Remember when going to the cinema was a special occasion? As streaming changes the way we watch films, one Australian cinema is bringing back the magic of the big screen with some extraordinary classics that demand a little more of our time.

There was a time when going to the pictures was an event.

You might dress up for the occasion, arrange to meet friends and settle into your seat with a box of chocolates. Then came that wonderful moment when the lights dimmed and the curtains opened.

For the next couple of hours, the outside world could wait.

Nobody was checking their phone, you couldn’t pause the film to put the kettle on and if the movie was particularly good, you’d still be talking about it on the way home.

Today, with thousands of films available at the touch of a button, the experience has changed enormously. We can watch almost anything, almost anywhere, yet there’s something about sitting in a darkened cinema that a television screen simply cannot reproduce.

And one Australian cinema is betting audiences still feel the same way.

Dendy Cinemas has launched Journeys: Cinematic Odysseys, a collection of extraordinary films screening at its Newtown cinema in Sydney. These aren’t your typical Saturday afternoon movies. Some run for more than seven hours.

The program is the brainchild of Dendy’s Senior Content Strategist Andrew Perkin, who believes cinema deserves to be treated as an occasion again.

“I wanted a return to cinema as an experience, as something shared, moving, and potentially transformative,” he says.

“These cultural epics were all created during a time when film was solely the domain of cinema and was revered by audiences.”

Seven hours in a cinema? Why not!

Imagine settling in for War and Peace, the monumental Soviet adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novel. At more than seven hours, you’d need to clear your diary.

Or perhaps Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900, starring a young Robert De Niro alongside Gérard Depardieu. Its original director’s cut runs for more than five-and-a-half hours.

For Perkin, the length is part of the attraction, provided the story deserves it.

“Immersion and commitment are required for the cinematic journey, dedicating half a day to a single story is an experience like no other.”

He deliberately selected films from different countries, looking for works where the extended running time was a “narrative necessity and not an indulgence”.

The collection also includes Fanny & Alexander, Das Boot and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America. Several have complicated release histories, with shorter versions becoming more familiar to audiences than the expansive cuts now being screened.

According to Perkin, rights restrictions mean most of these particular uncut versions aren’t readily available for home viewing.

And while determined film enthusiasts might track down some of them, he argues there’s an important distinction between watching a film and experiencing it.

The pleasure of getting lost in a story

The greatest appeal for many who remember cinema’s golden years is something that has little to do with the films themselves.

It’s the audience.

There’s a particular pleasure in hearing a roomful of people laugh together, or feeling the silence when a powerful scene leaves everyone momentarily speechless.

Perkin believes that shared experience remains cinema’s greatest strength.

“In today’s climate watching a film is no longer an experience in itself, content has been democratised by the various formats so its experiential power has faded,” he says. “But watching a film in cinema still holds its power, it commands your attention and nothing compares to seeing a great film in a cinema with a shared audience going through the same highs and lows.”

He points to the popularity of IMAX and horror films as evidence that audiences, including younger generations, still crave the excitement of watching something together.

But what about those who simply cannot imagine spending half a day watching one movie?

Perkin has a favourite recommendation: 1900, which he describes as a sweeping Italian epic from a master filmmaker at his peak.

And he offers a reminder that anyone who has endured a disappointing movie will appreciate.

“Some 90 minutes films feel like forever and some 4-hour films pass by in a flash.”

Perhaps that’s the real magic of cinema. When a film captures your imagination, you forget about the clock, just as we did all those years ago.

Journeys: Cinematic Odysseys continues at Dendy Newtown with War and Peace on October 17, 1900 on November 14 and Fanny & Alexander on December 12. Further screenings are scheduled through March 2027.

Do you remember when going to the pictures was a special occasion? Which classic film would you love to experience again on the big screen?