Public transcript

The greatest movie of all time | Dan Houser and Lex Fridman

By: Lex Clips
Length: 12 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 12 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

Dan Houser talks with Lex Fridman about the films that influenced him, including The Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino, True Romance, Come and See, Apocalypse Now, and Westerns like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He explains what makes these films great, from writing and pacing to memorable characters and worlds. He also reveals his new project Absurdiverse, an open-world comedy game with animated stories, and describes how he approached writing Red Dead by deliberately not bingeing Westerns.

Key points

Dan Houser prefers Godfather II for its divided story between Little Italy and Sicily, calling the Ellis Island shot one of the best in cinema.
He believes Goodfellas changed cinema at the tail end of the '80s more than any other film, though he sometimes prefers Casino.
He is developing Absurdiverse, a comedy universe that will be an open-world video game plus animated shows, built in San Rafael.
He praises True Romance as possibly one of the best scripts ever written, loving its speed, characters, and dialogue.
His greatest war film is the Russian film Come and See when serious, and Apocalypse Now in its original cut when less serious.
He explains The Thin Red Line's film doesn't make narrative sense because two battle scenes from the book were edited into one.
His favorite Westerns are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch.
For Red Dead, he deliberately avoided bingeing Westerns and tried to write a take that would work today, making Red Dead 2 a different direction from Red Dead 1.

Questions it answers

00:00The Godfather

Why does Dan Houser prefer Godfather II?

He prefers Godfather II for its divided story, the Little Italy and Sicily sections, and the Ellis Island shot of little Vito arriving in America, which he calls one of the best shots in cinema.

Godfather II is his pick over Godfather I.
The Ellis Island shot gives a cinematic sense of arriving in America.

02:11Goodfellas and Casino

What does Houser think of Scorsese's crime films?

He says Goodfellas changed cinema at the tail end of the '80s more than any other film and feels like an open-world slice of life, while he sometimes prefers Casino, which he calls the great Vegas film.

The Sopranos is completely inspired by Goodfellas.
He praises Casino's cold 'why take a chance?' killing scene.

05:35Absurdiverse

What is Absurdiverse?

Absurdiverse is a comedy universe being built in San Rafael, planned as an open-world video game plus animated shows or movies, aiming to feel like a living sitcom with comedy, cynicism, heart, drama, and amusing life lessons.

It includes an English Hunter S. Thompson-type market gardener character.
The game is two, three, or four years away.

07:52True Romance

Why does Houser love True Romance?

He calls it possibly one of the best scripts ever written — fast, funny, unbelievable but with characters you care about, legendary dialogue, and a sweet love story.

It features a large cast: Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt.
He loves films that create fake worlds you want to live in.

09:53War films

What is the greatest war film according to Houser?

If serious, the Russian film Come and See, the most intense film ever made; if less serious, Apocalypse Now in its original first-release cut, which he finds tighter and slicker than the re-edits.

He also discusses The Thin Red Line, whose film edited two battles into one and doesn't make narrative sense.

11:12Westerns and Red Dead

How did Houser approach writing Red Dead?

He deliberately avoided bingeing Westerns before writing, thinking about what he liked and what would work today; Red Dead 1 was more traditional, and Red Dead 2 took a different direction to be a worthy successor.

His favorite Westerns are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch.

Notes

The Godfather

Houser prefers Godfather II for its divided story, the Little Italy and Sicily sections, and the Ellis Island shot of little Vito arriving in America.
He sees it as a "perfect film" where acting, writing, music, and shots are all seminal.
On pacing: audiences became fluent in cinematic storytelling, so films got edited faster, but he enjoys the slowness, especially rewatching on modern televisions.

Scorsese and Vegas

Goodfellas changed cinema at the tail end of the '80s more than any other film; The Sopranos is completely inspired by it.
He sometimes prefers Casino, calling it the great Vegas film and praising the cold "why take a chance?" killing scene.
Competing Vegas films mentioned: Leaving Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, whose book he loved more than the film.

Absurdiverse

A comedy universe being built in San Rafael: an open-world game plus animated TV shows or movies, aiming to feel like a living sitcom.
It needs comedy, cynicism, heart, drama, and amusing life lessons — you can't just have jokes for 40 hours.
Includes an English Hunter S. Thompson-type character who is also a market gardener.
Games take years because you build a world, a city, and 40 hours of entertainment at once — "massive four-dimensional mosaics."

True Romance and War Films

True Romance: possibly one of the best scripts ever written; fast, funny, unbelievable but you care about the characters, with a sweet love story and a large cast including Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, and Brad Pitt.
Greatest war film: Come and See (serious) or Apocalypse Now original cut (less serious).
The Thin Red Line film is beautiful but makes no narrative sense because two battle scenes from the book were edited into one.

Westerns and Red Dead

Favorites: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch.
For Red Dead he deliberately avoided bingeing Westerns, writing a take that would work today; Red Dead 1 was more traditional, Red Dead 2 took a different direction.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.