Perfect films...

[Cap'n Al]

Watching Hitch's utterly brilliant <i>Notorious</i> last night, and thinking that every single aspect of it was perfect, I started to wonder: which films do people think are absolutely perfect, without any flaws of script, direction or acting (continuity doesn't count, that'd be too tedious), and which work completely? My own (short) list:

<i>The Godfather
Citizen Kane
Rear Window
The Killer
Barry Lyndon
Notorious
North by Northwest
Withnail and I</i>

[APPRIA40WR]

Withnail & I
Godfather I & II
The Blues Brothers
Manhunter

That's the first 5 that came to mind and my quick test was "Could I watch it immediately and love it".

[neverland]

Holiday on the Buses.

[DCH]

Lola
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Le Samourai

[GregB]

Alien
Seven
Airplane

Probably other that I can't remmebr at the moment

[Bolch]

Big Lebowski is the only one that comes to mind, although I'll agree on Airplane

[charlie angel]

The Hustler
Godfather 1 & 2
Se7en
Spinal Tap

[Mark B]

Three colours - red
L'appartement
Un héros tres discret
Delicatessen
Vertigo
Paris, Texas
Abres los Ojos (open your eyes)
All about my mother


I suppose it's quite a debatable topic though - some will probably rate Aliens as a perfect movie but it all depends at what you're looking for in a film...
another perfect film which I really did not enjoy watching was Man bites Dog... so is it really perfect then?

[John Murray]

REPO MAN:cool:

[FaustBos]

Hard to think of a film that is perfect, but...

Recent films... The ones that have stuck with me lately, thats i've watched again and again are:

The Insider - comes to mind first. I think this is simply a fine piece of work. The first time i watched it, when it was over, I watched it again. Acting is great, solid script, suspenseful without a single explosion or gun shot, which scores it WAY high in my book. No bad scenes, and some outstanding ones.

Free Enterprise - I dont think this film is for general consumption, but if you are a scifi fan, its a must. Just to catch the inside star trek references alone are worth it. A very simple love story, which characters that remind me WAY too much of me and my friends. We actually talk the way they do in the movie. Spooooky.




As for older films that just work for me in all ways.

All About Eve
Casablanca (especially the 1st half up until the flash backs)

I have to admit, I havent got any hitchcock in my DVD collection, but i'm planning to get Notorius soon. Looking forward to that.

[MARKMAN]

Using Appria's formulae -

Die Hard
It's a Wonderful Life
Seven Samurai
The Godfather
Miller's Crossing

[Narshty]

Oh, dear. I'm probably not the best person to compile a list of such films, as if I like something, I tend to adore it, and have a very hard time finding (or admitting to) faults or flaws within it.

But films that, for me, just seem to click on every level and suck me in each time include:

Sisters
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Killer
Nearly everything by Stanley Kubrick
Billy Liar
Rififi
Do The Right Thing
Written on the Wind
Jacob's Ladder
Touch of Evil
Brazil
Jaws
Blood Simple
Withnail and I

[NexusSheep]

Blade Runner. Next question... ;)

[Cap'n Al]

My criteria were horribly, horribly strict; if a film had one tiny moment, performance, or shot that didn't work, or that I briefly wished could have been changed, I kept it off my list. That said, <i>The Killer</i> and <i>Barry Lyndon</i> certainly fit the bill, as does <i>Rear Window</i>.

[urruri]

Godfather 1 and 2
Goodfellows
Casino
Alien
Aliens
Pulp Fiction
Life Of Brian
Seven
Matrix
The Last Of The Mohicans
The Deer Hunter
Gladiator
Jaws
Planet Of The Apes(1968)
Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon

[Narshty]

I recently won a copy of Criterion's Notorious, so am on tenterhooks waiting for the postie each morning! I have no doubts it'll live up to its reputation.

[Paul490]

Originally posted by urruri
Matrix

I actually thought that the acting in The Matrix was quite poor, and the plot is really weak.

[kerbcrawler]

Apocalypse Now
Three Colour Trilogy
Fight Club
Lost Highway
2001 - A Space Odyssey

[gZa]

There can be only one...

Seven Samurai

If it weren't for this film I'd have a choice between 4 or 5 film for my numero uno spot, but this is so superior on every level.
Every year (or so) I watch it, I expect not to be as impressed - yet it constantly astounds!
http://www.cityonfire.com/gZa/7S.jpg

[Michael Brooke]

Just about the only film I can think of that I can't pick any holes in on any level at all is Robert Bresson's <I>A Man Escaped</I>. There is not a single false note anywhere in it.

Not least amongst its achievements is the way it triumphs over seemingly inbuilt contradictions - it gives away the ending in the title, yet it's one of the most riveting suspense thrillers you'll ever see; it uses non-professional actors giving performances so low-key they barely exist, and yet they're absolutely heartbreaking; a huge amount of the running time consists purely of a man scraping at the door of his cell with a spoon, and yet you can't take your eyes off the screen. And, above all, it doesn't go over the top at the ending - it lets the audience's emotions (which have been pulled through the wringer by that stage) do all the work.

[Jimmyboy]

How on earth can Gladiator or The Matrix ever be considered perfect ?.:eek: :confused:
Jingle all the Way on the other hand..............:D

[Mike]

"Notorious" is damn near perfect, so are "Dressed To Kill", "The Age Of Innocence", "Mean Streets" and "The Conversation".

However, my only "perfect films" are Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" and Arthur Penn's stunning "Night Moves".

[McD]

Very quickly off the top of my head -

Amadeus
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Jaws
The Empire Strikes Back
The Sound Of Music
The Wizard of Oz
Midnight Run
A Clockwork Orange
I.D.
Mother Night
Waiting for Guffman
I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing
Jacob’s Ladder
The Music of Chance
Goodfellas
Don Juan De Marco

Films I love but can’t include because of ONE niggling thing:

Performances:

Life Is Sweet – Jane Horrocks overdoes it occasionally
Second Best – my fave UK film but it’s a poor-mans-Harry-Potter list of British character actors, mostly unnecessary, especially Ms Horrocks again!

Fast Forward required on repeat viewings –

Trainspotting – the bit with the baby crawling along the ceiling is a drag
Back To The Future – Dr Brown capturing the bolt of lightening is also a drag

Script / Story niggles –

Field Of Dreams – that James Earl Jones baseball speech belongs in another movie!

The Godfather – the whole thing about fooling the enemy by changing sides is playground psychology at best. Forget Luca Brazi, the whole thing with Andy Garcia in III ‘turning to the enemy’ was a way too daft (but in the spirit of the trilogy). I mean I know the mafia and mensa don’t mix but…

I've just added Don Juan De Marco to the main list. It's only 6 or 7 years old and is all but forgotten already. For me it's an absolutely perfect movie!

[neilsona]

Originally posted by urruri
Godfather 1 and 2
Goodfellows
Casino
Alien
Aliens
Pulp Fiction
Life Of Brian
Seven
Matrix
The Last Of The Mohicans
The Deer Hunter
Gladiator
Jaws
Planet Of The Apes(1968)
Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon

Goodfellows?
Is that the version set in a quaint english village.

[Ono]

Perfect Storm

Perfect Blue

Perfect (Jamie Lee Curtis)




:D