It seems like it would be quite tricky to fit an entire movie's worth of plot into 24 hours or less, but after looking at the number of films that have been able to achieve this narrative feat, maybe it's not as hard as we thought.

The following list consists of a healthy number of movies that each have their main events take place either in real time or under the 24-hour mark. If we somehow missed any, let us know in the comments — or just tell us your favorites out of the many recommendations we've listed here.

Comedies and feel-good flicks

We don't think it's cheating to list some of the most popular comedies ever made — like "Ferris Bueller," "Groundhog Day" and "Clerks" — because they all do in fact take place over the course of 24 hours. But if you want lesser-known movies that have their plot take place over the course of a few hours, try out the tiny Jim Jarmusch project "Night on Earth," or the movie we will never stop recommending: Martin Scorsese's audacious dark comedy "After Hours."

• "After Hours"
• "The Goonies"
• "Groundhog Day"
• "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
• "Clerks"
• "Dazed and Confused"
• "Before Sunrise"
• "Night on Earth"
• "Living in Oblivion"
• "Shaun of the Dead"
• "The Breakfast Club"
• "Dr. Strangelove"
• "Pineapple Express"
• "This is the End"
• "Friday"
• "Go"

Horror, thrillers and action movies

If a movie is running in real time, you can naturally wring a lot of tension and suspense out of a plot — especially if there's a ticking clock the characters are up against. Some of the greatest action and horror films of all time take place in a single night — namely, "Alien" and "Die Hard" — but there are also a lot of other movies that utilize this narrative technique in intriguing ways, like the hazy and experimental "Skinamarink," or the Hitchcock film "Rope," which was done in one take.

• "Night of the Living Dead"
• "Collateral"
• "Assault on Precinct 13"
• "The Raid: Redemption"
• "Run Lola Run"
• "Die Hard" and "Die Hard 2"
• "The Mist"
• "Running Scared"
• "Alien"
• "Reservoir Dogs"
• "Rope"
• "Nocturama"
• "1917"
• "Skinamarink"
• "Smokin' Aces"

Dramas

The easiest way to do a movie in real time is to do it in one shot, and the most notable example of this is the experimental mystery drama "Russian Ark." Otherwise, the rest of these classic, famous prestige films escalate and ramp up their drama over the course of the plot, as day turns into night. The heat ratcheting up in "Do The Right Thing," the standstill being chipped away at in "12 Angry Men," the hostage negotiation of "Dog Day Afternoon" — and who could forget the two guys talking in "My Dinner with Andre." Okay, that last one doesn't have any real drama to it, but it still counts.

• "My Dinner with Andre"
• "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
• "Cleo From 5 to 7"
• "High Noon"
• "Magnolia"
• "12 Angry Men"
• "American Graffiti"
• "Dog Day Afternoon"
• "Do The Right Thing"
• "Glengarry Glen Ross"
• "Rashomon"
• "Russian Ark"

[Image: YouTube]