90 Minutes or Less

[Sebastian Cobb]

They're showing Run Lola Run at some Scottish theatres due to Fokus - as seasonal thing of old and new German films, I'd have gone for it but the nearest place showing that one was Dundee, I've seen it in a cinema before, mind.

[Critcho]

The first film this thread made me think of that I saw a little while back, which wiki tells me is actually 98 minutes but I feel is 90 minutes in spirit: Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered.

After he died I looked over his filmography and saw this one I'd never heard of sandwiched between much more famous films, discovered it was streaming on Prime or somewhere, and gave it a go. Somehow I've now seen it twice in the space of a year or so!

It's an overcooked, vaguely lurid, Hitchcock-aping neo-noir starring c-lister extraordinaire Tom Beringer, Greta Saachi and Bob Hoskins in a comic relief role probably written for Danny De Vito. It features one of the silliest twists you'll ever see followed almost immediately by another of the silliest twists you'll ever see.

It's daft potboiler nonsense no one could rate more than 3/5. And yet I kind of love it because it wholeheartedly embraces its genre and with that runtime just zips along.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the recommendations so far, it's enormously appreciated. I'm off for a friend's 50th today so will reply in a bit more detail in the next few days, but I'm looking forward to checking out a whole bunch of them over the coming weeks

[Dex Sawash]

fewer

[Oh, Nobody]

I Love My Dad is exactly 90 minutes but it may feel longer as you'll be cringing out your arsehole throughout.

Probably not selling it well, it's great.

[greenman]

Its a little longer(not much if you cut out the credits) but watching Arnie's Running Man last night I was surprised that it was as short as it was at 100 mins given its relatively complex setting/plot. I think you could argue its a really good example of focusing on the right stuff, Arnie, Kotto or even Fleetwood we don't really need to see loads of build up around them, the actors sell the roles pretty easily. Much more time spent on building up the capitalist fascist dystopia and on building up Dawson as an asshole and actually giving Conchita Alonso a bit of an arc.

[Small Man Big Horse]

The first film this thread made me think of that I saw a little while back, which wiki tells me is actually 98 minutes but I feel is 90 minutes in spirit: Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered.

After he died I looked over his filmography and saw this one I'd never heard of sandwiched between much more famous films, discovered it was streaming on Prime or somewhere, and gave it a go. Somehow I've now seen it twice in the space of a year or so!

It's an overcooked, vaguely lurid, Hitchcock-aping neo-noir starring c-lister extraordinaire Tom Beringer, Greta Saachi and Bob Hoskins in a comic relief role probably written for Danny De Vito. It features one of the silliest twists you'll ever see followed almost immediately by another of the silliest twists you'll ever see.

It's daft potboiler nonsense no one could rate more than 3/5. And yet I kind of love it because it wholeheartedly embraces its genre and with that runtime just zips along.

I'm pretty sure I rented that out in the early 90s, I definitely remembered the poster when I looked it up just now, and Tom Berenger having a brief period where he was almost an A-list star but then it kind of didn't really happen for him. I can't remember anything about the film other than that it was about an amnesiac, so I might have to give that a go to see how I fare with it all these years on.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Reality (2023) 1hr 22 - gripping true story drama about the interrogation by the FBI of Reality Winner

I watched this tonight and really liked it, so thank you for the recommendation, I kind of don't want to say any more as I'm glad I went in knowing nothing about the film, but it gets 8.3/10 from me.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Not wanting to rain on the film but I watched it a while back, and found it quite dry. The actor playing Realty did an excellent job though.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I watched this tonight and really liked it, so thank you for the recommendation, I kind of don't want to say any more as I'm glad I went in knowing nothing about the film, but it gets 8.3/10 from me.

Glad you liked! I knew nothing going in either and was gripped throughout. There's actually another film called Winner about her but with more of a comedy slant coming out this year, with Brit Emilia Jones playing the lead role.

The actor playing Realty did an excellent job though.

Sydney Sweeney! Kind of more famous as an "It girl" of the moment, last seen in that Rolling Stones video. Only other things I've seen her in are Handmaid's Tale and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood but she's a really good actress.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Glad you liked! I knew nothing going in either and was gripped throughout. There's actually another film called Winner about her but with more of a comedy slant coming out this year, with Brit Emilia Jones playing the lead role.

Huh, that's interesting, again I don't really want to say anything, but I guess I'm intrigued by the idea of a version with a comedy slant and if it gets decent reviews I'll definitely check it out.

[Tarquin]

Men in Black is 98 mins (take out the end credits and it just hits 90).

Remeber seeing it at the cinema in 97 when film bloat had become very noticiable (same year as Be Here Now) and at the time the length of the film seemed like a statement.

[Minami Minegishi]

I went into Reality not knowing anything so I enjoyed how it plays out quite slowly. It's useful to not read anything about it prior to watching.

The stuff about Fox News being loudly pumped into their offices 24/7 to the point where staff complain is fucking insane and terrifying. So ideologically nuts that you start to realise how a nation turned into maniacs.

[Mister Six]

Reality (2023) 1hr 22 - gripping true story drama about the interrogation by the FBI of Reality Winner

Co-starring Marchant Davis, star of The Day Shall Come.

Men in Black is 98 mins (take out the end credits and it just hits 90).

Remeber seeing it at the cinema in 97 when film bloat had become very noticiable (same year as Be Here Now) and at the time the length of the film seemed like a statement.

Barry Sonnenfeld likes to joke that he's the only guy whose director's cuts would actually be shorter than the theatrical versions.

[Lost Oliver]

The thread I've been looking for! Great idea!

Saw Incredible But True recently and thought it was amazing. Would highly recommend and I just know you'll love it. 81 minutes.

Synopsis to wet your whistle... Alain and Marie moved to the suburb house of their dreams. But the real estate agent warned them: what is in the basement may well change their lives forever.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Apart from Fantasia (over 2 hours!) no Disney animated feature breaks 90 min until the mid '90s. Since 2010 they all have to be over 100, dont they.

Dumbo's barely an hour!

During the pandemic I watched every Disney film that was given a cinema release, and I thought I'd put a document together with them all in (and maybe even started a thread) but can't find it now. I do have my main film reviews word document though, so at some point I should probably get round to putting all the (short) Disney reviews in one place.

I haven't yet watched 2023's Wish though, and at 95 minutes I imagine it'll be under 90 without credits, so probably should get around to that at some point as I'm an annoying completist like that.

The thread I've been looking for! Great idea!

Saw Incredible But True recently and thought it was amazing. Would highly recommend and I just know you'll love it. 81 minutes.

Synopsis to wet your whistle... Alain and Marie moved to the suburb house of their dreams. But the real estate agent warned them: what is in the basement may well change their lives forever.

I did catch that and liked it a fair amount, but I think because I loved the director's other work so much it didn't quite have the same effect on me, but there's been many a time I've watched a film once and didn't love it but then did the second time round, so I might have to give it another go at some point.

[Mister Six]

Deffo do the Disney thread @Small Man Big Horse, although I've not watched most of them in ages so might not be able to contribute much myself. Would be good to revisit Pocahontas though - that's the last of the peak 2D Disney flicks that I've only seen once. IIRC the film wasn't much but the songs were fantastic.

[phantom_power]

Spider Baby is only 81 minutes and well worth a watch (on Amazon Video at the moment too)

Night of the Hunter is 89 minutes and one of the best films ever made

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - 87 minutes of silly fun

Living in Oblivion - 91 minutes of a low budget film about making a low budget film

[paddy72]

Dead Man's Shoes is a tight 90.

There's a decent podcast on this very subject:

https://www.90minfilmfest.com/

[Dr Rock]

1h 30m

Commando fits all of that in there.

[magister]

Seemingly all Hammer horror films were edited using a stopwatch and all last just under 90 minutes. This was probably done to get more screenings per day.

My dad told me that cinemas used to run the same film constantly so you could come into a screening halfway through, watch til the end and then sit there til you saw up to where you came in. Is that true?

I'll second the suggestion for Hammer Films. Also the Universal horror films from the 30's and 40's - particularly The Black Cat and The Old Dark House.

[Bad Ambassador]

Shortest Best Picture winner at the Oscars is Marty. 95 minutes.

[Keebleman]

According to Wikipedia Annie Hall is only 93 mins.

But it's odd that none of the very early winners clocked in under 90 mins.  Even back then there was a quantity=quality culture it seems.

[greenman]

Men in Black is 98 mins (take out the end credits and it just hits 90).

Remeber seeing it at the cinema in 97 when film bloat had become very noticiable (same year as Be Here Now) and at the time the length of the film seemed like a statement.

Although I always felt with Men in Black it wasnt really that different from a lot of its contemporaries, the shorter runtime was mostly that it didnt really have much of a middle act to it.

[Bad Ambassador]

According to Wikipedia Annie Hall is only 93 mins.

But it's odd that none of the very early winners clocked in under 90 mins.  Even back then there was a quantity=quality culture it seems.

Misremembered. Marty is 90 on the button.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Watched the 1988 HK action film On the Run the other night, that's pretty tight at 88 minutes.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Spider Baby is only 81 minutes and well worth a watch (on Amazon Video at the moment too)

Night of the Hunter is 89 minutes and one of the best films ever made

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - 87 minutes of silly fun

Living in Oblivion - 91 minutes of a low budget film about making a low budget film

I'm absolutely with you on three of those, I only saw Night Of The Hunter a couple of years ago but it's a masterpiece and I can't believe it took me so long to watch. I also really like Killer Klowns and Living in Oblivion, but I've never seen Spider Baby but plan to remedy that soon.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Shout out to the amazing Miracle Mile (1988), an alternately lovely and stressful oddball film about a romantic date that goes awry when the chap discovers that the world is about to end, and so he must struggle to get him and his girlfriend to an underground bunker before the nukes fall. Clocks in at 87 minutes, so once shit goes down it's almost in real time.

If you don't count the credits then the 92-minute Fremont (2023) should just scrape in, and was one of my top 10 movies of last year. A dryly funny indie comedy-drama co-starring possibly the world's funniest human, Gregg Turkington, as a self-absorbed therapist, it's sweet and melancholic without being a downer. Some cute cameos too - don't spoil it for yourself by reading the cast list.

I also enjoyed last year's Jethica, which is a minor spooky indie flick (though not scary at all) and probably could have been 50 minutes without all the lingering, slow scenes, but is still worth checking out since it's only 72 minutes long, including credits.

I also love anime psychodrama (and Black Swan "inspiration") Perfect Blue, by sorely missed animation genius Satoshi Kon, about a squeaky-clean pop star who suffers a mental break, a creepy stalker and vivid hallucinations when she becomes an actress in mature (though not "adult", ie. porn) movies. Who is killing people around her? Is it a split personality, her stalker, her idol persona somehow come to life or something else entirely? It's stunning.

Actually, it looks like all of Kon's films are under or around 90 minutes: Paprika (stolen technology causes the waking world to merge with dreams), Tokyo Godfathers (three homeless people odyssey across Tokyo to return an abandoned baby to her parents on Christmas Eve) and Millennium Actress (memory, time and film swirl together as an actress on her deathbed recalls her life).

Children of Heaven is a sweet 1997 Iranian film about a poor pair of Iranian siblings who get into scrapes after one of them loses the other's shoes. It's pretty light stuff, but heartwarming. Did well on release for an Iranian film, IIRC, but I think it's a bit forgotten about today.

Also kind of forgotten, but similar in no other way to Children of Heaven, Run Lola Run (1998) is a rollicking, oddball thriller about a woman (Franka Potente; what happened to her?) who has 20 minutes to get 100,000 Deutschmarks before gangsters kill her boyfriend. It fills out the 80-minute runtime by showing the same scenario in three different ways, with Lola's differing decisions changing the lives of those around her in a butterfly effect sort of way.

A quick Google search brings up a slew of more obvious titles that I like: Airplane!, the OG Evil Dead, My Neighbor Totoro, Before Sunset (though you'll want to see Before Sunrise first, and that's 101 minutes), Crank, What We Do in the Shadows, Zombieland, the OG Wicker Man, Once, Sexy Beast, High Noon, Best in Show and The Naked Gun.

I've been meaning to respond to this post all week but keep on getting distracted, but there are so many films I either really liked or love that you mention there, including Paprika and the director's other films (apart from Tokyo Godfathers, but it's more than possible I was just in the wrong mood for it that day as I really fucking love Paprika), Run Lola Run, Fremont, Airplane!, the OG Evil Dead, My Neighbor Totoro, Before Sunset , Crank (and it's sequel Crank 2, though at 96 minutes it might not quite fit, I'm not sure how long the credits are), What We Do in the Shadows, Zombieland, the OG Wicker Man, Sexy Beast, High Noon, Best in Show and The Naked Gun.

I'd not heard of Jethica but plan to watch it now, and I haven't seen Children Of Heaven but was aware of it if only because it's in the IMDB Top 250 and I'm sort of vaguely maybe going to try and watch all of them, even though the idea of watching The Pianist, Green Book and A Beautiful Mind.

I think the only one I didn't get on with was Best In Show, but I had watched Spinal Tap, A Might Windy and Guffman within a very short period of time so might have been Guest-ed out.

Deffo do the Disney thread @Small Man Big Horse, although I've not watched most of them in ages so might not be able to contribute much myself. Would be good to revisit Pocahontas though - that's the last of the peak 2D Disney flicks that I've only seen once. IIRC the film wasn't much but the songs were fantastic.

I just watched Wish today so I could do that, I've a couple of busy days ahead of me but I'll definitely knock something up in the next week or so. But before then, if you don't count the credits for Wish it does fit in to this category...

Wish (2023) - I get it, I do, Disney turned 100 and I do think that is something to celebrate. I mean, not the mega bloated corporation that it has now become, but the hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who have contributed to all of their films, some of which are very special and have moments of beauty and hilarity and excitement and which have brought joy to so many children and adults. But this is a greatest hits package which wants to have all one hundred birthday cakes and eat them within it's slightly under ninety minutes running time, and it's a sickly creation. A story where sorcerer Magnifico (Pine) creates a wonderous island where all are welcome to join, the only thing anyone has to do is give up their greatest wish when they turn 18, and everything seems pretty great for years and years and years, until it's not. And that's because when young Asha (Ariana DeBose) is interviewed for the role of sorcerer's apprentice assistant she begins to question if Magnifico really does have everyone's best interests at heart, even if he's convinced he does. Then she wishes upon a pokemon star and the plot kicks off.
There are some good things about it, I thought both DeBose and Chris Pine do some great voice work, and while Pine's voice sounds autotuned in one song he makes for a memorable villain. But the film is absolutely dripping with cameos from and references to Disney's past, at the beginning I found my brain whispering "I feel manipulated" and by the half-way point it was screaming "I'M SO FUCKING TIRED OF BEING MANIPULATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME VERY FUNNY MOMENTS AND SOME NICE SONGS I'M NOT REALLY ENJOYING THIS AND WILL ALAN TUDYK (WHO'S NORMALLY DELIGHTFUL) FUCK THE FUCK OFF". Eh, ah well, it does at least have a message everyone can get behind, and, um, yeah, that's kind of the only good thing I can be arsed to say. 4.9/10

[Keebleman]

The other day I watched on Mubi Roberto Rossellini's 75 minute Germany Year Zero, filmed on location in Berlin in 1947 when the city was still essentially one large bombsite.  It has a very minor reputation compared with the director's previous movies Rome, Open City and Paisan, most people commenting on its unrelenting bleakness.  Typical is Leslie Halliwell: "a savage power...but totally fails to be constructive."

But I think this is missing the point.  Rossellini wasn't indulging in bleakness for the sake of it. I don't think he thought being 'constructive' was at all possible, and maybe not even desirable, because in the film he is wrestling with the problem of forgiveness, at the level of the nation.  The film is a valuable representation of a viewpoint that must have been widespread at the time but probably wasn't often explicitly expressed: how the hell can we ever consider German citizens as fellow human beings, with the same rights, given how they have behaved?  The film has a brilliant final shot which epitomizes the moral despair of this point of view: are even the innocent beyond absolution?

[Mister Six]

how the hell can we ever consider German citizens as fellow human beings, with the same rights, given how they have behaved? 

Bit rich for an Italian to be saying that.

But Halliwell can get to fuck on that point. Why is "being constructive" a prerequisite for a good or worthy film? Howls into the void are as valid as anything.