DILLON ON FILM

Ten Great Films Under 90 Minutes

If your time is limited, great movie choices are still possible.

After a recent writing prompt from Sir Paul Combs (Knight of the Dillon Empire) resulted in this three-article list of favourite films from every year I’ve been alive, I received a curious comment from Reuben Salsa, who observed many of the favourites I’d selected were on the lengthier side. He wondered if it would be a challenge to find shorter films that move me. It isn’t.

To that end, I scribbled this list of ten great films under 90 minutes that I consider superb, for one reason or another. At the risk of generating guffaws from those of impure minds (quite unlike me, of course), it isn’t the length but what you do with it that matters. Compare the running times of Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) with that of Petite Maman (2021). The former is three hours of interminable, incoherent, meaningless drivel. The latter 72-minute masterpiece is, as I described in my review: “A fillet mignon of poignancy, exploring themes of childhood innocence, imagination, creativity, friendship, loneliness, insecurity, grief, and catharsis with more depth and subtlety than many films twice the length, and hundreds of times the budget.”

In fairness, I’ve also seen vacuous 90-minute films and five-hour epics that are transcendent works of art, so this does go both ways. But my point is simple: A film should be as long as it needs to be, and sometimes shorter features are every bit as brilliant as their longer counterparts. I should add I’m not claiming what follows are the ten greatest films under 90 minutes. Merely that these are ten personal favourites in a variety of genres I also consider to be great. Here they are in (almost) chronological order.

The Iron Giant (1999)

Brad Bird’s criminally underrated masterpiece clocks in at a trim 86 minutes (and a couple of minutes longer in the extended edition). In that time, this Ted Hughes-inspired tale of a boy-and-his-robot is packed with thrills, laughs, and tears. It also embraces complex, poignant themes, concerning paranoia, the nature of good and evil, and being who you choose to be. The 1950s setting, at the height of McCarthyism paranoia, provides another fascinating layer of interest. I’ve written about this film in more detail here, if you’re interested.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)

I consider this the first great horror film. Robert Weine’s German Expressionist silent classic concerns a deranged hypnotist who deploys a certain somnambulist to kill on his behalf. It also features the first great twist ending in horror cinema. At a mere 74-minutes, this staggeringly eerie film features nightmarish sets, creepy angles, frightening characters, and a genuine sense of falling into a surreal, claustrophobic nightmare. At over a century old, it is also the oldest film on my personal list of all-time favourites (depending on how forgiving I’m feeling towards DW Griffith’s 1916 epic Intolerance on any given day).

Bambi (1942)

Disney’s animated classics are often under 90 minutes, so here’s my favourite. Bambi is sublimely drawn, with a beautiful circle-of-life narrative that for all its family friendliness and comedic moments, refuses to compromise on nature’s harsh realities. These include man’s unseen menace, most potently in a bereavement scene that has caused countless tears over many generations of children. Personally, I applaud Disney for being courageous and honest enough to include the scene. That forest fire finale is also pretty alarming, but you know me — I firmly believe a little cinematic trauma is good for younger viewers.

Rashomon (1950)

Akira Kurosawa’s masterful interrogation of the nature of truth crams much into its trim running time. A man and his wife are attacked by a bandit in the forest, resulting in rape and murder. This story is told three times, from the perspective of all three characters, resulting in wildly different versions of events. Was the wife raped by the bandit, or seduced? Was the killing murder, or more or less the result of a fair fight? Later, a fourth perspective is introduced, that of a woodcutter, who secretly witnessed the whole thing. But is his perspective any more reliable? Rashomon is a seminal work, oft-imitated, never bettered.

High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper’s lawman has until noon to flee town, or else killers arriving on the noon train will arrive and take their revenge. High Noon’s 85-minute running time coincides precisely with this countdown, as Cooper goes about attempting to form a posse against the killers but finds all his friends abandon him in his hour of need. Fred Zinneman’s nail-biting western remains a masterclass in suspense, as well as how to make optimal use of a short running time without making the film feel overstuffed. Grace Kelly is also superb in a pivotal supporting role. More on my love for High Noon here, if you’re interested.

Paths of Glory (1957)

Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war masterpiece also sneaks in under the 90-minute mark. Given the sheer rage seething in every frame of this bleakly uncompromising work, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could criticise this for being too short. A never-better Kirk Douglas plays Colonel Dax, an officer assigned with defending three men randomly selected to be tried for cowardice, following a failed, ill-conceived attack on an impregnable German position during World War I. “There are days when I’m ashamed to be a member of the human race, and this is one of them,” Dax tells the court. A scathing, stunningly powerful condemnation of military politics, class divisions, and futile war endeavours.

Village of the Damned (1960)

John Wyndham’s novel The Midwich Cuckoos has recently been adapted for television in a six-part miniseries. In 1995, John Carpenter also made a tepid stab at the material, but Wolf Rilla’s 1960 adaptation is vastly superior to both, with a mere 78-minute running time. This eerie monochrome gem features a first-rate performance from the legendary George Sanders, as he and the residents of an English village fall into a mysterious coma resulting in… Actually, I can’t bring myself to say anything further about the plot, suffice to say this sci-fi horror masterpiece is best experienced with no foreknowledge whatsoever.

Airplane! (1980)

Whenever a series gets too po-faced and self-important, it becomes ripe for a good kicking. Such was the case with disaster film Airport (1970) and the various sequels. Their punishment was administered at the hands of Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker, who parodied the films so mercilessly, that Airplane! is now remembered and celebrated far more. Unfair? Perhaps, but with gags this good, who cares? Airplane! is a laugh riot from start to finish, cramming in so many jokes in its tight 87-minute that it warrants many repeat viewings.

Stand By Me (1986)

Adapted from a Stephen King novella, this Rob Reiner-directed gem remains a coming-of-age favourite, with great performances from River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Wil Wheaton. Four boys undertake a secret expedition to discover the body of a missing boy. With a running of 89-minutes, Stand by Me remains a sterling example of lean, economical storytelling, whilst featuring a surplus of humour, heart, and poignancy, not to mention insight into the nature of adolescent friendships, and how they often inform the people we become.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

If Isao Takahata’s animated tale of child siblings struggling to survive in Japan during the dying embers of World War II doesn’t have you weeping in puddles of heartbroken anguish by the closing credits, I question your status as a human being. This beautiful, harrowing, resolutely apolitical study of the devastating effect of war on the innocent is best viewed alone, with time allocated for a lie down in a darkened room afterwards. Trust me, you’ll need it. I don’t often care to indulge in hyperbole about a film’s social importance, but if I had my way, Grave of the Fireflies would be required viewing for all world leaders (or anyone aspiring to be one). On a related note, so would Threads (1984), but that film isn’t under 90 minutes.

All the above are highly recommended if you want to watch a great film but have limited time. A few honourable mentions: Frankenstein (1931), City Lights (1931), The 39 Steps (1935), Laura (1944), Rope (1948), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), The Wicker Man (1973 — but only the shorter cut is less than 90 minutes), Eraserhead (1977), The Evil Dead (1981), The Man With Two Brains (1983), This is Spinal Tap (1984), The Naked Gun (1988), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Toy Story (1995), Run Lola Run (1998), The Limey (1999), Primer (2004), L’Illusionniste (2010), Source Code (2011), Attack the Block (2011), and Chronicle (2012).

Hopefully, there’s something for everyone in that lot. What are your favourite films under 90 minutes? Let me know in the comments.

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