The 30 Best U.S. Political Films of All Time
Below you will find the 30 best U.S. political Films of All Time.
电影：
1962 & 2004: “The Manchurian Candidate透明
For many years, this was my All-Time Favorite Flick. Laurence Harvey as the hit man who was brainwashed and is now the pawn of the evil Angela Lansbury (his mother) is magnificent, and Frank Sinatra is racing against the clock to prevent catastrophe in this plot that involves putting a Russian pawn in the White House. (who thought, then, that it could really happen?) After the assassination of JFK, the film was withdrawn from release for many years, but re-emerged and the John Frankenheimer (“Black Sunday,” “Seven Days in May”) version was re-shot with Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber in the title roles and the conflict updated to the Korean War. Direction in 2004 was by Jonathan Demme (“The Silence of the Lambs”). Both are good films, but I vote for the original 1962 version.
1964: “Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”
Stanley Kubrick’s film with Peter Sellers in multiple roles is so good that I once cornered my entire family and made them watch it on Christmas Day. After all, what is more entertaining than the sight of Sellers’ facing off against Sterling Hayden and George C. Scott. I’ll never forget the scene where Sterling Hayden is ordered to machine gun a Coca Cola vending machine and Hayden defiantly says, “Well, all right, but you’ll have to answer to the Coca Cola Company,” or words to that effect. The plot (IMDB): An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop. Oh! THAT could never happen in real life, now, could it? Slim Pickens riding the bomb. This film cries out for viewing in today’s political climate.
1964: “Fail-Safe”
Henry Fonda steps up to the political plate once again, in a film directed by Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Network”) that features a rogue attack on the U.S.S.R. (Remember the Cold War when Russia was our adversary and not our good friend?). The launch a mistake caused by an electrical malfunction and the question is: “Can we avoid an all-out nuclear war?”
1964: “Seven Days in May”
John Frankenheimer directed the original film that starred Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner and Martin Balsam about a plot against the President of the United States by military leaders because the president supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and the military fears a Russian sneak nuclear attack. Nominated for 2 Oscars.
1972: “候选人透明
我仍然有一个政治按钮，上面写着“比尔·麦凯：更好的方式。”剧院给了他们宣传这部罗伯特·雷德福（Robert Redford）主演的电影，讲述了一位候选人在加利福尼亚州及其处理者竞选参议院。真正的参议员艾伦·克兰斯顿，休伯特·汉弗莱和乔治·麦戈文有客串。美国广播公司新闻的霍华德·史密斯（Howard K. Smith）扮演了自己。我总是觉得这种对办公室跑步的待遇可能比大多数人更准确。
1974: “The Parallax View透明
沃伦·比蒂（Warren Beatty）扮演的一位雄心勃勃的记者在调查参议员的暗杀时陷入困境。每个对参议员死亡一无所知的人似乎都快要死了。他发现了一个巨大的阴谋，涉及世界头条新闻中每个活动背后的跨国公司。由Alan J. Pakula（“鹈鹕简介”）和Paula Prentiss共同主演。
1975: “Three Days of the Condor透明
A bookish CIA researcher (Robert Redford) finds all his co-workers dead. (You never know what you’ll find your co-workers up to when you return from a coffee run). He must outwit those responsible and figure out whom he can trust. Directed by Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford’s kidnapping of Faye Dunaway (he needs a place to hide out while he figures things out) leads to some moody cinematography of her photography and, ultimately, to the salvation that releasing facts to the media (i.e., the “New York Times”) used to mean. Ah, for those good old simpler days.
1976: “All the President’s Men”
Starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as Woodward and Bernstein of the Washington Post, the two uncover the details of the Watergate scandal (primarily from informant “Deep Throat” played by Hal Holbrook) that leads to President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office. Again directed by Alan J. Pakula, based on Bernstein and Woodward’s books. I showed this to a class at Eastern Iowa Community College to illustrate “whistle-blower” films, and the credits are of an old manual typewriter banging out the information, so its credit opening seems very dated.
1979: “Being There”
The great Peter Sellers plays Chance, the gardener, and Shirley MacLaine co-stars. I’ll never forget Chance saying, “I just like to watch.” Jerzy Kosinski wrote the novel on which the plot is based and also wrote the screenplay for the film, which was directed by Hal Ashby (“Harold & Maude,” “The Last Detail”). A poor simple gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful businessman and an insider in Washington politics (These days, that phrase is redundant). Is Chance really dumb, or is he crazy like a fox? Melvyn Douglas won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, but the film also had another 13 wins and 15 nominations for a variety of film critics’ awards that year.
1981: “First Monday in October”
This film starring Jill Clayburgh and Walter Matthau was about the appointment of the first woman to the Supreme Court. Jerome Lawrence wrote the play and the screenplay and Ronald Neame directed. Clayburgh is the Conservative (think Scalia) and Matthau is the liberal (think Ruth Bader-Ginsberg). It eventually leads to a romance not unlike that of the Ragin’ Cajun of the Democratic party, James Carville, and his Republican wife Mary Matlin—[before she bolted from the GOP, anyway].
1993: “The Pelican Brief”
丹泽尔·华盛顿（Denzel Washington）和朱莉娅·罗伯茨（Julia Roberts）正处于谋杀美国最高法院大法官以及原因的过程中。基于约翰·格里森（John Grisham）畅销小说。艾伦·帕库拉（Alan J.
1995: “The American President”
Aaron Sorkin wrote it, Rob Reiner directed it, and Michael Douglas and Annette Benning play the widowed President, who falls in love with a lobbyist. I actually knew the guy who made sure the dye in the carpet was the same as the real Oval Office. (He also dyed the Trump baby’s layette for a photo shoot for “Vanity Fair”, but that “baby” our current president’s second daughter, with Marla Maples, is now the young Tiffany Trump.)
1997年：“阴谋论” - 梅尔·吉布森（Mel Gibson）和朱莉娅·罗伯茨（Julia Roberts）。一个痴迷于阴谋理论的人在他的一种理论被证明是真实的。不幸的是，为了拯救自己，梅尔必须弄清楚它是哪种理论。由理查德·唐纳（Richard Donner）执导（“致命武器”）。
1997 – “Wag the Dog”
Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor (Robert DeNiro) and a Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman) join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a presidential sex scandal. Directed by Barry Levinson (“Diner”) and co-starring Anne Heche. My favorite scene involved a young girl clutching a bag of potato chips to simulate a baby, which would be “green screened” into a touching war scenario that would distract from the REAL scandal. The movie is a hoot and a half and rings even truer today!
1998年：“原色”
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for president of the USA, played by John Travolta and loosely modeled on Bill Clinton’s charisma. Directed by the late great Mike Nichols, who joins Alan J. Pakula in heaven as one of the best directors of a political movie since 1970. Based on the Joe Klein novel that hit New York Times best-seller lists as written by “anonymous.”
1991年：“肯尼迪”
Oliver Stone directed from a script that he and Zachary Sklar co-wrote. The bio-pic explores the assassination theories that New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison believed to be true. Too many courtroom scenes, but a decent bio-pic about the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, starring Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald, Brian Doyle Murray as Jack Ruby, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Costner (as Garrison), Tommy Lee Jones, John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Ed Asner, Vincent D’Onofrio, Wayne Knight and Michael Rooker among a very large cast.
1992年：“马尔科姆X”
Spike Lee directed from the book “Malcolm X” by Alex Haley (“Roots”). Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett and Delroy Lindo starred in this bio-pic about the Black Muslim leader who was assassinated in New York at the age of 39 on Feb. 21, 1965.
1995: “Nixon”
Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen and Powers Boothe headed up the cast of this Oliver Stone bio-pic. I have to admit that I thought Hopkins was the wrong physical type to play Nixon, but he did his usual great job. Film was nominated for 4 Oscars. It got nominations for its screenplay, its original music, and both Allen and Hopkins were nominated, but did not win.
1999: “Election”
一位非常年轻的Reese Witherspoon在Matthew Broderick老师的教室里小姐是Goody Miss。布罗德里克（Broderick）的生活是一个强迫性的实验室，当竞选活动和竞选班级总统竞选归功于对手克里斯·克莱因（Chris Klein）（“美国派”）时，这部电影变得非常复杂（这部电影变得非常有趣）。我喜欢这部电影，大声笑了。
2000: “The Contender”
琼·艾伦（Joan Allen）再次罢工，这次是副总统竞争者莱恩·汉森（Laine Hanson）。信息和虚假信息威胁到她的确认。真是个演员！除艾伦外，联合主演还包括加里·奥尔德曼，克里斯蒂安·斯莱特，杰夫·布里奇斯，萨姆·埃利奥特和威廉·彼得森。（（I met Joan Allen at the Chicago International Film Festival a few years back, when she was being honored as a local girl made good. She is a Rochelle, Illinois native who attended both Eastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University, my husband’s alma mater).
2005: “Good Night & Good Luck”
George Clooney wrote, directed and was one of the stars of this film about Edward R. Murrow’s attempts to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy. Clooney admitted it was a passion project for him. David Straithorne played Murrow, with Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella, Matt Ross and Robert Downey, Jr., also in the cast. Nominated for 6 Academy Awards.
2007年：“查理·威尔逊的战争”
汤姆·汉克斯（Tom Hanks）描绘了德克萨斯州国会议员查理·威尔逊（Charlie Wilson），后者试图秘密地为阿富汗叛军提供武器，以击败阿富汗的苏联人。这部电影的标语是：“基于真实的故事。您认为我们可以将所有这些做出吗？”联合主演是朱莉娅·罗伯茨（Julia Roberts），菲利普·西摩·霍夫曼（Philip Seymour Hoffman）（再次）和艾米·亚当斯（Amy Adams），由迈克·尼科尔斯（Mike Nichols）执导的亚伦·索金（Aaron Sorkin）撰写的剧本。
2008: “Frost/Nixon透明
Ron Howard directed Frank Langella (Nixon) and Martin Sheen (Frost) in this film adaptation of the Broadway play that detailed the information that Nixon finally admitted during David Frost’s interviews of him on national television. It was essentially a two-man play, but the movie also featured such name actors as Kevin Bacon, Toby Jones, Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and the director’s brother, Clint Howard.
2008: “牛奶透明
Sean Penn beat out Mickey Rourke this year (in “The Wrestler”) to take home the Oscar for Best Actor in this drama about California’s first openly gay elected official.埃米尔·赫希（Emile Hirsch）和乔什·布洛林（Josh Brolin）（作为射手）在这个古斯·范·桑特（Gus Van Sant）项目中。
2008: “W”
乔什·布洛林（Josh Brolin）在奥利弗·斯通（Oliver Stone）的《生物派》（Bio-Pic）中描绘了乔治·W·布什（George W.托比·琼斯（Toby Jones）描绘了卡尔·罗夫（Karl Rove），杰弗里·赖特（Jeffrey Wright）扮演科林·鲍威尔（Colin Powell），艾伦·伯斯汀（Ellen Bustyn）是芭芭拉·布什（Barbara Bush），科林·汉克斯（Colin Hanks）扮演了演讲撰稿人。
2011: “The Ides of March”
瑞安·高斯林（Ryan Gosling）描绘了一位理想主义的员工，为候选人而言，他学到的比他想了解肮脏的政治更多。这部电影的戏剧是由前霍华德·迪恩（Howard Dean）工作人员博·威利蒙（Beau Willimon）撰写的，他现在帮助赫尔姆·凯文·史派西（Helm Kevin Spacey）的“纸牌屋”电视连续剧。执导和共同创作的乔治·克鲁尼（George Clooney）也扮演州长迈克·莫里斯（Mike Morris）。演员中的其他人包括保罗·吉亚马蒂（Paul Giamatti），菲利普·西摩·霍夫曼（Philip Seymour Hoffman），埃文·雷切尔·伍德（Evan Rachel Wood）（“现在在电视上的西部世界），玛丽莎·托梅（Marisa Tomei）和杰弗里·赖特（Jeffrey Wright）。
2012: “Game Change”
杰伊·罗奇（Jay Roach）从同名书中执导，这是一部有关莎拉·佩林（Sarah Palin）在约翰·麦凯恩（John McCain）’08总统竞标中的副总统副总统副总统席位的电影。这部电影由朱利安·摩尔（Julianne Moore）（佩林），伍迪·哈雷尔森（Woody Harrelson）和埃德·哈里斯（Ed Harris）出演约翰·麦凯恩（John McCain）。（这是“过去的日子”，当时我们认为莎拉·佩林（Sarah Palin）是最糟糕的候选人，人们可能会签下总统票。）
2012: “Argo透明
Ben Affleck both directed and starred (along with Bryan Cranston and John Goodman) in this film based on Tony Mendez’ book “The Master of Disguise.” The book detailed how a team posing as filmmakers scouting a location for a sci-fi movie rescued 6 of the Iranian hostages in 1980. Won 3 Oscars, including Best Picture of the Year.
2012: “林肯透明
Based on the Doris Kearns Goodwin book, Steven Spielberg cast Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and he won the Oscar this year as Best Actor for the bio-pic about Lincoln’s trials and tribulations as the Civil War raged. The film was also nominated as Best Picture. Co-stars were Sally Field (as Mary Todd Lincoln), David Straitharn (again), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle-Haley, Hal Holbrook and John Hawkes.
2012: “Zero Dark Thirty透明
凯瑟琳·比格洛（Kathryn Bigelow）介绍了海军S.E.A.L.在巴基斯坦杀死乌萨马·本·拉登的故事。2011年5月的第六支队伍。这部电影由杰西卡·查斯顿（Jessica Chastain），克里斯·普拉特（Chris Pratt），乔尔·埃格顿（Joel Edgerton）和凯尔·钱德勒（Kyle Chandler）主演。它赢得了奥斯卡奖。
2014: “Selma透明
艾娃DuVernay直接从脚本由保罗•韦伯。The film documents the Martin Luther King civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. David Oyelowe played Martin Luther King, and would later make his mark again in “Twelve Years A Slave.” Carmen Ejogo portrayed Coretta Scott King. Won one Oscar.
What did you think of our list of the 30 best U.S. political Films? Were there any we missed? Let us know in the comments!
