I like films of all lengths, however for some, a 2 hour plus runtime can be off-putting enough to look elsewhere, so I have put together a list of wonderful films which, in my opinion, manage to achieve greatness over thier relatively short runtime.
This is the first volume of the list, I will return to the subject in the future and continue. In the meantime, I am working on the opposite end of the spectrum - great films over 170 minutes.
This is not a list of reviews, but rather a list of recommendations, so below are my brief thoughts about each one, in the hope it may inspire people to watch some for the first time.
1995 Anime
82 minutes
This Japanese Sci-fi masterpeice is as complex as it is transcendant. In a futuristic world of Cyborg Human Hybrids, a government department hunts an anonymous hacker known only as the Puppetmaster. You will get gorgeous visuals, technical mastery, a perfectly matched score, (i can hear the music in my head as i type this) the biggest of ideas... and potentially a headache, in the best possible way. Ghost in the Shell is credited as a huge influence for the Wachowski's making the Matrix.
1977 B&W
85 minutes
David Lynch's debut feature is a difficult one to sum up, it is of course a must watch for Lynch fans. A young man, in a non-descript dystopian industrial setting, learns that his girlfriend is pregnant, and when the birth takes place, things are not as expected. That's all I will say about the story. The film has a distinctly Lynchian feel, in the sense that what is 'real' and what isn't are blended together into an overly experiential film, and that you feel like you get a real sense of the mind of the filmmaker. It's best to go into in knowing little about it perhaps, as is the case with all Lynch's work, all of which i would strongly recommend.
1948 B & W
86 minutes
I first watched this having never heard of it, I came across the dvd in a charity shop and was, at the time, watching all i could find from this era. So I went in not knowing what to expect, and had fallen in love with it by the end. It's not your average story of boy meets girl, there is alot more to it. I was impressed especially with the performances, the surprise of the look of the final scene (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean) and how the concept plays with reality in the story. I watched it a second time about a year after the first, hesitant that I may not feel as positive about it, but if anything it got me even more. It attains a level of involvement with the main character that I have rarely felt. I was happy to learn, after re-watching Wolf of Wall Street, that Scorsese borrowed a moment from Jennie and inserted it directly into Wolfie. This would certainly feature high in a list of my 10 favourite romance (and 1940s) films - which I will do in the future.
1984 Comedy Mock Documentary
80 minutes
If these list entries were numbered, of course this would be number 11. Spinal Tap is a hugely influential and perennially entertaining (not to mention constantly hilarious) mock rock documentary about an English Rock band that are disconnected from reality just enough to be blissfully unaware of their loosening grip on the talent that gave them their big break, whilst still being committed to touring etc.
It is hugely quotable and simply genius from beginning to end. It started Christopher Guest on a string of hilarious mock documentaries, more of which are sure to appear later in this list.
2003 Drama
78 minutes
Although this may not enjoy the same accepted 'classic' status as some other entries on this list, it is an important film to watch and, because of this I have shown it to people in the past when an opportunity arises. The film follows a group of US high school students on a normal day at school.... until the day becomes not normal. With a jigsaw puzzle feel, director Gus Van Sant shows the same events from multiple perspectives until they all forcibly collide, so Elephant rewards concentration paid. It also seems to sit on the fence when telling it's story, as the events unfold, we watch through an entirely untainted perspective, which i think is important to help the story to linger in your mind.
1974 Horror
82 minutes
To this day, I would probably still profess this to be the greatest horror film I have seen. It was made by Tobe Hooper with some of his friends for next to no budget in 1974, and has since (as is the way these days) been reproduced and imitated by a long list of sequels and remakes, none of which capture the impact of the first. There is hardly any real violence actually seen, yet it still has a terror saturated feel, down to it's simplicity and of course originality- nothing quite like this had been made before but it, without question, helped shape the template for future slashers. The sound design is a real highlight.
1963 Disney animated
76 minutes
I appreciate that there are probably a handful of Disney Classics that are under 90 minutes and would be as good or better than this one (of course Snow White and the seven Dwarves), but since they are such evergreen classics, it kind of goes without saying. Sword in the Stone seems to have slipped under the radar slightly. For me it matches most of the other Disney classics on all fronts, besides maybe the emotional impact of say Bambi's mum or Mufasa's end. On terms of the look, the characters, rewatchability and crucially laughs, this deserves to be right on the top level with the big boys.
1948 B & W Italian
87 minutes
Sometimes known as The Bicycle thief, it is consistently included in 'Greatest films of all time' lists. This is one of those films where almost every aspect is exquisite. It is such essential viewing, in no minor part down to the understated and hugely affective approach to the story (comparable to another unarguable classic 12 Angry men in some ways) that it would certainly be high on my list of films everyone should see. It stars non-professional actors who go through a wide spectrum of fundamental emotions and perfectly embody the desperation of the time.
See my full Bicycle Thieves review posted previously
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave comments, I would like to hear your thoughts on any of the above, or any other Great short films that deserve a mention
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