A Glean movie guide
Short & Sweet: Masterpieces Under 90 Mins
Maximum impact, minimum time.
Big stories don't need long runtimes. These lean classics get straight to the point.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Toy Story
A revolutionary animation that packs more heart and humor into 81 minutes than most three-hour epics.
Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.
- 02
Before Sunset
A breathtaking romance told in near real-time that proves dialogue can be as thrilling as any action sequence.
Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.
- 03
Run Lola Run
A high-octane German thriller that reinvents its own narrative three times in just over an hour.
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.
- 04
Shiva Baby
A claustrophobic and hilarious 'anxiety comedy' that captures a chaotic afternoon with razor-sharp wit.
College student Danielle must cover her tracks when she unexpectedly runs into her sugar daddy at a shiva - with her parents, ex-girlfriend and family friends also in attendance.
- 05
Petite Maman
A gentle, ethereal French drama that explores grief and childhood connection with profound simplicity.
After the death of her beloved grandmother, eight-year-old Nelly meets a strangely familiar girl her own age in the woods. Instantly forming a connection with this mysterious new friend, Nelly embarks on a fantastical journey of discovery which helps her come to terms with this newfound loss.
- 06
Airplane!
The definitive spoof comedy with a legendary joke-per-minute ratio that never lets the audience catch their breath.
An ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.
- 07
Host
A terrifyingly efficient supernatural horror shot entirely over a 57-minute Zoom call during lockdown.
Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown — but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realise they might not survive the night.
- 08
Coherence
A low-budget sci-fi marvel that uses a simple dinner party to deliver a massive, mind-bending psychological payoff.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 09
Rope
Hitchcock’s experimental thriller unfolds in what appears to be one continuous, nerve-wracking shot.
Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.
- 10
What We Do in the Shadows
A brilliant mockumentary that finds endless comedy in the mundane lives of modern-day vampires.
Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.
- 11
Paths of Glory
Stanley Kubrick’s leanest masterpiece is a devastating and focused indictment of military bureaucracy.
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
- 12
My Neighbor Totoro
A whimsical Studio Ghibli classic that captures the magic of childhood in a perfectly paced 86 minutes.
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.