Films with Longest Production Time
This is a list of films shot over three or more years. The list excludes projects comprising individual films not shot over a long period, such as the Harry Potter film series. Which of these films is the most impressive?
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- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTerry PotterPete O'HerneCraig SmithThe population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.Shot primarily on weekends over the course of four years.
- DirectorE. Elias MerhigeStarsBrian SalzbergDonna DempseyStephen Charles BarryPresented in a surreal, gory and entirely visual manner, Begotten tells of the death of religion, the abuse of nature by Man and a nihilistic outlook on what life ultimately is.An experimental film by director E. Merhidge, the director worked mainly alone and had to act as uncredited roles in the film.
- DirectorChristiane CegavskeA handmade stop-motion fairy tale for adults that tells the tale of the struggle between the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak over the doll of their heart's desire.A stop-motion animation film. Director Christiane Cegavske worked primarily alone.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.Filming took place once or twice a year, starting in summer 2002 and ending in October 2013. The cast and crew gathered to film scenes for three or four days annually.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsBill MurrayTom WaitsRoberto BenigniA series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.The first segment filmed in 1986, while the final six were completed in 2003.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.Due to the minimal length of the script, director David Lynch struggled to finance his debut film.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsShirley HendersonJohn SimmShaun KirkThis film charts the relationship between a man imprisoned for drug smuggling and his wife and is being shot over the course of five years, a few weeks at a time.Filming took place twice a year, once in summer and once in winter. The cast and crew gathered for a few weeks each time, whenever they had gaps in their schedules.
- DirectorAndrew GettyStarsSean Patrick FlaneryDina MeyerFrederick KoehlerA lonely, mentally handicapped boy befriends his reflection in an antique mirror. This demonic creature orders him to go on a murderous rampage to kill the people he loves most.Originally titled The Storyteller, filming began in 2002, with director Andrew Getty constantly starting and stopping the film's production. Getty died in 2015, two years before the film's release with only editing and color correction remaining, leaving editor Michael Luceri to finish the film on his own.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsLee PaceCatinca UntaruJustine WaddellIn 1920s Los Angeles, a bedridden patient in a hospital captivates a young girl with a fantastic tale of heroes, myths, and villains on a desert island.Shot in 24 countries.
- DirectorAleksey GermanStarsLeonid YarmolnikAleksandr ChutkoYuriy TsuriloIn the distant future, a space traveler from Earth breaks a special law and interferes with the history of another, Medieval-like planet.Filming took place on and off for a period of seven years, beginning in the autumn of 2000 and was followed by an additional six years worth of post-production.
- DirectorHoward HughesEdmund GouldingJames WhaleStarsBen LyonJames HallJean HarlowBrothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.Howard Hughes' fighting plane film, referenced in The Aviator. A long shooting schedule, made longer when Hughes decided to add sound at the advent of "talkies".
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.Filming included over 250 hours of footage. Originally planned to be a 30-minute piece for PBS, Hoop Dreams developed into a 170-minute documentary that took three years to edit.
- DirectorK.S. AdiyamanSanjay SinghStarsShah Rukh KhanMadhuri DixitSalman KhanGopal's blissful married life with Radha blemishes when Radha gets obsessed with the career of her friend, Suraj, who is a singer. Ripped apart by jealousy, Gopal deserts Radha.It took six years to make, with huge sabbaticals between shoots due to production problems.
- DirectorKevin BrownlowAndrew MolloStarsPauline MurraySebastian ShawBart AllisonIn 1940, Germany invades Britain and transforms it into a Fascist state where some Britons collaborate and others resist. In 1944, Pauline, an apolitical Irish nurse becomes a reluctant player in the fight between the two sides.Filmed by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, who began work on the film as teenagers, with a cast that mostly consisted of amateur actors.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsJohn WayneJanet LeighJay C. FlippenAir Force Colonel Jim Shannon is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot who is scheming to lure Shannon to the USSR.Howard Hughes' other fighting plane film which was shot between 1949 and 1951.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsNoam ChomskyBill BairdFlip BenhamA graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.A documentary film. Director Tony Kaye filmed this documentary over a period of 16 years; he funded it by spending $6 million of his own money.
- DirectorFrantisek VlácilStarsJosef KemrMagda VásáryováNada HejnaA grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval central Europe - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.Works started in 1960 and finished in 1967.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsConrad AnkerGrace ChinJimmy ChinThree elite climbers struggle to find their way through obsession and loss as they attempt to climb Mount Meru, one of the most coveted prizes in the high stakes game of Himalayan big wall climbing.The first portion of the documentary film took place in 2008, while the final portion was shot in 2011.
- DirectorElizabeth BanksSteven BrillSteve CarrStarsEmma StoneStephen MerchantRichard GereA series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.Filming spanned four years in order to work around the ensemble cast members' schedules.
- DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsAndrzej SewerynJerzy TrelaGrazyna DylagA team of astronauts land on an inhabitable planet and form a society. Many years later, a single astronaut is sent to the planet and becomes a messiah.After production was shutdown by the Polish cultural authorities in 1977, the film's director, Andrzej Zulawski, returned to Poland in 1988 and smuggled the remnants of the film to the Cannes film festival where it was screened for the first time. The missing segments of the film were filled in with shots of modern day Warsaw while Zulawski's voice-over explained which segments were missing.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesMicheál MacLiammóirRobert CooteThe Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.An adaptation of the Shakespeare play directed by Orson Welles. The total production time stretched from 1948 to 1952.[24] Welles also produced Filming Othello, a documentary about the making of this film, from 1974 to 1978.
- DirectorKamal AmrohiStarsAshok KumarMeena KumariRaaj KumarIn Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.Filming began in 1958 and continued until 1964 when lead actress Meena Kumari divorced director Kamal Amrohi. The film was put on hold for nearly six years until fellow actors Nargis and Sunil Dutt convinced Kumari to finish it in the early 1970s.
- DirectorTakeshi KoikeStarsTakuya KimuraYû AoiTadanobu AsanoA story about the most popular racing event in the galaxy, the Redline, and the various racers who compete in it.Animated over seven years using 100,000 hand-made drawings.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.Filmed on location in 25 different countries.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.The first six years were devoted to recording interviews conducted in 14 different countries.
- DirectorHiroshi HaradaStarsMinako NakaNorihiko MorishitaKeinosuke OkamotoThe story based off of the controversial manga by Suehiro Maruo takes place where a little orphaned girl joins a freak-show circus troupe whose members rape and abuse her. She then finds a glimmer of hope in the enigmatic magician who joins the group.Work on the film began in 1987 and was finished in 1992.
- DirectorLes ClarkClyde GeronimiEric LarsonStarsMary CostaBill ShirleyEleanor AudleyAfter being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.Disney animated film; production spanned 1951 to 1958.
- DirectorRichard WilliamsStarsVincent PriceMatthew BroderickJennifer BealsA lonely princess and a poor cobbler fall in love while trying to retrieve three magical orbs that were stolen by a bumbling thief, all while outwitting a powerful sorcerer as adventure and comedic pop culture references abound.Work on the film began in 1964 and was finished in 1993.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsBernhard MinettiLeni RiefenstahlAribert WäscherSet in the early part of 20th century Europe, where a dancer becomes the romantic bone of contention between 2 men; a humble shepherd and an imperious marquis.Work on the script began in 1934, shooting lasted from 1940 to 1944, and the film was finally shown in 1954.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsCate BlanchettJamal CavilMaisha DiattaAn exploration into our planetary past and a search for humanity's place in the future. With narration by Cate Blanchett.Although the actual production for this documentary began in 2003, Terrence Malick has been filming footage since the 1970s and the film features scenes that were filmed in the 1970s, such as the scene featuring Aboriginal Australians.
- DirectorYong-Kyun BaeStarsYi Pan-YongSin Won-SopHae-Jin HuangAbout three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.Bae Yong-kyun, a professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, spent seven years making this film with one camera and editing it by hand.