My friend Tom and I have had a running dialogue for several years regarding perfect movies- movies that are perfect in every way: casting, editing, writing, cinematography, music, etc; You wouldn't- couldn't- shouldn't- change a thing.

There are very few "perfect" movies in my opinion. "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is one example. John Houston's direction, Walter Houston's performance, and Bogart's most brilliant performance as Fred C. Dobbs are film-making at its absolute apex. There are certainly others. "Casablanca" is another.

Tonight I watched Roland Joffee's "The Killing Fields". I saw this film twice in theaters back in the '80's' when it first came out and hadn't seen it since.

It's a brilliant film, with stand-out performances by Sam Waterson, John Malkovich, Spalding Gray, and the incredible Haing S. Ngor as Dith Pran. Joffee's direction and the cinematography by Chris Menges are just great, and the film's depiction of American foreign policy (and the bombing of Cambodia) contributing to nationalist spasms of ideological murder are familiar and unsettling. Seeing it again tonight, after nearly twenty years, it was hard not to draw parallels to the impending Iraqi civil war.

I really recommend renting "The Killing Fields" and I'm also curious to know if anyone else has any "perfect" movie recommendations.