Your "perfect" films

[MisterCairo]

Mickey Rooney's character is based on the interesting early 20th-century New York artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi:

Rooney's performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's is not just racist, it's personally insulting. Character assassination!

Not a perfect film.

I forced myself to watch BAT so I could say I've seen it.

Oddly, having heard about Rooney's upstairs neighbour character in advance, although awkward and something you'd never think of doing now, it wasn't the worst part of the film in my view.

 

[MisterCairo]

Almost forgot - North By Northwest

 

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

The woman in the window 1945

 

[Fading Fast]

"Judgement at Nuremberg," is very close to a perfect movie. There isn't a bad scene in it and the cast is so impressive it seems made up.

In addition to incredible starring performances from Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark and Maximillian Schell - the supporting cast is outstanding including powerful performances from Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Montgomery Clift (the last two, possibly being some of the best work they ever did) and Werner Klemperer - Col. Klink to most of us - who shows that he can play cold-blooded ruthlessness as easily as he played bumbling affability on "Hogan's Heroes."

And the moral argument for assigning guilt to the judges and prosecutors of Nazi German is balanced, thoughtful and challenging - the movie will make you think through your opinions even all these years later.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Playhouse 90 live-to-tape TV version from 1959 is also compelling viewing -- different cast, but there's some pretty high-powered actors in it including Claude Rains and Paul Lukas, along with Schell, who recreated his TV role in the movie.

It's also a demonstration of the control The Boys exercised over television at the time: when Rains is talking about the death of concentration camp inmates in gas ovens, the phrase "gas ovens" was silenced in the original broadcast, to satisfy the wishes of one of the sponsors, the American Gas Association.

 

[filfoster]

The Third Man. I can watch it over, and over and over and always get an emotional connection to it. And, I always see something new.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Playhouse 90 live-to-tape TV version from 1959 is also compelling viewing -- different cast, but there's some pretty high-powered actors in it including Claude Rains and Paul Lukas, along with Schell, who recreated his TV role in the movie.

It's also a demonstration of the control The Boys exercised over television at the time: when Rains is talking about the death of concentration camp inmates in gas ovens, the phrase "gas ovens" was silenced in the original broadcast, to satisfy the wishes of one of the sponsors, the American Gas Association.

I haven't seen that version, but will keep an eye out for it. I remember, several years back, a modern version made with, I think, Alec Baldwin in the Spencer Tracy role. My very vague memory was that it paled in comparison to the original.

And indirectly to your point, the original one referenced American companies profiting from Nazi Germany - doubt The Boys liked that.

 

[Benzadmiral]

"Judgement at Nuremberg," is very close to a perfect movie. There isn't a bad scene in it and the cast is so impressive it seems made up.

In addition to incredible starring performances from Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark and Maximillian Schell - the supporting cast is outstanding including powerful performances from Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Montgomery Clift (the last two, possibly being some of the best work they ever did) and Werner Klemperer - Col. Klink to most of us - who shows that he can play cold-blooded ruthlessness as easily as he played bumbling affability on "Hogan's Heroes." . . .

Klemperer also played Adolf Eichmann in a film around 1961; he was a dangerous East European diplomat in a fine episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; and he appeared in serious roles more than once on Perry Mason. He was remarkably talented. My mother always said that even with his baldness, he was a very attractive man, and her favorite Golden Era movie star was Clark Gable -- so WK was moving in some fancy company.

Don't forget the young William Shatner in Nuremberg; even though it's a small role, I think, with very little dialogue, you can't miss him.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Speaking of the young Shatner, the TV movie "The Andersonville Trial," directed by George C. Scott, starred Shatner as the prosecuting army officer and Richard Basehart as Wirtz, the Swiss-born commander of the infamous Confederate POW camp. Like "Judgment at Nuremberg" it had one of the best supporting casts ever: Cameron Mitchell as Lew Wallace, Jack Cassidy as the defense attorney, Albert Salmi as a Union soldier who was a former runaway slave hunter and many others. Incidentally, Shatner, Basehart and Salmi had also played three of the four Brothers Karamazov in 1958.

 

[Fading Fast]

Klemperer also played Adolf Eichmann in a film around 1961; he was a dangerous East European diplomat in a fine episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; and he appeared in serious roles more than once on Perry Mason. He was remarkably talented. My mother always said that even with his baldness, he was a very attractive man, and her favorite Golden Era movie star was Clark Gable -- so WK was moving in some fancy company.

Don't forget the young William Shatner in Nuremberg; even though it's a small role, I think, with very little dialogue, you can't miss him.

Agreed and I thought Shatner did a fine job with no future Kirk or Shatner crazy creeping in at all.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Speaking of the young Shatner, the TV movie "The Andersonville Trial," directed by George C. Scott, starred Shatner as the prosecuting army officer and Richard Basehart as Wirtz, the Swiss-born commander of the infamous Confederate POW camp. Like "Judgment at Nuremberg" it had one of the best supporting casts ever: Cameron Mitchell as Lew Wallace, Jack Cassidy as the defense attorney, Albert Salmi as a Union soldier who was a former runaway slave hunter and many others. Incidentally, Shatner, Basehart and Salmi had also played three of the four Brothers Karamazov in 1958.

"Young"? Well, yes, compared to now. I believe Shatner did "Andersonville Trial" in '70 or thereabouts, a year or so after his run on Star Trek.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I vividly recall watching The Andersonville Trial back then and being very impressed, but I wonder how it holds up today?

Oh, and Judgement at Nuremberg is undoubtedly a GREAT movie, but if we're talking "perfect", my preferred Stanley Kramer flick is definitely Inherit The Wind!

 

[MisterCairo]

even with his baldness, he was a very attractive man

His baldness ADDED to his attractiveness! Who said it was a flaw?!?!?!

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Bishop's Wife," barring one scene is close to being a perfect Christmas movie. Much more religious than Christmas movies today and it weaves its religious themes and homilies in wonderfully. It also has the right amount of whimsy and a perfect cast. Never tire of this one.

 

[2jakes]

 

[MisterCairo]

Christmas Vacation.

 

[emigran]

Just thought of another... BROADWAY DANNY ROSE... flawless Woody Allen... 1984

 

[savoy6]

Either of the first two The Thin Man movies...
Out of the Past
The Best Years of Our Lives

 

[tuppence]

My idea of a perfect film is 1) good interior scenes because I love interior decoration
2) Beautiful outfits and hairstyles
3)Great plot or even a decent plot if the first 2 criteria are fab
4) actors I like