Three [Roughly] Three-Hour-Long Movies to Settle in With This Month

Autumn always seems like an especially great time to cozy up with a long movie. Knowing you get to settle into that world for a while longer (again, with your blankets and candles and coffee) makes the experience so soothing.

Here are three films I’m looking forward to sitting with this November:

The Great Escape (1963)

2h 48m

Because nothing says “cozy autumn vibes” like a bunch of prisoners breaking out of a Nazi POW camp. I’ve watched this movie way more times than is probably considered normal, but it’s just SO GOOD. 

Amadeus (1984)

2 h 38 min

The plot follows the life and career of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as told through the eyes of Antonio Salieri), but this film is so much more than that. F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) rightfully won an Oscar for his complex, nuanced portrait of an artist tormented by simultaneous jealousy of and appreciation toward Mozart.

Children of Paradise (1945)

3h 15m

Filmed in France during the German occupation, Les Enfants du Paradis is a masterpiece, even without taking into account the extraordinary circumstances under which it was made. It’s often dubbed the “French Gone With the Wind,” and for good reason. This sweeping epic will take your breath away!

Oddly, despite autumn being one of the coziest seasons (next to winter/Christmastime), none of these are necessarily happy or cozy. But something about this season allows one to watch those movies those kinds of films, because autumn itself tends to be a balm. So wrap yourself in the warmth of fall and enjoy!