The perfect film?

[RAMA]

I don't think there are any "perfect" movies, just less flawed ones. It's also hard to judge since we all look at movies differently. There are movies I've enjoyed so much I didn't feel a need to dwell on flaws. One such genre movie is The Matrix.

 

[Maurice]

The only movies I can think of offhand where no obvious blemishes come to mind are:

Young Frankenstein
Casablanca
Steamboat Bill Jr.
Lawrence of Arabia

 

[Apple Goblin]

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I also love a film called Baby Face.

It's about a down on her luck dame who sleeps with men to advance her career. As she slowly dies inside, she realizes there's more to life.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Two words:

Cloud Atlas

 

[Admiral2]

^That is the best post I ever read.

Not to me. Above-it-all, pseudo-learned posts like that take all the fun out of threads like this for me. Yes, I know "best" is subjective. I don't need a lecture about it.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!

It's good.

 

[Bisz]

Not to me. Above-it-all, pseudo-learned posts like that take all the fun out of threads like this for me.

Sorry.

 

[Reverend]

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!

It's good.

I haven't. I think I caught the first 10-20 minutes on TV once before falling asleep. Not because it was boring, it was just very late. Still I can't really remember it really grabbing me either.

I've heard people rave about it before so I'm curious what all the fuss is about?

 

[doubleohfive]

There are plenty of films that I enjoy from start to finish, but a "perfect" film? No such thing exists. It's too complicated an art form made by too many people for such a thing. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I tend to agree.

"The perfect film" is my nickname for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

That's usually my fallback, along with Alien, Ghostbusters and especially Jurassic Park.

I love each of those movies. But Jurassic Park has several plot holes and everything that happens in Raiders would still have happened with or without the existence or participation of its primary lead. Do these faults somehow still allow for the films to be considered "perfect?"

I would submit that the real question here is not "What's the perfect film?" but rather, what constitutes "perfect" in the space of this particular query?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Definately The Terminator.

Thor is pretty up there for me, as are Star Trek VI & Star Trek: First Contact.

 

[Greg Cox]

The only movies I can think of offhand where no obvious blemishes come to mind are:

Young Frankenstein
Casablanca
Steamboat Bill Jr.
Lawrence of Arabia

At the risk of sacrilege, I'm not sure the Paris flashback in Casablanca is necessary. Rick's reaction to Ilsa's return pretty much tells you everything you need to know about their history. I'm not sure we need a lengthy flashback to spell it out for us--while we're waiting impatiently to get back to Casablanca and the crisis at hand.

But otherwise, yeah, practically a perfect film.

 

[Ovation]

The only movies I can think of offhand where no obvious blemishes come to mind are:

Young Frankenstein
Casablanca
Steamboat Bill Jr.
Lawrence of Arabia

At the risk of sacrilege, I'm not sure the Paris flashback in Casablanca is necessary. Rick's reaction to Ilsa's return pretty much tells you everything you need to know about their history. I'm not sure we need a lengthy flashback to spell it out for us--while we're waiting impatiently to get back to Casablanca and the crisis at hand.

But otherwise, yeah, practically a perfect film.

But the flashback gives us more screen time with Ingrid Bergman. And that automatically makes it essential.

 

[theenglish]

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

Mullholland Drive. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!

It's good.

I haven't. I think I caught the first 10-20 minutes on TV once before falling asleep. Not because it was boring, it was just very late. Still I can't really remember it really grabbing me either.

I've heard people rave about it before so I'm curious what all the fuss is about?

When you do watch it, make sure you double the length of the movie when planning time--you need to watch it twice to understand it. This is a good thing--I love David Lynch films.

 

[Greg Cox]

The only movies I can think of offhand where no obvious blemishes come to mind are:

Young Frankenstein
Casablanca
Steamboat Bill Jr.
Lawrence of Arabia

At the risk of sacrilege, I'm not sure the Paris flashback in Casablanca is necessary. Rick's reaction to Ilsa's return pretty much tells you everything you need to know about their history. I'm not sure we need a lengthy flashback to spell it out for us--while we're waiting impatiently to get back to Casablanca and the crisis at hand.

But otherwise, yeah, practically a perfect film.

But the flashback gives us more screen time with Ingrid Bergman. And that automatically makes it essential.

But nobody watches Casablanca because they want to see a happy couple in love in Paris. We want the drama of Rick and Ilsa in Casablanca, after she comes back into his life . . .. .

 

[Isolinear]

The Green Mile

and

The Sixth Sense
Quest for Fire
The Dark Crystal
The Others
Gattaca
Galaxy Quest
The Truman Show
Requiem for a Dream
Source Code
Oblivion
Alien
Blade Runner
The Matrix
Brazil

 

[Ovation]

At the risk of sacrilege, I'm not sure the Paris flashback in Casablanca is necessary. Rick's reaction to Ilsa's return pretty much tells you everything you need to know about their history. I'm not sure we need a lengthy flashback to spell it out for us--while we're waiting impatiently to get back to Casablanca and the crisis at hand.

But otherwise, yeah, practically a perfect film.

But the flashback gives us more screen time with Ingrid Bergman. And that automatically makes it essential.

But nobody watches Casablanca because they want to see a happy couple in love in Paris. We want the drama of Rick and Ilsa in Casablanca, after she comes back into his life . . .. .

After 20 or so viewings, I watch mainly to look at Ingrid. Doesn't everybody?

 

[Captrek]

I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!

It's good.

I haven't. I think I caught the first 10-20 minutes on TV once before falling asleep. Not because it was boring, it was just very late. Still I can't really remember it really grabbing me either.

I've heard people rave about it before so I'm curious what all the fuss is about?

When you do watch it, make sure you double the length of the movie when planning time--you need to watch it twice to understand it. This is a good thing--I love David Lynch films.

Speaking from my own experience with the film, it didn't make sense to me on the first viewing, and it still didn't make sense after a second viewing. I had to get online and read other people's commentaries about the film in order to have any idea what's going on. Maybe the target audience is smarter than I.

 

[Greg Cox]

But the flashback gives us more screen time with Ingrid Bergman. And that automatically makes it essential.

But nobody watches Casablanca because they want to see a happy couple in love in Paris. We want the drama of Rick and Ilsa in Casablanca, after she comes back into his life . . .. .

After 20 or so viewings, I watch mainly to look at Ingrid. Doesn't everybody?

Nah, we watch for Claude Rains and Peter Lorre.

 

[sojourner]

Nah, we watch for Claude Rains and Peter Lorre.

Now there's some 'shipping I've never imagined.

 

[Chris_Johnston]

My "Stuck on a Desert Island" list...

2001: A Space Odyssey
A Bug's Life
Akira
A L I E N
Aliens
Apollo 13
The Avengers
Back to the Future
Bambi
Blade Runner
The Blues Brothers
Contact
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Empire Strikes Back
Excalibur
Forbidden Planet
Galaxy Quest
Grand Canyon
Heat
Hellboy
Inception
The Incredibles
The Iron Giant
Iron Man
Jurassic Park
Le Mans
Lilo & Stitch
The Man from Earth
Manhunter
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
The Matrix
Midnight Run
Oblivion
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Red Planet
The Rocketeer
Rushmore
Silent Running
Silverado
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Wars
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The Thing (1982)
THX 1138
The Usual Suspects

 

[Captrek]

Star Wars, but not The Empire Strikes Back? Oversight or choice?

I'm looking forward to seeing THX 1138, as soon as I'm done trudging through the first 1137 entries in the series.