Certain Rules and Regulations and Procedures: The ILX Political-Film Poll Results Thread

jpeg, not jpg...Whoever came up with that dumb idea?

44. (tie) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
34 points/3 votes

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44. (tie) To Be or Not to Be (1942)
34 points/3 votes

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43. Grand Illusion (1937)
34 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-43.jpg

42. The Candidate (1972)
35 points/3 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-42.jpg

I thought this would have ended up higher...I think it’s been seen by enough people, but I don’t know, there were complaints even in ’72 that it was superficial, or too obvious, or something. I don’t think so--I think it holds up great. If you had to pick the Bill McKay out of the Democratic field this year, maybe Beto O’Rourke? Except his résumé's thinner than McKay's.

I liked this when I watched it a few years back; probably would have voted for it had it been fresher in my mind. I admittedly had some trouble filling out my ballot--wanted to stick to films that directly featured political figures, even though there aren't a whole lot of them that I love--so when I got to the latter half of my Top 10, I started going with movies that fit the bill that I'd seen recent-ishly and enjoyed.

I can get a torrent of it sometime (Kanopy seems to require you to be a member of a library)

There's a certain thread on the 77 board; shall I start posting links to reasonably reliable streaming sites?

Grim scene. Redford looks uptight--nobody's listening to him, and nobody's digging him.

I didn't do a count or anything, but I think the top 50's split about evenly between films with actual politicians and the more tangential Welfare/Night of the Living Dead-type film.

40. (tie) Casablanca (1942)
36 points/4 votes

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40. (tie) I Am Cuba (1964)
36 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-40b.jpg

J. Lu: if it'll help people track down something, sure.

38. (tie) The Great Dictator (1940)
38 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-38a.jpg

38. (tie) The Lives of Others (2006)
38 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-38b.jpg

Never a that big a fan of Casablanca...maybe when I was younger. A lot of speechifying.

The Great Dictator is another one I'd've probably voted for if I'd seen it more recently.

"There's a certain thread on the 77 board; shall I start posting links to reasonably reliable streaming sites?"

Not on 77.

Love I am Cuba, great still, must've been hard to pick one

Wide range of images to choose from, yeah.

37. The Leopard (1963)
39 points/4 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-37.jpg

I’ll resume tomorrow after these last couple.

35. (tie) A City of Sadness (1940)
40 points/4 votes

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35. (tie) Army of Shadows (1969)
40 points/4 votes

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So far:

51. (tie) Get Out (2017)
51. (tie) Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
50. In the Loop (2009)
49. Bob Roberts (1992)
48. Welfare (1975)
47. The Conformist (1970)
46. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
44. (tie) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
44. (tie) To Be or Not to Be (1942)
43. Grand Illusion (1937)
42. The Candidate (1972)
40. (tie) Casablanca (1942)
40. (tie) I Am Cuba (1964)
38. (tie) The Great Dictator (1940)
38. (tie) The Lives of Others (2006)
37. The Leopard (1963)
35. (tie) A City of Sadness (1940)
35. (tie) Army of Shadows (1969)

Voted for at least a couple of today’s. NOTLD for sure.

I don't think there's a better Vietnam film, and it's also pretty great, in a roundabout way--through omission--on race. There are were at least two highly political films I thought would make the list from '68; this one did, the other, surprisingly, didn't.

35. (tie) A City of Sadness (1940) (1989)

Oops...cutting, pasting, cutting, pasting, etc. Got the screenshot right, at least.

In other screw-up news, I decided a double-post looks better for #46 than a broken link. I should have realized that that was fixable before re-posting.

The whole world is watching, the whole world is watching...Brexit and Trump. But I must proceed a pace.

Unfortunately, one of the seven I haven't seen:

34. Rome, Open City (1945)
40 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-34.jpg

I've forgotten who plays the ruthless gestapo op in it, but she is brilliant.

33. A Touch of Sin (2013)
41 points/4 votes

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30. (tie) Black Girl (1966)
42 points/4 votes

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30. (tie) Cabaret (1972)
42 points/4 votes

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30. (tie) The Parallax View (1974)
42 points/4 votes

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Like the first and third; the middle, being a musical, not really for me.

The Parallax View is a blindspot for me; if anything, my recent viewing of Seven Days in May has me thinking that I may be too cynical for paranoid political thrillers (a generational thing?). I like the other two but, again, I stuck to a stricter version of "political."

29. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
44 points/6 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-29.jpg

This is the surprise I alluded to on the voting thread. Through the first half of ballots to come in, it was up in the top three or four; didn't get more than a vote in the second half, though.

I had it on my own list. Knocked me out the first time I saw it; slightly less impressive rewatching it two or three times since. McCarthy + Elvis, but it's never stopped being relevant.

(xpost) I know what you mean--that's a qualified like from me for The Parallax View. Great first scene, and the brainwashing sequence is justly famous. But a lot of it is basically a chase film.

Good to see Black Girl this high up. Cabaret as well, though neither made my top 30

I saw Black Girl for the first time a few months ago. Thought the ending with the kid was amazing--I would have used that still, but bypassed it for reasons outlined above (it came up so often on Google, I assume it's the one image associated with the film).

I'm not entirely sure how to comment on this list, but this is a list of very good films

You must, in order to comment, first submit a detailed outline of your beliefs on the 10 biggest political issues of the day.

28. Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976)
45 points/5 votes
(1 #1 vote)

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-28.jpg

Seen it once, will see it again eventually. Was thinking that Harlan County, The Sorrow and the Pity, and Night and Fog has shown impressive durability on greatest-ever documentary lists (I may be missing one or two).

has = have

Someone trying to sabotage the countdown...round up the usual suspects.

27. Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
46 points/5 votes
(1 #1 vote)

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-27.jpg

Haven't seen it for ages, but it's on the Lightbox schedule this month.

25. (tie) Duck Soup (1933)
47 points/3 votes

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25. (tie) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
47 points/3 votes

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An inspirational tie.

My #1 😍

Occurs to me that it could be a good DBL bill with Casablanca. xp

24. Citizen Kane (1941)
47 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-24.jpg

Looked like it wouldn't place early on, got some late votes. I didn't have it on my own ballot--I guess I experience it differently--but no argument that it's political, or political enough.

23. Being There (1979)
48 points/4 votes
(1 #1 vote)

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-23.jpg

Not my favourite film, but fascinating as a then-common view of Reagan--and I'm guessing this was in part Ashby's contribution to avoid him getting elected.

22. Munich (2005)
49 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-22.jpg

I tried again last year. Its greatness escapes me.

I'll finish off with the Top 20 tomorrow. Saw this 10 or 15 years ago; don't remember anything.

21. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
50 points/5 votes

http://phildellio.tripod.com/political-21.jpg

So far:

51. (tie) Get Out (2017)
51. (tie) Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
50. In the Loop (2009)
49. Bob Roberts (1992)
48. Welfare (1975)
47. The Conformist (1970)
46. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
44. (tie) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
44. (tie) To Be or Not to Be (1942)
43. Grand Illusion (1937)
42. The Candidate (1972)
40. (tie) Casablanca (1942)
40. (tie) I Am Cuba (1964)
38. (tie) The Great Dictator (1940)
38. (tie) The Lives of Others (2006)
37. The Leopard (1963)
35. (tie) A City of Sadness (1989)
35. (tie) Army of Shadows (1969)
34. Rome, Open City (1945)
33. A Touch of Sin (2013)
30. (tie) Black Girl (1966)
30. (tie) Cabaret (1972)
30. (tie) The Parallax View (1974)
29. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
28. Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976)
27. Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
25. (tie) Duck Soup (1933)
25. (tie) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
23. Being There (1979)
22. Munich (2005)
21. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

I would characterize The Parallax View (which is shockingly low on this list) as something far more significant than a "chase film."

And at the very least bridges the gap I had in balloting for this poll between "great movies that have political themes/resonance" and "movies that are great political statements."

Voted for Kane and Being There, both of which elicited "oh, yeah!" reactions from me when I saw them on the noms list (I was initially afraid I didn't like enough explicitly "political" films to submit even a Top 10).

Also, I neglected to vote for Duck Soup, and I have no idea why.

If you were to total up the minutes in The Parallax View where Beatty is being chased, I don't think it would be insignificant--10 to 15 minutes? That's what it felt like last time I watched it. I realize there's more to it than that, and I tried to single out those parts. But my own feeling is that the brainwashing sequence is so memorable, it overwhelms the rest of the film, some of which is pedestrian.

I've had [In The Loop] on the shelf for years--will make an effort to finally watch it.

The series is even better, and you've got time now!

I like how unceremonious the killings/assassinations are in TPV.

I was glad to see that too, and voted for it here. I haven't yet read Hoberman's long essay, but skimming I saw he mentioned Tanner '88, which I think should have been on there (and which I have no idea why I omitted it from my own list).

Nice to see two films by Jia on that list.
It looks like Robert Kramer's Ice only received one vote in this poll, it might be top of my own list.

Nice to see two films by Jia on that list

This. It was disheartening to see him so out of favor in that December 2022 poll I've written about too much here

Another surprising omission: no Jordan Peele. (One or both of the first two, I'd say, though I know others like the third.)

"Love, love, love A Grin Without a Cat"

Hate, hate, hate the low ranking.

That top ten is also not good. Though that's a great No1.

#81, showing the White Night Riots and the candlelight march, The Times of Harvey Milk is an amazing film with a really moving ending. I think everyone should watch it.

TNR’s link to the NYT article in 1985 shows how conservative and bigoted the NYT was at the time.

https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/22/us/dan-white-killer-of-san-francisco-mayor-a-suicide.html

They refused to use the word ‘gay’ which was the term everyone had already long accepted at that time. Their pigheadedness went on for years after that and eventually became ridiculous and a topic of conversation among my friends. They kept referring to gay people as ‘homosexuals’, a term that had long since been seen as derogatory and that had been used in many negative contexts.

Not sure where to put this...Thought September 5 was good. Don't know that I'd see it a second time, but it never lags and the performances are good all around. Had forgotten all about Peter Sarsgaard; thought maybe he got hijacked by some Marvel franchise, but no, just doesn't seem to do a lot of high-profile films anymore. Leonie Benesch, who I didn't recognize from The Teacher's Lounge is excellent. So glad it actually documents the story the world saw; my memories are dim (I was 10), so I was anxious to see Munich when it came out and was very disappointed. (Tried one or two more times and still found it tedious.) This is the film I wanted that to be.

i know its impossible to argue against anything being political but the result of this poll is just a random enough list of movies

I wasn't around for the poll but that was my thought on seeing this thread too.

im sure they are good movies but i really love political thrillers etc so it was disappointing

That was discussed lots during the voting thread; not much different in my mind than what counts as a comedy or a horror film--subjectivity will enter into it.

Er...The Manchurian candidate...ok

― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 25 July 2019 bookmarkflaglink

I still haven't seen it.

i'm normally one to moan about people who just have to show you what a freethinker they are for some reason but tbf i think most of this list is pretty solidly either "about" politics or uses the political world as mise en scène. i'd say that the latter category aren't necessarily political films but hey at least they're ballpark

a few choices are the usual nonsense tho

I'm biased, but I think the mix is great. There are a few political thrillers, including #1. There's films about campaigning and films about governing. There are comedies and documentaries and art films. There's a few I haven't seen, but I don't know that there's a bad film on there, or a film where I can't at least see the argument that it's political.

I'd say Manchurian Candidate is pretty clearly in the "mise en scène" category tbh, but I don't mind that it fits the bill. It doesn't really have anything to say about politics, any more than e.g. The West Wing lol

That one's solidly political to me, because there's the McCarthy angle, and it captures the before-the-storm right-wing hysteria of the time bubbling under the surface (Birchers and Rockwell and Goldwater). Weirdly, I count one of my favourite films on the list, Taxi Driver, as one of the more specious ones. It's got assassination and a Vietnam vet (maybe) and an actual politician spouting drivel, but it's about one guy's psychosis, and the political stuff is there more to prop up the story.

I agree that Taxi Driver is also the wrong side of an edge case, yeah. Doesn't mean I think those aren't both good films, and I totally buy TMC as fitting the brief

id say TMC encapsulates the brief!

Manchurian Candidate does have something to say about politics, NV, it's just not stuff either you (from what I know) or I would take seriously - it's a liberal anti-McCarthy film whose take on why mccarthyism is bad boils down to "it's what the commies want us to do!", which you can then charitably take as a metaphor, loss of freedom of speech renders the West no better than the Eastern bloc etc etc

It's a political film for sure, just not my politics.

not much different in my mind than what counts as a comedy or a horror film--subjectivity will enter into it.

Different in my mind because you can easily make the case that all films are political, but can you make the case that all films are horror or comedies? You might, but it doesn't happen much in polls.

Tbf Daniel I get what you're saying and was thinking about "fairy tales of the hegemon" and whether they're political. Not having watched TMC for a good long while doesn't help my judgement either. What I'm getting at - and I'm absolutely gonna be wrong about some of my thinks - is whether politics is the MacGuffin or the meat

How is the remake?

you can easily make the case that all films are political, but can you make the case that all films are horror or comedies?

True, but some of the same fluidity is there. For me, Rosemary's Baby is also a great comedy and a great political film.

I'm finished work for the school year at the end of this month and would like to do another film poll starting in mid-April. Three ideas: 1) the media (newspapers/TV primarily, but maybe the internet too); 2) teaching/schools; 3) courtroom/legal profession. My preference would be films about media.

xp its not bad?

but iirc its very much _not_ political its really a whodunnit conspiracy

xp lump em all into procedurals but the procedure _must be_ the meat imo

I'd say Rosemary's Baby is political because it's about conspiracy and paranoia and cultish leaders, and also because it has the best line to come out of any film on 1968: "This is not a dream, this is really happening." But I understand why it might be completely apolitical to someone else.

i would welcome a movie by movie run through!

rosemarys baby is not a political movie

Well, you can't state opinions as facts--just doesn't work. Rosemary's Baby is a movie--fact. Rosemary's Baby was directed by Roman Polanski--fact. Rosemary's Baby is not a political movie--opinion.

Think I'm going to poll my three preferences.

i can state anything i like bucko you can discern yerself whats a fact its 2025

but it is also a fact that Rosemary's baby isnt a political film and j'accuse

It's a fact that my opinion is you're wrong.

i can respect that