There’s certainly a time and a place for long movies, with an emphasis on the time, because that’s what you need a lot of to fully appreciate them.The best epics make such an undertaking worthwhile, though, as anyone who’s seen the likes ofSeven Samurai,Lawrence of Arabia,The Lord of the Rings, andOnce Upon a Time in America(to mention just a few) can surely confirm.
But when time is in short supply, then there areplenty of other movies that’ll have your back, including the following. These ones are all particularly highly rated on Letterboxd, and all clock in at under 90 minutesin duration. They’re ranked below, with the runtimes acknowledged, but the ranking itself is determined by the average rating each film has, according to the users of Letterboxd.
10’City Lights' (1931)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.3/5 (Runtime: 87 minutes)
As a filmmaker and actor,Charlie Chaplinabsolutely mastered the art of beingfunny and dramatic at the same time, and few of his films illustrate this skill as effectively asCity Lights. It’s hard to single it out as his absolute greatest whenModern TimesandThe Great Dictatorare similarly strong, and all three have places within the top 200 highest-rated films on Letterboxd.
ButCity Lightsis the highest, currently sitting at #110 at the time of writing, and it deserves it. There’s a simple story here about love, desire, wealth, and plenty of other broad themes explored effectively and without sacrificing entertainment value. Also,City Lightsdoes all thisnot only in a runtime under 90 minutes, but also without spoken dialogue, managing to still feel timelesseven though “talkies” have been the norm now for close to a century.
City Lights
9’Where Is the Friend’s House?' (1987)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 83 minutes)
Where Is the Friend’s House?is a very direct film, which makes sense, since it’s listed as being a family movie (genre-wise)alongside also being a drama. It follows a young boy who has to stop his friend from getting punished at school after he accidentally takes his friend’s notebook.Beyond the story, though, it’s got a good deal of things to say about growing up, and how children tend to view the world.
Though Where Is the Friend’s House? is a relatively patiently paced movie, it ultimately doesn’t end up overstaying its welcome or feeling repetitive.
It’s an empathetic and approachable film, and one of the more straightforward ones Abbas Kiarostami ever directed. The runtime ofWhere Is the Friend’s House?fits everything it’s going for, and though it’s a relatively patiently paced movie, it ultimately doesn’t end up overstaying its welcome or feeling repetitive; it just does exactly what it needs to do.
8’It’s Such a Beautiful Day' (2012)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 62 minutes)
There’s little else out there that can be compared toIt’s Such a Beautiful Day. It’s barely over an hour long, and it is centered entirely on one man, Bill, and he’s a stick figure who doesn’t speak. Instead, the film has a narrator, and the narration and some rather simple animation work in tandem to show Bill’s mundane life and the ways it starts to fall apart.
If that sounds a bit depressing, yeah,It’s Such a Beautiful Dayis also aDepressing Day, but it matches some quietsadness with a ton of effective absurd humor. And the story here goes beyond Bill,withIt’s Such a Beautiful Dayexploring existential ideas and becoming surprisingly thought-provoking by the time it wraps up. It’s truly impressive just how much is packed into such a short runtime here.
It’s Such A Beautiful Day
7’Sherlock Jr.' (1924)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 45 minutes)
If you like some of the previously mentioned Charlie Chaplin movies but would rather seeaction paired with slapstick comedyinstead of more dramatic elements, thenBuster Keaton’s best worksare all must-watches. One of his best and most direct films isSherlock Jr., which is over a century old and puts a good many more modern action movies to shame… if it can be counted as an action movie.
The plot barrels forward, there are lots of set pieces, and plenty of memorable stunts/camera tricks, soSherlock Jr.qualifies. And there’s so much by way of creativity and excitement condensed into a movie that, by some standards, isn’t even feature-length. If a feature-length movie needs to be over an hour, thenSherlock Jr., at 45 minutes, would be a short film. But it’s a quality over quantity kind of thing,since there’s more on offer here than in various other movies double (or maybe even triple) this film’s length.
Sherlock Jr.
6’Perfect Blue' (1997)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 82 minutes)
Given its rating isn’t far off being a 5/5, it’s fair to assume that quite a few people who used Letterboxd do indeed believe thatPerfect Blueis perfect. As far asanime films of the past few decadesgo, few can claim to be as striking and as unnerving as this one, as it’s a psychological thriller/horror movie that uses its unique animation style to make things more unsettling and intense.
It’s a look at the downsides of fame, centering on a pop star and the alarming things that start to happen around her, which in turn leads to horrifying things happening internally/psychologically, too.It’s probably better not to say much more than that,becausePerfect Blueis well-regardedfor being unpredictable and uncompromising, so the less you know (if you haven’t seen it already), the better.
Perfect Blue
5’Persona' (1966)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 84 minutes)
Personais another film that’s hard to summarize, both because it’s mind-bending and giving out much info by way of summary will probably dilute the power the film has, when experienced. So, being as vague as possible, it’s about two very different women, with one being a nurse and the other being a mysterious actress with some sort of condition. And after they meet, weird things happen. Kind of.
It’sa very dreamlike movie at times, but then it’s also disquieting enough to potentially be closer to nightmare territory. And there’s a good deal that’s not clear narratively speaking, but what’s important is the wayPersonacan make one feel.That’s the part that is harder to put into words, especially in just a couple of paragraphs. Watch it for yourself. Even if you hate it for whatever reason, it’s only 84 minutes lost.
4’The Passion of Joan of Arc' (1928)
Cracking the top 50 on Letterboxd (again, as at the time of writing),The Passion of Joan of Arcstillresonates as a powerful dramatic filmclose to 100 years on from when it was first released. Plenty of other movies since have covered aspects ofJeanne d’Arc’s short but impactful life, though all live in the shadow of this one, which is largely focused on her final days.
Calling it a courtroom dramafeels a little strange, considering it’s set so long ago (and itself was made quite long ago), but that is more or less whatThe Passion of Joan of Arcmanages to be. It’s a film that feels much bigger than its runtime would suggest,mainly owing to how ambitious it was on a technical and cinematic front. Compared to a good many films of its era, the cinematography here really is something to behold.
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc
3’Paths of Glory' (1957)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.4/5 (Runtime: 88 minutes)
One of the harshest and mostbrutally realistic of all World War I movies,Paths of Glorywas arguably the first all-out masterpieceStanley Kubrickever directed. And, even though later films of his were bigger in scope and longer in runtime,Paths of Glorystill feels worthy of consideration when it comes to crowning what his very best film was. Well, it’s a contender, at least.
Also, likeThe Passion of Joan of Arc, it’s something of a slightly unconventional legal drama, being about a court-martial instead of a more expected criminal or civil case. That’s the avenue taken to exploring the fallout following a failed offensive, andthose combat-free scenes end up being just as harrowing and bitter as the prolonged sequence of violence near the film’s start is. It takes place well over 100 years ago, and was made close to 70 years ago, but whatPaths of Gloryhas to say about warstill feels timeless.
Paths of Glory
2’Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion' (1997)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.5/5 (Runtime: 87 minutes)
A film that concludesNeon Genesis Evangelion, sort of,The End of Evangeliondoes function best if you’ve seen the original series. That series had an even more ambiguous ending in its final episode, soThe End of Evangelion, in part, offers more by way of finality, but then it also ventures into some wild new directions thatprovoke additional questions and cause further discomfort.
It’s a lot. Thewhole series was a lot, and then this concluding movie was even more, and that’s pretty impressive considering it clocks in at under 90 minutes. In contrast, though, the most recent “ending” forEvangelion, 2021’sEvangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, is one of the longest animated movies ever, and not far off being double the length ofThe End of Evangelion(given its runtime is 155 minutes).
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
1’Grave of the Fireflies' (1988)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.5/5 (Runtime: 89 minutes)
Grave of the Firefliesis the 25th highest-rated film on Letterboxd, and has more than earned the right to be ranked so high, considering how impactful it is. It’s easily one ofthe greatest animated movies ever made, and also one of the most harrowing, given it takes place during World War II and focuses on a brother and sister who struggle to survive on their own in the war’s final months.
It’s one of those films that’s worth watching once, but it’s hard to imagine watching it again, given it’s unbearably heavy and brutally honest about the way warfare can impact non-combatants.Grave of the Fireflieslacks sentimentality or anything that can make its anti-war message go down any easier.It’s just harsh, raw, and unrelenting, living up to its lofty reputation and indeed being one of the saddest filmsof all time.
