Top 10 Perfect Movies - Nominations

[sabresparaavida]

Shutter Island and Fight club would be on my list.

[Second Line Center]

I'm going to keep it to movies in my lifetime post 1978 and across different genres:

 

Back to the Future 

Casino Royale 

Predator 

The Dark Knight 

Pulp Fiction 

Superbad 

Die Hard 

Halloween 

Logan Lucky 

Zero Dark Thirty 

 

[Claude Balls]

12 hours ago, Thorny said:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

(neither of those 2 are actually my favourite in the series)

The Third Man (Welles’ best IMO)

The Departed

American Psycho

The Maltese Falcon

Spider-Man 2

No Country for Old Men

Hot Fuzz 

Ooof, No Country For Old Men was a great ***** movie. I forgot about it 

[Tony P]

23 hours ago, Taro T said:

Surprised The Maltese Falcon hadn't been nominated yet.  So, throwing that one into the mix...

 

I agree. this would certainly be on my list as well as so many of the others mentioned.

Did you know that Bogie's version was a remake!??! 

Yep, the original came out in 1931 just a year after Hammett's novel was released. I caught it on TCM a while back and thought it was pretty wild - quite a bit racier than the remake. Spade is quite the womanizer in the original.

Since you loved Bogie's version like I do, you should try to catch the original.

[French Collection]

Shawshank Redemption

No Country For Old Men

Die Hard

Schindler’s List

Hotel Rwanda

Dumb and Dumber 

Forrest Gump

Full Metal Jacket

Black Panther

Deadpool

[PASabreFan]

I feel like this thread has veered away from the original intent. It's not so much your favorite movie, but movies of extremely high craftsmanship — of writing, acting, directing, etc. Movies that will stand the test of time. I mean, there are some great ones on this list for sure.

OP can chime in as to whether I'm right.

Maybe Titanic would be up there.

[bob_sauve28]

15 hours ago, RangerDave said:

Am I the only one who thinks Citizen Kane was a stupid movie?  Just dumb.  "Oh, my life is so bad because I miss my childhood sled!"  Ugh...

I never liked it much. It was ok, but not this great cinematic triumph it’s portrayed as. 

[bob_sauve28]

12 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 

Both of these, plus, as a number of posters have noted, Hoop Dreams.

Also: 

Manhattan

Annie Hall

Major League

Broken Arrow

I love Annie Hall. The NY scenery from the 1970s is wonderful. 

[Zamboni]

49 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I feel like this thread has veered away from the original intent. It's not so much your favorite movie, but movies of extremely high craftsmanship — of writing, acting, directing, etc. Movies that will stand the test of time. I mean, there are some great ones on this list for sure.

OP can chime in as to whether I'm right.

Maybe Titanic would be up there.

That’s kinda what I was eluding to on the first page early on. Everyone will have a different definition of masterpieces in the world of movies. And it would be inevitable that it morphed into naming favorite movies also.

[Sabel79]

Incredibly pretentious entry (of films I haven't seen listed here already) alert:

Rashomon

The Third Man

Spirited Away (undoubtedly the greatest animated film ever made and I will fight you about it.  Like with fists.  Perhaps a bat.)

[SwampD]

2 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I never liked it much. It was ok, but not this great cinematic triumph it’s portrayed as. 

It was made in 1941. The reason it is so acclaimed is because of how it changed movie making.

Up until that point, movies just told a single linear story from one perspective. If I’m not mistaken, it’s also the first movie to use the flashback.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Lots of great movies being mentioned, but are they perfect? Are they the best that that genre has to offer?  Will they last the test of time?  Citizen Kane IMHO is one of those movies that isn't aging well.  Tom Jones, the Oscar winning comedy, isn't funny.  

I will say, I do think Young Frankenstein is the greatest spoof movie of all time.  Better then Airplane! or even Blazing Saddles.  It's funny, still has an interesting story, perfect cast and still gets in every horror movie cliché  It even has a great cameo or two.  The best thing about Young Frankenstein is that wasn't even originally a Mel Brooks movie.  When filming Blazing Saddles, Brooks told Gene Wilder that he didn't have a part for him.  When the actual drunk cowboy actor originally cast to play the Waco Kid, threw up all over himself in the initial jail seen, Brooks fired him and called Wilder to take the part.  Wilder said he couldn't because he was writing Young Frankenstein.  Brooks promised him that if he did Blazing Saddles he'd help Wilder get Young Frankenstein made.

  

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Das Boot ... the original in German.  Without subtitles.

One does not need to be able to speak a word of German to understand this fantastic film.  You can understand everything just by watching the scenes.

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Das Boot ... the original in German.  Without subtitles.

One does not need to be able to speak a word of German to understand this fantastic film.  You can understand everything just by watching the scenes.

NS, you know I luv ya, and I've heard that it's a great movie, but this is a bridge too far.  Who is going to watch a movie in a foreign language without subtitles?

[Marvin]

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Lots of great movies being mentioned, but are they perfect? Are they the best that that genre has to offer?  Will they last the test of time?  Citizen Kane IMHO is one of those movies that isn't aging well.  Tom Jones, the Oscar winning comedy, isn't funny.

 

14 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

I feel like this thread has veered away from the original intent. It's not so much your favorite movie, but movies of extremely high craftsmanship — of writing, acting, directing, etc. Movies that will stand the test of time. I mean, there are some great ones on this list for sure.

OP can chime in as to whether I'm right.

Maybe Titanic would be up there.

Titanic is well-crafted, but with a trite plot and a story which was emotionally dishonest to the females who were so drawn to it, I can safely say that it was far from perfect.  My criteria include emotional honesty, strength of characters, strength of plot, unpredictability, and quality of the payoff.  After that, I look at the sets, wardrobe, incidental music, and all the production-oriented stuff.

For instance, I did say that Casablanca is my favourite film, but it has some glaring problems.  (How the hell did the police miss the Letters of Transit?  For that matter, Letters of Transit were complete bupkes.  Someone with Louis Renault's occasional slips on his loyalties would have been replaced by someone with clearer loyalty to the Vichy government.  And Sam needing to say, "Mr. Richard" and "Miss Ilsa" really grates on me.)  But everything else about it is just stupendous with one of the best payoffs in the history of American film.

Conversely, everyone I know who is experienced in film making, even as an amateur, puts Citizen Kane head-and-shoulders above everything else; many deride people like me who point out its flaws as "stressing the unimportant".  I get it, to some extent -- film-making can clearly be divided into pre-CK and post-CK pretty readily.  But a glaring plot hole is still a glaring plot hole.

Also, movies eventually become dated.  Let me put it in hockey terms.

At the time, in 1976, it was more important for many fans that the Buffalo Sabres beat the Soviets than it was to win the Stanley Cup.  I don't care what other people think.  For me, even when the Sabres win the Stanley Cup, this was more important.  Only Paul Henderson's goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series carried more weight.

How could I say that?  Let me put you into the mindset of the Cold War and the American Psyche.  Italics indicate the subconscious baggage we were carrying at the time.

NYC required a bailout from the Feds just before the Soviets came.  The strongest teams in the league so far had only managed 1 tie and, frankly, most had been embarrassed by the Soviet teams.  The Soviet hockey people claimed that our top teams weren't of the same class as their top teams and the NHL didn't have a good rejoinder.  Nixon was a crook and Ford pardoned him -- and he had THREE assassination attempts against him.  We were afraid if the refs called the games fairly, the Flyers were going to spend the entire game shorthanded.  Besides, Tretiak could steal the game all by himself.  Stagflation was horrible for the country.  The worry on the NHL on NBC broadcast with Tim Ryan, Ted Lindsay, and Brian MacFarlane was palpable in the pre-game.  The Soviets were making hay internationally, particularly in the UN, that our bailing out of South Vietnam, Bobby Fischer's antics, and the NHL's failures proved that capitalists were weak mentally.  Damn it, it was the Bicentennial.  Freedom matters.  Kill the Commies.  Even non-hockey fans across the US and Canada were desperate -- the Sabres were potentially the last chance for a win by the West.  All of Western Civilisation might ride on this game.

There was that much pressure on the team. They had to win.

Watch the game again.  Look how sloppy the Sabres were trying too hard on a lot of shifts.  Listen to the nervousness of the fans before the Sabres broke through in the first period.  Listen to the positive energy, relief, and triumphalism at the end of the game.

If you weren't alive at the time, you just won't get it.  My belief is very dated.  Several talk show hosts across the nation have made fun of me for saying exactly that on the air.  I don't care -- it really was that important.  The National newscasts in both the US and Canada said so.  Hockey Night in Canada said so.  President Ford said so.

Movies are the same way.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Marvin, Sabres Fan

[GASabresIUFAN]

@Marvin, Sabres Fan

Marvin, I was at the Sabres vs Soviet Wings game.  The tension that night was palpable and I was just a kid.  Jerry Korab physically and mentally destroyed the Soviet Team and the rest of the Sabres cued from his play and dominated the game putting up 46 shots on goal and scoring 12 goals.  Montreal fans gave them a standing ovation a few nights later.

Despite the changes in the world, Slap Shot is still a very funny movie, a favorite of mine and a nearly perfect time capsule for the rust belt I grew up in.

Edited February 15, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Marvin]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

@Marvin, Sabres Fan

Marvin, I was at the Sabres vs Soviet Wings game.  The tension that night was palpable and I was just a kid.  Jerry Korab physically and mentally destroyed the Soviet Team and the rest of the Sabres cued from his play and dominated the game putting up 46 shots on goal and scoring 12 goals.  Montreal fans gave them a standing ovation a few nights later.

Despite the changes in the world, Slap Shot is still a very funny movie, a favorite of mine and a nearly perfect time capsule for the rust belt I grew up in.

The big joke in Slap Shot is lost on modern audiences, though.  I remember everyone in the theatre laughing out loud because Dickie Dunn was so credulous about the ridiculously absurd notion of the team moving to St. Petersburg.  Now there is an NHL team near St. Petersburg.

I so envy you being able to go to that game.  I remember that the fans only started to lose the nervousness at 3-0.  We only really started to believe we could win when we made it 5-2.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Marvin, Sabres Fan

[ubkev]

6 hours ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

The big joke in Slap Shot is lost on modern audiences, though.  I remember everyone in the theatre laughing out loud because Dickie Dunn was so credulous about the ridiculously absurd notion of the team moving to St. Petersburg.  Now there is an NHL team near St. Petersburg.

I so envy you being able to go to that game.  I remember that the fans only started to lose the nervousness at 3-0.  We only really started to believe we could win when we made it 5-2.

I think there are a lot of shysters in Florida.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

18 hours ago, nfreeman said:

NS, you know I luv ya, and I've heard that it's a great movie, but this is a bridge too far.  Who is going to watch a movie in a foreign language without subtitles?

Love you too, you big lug ... watch it.  Trust me.  You can feel everything that the crew is feeling and understand all their anguish as the forgotten forces of the German Navy.  The weeping and the carnage at the end is gut wrenching and one does not have to speak the language to fully understand that.

[RangerDave]

11 hours ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

 

Titanic is well-crafted, but with a trite plot and a story which was emotionally dishonest to the females who were so drawn to it, I can safely say that it was far from perfect.  My criteria include emotional honesty, strength of characters, strength of plot, unpredictability, and quality of the payoff.  After that, I look at the sets, wardrobe, incidental music, and all the production-oriented stuff.

For instance, I did say that Casablanca is my favourite film, but it has some glaring problems.  (How the hell did the police miss the Letters of Transit?  For that matter, Letters of Transit were complete bupkes.  Someone with Louis Renault's occasional slips on his loyalties would have been replaced by someone with clearer loyalty to the Vichy government.  And Sam needing to say, "Mr. Richard" and "Miss Ilsa" really grates on me.)  But everything else about it is just stupendous with one of the best payoffs in the history of American film.

Conversely, everyone I know who is experienced in film making, even as an amateur, puts Citizen Kane head-and-shoulders above everything else; many deride people like me who point out its flaws as "stressing the unimportant".  I get it, to some extent -- film-making can clearly be divided into pre-CK and post-CK pretty readily.  But a glaring plot hole is still a glaring plot hole.

Also, movies eventually become dated.  Let me put it in hockey terms.

At the time, in 1976, it was more important for many fans that the Buffalo Sabres beat the Soviets than it was to win the Stanley Cup.  I don't care what other people think.  For me, even when the Sabres win the Stanley Cup, this was more important.  Only Paul Henderson's goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series carried more weight.

How could I say that?  Let me put you into the mindset of the Cold War and the American Psyche.  Italics indicate the subconscious baggage we were carrying at the time.

NYC required a bailout from the Feds just before the Soviets came.  The strongest teams in the league so far had only managed 1 tie and, frankly, most had been embarrassed by the Soviet teams.  The Soviet hockey people claimed that our top teams weren't of the same class as their top teams and the NHL didn't have a good rejoinder.  Nixon was a crook and Ford pardoned him -- and he had THREE assassination attempts against him.  We were afraid if the refs called the games fairly, the Flyers were going to spend the entire game shorthanded.  Besides, Tretiak could steal the game all by himself.  Stagflation was horrible for the country.  The worry on the NHL on NBC broadcast with Tim Ryan, Ted Lindsay, and Brian MacFarlane was palpable in the pre-game.  The Soviets were making hay internationally, particularly in the UN, that our bailing out of South Vietnam, Bobby Fischer's antics, and the NHL's failures proved that capitalists were weak mentally.  Damn it, it was the Bicentennial.  Freedom matters.  Kill the Commies.  Even non-hockey fans across the US and Canada were desperate -- the Sabres were potentially the last chance for a win by the West.  All of Western Civilisation might ride on this game.

There was that much pressure on the team. They had to win.

Watch the game again.  Look how sloppy the Sabres were trying too hard on a lot of shifts.  Listen to the nervousness of the fans before the Sabres broke through in the first period.  Listen to the positive energy, relief, and triumphalism at the end of the game.

If you weren't alive at the time, you just won't get it.  My belief is very dated.  Several talk show hosts across the nation have made fun of me for saying exactly that on the air.  I don't care -- it really was that important.  The National newscasts in both the US and Canada said so.  Hockey Night in Canada said so.  President Ford said so.

Movies are the same way.

I completely understand how some people would absolutely love Citizen Kane.  There are people who are much more into the production and artfulness of movies than I am.  Everyone has their own reasons for liking or disliking particular movies (or anything else, for that matter!)  As a non-student of film making, I pay less attention to how it is made.  For me, I just want a movie that holds my attention due to the plot, acting, and writing something I can relate to.  I am a simple man who likes a bit of emotional escapism.  Certainly, different eras have different ways of doing this.

As an example, I enjoy watching reruns of Adam-12.  The acting in 1960's television shows was dreadful, but the show somehow still compels me to watch.

[BagBoy]

23 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

I will say, I do think Young Frankenstein is the greatest spoof movie of all time.  Better then Airplane! or even Blazing Saddles.  It's funny, still has an interesting story, perfect cast and still gets in every horror movie cliché  It even has a great cameo or two.  The best thing about Young Frankenstein is that wasn't even originally a Mel Brooks movie.  When filming Blazing Saddles, Brooks told Gene Wilder that he didn't have a part for him.  When the actual drunk cowboy actor originally cast to play the Waco Kid, threw up all over himself in the initial jail seen, Brooks fired him and called Wilder to take the part.  Wilder said he couldn't because he was writing Young Frankenstein.  Brooks promised him that if he did Blazing Saddles he'd help Wilder get Young Frankenstein made.

  

 

 

[BuffalOhio]

Saving Private Ryan

The entire Band of Brothers Series

Fury

Caddyshack

Slap Shot

The Green Book

Pulp Fiction

Above is a list of movies I can watch over and over.  Are they great?  That's subjective, but to me they are.

[Sabel79]

Another one that came to me while I was walking the dog earlier today (I think about some weird stuff while we’re on a walk, I suppose...): 1917. 
 

Not going to gush about the one-shot aspect of it (that’s been done before to varying success) but it’s beautiful.  
 

It also avoids the cartoonish and bombastic triumphalism of most western war films.  The sheer banality of the horror surrounding the characters at all times is just so disturbing and well-done.  

[St Pete Gogolak]

My Los Angeles trilogy of perfect or pretty damn near perfect films:

Chinatown

L. A. Confidential

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

 

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Sabel79 said:

Another one that came to me while I was walking the dog earlier today (I think about some weird stuff while we’re on a walk, I suppose...): 1917. 
 

Not going to gush about the one-shot aspect of it (that’s been done before to varying success) but it’s beautiful.  
 

It also avoids the cartoonish and bombastic triumphalism of most western war films.  The sheer banality of the horror surrounding the characters at all times is just so disturbing and well-done.  

I really liked 1917.