top 50 greatest live action short films
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- DirectorRobert EnricoStarsRoger JacquetAnne CornalyAnker-Spang LarsenIn 1862, during the American Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. When the execution takes place from the bridge, the rope breaks and he begins his escape toward home.
- DirectorJames ParrottStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyDinahLike the legendary Sisyphus, deliverymen Laurel and Hardy struggle to push a large crated piano up a seemingly insurmountable flight of stairs.
- DirectorShawn ChristensenStarsShawn ChristensenFatima PtacekKim AllenHaving reached the lowest point in his life, a self-destructive man on the brink of demise receives an unexpected call from his estranged sister to look after her young daughter for the night. Could this be the beginning of a new reality?
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsJ. Carrol NaishDonald WoodsRosina GalliThree cowboys riding across the desert with gifts for no particular recipient see a distant bright light, and find it comes from the Star Auto Court sign where the owners and guests work together to help a young expectant couple.
- DirectorBenjamin ClearyStarsMatthew NeedhamChloe PirrieEric RichardA man whose lush inner thoughts are rendered mute by a crippling stutter feels isolated from the world despite a flourishing online relationship.
- DirectorPeggy RajskiStarsBrett BarskyJudy KainJohn LizziUpon hitting puberty, a high-school boy realizes he is homosexual and faces prejudice from his parents and friends.
- DirectorJochen Alexander FreydankStarsJulia JägerCedric EichTamay Bulut ÖzvatanA German mother lies to her son about where the Nazis are sending their Jewish neighbors.
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerKjeld JacobsenThe lives of black bears in Yellowstone National Park.
- DirectorRay McKinnonStarsRay McKinnonWalton GogginsEddie KingThe O'Dell farm is on the rocks. A non-traditional accountant comes with a variety of ways to save the farm.
- DirectorPepe DanquartStarsSenta MoiraPaul OutlawStefan MerkiA young black man is verbally harassed by an older woman on a streetcar, while the other passengers remain silent. He finally exacts his revenge.
- DirectorLuke MathenyStarsLuke MathenyMarian BrockChristopher HirshA lovestruck, lounge-singing darts champion finds his prayers answered--literally--when he mysteriously receives a box of love-inducing darts.
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsNatalie PressDanny DyerJodie MitchellA struggling single mother is determined not to let her four young children be an obstacle in the pursuit of starting a relationship with an old acquaintance.
- DirectorAdam DavidsonStarsScotty BlochClebert FordBernard JohnsonA woman misses her train and buys lunch in a café. When she returns to her table, a man is eating her salad.
- DirectorAnders Thomas JensenStarsUlrich ThomsenJens Jørn SpottagJohn MartinusOn his way to the polls, an idealist yet absent-minded voter must endure continuous waves of racist cab drivers and their offensive remarks.
- DirectorChuck WorkmanA montage of nearly 500 film clips from eight decades of American movies, made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Director's Guild of America.
- DirectorRobert P. DavisStarsEzra R. BakerAn extremely funny film of abstract-expressionist painting.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsBrendan GleesonRúaidhrí ConroyDavid WilmotA black and bloody Irish comedy about a sad train journey where an older man, whose wife has died that morning, encounters a strange and possibly psychotic young oddball....
- DirectorMat KirkbyStarsSally HawkinsJim BroadbentEdward HoggHeather is a shy lady who works in a helpline call center. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever.
- DirectorWilliam FertikAllan MillerStarsZubin MehtaMerrit BuxbaumRobert DivalThe first part of this Academy Award-winning short consists of a behind-the-scenes look at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as it prepares to perform Ravel's "Bolero." Individual musicians offer their thoughts as workers set up chairs and music stands; there are also comments by conductor Zubin Mehta and scenes of Mehta and the orchestra rehearsing. The rest of the film features a complete performance of "Bolero" with striking images of the orchestra as the music relentlessly approaches its climax.
- DirectorPeter CapaldiStarsRichard E. GrantCrispin LettsKen StottWhile trying to decide what Gregor Samsa wakes up as, Kafka's constantly being interrupted by knife-selling strangers, party noise, girls, fancy dress costumes, and other strange, dreamlike visions.
- DirectorAri SandelStarsBen NewmarkNoureen DeWulfA.J. TannenA musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of dueling falafel restaurants on the West Bank.
- DirectorAnders WalterStarsCasper CrumpPelle Falk KrusbækMarijana JankovicA young boy, Alfred, is dying, but through the stories about HELIUM - a magical fantasy world - told by the hospital's eccentric janitor Enzo, Alfred regains the joy and happiness of his life, and finds a safe haven away from daily life.
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerThe first of the True-Life Adventure featurettes. Fur seals arrive on the Pribilof Islands for the purpose of mating. The older seals are known as bulls and have "harems" of females which they protect very seriously. The younger male seals get together, train themselves to fight, and then help each other overthrow the bulls to become the new masters of the harems.
- DirectorFlorian GallenbergerStarsEmilio PerezLuis Fernando PeñaChacoThe paths of two orphan brothers drastically change over the years, beginning when they were just boys living on the streets of Mexico City.
- DirectorJean-Claude CarrièrePierre ÉtaixStarsGeorges LoriotNono ZammitLucien FrégisA woman is preparing a romantic dinner for two for her and her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Her husband is out running a series of errands, most of his stops to pick up anniversary gifts for his wife. But the anti-anniversary Gods seem to be working against him as Paris traffic and other problems at each stop seem to be holding him up from getting in and out and to home on time for dinner. Meanwhile, his wife has no idea what has happened to her husband. Will it still be a happy anniversary by the time he makes it home?
- DirectorSam KarmannStarsDaniel RialetJacques MartialChristian RauthA commuter suddenly realizes he's mistakenly boarded the express train and desperately tries to get off between stations.
- DirectorDean ParisotStarsSteven WrightRowan AtkinsonLaurie MetcalfDennis Jennings is an introverted daydreamer, sleepwalking through life. He is a professional waiter and has an equally-dull girlfriend, Emma. In an attempt to release his pent-up feelings of isolation, he begins seeing a psychiatrist, only to discover that the doctor is somewhat less than interested in what he has to say. After finding his doctor sharing his intimate secrets with a group of fellow psychiatrists at a bar, he then learns the doctor has a another more unprofessional involvement in his life.
- DirectorAaron SchneiderStarsJonathan FurrBen AllisonRon PerlmanMississippi, just before Pearl Harbor. Two brothers, Pete, about 19 and Willie, about 10 years younger. They are clearly close friends. The news arrives, and Pete goes to enlist. Willie wants to come along, but is told he cannot. After his brother leaves, the boy walks 30 miles to the nearest town, where the sheriff eventually puts him on a bus to Memphis where his brother is. At the recruiting office, Willie proves even more determined to see his brother; eventually, sympathetic Col. McKellogg takes care of him.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJeannie Dimter BartonSusan CronkiteSuzanne CroughThis film explores the life of a 17-year-old senior boy who is a soon to be father with his girlfriend, a 15 year old sophomore. They evaluate the decisions about how they got here, and the decisions on what they will do next.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsHarold E. EdgertonClarence CurtisTex HarrisIn this Pete Smith Specialty, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop. This process allows us to see in slow motion what happens during events that occur too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Examples shown here include a bullet in flight as it shatters a light bulb, the moment of impact when a kicker kicks a football, and a the motion of a hummingbird's wings as it hovers.
- DirectorRobert AmramStarsRicardo MontalbanOrson WellesAn 18-minute helicopter-based aerial visit across the archaeological ruins in Mexico.
- DirectorJames AlgarScenes from the Grand Canyon set to Ferde Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite."
- DirectorBarbara SchockStarsHelen StenborgPatricia DunnockScott SowersA widowed Midwestern housewife travels to Manhattan for the first time to visit her daughter. Once there, she becomes obsessed with the Hell's Angels-ish bikers' club across the street from her daughter's East Village apartment.
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerMogens LindGet a glimpse of "nature's own engineer" hard at work. A young male beaver must defend his new family against hungry predators, mischievous river otters and the ever-impending threat of winter.
- DirectorJames ScottStarsRupert EverettJenny SeagroveBarbara HicksWhen he was a child, Jerome was told that his father died on a bizarre accident involving a pig that fell from a balcony. He refuses to accept this fact and keeps creating another scenario as replacement to his father's strange death. As a grown up, he's quite perplexed that people get amused whenever they hear this story...until the day he meets someone special who'll help you find a way to cope with this awkward tragedy.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsJacques MarinViviane BourdonneuxMartin SerreA father, mother, and son go to visit a chicken farm. The son catches and brings home a chicken. The father plans to eat it if the chicken doesn't lay eggs. The boy aims to save the chicken and comedy ensues.
- DirectorHilary HarrisStarsBryden MurdochKenneth KendallDocumentary about shipbuilding on the Clyde. In 1960, Glasgow and other towns and ports on the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland, were still one of the world's great centres of shipbuilding. The film gives an idea of the business of building a ship - the largest moving thing made by man - from the naval architects who design her to the workmen, the shipbuilders in the yard, through to a ship's launching.
- DirectorCharles GuggenheimStarsRichard BurtonRobert F. KennedyShown on all television networks simultaneously and at the Chicago Democratic National Convention in August of 1968, this moving film tribute to a man who had hoped to win the presidency created a historic moment when it brought the proceedings to a standstill and the crowd, in tears, to its feet. Commissioned by the Kennedy family, the film begins with the funeral train to Washington, D.C. and follows the triumphs and tragedies in the late Senator's life with extraordinary newsreel footage, archival stills, and home movies. The film was produced in only four weeks, two months after the Senator's assassination, in order to meet the Convention deadline. Guggenheim Productions, with the country's resources at its fingertips, worked around the clock to complete this film honoring RFK's life and the Democratic Party. "Robert Kennedy Remembered" is a poignant film biography that evokes the spirit, quality and commitment Robert Kennedy brought to his life and work. This film went on to win Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short in 1968. "To watch it is to experience a profound sense of loss and tragic waste all over again."---Los Angeles Times
- DirectorArne SucksdorffStarsMats BjörneA short impression of Stockholm.
- DirectorPhilippe Pollet-VillardStarsMatteo Razzouki-SafardiPhilippe Pollet-VillardRichard MorgièveRichard and Philippe live hand to mouth, backing up a gang of Spanish pickpockets on the streets of Paris, posing as policemen who arrest a gang member while the others rifle the pockets and purses of gawkers. When all of the gang except Richard and Philippe are pinched, things look grim. Plus, Richard insists that they take in a wide-eyed immigrant lad, a deaf-mute left behind in the arrests. Philippe suggests a three-person pickpocket trick, using the boy, but when that goes spectacularly badly, they hit rock bottom. Then, at the cinema, the lad finds a solution. It's time to celebrate.
- DirectorRobert DeubelStarsNorman RockwellNarrated by Norman Rockwell, the film uses archival footage, dramatic reenactments, and the artist's work, to show how Rockwell recorded the world around him and reflected the aspirations and concerns of a whole generation.
- DirectorJeffrey D. BrownStarsLilly BalabanJessica BertanTravis BlankBased on the sensitive children's book by Barbara Cohen, Molly's Pilgrim is the story of a young Russian Jewish girl who has emigrated to America with her parents to escape religious persecution.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsDarla HoodEugene 'Porky' LeeGeorge 'Spanky' McFarlandSpanky and Alfalfa fake a tooth-ache to get out of school.
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerMogens LindThe strange and wonderful world that lies beneath our feet, under leaf, log and rock, peopled by millions of weird and fascinating creatures.
- DirectorBeverly ShafferStarsNadia De FrancoNadia DeFranco lives in Toronto and she has spina bifida. This film follows her through some of her daily activities as she goes to school, works with her therapists, visits her relatives and lives life with her family.
- DirectorChristopher ChapmanA multi-image large-format film showcasing life in Ontario without narration and dialogue.
- DirectorBryan GordonStarsJohn AchornTim ChoateJoe D'AngerioIn this short film, our unemployed hero finds that getting that great job depends a lot on whom you choose to dance with at Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall.
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsAnthony BrophyConleth HillPacky LeeThe story of Joe and Paddy, whose childhood friendship is shattered by the troubles in Northern Ireland. Twenty five years later they are reunited.
- DirectorJoachim BackStarsVincent D'OnofrioKevin CorriganLiane BalabanA nosy neighbor, a drug dealer and an angry husband make for a move-in day that two men will never forget.
- DirectorEdmond SéchanStarsLouis PaulGilbert HuguesJean-Marie MaillolsSimilar in design and technique to "The Red Baloon", and winner of the 1959 International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, this is the story of a boy who has a goldfish as a pet, and the family cat has other plans for the goldfish, and a canary protects it by distracting the cat.