Your perfect or near-perfect movie...

Picking a favorite movie is near impossible, but there are some movies that are just damn near perfectly made.

I’m watching Hitchcock’s Psycho right now and it’s definitely in the running.

The Godfather and Apocalypse Now also come to mind.

What do you guys think?

 

Remember The Titans. I won't attest to cinematic perfection, because I haven't necessarily watched it from that angle, but I think it could hold up to that scrutiny. Too damn good.

The second Lord of The Rings also gets a nod. Extremely well made film.

If I had to choose between The Godfather and The Usual Suspects, I'm taking the latter. And if no one's seen it, yet... go do that before it's spoiled for you, if it hasn't been already.

 

"Man on Fire" is my personal favorite, but if you're looking for something deeper Stanley Kubricks "A Clockwork Orange", "The Shining" or
"2001 Space Odyssey" would be in the running.

 

I haven't seen it yet and we just talked about this movie this past weekend as a must see. I'm looking forward to it now.

 

I have about 50 movies in my top 5, but if I try to answer without thinking, the few that leap first to mind are The Princess Bride, Dogma, and Pulp Fiction.

 

The Shawshank Redemption.

12 Angry Men.

And The Godfather II

 

Total Recall

Running Man

The Outlaw Jose Wales

 

Running Man, perfectly made? Total Recall? Get the F outta here.

 

And who’s this José Wales? Is that Josey’s Mexican alter ego?

 

Saving Private Ryan

 

Dog Day Afternoon
Scarface
Shawshank Redemption
Gone with the Wind
Forrest Gump
Holes
Secondhand Lions
The Little Princess

 

Maybe not the most original suggestion, but you can't have this thread without a mention to The Empire Strikes Back. As well as being a great movie in its own right, and arguably Lucas' best display of "world building" in a SW movie, TESB re-wrote some of the rules on film-making. The now cliched approach of "the sequel being darker", the now cliched approach of the 2nd in a trilogy being the "bridge-movie", both started right here. Having the major set-piece battle at the beginning rather than the end as was customary. That twist at the end. The foundation laying for so much of Jedi lore/the force. And barely a single wasted scene from start to finish. Brilliant.

Speaking of writing the rule-book, Psycho is a very good shout too. I would throw in The Shining as well.

Also, if a perfect adaptation of a comic book/graphic novel is the accuracy with which you transfer the source material to film.... then Watchmen is the greatest adaptation ever made, and will probably stay that way. The amount of scenes, inc dialogue sometimes, that are taken straight out of that graphic novel is just ridiculous. The makers of that movie weren't just fans, they weren't even disciples. They were full on zealots!

 

I totally agree with The Shining. Crazy movie with crazy Nicholson.

Another one is The Deerhunter. That scared the bejesus out of me and still does.

 

Random order:

The Shawshank Redemption
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
The Silence Of The Lambs
Gladiator
Jaws
Rocky
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Goodfellas
Tombstone
Outlaw Josey Wales

 

Cuckoos Nest! I forgot about that one. Almost every Nicholson movie really hits the mark for me.

Plus I had a massive crush on Clint Eastwood.

 

I didn't like Apocalypse Now in that it did not in anyway depict what went on in that war. If I were to pick three great movies, my choices would be Dances with Wolves, 13 Hours, and The Godfather.

 

The Quiet Man
Lillies of the Field
Big Night
Memento

 

A few more classics that I felt bad about leaving out...

Unforgiven

The Longest Yard

Fargo

Back To The Future

Die Hard

No Country For Old Men

The Hangover

The Breakfast Club

The Terminator

Home Alone

 

I didn’t pick Apocalypse Now for it’s authenticity. I chose it because it’s just a really, really cool movie that’s unbelievably well done.

 

A lot of my favorites have already been noted (Remember the Titans, Secondhand Lions, The Godfather). Here's two more that tended to fly under the radar;

• Bat 21
• Diggstown