# What are your "Perfect" movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546 "2005-10-30T03:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/21 "2005-10-30T06:11:23Z")
> [@Rainbowthief](#): > > **lissener** , no Showgirls? šŸ˜ƒ \*Showgirls \*is too intense and complex a film to be an ā€œold friendā€ that I can watch any time. Itā€™s an extremely angry film, so Iā€™m not always in the mood. _Starship Troopers_ is a lot more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/22 "2005-10-30T06:17:48Z")
Almost Famous Beverly Hills Cop Boogie Nights Casino Catch Me If You Can Clueless Fletch Goodfellas The Maltese Falcon Manhattan The Philadelphia Story The Royal Tenenbaums Rushmore Say Anything The Silence of the Lambs Sunset Boulevard Swingers To Have and To Have Not Three Kings Trading Places Plus many others already mentioned in this thread ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/23 "2005-10-30T07:11:05Z")
Iā€™ve seen thousands of movies, but for some reason these two British films come to mind as being just about perfect: _Blowup_ (1966) and _Sunday Bloody Sunday_ (1971). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/24 "2005-10-30T07:31:38Z")
Oh yes, why I think they are near perfect movies. _Blowup_ stays fresh today for its detached, cool look at a detached, cool character in the hothouse world of fashion photography, and it ultimately leaves us with the paradox that the closer we look at something, the more ambiguous it becomes. Like this movie itself. _Sunday Bloody Sunday_ gets my pick because its mature understanding of two people who must accept compromise in their lives has more psychological accuity than a half a dozen busier dramas. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/25 "2005-10-30T07:42:09Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > You know, when these threads are just lists of movie names without any justification theyā€™re really really boring. I can read the imdb top 100 as well as anyone elseā€¦ I notice some of these _arenā€™t_ on the IMBb Top 250. (_Meet The Feebles_? Brilliant!) But Iā€™ll add _Out Of The Past_ with Robert Mitchum and hereā€™s why: the story is relentless, told in flashback of flashback, with Jeff Bailey knowing that heā€™s falling for a _femme fatale_ but not being able to help himself. The droll delivery of the voiceover narration highlights his world-weary attitude; Bogart could only hope to be half as disaffected. Jane Greer beats them all hands down, including Barbara Stanwyck, as a manipulative, malicious, amoral creature. Bailey, in the end, just wants to be done with, to end his undeniable servitude to Kathy. It is often considered the first true noir and is undoubtedly one of the best, and Hitchcock drew heavily on it for _Vertigo_. And while weā€™re talking about noir, the adaptation of _The Grifters_ (scripted by Donald Westlake from Jim Thompsonā€™s novel) is a great updating of the novel, retaining enough anachronistic details to make it _feel_ like a Jim Thompson novel. And John Cusack, Annette Benning, and Angelica Huston were perfect in their roles. I saw this at a special screening at the Arclight where Angelica Huston talked a bit about how she got the part (Stephen Frears thought she was all wrong, but executive producer Martin Scorsese knew she was perfect, so they met for dinner with Huston wearing a slinky, low-cut dressā€¦the rest is history.) Anyway, itā€™s easy to fuck up an adapatation of a novel, especially one as visceral as _The Grifters_, but Westlake gets it exactly right. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/26 "2005-10-30T07:59:17Z")
How could I forget: The Godfather trilogy Die Hard The first three Jack Ryan movies A Christmas Story Superman I and II Batman & Batman Returns Raiders and Last Crusade ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/27 "2005-10-30T08:11:06Z")
Casablanca - first saw it on television when I was about seven years old and just floated into the film and have never left. It is a film I watch on a rainy or cold day, wrap myself in a blanket on the couch and float back into the film. I think the LOTR trilogy is another that I could watch over and over and just allow myself to meld into the story. The Wizard of Ozā€¦so many memories from childhood to today. Whenever I am flipping through the channels and find it, I am sucked into the film just like when I was a kid. Although I like a lot of films, there are actually very few I ever watch more than once. A few more that I do watch every once in awhile - Rebbecca, Citizen Kane, Cabaret, The Bad Seed, The African Queen, Funny Girl, The Producers, Gone With The Wind, Itā€™s A Wonderful Life, All About Eveā€¦I just realized I seem to like a lot of the old B&W filmsā€¦again, maybe it was being stuck in the Midwest as a kid and watching those late night classics on television. They let me know there was another world out there, and I guess to me they were my lifeline. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/28 "2005-10-30T09:22:32Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Some remedies just suggest themselves. Exactly: you can provide more information. Dmark, Stranger and Walloons posts make for far more interesting reading than your random list of names. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/29 "2005-10-30T09:23:26Z")
The Big Lebowski Chungking Express ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/30 "2005-10-30T09:32:34Z")
In my DVD Collection: Before Sunrise Before Sunset Braveheart Dogma Ferris Beullerā€™s Day Off Field of Dreams Glory The Princess Bride Schindlerā€™s List ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/31 "2005-10-30T09:36:25Z")
Ohā€¦and to add to my list: LOTR Trilogy Stand By Me ---
**Author:** ![rorty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@rorty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rorty)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/32 "2005-10-30T09:58:36Z")
Chinatown ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/33 "2005-10-30T13:36:07Z")
Local Hero Itā€™s got everything: snappy dialogue, conflict, romance, natural beauty, humor and sadness. And it was quirky long before quirky became trendy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/34 "2005-10-30T15:18:04Z")
> [@Caprese](#): > > Local Hero > > Itā€™s got everything: snappy dialogue, conflict, romance, natural beauty, humor and sadness. > And it was quirky long before quirky became trendy. I canā€™t believe I left this one off. Youā€™re 100% correct, a perfect movie. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/35 "2005-10-30T21:42:58Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > But Iā€™ll add _Out Of The Past_ with Robert Mitchum and hereā€™s why: the story is relentless, told in flashback of flashback, with Jeff Bailey knowing that heā€™s falling for a _femme fatale_ but not being able to help himself. The droll delivery of the voiceover narration highlights his world-weary attitude; Bogart could only hope to be half as disaffected. Jane Greer beats them all hands down, including Barbara Stanwyck, as a manipulative, malicious, amoral creature. Bailey, in the end, just wants to be done with, to end his undeniable servitude to Kathy. It is often considered the first true noir and is undoubtedly one of the best, and Hitchcock drew heavily on it for _Vertigo_. That could have been on my list, but under ā€œwhyā€ I would have put: Robert Mitchum is your daddy. Or my daddy, I guess. But that would sound like he was literally my father which he is not. For my whys: **Night of the Hunter:** ā€œLeanin on Jesus, Leanin on Jesus.ā€ Because Robert Mitchumā€™s my daddy. Because itā€™s beautiful to look at and I can never get tired of the novelty of how it looks. There are so many shots I want to blow up and put on the wall and look at every day. Because I never get tired of the little story of right hand left hand. And in the end, children abide. It has everything. Lillian Gish sitting in her rocker with her shotgun minding her flock. The most beautiful woman because of what she does and not how she looks. So brave and righteous! I am always frustrated on behalf of Shelly Winters on her wedding night. God thatā€™s not right that he wonā€™t do it. Iā€™ll never get over it no matter how many times I watch it. I am always right there with her in that scene! Itā€™s a great, great movie. **Moby-Dick** : Iā€™m in love with Queequeg. Plus I never get tired of when Ahab is telling the men about the whale and he starts pointing and his finger is gigantic and flopping around. And Orson Welles sermon. Itā€™s Moby-Dick. It gives you something to think about every time. Itā€™s like the quick fix for your Moby-Dick needs when you donā€™t have time to read the book. **Monday Night Mayhem** : I have no idea why I have watched this movie about 50 times and memorized half of it. I donā€™t even like football. I guess itā€™s that John Tuturro is so so damn good in it that I feel like I want to be like Howard Cosell every time I finish it! It has enough good lines that you just love to hear over and over, and itā€™s just a great story of a man who kept on being himself and tellin it like it was. He keeps his dignity. Itā€™s very inspiring. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/36 "2005-10-30T22:05:50Z")
Godfather ! Godfather II Being There Gilda The Third Man In The Bedroom Pulp Fiction Silence of the Lambs Blazing Saddles The Producers Bananas Annie Hall Serpico The Inlaws (original, obviously) Lost in America Bullit Cool Hand Luke Taxi Driver The Wizard of Oz Monsters, Inc. Millers Crossing Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Cape Fear (with Robert Mitchum) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Philadelphia Story Johnny Belinda (origanal) Gaslight Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid The Sting Lord of The Rings Trilogy ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/37 "2005-10-30T23:13:47Z")
LOTR trilogy A Knightā€™s Tale (I know much of the dialog by heart) All Of Me The Wizard of Oz Fantasia (Just watched it again today, in fact) The Black Stallion Thelma & Louise Pirates of the Carribean ConAir The Cowboys Rocky Horror Picture Show Brewsterā€™s Millions As for reasons? Why do any of us like a movie? Some are pure escapism (LOTR, The Black Stallion) , some are feel-good-make-me-smile movies (Knights Tale, All Of Me) , some make me think (Brewsterā€™s Millions , Thelma& Louise). They all touch something inside me, whether it can be put into words or not. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/38 "2005-10-30T23:25:26Z")
Michael Caine movies (except the Swarm and some others),especially Alfie,The Man Who Would Be King,Get Carter,and The Ipcress File ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/39 "2005-10-30T23:37:24Z")
Movies **Orual** will always happily watch: \*\*Hero The Boondock Saints The Maltese Falcon The Princess Bride Conan the Barbarian Princess Mononoke The Thin Man The Big Sleep Clue\*\* (Note: these are not all necessarily _good_ movies, they are just perfect for what they are) ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546/40 "2005-10-30T23:49:42Z")
I just remembered the perfect Michael Caine movie,A Shock To The System [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-perfect-movies/328546.md?page=3)