JFK (1991)In this movie directed by Oliver Stone, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) digs into the truth and speculation about the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. His investigations of the FBI and other political officials lead him to discover an unimaginable conspiracy. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)A United States Army patrol is attacked by Communist soldiers in 1952 in Korea. One year later, Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Lawrence Harvey) is to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor for an uncertain reason. Shaw’s United States senator father, forceful mother, recurring dreams, lies, betrayal and an astonishing political conspiracy whirl together to justify this classic film’s status in cinematic fame. Bulworth (1998)Running for re-election as a California Democratic senator, a suicidal Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) faces looming financial ruin and takes action by taking out a hefty life insurance on himself and hiring a hit man. In the meantime, he loses all political inhibitions and screams his true-and often borderline socialist-views to the voting population, in his newly discovered medium of rap music. Politics takes on a truly unconventional light in this ridiculous movie.Dave (1993)When President Bill Mitchell (Kevin Kline) tragically gets what he deserves and has a coma-inducing heart attack while in a compromising position, temp agency operator Dave Kovic-who has a strikingly similar resemblance to the president-takes the office under the guise of Mitchell. He then changes the ambitious Chief of Staff’s greater plan for domination, makes the country better and falls in love with the undoubtedly fabulous First Lady.Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)A lunatic United States Air Force colonel, Jack Ripper, desires to bomb the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The U.S. president is informed by a Soviet ambassador that, if the United States initiates a nuclear holocaust, it will trigger a Doomsday Machine which will eliminate all life on Earth. Consequently, in this room filled with politicians, the world rests in the hands of three men, including ex-Nazi mastermind Dr. Strangelove and the U.S. president (Peter Sellers), in this Stanley Kubrick classic. All The President’s Men (1976)Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), a Washington Post reporter, is assigned a story that covers what he initially thinks is an insignificant break-in at the Democratic Party National Headquarters. As he investigates further with the help of reporter Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), he finds that the break-in is anything but insignificant and continues to uncover quite possibly the most massive political scandal in United States history. The Contender (2000)
When the vice president dies in office, Senator Laine Hanson is nominated to fill his space. But even before she gets the vote, her past is dug up, and allegations are made regarding her personal life. Directed by Rod Lurie, this hard-hitting political thriller is a sure-fire way to get you interested in the race. Intelligent, taut and entertaining, The Contender has it all.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Who is Charles Foster Kane? Is he a newspaper man or a propagandist, a business tycoon or a politician? If this Election Day finds you undecided, I suggest you discover Charles Foster Kane for yourself by casting your vote for Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’s immeasurably influential artistic masterpiece, examines the humanity of a man consumed by the classic trials and tribulations of the American Dream, and will not leave you disappointed.Wag the Dog (1997)Robert De Niro plays a Washington spin doctor who enlists the aid of a top Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman) to help cover up a presidential scandal by fabricating a war. There’s a lot of apt political commentary to be had here, as well as quite a few laughs, but high art it ain’t.Primary Colors (1998)John Travolta does a very convincing Bill Clinton in this story of a Southern governer on the Presidential campaign trail. The movie is a thinly disguised chronicle of Clinton’s path to the White House, replete with Emma Thompson as the governer’s long-suffering wife and a series of sexual infidelities along the way. Oh, and it’s a comedy.
