The Dictator
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:07 (four years ago) link
(Chaplin, not that Borat shit)
Chaplin's is The Great Dictator
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:08 (four years ago) link
What about documentaries?
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:10 (four years ago) link
Documentaries, definitely. (I had The War Room above.)
I should have done this at the beginning, but here's a Google Doc for nominations:
http://docs.google.com/document/d/12Ts0EtUkx1eDgstQGLQePHbwFtBGL5rbyDtIyRtziek/edit
I'll add Carlos, The Ides of March, The Contender, and Primary.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:11 (four years ago) link
Burn After ReadingRed Dawn
― Simon H., Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:11 (four years ago) link
Theres an election in Red Dawn?
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:12 (four years ago) link
As many as in Carlos or Dr Strangelove
― Simon H., Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:14 (four years ago) link
I probably shouldn't have said that. Carlos is as overtly political as it gets, but there are no elections, and I'm not sure there's an elected politician anywhere.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:15 (four years ago) link
(I suggested politician or election, and Strangelove definitely has the former. But just skip all that--if it feels sufficiently political to you, nominate it. If others agree, it'll draw votes._
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:17 (four years ago) link
I hate Red Dawn is all
Feel like allowing any film in which someone appears as president will dilute the field a bit but eh whatever
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:17 (four years ago) link
But yeah generally i agree that the votes carry the day
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:18 (four years ago) link
It won't dilute the results. If the film is a cipher, no one will vote for it besides the nominator.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:19 (four years ago) link
The Great McGinty
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:23 (four years ago) link
Being There
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:25 (four years ago) link
Secret Honor, Bulworth, Wag the Dog, Primary Colors, Taxi Driver The Last Hurrah (which I've never seen).
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:25 (four years ago) link
Taxi Driver The Last Hurrah--Travis hits the streets for one last fare.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:26 (four years ago) link
ViceIn the loop
Do ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Margin Call’ count or are they finance movies?
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:27 (four years ago) link
Le guerre est le fin/The War Is Over
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:28 (four years ago) link
They count if you want them to count...
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:28 (four years ago) link
I was gonna bring up secret honor but i really dont like it much lol
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:30 (four years ago) link
Zootopia
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:30 (four years ago) link
Death of Stalin
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:31 (four years ago) link
The Battle of Algiers, The Battle of Chile. (Not big on Secret Honor either.)
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:32 (four years ago) link
What was that one w Streep as Thatcher
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:33 (four years ago) link
The Party and the Guests (Nemec, 1966)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063371/reference
― emil.y, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:35 (four years ago) link
XP The Iron Lady
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:35 (four years ago) link
To Be or Not to Be
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:36 (four years ago) link
The Firemen's Ball
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:36 (four years ago) link
A Grin Without a Cat, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Times of Harvey Milk (and I guess Milk, too, though it's not nearly as good).
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:37 (four years ago) link
Oh, hm, I missed the bit of the OP that said it should have an election in it. Welp, I think most of my picks would be more like the above (fiercely political but metaphorical), so maybe I'm out of this one.
― emil.y, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:37 (four years ago) link
my suggestion would be that the film should have a politician or election somewhere in there
Only a suggestion.
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:40 (four years ago) link
Emily: no--I already backtracked on that. Nominate away.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:40 (four years ago) link
The Times of Harvey Milk is one of my favorite ever documentaries
there are so many movies that seem political but are not specifically about politics
― Dan S, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:42 (four years ago) link
I knew heading into this it would be really tricky--maybe even more than comedy or horror, in terms of what qualifies. All I can say is use your best judgement.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:44 (four years ago) link
DickBob RobertsSuddenly!Bad EggsRats In The RanksDON'S motherfucking PARTY
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Sunday, 30 June 2019 01:46 (four years ago) link
Which Suddenly, sic--the old Sinatra film or the quasi-remake?
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 11:07 (four years ago) link
Lots of online lists; this one's a good mix of the literal and the more metaphorical (with the usual barrage of click-through ads):
http://www.mandatory.com/culture/962677-big-list-50-best-political-movies-ever
I'll add The Conformist and Game Change. I haven't seen Wiseman's State Legislature, but--again, no politicians and no elections--I've got to nominate Welfare.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 11:34 (four years ago) link
election (2005)shin godzillaothon
― devvvine, Sunday, 30 June 2019 12:32 (four years ago) link
The President Vanishes (1934)Gabriel Over the White House (1933)Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932)The Washington Masquerade (1932)
What was that one w Streep as ThatcherThe Iron Lady (2011). Which loops in The Manchurian Candidate (1962 and 2004)
― Anne Hedonia (j.lu), Sunday, 30 June 2019 13:49 (four years ago) link
DantonLa CommunePunishment ParkWinstanley
― Rory end to the lowenbrow (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:12 (four years ago) link
Nocturama
― calzino, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:18 (four years ago) link
If you're receptive to long and massively problematic silent films, Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).
If you're receptive to George Arliss:Alexander Hamilton (1931)Disraeli (1929, and a lost 1921 version)Voltaire (1933)The House of Rothchild (1934)
― Anne Hedonia (j.lu), Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:23 (four years ago) link
The Taking Of Power By Louis XIV (1970)
classic(underrated?) made for tv movie by Rossellini.
― calzino, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:31 (four years ago) link
is there a bit of a thin line between what arguably makes a political movie or a war movie? fuck knows.
― calzino, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:35 (four years ago) link
could movies like The 317th Platoon and The Red and the White be nommed as political movies?
― calzino, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:41 (four years ago) link
Surely war films are part of political film but this might widen it considerably.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:44 (four years ago) link
The Sorrow and the Pity
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:47 (four years ago) link
could movies like The 317th Platoon and The Red and the White be nommed as political movies?― calzino, Sunday, June 30, 2019 10:41 AM
Surely war films are part of political film but this might widen it considerably.― xyzzzz__, Sunday, June 30, 2019 10:44 AM
Both apply--I'm leaving it up to your judgement. I haven't been including nominations posed as questions thus far ("Could..."); just nominate something, and it goes on the list.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:50 (four years ago) link
Finance is intimately bound to politics, but I don't remember Margin Call featuring the political infrastructure that enabled the markets to get themselves into that fix. Did The Big Short call out the watchdogs that failed to bark?
Speaking of finance meeting politics and the media, The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990).
― Anne Hedonia (j.lu), Sunday, 30 June 2019 14:56 (four years ago) link
Thanks. I was thinking about Meet John Doe too--the perils of populism (depending upon your tolerance for Capra...like It's a Wonderful Life, actually quite a grim film).
Completely forgot what could conceivably be my #1 (and will have a hard time getting any other votes): The Champions, Donald Brittain's three-part documentary on Trudeau and Levesque that I've plugged on other threads.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 21:10 (four years ago) link
Harlan County, USAfeatures a union politician and election, not government. I think it counts.
― adam the (abanana), Sunday, 30 June 2019 21:25 (four years ago) link
oh and here's a bad one that could only exist during the clinton years. republicans and democrats, they bicker! two gay panic jokes in the trailer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_57GKDXmXKk(my fellow americans, in case it's ever removed)
― adam the (abanana), Sunday, 30 June 2019 21:33 (four years ago) link
Harlan County for sure.
I should never have brought that bit up about politicians and elections. I was just trying to keep a potentially mammoth nomination list under control. But things like Harlan Country, Carlos, Welfare, and countless other films obviously belong. If the nomination list ends up being huge, not a big deal.
In that spirit, I'll add Malcolm X (on just about every online list I see), The Weather Underground, and Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst.
― clemenza, Sunday, 30 June 2019 21:41 (four years ago) link
That My Fellow Americans trailer looks like a parody (and not a particularly good one) of 90s high concept comedy. Also, I count three gay panic jokes--the Dykes on Bikes, the Pride parade, the sleeping guy fondling Lemmon.
― Herman Woke (cryptosicko), Sunday, 30 June 2019 22:14 (four years ago) link
I've never seen this but it sounds awesome, Old Mother Riley, MP .
https://d1t80wr11ktjcz.cloudfront.net/movieposters/h12/AllPhotos/71771/p71771_i_h12_ab.jpg
― Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Sunday, 30 June 2019 22:20 (four years ago) link
“Duck, You Sucker!” / A Fistful Of Dynamite
― El Tomboto, Sunday, 30 June 2019 22:36 (four years ago) link
not a fan of Anthony Eden, but his excellent command of the French language in The Sorrow and The Pity is noteworthy.
― calzino, Sunday, 30 June 2019 23:29 (four years ago) link
Looks like this could be a series of by-decade polls instead, clemenza
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Monday, 1 July 2019 00:24 (four years ago) link
― clemenza, Sunday, June 30, 2019 9:10 PM (yesterday)
clemenza -- i remember you mentioning this doc before and have thought about checking it out. would you say it's accessible even if you don't know much about canadian politics?
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 1 July 2019 00:38 (four years ago) link
I think so, yes. They're basically a Canadian version of Kennedy-Nixon; they come to prominence at almost the same time, start as friends, end up as (sometimes bitter) rivals, and they even match stylistically: Trudeau's the glamour guy, Levesque the rumpled plodder (except in Quebec, where he's god). The one major difference is that Levesque, whatever you thought of his goal of breaking apart the country, comes across as someone with boundless integrity.
You can watch the whole thing online if you're interested:
https://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_1/https://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_2/https://www.nfb.ca/film/champions_part_3/
― clemenza, Monday, 1 July 2019 00:58 (four years ago) link
thanks! i suspect i'll be using this poll as an excuse to catch up on a lot of things i've been meaning to watch.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 1 July 2019 01:15 (four years ago) link
Vietnam films: I'll nominate Hearts and Minds, The Deer Hunter, and Coming Home, which all have a clear political stance on that particular war. I'm less sure on Casualties of War and Apocalypse Now--beyond their default anti-war position--so I'll leave them for anyone else who thinks they belong. They seem more about the battlefield and in-the-moment sensation.
― clemenza, Monday, 1 July 2019 14:04 (four years ago) link
Has this been mentioned yet?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/No_%282012_film%29.jpg
― . (Michael B), Monday, 1 July 2019 14:13 (four years ago) link
No.
― clemenza, Monday, 1 July 2019 14:15 (four years ago) link
Face in the crowd!
― Heez, Monday, 1 July 2019 14:46 (four years ago) link
Aka, From the Hills of Wasilla--definitely.
I added a few more films to the nominations list without posting here. (Yes, this is one of those pointless no-news-is-no-news bumps.) The list is just a guide anyway--write-ins, when voting starts, are fine.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 3 July 2019 15:10 (four years ago) link
IceReportBreaking With Old IdeasDeserter23rd Psalm Branch Memories of UnderdevelopmentBPM (Beats per Minute)WestlerThe Normal heartThe Making of MonstersZero PatienceIt Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He LivesA Virus Knows no MoralsWe Want Roses TooNuméro deuxLe FHAR (Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire) ChorusMy Son JohnThe Country and the City: A Film With Raymond WilliamsLe temps des bouffonsWinter WindRed PsalmMoi, un noirPetit à petitSoleil OWest Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of LibertyToo Early, Too LateBlack GirlFrom the Cloud to the ResistanceFrom the Pole to the EquatorClass RelationsPays barbare Piece Mandala/End WarLouisiana AKA The Other SideFrom the Other SideRace d'Ep: un siècle d'images de l'homosexualité
― Kevin John Bozelka, Thursday, 4 July 2019 18:33 (four years ago) link
State of Siege, Costa-GavrasOperación Ogro. Gillo PontecorvoThe Champions, Donald Brittain (originally a mini-series, it was given a cinematic release and so i think qualifies)
― bookmarkflaglink (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 4 July 2019 18:51 (four years ago) link
and now i see the champions has been mentioned, i did a ctrl+f but must have made a typo
― bookmarkflaglink (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 4 July 2019 18:52 (four years ago) link
― clemenza, Sunday, June 30, 2019 5:58 PM (four days ago)
levesque comes across fantastically well
He really does. I was a Trudeau guy back then, but he was pretty clearly railroaded in some of those constitutional negotiations. I found his ultimate demise--cast aside by the party he'd helped create--very moving.
I'll get all the nominations updated, thanks.
― clemenza, Thursday, 4 July 2019 20:05 (four years ago) link
There are 225+ films on the nomination list...I'm ready to proceed with the vote (one ballot in already); no real point in waiting a week. As I've said, write-ins are fine.
This is my idea for points--I'm the guy who gummed up Karl Malone's under-2:00 music poll with complicated alternative point-systems, and I've got another one:
# of Films Listed Total Points Allowed Maximum Points for One Film 10 100 30 20 200 40 30 300 50
10 100 30 20 200 40 30 300 50
The total-points stays proportional the more films you list; intuitively (maybe I'm wrong), it felt like the maximum points allowed for one film should increase more gradually.
If you hate math, or want to list more films, let me know and we'll work something out. I'll wait a day and start a voting thread.
Nominations:
― clemenza, Monday, 8 July 2019 16:25 (four years ago) link
I need 20 voters. Don't worry if you haven't seen every political film ever made. This isn't homework--vote for what you know and like now.
― clemenza, Monday, 8 July 2019 16:26 (four years ago) link
Late entrants - The Front Runner, The Bourne trilogy
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 8 July 2019 16:38 (four years ago) link
...which reminds me to add Chappaquiddick, too. Of the two, I liked The Front Runner better.
Other Nixon films: Our Nixon, Watergate.
― clemenza, Monday, 8 July 2019 16:47 (four years ago) link
Sneak in If...., too please.
― Dan Worsley, Monday, 8 July 2019 17:58 (four years ago) link
Horror films: Night of the Living Dead (as definitive on 1968 as Weekend), the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Get Out, Us. Lots more, I'm sure, but those are the first four that come to mind.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:45 (four years ago) link
there's only one good political film, and it's captain america: civil war
― coroner criticises butt (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:47 (four years ago) link
no wait fuck i meant winter soldier, mods pls delet thraed
― coroner criticises butt (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:48 (four years ago) link
I think you meant there’s only two good political films
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:50 (four years ago) link
Added Winter Soldier, which reminded me to add Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry. Captain America in limbo, pending confirmation...
― clemenza, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:52 (four years ago) link
Okay, I see what you mean now...I thought you meant the 1972 documentary.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 12:55 (four years ago) link
To KJB's list, I add Magic Mike XXL.
― Pauline Male (Eric H.), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 13:05 (four years ago) link
lmao clemenza <3
― coroner criticises butt (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 13:06 (four years ago) link
Anything nominated (i.e., stated, not posed as a question), I'll add to the list. I'm an easy mark here for joke nominations, especially in the realm of superhero movies--whether it's sincere or a joke will go right over my head.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 13:11 (four years ago) link
I don't often make an effort to catch up with gaps in movie or music polls--pure laziness, plus I'd rather go with opinions that go back more than a week or two--but I'm going to force myself to sit at the computer for 3.5+ hours and watch Frederick Wiseman's State Legislature off Kanopy. It won't be in one sitting, that much I know.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 July 2019 01:04 (four years ago) link