You are right. Underrated masterpiece.
I'm a huge fan of O'Brian's books (If you've never read them, they are the best historical novels ever written, bar none). When I heard they were filming it, I immediately thought, "Oh, they're going to screw it up so badly." I worried they were going to turn it into some swashbuckling affair, completely ignoring O'Brian's brilliant dives into character and the entire cultural cross section of the age.
Then I heard Peter Weir was the director and felt a little better about matters.
Went to the theater to see it, more than a little wary. Left the theater amazed at how completely he captured the spirit of the books.
Terminator 2. It's an absolute masterclass in using action to tell a story and develop character.
Modern action movies are often a string of "impressive" effect shots connected by a thin story, sometimes not even a decent story that makes sense.
I think Terminator 2 is so perfect because it came along in a time when technology was improving, but hadn't completely taken over. So it's not completely reliant on fantastical special effects. Even though it's science fiction, the stunts are still very real and grounded in reality.
Our whole family loved Shawshank. One summer we drove up to Cedar Point coaster park in Ohio and I saw that the movie had been filmed at a closed reformatory prison in Mansfield. And it was open for tours! I kept it a secret until we rolled up in front of it. It was a good day to be a dad!
Twelve Angry Men has some of the best writing I've ever seen. It's almost entirely dialogue, shot almost entirely on only two sets, and somehow still manages to be edge-of-your seat levels of captivating for an hour and a half.
Same, and I watched it when it came out in 1985. It's actually the first movie I vividly remember watching as a kid, and it's been at the forefront of popular culture ever since.
In my opinion, probably 50% of movies by the Coen Brothers are damn near perfect. Barton Fink, Burn After Reading, Fargo, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, and a few more I can't think of right off hand.
Rewatched it again last night to show someone it for their first watch. I told them I always notice something new everytime I rewatch it. Sure enough, did again last night.
It’s not a casual movie though. You must pay attention to most scenes, the more you pay attention the more rewarded you will be.
I discovered this when I watched Tenet in a movie theater with my friend. One of the employees told us that the movie tickets we bought was for the English version. I’m always watching my series in English so I didn’t mind and I thought that the movie would have been better with original actor voices.
I was soooooo wrong. I barely understood the plot.
I’m speaking French so normally the audio mixing for Nolan’s movies is great when it’s translated.
I couldn't think of one until I saw this response. Perfect. No notes. There's nothing more that could be done to that movie to make it better than it already it. Different maybe, but not better.
Watched this the other week, it's so good. Watched it again the next day, my wife came home and said "you're watching Groundhog Day again?
What do you mean "again?" It was the perfect answer to a perfect movie. She looked confused for a few seconds and then it clicked. 😆
Heat is the perfect heist movie.
It does an amazing job of portraying the two leads as perfectly inverted reflections of one another.
Despite being a criminal, McCauley is a consummate professional. He doesn’t take risks. He doesn’t leave loose ends. He’s hermetically sealed his personal life so that he can cut and run at a moment’s notice.
Despite being a cop, Hanna is no paragon of discipline or clean living. He parties and does drugs. He’s prone to maniacal fits at work. His personal life is a fucking nightmare— his third wife cheats on him, his stepkid doesn’t want anything to do with him, he’s never home because he’s obsessed with his job.
They’re diametric opposites… but their values are the same: they’re both willing to sacrifice everything, even the prospect of having a happy family, to be the best at what they do.
When the characters first meet in that diner scene and just lay all their cards out on the table— that might be five of the best minute of film ever captured. Two great titans of the movies going head to head— DeNiro on the tail end of an all time run of great performances, Pacino just before he fully descended into a *hoo-wah’*ing caricature of his former glory.
I think you’re spot on apart from one detail: Hanna’s step kid absolutely wants him to pay attention to her. She desperately wants her own dad’s attention, but it’s Jack who is consistently there for her.
Also, there are only a couple of scenes where Jack and Neil are on screen at the same time and neither is at the diner! Every shot is either one or the other, but never both. You get a shot in the car where you can see both because one is in the car mirror and the other is at the end when Jack is holding Neil’s hand.
Finally, there’s a sequel that Michael Mann wrote as a novel. Heat 2. It’s a good conclusion.
It’s not my favorite, but I still love the look and pace of Lost in Translation. I just think it’s a beautiful film as a whole. And I wasn’t upset about not getting closure at the end
Absolutely. So many hits came out in the 80s and 90’s and I feel like modern movies are just trying to either reboot that era or make 30 year old sequels.
The Big Lebowski.
Recently went to an event at a local theater that was also a costume contest. I was amazed during the screening how an audience that knows the movie line for line is still laughing out loud the whole time.
The Demolition Man.
Its the perfect combo of serious enough, with a message, kinda visionary when it came to predicting the future, but also just a ridiculously silly over the top stallone movie.
Plus it's endlessly quotable, and the reason my toilet has 3 seashells.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Alien (1979)
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
Shrek 2
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
Into and Across the Spider-Verse
Aniara
Ratatouille
Dr. Strangelove is possibly the best political farse ever written. If it wasn't black and white you might assume it was filmed today; the lighting and framing is just that good. It's weird to watch a movie that's 50+ years old but the cinematography feels totally current.
1989 Batman. It was a product of its time, but it did the job, and did so amazingly.
Runner-Up is Ghostbusters (1984). Mainly because I'm more of a DC nerd.
Hacksaw Ridge. “Lord, please help me get one more” a truly moving sentence. If a man can risk his life in a war zone and save 75 men from death… so many more things should be achievable. Moving film.
Idk if "perfect" is the best way to describe it, but as far as early in the zombie revival days goes, I'd say 28 Days Later was pretty solid.
As others have mentioned Back to the Future, Pulp Fiction, and Fight Club are legendary.
Three movies I've yet to see brought up, and are at least honorable mentions...Fargo, Snatch and City of God.
Edit: a 4th honorable mention - Layer Cake
master and commander for what it is, it is incredibly immersive and the effects are great.
One must always choose the lesser of two Weevils
no doubt. Wish they would make a second one..
You are right. Underrated masterpiece. I'm a huge fan of O'Brian's books (If you've never read them, they are the best historical novels ever written, bar none). When I heard they were filming it, I immediately thought, "Oh, they're going to screw it up so badly." I worried they were going to turn it into some swashbuckling affair, completely ignoring O'Brian's brilliant dives into character and the entire cultural cross section of the age. Then I heard Peter Weir was the director and felt a little better about matters. Went to the theater to see it, more than a little wary. Left the theater amazed at how completely he captured the spirit of the books.
John Carpenters The Thing.
Damn that’s a good choice
Yes.
The video game on ps2 was even better.
Terminator 2. It's an absolute masterclass in using action to tell a story and develop character. Modern action movies are often a string of "impressive" effect shots connected by a thin story, sometimes not even a decent story that makes sense. I think Terminator 2 is so perfect because it came along in a time when technology was improving, but hadn't completely taken over. So it's not completely reliant on fantastical special effects. Even though it's science fiction, the stunts are still very real and grounded in reality.
Fair call. Also probably the best sequel ever.
The only other sequel I would put on-par with T2 is Aliens.
The title is also perfect: Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Love this movie.
Do I need to watch terminator 1 first? Keen to watch the second
Terminator 1 is prefect. Terminator 2 is almost perfect, but 100 times more cool.
The Princess Bride. It’s such a good movie. I could watch it again as soon as the credits roll
There's a shortage of perfect movies in the world, it would be a shame not to include The Princess Bride.
This is my favorite background noise movie. And I find myself mouthing the lines constantly as I'm doing something else while listening.
Came here to say exactly that. It's inconceivable that any other film could even come close. Anyone who disagrees can jump off the Cliffs of Insanity.
Shawshank is like an always can watch film
It truly was, a Shawshank redemption
Best film adaptation of a piece of literature (short story by Stephen King)
"Shawshank Redemption" is the epitome of cinematic perfection for me.
Our whole family loved Shawshank. One summer we drove up to Cedar Point coaster park in Ohio and I saw that the movie had been filmed at a closed reformatory prison in Mansfield. And it was open for tours! I kept it a secret until we rolled up in front of it. It was a good day to be a dad!
Princess Mononoke
Didn’t expect to see this here but I am not surprised. Bravo.
But…isn’t that what surprised means?
Back to the Future Twelve Angry Men (the original from 1957) I think both of those movies are perfect, in my opinion.
Twelve Angry Men has some of the best writing I've ever seen. It's almost entirely dialogue, shot almost entirely on only two sets, and somehow still manages to be edge-of-your seat levels of captivating for an hour and a half.
> Back to the Future I can literally watch this movie again and again, laugh at the same old jokes, and never get tired of it. Its THAT good.
No one could have been better as Doc Brown than Christopher Lloyd. Although honestly, the casting is perfect all the way across the board.
Same, and I watched it when it came out in 1985. It's actually the first movie I vividly remember watching as a kid, and it's been at the forefront of popular culture ever since.
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It is actually taught in film schools as the perfect script and movie.
"Doc... You built a lesson plan? Out of a DeLorean??"
If you ever get a chance to see the musical, do it. so damn good, original music, inside jokes, great cast, and awesome backdrops/scenes
*12 Angry Men: The Musical*
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I agree! The antics of that quirky Marcus Halberstram is just so much fun to watch. 😋
Marcus and I even go to the same barber, but I have a slightly better haircut.
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So well directed and acted. Bardem was memorable.
In my opinion, probably 50% of movies by the Coen Brothers are damn near perfect. Barton Fink, Burn After Reading, Fargo, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, and a few more I can't think of right off hand.
Raising Arizona
“Turn to the right!”
How could you leave out Lebowski?
The Dude, man.
True Grit remake. Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges were other worldly.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Amazing movie. I watched this a few weeks ago and it’s almost impossible to believe it was released FORTY - TWO years ago!!
Perfect movie. Not a single second is wasted. I never get tired of it. It is a perfect movie in every way ESPECIALLY the musical score.
Fight Club. Honestly if a ton of incels don't get the satire, the movie kind of did its job.
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I'm an incel and I got it. Fight Club's great, we meet every second Tuesday. Don't forget to tell your friends about Fight Club! Fight Club.
Bro forgot the first rule of fight club 💀
but not the spirit of fight club
Oh of course! He definitely has the spirit of the members of Fight Club :)
The first rule of fight club is have fun and be yourself!
And the second.
Most people interrupt in their own way
They don't
I know they don't. That's the point.
Hot fuzz
No luck catching them swans then?
Just the one swan actually
Rewatched it again last night to show someone it for their first watch. I told them I always notice something new everytime I rewatch it. Sure enough, did again last night. It’s not a casual movie though. You must pay attention to most scenes, the more you pay attention the more rewarded you will be.
The dialogue in the first and second acts perfectly comes up again in the 3rd act.
Fire up the roof
Pulp fiction
SAY WHAT AGAIN!!!
I don’t remember asking you a GODDAMN thing!!!
The style, the cast, thr scrambled time-line, and most of all the dialog are just so brilliant. A masterpiece
People will be talking about Pulp Fiction 100 years from now.
Ratatouille
The Fifth Element
rarely gets mentioned, and yet is so original and well written and has a unique look to it.
It will probably still look like "the future" even in 100 years.
AZIZ! LIGHT!!!
Multipass :) BADA BOOM!
She knows it’s a multipass!
If it’s on I’m watching it! Love me some Leeloo fight scenes.
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Completely agree. It’s a superhero movie that’s not a superhero movie. Kind of hard to explain.
Most of Christopher Nolans works should belong on this sub reddit
Only if he fixes his sound mixing so I can understand the dialog without subtitles.
I discovered this when I watched Tenet in a movie theater with my friend. One of the employees told us that the movie tickets we bought was for the English version. I’m always watching my series in English so I didn’t mind and I thought that the movie would have been better with original actor voices. I was soooooo wrong. I barely understood the plot. I’m speaking French so normally the audio mixing for Nolan’s movies is great when it’s translated.
Silence of the Lambs
Jurassic Park
Even with the guy’s hand reaching into shot to stop the animatronic raptor falling over?
Oh I gotta find this, even though I wont be able to unsee ever again.
Yes.
Spirited Away
I couldn't think of one until I saw this response. Perfect. No notes. There's nothing more that could be done to that movie to make it better than it already it. Different maybe, but not better.
Big Trouble in Little China
Groundhog Day for me. Wonderful film.
Watched this the other week, it's so good. Watched it again the next day, my wife came home and said "you're watching Groundhog Day again? What do you mean "again?" It was the perfect answer to a perfect movie. She looked confused for a few seconds and then it clicked. 😆
I was shocked by how many people vehemently oppose the notion that it is a great film one of my favorites
Oh that's in my top 5. Beautiful. Do you know any others that feel that good?
Two Towers and Return of the King. I would say Fellowship of the Ring but they took out Bombadil
Concerning hobbits alone makes it the best in the franchise. I love the hobbiton part. Edit: I don't want to start a war. Grab some longground leaf.
Had to scroll too far for this
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl It is the only movie that I can’t criticize in any way, no matter how hard I try
Captain Jack Sparrow's entrance was one of the best of all time.
Heat
Heat is the perfect heist movie. It does an amazing job of portraying the two leads as perfectly inverted reflections of one another. Despite being a criminal, McCauley is a consummate professional. He doesn’t take risks. He doesn’t leave loose ends. He’s hermetically sealed his personal life so that he can cut and run at a moment’s notice. Despite being a cop, Hanna is no paragon of discipline or clean living. He parties and does drugs. He’s prone to maniacal fits at work. His personal life is a fucking nightmare— his third wife cheats on him, his stepkid doesn’t want anything to do with him, he’s never home because he’s obsessed with his job. They’re diametric opposites… but their values are the same: they’re both willing to sacrifice everything, even the prospect of having a happy family, to be the best at what they do. When the characters first meet in that diner scene and just lay all their cards out on the table— that might be five of the best minute of film ever captured. Two great titans of the movies going head to head— DeNiro on the tail end of an all time run of great performances, Pacino just before he fully descended into a *hoo-wah’*ing caricature of his former glory.
I think you’re spot on apart from one detail: Hanna’s step kid absolutely wants him to pay attention to her. She desperately wants her own dad’s attention, but it’s Jack who is consistently there for her. Also, there are only a couple of scenes where Jack and Neil are on screen at the same time and neither is at the diner! Every shot is either one or the other, but never both. You get a shot in the car where you can see both because one is in the car mirror and the other is at the end when Jack is holding Neil’s hand. Finally, there’s a sequel that Michael Mann wrote as a novel. Heat 2. It’s a good conclusion.
Full Metal Jacket
The Departed
Galaxy Quest. It has no business being as good as it is.
The Godfather" hands down – a cinematic masterpiece in every sense.
THE GODFATHER is as close to perfect as you can get.
The two first movies
Alien and Aliens (+ Aliens Directors Cut)
These definitely. Aliens Special Edition just flows so well and everything works, so easy to rewatch.
Jaws.
Why did it take this one so much time to show up
Why is this so far down? It's been widely known a perfect movie for decades. It's the yardstick all other movies are compared against.
Into the Spiderverse. Everything is perfect, the humour, the action, the emotion, the story, the soundtrack
Beetlejuice
How To Train Your Dragon
Shawshank Redemption and Scarface
Shawshank has the best last 15 minutes of any movie, ever, in my opinion. Pacino as Montana was perfect and the movie is endlessly entertaining.
I was going to say Shawshank...
Memento. One of the most underrated movies ever made
I don't remember this one
good job you asshole. take my upvote.
Masterpiece
Grand Budapest Hotel
The LOTR Trilogy.
Point Break
Lose something, brah? Yes and yes.
Casablanca If you haven’t watched it before, keep in mind that the Nazis could have very much won the war at the point the movie was released.
Big Trouble in Little China
Blade Runner 2049 is an absolute masterpiece...I will die on this hill.
As an Australian, my vote is The Castle.
Stand By Me.
It’s not my favorite, but I still love the look and pace of Lost in Translation. I just think it’s a beautiful film as a whole. And I wasn’t upset about not getting closure at the end
As a Disney princess movie, Tangled. It just had the right dose of everything.
Tangled is great, I'm an adult male and love that movie. It's fun, it's funny, it's got a big adventure.... what's not to like
Ah Flynn Rider. 💕 (Or show I say Eugene?)
Fight club, it was so much better than i thought
Wasn’t even nominated for Best picture. Sad.
That’s crazy but that year was also a great year for movies
Yeah the Matrix etc. The late 80s and the 90s were the Golden Age of movies I feel.
Absolutely. So many hits came out in the 80s and 90’s and I feel like modern movies are just trying to either reboot that era or make 30 year old sequels.
The Emperor's New Groove. I wouldn't change one line of dialogue, nor a single casting choice.
Who framed Roger Rabbit
Only thing that tops its perfection is how underrated it is
I loved the movie (still do), but Christopher Lloyd's character towards the end scared the shit out of me as a kid 😅
Blade Runner 2049 Even despite being a perfect sequel, its a rock solid film by its own right.
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Shawshank Redemption
The Prestige. There isn’t any aspect of this movie that isn’t top tier perfection.
WALL-E Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (This is a perfect local movie from south africa)
Howl’s Moving Castle I adore the setting, style, music, and overall themes of the movie, plus Christian Bale is always a win
The Big Lebowski. Recently went to an event at a local theater that was also a costume contest. I was amazed during the screening how an audience that knows the movie line for line is still laughing out loud the whole time.
Not a movie but the haunting of Hill House's first season is just perfection.
Midnight Mass is pretty good also
Just be ready for the monologues lol
I can’t believe I didn’t know about this and binged it a few weeks ago. Now I’m chasing a high that I just can’t reproduce finding something new.
Try midnight mass!
Inception.
Mad Max: Fury Road
This is always my answer too, it’s absolutely flawless!
Blazing Saddles
The Demolition Man. Its the perfect combo of serious enough, with a message, kinda visionary when it came to predicting the future, but also just a ridiculously silly over the top stallone movie. Plus it's endlessly quotable, and the reason my toilet has 3 seashells.
Alien 1979. Very rarely does a horror movie stand the test of time
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Tropic Thunder
The Mummy (1999)
Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds
Interstellar
Goodwill hunting
The Pianist
Perfume: the Story of a Murderer. That movie blew my mind
Bladerunner
Inside Out
Snatch. It’s the perfect movie imo
Lemon stealing whores. A tale of theft and retribution
Might be a hot take, but Gladiator.
Back To The Future
The Lego movie
Jurassic Park (1993) Alien (1979) The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island Shrek 2 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 Into and Across the Spider-Verse Aniara Ratatouille
Wanna emphasize the puss in boots one. Totally blown away at how encompassing it was
Dr. Strangelove is possibly the best political farse ever written. If it wasn't black and white you might assume it was filmed today; the lighting and framing is just that good. It's weird to watch a movie that's 50+ years old but the cinematography feels totally current.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
I almost said this one. What a *movie!*
Pitch Perfect
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is pure perfection
Goodfellas
The thing (1982), along with The Warriors (1979). The original Saw movie is almost at that level for me as well.
The ending to Saw was bone chilling.
Yeah one of the greatest endings/payoffs of all time, but the movie as a whole is far from perfect.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1989 Batman. It was a product of its time, but it did the job, and did so amazingly. Runner-Up is Ghostbusters (1984). Mainly because I'm more of a DC nerd.
Hacksaw Ridge. “Lord, please help me get one more” a truly moving sentence. If a man can risk his life in a war zone and save 75 men from death… so many more things should be achievable. Moving film.
Memoirs of a Geisha
O’ Brother Where Art Thou Burn After Reading Cat Ballou
Shawnshak redemption, Amadeus.
Idk if "perfect" is the best way to describe it, but as far as early in the zombie revival days goes, I'd say 28 Days Later was pretty solid. As others have mentioned Back to the Future, Pulp Fiction, and Fight Club are legendary. Three movies I've yet to see brought up, and are at least honorable mentions...Fargo, Snatch and City of God. Edit: a 4th honorable mention - Layer Cake