The Swamp logo

Best Political Films Ever Made

Political films allow us to peek behind the curtain and understand the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of government.

By Stephen HamiltonPublished 7 years ago 5 min read
Like

Political films help us to comprehend the often murky world of politics. We are all obsessed with politics, but we don’t always understand them. George Orwell said that political language is designed to make lies sound truthful. Is it any wonder that we get lost among the rhetoric sometimes? Political cinema gives us a sneak peek behind the scenes. The scandals, the damage control, the back room deals, the campaign trail, the idealists, the spin-doctors, and everything else we love and love to hate about politics. Get informed by watching this great selection of political films.

Sean Penn garnered an Oscar win for his stunning turn as the brave and inspirational Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in California. This moving portrayal of Milk's life follows his struggles as a gay activist in 1970s San Francisco, his campaigns and rise to office, his love life, and his assassination at the hands of a political rival. The brilliantly directed Milk received widespread praise and critical acclaim upon release. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning two—one for Best Actor in a Leading Role and one for Best Original Screenplay.

This is a brilliant political movie on a smaller scale. Alexander Payne's biting satire explores a high school’s student body election and the hilarious consequences that ensue when much-admired teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) grows weary of overachiever Tracy Flick’s (Reese Witherspoon) antics and decides to damage her campaign. The campaigns mirror real politics at their worst—marked by sex scandals, going negative, sabotage, and vote-rigging. The black comedy was met with critical acclaim, especially in terms of writing and direction. It is intelligent, witty, and enjoyable. The characters are realistic, flawed human beings. It’s also Barack Obama’s favorite movie.

Political films don’t come any better than director and star Orson Welles’ legendary, oft-imitated, thinly-veiled portrait of the life of William Randolph Hearst. The picture, which Welles also produced and co-wrote, was his first feature film. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, it won Best Writing. Many consider it to be the greatest film of all time. Citizen Kane topped the American Film Institute's 100 Years… 100 Movies list. Worthy of special praise is Welles’ handling of cinematography, music, and narrative structure, which were both ground-breaking and influential. It is said that no one sees Citizen Kane for the first time because it is so recognizable, widely parodied and prominent in our cultural consciousness.

Warren Beatty plays down-on-his-luck Democratic senator Jay Bulworth, who has sold out his values over the years by taking donations from big corporations, is in a sham marriage, and is about to lose his bid for re-election. Fed up, he arranges for an anonymous assassin to kill him in two days. Free of consequences, he becomes involved with black activist Halle Berry, starts taking drugs and drinking openly, rapping in public, and telling it like it is at political events. Ironically, his refreshing, rhetoric-free straight-talk makes him a smash-hit with voters. Barack Obama used to joke that he wished he could “go Bulworth.”

One of the funniest and smartest political films, Wag the Dog is laced with delicious black comedy. When the president becomes embroiled in a sex scandal mere days before the next election, his top spin doctor comes up with the idea of staging a fake diversionary war with Albania to distract voters. He hires a big-shot Hollywood producer to elaborately construct the ruse, complete with a theme song, fake film footage and a media darling war hero who turns out to be criminally insane. The acting performances are perfect and there are big, thought-provoking laughs to be had.

Oliver Stone is at his powerful, paranoid best here. This classic, incendiary, testosterone-fuelled film depicts the events leading up to the JFK assassination and an alleged cover-up. Kevin Costner stars as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, in a dazzling performance, as he fights to unravel the mystery. JFK was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning two (Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing). It also features an outstanding, huge ensemble cast. The movie was controversial upon release due to its polarizing conspiracy theory content, which many derided as crazy… but that’s what they would want us to think, right?

A classic among political films, master director Stanley Kubrick's comedy satirizes Cold War anxiety of nuclear war between the superpowers. The plot follows a deranged United States Air Force general who orders a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. The President, his advisers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Royal Air Force officer desperately attempt to cancel the order to avert Mutually Assured Destruction. It also concerns the crew of the B-52 bomber attempting to deliver their payload. One of cinema’s best-loved comedies, it still feels fresh over fifty years after its release.

Frank Capra’s classic tale of one extraordinary bumpkin (Jimmy Stewart) who dares to make a difference and stand up to a morally bankrupt political system was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning Best Original Story. It’s also the film that made Stewart a star, and it consistently ranks highly in lists of the greatest films of all time. A box office and critical success, the impact of the film is still felt today. A common, idealistic person delivering an impassioned speech to Congress has become a well-established trope of political films dealing with Congress.

In his controversial masterpiece, and his first true “talkie,” Charlie Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator modeled after Adolph Hitler and a persecuted Tramp-like Jewish barber who is mistaken for the former. Chaplin's film cut a scathing, satirical criticism of Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, anti-Semitism, and Nazism at a time when the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Popular with audiences and Chaplin's most commercially successful film, it is celebrated it as a historically important film and a significant work of satire. It was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Professional muckraker Michael Moore had made provocative political films before, but this was something special. It is the highest grossing documentary of all time. It examines the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its media coverage. Moore accuses the American media of spurring on the 2003 invasion of Iraq and not providing a truthful and impartial representation of the justification for the war and the subsequent casualties there. The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received a 20-minute standing ovation (the longest in the festival’s history), as well as being awarded the Palme d'Or (the highest honor). It was received positively by critics upon release, but ignited fiery debate where people either loved it or hated it depending on their political affiliation.

movie reviewlist
Like

About the Creator

Stephen Hamilton

Definitive movie buff. Quickly realized that it was more financially prudent to write about film than trying to beg for millions of dollars to make his own.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.