# What is your idea of the perfect movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705 "2016-03-12T01:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/21 "2016-03-17T18:46:58Z")
I have to put in a vote for My Neighbor Totoro. I think Roger Ebert said it best when he said (paraphrased) it’s a world in which when a little girl finds a big weird monster in the woods she curls up and falls asleep on its tummy and is perfectly safe. It’s the sweetest movie about two little girls - sisters - in the country, and yes, everyone comes away with smiles and warmth in their hearts. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/22 "2016-03-17T18:48:42Z")
As a lifetime fan of comic books, I have to give props to _Marvel’s The Avengers_ for doing the live-action superhero team up right. \* The Incredibles\* also counts as perfect, as well. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/23 "2016-03-17T19:10:59Z")
It isn’t a “great” film, and it’s not in my personal top 10, but I’ve always felt that _Robocop_ (the original 1987 version) is a nearly flawless film. The script is lean and tight, without a single wasted word. No scene drags on too long or feels too short. The casting is spot-on. The film has just enough gravitas without taking itself too seriously. I’d be hard pressed to think of a single thing in it that could be improved. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/24 "2016-03-17T19:25:55Z")
> [@Willcross](#): > > Saving Private Ryan may be the perfect war movie? Gotta disagree with you there. Hated that cliché-fest. I suggest _The Great Escape_. All-star cast, great “based on a true” story, good guys, Nazis, airplanes, trains and motorcycle chases! Only thing it’s missing is boobies. Dedicated to The Fifty, Baby! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/25 "2016-03-17T19:48:56Z")
I honestly can’t think of a way to improve DIE HARD. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/26 "2016-03-17T20:13:17Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I honestly can’t think of a way to improve DIE HARD. I can. 😉😃 But seriously, it’s my favorite movie, and pretty much perfect. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/27 "2016-03-17T21:35:09Z")
I’ve said for many years (to friends) that for me, **Rushmore** was a perfect movie, so perfect, in fact, that I watched it a second time immediately after my first viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/28 "2016-03-17T21:44:25Z")
For me, _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ is the perfect movie. I’d put _Jurassic Park_ up there pretty high too. I would have said _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ except I can’t help thinking that Amy Farrah Fowler was right about it, which takes away a bit of its perfectness (though I still love it). I’d mostly agree about _The Avengers_ except that it starts off a bit slowly. With a slightly faster start, I’d agree–perfect! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/29 "2016-03-17T22:31:38Z")
I’ll add in _Spirited Away_. There is just so much to this movie. I’ve literally watched it at least a dozen times and every time you see more depth. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/30 "2016-03-17T22:46:02Z")
Given the OP’s particular standards of “perfection,” I might suggest _Catch Me If You Can_ for its light-hearted charm while not sacrificing quality or storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/31 "2016-03-17T23:20:19Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > It isn’t a “great” film, and it’s not in my personal top 10, but I’ve always felt that _Robocop_ (the original 1987 version) is a nearly flawless film. The script is lean and tight, without a single wasted word. No scene drags on too long or feels too short. The casting is spot-on. The film has just enough gravitas without taking itself too seriously. I’d be hard pressed to think of a single thing in it that could be improved. And I think it’s great how Clarence Boddicker eventually retired from crime, met a woman, settled down, and changed his name to Red Foreman. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/32 "2016-03-17T23:49:23Z")
If you said you wanted to make the perfect chick flick, saying it’d be a chick flick so perfect that manly men would adore it, I’d say you were out of your damn mind. And if you said _no, it’d be a charming and wistful tale of friendship and feminism, and what it’s like to grow up in your sister’s shadow, and how it’s hard to find love if you’re not that attractive, and how if you are attractive you have to reluctantly play it up to succeed at work,_ I’d interrupt your rambling to (a) explain that I wasn’t worried about that part, and (b) reiterate that you’re out of your damn mind. And I’d admit defeat if you said _it’s also about whether there’s crying in baseball._ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/33 "2016-03-18T00:51:56Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > And I think it’s great how Clarence Boddicker eventually retired from crime, met a woman, settled down, and changed his name to Red Foreman. [A comment:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6F6u5TIUbI) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/34 "2016-03-18T05:51:55Z")
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS famously won Oscars for Best Picture and Actor and Actress and Director and Screenplay and deserved 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/35 "2016-03-18T07:05:06Z")
Not my favorite film but the Shawshank Redemption may be the perfect film. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/36 "2016-03-18T07:17:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > My nomination goes to _The Incredibles_, which was not only a very good example of what it was, but what it was was many different things. It was an excellent superhero movie, and an excellent spy movie, and an excellent family-dynamic movie, and an excellent kids’ movie. And an excellent source of quotes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/37 "2016-03-18T13:47:29Z")
In retrospect, they must’ve said _hey, let’s make the perfect fish-out-of-water comedy by wrapping it around a courtroom drama; we can call it My Cousin Vinny!_ Nothing in that movie is wasted; every role is cast to the point of being iconic; I’ve heard law schools use it as a teaching aid; and it’s hilarious even when it’s just the seventh-billed guy cross-examining the ninth-billed guy – because, granted, it kicks into high gear when it’s Pesci and Tomei, but they’re not carrying the film. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/38 "2016-03-18T17:08:07Z")
I’ll add \*Fargo \*to the list. Nothing out of place, even the Mike Yanagita scene is perfect and serves its purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/39 "2016-03-18T17:37:36Z")
_Mad Max: Fury Road,_ if you’re in the mood for the movie like _Mad Max: Fury Road_. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705/40 "2016-03-18T18:35:28Z")
“Perfect Movie” means lots of different things to different people. I can even come up with lots of different definitions, some of which would make some of my “perfect movies” ones that weren’t among my favorites, or even ones I liked. Overall, I’d say _The Terminator_ was my candidate for a Perfect Movie. To begin with, it far exceeded m expectations. I thought from the first TV spots that it was going to be a cheaply-filmed shoot-em-up set in LA, more science fiction by courtesy than in reality. Part of my love of this film was finding out otherwise. It was an SF-literate film with a carefully thought-out premise and details. It avoided the obvious cliches. It was very well-written and directed. The way the expositio unfolded, the interaction of asction scenes and quiet moments. The dialogue was well put-together. It had special effects, carefully used and within a budget. And there were lots of clever touches and dark humor. “Tech Noir” night club == “Machines need love, too” on the answering machine message – The scene in the Flashback (Flashforward?) in the bunker where people are apparently watching a television - and just as you think “they have television still?” you go to a reverse cut and see that they’re warming in front of a fire in a TV housing. — the finale in the robotically-run factory. Arguably the cleverest bit was one I think a lot of people missed – when the landlord knocks on the door of the Terminator’s apartment, asking about the smell, you see the Terminator POV shot with his possible responses. He chooses the last one – “Fuck you, asshole!” If you recall the opening scenes (after the titles), when Arnold confronts the gang at the Observatory and asks them to give him their clothes, this is Bill Pullman’s response. The Terminator is a _learning machine_, adapting to its environment. It remembered the response and used the response itself at what it decided was the appropriate time. It’s a rare case of a Robot acting as a Robot in an SF film (and not just as a metal person), as good as anything Robby did in _Forbidden Planet_. And I loved that there were false endings, with the tying up of loose ends you didn’t even realize were there. (How did Sarah Connor evolve from retiring waitress to battle-ready fighter? Who took the picture of Sarah that Reese carried? And what was she thinking about? The sequel was a good flick, with a lot more money and prep, but its can’t come c lose to the effect of the first film, with its raw vigor and energy, and its Unstoppable Killing Machine that avoided the most mawkish of Hollywood cliches – appealing to the “good” side or the “human” side of the villain. The Terminator was a pure creation – it had no “good side”. And it wasn’t human. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-idea-of-the-perfect-movie/748705.md?page=3)