MovieChat Forums > The Winds of War (1983) Discussion > The Budget

The Budget

posted 15 years ago by buckaroobanzai50
4 replies | jump to latest

I remember watching this back in 1983. And I can't believe this tosh, cost more to make than Return Of The Jedi.

Robert Mitchum points his chest at numerous people, including the untalented Victoria Tennant. Not much fun to watch.

Was this intended for a cinema release? Then put onto TV instead? I'm guessing the answer is Yes!

[–] harry_spaulding 15 years ago

How could you possibly think this mini-series was intended for a cinematic release? It's 883 minutes long. Have you ever been to the cinema to see a movie that lasted nearly 15 hours? I haven't.

[–] buckaroobanzai50 15 years ago

War And Peace 484 mins

Heimat (1984) (Eine Deutsche Chronik) 924 min (15 hr).

Cleopatra 1963) 320 min (5 hr).

And your point? Long films are nothing new.

[–] cardinal_biggles 15 years ago

War And Peace 484 mins

It would help if you were clear on which adaptation of War and Peace you were referring to. The closest matches I could find were the 1967 film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063794) and the 2007 mini-series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0495055). The former was split into four parts when it was shown in the U.S.; a single eight-hour screening is highly unlikely, and would most likely have been punctuated by several long intermissions. The latter was a TV miniseries.

Heimat (1984) (Eine Deutsche Chronik) 924 min (15 hr).

And if you actually look at the IMDB entry for that title, you'd know that it was also a TV miniseries.

Cleopatra 1963) 320 min (5 hr).

That's the director's cut. The theatrical release in the U.S. only ran 192 minutes (3 hours, 12 minutes), which is in line with other big epics of the period (Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, How the West Was Won, etc.).

The Winds of War was always slated to be on television, end of story.

[–] generalusgrant 15 years ago

And I'd like to know the source for claimingn Mitchum ever "pointed the figure" (of blame) at Victoria Tennett. He never said any sich thing, the mini-series was a blockbuster and huge success. No one ever bitched about Tennett... Ali MacGraw was the reeking dog in this series, not Mitchum or Tennett,