28th
Phil Bacharach's Favorite 10 Political Films
With one of the more interesting presidential election years in recent memory upon us, it seems like as appropriate a time as any for me to indulge myself with my 10 favorite political films of all time. Speaking as a committed film buff — OK, film geek is more like it — and someone who has made a career (of sorts) in politics, I have a special affinity for flicks that not only explore politics, but manage to get it right.
And so, in descending order, my 10 top political movies (insert drum roll here) …
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
There are a thousand reasons I love Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 masterpiece, but lodged between reason #112 (the fearsome-looking booger in Sterling Hayden’s nose visible in low-angle shots) and reason #114 (“He, he’ll see everything - he’ll see the big board!”) is its brilliant, dead-on — and pretty damned hilarious — political satire. President Merken Muffley (the great, great Peter Sellers) explaining to a drunken Russian premier how an Army general “went and did a silly thing” by ordering a nuclear attack, General Buck Turgidson (the great, great George C. Scott) in manic mode in the War Room, the Russian ambassador (Peter Bull) referencing the unimpeachable New York Times… it’s all so crazy and so strangely authentic. Kubrick, genius that he was, approached the exercise as if it was anything but a comedy. And its central conceit, that a nation’s leaders would compound a horrific act of aggression by digging themselves in deeper, now seems awfully prescient. Strangelove barrels into the realm of absurdity, only to discover the truth. Click here for a vintage trailer for Dr. Strangelove.
2. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd is a not-so-far-off satire of the power of the demagogue who insists he’s for “jus’ plain folks,” with the aw-shucks monster being none other than Andy Griffith. Along with such poison-pill flicks of the 1950s as Ace in the Hole and Sweet Smell of Success, 1957’s A Face in the Crowdimagines a corrosive environment of cynical opportunism and self-promotion. Lonesome Rhodes, memorably portrayed by Griffith, is a corn-fed jailbird who becomes an unlikely TV celebrity of unchecked power; Lonesome is the stand-in for all self-proclaimed populists, be they left- or right-wing (Michael Moore or Bill O’Reilly, take your pick), whose concern for working-class Americans comes at a hefty price. The movie is dark, damning and scary as hell. Check out the trailer of A Face in the Crowd.
3. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Where to start? John Frankenheimer’s 1962 thriller is extraordinary on a number of levels, not the least of which is its skin-crawling view of American politics. Angela Lansbury gave the performance of her career as the icy, conniving mother of Raymond Shaw (Lawrence Harvey), the prickly Korean War hero-turned-brainwashed assassin. Frankenhimer and co-screenwriter George Axelrod, working from a Richard Condon novel, tweak McCarthyism and the Cold War to depict a Machiavellian universe mired in paranoia and the pursuit of power. Best of all, The Manchurian Candidate is close to a perfect thriller, marked by great acting; a bold, meaty script and perverse black comedy. Not even a so-so remake more than 30 years later can dilute the legacy of this masterpiece. Check out the trailer here.
4. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Cynics love Frank Capra. His movies are pure fantasy, after all, and so it’s no surprise that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington would appeal to anyone who ever rejected Otto von Bismarck’s famous advice and decided to go ahead and watch laws being made. As naive idealist Jefferson Smith, Jimmy Stewart made the most of a career-defining performance, but the entire cast — including Capra regulars Jean Arthur and Edward Arnold, as well as the always-dependable Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell — were in top form. You’ve gotta love any film that elevates a one-man filibuster to Herculean heroics. At the time of its release, U.S. senators assailed the picture’s depiction of corrupt Washington powerbrokers. Nowadays, Capra’s treatment of Congress seems almost wistful. Click here for the movie’s vintage trailer.
5. Primary Colors (1998)
Joe Klein’s 1996 novel, Primary Colors, proved to be a media sensation when he penned it under the pseudonym “Anonymous.” Transforming that book into an equally successful film seemed like a tall order, but director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May did so with aplomb. John Travolta is great as Bill Clinton stand-in Jack Stanton, with Emma Thompson every bit his equal as a fictionalized Hillary. A smart, grown-up comedy punctuated by fine performances, the picture is realistic enough to whittle down politics to a sometimes disconcerting truth: People who disappoint you are capable of great things, and well-intentioned people can let you down. Who woulda thunk it? Provided for your viewing entertainment: a trailer for Primary Colors.
6. Nixon (1995)
Oliver Stone is certainly interesting, if nothing else. His best films, like his most ill-conceived, tend to share the same over-the-top, borderline-crazy aesthetic. His biopic of the nation’s 37th president does not lack for outrageousness, a fever-dream of a movie that takes considerable liberties with the historical record and indulges in plenty of psychobabble. But the movie is so kinetic and weirdly hypnotic — even if it does push its welcome at more than three hours — I have to include it on this admittedly subjective list. Anthony Hopkins doesn’t attempt to impersonate Tricky Dick, but his amped-up theatricality makes for a memorable time, as does a solid supporting cast that includes Joan Allen, James Woods, Ed Harris and Paul Sorvino. Click here for the trailer to Nixon.
7. The Candidate (1972)
Sly satire captured with the unblinking eye of cinema verite, Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate remains a modest classic of Seventies-era filmmaking. Robert Redford stars as Bill McKay, an idealistic, crusading lawyer who is recruited to run for the U.S. Senate against a seemingly unbeatable Republican incumbent. McKay’s Quixotic campaign gains credibility through the candidate’s unique platform of truth-telling, but don’t let that premise throw you. The Candidate is unsentimental and unyielding, a movie that rings with authenticity, as well as a fair amount of humor. All that and one of the best endings in movie history. “What now? Click here for The Candidate’s trailer.
8. Being There (1979)
As a feeble-minded gardener whose idiocy is mistaken for profundity in Being There, Peter Sellers is a marvel of dry understatement. The film is only peripherally political, since Sellers’ Chance the gardener — he inadvertently reinvents himself as Chauncey Gardiner — falls into politics after being taken in by uber-wealthy industrialist Melvyn Douglas. Director Hal Ashby, in adapting Jerzy Kosinski’s novel of the same name, crafts a leisurely paced satire sharp enough to sever arteries. Chauncey’s understanding of the world is limited to television (“I like to watch”), but the boob tube is enough of a primer for his every simpleton utterance to be interpreted as brilliant. Insert your own modern-day comparison here. Oh, and here’s a trailer of Being There.
9. Advise & Consent (1962)
It’s difficult to make the argument that Advise & Consent is a good movie. Otto Preminger’s potboiler about a controversial presidential appointment is essentially bloated melodrama — subtlety was never a Preminger strong suit — complete with a mighty dated (and offensive) take on homosexuality. But the ensemble cast is terrific, especially Charles Laughton (as an oily Southern senator), Henry Fonda (as — who else? — an idealistic champion of all that’s right and just), Franchot Tone (as the president) Walter Pidgeon, Burgess Meredith and George Grizzard. If you like big ensemble casts and politics, Advise & Consent is the cinematic equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. (Sorry, no trailer found)
10. The Last Hurrah (1958)
Based on Edwin O’Connor’s 1956 bestseller and directed by the great John Ford, The Last Hurrah too often gets overlooked in the annals of terrific political flicks. Granted, it’s not one of Ford’s best; the story of an Irish-American mayor whose time is coming to a close is unabashedly sentimental and occasionally tedious. But Spencer Tracy gives a characteristically indelible performance as Mayor Frank Skeffington, the tone is appropriately elegiac and the political maneuverings are just great fun to watch. Click here for the trailer from The Last Hurrah.