Plan a screening
Choose a film for your available time, allowing for a break and discussion.
The calculation uses each entry’s cited edition runtime. Other versions may differ. Series are excluded: their first broadcast year does not indicate episode length.
31 results
Maximum film runtime : 125 min.
Pather Panchali ↗
Follow an offscreen sound before seeking its source. Compare viewpoint height and everyday gestures with My Neighbor Totoro. Children in a story do not establish family suitability; check edition content advice.
Film + break + discussion : 125 + 10 + 15 = 150 min · Time left : 0 min
Spirited Away ↗
Follow work gestures and changing spaces. Animation gives movement weight and makes this world tangible without fully explaining it. Some scenes may unsettle children: local rating and individual sensitivity remain important.
Film + break + discussion : 125 + 10 + 15 = 150 min · Time left : 0 min
Perfect Days ↗
Notice variations within routine: light, glance, route or song. Repetition provides comparisons. Afterwards describe a day without reducing the character to his job, asking what gestures reveal and what they keep private.
Film + break + discussion : 124 + 10 + 15 = 149 min · Time left : 1 min
PlayTime ↗
Use a screen that keeps details legible and disable edge-cropping zoom. Let your eye wander: a gag need not sit at the centre. On a repeat viewing, follow a supporting character or sound rather than only Hulot.
Film + break + discussion : 123 + 10 + 15 = 148 min · Time left : 2 min
Portrait of a Lady on Fire ↗
The gaze moves between painter, model and viewer. Follow sound, silence and observed details. Comparing it with In the Mood for Love opens discussion of restrained romance without treating the characters’ journeys as identical.
Film + break + discussion : 121 + 10 + 15 = 146 min · Time left : 4 min
The Battle of Algiers ↗
Newsreel style does not turn re-enactment into archival footage. Observe framing, crowds and editing. Compare constructed images in The Thin Blue Line; check history in separate sources.
Film + break + discussion : 121 + 10 + 15 = 146 min · Time left : 4 min
Do the Right Thing ↗
Map meeting places and the spaces each person claims. Listen to competing music, radio and conversations. Afterwards distinguish explaining an action from justifying it, comparing viewpoints without reducing a character to one opinion.
Film + break + discussion : 120 + 10 + 15 = 145 min · Time left : 5 min
Yojimbo ↗
Compare street positions with Seven Samurai. Individual strategy replaces collective defence here. Watch how waiting builds action.
Film + break + discussion : 110 + 10 + 15 = 135 min · Time left : 15 min
Black Orpheus ↗
Distinguish setting, language and reference country: Criterion lists France. Compare music within a scene with music addressed to viewers. With The Red Shoes, observe performance and relationships sharing the frame.
Film + break + discussion : 107 + 10 + 15 = 132 min · Time left : 18 min
Singin' in the Rain ↗
Notice when dance extends dialogue or pauses the story. Compare physical performance with Modern Times and filmed dance with The Red Shoes.
Film + break + discussion : 103 + 10 + 15 = 128 min · Time left : 22 min
The Thin Blue Line ↗
Separate testimony, reconstruction and evidence. Note what each image actually establishes. Then compare editing with the more sensory approach of Koyaanisqatsi.
Film + break + discussion : 102 + 10 + 15 = 127 min · Time left : 23 min
The Grand Budapest Hotel ↗
Notice changes in aspect ratio between narrative periods. Symmetrical compositions and colours guide the eye, while nostalgia gives the film weight. Choose it for stylised adventure rather than everyday realism.
Film + break + discussion : 100 + 10 + 15 = 125 min · Time left : 25 min
The 400 Blows ↗
Follow the contrast between enclosed school or home spaces and movement through the city. This is a starting point for exploring the French New Wave. Afterwards, consider what the final image reveals and what it leaves open.
Film + break + discussion : 99 + 10 + 15 = 124 min · Time left : 26 min
Close-up ↗
Separate testimony from re-enactment. Emotional force does not establish evidence. Compare this viewer agreement to The Thin Blue Line, then competing accounts to Rashomon, without seeking a solution beforehand.
Film + break + discussion : 98 + 10 + 15 = 123 min · Time left : 27 min
In the Mood for Love ↗
Corridors, framing and recurring music give shape to what remains unsaid. Pay attention to silence rather than expecting plot twists. Afterwards, compare its colour and framing with The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Film + break + discussion : 98 + 10 + 15 = 123 min · Time left : 27 min
The Seventh Seal ↗
Notice concrete forms of abstract questions: a meal, performance or journey. Compare responses to fear. Chess supplies a narrative marker, but you can also follow solidarity among travellers.
Film + break + discussion : 97 + 10 + 15 = 122 min · Time left : 28 min
12 Angry Men ↗
Track shifting alliances around the table. Separate evidence, assumptions and prejudice in arguments. The confined setting also exposes camera distance: compare your sense of space early and late.
Film + break + discussion : 96 + 10 + 15 = 121 min · Time left : 29 min
Night of the Living Dead ↗
Tension comes from group conflict as much as the external threat. Follow doors, windows and viewpoints to understand the confined setting. Black and white does not diminish violence: check content advice beforehand.
Film + break + discussion : 96 + 10 + 15 = 121 min · Time left : 29 min
The Night of the Hunter ↗
Follow the children’s perspective and how a silhouette or voice becomes threatening. Compare sheltered and exposed spaces. Children and fairy-tale atmosphere do not imply suitability for young viewers: violence and pursuit may be distressing.
Film + break + discussion : 93 + 10 + 15 = 118 min · Time left : 32 min
Wild Strawberries ↗
Track transitions between present journey, dream and memory without forcing an immediate chronology. Compare the professor’s judgments with how others observe him. Afterwards choose one encounter that changes your perception of him.
Film + break + discussion : 92 + 10 + 15 = 117 min · Time left : 33 min
Bicycle Thieves ↗
The city and everyday gestures give this search a social dimension. Notice how the child’s viewpoint changes your perception of the father. An accessible introduction to Italian neorealism without prior historical knowledge.
Film + break + discussion : 89 + 10 + 15 = 114 min · Time left : 36 min
Cléo from 5 to 7 ↗
Follow clocks, journeys and moments when Cléo becomes the observer. Title time and viewing runtime refer to different things. With PlayTime, contrast two ways of making a city visible.
Film + break + discussion : 89 + 10 + 15 = 114 min · Time left : 36 min
Touki bouki ↗
Compare actual movement with imagined departure. Editing breaks and recurring sounds connect places without explaining a journey. Compare streets as obstacles and spaces of desire with Bicycle Thieves.
Film + break + discussion : 89 + 10 + 15 = 114 min · Time left : 36 min
House ↗
Track an ordinary object and its transformations. Compare this extravagant visual fear with Night of the Living Dead. Playfulness does not remove violent imagery.
Film + break + discussion : 88 + 10 + 15 = 113 min · Time left : 37 min
Rashomon ↗
Track changes in gestures, positions and reactions across accounts. Distinguish the film’s presentation from a witness’s account. Afterwards, ask which version persuaded you and which clues you used.
Film + break + discussion : 88 + 10 + 15 = 113 min · Time left : 37 min
Fantastic Mr. Fox ↗
Notice puppet textures and movement: stop-motion gives characters a physical presence. Symmetrical compositions connect it to the director’s live-action works. Check the age rating before watching with children.
Film + break + discussion : 87 + 10 + 15 = 112 min · Time left : 38 min
Modern Times ↗
The body’s rhythm clashes with the factory’s. Notice how a visual gag becomes an idea about work. A useful introduction to physical comedy; the film’s age is not an age rating.
Film + break + discussion : 87 + 10 + 15 = 112 min · Time left : 38 min
Koyaanisqatsi ↗
Notice how image speed and Philip Glass’s music change your sense of time. This documentary is a visual construction, not a neutral inventory. Pay attention to sound and comparisons between natural and urban sequences.
Film + break + discussion : 86 + 10 + 15 = 111 min · Time left : 39 min
My Neighbor Totoro ↗
Watch small gestures and moments of waiting rather than expecting constant incident. Compare discovery of spaces with Spirited Away. Parental illness may raise questions during family viewing.
Film + break + discussion : 86 + 10 + 15 = 111 min · Time left : 39 min
Persona ↗
Focus on who speaks, listens and looks. A close-up can bring you near a face without explaining thoughts. Afterwards compare two moments when the relationship shifts, using a specific frame or silence as evidence.
Film + break + discussion : 83 + 10 + 15 = 108 min · Time left : 42 min
Safety Last! ↗
To follow a gag, identify its practical rule, then the detail that complicates it. Compare what the character sees with what you know. Check your edition’s music: silent films can be offered with different scores.
Film + break + discussion : 73 + 10 + 15 = 98 min · Time left : 52 min
Before starting
Check your copy’s exact runtime, language, subtitles and age rating with its distributor. This selection does not indicate current availability. Afterwards, choose a scene and discuss what framing, sound or editing helped you understand; support your interpretation with a specific detail.