Requisite films to watch in the days before Nov. 7

[Heidi]

Maintaining and increasing our movement's momentum, and our individual spirits, in the days before the mid-term elections is of critical importance. One of the ways Call Me Wesley and I've been managing to do that is by touching base with some of the films have helped shape our political consciousness (and consciences) and inspired us.

Since the first of October, we've watched and recommend (among many others):
- Inherit The Wind
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Fahrenheit 9/11
- My Own Private Idaho
- The Great Dictator

Add your recommendations here, DUers. :hi:

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Bob Roberts

Bulworth
The Candidate
1984

[Heidi]

2. Right on.

I've wanted to see "Bulworth" for years, but had forgotten about it until I saw your post. Thank you! :thumbsup:

[bluedogyellowdog]

44. Bob Roberts

is always illuminating to watch. Hits the nail right on the head. Brilliant movie that shows how the Repugs campaign: use heavily loaded symbolism, unleash repeated smears that are untrue but keep being repeated, manipulate the media, play dirty while the Democrat runs an ethical campaign, and all the while pretend they are the outsider or anti-establishment candidate in the race when in fact they are up to their necks in corruption and ties to the creepy intelligence community and theocratic religious right.

It was set in Pennsylvania and if I'm not mistaken, looks like it was inspired by the real life election of none other than Rick "Man On Dog" Santorum.

edit: Santorum's 1990 election to the house. He wasn't elected to the Senate until 94.

[SouthernBelle82]

3. One of my favorites

Mr Smith Goes to Washington. Classic! Don't forget Iraq for Sale and you can go to http://www.question911.com for a lot of really good docs there too and http://www.informationclearinghouse.info

[Heidi]

5. I agree about "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

I didn't have an appreciation for classic film until just a year ago, when my husband started "subjecting" me to Chaplin. ;) Excellent film recommendation, SouthernBelle; I'm gonna watch it again this weekend. :thumbsup:

[GumboYaYa]

35. Follow it up with my movie: Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

Here is the Kansas City Star's review from today:

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/15855381.htm

[dipsydoodle]

4. Many of the UK made documentaries are here

http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/index.htm

[Heidi]

6. Huge documentary fan here.

I'll check out the site in the morning, as it's almost dinner time here. Thanks, edwardlindy.

[villager]

7. Parallax View, Nashville, V for Vendetta, and "Z"

n/t

[Heidi]

8. Two of those are on my husband's list.

We just bought and watched "V for Vendetta" (loved it!), but I've not seen "Z." Excellent recommendations. :thumbsup:

[dipsydoodle]

39. Parallax View is brilliant film.

It was one of the first disturbing films of its type in the seventies which encouraged you to to actually think and wonder. I'd forgotten its name - all I could think of was Warren Beatty having the lead.

[bridgit]

9. The Thin Red Line...

[Heidi]

10. bridgit, you'll be enormously disappointed in me.

I haven't seen that one. But you are my DU film and theatre mentor (I would never have gotten have a Multi-Pass without you!) so I will be watching The Thin Red Line before Nov. 7. :hug:

[bridgit]

11. futility, my darling...it's the same ole utter futility over & again...

http://www.foxmovies.com/thinredline x( :hug: oh and...
:loveya:

[Heidi]

12. Change is a'comin'

gf. :loveya:

(And why does that woman have my hair? :P )

[porphyrian]

13. Here are some more...

Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election
http://imdb.com/title/tt0346091/

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
http://imdb.com/title/tt0104810/

The Corporation
http://imdb.com/title/tt0379225/

WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception
http://imdb.com/title/tt0402577/

Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
http://imdb.com/title/tt0388495/

Unconstitutional
http://imdb.com/title/tt0427989/

[lectrobyte]

14. I'd add these 2: Why We Fight. The Corporation.

[terrya]

16. And I'll add "The Fog of War" to that list.

Everyone needs to see "The Fog of War". One would wish the people in the White House and the Pentagon would see it, but I know I'm wasting my breath waiting for that to happen.

[Heidi]

21. YOU!

:hug:

Not to be indiscreet, but _someone named Heidi_ misses you. :*

[terrya]

23. Hey!

:hug:

terrya misses you. :-)

[longship]

15. "Z" by Costa-Gavras

The best political intrigue movie ever. Fictional retelling of the 1960's Greek coup.

Netflix has it.

"Z" at IMDB

[Heidi]

17. One of Call Me Wesley's favorite films.

He's gettin' nervous that ya'll are going to list all of his favorite political films before he gets a chance to post here. :hi:

[NYCGirl]

18. "A Face in the Crowd" about media manipulation. Prescient...

[Heidi]

19. I just added it to my list.

I've not seen it, so that's a good sign that I should. Thank you! :hi:

[NYCGirl]

24. You'll be glad you did.

Here's a review (hard to find one without spoilers, BTW):

Review by Mark Deming

While it's about as subtle as a stick of dynamite in a keg of nails, A Face in the Crowd was one of the first intelligent attempts to examine the impact of mass media on average citizens. If Budd Schulberg's script plays its hand too heavily by today's standards (it's pretty hard to shock anyone now by telling them television can be used to manipulate the mass audience), it still works, thanks largely to fine work by a superb cast. In his film debut, Andy Griffith gave the greatest performance of his career as "Lonesome" Rhodes, a small-time con artist who discovers that his "aw shucks" homespun act can make him wealthy and powerful as a radio and television star. The near-cancerous growth of Rhodes' ego and unholy lust for power is a fascinating thing to witness, and anyone who knows Griffith only as Andy Taylor from Mayberry will be shocked by the gale-force megalomania of this role; he never again approached the mesmerizing ugliness of this character. Patricia Neal is equally impressive as the bright and ambitious Marcia, swinging from confidence to wounded vulnerability with heart-wrenching effectiveness. And while Walter Matthau has the thankless task of delivering the film's moral in his final speech, you can't say that he didn't know how to make the most of it, as he sums up Lonesome's crimes with lip-smacking cynicism. Add the crisp and adventurous black-and-white camerawork of Harry Stradling and Gayne Rescher, and Elia Kazan's brisk and methodically paced direction, and you get a "message movie" that still feels fresh, even if the message has dated.

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:16535~T1

[Heidi]

25. Thank you so much!

I think I'm going to love this one. :thumbsup:

[Phillycat]

20. V For Vendetta. nt

[Heidi]

22. Loved it.

We have it in English/Italian/German, and I'm trying to figure out a way to pre-explain it to our goddaughters (12 and 14) because I think it's such an important film. Explained the right way in advance, do you think it'd be boring for kids that age? :hi: janesez!

[Phillycat]

26. Hey!

:hi: Heidi!

I think you should let them watch it FIRST and then explain, if need be, afterwards. They are old enough to potentially understand the metaphors and plot twists themselves, and you don't want to ruin that feeling of "oh, I get it!" for them. Just MHO. :D

[cascadiance]

42. Death of a President, Valley of the Wolves Iraq, Kill the Messenger

If you have a regionless DVD player and can play region 2 DVD's, try and get these two films if you want to be disturbed about how others view us now, and remind others of how it will only get worse if they don't make the right decision come the 7th.

Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak (Valley of the Wolves Iraq) is the controversial Turkish film that both Billy Zane and Gary Busey in it, puts Americans in the role of the bad guys that we are used to seeing the Indians, the Nazis, Soviets, or others play in high production value films. If we don't fix things soon, expect a lot more films like this to follow down the road. You can get this one region 2 on Ebay and a few other foreign sites.

Death of a President: You can now order a region 2 copy on DVD from amazon.co.uk relatively cheaply at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-of-A-President/dp/B000J3FDDM/sr=8-1/qid=1162008594/ref=pd_ka_1/026-8686250-2506063?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

If you get it express shipped (it gets released on DVD on October 30th), you should be able to get it before election day! I'm told that this isn't a "beat up Bush" film, but a real attempt to conjecture how world events would happen if this sort of assassination were to happen now. I think that is all something we need to think about as we approach election day.

And if I could find a way to get ahold of it, I'd also like to get my hands on "Kill the Messenger" too.

http://justacitizen.com/KillTheMessenger.html

Unfortunately it's not going to be released here until next year sometime.

I would second "V for Vendetta", "Iraq for Sale", and add "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" too. An old classic to add to watch at this time would be "Seven Days in May", which is probably a reverse of what we want to happen (some have actually said that a military coup might be what we need, rather than something to fight to put down as posited in this film).

[Cyrano]

27. Any film made by Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's propagandist film maker.

Her films were always about Aryan superiority and the glory the "master race."

Also, any good production of "1984."

[Heidi]

29. I saw my first Leni Reifenstahl film after I moved to Europe

and around the same time I was reading, "War Against the Weak: America's Campaign to Create A Master Race," by Edwin Black. If you haven't read this book, Cyrano, it's a _must_. www.waragainsttheweak.com

[Cyrano]

30. Thanks, heidi. I'll look for it.

[unhappycamper]

46. I'll second that book recommendation.

I was amazed to learn eugenics was 'perfected' in the good old US of A.

[Heidi]

51. One of the saddest books I've ever read.

I had to read it over a long period of time, with lots of time in nature to decompress.

[NYCGirl]

28. A film about politics that I ADORE: "The Best Man" (by Gore Vidal)

It takes place during a (Democratic, although not explicitly stated) convention, and the ending was a complete surprise.




Plot Synopsis by Paul Brenner

Gore Vidal adapted his biting and bitter political satire from his hit Broadway play. Franklin J. Schaffner directed and Haskell Wexler provided the sharp-edged cinematography. The story concerns the political back-biting and smear politics involved in a presidential election year scramble by potential presidential party nominees. Lee Tracy (in an Oscar-nominated performance and his final screen role) is Art Hockstader, a dying president who refuses to throw his support behind any of his party's presidential hopefuls. Hoping to get the nod as the party's presidential candidate is liberal do-gooder William Russell (Henry Fonda). His wife Alice (Margaret Leighton) wants to get a divorce from Russell but is delaying the divorce proceedings until after the party convention. Opposing Russell for the nomination is Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson), a slick and unscrupulous political monster who will use any bit of dirt to get ahead in the party. When he discovers that Russell once suffered from mental problems, he threatens to use it against him. Russell then finds out that Cantwell once had a homosexual relationship. Russell, who abhors smear politics, now has to decide whether to use the information against Cantwell or bury the secret and risk losing the nomination.


Review by Richard Gilliam

The Best Man was writer Gore Vidal's liberal counterpoint to Allen Drury's conservative Advise and Consent. Both stories hinge on the potential for blackmail in the political arena, specifically in regard to homosexual relationships. Vidal's dialogue is sharp and insightful, and the film features superb performances from Henry Fonda, Lee Tracy, and Cliff Robertson. Director Franklin J. Schaffner carefully underplays key moments to build toward the film's dramatic payoff. Much of the film's brooding atmosphere is courtesy of Haskell Wexler's expressive black & white cinematography. Both Best Man and Advise represented a small but important step away from the film industry's self-censorship, resulting in the abandonment of the Hays Code and the establishment of the MPAA ratings system. Though Hollywood was still years away from presenting realistic portrayals of gay men, any overt reference at all to homosexuality was unusual in a film of the early 1960s.

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:4936~T1

[Heidi]

31. Gore Vidal fan here.

Not because I agree with everything he says, but because I believe his is one of the great intellects of the past 50 years. I will definitely find and watch this film. :thumbsup:

[terrya]

32. I almost mentioned "The Best Man"

It is my favorite film about politics. Just superb. Vidal has said that William Russell (Fonda) was modelled after Adlai Stevenson, Joe Cantwell (Robertson) was modelled after Richard Nixon and former President Hochstetter (Lee Tracy) was supposed to be Harry Truman.

I'm going to see a local stage production of "The Best Man" next weekend. Looking forward to it. :-)

[NYCGirl]

33. Being a classic film buff, I'm a fan of Lee Tracy, and he's incredible in this

role.

I agree with you — it's a great film.

[Bridget Burke]

59. I saw "The Best Man" only a few years ago....

It was one of those "why didn't anybody tell me this is an excellent movie?" moments.

[NoPasaran]

34. "Last Man Standing"

[Heidi]

36. Duly noted.

And I promise to watch it before Nov. 7. :thumbsup:

[saltpoint]

37. Heidi, that is a great list.

THE BORDER with Harvey Keitel and Jack Nicholson might be good, considering that hot-button issue, and maybe ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, generally excellent with the added benefit of Hal Holbrook scaring the crap out of you as Deep Throat.

[Heidi]

38. And it's great to see you,

my friend. I've seen (and loved) "All The President's Men," and I'm adding "The Border to my List."

*Insert discreet hug for Old Crusoe here*

[saltpoint]

40. A good weekend to ya & a big blue night on Nov. 7th, too.

:toast:

[Call Me Wesley]

41. Here's my list:

For the black&white movies:

- Dr. Strangelove
- Fail Safe
- The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
- Judgement At Nuremberg

More modern ones:

- The 3 Days Of The Condor
- Nixon
- Network
- I as in Icarus (a must see! I hope it's available in the US. Stars Yeves Montand like in "Z" - allegory of JFK long before "JFK")
- JFK

Sci-Fi/Utopian style:

- Brazil
- Sleeper
- Silent Running
- Colossus, The Forbin Project
- Andromeda Strain
- Capricorn One
- Fahrenheit 451

[Heidi]

43. YES!

:thumbsup:

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

45. "Paths of Glory" - Kubrick

Also...

"La Haine" by Mathieu Kassovitz

"The Battle of Algiers" by Gillo Pontecorvo (recently deceased)

[Heidi]

49. I love Kubrik

and I saw the Kubrik Collecttion the other day in the video store. I think I'm gonna buy it for Call Me Wesley for Christmas. (Shhhhhhhh. ;) )

[unhappycamper]

47. Adding "Beyond Treason" to the list.

http://www.beyondtreason.com/

[Heidi]

50. There's a movie that was in limited theatre release earlier this year

that I wanted to see; I think it was about Vietnam, and the producers were giving free copies to every US service person who had served in Iraq, but I can't for the life of me think of the name of it. (If I could remember the name, I'd order the DVD.) Do you have any idea? :hi:

[unhappycamper]

53. You're thinking of "Sir, No Sir"

IVAW was giving that DVD away to post-911 vets. I suspect they hit the 500 DVD limit a while ago.

<snip>

In the 1960s, thousands of American GIs rebelled against the Vietnam War, changing the course of history and society. No film has ever told their story... until now.

Are you or do you know someone serving who has served in the military since September 11, 2001? Are you or do you know someone serving in or in support of Iraq or Afghanistan ?

For a limited time only IVAW and Displaced Films is proud to offer 500 free copies of Sir! No Sir! to members of the military who have served since 9/11/01. This award winning documentary uncovers the untold story of the antiwar movement within the military during the Vietnam era. To learn more about the film and watch the trailer, go to www.sirnosir.com.

<snip>

Here's a link to the Sir, No Sir web site.


Lastly, here's another Viet Nam title worthy of your time: Winter Soldier

[Heidi]

54. That's the one.

Have you seen it? It looked great to me. :hi:

[blogslut]

48. Here's three

His Gal Friday: An adaption of the classic stageplay, "The Front Page" - starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Funny and fast-paced. Yet never has there been a truer depiction of the press and politics. They're all corrupt. All out for themselves. All hilariously portrayed by some of the finest character actors in history.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?: George Clooney and the Coen brothers do Homer's Odyssey - folk style. Set in the depression, this epic journey is full of great music, flim-flam funnery and the scene where the bad guy is ridden out of town on a rail is particularly satisfying in these troubled times.

Aliens: Empowering for boys and girls alike. What else is there to say but "You know Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamned percentage" and "Get away from her, you bitch!"

[Marnieworld]

52. All The President's Men

:patriot:

[dipsydoodle]

55. For further documentaries etc

use the main Channel 4 video index. All will have broadcast on Channel 4 news in the UK.
This is their main archive : http://www.channel4.com/news/video/video_archive/index.html

see here for example ref. Haditha : http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=2502

Can't say enjoy , it's the wrong word , but I think you know what I mean.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

56. #1

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198&hl=en

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

57. Advise and Consent

1962 Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton
Otto Preminger director.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

58. Born Yesterday

william Holden, Judy Holiday, Broderick Crawford

[Lilith Velkor]

60. Punishment Park

1970, directed by Peter Watkins

[LeftishBrit]

61. Agree on "The Best Man"

I also really liked "The Farmer's Daughter"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039370/

Also agree on "Inherit the Wind". Still sadly relevant, with the current anti-evolution crap.