Perfect Films - Do they Exist? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave B Ferris 

I think one of the reasons 'Le Samourai' is perfect, or near-perfect, is the way in which the film can be watched virtually without dialog.  In fact, as many critics have pointed out, there is very little dialog in the film.  The famous chase sequence in the Metro is dialog-free.

Loved the boiled egg scene, but as much as I love Melville (and I do love Melville) this one is not nearly as good as Bob Le Flambeur or Army of Shadows.  I agree that movies that work well without dialogue are signs of first rate filmmaking (Alfred Hitchcock!), but dialogue is no barrier to perfection.

My nominee for perfect film Sullivan's Travels (dir. Preston Sturges, 1941) -- I can't imagine changing a single frame.  Anyone who hasn't seen it, grab that Criterion Collection DVD ASAP!  I also picked it ahead of many other great movies because IMO perfection in comedy is much harder than drama. AnNd a perfect movie about movies is harder still.

Some movies mentioned above like The Hunt for Red October and All the President's Men are compulsively watchable and rewatchable but lets not get carried away.  Rear Window certainly is perfect, by why it and not Vertigo or The 39 Steps or... Hitchcock is his own worst enemy here -- he's made too many perfect films -- how do we choose one?  

I can't believe no one in this thread has mentioned Casablanca.  Citizen Kane always winds up at or near the top of the critics' list of greatest films, but Casablanca regularly polls as one of the all-time-favorite films of the general public when a broad sample is used.  It has romance, action, comedy, nobel heroes, evil Nazis, intrigue, an exotic locale, Bogart at his tough-guy with a heart-of-gold best, Bergman at her most luminously beautiful and a great cast of supporting players.  Paul Heinreid's freedom fighter is a bit of a dud, but the rest of the film more than makes up for him.  Compulsively watchable, endless quotable and wonderfully crafted, Casablanca belongs on any list of perfect or near-perfect films. 

Regards,

Joe

I certainly would've mentioned Casablanca if I'd seen it for the first time in the past decade, but I could've sat here all day trying to think of every near-perfect film I've *ever* seen.

Ted, Sullivan's Travels is a real classic, but it suffers from one huge, glaring flaw:  the idea that anyone would believe that Veronica Lake was a boy!

good thread , i like it .

Many of Ingmar Bergman's Swedish films, beginning The Seventh Seal in 1957 are perfect.

There's no doubt in my mind that Winter Light (1962) and Persona  (1966) are perfect cinema.

Two of Josef Von Sternberg's collaborations with Dietrich, Shanghai Express  and Blonde Venus  (both  1932) seem perfect to me.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce 

I don't believe that there is such a thing as a perfect film, but for me the film that comes closest to being a perfect film is Chinatown.

 

Doug

What prevents Chinatown from being perfect?

The film doesn't explain who gave the love-nest photos to  the newspaper.

Jake says he didn't do it and I  believe him because when lies elsewhere he admits to it afterward.

We see the love-nest photos in Ida Sessions apartment when Jake discovers her body, but that doesn't mean she gave them to the newspaper.

And who gave them to her?

Other than that, Chinatown  is perfect.

Possibly you were thinking of some other reason.

Perfection is an evolutionary concept.  What could have been seen as perfect when it was initially released can easily become dated, so there are several movies that I would have described as perfect when I first saw them in the year of their release.  Which movies hold up as perfect that are at least 10 years old?  The quickest ones that come to mind for me are Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Toy Story, Empire Strikes Back, and Alien.

I agree with quite a few of the aforementioned films (Citizen Kane, Casablanca) and vehemently disagree with others (Empire Strikes Back?  C'mon!).  For a film to be considered perfect every performance, every line of dialogue, every shot, every costume, every musical cue...every detail of every aspect of the production has to be perfect.  I'd like to add two films for your consideration...

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Sting

The Godfather part2

Ikiru

If not for James Caan's missed punch I'd say The Godfather also.

Perfect gams, to be sure.

My definition of perfect

Star Wars Episode IV (I don't care which one.)

The Godfather

The Ten Commandments

Imitation of Life

Requiem for a Dream

The Dark Knight

The Searchers

Unforgiven

The New World

The Incredibles

One Froggy Evening and Duck Amuck are perfect films, IMO. It helps them that they have little time to err.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon 

My favorite line from Ebert's essay--the one that really spoke to me--is his definition of "usefulness" in terms of movie reviews:  "It doesn't matter if I agree with him.  He helps me see things."  So true.

 

I also think some of his comments apply nicely to discussions on controversial topics here on the HTF (format wars, anyone?):  "There's a human tendency to resent anyone who disagrees with our pleasures.  The less mature interpret that as a personal attack on themselves."

 

That's a very good quote................I'm using that as my new quote from here on in (until I find a better one that is. ).
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway 

One Froggy Evening and Duck Amuck are perfect films, IMO. It helps them that they have little time to err.

Don't forget Mickey Thru the Mirror and The Brave Little Tailor.

Chaplin's City Lights is pretty darn perfect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt19006 

For a film to be considered perfect every performance, every line of dialogue, every shot, every costume, every musical cue...every detail of every aspect of the production has to be perfect.

I think that's making things too objective, like there's a list of criteria.  In evaluating the filmmakers decisions, for me, it isn't just a matter of saying whether or not it feels like they made a good choice, but looking at the alternatives to see if other choices were truly better or just different (especially with dialogue).

I'd also say that there should be a minimum of 10 years after a film is released before it can be declared perfect (especially now that we have the Internet, where our impressions of things we see can become quite warped after years of a film's shortcomings being discussed).

I submit that "Schindler's List" is, in my opinion, a perfect film.  It has been a long time since I have watched it (I am really looking forward to seeing it on Blu Ray), but I thought it did everything right. 

Freddy Got Fingered.                      

It was perfectly stupid.

Steve,

Hard to comprehend that she's 82 years old.

Or 85 according to Wiki!

She is getting on a bit Henry but remember that's golden girl Shirley Eaton not Pussy Galore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard--W 

Don't forget Mickey Thru the Mirror and The Brave Little Tailor.

The Art of Skiing is another one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Christou 

She is getting on a bit Henry but remember that's golden girl Shirley Eaton not Pussy Galore.

D'oh!

Baby girl Shirley is only 73.
 

I don't have much to add to this thread but I was reading Roger Ebert's "Scorsese By Ebert" today and there was a review he posted on March 17, 1969 that said this:

To be sure, Scorsese was occasionally too obvious, and the film has serious structural flaws, but nobody who loves movies believes a perfect one will ever be made. What we hope for instead are small gains on the fronts of hope, love, comedy and tragedy. It is possible that with more experience and maturity Scorsese will direct more polished, finished films--but this work, completed when he was 25, contains a frankness he may have diluted by then.

Later in the book there's an interview with Scorsese where he talks about "perfect" films the first time you see them and how they change over time or how bad films slowly find greatness later in their years.