# What's the most boring film you could show a child? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 5, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655 "2025-04-05T01:50:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/81 "2025-04-05T20:18:18Z")
Pretty much anything directed by [Jacques Rivette - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0729626/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1), but most especially _L’amour fou_ (1969 - 4h, 12m), _Celine and Julie go Boating_ (1974 - 3h, 13m) and _Out 1_ (1972 - 12h, 56m). The “short” version of the latter, _Out 1: Spectre_ (1972) runs a mere 4h, 13m. When it came to wasting film stock, Mr. Rivette had few peers. I imagine trying to sit through _Birth of a Nation_ or _Intolerance_ would be plenty boring for any child as well. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/82 "2025-04-05T20:57:58Z")
I remember being bored to tears trying to watch _Chariots of Fire_ as a child. And as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/83 "2025-04-05T21:05:24Z")
I found the Antonioni movie _Il deserto rosso_ to be pretty boring as an adult, so I doubt I would have found it more interesting as a child. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/84 "2025-04-05T21:11:57Z")
I’m going to nominate _The Darjeeling Limited_. Even as an adult I didn’t get it. It never gave me any reason to care about these people. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/85 "2025-04-05T21:58:59Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > **My Dinner with Andre** > I thought of this one because of a joke in a Christopher Guest movie where they had kids’ lunchboxes made up featuring it. Nitpick: It was _Remains of the Day_ lunchboxes, and _My Dinner with André_ action figures. The movie struck a chord with my group of friends, because some of them had been in the Findhorn Community that’s the subject of much of André’s soliloquy about the Scottish cult that can move rocks with their minds. So of course I had to make the friends some “My Dinner with André Action Figures!” and fake up packaging for them. Back on topic, this could be the winner… I loved it, but it’s slow for any age group. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/86 "2025-04-05T22:05:03Z")
It’s tough when your kids are bored to death by one of your childhood favorites. My kids loved _Rat Race._ So I thought, hey, why not show them the original? The first movie my dad took me to in a theater, the one that we laughed at all the way through: _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World._ But the kids kept saying “Borrrring…”, “Shouldn’t they have cut to another scene by now?”, “Can we watch Rat Race again?” and “This is slowwwww…” Seeing it through their eyes, it sure is. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/87 "2025-04-05T23:15:13Z")
**Judgment at Nuremberg**. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/88 "2025-04-06T00:25:27Z")
Here are some that haven’t been mentioned yet. I stuck to great classics. Picking bad movies or ones that are boring for adults is like shooting fish in a barrel. The Lion in Winter The Third Man Chinatown The Apartment The Sweet Smell of Success Lawrence of Arabia Dr. Zhivago The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Roman Holiday All of these deal with themes that most children don’t have the life experience to understand, and some of them are too slow-moving for most kids. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/89 "2025-04-06T00:37:54Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > I imagine trying to sit through _Birth of a Nation_ or _Intolerance_ would be plenty boring for any child as well. I’d add _Greed_ to that list. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/90 "2025-04-06T01:29:55Z")
Here are some Disney animated movies that I think are boring: Mars Needs Moms Strange World The Black Cauldron Brother Bear Home On The Range Wish\* \*_I haven’t seen that one_ ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/91 "2025-04-06T01:35:49Z")
I like _Andrei Rublev,_ but young kids may wonder who those people are supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tokushizu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@Tokushizu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tokushizu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/92 "2025-04-06T02:00:00Z")
I’d nominate “The Deer Hunter”. I was 15 when it came out and was bored by it, yet found parts of it disturbing. I think it’s the only film my parents dragged me to that I was bored by. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/93 "2025-04-06T02:27:10Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I’ll second Castaway. What a waste of time. With Tom Hanks? I love that film, I have a copy and rewatch it once in a while. > [@Tibby](#): > > So, in that spirit, I’ll nominate The English Patient. A snoozer for sure. I went on a date to see The Right Stuff and it bored her so much she left. I liked it. > [@dirtball](#): > > Strictly within the parameters asked for, the first thing that came to mind was **Glengarry Glen Ross**. Yeah, some great acting, I will admit, but I have absolutely no desire to ever see it again. Same with **The Seventh Seal** > [@Superdude](#): > > I remember being bored to tears trying to watch _Chariots of Fire_ as a child. And as an adult. Lots of slo-mo running? > [@digs](#): > > The first movie my dad took me to in a theater, the one that we laughed at all the way through: _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World._ Hilarious but very long. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > **Judgment at Nuremberg**. I have tried that film a couple of time, but never made it thru. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/94 "2025-04-06T02:32:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Does that last condition rule out _2001: A Space Odyssey_? Bonus points if the title makes kids think they’re getting a sci-fi action adventure in the vein of _Star Wars_. My wife still hasn’t forgiven me for “making” her watch it with me. It’s been a little over 20 years I think. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/95 "2025-04-06T05:56:52Z")
Dad took my brother and me, who were about 9 and 12, to see “2001” when it was re-released in the late 1970s. We didn’t get it. I’ve tried to watch it more recently, and I STILL think it’s dull and boring. I do remember really liking the much lesser-known sequel “2010.” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/96 "2025-04-06T06:03:47Z")
When I first learned of it I expected it to end in a necktie party, but no such luck. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/97 "2025-04-06T06:23:00Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > _The Bridges of Madison County_; I don’t know how this film got made, I can’t comprehend why Eastwood elected to waste such talent on this inane story, I don’t understand what compelled it to be 2 hours and 14 minutes long, and I cannot fathom why critics and viewers liked it so much. The book (in competition with _The Horse Whisperer_) was the _Fifty Shades of Gray_ of the 90s. Both movies were kinda snoozefests for me. I’ll nominate two: _Prince of the City_, starring Treat Williams (I fell asleep in the theater); and, believe it or don’t, the original Dr. Doolittle (with Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley). I _wanted_ to love that film, but I couldn’t sit through it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/98 "2025-04-06T07:03:13Z")
If you think _ **Citizen Kane** _ is boring, don’t ever try to watch _ **The Magnificent Ambersons** _. The only thing in it worth seeing is the very young Anne Baxter. At language school, I was forced to endure _ **Andrei Rublev** _ and _ **Oblomov** _. Both are absolute snooze fests. Back in the '90s, I was staying in a motel with HBO. I had just finished reading Steven Bach’s _ **Final Cut** _, so I was excited to learn _ **Heaven’s Gate** _ was coming on at the top of the hour. I had wanted to see it for a long time, so I made myself comfortable and switched it on. I fell asleep after the first 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/99 "2025-04-06T07:26:46Z")
_ **Rat Race** _ was marketed as a “remake” of _ **It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World** _, but I’ve never seen any similarity between the two except for the basic premise of a bunch of complete strangers chasing after a ton of money. When it comes to science fiction, I found _ **THX 1138** _ to be excruciatingly boring, even more so than _ **2001** _. The latter at least had cool spaceships and special effects to watch. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655/100 "2025-04-06T09:35:03Z")
**Birth of a Nation**? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ebtiJH3EOHo/maxresdefault.jpg "The Birth of a Nation - Full Movie - (1915) HD - The Masterpiece of Racist Cinema") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebtiJH3EOHo) all 3+ hours of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-boring-film-you-could-show-a-child/1016655.md?page=6)