My entire life I have been obsessed with the short story format. Sci-Fi, horror, comedy, whatever, when a dramatic punch is delivered with very little setup that to me is showcasing a masterclass in plot, setting, and acting. Over the years I forget most, but there are powerful ones I will think about years later. I am always hoping to find more like them and maybe there is someone here like me. Just a few that play in under 13 minutes off the top of my head to prime the pump:
First thing I thought of was Ark (1970), which traumatized a generation of schoolchildren. (A man takes care of a glassed-in ecosystem after an environmental disaster, with a tragic ending because humanity sucks.) The feature film Silent Running used the same plot, except in space, 2 years later.
Canada has a plethora of beloved National Film Board short films. The Big Snit, Getting Started, The Cat Came Back, The Blackfly, Neighbours, The Sweater, etc.
The Amazing Screw-On Head. Created by Mike Mignola who also created Hellboy. It’s hilarious
Also almost all the Pixar shorts if you can find them.
Very short, not very deep, but very memorable: Bambi Meets Godzilla.
The Red Balloon, shown frequently to my classes in school in the 1970s.
Some classics:
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Easy Street (1924)
Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Land without Bread (1933) – 30 minutes
The Furies (1934)
Birth of a Robot (1936) – and many other films by Len Lye - IMDb
Fireworks (1947)
Duck Amuck (1953) – among many other cartoons
Powers of Ten (1977)
Jac Mac and Rad Boy, Go! (1985)
Lumière and Company (1995) – David Lynch contributes a memorable effort. Claude Lelouch and Arthur Penn (among others) also make interesting shorts “using the original Cinématographe camera invented by the Lumière brothers." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re_and_Company
That film must have come free whenever someone bought a new projector.
Orbit Ever After is another one that stands out. Hilarious.
Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon is a classic.
There is a short film I have been trying to find and I even started a thread many years ago.
A film historian is trying to find a lost film. He finds scenes here and there and re-edits the film with the new material in a way that mirrors his own life at the time. He ends up going insan and scratching out the eyes of the actors in every frame and is ultimately institutionalized.
My top 3:
In God We Trust Jason Reitman’s first film. If I’m wrong it is one of his earlier ones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onB1tJZ4mNw
Extended Play (1982)
Join Nerdly McWhiteboy as he cruises the mall.
I know it’s online but I cannot find it.
Bobby Loves Mangos
What happens when you try to second-guess the future?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAdYsT5wQDw&t=69s
ETA: Getting that embed error
Mel Brooks The Critic (1963)
Made long before The Producers or any of his movies.
The Edifice (1968) by the great Saul Bass. Animated.
Part of his longer film Why Man Creates. It’s about four minutes long, starting at 18 minutes into the following. It’s the story of Civilization told through a single building.
Flatland (1965) by animation great John Hubley. Based on Edwin Abbott’s book
This doesn’t really belong here, but I love it, and this looks like the right audience for it.
Julia Child Shows How to Make Primordial Soup
Made by the Smithsonian and shown in the “Universe” gallery at the Air and Space museum for years. Now closed. But they show it sometimes near her kitchen in the National Museum of American History. I saw it at the Museum of Science in Boston, and on a video collection called “Federal Follies”
They really did get Julia Child to host this, and they really did recreate Stanley Miller’s experiment. Definitely worth watching.
The Last Belle (2011):
Featuring animation by Roy Naisbitt (The Thief and the Cobbler, Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
Freedom River (1971)
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