And the credits just keeps going, and going, and...
 

Just something interesting a friend showed me. Discuss it however you choose:

http://photopile.com/photos/Xzisted/random/82783.gif

yeah, theres a lot of people involved with special effects these days, also lots of people were listed as working on armour alone...

Well, if this is the extended edition DVD credits, they also show the names of the entire fan club. Of course since this is ROTK, I imagine that the entire DVD credits aren't out yet. Either way, who really cares. You have a lot of people working on a movie. Several people specialized on each individual aspect of the film. Not really a big deal, unless you're a producer.


Also there's something to be said for the fact that the newest movie mentioned in said chart is from 1977. I'm sure if you picked something a little more recent it would be a bit different.

Not much in the way of special effects, custom-made props, or construction in Casablance, methinks. :)

and we wonder how they burn though all those millions...

Great! Awesome to see everyone who worked on the film getting credit! Personally it feels as though End Credits are considerably shorter nowadays, it could just be because I sit through them often enought...

As I recall, those older movies had a long "intro credits" reel, where you sit there going "Start the fuckin movie already!"

I think some older movies didn't always include everybody who worked on a film in the credits, just the top people.

Still, that's an amazing number of people!

and im the sucker who waiting till the credits ended to maybe get a sneek peek at any previews. sadly..i was mistaken. and what seemed like 30 minutes of my life was wasted.

I usually stick around through the credits of every movie, but at the end of LOTR:ROTK, my ass was asleep and my bladder ready to explode, so I had to make an exception. Looks like I saved 5 minutes that way!

Like others have said, I'm sure the differences in time make a big impact on the length of the credits. Also, a production as huge as LoTR required a vast cast and crew. I think it's great that they made sure everyone was properly recognized for their contribution to the films.
There's that too. I would much rather have ten minutes of credits at the end of a film than ten minutes of credits at the beginning. :)

Altogether, I think that they were completely justified in having the credits as long as they are. I also loved how they had the hand drawn art for the main cast at the beginning of the credits. It's definently worth it to at least sit through those. :)

Also of note: If you watch the credits for the extended cut of the Two Towers, they go and list every founding member of the Lord of the Rings fan club. I put it on 4x and it still took a while to get through... :crazy:

well, when you consider purely the amount of time they've been working on the movies, (5+ years), I'm not suprised at the lenght.

I appreciate all the mentions of time, special effects, etc., but still the fact remains...that's a pretty impressive list, even without the comparisons.

everyone wants to be noted

Well one of the things you need to understand is that the extra list was extremely long for this plus they had several new divisions for this movie, and I think that the credits included everyone who worked on all the three movies and anyone they forgot in the first two.

Another reason the credits are much longer is that older studio pictures only used studio employees. Their contracts did not stipulate that they receive screen credit.

For example... you are not giong to see every grip and gaffer listed for Casablanca but you are for LOTR:ROTK.

I always enjoy the listing for credits compiler. In other words they have somebody on the project who does nothing but get the names of everyone so that they can be listed.

I often wonder how many times the geeks in audio editing ot special effects tried to sneak in, " Oh and Heywood and Connie worked on it too. You know, Heywood Jablome and Connie Lingus."

i see it all the time, the credits compiler running around at the last minute trying to make sure they covered everyone.

there's lots of people who work on the movies and shows nowadays. Heck, they even list the accountants and tech support people. But remember if they have to save $$$ they'll cut people out, like my name that should have been on Beavis and Butthead Do America

The last time (4th) that I saw that movie, I stayed for the credits, and I remember that I was there FOREVER! I didn't think that they would ever end, but it did have some cool pics and good music to go with em.

Man, I'm glad they're at the end of the movie. It must be about 10 minutes of credits!

IIRC, the end credits for The Abyss lasted almost 20 minutes or something...

thats an amazing comparison.
guess it just shows how much the film industry has grown (internationally).

amazing comparison?
dunno man, looks like it could have been a bit scammed through un-nifty re-sizing.