8 Great Films That Are Under 90 Minutes

For those of us cinephiles who easily get caught up in the world of a good movie, no runtime is too extreme. We can stay up and watch all four hours of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America or all three hours of Oliver Stone’s JFK, Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, or Kubrick’s Spartacus because they're all great movies. But as you've probably learned by now, not everyone is like us. The eye-widening, masterful technique used by a filmmaker or the suspense a writer incorporates in his or her story is not always enough to keep everyone in their seats for two or three or even four hours. It’s one of the main arguments, or excuses, people use to explain why they prefer TV shows over movies. We’ve heard it a thousand times: movies are too long (though I never really understood this contention, given that many of these same people will watch two or three hour-long episodes of a show in one sitting). But I get it. Watching a movie is a commitment; it’s hard to sit still and be focused on one screen for long periods of time – for a lot of us, we get enough of that during the work day. However, there is a way around this enigma! Believe it or not, there are great 90-minute movies out there that aren’t plagued by Adam Sandler’s voice or Kevin James’ fat jokes. The following is a compilation of 8 such films. In order to be considered for this list, the guidelines are rather self-explanatory: The film’s runtime must be no longer than 90 minutes. Therefore, excellent movies like Annie Hall (93 minutes) and Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (96 minutes), which are barely over the line, will not be considered. Before we begin, here are some Honorable Mentions: The Simpsons Movie Borat Dumbo Child’s Play The Nightmare Before Christmas The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Beauty and the Beast Rope (dir. Alfred Hitchcock) Runtime: 80 minutes Rope certainly is an interesting film, dominated by the wholly malevolent minds of its two main characters. After Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger), two homosexual college students, decide to kill their classmate, they hide his body in the living room and, in order to test the perfection of their crime, they host a dinner party with those closest to the victim. To Brandon, these people are pawns who can easily be fooled, but in order to feel completely satisfied, he invites the one man Phillip is convinced will figure out the truth: their philosophy professor, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart). The film feels more like a play than a movie, and some of the technical liberties Hitchcock takes to ensure that “stage feel” hurt Rope, but the uncontrollably intriguing story saves it. It's obvious that Hitchcock’s fascination with situations involving the troublesomeness of dead bodies and the perfect murder (which is also a theme in his 1951 classic, Strangers on a Train, starring Farley Granger) drew him towards Patrick Hamilton’s tale. But for Brandon, the dead body is not as much an inconvenience as it is a toy; the only reason he kills in the first place is for the experience. Hitchcock described his 1948 thriller as an “experiment that didn’t work out.” Whether or not that's true is up to self-interpretation. Quote to remember: “Did you think you were God, Brandon?” - Rupert Zelig (dir. Woody Allen) Runtime: 79 minutes We watch him turn from a white man into a black man. He becomes a psychologist, and a scientific curiosity. But the only thing he wants is to belong. Leonard Zelig may be Woody Allen’s most loveable character. As an insecure man who has learned how to form himself into whoever he's around, Leonard is the epitome of a psychological enigma. Zelig is a mockumentary that chronicles this human chameleon’s life, and shows him grow from a troubled, unloved person, to an international celebrity. The flick is a technical marvel, blending old and new footage together with ease, that's also incredibly touching and clever. Not one of Allen’s most recognized films by any standard, Zelig should be seen whether or not you like Woody. And at a quick 79 minutes, there’s no reason not to check it out. Quote to remember: “The Ku Klux Klan, who saw Zelig as a Jew, that could turn himself into a Negro and an Indian, saw him as a triple threat.” - Narrator Zombieland (dir. Ruben Fleischer) Runtime: 88 minutes Taking advantage of the fact that zombies stopped being scary years ago, Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland takes an entirely different approach to the subject, and this one is (intentionally) hilarious. The movie's narrated by a nerdy survivor named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), who keeps a list of rules to surviving the apocalypse. He runs into another survivor, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who teams up with him and they soon find two healthy women: Wichita (Emma Stone) and her little sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). Essentially, Zombieland becomes a road movie threatened by the undead. Columbus wants to return to Ohio to see his parents; the sisters are heading to a Los Angeles amusement park; and the brave Tallahassee is in the search for a Twinkie. On their way, they kill countless zombies with an arsenal of inventive weaponries, and even run into Bill Murray. At a brisk 88 minutes, it'll have you laughing and howling the whole way through, providing a very enjoyable watch that holds up on repeat viewings. Quote to remember: “The first rule of Zombieland: Cardio. When the zombie outbreak first hit, the first to go, for obvious reasons were the fatties.” - Columbus Sleeper (dir. Woody Allen) Runtime: 89 minutes In 1973, Roger Ebert said that Sleeper “established Woody Allen as the best comic director and actor in America.” That is absolutely true; the film christened Allen’s decades-long kingship at the top of the comedic game in motion pictures, and 40-odd years after its release, it's still one of his funniest movies. Miles Monroe (Allen) is a health food store owner in the ‘70s, but after going into the hospital for a minor operation, he wakes up two hundred years in the future in an America that has since become a police state, where the underground rebellion wants to use him as an assassin because he's the only person alive without an identification number. Miles is then sent on a wacky adventure with an assortment of great moments, including a long sequence where he tries disguising himself as a robot house servant, and an earlier scene, where he's asked to identify ancient memorabilia, including pictures of celebrities, a Howard Cosell broadcast and a Playboy centerfold, which he keeps for himself. Sleeper is Woody at the top of his comedic, slapstick game, and is also one of the early films in collaboration with Diane Keaton. The entire movie plays out like an old Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin silent flick, but with Woody’s hilarious complaining and armory of jokes, Sleeper is an ageless cult hit. Quote to remember: “I haven’t seen my analyst in 200 years. He was a strict Freudian. If I’d been going all this time, I’d probably almost be cured by now.” - Miles Stand by Me (dir. Rob Reiner) Runtime: 89 minutes Adapted from a Stephen King novella, Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me perfectly combines an exciting childhood adventure with the experience (and fright) of growing up. Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O’Connell) are best friends growing up in a small town with small dreams. But adventure calls when they learn the location of the local boy’s body who went missing several days earlier. So, they pack up their bags and head off into the woods. Together, the young friends run into a whole cavalcade of dilemmas, ranging from fending off a pack of bullies and dodging a speeding train, to the infamous, creepy crawly leech scene that scarred anyone watching. But there are also pleasant moments of downtime, especially around the campfire, where the boys enjoy listening to Gordie’s delicately constructed and detailed stories. Chris is convinced that Gordie will be a great writer someday, and really pushes him to go after his dreams, something he doesn’t think he can do himself. But what the boys learn as they’re going on this adventure is that it'll probably be their last one. They’re growing up, and soon enough, their lives will be going their own ways. Running at a quick 89 minutes, Stand by Me is an indisputably touching film that will be remembered for years to come. Quote to remember: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” - The Writer The Producers (dir. Mel Brooks) Runtime: 88 minutes Led by a manic Zero Mostel, and a hysterical Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks’ early masterpiece, The Producers, is one of the funniest movies you'll ever see. Maybe it’s because of the way Mostel overacts every time he’s on camera, or because of Wilder’s panicked facial expressions whenever the idea of committing a crime comes up that makes us fall in love with such greedy characters. Whatever it is, it’s impossible to not love this zany duo, and as a result, we buy in to what they're doing and happily go along with them. The movie follows Max Bialystock (Mostel), a failing Broadway producer, and Leo Bloom (Wilder), his dweeb accountant, as they find a way to cheat the showbiz industry. Bialystock raises money for his productions by dipping into “little old lady-land” and seducing checks out of lonely old women. Bloom is sent to do his books, and, after finding out that Bialystock raised more money than he lost on his last dud, hypothesizes that they could make a lot more money from flops than successes because “the IRS isn’t interested in flops.” This leads to their discovery of a musical written by neo-Nazi Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars) named Springtime for Hitler, an homage to the fascist dictator with high glamor dance lines of spoofed-up SS girls and lyrics like, “Don’t be stupid, be a smarty! Come and join the Nazi Party!” The horrified looks on the audience’s faces make up some of the best moments in the film; “Well, talk about bad taste,” one woman says as she walks out of the theater, causing Max and Leo to immediately shake hands. A remake was released in 2005 starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and never has the phrase “stick to the original” been more applicable. Quote to remember: “I want everything I’ve ever seen in the movies!” - Leo High Noon (dir. Fred Zinnemann) Runtime: 85 minutes The western is one of the few original American art forms, and High Noon is the western at its best. The once-mighty town sheriff, Will, (Gary Cooper) is getting married and retiring. But right before he leaves, the lawman is told that a man he sent to prison years ago, Frank Miller, is returning on the noon train to enact his vengeance. His wife (Grace Kelly) begs him to leave, telling him that it’s not his problem anymore, but Will knows what he has to do, and puts on his tin star for one last rodeo. What Will's not expecting, however, is the lack of support towards the battle against Miller and his band. When he seeks help from the townspeople he's served for years, they turn their backs on him, leaving Will to face Miller alone. High Noon is simply a masterpiece of tension, with a phenomenal performance from Cooper and all around excellent filmmaking. They truly don't make them like this anymore. Quote to remember: “I’ve got to, that’s the whole thing.” -Will Paths Of Glory (dir. Stanley Kubrick) Runtime: 88 minutes Stanley Kubrick’s criminally under-appreciated Paths of Glory is a timeless project, and one of the most effective anti-war films ever made. Set in World War I, the movie stars Kirk Douglas (who would later star in Kubrick’s Spartacus) as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of the French 701st Regiment. The French and German armies have been battling over a stretch of land for two years when the film takes place, each entrapped along 500 miles of narrow trenches, and only No Man’s Land separates them. What Dax understands is that any attempts of advancement result in incalculable causalities, but when his superior officer, General Mireau (George Macready) is offered the chance for a promotion, Dax is ordered to lead an assault on the German’s “Anthill.” Reluctantly, he follows orders, and as expected, the attack fails and the French are forced to retreat before getting halfway across the field. Outraged, Mireau charges the entire 701st with “Cowardice in the Face of the Enemy,” and has one man from each of the three companies tried. Dax attempts to defend them during the court-martial. A persistent attack against the dangers of rank and how war is handled amongst authority, Paths of Glory strikes up some important questions. Does a title give someone the right to play God? To choose who lives and who dies? The entirety of the film is dedicated to refuting that question, and its preposterous place in human nature. Led by a powerful performance from Douglas and the cinematography of the Master, Paths of Glory is simply one of the best movies of all-time. Quote to remember: “There are times when I am ashamed to be a member of the human race, and this is one such occasion.” -Dax