Most movies about politics suck.
I liked ‘Dick’, a silly movie from 1999.
But my real favorites are the original “Manchurian Candidate” with Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, “Dr. Strangelove” with Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and “Primary Colors”, with John Travolta.
There are some other good ones. “All the President’s Men” is a classic.
Some other movies involve local or state politics like “Chinatown” or “The Godfather II”.
Anyway, what’s your taste?
Besides “All The President’s Men” and “Primary Colors” — two immensely entertaining and informative movies — there’s “Wag the Dog,” which always cracks me up.
And “The Quiet American,” which I thought was an extraordinary film and which should have been nominated for Best Picture. ‘The Pianist,” the film that was nominated that year, but lost to “Chicago” (?), is also a brilliant, heart-breaking film.
Others:
that’s enough for now
One more, that I recently saw on Sundance:
Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa)
It won the Oscar for best foreign film in 2003 — about Jews who flee Nazi Germany to South Africa, and the family left behind in Germany / also about their incarceration in a British internment camp because they’re German (!), and more. Lovely film.
It really got me into reading as much as I could about the assassination. About 85% of the movie is true–and even the Donald Sutherland character. I think the only part that Oliver Stone made up was the scene of LBJ conspiring with the generals.
But my all time favorite may be an oldie–Advise and consent with Henry Fonda, from the 1960s I think, and maybe even in black and white…
The Quiet American was terrific and really passed over at awards time…at least ‘The Pianist’ got well deserved awards.
Matewan.
And, some time after that, John Sayles started making overly political but genuinely wretched movies like Sunshine State and, most recently, Silver City.
But Matewan is magnificent.
It’s funny how I hate television and almost never look at movies and here I am commenting on two straight threads as such 🙂
Best political movies I’ve ever seen anyway:
All three begin with “B” oddly enough.
Pax
I watched Brazil stone cold sober in a theatre with about 4 or 5 friends.
We all walked around for an hour afterwards feeling stoned out of our gourds.
It was the only movie to ever do that to me.
Blockbuster doesn’t carry it. I always look whenever I go there. I also never see it listed on TV.
I think its because it became reality, and we can just watch Cable News now.
Funny you should say that about Brazil, Boo, because it is one of the few movies I have ever watched in a cinema while stoned off my head. I haven’t watched it again but have carried the chilling images with me ever since.
Other great political movies:
Costa Gavras’ ‘State of Siege’ (1973) and ‘Missing’ (1982) are both powerful exposes of the US role in Latin America.
‘Wag the Dog’ is hilarious and also unfortunately close to the bone when compared to recent events.
‘Dr Strangelove’ is great, as is ‘Primary Colors’.
What about ‘Being There’ and the way that Peter Sellers’ character Chauncy Gardener makes innocent comments which are interpreted as profound economic and political insights? he is then manipulated by those around him. I’ve often thought that Ronald Reagan was really a Chauncy Gardener. George W doesn’t even speak coherently, so it’s hard to make a comparison with him…
Chauncey as being modeled after Prince Myshkin from Dostoyovsky’s ‘The Idiot’.
That is my favorite novel, BTW.
And the movie (Being There) is fantanstic.
I regret that, due to distinct lack of ‘proper’ education, and aversion to ‘classics’ of literature, I haven’t read any Dostoyevsky.
But your reference has piqued my interest and I will watch out for a copy of ‘The Idiot’.
This will save you the trouble.
But I still HIGHLY recommend the book.
Much more profound than Crime and Punishment, and shorter than The Brothers Karamazov.
Thank you!
Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” – if you enjoy dark political satire at its best.
Did you ever figure out yadoo – weird website.
You have three outstanding motion pictures there.
Special kudos for Burnt by the Sun, one of my favorite flicks in any genre. Michalkov’s other works are also stunning – he’s the Chekov of film. Have you seen Black Eyes, for instance?
Tsk, tsk!
So that means you only have a taste for B movies?
Come on now, you don’t really expect us to name only one movie do ya, well do ya?..
Anyway here’s a list of some fun political movies I liked:
Dick, Dave, Wag the Dog, Head of State, election and Meet John Doe. Gene Hackman was fun as ex-president in Welcome to Mooseport….and really bad as President in Absolute Power. Dr. Strangelove is kinda in a class by itself.
More serious are: The Contender(great movie), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the original Manchurian Candidate, Red Corner, The Devil’s Own, Primary Colors, Thirteen Days and Baadasssss.
That’s a few anyway that come to mind.
There’s lots of movies like Malcolm X that I would consider to be political also.
Interesting that most of mine came out anti-war/military. It could be generational. Also they tend to be pretty dark movies.
Off the top of my head tonight-
“Manchurian Candidate” – the original was really first rate…
“Dr Strangelove” would be right at the top
All Vietnam or SoEast Asia…
“Deer Hunter”
“Apocalypse Now”
“The Killing Fields”
I guess I should get out more often…although I like the current round of Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy for corrupt CIA stuff.
The two Bourne Identity movies were very good…and nice to know the first one one was one of the biggest movies of the year and the top rental for that year.
I’d forgotten about The Deer Hunter. Also remember a very little known movie Bruce Willis did called In Country that was good. Which reminds of a great River Phoenix movie called Dogfight.
Deer Hunter. Yes. Remarkable movie.
And I just watched the Bourne Supremacy and enjoyed it. But I hated myself in the morning. I felt so used.
And “Three Days of the Condor”. Max von Sydow’s character was the perfect amoral assassin.
I always find this funny as it was based on the book-‘Six’ Days of the Condor…why did they change it to Three?
That is one great movie. It’s in my top three most memorable movies.
Other great political movies are:
But the best movie about people and country is undoubtably a French film called The Grand Illusion.
It’s an old movie, pre Citizen Kane, about a POW camp in WWI. You can watch it over and over and learn something different about humans and country everytime. I’ve seen it 50 times probably.
I agree is just great!
There are so many great ones that come readily to my mind. Some may disagree about all of these being political, but I think they are:
Johnny Got His Gun
Citizen Kane
Apacolypsy Now
A Clockwork Orange
Full Metal Jacket
The Front
Greetings
Silent Running
Coming Home
JFK
If
Dr. Strangelove
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Fahrenheit 911
Being There
Network
I am sure I am forgetting several.
I had forgotten about “Coming Home” until I saw your list.
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” probably is one of the best of all time. Just added that to my ‘need to by the DVD list’.
Louis Malle’s “Damage” with Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche. Politics should always take a backseat to sex. Films lacking sex but still well worth owning–Eroll Morris’ “The Fog of War” would be my pick in the documentary category. Most of the others that come to mind have already been mentioned.
is by far my favorite. “Battle of Algiers” is right up there, and so is “JFK”.
For more abstract certainly “Dr. Strangelove” and for non stop laughter I liked “The Mouse that Roared”
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” and if we count miniseries then “I Claudius”.
“politics” moves are rarely inspiring . . . it’s better when the politics is subtext rather than overt. Someone already mentioned “In Country”. And with the military now actively developing killer robots it’s hard not to mention “Terminator” as one of the best anti-war movies ever made. Do we really want to go there ? ? ?
But my favorite would have to be “Chushingura” . . . the entire mindset is both so “foreign”, and so universal and compelling . . . and it’s one of the most visually stunning films ever made. Virtually any frame could be printed and exhibited as fine art photography.
Can’t not mention “Casablanca”, either . . .
Forgot to mention “King of Hearts” . . .
But Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, which I saw on TV in the late 60’s, made a big impression.
And I second Z.
Great choices:
Z & Paths of Glory
about the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Robert F. Kennedy noted later, his brother was the only man in the room who did not want to start a war. All the joint chiefs were for it but JFK stood firm.
The movie is well done, a Canadian actor plays JFK.
based on Huey Long.
Also forgot
“7 Days in May” as a political/conspiracy movie.
Manchurian Candidate- because it seems real-CONTROL- lies and coverup…VeriChips are real also…
Bush could be chipped….
JFK, Wag The Dog, All The Presidents Men, F 9/11.
Yeah, definitely the original “Manchurian Candidate”; and “A Face in the Crowd”; “Seven Days in May”; “Fail Safe”; and of course “Dr. Strangelove”.
Have any of you ever seen the 1971 Italian film “Sacco and Vanzetti”? With songs by Joan Baez!
No but that sounds familiar for some reason/about what?
Someone’s summary from IMDb:
More info on film
Wikipedia info
crimelibrary.com page: “The Legacy of Sacco & Vanzetti”; their Chapter 9 says: “The most comprehensive movie is “Sacco and Vanzetti,” directed by Giuliano Montaldo and released in 1971. It is available on video.”
Very good ammo against the death penalty.
Thanks for the info and link. That does sound more familiar but now I’ll have to go check it out.
“Here’s to you!”
Excellent. Would it qualify as a documentary?
“Here’s to you, Niccolo and Bart” by Joan Baez,
it’s not a movie.
“Here’s to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph”
but more of a political docudrama, I guess you could call it.
In the 1970s over here in Italy there was a flurry of politically-themed (mostly left-leaning) movies, both fictional and, as in this case, based on true stories. It was a very rich film season in that genre. They dealt with political and police corruption, the Mafia, labor union strife, working class and student revolts and social unrest in general, political extremists, homegrown terrorists and delinquents, etc. Some of the stories were historical and some were contemporary.
Another good one was 1971’s “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion”, with the late great Gian Maria Volonté (who also played Vanzetti), which also won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, if I remember correctly.
Both these films (and many – maybe even most – of the others) had great music by Ennio Morricone.
Other Italian political-themed movies that come to my mind are:
There have just been so, so, so many excellent political films out of Italy!
The American public misses a lot because of lack of distribution of foreign films.
At Montreal’s Festival des Films du Monde, for example, there is a wide selection of foreign films. All the foreign producers and directors complain of the same thing, lack of distribution in America because it is locked up.
Their best hope is to get a little publicity for later video release.
ciao
I just remembered a movie I loved with Barishnikof and Gregory Hines called ‘White Nights’…good political intrigue/defection and one great dance sequence.