# "Perfect" movies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 11, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808 "2011-12-11T06:13:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/1 "2011-12-11T06:13:37Z")
Inspired by this [Christmas Story](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634018) thread that also mentions Shawshank Redemption and My Cousin Vinnie. What are other movies that are pretty much “perfect”. Let perfect mean Every scene works; plus script, to cast to shots, nothing is wasted, nothing is extra; plus general consensus is positive and it can be watched again and again.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/2 "2011-12-11T06:20:12Z")
_Jaws_. All it did was move along, kill extras, and make little _Jaws_ sequels.
It didn’t have a wasted shot in it, all the actors were well-used, all the characters served a purpose and then stopped showing up, and every single scene propelled the plot. The unreliability of Bruce, their mechanical shark, was probably the _single_ best thing to happen to the movie, but everything else went right for it as well. Not bad for a movie that was such a fundamental pain in the ass to shoot it almost didn’t get made.
_Jaws_ made a mint and deserved it. It is simply master craftsmanship in action.
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### Author:  [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/3 "2011-12-11T06:29:55Z")
Casablanca hits the sweet spot for me.
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### Author:  [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/4 "2011-12-11T06:48:16Z")
Miller’s Crossing. There isn’t a line of dialog in the entire movie that doesn’t forward the plot. Great acting and subplots that usually take a couple of watchings to fully understand. Deep and pretty.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/5 "2011-12-11T06:48:46Z")
Casablanca, Maltese Falcon (Bogart version), Citizen Kane, Godfather I, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Shawshank Redemption, Chinatown, Snow White (Disney and Fleischer versions both!), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Unforgiven, Groundhog Day
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### Author:  [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/6 "2011-12-11T06:55:55Z")
Taxi Driver.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/7 "2011-12-11T07:12:38Z")
Also:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Forrest Gump
Se7en
Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The Big Lebowski
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### Author:  [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/8 "2011-12-11T07:15:10Z")
Second Shawshank, Raiders and Groundhog day
I’d also add:
Pulp Fiction
Fargo
The Matrix (only the first one)
and more as I think of them.
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### Author:  [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/9 "2011-12-11T07:23:18Z")
The Three Kings.
Fight Club.
Second Miller’s Crossing and Se7en.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/10 "2011-12-11T07:25:41Z")
Galaxy Quest
The Princess Bride
Raising Arizona
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/11 "2011-12-11T07:27:59Z")
The Secret In Their Eyes
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/12 "2011-12-11T08:06:02Z")
I have to put more John Hughes on the list:
Vacation
Christmas Vacation
Ferris Buller’s Day Off
The Breakfast Club
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/13 "2011-12-11T08:12:53Z")
The Color Purple
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/14 "2011-12-11T08:39:29Z")
The Third Man
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### Author:  [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/15 "2011-12-11T09:14:14Z")
For me, all of the Coen brothers’ movies; especially The Big Lebowski. I have literally watched this movie three nights in a row. It’s usually playing as a background for whatever else we’re doing around the house.
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/16 "2011-12-11T09:43:08Z")
_True Grit_-the real one, with John Wayne. I refuse to acknowledge the cheap imitation recently made.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/17 "2011-12-11T16:43:04Z")
_Shane_ – thank God there’s never been a remake (at least by that name).
So far, I’ve seen all the movies listed and agree wholeheartedly (but the rape/murder in _Secret in Their Eyes_ is **awfully** hard to watch.
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### Author:  [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/18 "2011-12-11T16:56:04Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#):
>
> For me, all of the Coen brothers’ movies; especially The Big Lebowski. I have literally watched this movie three nights in a row. It’s usually playing as a background for whatever else we’re doing around the house.
Agreed; the Coen’s movies all seem to have a high rewatch quotient with me.
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### Author:  [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/19 "2011-12-11T16:59:27Z")
To Kill A Mockingbird
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### Author:  [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-movies/605808/20 "2011-12-11T17:07:32Z")
Boogie Nights
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