Pretty classical question, curious to see what you all think.
For me, it’s Pacific Rim. It is mostly about giant robots fighting huge monsters, but the the psychological treatment of the characters is more refined than someone would expect for this kind of movies.
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And the intro is very poignant scene, again, not something you would expect in this kind of movies.
It Happened One Night (1934) with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Doubt many here have seen it just simply due to its age, but I always find myself recommending it. It was appreciated at the time – won Best Picture in 1935 – but likely isn’t well known today outside of film circles and history groups.
Pretty much the template for every
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“a man and a woman thrown into a situation where each has a secret and aren’t too fond of each other at first but end up falling in love anyway”
movie that’s come after it.
Still holds up very well, in my opinion, and avoids a lot of the pacing issues that some movies from that era really suffer from. I watch it once every few months.
Do note that, being made in the 30s, there are social and racial things that are wildly different than today. Very much like watching Pepe Le Pew or Speedy Gonzalez cartoons today.