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THE TOP 5 POLITICAL FILMS:
view full results see how points are awarded
| rank |
film |
P |
(#1's) |
L |
| #1 |
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, Stanley Kubrick, UK) |
12 |
(2) |
3 lists |
| #2 |
Wag the Dog (1997, Barry Levinson, USA) |
10 |
(1) |
3 lists |
| #3 |
Nashville (1975, Robert Altman, USA) |
8 |
(-) |
2 lists |
| tie |
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004, Michael Moore, USA) |
8 |
(-) |
3 lists |
| tie |
Fog of War (2003, Errol Morris, USA) |
8 |
(1) |
2 lists |
L=How many lists each film appears on
#1=How many number one votes each film recieves
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With not much surprise, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove was the winner in this week's Top 5 Project - the Top 5 Political Films. Strangelove ended up winning with a mere 12 points (as opposed to last week's two winners getting 19 points apiece). This was due to there being a much larger dispersion of films. Last week (with 9 lists) there were 27 different films mentioned. This week (with just 10 lists) there were 40 - with only 7 of them garnering multiple votes.
Dr. Strangelove, which was the second Kubrick film to win our Top 5 Project (2001 tied for first in last week's inaugural running), led the pack, but it was a very tight race. Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog (one of just three movies to garner three votes each) came in second, just two points back, followed by a three way tie to fill out the remainder of the Top 5. Those films were Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, Errol Morris' Fog of War and Robert Altman's Nashville (my own number 2 pick).
Other films to gather votes ranged from everything from historical epics such as Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible to religi-political films like The Gospel According to St. Matthew to somewhat bizzare picks like Mars Attacks and History of the World - Part I.
Join us next week when we unveil the Top 5 Revisionist Westerns - a category that Kubrick probably won't top. See details at the bottom of the page for how you can send in your choices.
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Individual lists:
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Albert H. Muth
Cinephile & 5-time Oscar Contest Champion
Ivan the Terrible I & II
Nashville
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Le Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
Reds
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Sherry Messimer
Cinephile and hater of politics (see below)
This was a difficult category for me, since I hate politics! I think that the most poignant view of politics is: how politics shape society, and how society molds the individual (and vice versa). Political structure shows most clearly what it means for man to be a social animal, and the responsibilities and problems associated with this condition.
Here's my best shot:
Strike (Eisenstein, 1924)
Fog of War (Morris, 2003)
The Bicycle Thief (De Sica, 1948)
In the Name of the Father (Sheridan, 1993)
To Live (Yimou, 1994)
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Alexandra Hartman
Poet, Publisher and Web Designer
Wag the Dog - I realized while making this list that the political films that have impacted me the most are those that connect to the insane what-the-fuck?? crap that's gone down since George Bush became president, and I've probably thought of Wag the Dog a million times since 9/11. I'm all about impact, so Wag the Dog goes at the top of my list.
Hotel Rwanda - Devastating. Impossible to believe anything that horrible could happen while the US sat back and debated semantics.
Fahrenheit 9/11 - I don't think Michael Moore is the genius everyone wants him to be, but Fahrenheit 9/11 opened eyes. Asked questions. Pissed people off.
The Quiet American - A fine, powerful film with amazing performances from Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser. I think it's about futility and resignation. And politics.
Life of Brian - "We're not the People's Front of Judea!! We're the Judean People's Front!! The only people we hate more than the Romans are the People's Front of Judea!!"
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Carter Liotta
The Doctor of Cinema
Once more, a list of top five. I'm not exactly chosing movies based on the art of the cinema, but rather movies that have stuck with me and my friends, that are enjoyable and quotable, and occasionally stumble upon cinematic merit.
1. JFK: Oliver Stone's magnum opus in my mind. I
don't believe the conspiracy theories, but Stone's consistent, trippy direction makes for phenom storytelling. How'd he ever assemble a cast like that?
2. Nixon: Who can forget the close-ups of flowers
opening, and the CIA chief's predatory cat eyes? Anthony Hopkins plays an absolutely perfect, tortured Richard Nixon - a man both repulsive and sympathetic at once. And Madeline Khan makes a cameo!
3. The American President: What great acting. What
an A+ cast. What a great script! And it can still bring me to tears, it's so happy!
4. Wag the Dog: David Mamet's screenplay is somewhat
forgettable on first viewing, but gets better and better each time it's seen, as the tiny nuances of the script and language are studied. "He's okay as long
as he takes his pills." "What happens if he doesn't take his pills?" "He's not okay."
5. Clear and Present Danger: Yes, a Tom Clancy
movie... but isn't Donald Moffatt irresistable as an overdramatized President of the United States, as he pouts "It's OUR MONEY!" and yells "How dare you come
in here and bark at me like some Junkyard Dog!" Willem Dafoe can't be beat, either.
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Bart
The Unknown Cinephile
Dr. Strangelove (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb)
The Corporation
Fahrenheit 9/11
Paths of Glory
Johhny Got His Gun
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Alan Hochberg
Medical Resercher & Film Fan (obviously)
1. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2. Fail-Safe (1964) The thriller, non-funny version of the political issues which Strangelove satirized. This one gave me nightmares all through adolescence.
3. The Candidate (1972) Robert Redford is wonderful in this one, even more relevant in today's spin-doctor age than when it was made.
4. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) Completely over-the-top and biased, but great fun.
5. Red (1994) Interesting political and social overtones in Kieslowski's personal and beautiful film.
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Julia Tilley
Poet & Performance Artist
Here are my top 5:
Mars Attacks - My all time favorite movie, exploding alien heads and yodeling! Yet another example of know-it-all politicians getting it wrong and the arrogance of Americans.
Silkwood - Cher and Streep, need I say more.
All the President’s Men - The best mystery of the 21st century, blown. I liked not knowing.
Bowling for Columbine - K-Mart anyone?
Gandhi
I don’t really celebrate the 4th as it really wasn’t freedom for all.
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Ron Tilley
Minister
1. The Fog of War
2. Malcolm X
3. The Decalogue
4. All the President’s Men
5. M*A*S*H
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Jon Gaige
Bohemian Artist
Bowling for Columbine
The Mouse that Roared
Wag the Dog
Mel Brooks' History of the World - Part I
Bananas
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Kevyn Knox
Cinephile, Film Critic & Film Historian
Holding back on putting films like Le Passion de Jeanne d'Arc and/or The Gospel According to St. Matthew on my list, even though they are two of my all-time favourite films, in order to go a more overtly political route, I also ended up leaving off such powerful political films such as Cabaret, Z, Wag the Dog, All the President's Men, Reds, Ivan the Terrible, Strike, October and Battleship Potemkin. But anyway, here are my final Top 5:
I am Cuba (1964, Mikhail Kalatozov, USSR/Cuba): Simply put, this is one of the most elegantly sublime films ever shot. A pro-Castro propaganda piece made at the height of the Cold War.
Nashville (1975, Robert Altman, USA): Altman's best work. A cavalcade of characters (large by even Altman standards), go about celebrating the upcoming bicentennial, with biting humour and wickid political sniping - and everyone sings too.
Weekend (1967, Jean Luc Godard, France): Godard's revolutionary (in every aspect of the term) look at a society gone mad from overpopulation and ultra-commercialism.
Dr. Strangelove (1964, Stanley Kubrick, UK): Without even taking into account the comic genius of Peter Sellers (playing multiple roles here), Kubrick's Cold War satire, still plays chillingly too close to home even today.
Battle of Algiers (1965, Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria): Combine Cinema Verite with political bombast and you have this grand, gritty piece of cinematic art.
I took notice to the fact that all my picks were made between 1964 and 1975 (and four of them between '64 and '67) - one of the most explosive political epochs in modern times.
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*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created. in parentheses are how many number one votes each film recieved.
The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Revisionist Westerns
e-mail me at
kevynknox@thecinematheque.com
with your picks for week #2,
no later than 6pm on Sunday, July 10th.
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