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Political Flicks

Margin Walker

23:58 / 28.11.01

Inspired by the "Politicians Yoou Trust" thread in the Head Shop, what kinds of movies opened your eyes to how fucked up politics can be?

A personal fave of mine for years has been The Candidate with Robert Redford. Personally, I think it's one of his better films.

And I'd wish Tim Robbins would stop wasting his time with crap like "Mission To Mars" & "Arlington Road" to do more iconoclastic stuff like Bob Roberts & The Cradle Will Rock. Or something as beautifully goonball as Tapeheads, which featured a masochist Presidential candidate (not to mention Fishbone as a Country band & Jello Biafra cast as a FBI agent).

And recently, I really liked David Mamet's co-written Wag The Dog.

And what about political flicks that don't cut the mustard? "Bulworth" Yeah, you probably think this thread is about ya, Warren? Feh, whatever....

Anybody got any other flicks worth mentioning or dissing?

Ronald Thomas Clontle

00:18 / 29.11.01

I'm a big fan of The Candidate... I had a great class a while back at the New School during the Bush/Gore campaign, it was a class about advertising and packaging of politic candidates. The professor showed some clips of that film to great effect. It's a great film, probably the film I've seen Redford in, and he's been in a lot of good flicks over the years...

Hush

02:43 / 29.11.01

One of the very first film's I remember seeing was The Manchurian Candidate.

This is an excellent, scary, funny political thriller sent in the the USA during and after Korea, and features Mind control, multiple identities, and that git who used to invent 'numbers of communists in the senate'. And Frank Sinatra.

I would say it was a very formative film for me (I was eight and when I first saw, thirty the second time, and remembered loads of it)and sure to appeal to most people who use this board.

It's in black and white, though, so deeply under used on TV.

It should appeal

mondo a-go-go

07:59 / 29.11.01

all the president's men is quite an enjoyable romp. but it's been a long time since i saw that, so i could well have changed my mind on it.

Sax

08:06 / 29.11.01

In a similar vein to All the President's Men is the British take on Government conspiracy theory stuff, Defence of the Realm, which I really enjoyed.

Ethan Hawke

11:16 / 29.11.01

I actually enjoyed the much-maligned Primary Colors because I think it was pitch-perfect about contemporary "Democrats" in the USA. The only thing JOhN Travolta has been in that hasn't made me retch.

grant

16:54 / 29.11.01

Being There.

Peter Sellers as a lucky idiot, bound for the presidency.

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