# Five Perfect Movies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** movies
**Created:** [September 1, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586 "2024-09-01T22:00:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 8
### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/141 "2024-12-27T21:56:31Z")
Why didn’t I see this thread sooner?
Hmm. Just off the top of my head, I’ll go with:
_Casablanca_ - Great cast and story; endlessly quotable
_Notorious_ - Terrific spy drama / romance
_Breaker Morant_ - Great as both a war movie and a courtroom drama
_Star Wars: A New Hope_ - Thrilling, fun sf adventure
_Limitless_ - A remarkable, clever technothriller; Bradley Cooper really should’ve won an Oscar
There. Ask me tomorrow, and it might be a different five.
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### Author:  [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/142 "2025-07-15T13:21:03Z")
Some Like it Hot
The Rose Tattoo
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Breaker Morant
Kiss Me Kate
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2025, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/143 "2025-07-16T03:43:18Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#):
>
> Bad Santa
> Anger Management
> Hangover
>
> Give me time to figure out the other two.
Darn, I wish the prompt was “Five Stupid Comedies That You Love Anyhow”… I’d just have to take some time to narrow my list from over 25 down to 5.
But, anyhow, here are My Five Movies:
Casablanca
It’s a Wonderful Life
Star Wars (no roman numeral…)
Jurassic Park
Galaxy Quest
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### Author:  [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/144 "2025-07-16T13:17:51Z")
Snatch
The Royal Tenenbaums
Unforgiven
The Big Short
Shawshank Redemption
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### Author:  [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/145 "2025-07-16T13:19:58Z")
Five perfect comedies:
Christmas Vacation
Dumb and Dumber
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Meet the Parents
Office Space
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### Author:  [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/146 "2025-07-16T21:59:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> _True Grit_ (Coen brothers): okay, this one isn’t a mess, but I literally left the theater thinking, “That was a perfect movie!” so I gotta list it.
I’m sure most of my top five have already been mentioned, but because I left the theater thinking the same thing about _The Piano_, and it hasn’t been mentioned yet, I’m mentioning it.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/147 "2025-07-19T02:49:33Z")
Another five:
_Dark City_ - Noir sf mystery/thriller set in a place where dawn never comes
_Raiders of the Lost Ark_ - Funny, clever, breathless thrill ride
_Notting Hill_ - Charming romcom between Hollywood mega-star and bashful bookshop owner
_Pride & Prejudice_ - Keira Knightley at her best as the beautiful, spunky, headstrong Lizzie
_Aliens_ - Exciting, scary, action-packed and even better than the first film
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/148 "2025-07-19T11:05:45Z")
Some that I don’t think have been mentioned:
Inception
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
Fight Club
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### Author:  [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/149 "2025-07-19T11:32:03Z")
**Blade Runner** Directors cut.
**Last of the Mohicans**
**Out of Africa**
**Chariots of Fire** I called it the perfect movie, superb score, true story, and very unexpectedy won Best Picture at the Oscars.
**Close Encounters**
**The Best Years of our Lives**
There are so many more… 🤪
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### Author:  [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/150 "2025-07-19T11:55:41Z")
Zwartbroek
Turks Fruit
Trainspotting
The good, the bad and the ugly
Full metal jacket
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/151 "2025-07-20T00:50:51Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> - Brazil
> - The Big Lebowski
> - The Graduate
> - Harold and Maude
> - Airplane!
I am modifying my list:
- Airplane!
- The Big Lebowski
- The Graduate
- Harold and Maude
- The Commitments
(If you have a date night at your place show the movie “The Commitments”…I can’t say it works every time but it has worked every time for me…not kidding, _every_ time (yes, sex)…also legit super-great movie.)
ETA: I still think “Brazil” is fantastic but dropped it off the list since it is not easy to watch compared to the others I listed. “Brazil” is advanced movie watching…you can’t Netflix and chill that movie.
EETA: I’d also say it is the second best soundtrack to a movie ever (behind “The Blues Brothers”).
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/152 "2025-07-20T18:50:03Z")
Agree about Joe vs. The Volcano. But I’m a fliberty jibit.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/153 "2025-07-20T21:30:44Z")
_Tremors_ - a **perfect** genre movie.
_The Maltese Falcon_ - like a well-crafted watch.
_Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games)_ - a WWII war movie that’s not really about the war.
_The Taking of Pelham 123_ - a movie that surprised the heck out of me when I finally saw it. Loved it.
_Gosford Park_ - I’ve seen it at least half a dozen times, and I still see new things in it.
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Miller’s Crossing
Damn! How did I leave that off my list??? O.k. honorable mention.
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> Der Himmel Über Berlin (Wings Of Desire) - Wim Wenders
This one _just_ missed my list.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/154 "2025-07-20T21:42:59Z")
Harold and Maude
The Big Lebowski
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Buckaroo Bonzai
My Dinner with Andre
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### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/155 "2025-07-21T00:47:18Z")
> [@carrps](#):
>
> _The Taking of Pelham 123_ - a movie that surprised the heck out of me when I finally saw it. Loved it.
Which version? The 1974 theatrical film, the 1998 made for TV movie, or the 2009 theatrical film?
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### Author:  [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/156 "2025-07-21T01:36:50Z")
I like:
**M** (Starring Peter Lorre)
**Mirror Mask**
**Sahara** (Starring Humphrey Bogart)
**The Day of the Jackal** (1973)
**Red River** (Starring John Wayne)
I like a lot of other movies too, but this was just for this particular list.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/157 "2025-07-21T16:19:12Z")
> [@dorvann](#):
>
> Which version? The 1974 theatrical film, the 1998 made for TV movie, or the 2009 theatrical film?
The 1974 film. Never seen the others and have no desire to.
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/158 "2025-07-21T16:40:29Z")
> [@carrps](#):
>
> > [@EinsteinsHund](#):
> >
> > Der Himmel Über Berlin (Wings Of Desire) - Wim Wenders
>
> This one _just_ missed my list.
Btw., the English title “Wings of Desire” is awful. It sounds like it’s a softcore porn movie. The original title means “The Sky over Berlin”, so why didn’t they take this?
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/159 "2025-07-21T16:54:34Z")
In English, that title makes it sound like a WWII movie.
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-perfect-movies/1006586/160 "2025-07-21T17:17:51Z")
Well yes, you have a good point there I didn’t think about. What’s also lost in translation is the fact that “Himmel” means both sky and Heaven, so the heavenly aspect (it’s about angels after all) gets lost.
So maybe “Heaven over Berlin” would be best?
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