, is retiring! What a great time to have a Miyazaki movie marathon!

I was first introduced to Miyazaki years ago by the anime club at Grand Valley State University – back in the days when you had to go to clubs to watch anime. His films range from epically awesome and beautiful to fun and exuberant to adventuresome but downright weird. I can say this much – you are always guaranteed a unique experience when you see a Miyazaki film.

Some themes are common in Miyazaki’s films, such as anti-war, pro-ecology, strong female leads, etc. If you have a Miyazaki movie marathon, make sure to play Miyazaki movie marathon bingo!

If you wish to embark on a 24 hour Miyazaki movie marathon, I have a sample schedule ready to go for you below. Every film directed by Miyazaki is below, and one film which he didn’t direct but wrote the screenplay for is also included. I’ve ordered them in chronological order by release, so you can see his entire career from beginning to end.

Miyazaki Movie Marathon Movies

Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostiro

My take: An internationally renowned thief saves a princess, defeats an evil count, and gets the treasure. Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film – resembles his other films 0%.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

My take: After the apocalypse, small pockets of humanity war with each other to while battling the encroachment of gigantic bugs from the “Toxic Jungle”. A heartwarming story for the whole family!

Castle in the Sky

My take: A boy discovers a girl falling from a castle in the sky. They really should install some guardrails on the castle. Someone could get hurt!

My Neighbor Totoro

My take: Two girls discover forest spirits and have some fun with them. That’s it. No. Really. There is no villain. There really isn’t any conflict either. How would you classify this plot? Human vs. nature? No. Human vs. herself? Nope. Hm….

Kiki’s Delivery Service

My take: A young witch strikes it out on her own and starts her own broom-based delivery service. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Maybe she can upgrade to weather manipulation in the sequel.

Porco Rosso

My take: A straightforward story of a jaded pilot, weary of the world, but yet compelled to do the right thing. Oh, did I mention he’s an anthropomorphic pig? He is. Why? Uh….something do to with a curse? I think?

On Your Mark

My take: A quick music video directed by Miyazaki. Still great, even at seven minutes long.

Princess Mononoke

My take: An epic battle between humans and nature – with crazy forest gods, evil black tentacle disease, kick-butt heroine – watch it!

Spirited Away

My take: A girl and her family is transported to a spirit world where all sorts of weird magical things happen. If you plan to take recreational drugs during your movie marathon, here’s your chance!

Howl’s Moving Castle

My take: The Wizard Howl has a castle that can walk around on legs. It’s the magical equivalent of a Winnebago. Oh – and there’s a plot of a young woman cursed and she utilizes crazy flying machines or something.

Ponyo

My take: Ponyo is a fish who wants to be a human girl. Its “The Little Mermaid” but with toddlers instead of true love kisses.

The Secret World Of Arrietty

My take: Little people live with big people and secretly steal their stuff to survive. Wouldn’t it be easier to just announce that you exist and live in tiny little houses? I suppose the morning commute to your tiny little job in your tiny little car would be a stressful. Maybe it is easier to just steal the big people’s stuff.

The Wind Rises

My take: Miyazaki’s last film, about a man dedicated to designing airplanes – and how his designs were co-opted to produce World War II zeros.

Miyazaki Movie Marathon Schedule

Start Time	Title
12:00 PM	Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostiro
02:00 PM	Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
04:00 PM	Castle in the Sky
06:15 PM	My Neighbor Totoro
08:00 PM	Kiki’s Delivery Service
10:00 PM	Porco Rosso
11:35 PM	On Your Mark
11:45 PM	Princess Mononoke
02:00 AM	Spirited Away
04:15 AM	Howl’s Moving Castle
06:15 AM	Ponyo
08:00 AM	The Secret World Of Arrietty
09:45 AM	The Wind Rises

Quick Links: Moe at the Movies

Mohammed, from Moe at the Movies, has amassed an impressive collection of movie marathons (about 50!). He has lots of great ideas, organized by actor/actress, time period, director, and more. I haven’t gone through them all, but I admire his organization and tenacious love of cinema. Check it out if you need some quick ideas!

I wonder if he’s ever done a 24 hour movie marathon 😉

How Long is a Movie Marathon?

UPDATE 2/19/2017: For the authoritative definition of a movie marathon’s length, visit my movie marathon definition page. This article is an earlier version of my thoughts on the subject.

The length of a movie marathon is undefined! Can you believe it? The internet does not have an answer to a useless, nerdy question! Thankfully you have a nerd like me around to take it on!

First off, let’s start with the definition of a marathon. The relevant definition is:

3. any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance: a dance marathon; a sales marathon.

This is a good starting point, but not a tight definition. “Greater than normal length” could be two movies. Requiring “exceptional endurance” could be anything longer than, say, twelve hours.

When I think of a long viewing session, I think of a watching the original Star Wars trilogy. Watching them all in one sitting qualifies as a “greater than normal length” viewing experience (6.5 hours), and it does require some amount of endurance.

When I think of a true marathon experience, however, I’m sticking to 24 hours. Staying awake for that long, doing nothing but watching movies, does require exceptional endurance. Few people I know can do it – much like there are few people I know who can run the actual marathon footrace.

Based on this standard, I hereby proclaim the following:

The minimum length of a movie marathon is six hours
The ideal length of a movie marathon is twenty-four hours

There you go internet. You are welcome for my contribution.

UPDATE: I just found one other definition of movie marathon at Urban Dictionary. Their definition is:

to watch four or more movies in a row.
usually done by a movie freaks or anyone who has nothing to do to spend their free time.

I like my time-based standard better, since six hours can accommodate 3-4 movies, depending on their length. No comment on whether or not have I have nothing to do in my free time. :^)

Photo by Stefan Baudy

Guinness World Record for Longest Movie Marathon

Guinness World records states that the longest movie marathon was 121 hours and 18 minutes, and took place in 2015 in South Africa. That is an amazing achievement. But if you look around the Internet, others have claimed longer movie marathons. The biggest claim I’ve found on the internet is a 200 hour movie marathon! Are all of these “Guinness World Records”? What does it take to have a “Guinness World Record” anyway?

I decided to get to the bottom of the issue and contact Guinness World Records on Facebook. They responded to me and said that their record still stands. The longer movie marathons, such as the 200 hour marathon, may not have made qualified for a Guinness world record for a variety of reasons. The participants may not have submitted evidence substantiating their claim to Guinness, or the movie marathon may not have followed the movie marathon record guidelines.

In order to beat the Guinness World Record for movie marathons, you need to follow specific rules. These are hardcore rules. I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t followed. This article on SlashFilm describes what you need to do:

Guinness World Records rules require the contestants to watch films non-stop without averting their eyes from the screen. Competitors will be given 10 minutes between each movie, or approximately every two hours, to refresh themselves. Eating, drinking, standing and stretching are allowed as long as eyes are on the screen.

Those are some brutal rules. I get up and avert my eyes from the screen all the time. Usually it is so I can talk to my fellow movie goers, or just to take a lap around the room to stay awake. I think I’ll stay an amateur!

A 200-hour movie marathon may have taken place in Bolivia, as claimed. But, for one reason or another, it was never verified by Guinness. However, the door is always open to submitting new evidence to the Guinness World Records! If you are going to be the next one to try, I wish you good luck!

UPDATED: Updated in 2017 for the new world record.

24 Hour Movie Marathon Challenge

Ryan Chattaway laid down a 24 hour movie marathon challenge on YouTube: do a 24 hour movie marathon, follow his rules, and record your experience on YouTube! I think that’s a pretty interesting twist to the normal 24 hour movie marathon experience.

Below is his 2013 (second annual) call-to-action (and here is the original 2012 announcement in case you are interested).

His rules are:

Watch one film over 180 minutes
Watch one film you have no interest in watching
Watch one best picture academy award
Watch one of your favorite films

Below is his recording of his own 2012 marathon.

I like Ryan’s idea. Even though he did his marathon alone, he gets to share his experience virtually via YouTube, and so does everyone else performing his challenge. Having a social experience was always the most fun part of a movie marathon to me.

I don’t think anything can replace the in-person party aspect I love so much. However, extending the experience virtually is an excellent idea. I think I’ll give vlogging a try during my 2014 movie marathon.

If you liked Ryan’s rules, check out the 24-hour movie marathon rules I live by!