Wow this topic really took off.
Having just watched it again I’ll nominate* Apollo 13*. Man, what a great movie.
I think people are interpreting “perfect movie” a little too broadly to mean “movie I like.”
To me a “perfect movie” is one you might present to a film school class to show them a movie that is perfect in every department. That includes plotting, character development, acting, cinematography, pacing, editing, scoring, costumes, art direction, etc.
In my world, that is a very small list of movies.
I think the two I mentioned, Doctor Zhivago and Last of the Mohicans, qualify as masterpieces of the art form. Some of the other movies named qualify, but a lot of them just don’t, in my opinion. (A poor acting job by a minor character, an odd camera angle, a clumsy editing moment, a clunky song choice…it takes very little to take a film out of the realm of the “perfect.”)
Anyhow, one man’s opinion.
A lot of these choices seem to be “favorite” movies rather than “perfect” films, at least in a plotwise sense. Casablanca? The entire main plot surrounding the vaunted letters of transit makes no sense whatsoever, especially when it is clear that Major Strasser has no intention of allowing Victor Lazlo to leave French Morocco alive, letters of transit or no. Apollo 13? Aside from the numerous factural errors, it is spread to thin, delving into a pointless subplot involving Marilyn Lovell instead of tightly focusing on the astronauts.
I would agree that The Third Man gets pretty close; the characters never compromise from their essential principles, and yet they remain sympathetic, even the villainous Harry Lime. The humor is understated and deeply cynical, and yet serves at a counterpoint to the grimness of the storyline. I would put the film adaptation of L.A. Confidential in there as well, and Polenski’s Chinatown is a close runner-up, both in creating a period-perfect image of a growing Los Angeles with fictionalized rendition of actual corruption cases.
Although Raiders of the Lost Ark has some serious plotting problems (such as the fact that if Jones had simply stayed home and graded term papers the Nazis likely would never have found the Well of Souls and recovered the Ark, or if they had, would have been vaporized anyway) but it moves along at such a breakneck pace with just enough slow scenes for the audience to catch breath that one can’t really stop to analyze the plot deficiencies.
The Big Lebowski is kind of a (deliberate) counterexample. The plot essentially makes no sense, but that is because it is aping The Big Sleep, which also makes no sense (literally). Of Coen brothers movies, I think that the underrated Burn After Reading is actually plotwise the closest to perfect, because it manages to weave together a coherent story about a conspiracy that totally doesn’t exist. Miller’s Crossing is a great movie, but I’m not sure I would label it as being perfect.
My picks would be the follwowing:
[ul]
[li]Die Hard, which is a clockwork masterpiece of plotting; every single thing that happens in the movie, such as the salesman on the plane advising McClane to “take of your shoes and your socks and make fists with your toes,” or Ellis giving Holly the watch, has consequences later in the film. There is literally not a wasted scene in the film. [/li][li]Rear Window is perfect in its protrayal of the unbalanced and contentious relationship between Stewart and Kelly, with each of the neighbors in the apartments seen from the window representing elements of their relationship and Thelma Ritter serving as peanut gallery. [/li][li]Raging Bull: Although Scorsese is most celebreated for Taxi Driver and Goodfellas (both excellent films) I think that this is his most perfect film. Unlike his other films, where he is often renowned for the stylization he brings to the film, in Raging Bull the style of the film is so subsumed by the story and acting that you don’t even notice it. It is as if you are literally spying on Jake LaMotta. [/li][li]The Apartment: It’s a toss-up between Some Like It Hot, Sunset Blvd, and this film as to which of the Billy Wilder/I.A.L. Diamond collaborations is closest to perfect, but this film, that plays like a standard issue romantic comedy with the usual series of misunderstandings until the near-tragedy at the end of the second act pulls it back into reality. [/li][li]The Lives of Others: Set in early 'Eighties East Germany, this is a perfect rendition of the corruption of life under the East Bloc and the quiet, unpretentious rebellion of a “watcher” who becomes too involved with his subjects. The smudge of red ink on the ident card and the final scene are incredible.[/li][li]The Return: A Russian film about a father that has returned to take his two sons on a “fishing trip” plays out like a thriller, but ends up being something far more personal and mysterious. You realize in the end that the father recognizes that the time he may have to spend with his boys is limited and every cruelty he appears to bear upon them is really just an attempt to teach them the lessons they need to survive.[/li][/ul]
Stranger
I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned:
Suicide Kings and Blow both i can watch and have watched over a hundred times.
Honorable mention goes to : the original “The Crow” all three of these movies were great from start to finish but Suicide Kings takes the cake by far.
Sunset Boulevard! Yes!
This thread seems to be getting confused between ‘movies I love’ and critics choices, i.e., ’ I could watch this film about Romanian goatherders shown at the Blahblah Festival again and again’.
Usual Suspects
I also think the first Pirates is really well done - very tightly scripted and acted - which is why the rest are disappointing.
To me, perfect is when the pieces all fit together in a way that makes sense, probably with a reveal at the end (Jack steals a coin and then cuts himself as he drops it back in the treasure chest, Verbal is Kaiser Sose, the guys in Oceans Eleven walk out with the money into the SWAT vans, Andy Dufresne has set up the warden and let Red know where to find him).
If you’re referring to the 90’s Last Of The Mohicans, I’m puzzled, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a big budget movie with so many sloppy visual errors. Crew member in red shirt conspicuously visible running behind a deer; company bus visible; actor bumping into obvious rubber boulder. IMDB lists many more that I didn’t notice.
.
Oh for pity’s sake.
I didn’t notice these goofs and nor (I think) did the average film-goer. They did not detract from the moviegoing experience for any except those determined to find fault.
Do you think there are any Hollywood movies with no goofs? If you are defining “perfect film” to mean no goofs at all, period, then I don’t think we will find any perfect films.
I pointed this out way upthread but the ‘favorite movie’ theme continued anyway. I resisted the temptation to jump back in and browbeat my fellow dopers, so thanks for doing it for me.
I was feeling real superior for not posting “Let the Right One In”. Even though it’s one of my all time favorite films. I own multiple DVDs/Blu-rays of it from different countries, love it to death and can watch it again and again and I tell everybody who’ll listen that they should watch it. But it’s not a perfect film.
But now it’s in this thread along with everybody’s imperfect favorites.
I’ve often thought about movies that could be considered “perfect.” To me, that doesn’t mean they’re great or innovative or timeless. You could have a “perfect” movie that’s nothing more than a piece of fluff or a diverting thriller. What makes it a perfect movie is that everything just clicks _ script, acting, direction and more.
“Die Hard” is probably my chief example of a perfect movie. There are better, more gripping action movies, but if you took “Die Hard” apart like a watch you wouldn’t find any extra pieces or broken ones. “Jaws” would be another. I think I’d put “Groundhog Day” on the list, too.
Let me offer a couple of counter-examples to help show what I’m talking about. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” comes close. Great actors. Witty, intelligent script. Interesting new take on the western. But that “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” scene fails.
“Shane” is a favorite movie of mine. But the mother’s whiny voice is a distraction, and everyone in the film looks too neat and clean to be believable. So I can enjoy the movie while acknowledging some parts don’t work.
“Pulp Fiction” is a great movie, but it has flaws, particularly Tarantino’s acting.
My sentiments exactly.
A handful that I’d agree with, for sure The Big Lebowski - which imnsho can’t be fully understood without having seen a couple of dozen particular movies first, some of which would be primary references, others secondary, still others tertiary.
Jaws - most definitely.
Possibly The Sting, love everything abut it, plot, picture, acting, costumes, score - perfect.
I’d suggest Dr. Strangelove.
Also, Rushmore. That’s actually how I have described the movie when suggesting it to people - a perfect movie.
As great as it is, it peaks too soon. The opening chase, up until Vizzini’s death, is the best part. And there’s one camera shot near the end that always makes me cringe just a tiny bit.
Having given this some thought, I would add the following movies for consideration:
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Brazil
The Right Stuff
Another nomination for Jaws. Also, Hot Fuzz.
Fair enough, but I’m not one of those people. I don’t look for mistakes, and in fact I almost never notice any. Which is why I found it remarkable for me to see three in one movie.
Of course not.
Agreed. I also agree with your earlier comments about the high standards that should apply in naming a “perfect movie.”
And for what it’s worth, I enjoyed LOTM, and thought it was a great film.
Breaking Away
Moonstruck
Raising Arizona
A Fish Called Wanda, not a moment I would want removed. Great cast, I loved the dialogue as well.
I agree - of course, there’s no such thing as true objectivity in this domain, but you’re right - candidates should be able to stand up as exemplary and flawless in these certain specific ways.
Anyway, I propose Amelie. Perfect casting, engaging performances, beautiful locations, achingly careful cinematography, colour, lighting and composition and a story/script that’s just breathtaking in its symmetry and lovingly interwoven subplots.
The combined wisdom of the movie-loving folks over at IMDB yielded a whole section of best-in-genre lists of movies.
My goal is to watch everything on their top lists, such as this one of the twenty most underrated movies and the 250 best movies of all time.
Some of my choices have already been mentioned but here’s a couple of absolutely perfect French movies.
La Grande Illusion by Renoir and Becker’s superb prison escape movie Le Trou (Shawshank Redemption pales by comparison.)
I’m posting before reading the hundred plus replies, so this may be redundant. But I’d say the one movie that I seemingly never get tired of watching is “The Bravados,” starring Gregory Peck as a rancher who relentlessly pursues the men who raped and killed his wife. I must have watched it a dozen times, and there are only a handful of movies I’ve seen more than twice, and no others more than four or five times (I think “Once Upon A Time in the West” was probably five times).