Any genre poll has amorphous boundaries. There were arguments with the comedy and horror polls, and there was second-guessing and uncertainty on the road-film poll too. To me that's interesting, not a problem. I started this thing with one definition, and I ended up loosening that up within about five minutes.
1. All the President’s Men – 232. The Candidate - 213. Advise and Consent - 184. The Champions - 175. Welfare - 166. Nixon - 157. Carlos - 148. Nashville - 139. The War Room - 1210. Malcolm X - 1111. A Grin Without a Cat - 1012. The Weather Underground - 913. The Best Man - 814. Night of the Living Dead – 715. Watergate – 616. Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst - 517. The Times of Harvey Milk - 518. A Face in the Crowd - 519. Paths of Glory - 520. Hearts and Minds - 521. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - 522. Primary Colors - 523. The Ides of March - 524. The Contender - 525. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry - 5
― clemenza, Thursday, 25 July 2019 01:49 (four years ago) link
Thanks for setting up the Letterboxd page, Jer.
― clemenza, Thursday, 25 July 2019 01:54 (four years ago) link
Other films getting votes (just points, without breaking ties, without #1s, and without italics...too much work):
53. Gabriel Over the White House - 25 points Matewan Nixon Germany, Year Zero Burn After Reading
58. The Weather Underground - 24 points Medium Cool Punishment Park La Commune
62. Malcolm X - 21 points BPM (Beats Per Minute)
64. Meet John Doe - 20 points The President Vanishes Xala Red Psalm The Second Awakening of Crista Klages Come and See Hearts and Minds Day of Wrath If.... The Baader-Meinhof Complex Lincoln
75. Wag the Dog - 19 points
76. The Best Man - 18 points
77. The Champions - 17 points The Godfather Part II
79. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - 16 points The Deer Hunter Watergate Nocturama
83. The Corporation - 15 points In the Year of the Pig The Great McGinty Report The Other Side Winter Soldier
89. Seven Days in May - 14 points
90. Ballot Box Bunny - 13 points The Battle of Chile
92. The War Room - 12 points Point of Order
94. All Quiet on the Western Front - 10 points Body and Soul Intolerance The Manchurian Candidate (2004) The Nasty Girl The White Rose Princess Mononoke Chimes at Midnight Ice The Third Generation The Human Condition Trilogy Primary Colors Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther In the Line of Fire Dick A Report on the Party and the Guests Deserter 23rd Psalm Branch My Son John West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty From the Other Side Race d'Ep: un siècle d'images de l'homosexualité We Want Roses Too Sekigun-P.F.L.P: Sekai sensô sengen La guerre est finie Fail Safe The Bonfire of the Vanities Fahrenheit 9/11 Week-end Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Black Panthers (1968) Shin Godzilla Election (2005) Narita: Peasants of the Second Fortress A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale Too Early/Too Late Being Gypsy Here and Elsewhere Germany in Autumn Postwar History of Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess Far from Vietnam Le Gai Savoir Death by Hanging Hitler: A Film from Germany Memories of Underdevelopment The Taking of Power by Louis XIV All the King's Men Milk The Rise of Michael Rimmer Amazing Grace
144. The Dead Zone - 9 points
145. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her - 8 points Washington Merry-Go-Round
147. No - 7 points Tanner The Fireman's Ball
150. Pierrot le Fou - 6 points The Normal Heart
152. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry - 5 points Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst The Contender The Ides of March Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Missing How to Survive a Plague Magic Mike, XXL Moi, un noir It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse Zero Patience
163. Alexander Hamilton - 4 points Dave The Birth of a Nation The House of Rothschild Zootopia
168. Wild in the Streets - 1 point
― clemenza, Thursday, 25 July 2019 05:29 (four years ago) link
Bolded...meant to code non-proportional text. Carry on.
― clemenza, Thursday, 25 July 2019 05:31 (four years ago) link
Er...The Manchurian candidate...ok
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 25 July 2019 08:26 (four years ago) link
Never seen it, like not on my radar at all so I'll look at it.
Thanks for the work Clemenza, a few interesting things came out of this.
And lol @ JFK. Purely voted for it because it's a very ilx thing. Just had to.
I think I would've done anyway. It's my go to film for conspiracy as a mode of politics, but it's so ridiculous. I often stop caring when it gets to court.
---
Hiroshima Mon AmourThe Battle of ChileNarita: Peasants of the Second FortressJeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 BruxellesThe Battle of AlgiersA City of SadnessXalaA Grin Without a CatA Soft Note on a Sharp ScaleLa CommuneToo Early/Too LateBeing GypsyHere and ElsewhereGermany in AutumnPostwar History of Japan as Told by a Bar HostessFar from VietnamRed PsalmZThe Life and Death of Colonel BlimpLe Gai Savoir4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 DaysThe Sorrow and the PityDeath by HangingCome and SeeGermany, Year ZeroHitler: A film from GermanyI Am CubaJFKBattleship PotemkinThe Second Awakening of Crista Klages
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 25 July 2019 08:36 (four years ago) link
Top 20, Enthusiasm (3 or more votes):
1. Duck Soup (15.67 points per voter) The Passion of Joan of Arc (15.67)3. Nashville (14.86)4. All the President's Men (14.67)5. The Rules of the Game (13.83)6. A Grin Without a Cat (13.75) Taxi Driver (13.75)8. The Sorrow and the Pity (13.20)9. Advise and Consent (13.00)10. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce (12.20)11. Being There (12.00)12. The Candidate (11.67)13. Carlos (11.40)14. Night of the Living Dead (11.33) To Be or Not to Be (11.33)16. Z (10.8)17. Election (10.7)18. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (10.57)19. Black Girl (10.5) Cabaret (10.5) The Parallax View (10.5)
So three of the top four, including #1, drop off the list.
― clemenza, Thursday, 25 July 2019 13:27 (four years ago) link
thanks for running the poll clemenza!
my unranked ballot:
A city of sadnessA touch of sinArmy of shadowsBlack panthersBurn after readingChinatownCitizen kaneDo the right thingElection - 2005Grand illusionJeanne dielmanPaths of gloryRome open citySansho the bailiffShin godzillaBattle of Algiers Taxi driverThe leopardLife and death of Colonel BlimpThe rules of the game
― devvvine, Thursday, 25 July 2019 13:31 (four years ago) link
Sometimes I think I'm too contrarian for my own good. My ballot (ranked):
1. Gabriel Over the White House2. The President Vanishes3. Duck Soup4. I Am Cuba5. In the Loop6. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)7. Z8. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)9. Dr. Strangelove10. Intolerance11. The Great Dictator12. Washington Merry-Go-Round13. No14. Battleship Potemkin15. A Face in the Crowd16. Alexander Hamilton17. Dave18. Bob Roberts19. The House of Rothschild20. The Birth of a Nation
Nonetheless, thanks for running this poll. Maybe the next poll should be finance movies? Or media?
― Anne Hedonia (j.lu), Friday, 26 July 2019 00:48 (four years ago) link
One that I forgot about and didn't nominate was Spin (1995), a doc on the media's coverage of the 1992 US election using satellite feed footage. It's easy to find on youtube if anyone's interested.
― adam the (abanana), Friday, 26 July 2019 02:51 (four years ago) link
Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) is apparently considered by some to have been plagiarized by the guy who wrote the story for Capra's Mr Smith... I don't think it holds water, bcz aside from a (much briefer) visit to the Lincoln Memorial by its hero, it checks the same boxes most of these populist ant-corruption morality plays do.
Intriguing for Lee Tracy to be playing an idealist firebrand instead of a cynic/realist. Early on he visits a Hooverville in the Anacostia Flats and berates its WWI-veteran residents for not fighting for democracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacostia#Great_Depression
(This is some third-act foreshadowing.) Also the villain is a steel magnate / bootlegger with fascist aspirations.
Constance Cummings, who went on to have a distinguished career esp on the stage, is very good as the more solidly grounded (and amoral) Jean Arthur figure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RucCOCy8cU
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Friday, 7 August 2020 17:23 (three years ago) link
Man, this list is surprising in a lot of ways: https://newrepublic.com/article/173376/100-political-films-new-republic-list
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 June 2023 16:43 (ten months ago) link
Biggest duds on the list in a quick glance are probably The Lives of Others, Syriana, American Sniper ... and obv The Birth of a Nation. (High and Low seems a bit of a stretch to me, but hey.)
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 June 2023 16:50 (ten months ago) link
Oh, and Triumph of the Will ... understandable why it and Nation are in there, but doesn't make it any easier to see them listed alongside so many genuinely great films
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 June 2023 16:52 (ten months ago) link
You know who weighs in: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/06/the-ten-best-political-movies-of-all-time/
(As usual, he's on his comparatively best behavior when it comes to canonization.)
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Wednesday, 28 June 2023 14:53 (ten months ago) link
Just learned of this from a friend tonight:
https://newrepublic.com/article/173376/100-political-films-new-republic-list
Hoberman writes some kind of introductory essay. Looking at their Top 10 vs. this poll's, there is overlap of five films. Their title is "most significant," which ought to give them some cover for two of their Top 10.
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 02:48 (ten months ago) link
Geez, as hard as this is to believe, I missed the posts above mine.
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 02:49 (ten months ago) link
Armond White has Health in his Top 10? That's truly eccentric...makes me want to finally see it.
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 02:52 (ten months ago) link
Some things I like seeing on the New Republic list:
81. The Times of Harvey Milk78. Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day69. The Best Man67. Point of Order!56. The Fog of War39. Hearts and Minds10. A Face in the Crowd
At least a couple of those are surprises.
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 15:18 (ten months ago) link
Most glaring omission (unless I missed him): Wiseman. So many to choose from--Welfare for me.
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 15:21 (ten months ago) link
Love, love, love A Grin Without a Cat making the list, along with all the Third Cinema titles. From a glance, it almost seems like the roster of voters is, more or less, the National Society of Film Critics?
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Friday, 7 July 2023 15:38 (ten months ago) link
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).
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 15:42 (ten months ago) link
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.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 7 July 2023 15:51 (ten months ago) link
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
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Friday, 7 July 2023 16:04 (ten months ago) link
Another surprising omission: no Jordan Peele. (One or both of the first two, I'd say, though I know others like the third.)
― clemenza, Friday, 7 July 2023 17:54 (ten months ago) link
"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.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 7 July 2023 22:56 (ten months ago) link
#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.
― Dan S, Saturday, 8 July 2023 00:42 (ten months ago) link