For those of us who work on film sets, we know that it takes somewhere between six months and two years to get a feature film made (more or less). But that’s just a ballpark number. Sometimes things can get delayed, and I mean really delayed. Any guesses on what is the longest that anyone has ever taken to finish making a film?
Well, we’ve got answers. In this article, we found movies that took years, even decades, to get made.
Movies Whose Production Spanned Unbelievably Long
1. Boyhood
Directed by Richard Linklater
12 years
A film that took its own sweet time to be made, not because of a production issue but because of a creative decision. Director Richard Linklater wanted to narrate his coming-of-age drama, Boyhood, in real time. That means keeping all the cast and locations intact, and shooting little chunks of the narrative each year until Mason goes to college. The film is not only a compassionate meditation on growing up and adolescence, but a true time capsule too.
2. BalikBayan
Directed by Kidlat Tahimik
35 years
Balik Bayan
Filipino filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik’s BalikBayan centers on a globe-trotter, Ferdinand Magellan, as he explores various cultures around the world, across their generations. Tahimik began filming in 1978 and accumulated his footage for around four decades until he finally edited and premiered it.
3. The Tragedy of Man
Directed by Marcell Jankovics
23 years
Animator Marcell Jankovics’ The Tragedy of Man is a bold and philosophical exploration of the meaning of life, as the first man on Earth, Adam, and the fallen angel, Lucifer, debate with each other, time-traveling to significant eras in the future. Jankovics set a timeline of six years to complete the film, but soon into the production, the Hungarian communism collapsed, and he had no money to continue production. Over two decades of sheer persistence through political and financial turmoil, Jankovics finally finished the film in 2011.
4. The Thief and The Cobbler
Directed by Richard Williams
29 Years
Animator Richard Williams’s obsession with perfection became the biggest bane in the production of his dream project. The story of a humble cobbler who saves the city from destruction, The Thief and the Cobbler was Williams’ first studio-funded project, after Who Framed Roger Rabbit? won hearts. But his masterpieces fell short before missed deadlines and budget explosions, and Warner Bros. eventually fired him from his own project and shelved the film for the time being.
In the end, the studio patched the unfinished film together and released it in the early ’90s. If you notice, you will find visual similarities between The Thief and the Cobbler and Disney’s Aladdin, which suggests that the former might have had a serious influence on the animation style of the latter.
5. The Evil Within
Directed by Andrew Getty
15 years
If you have money, you must make a film, just like Andrew Getty made The Evil Within (because, why not?). The movie is based on the billionaire’s real nightmares and was shot inside his own mansion. Getty spent over 15 years perfecting every visual to reflect the horrors that he fought regularly; only he died before he could finish it. After his death, the producer finished the movie and released it in 2017.
6. Dangerous Men
Directed by Jahangir Salehi
21 years
Jahangir Salehi Yeganehrad literally slow-cooked Dangerous Men—altering scenes and dialogues, along with the narrative’s timelines, since he screened a rough cut in 1985. Interestingly, the first round of filming was completed within a year, but revisions and patchwork continued until it was finally released in 2005. The story revolves around a woman who avenges her fiancé’s murder by seducing men to kill them one by one, before eventually transforming into a buddy cop movie.
7. The King and the Mockingbird
Directed by Paul Grimault
33 years
This film went through a legal turmoil after the unfinished film was unlawfully released by a producer in 1952. Director Paul Grimault fought for 15 years to regain the rights to his own film and then spent another 10 years restoring and completing it, in alignment with his own vision. The film was finally re-released 33 years after its production began in 1948, and is widely considered to be a milestone in French animation, even today. The narrative is like a fairytale–a tyrannical king in love with a simple shepherdess who is in love with a simpleton.
8. The Primevals
Conceptualized by David Allen
23 years
I’m quite sure that if The Primevals didn’t take about a quarter of a century to come to life, it would have been considered as one of the greatest pioneers of practical effects. Stop-motion animator David Allen conceived the story, following a group of explorers who discover a civilization of intelligent yetis and ancient alien tech, living in the Himalayas, in the 1960s.
Allen passed away in 1999, shortly after he began filming in 1994, leaving behind a pool of materials, puppets, and miniature sets that belonged to his unfinished film. But his collaborators continued the grind, most notably Chris Endicott, who made sure that the film crossed the finish line. The film was finally released in 2023.
9. Mad Max: Fury Road
Directed by George Miller
28 years
Now you know why Mad Max: Fury Road features one of the most iconic chases of all time. George Miller marinated the idea for over 15 years! After the success of Mad Max: The Road Warrior and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Miller was ready with his idea of the next Mad Max—a film that was envisioned to feature endless spectacular chases, from start to finish, back in 1987.
Finally, in 2001, the film was scheduled to go into production, but was derailed by 9/11, and the production was moved to Australia from Hollywood. The film also went through a couple of stars, starting from Mel Gibson to Heath Ledger (who tragically passed away before they could begin shooting), until Tom Hardy, who was finally cast in the role. The filming began in July 2012 and was released in 2015.
10. Pakeezah
Directed by Kamal Amrohi
16 years
Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah literally witnessed the director’s divorce from his wife, Meena Kumari, one of the leading actresses of India in the 60s and the lead character of his movie. After the couple fell out midway through production, it took almost a decade for the rest of the crew and their co-actors to convince them to get together to finish the movie, at least. 16 years later, the film finally hit the theatres, only to become a milestone in Bollywood.
11. Avatar
Directed by James Cameron
15 years
Cameron had conceived the idea for Avatar back in 1994, much before Titanic even went into production. He had planned that it would be his next movie after Titanic; however, he soon realized that he was restricted by technology to materialize his vision. So, he decided to wait. It took technology more than a decade to catch up to Cameron’s vision for Avatar, and finally, 15 years later, the movie hit the box office, only to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
12. Merrily We Roll Along
Directed by Richard Linklater
20 years (expectedly)
A second dive at real-time filming and storytelling after Boyhood, Linklater’s Merrily We Roll Along is currently a work in progress. The filming started in 2019, and Linklater plans to capture this musical over a span of 20 years. Which means, Merrily We Roll Along is scheduled to hit the theatres in 2040. Universal Studios is producing this ambitious musical, which follows the life of Franklin Shepard, a once-promising composer, who broke all ties with his relationships and ideals to pursue a successful career in Hollywood.
Which of these have you watched? Let us know in the comments below!
