# Memorable Short Films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 20, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317 "2025-08-20T15:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/1 "2025-08-20T15:07:40Z")
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: [Lost Face](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdU5_IUzgT4) [Future Boyfriend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_1YHHhry0w) [Final Offer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv8kOzRZK8g) ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/2 "2025-08-20T15:25:46Z")
First thing I thought of was [Ark (1970)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm1zGzxUDbA), 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. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/3 "2025-08-20T15:40:58Z")
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. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/p1S5pAF1YYA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Big Snit") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1S5pAF1YYA) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/scZ8ov0pz_Y/hqdefault.jpg "GETTING STARTED - Animated Short Film") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scZ8ov0pz_Y) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FJl_4IsQJ2g/maxresdefault.jpg "The Cat Came Back") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJl_4IsQJ2g) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f389hIxZAOc/maxresdefault.jpg "Blackfly") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f389hIxZAOc) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e_aSowDUUaY/maxresdefault.jpg "Neighbours") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_aSowDUUaY) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZZyDsF-Gp3o/maxresdefault.jpg "The Sweater") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyDsF-Gp3o) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/4 "2025-08-20T15:42:24Z")
The Amazing Screw-On Head. Created by Mike Mignola who also created Hellboy. It’s hilarious > **[The Amazing Screw-On Head](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Screw-On_Head)** > > The Amazing Screw-On Head is a one-shot comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name. The Amazing Screw-On Head stars a robot living during the Lincoln administration whose head can be attached to different bodies with different tactical abilities, and who functions as an agent of the U.S. government. > The idea for the character was inspired by action figures, particularly Batman ones, which seemed to Mignola to b... Also almost all the Pixar shorts if you can find them. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/5 "2025-08-20T16:21:13Z")
Very short, not very deep, but very memorable: [Bambi Meets Godzilla.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R-rbzcEM8A) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/6 "2025-08-20T16:24:15Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sdUUx5FdySs/hqdefault.jpg "Kiwi!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/7 "2025-08-20T16:31:53Z")
[The Red Balloon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Balloon), shown frequently to my classes in school in the 1970s. [YouTube link to the movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw4QbQLqd1E). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/8 "2025-08-20T17:00:32Z")
[One Soldier](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335331/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/9 "2025-08-20T17:39:01Z")
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](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0528012/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1) _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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9matographe "Cinématographe")_ camera invented by the [Lumière brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re_brothers "Lumière brothers")." - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re\_and\_Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re_and_Company) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/10 "2025-08-20T17:45:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [The Red Balloon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Balloon), shown frequently to my classes in school in the 1970s. That film must have come free whenever someone bought a new projector. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/11 "2025-08-20T17:45:56Z")
[Orbit Ever After](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMqEixwOvs) is another one that stands out. Hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/12 "2025-08-20T18:14:03Z")
Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon is a classic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8u3qVKu59Io/maxresdefault.jpg "Meshes of the Afternoon -4K AI Upscaling") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3qVKu59Io) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/13 "2025-08-20T18:58:28Z")
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](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](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAdYsT5wQDw&t=69s) ETA: Getting that embed error ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/14 "2025-08-20T19:08:40Z")
Mel Brooks **The Critic** (1963) Made long before _The Producers_ or any of his movies. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PramR5oxn50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PramR5oxn50) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/15 "2025-08-20T19:16:54Z")
**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. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cip49iQYq4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cip49iQYq4) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/16 "2025-08-20T19:20:29Z")
**Flatland** (1965) by animation great John Hubley. Based on Edwin Abbott’s book [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBbZmwROv84](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBbZmwROv84) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/17 "2025-08-20T19:26:02Z")
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. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHJDQY4mWFg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHJDQY4mWFg) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/18 "2025-08-20T19:27:36Z")
**The Last Belle** (2011): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ja1sjfnfjg0/hqdefault.jpg "'The Last Belle' (2011) - Award Winning Animated Short Film") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja1sjfnfjg0) Featuring animation by Roy Naisbitt (_The Thief and the Cobbler_, _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_). ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/19 "2025-08-20T19:30:16Z")
_Freedom River_ (1971) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7KIbPCCf9_o/hqdefault.jpg "Freedom River (1971)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KIbPCCf9_o) ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317/20 "2025-08-20T19:39:02Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > 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. Yip yip yip yip yip yip mm mm mm mm mm [Get a Job](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59fv2zbS6pY) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-short-films/1022317.md?page=2)