Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

Political  Film  Festival
Page One

Citizen Kane runs for office             Links

Selected Films & TV, A-Z
A thru FG thru L
M thru RS thru Z

Books About Political Films


“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then applying
the wrong remedies.”   — Groucho Marx [1890-1977]

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be
led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins; all of them imaginary.”
H.L. Mencken [1880-1956]

“If you make any film that accurately portrays the world as it is - that portrays people's lives the way [that] they actually are -
by definition, that's a political film.”   — movie director Steven Soderbergh


L i n k s

One World Intl. Human Rights Documentary Film Festival [April]

Political Film Society & Awards [est. 1986]

Books on U.S. Politics & Elections Pages
at Spirit of America Bookstore

Books on Political Science
at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore

Corruption & Scandals in U.S. Politics Page
at Working Minds Philosophy website

Magic Lantern's Independent & Avant-Garde Filmmakers Pages

Magic Lantern's Human Rights Film Festival Page

Magic Lantern's Michael Moore Page

New Mexico Political Links Page



Selected  Political  Films & TV,  A to Z

browse DVD politics documentaries on Amazon
browse VHS politics documentaries on Amazon

untitled George Washington TV project [in development]  
Announced 11/2012: NBC-TV is developing a drama project centered around real-life president George Washington, based on the 2010 New York Times bestseller
and National Book Award winner "Washington: A Life" by Ron Chernow; Barry Levinson is exec-producing, with screenwriter David Seidler ("The King’s Speech")
adapting and also exec-producing • still not listed at IMDb (2018)

           A   thru   F

"A Lion Is In The Streets" [Warner Bros. Sept 1953]
Directed by Raoul Walsh; based on a novel by Andria Locke Langley; starring James Cagney, Barbara Hale,
Anne Francis, Warner Anderson, John McIntire, Jeanne Cagney, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank McHugh, Larry Keating,
Onslow Stevens, James Millican, Mickey Simpson, Sara Haden & Ellen Corby; full credits from IMDb

"A Man for All Seasons" [1966] /tt0060665/

"A New Tomorrow: A Mockumentary About Voting" [indep May 2007]
A New Tomorrow mockumentary film by Carey Corr & Carole Parker  A blistering satire of the recent political climate in this country, the film's acid social criticism skewers the inherent hypocrisy during the mayoral race of the town of Venison • Co-produced, co-written & directed by Carey Corr; co-written by Carole Parker; starring Victor Williams, Eric Bloom, Hillary Crouse, Erin Cummings, John C. Hansen, Jessica Lancaster, Katrina Law, Tom O'Keefe, Jodi Shilling, Anna Vocino & Kim Estes
indep color DVD [9/2009] for $9.95
full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

"Advise & Consent" [Columbia June 1962]
Advise & Consent poster   An idealistic young U.S. Senator discovers that testimony before his committee by a candidate for Secretary of State was perjury, and the man may have been an active Communist. Produced & directed by Otto Preminger; script by Wendell Mayes, based on the novel (below); starring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Inga Swenson, Edward Andrews, Paul McGrath, Will Geer & Betty White
Warner widescreen b&w DVD [5/2005] for $17.99
Warner widescreen b&w VHS [3/95] out of prodn/used
Anchor Bay b&w VHS [2/88] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
Advise & Consent: A Novel of Washington Politics  
based on the 1959 novel by Allen Drury [1918-98]
won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960

Avon pb [6/81] out of print/used
Doubleday hardcover [1959] out of print/used

sequel novel "A Shade of Difference"

"All The King's Men"
Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren [1905-89] about the life of Southern populist
politician Willie Stark (based on Gov. Huey Long of Louisiana).

won Oscar for Best Picture  Broderick Crawford won Oscar for Best Actor  Mercedes McCambridge won Oscar for Best Supporting Actress  All The King's Men 1949 movie  1949 Columbia Pictures feature film
Written & directed by Robert Rossen; starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, John Derek, Mercedes McCambridge, Shepperd Strudwick, Ralph Dumke, Anne Seymour, Raymond Greenleaf, Joanne Dru & Walter Burke; won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor [BC], Best Supporting Actress [MM], Oscar nomi-nations for Best Director, Best Script Adaptation, Best Supporting Actor [JI], Best Editing; won DGA & WGA awards, won 5 Golden Globes; listed in National Film Registry (2001)
Sony b&w DVD [6/2001] for $21.99
Sony b&w VHS [6/94] out of stock/used
full credits from IMDb
All The King's Men novel  
1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren
won the Pulitzer Prize for The Novel in 1947; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005)
Harvest 8x5½ pb [9/96] for $10.20
Harcourt 9¼x6¼ movie tie-in hardcover [11/2005] for $14.30
Recorded Books movie tie-in audio CD [10/2005] for $25.19

"Kraft Television Theatre" tv program [1958] Directed by Sidney Lumet; starring Neville Brand,
Frank Conroy, Robert Emhardt, John Fiedler, Anne Meacham & Maureen Stapleton • video/kinescope not available • credits at IMDb

All The King's Men 2006 poster  2006 feature film [Columbia/Phoenix Sept 2006]
Written & directed by Steven Zaillian; starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins & Kathy Baker
Sony color DVD with extras [12/2006] for $19.99
full credits from IMDbofficial movie site {requires Flash}
27"x41" poster available at AllPosters.com

"All The President's Men"
[Warner/Wildwood April 1976]
William Goldman won Oscar for Best Script  Jason Robards won Oscar for Best Supporting Actor  won Oscar for Best Sound  won Oscar for Best Art Direction  
All The President's Men video  
Two intrepid reporters and their editor at the Washington Post track a seemingly simple burglary at the WaterGate office building to the highest members of the Republican Party and to the Nixon White House. • Directed by Alan J. Pakula; screenplay by William Goldman from the bestselling book [below]; starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards & Jane Alexander; won Oscars for Best Script, Best Supporting Actor [JR], Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress [JA], Best Editing; WGA Award for Best Script; added to National Film Registry (2010)
Warner Home Video widescreen color Blu-ray [1/2012] for $14.99
Warner Home Video widescreen color Blu-ray [2/2011] for $18.99
Warner Home Video special edition widescreen color DVD [2/2006] 2 disks for $6.50
Warner Home Video widescreen color DVD [10/2010] for $4.99
Warner Home Video widescreen color DVD [10/97] out of prodn/many used
Warner Home Video color VHS [3/2003] for $2.49
full credits from IMDbwatch official trailer [1:50] at YouTube
All The President's Men book   1974 bestseller by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [2007 edition] for $10.38
S&S 8½x5½ pb [6/94] for $12.18
Pocket mass pb [6/2005] out of print/130+ used
Touchstone pb [1/87] out of print/90+ used
Warner Paperback Library mass pb [2/75] out of print/used
S&S 25th Anniv 9½x6½ hardcover [7/99] out of print/many used
S&S hardcover [6/74] out of print/hundreds used
Recorded Books audio CD [3/2004] 12 disks for $26.59

more details (synopsis, docufilms, posters, books, links) on
Magic Lantern's "All The President's Men" 1976 Movie Page

"America: From Freedom To Fascism"
[independent documentary Sept 2006]
America Freedom To Fascism poster  Documentary covering a range of issues: income taxes, the Federal Reserve System, federal identification, police brutality, erosion of civil liberties – and a solution: civil disobediance. {Review: The film has loony positions and cites conclusions rather than facts, but discussion of these matters is indeed important.} Produced, written & directed by Aaron Russo
Cinema Libre color DVD [12/2006] for $13.99
full credits at IMDb
official movie site

"American Blackout"  [Guerrilla News Network Sept 2006]
American Blackout documentary film  A look at the career of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, the 'modern Jim Crow' disenfranchisement of her constituents, and contemporary tactics used to silence political dissent
Directed by Ian Inaba; won Special Jury Prize at Sundance; interviewees include U.S. Congress-people John Lewis, Cynthia McKinney, John Conyers, Bernie Sanders & Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, and B.B.C. journalist Greg Palast.
Disinformation color DVD [10/2006] for $13.48
full credits from IMDbofficial film site

"The American President"
[Castle Rock Nov 1995]
The American President   A very popular single-parent U.S. President falls for an environmental lobbyist, which causes shock waves both personal & political. Produced & directed by Rob Reiner; starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Richard Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, Samantha Mathis, Shawna Waldron, David Paymer & Anne Haney
Warner color DVD [8/99] for $8.99
Turner color VHS [1/99] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDbofficial movie site

"The American Ruling Class: America Rules The World, But Who Rules America?"
feature film [indep April 2008]
The American Ruling Class documentary feature written by Lewis H. Lapham  An unusual combination of documentary footage and scripted actors that thoroughly reveals America's ruling master class. Directed by John Kirby; written by Lewis H. Lapham; featuring Robert Altman, James A. Baker III, Bill Bradley, Harold Brown, Hodding Carter III, William T. Coleman, Jr., Walter Cronkite, Barbara Ehrenreich, Martin Garbus, Vartan Gregorian, Mike Medavoy, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Samuel Peabody, Peter G. Peterson, Pete Seeger, Lawrence H. Summers, Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., William Howard taft IV, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. & Howard Zinn
Alive Mind color DVD [1/2009] for $24.49
full credits at IMDbmovie entry at Wikipediaofficial movie site

"An Enemy of The People"
A doctor discovers that the health spa business intended to invigorate a small town is contaminated by an upstream tannery and is
harming the health of tourist visitors. His brother the mayor and others refuse to clean up the waters because of the great cost –
Ibsen's classic indictment of the irrational masses and of the hypocrisy, greed & corruption of the political system that they support.
Steve McQueen / Henrik Ibsen / An Enemy of The People  
color feature film [Warner/First Artists March 1978]
Produced & directed by George Schaefer; based on Arthur Miller's adaptation; co-produced by & starring Steve McQueen, also starring Bibi Andersson, Charles Durning, Richard A. Dysart, Michael Cristofer, Michael Higgins, Eric Christmas & Robin Pearson Rose
video/DVDs not available; full credits from IMDb
Arthur Miller / Henrik Ibsen / An Enemy of The People  b&w TV program adapted by Arthur Miller [W.N.E.T. Dec 1966]
part of the Broadway Theatre Archive Series; directed by Paul Bogart; starring James Daly, Kate Reid, Philip Bosco, Timothy Daly, Barbara Dana, Earl Hedin, Walter Klavun & James Olson
Kultur Video b&w DVD [5/2002] for $21.99
Kultur Video b&w VHS [5/2002] out of prodn/used
teleplay credits from IMDb
Henrik Ibsen's "An Enemy of The People" [1882]  based on the 1882 play by Henrik Ibsen [1828-1906]
Dover Thrift 8¼x5¼ pb [2/99] for $3.99
Faber & Faber 7¾x5 pb [2/98] for $10.20
First World Library 8½x5½ pb [12/2004] for $11.95
play's credits on Internet Broadway Database
playscript of the 1950 adaptation by Arthur Miller [1915-2005]
Penguin 7¾x5 pb [11/77] for $9.13
credits for 1950 adaptation on Internet Broadway Database

etext at University of Adelaide in Australia

"Ganashatru"  aka "An Enemy of The People" [N.F.D.C. India 1989]
Rritten, directed & music by Satyajit Ray [1921-92], based on the Ibsen play
video/DVD not available • full credits from IMDb

"Andy's Stump Speech" [Universal Pictures Nov 1924]
pin from 1924 presidential campaign of cartoon & movie character Andy Gump  Eleventh episode of "The Gumps" two-reel comedy series of 1923-28; directed by
Norman Taurog; written by cartoonist Sidney Smith; starring Joe Murphy, Fay Tincher,
child actor Jack Morgan • credits from IMDb
available on the "Lost and Found: American Treasures" DVD [2013]
198-minute Image Ent. b&w/color DVD [9/2013] for $17.81

"The Angry Buddhist" [Showtime]
Announced 4/2012: Drama series based on Seth Greenland's new novel about a fiercely-contested congressional election
in the sun-blasted high California desert between the wily incumbent (who is unburdened by ethical considerations) and
his sexy female opponent (a well-financed newcomer who does not have a firm grip on American history or elemental
economics). The Congressman and his two brothers – an investigator for the D.A.'s office and a career criminal
– find their lives in turmoil when a murder occurs the week before the election • not listed on IMDb (2016)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Angry-Buddhist-ebook/dp/B006Z1NM2G/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Angry-Buddhist-Seth-Greenland/dp/160945068X/

"Animal Farm"
George Orwell's famed 1945 barnyard fable about revolution betrayed.
animated 1954 Animal Farm movie  British animated feature [1954]
Co-written & co-directed by Joy Batchelor & John Halas (Britain's first feature-length cartoon)
Home Vision color DVD [11/2004] for $22.46
Home Vision color VHS [11/2004] for $19.95
United American Video color VHS [8/97] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
animated 1999 Animal Farm movie  1999 Hallmark/TNT animated TV movie
Directed by John Stephenson
Hallmark color DVD [1/2000] for $$17.98
Hallmark color VHS [9/2000] for $9.98
full credits from IMDb
Animal Farm book by George Orwell  1945 novel by George Orwell [1903-50]
listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005)
Kindle Edition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt [7/2009] for $7.92
Signet Classics mass pb [4/96] for $9.99
Plume 8x5½ pb [5/2003] for $9.99

more details (synopsis, history, author, movies, other media) are on
Spirit of America Bookstore's "Animal Farm" [1945 novel] Page

"Argo" [G.K. Films/Warner Bros. Oct 2012]
Argo movie about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis  "Based on a declassified true story" While the world watched the news about the 66 American diplomats held hostage in Tehran during 1979, a C.I.A. team worked to rescue six Americans who managed to flee to the home of the Canadian ambassador; the plan requires making a fake Hollywood movie with real Hollywood stars and execs. Co-produced by George Clooney; directed by & starring Ben Affleck; script by Chris Terrio, based on an article by Joshuah Bearman; also starring Taylor Schilling, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Victor Garber, Michael Cassidy, Clea DuVall, Alan Arkin, Rory Cochrane, Adrienne Barbeau, Titus Welliver & Michael Parks
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb

Gore Vidal's "The  Best  Man"
[United Artists April 1964]
Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" poster  Five men vie for the presidential nomination within a party in disarray.
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner; script by Gore Vidal, based on his play; starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton, Shelley Berman, Lee Tracy [Oscar nom], Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond. Kevin McCarthy, Richard Arlen & [blacklistee] John Henry Faulk
M.G.M. b&w VHS [9/98] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
Best Man playscript   1960 playscript by Gore Vidal [1925-2012]
Dramatists Play Service 7¾x5 pb [1/98] for $7.50
Little, Brown hardcover [1960] out of print/used
credits at Internet Broadway Database: 1960-612000 revival

"The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress"
[Brave New Films May 2006]
Big Buy / Tom DeLay  Co-produced by Robert Greenwald; co-produced & co-directed
by Mark Birnbaum & Jim Shermbeck
Brave New Films color DVD [5/2006] for $14.99
full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

"Black Sheep" [Paramount Feb 1996]
Black Sheep 1996 comedy film starring Chris Farley & David Spade  A candidate for governor of Washington State assigns one of his staff to keep his embarrassing younger brother under control, but events do not proceed smoothly at all. (It's a comedy; reviewer Gene Siskel hated the film; it produced good box office results anyway.) Directed by Penelope Spheeris; starring Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey, Grant Heslov, Timothy Carhart, Bruce McGill, Michael Patrick Carter & Boyd Banks
Paramount Video widescreen color Blu-ray [5/2009] for $12.99
Paramount Video widescreen color DVD [7/2002] for $9.98
Paramount Video color VHS [7/97] out of prodn/many, many used
11"x17" poster from Amazon for $14.99
full credits at IMDb

"Blaze" [Touchstone Dec 1989]
Blaze movie poster  The aging governor of Louisiana falls for a young stripper; when she moves in with him, his political opponents launch an attack on his progressive programs.
Written & directed by Ron Shelton, based on Blaze Starr's autobiography; starring Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin, Gailard Sartain & Jeffrey DeMunn
Disney color DVD [4/2004] for $9.99
Touchstone color VHS [2/96] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
Blaze Starr autobiography  "Blaze Starr: My Life" [Praeger 1974]
by Blaze Starr with Huey Perry

Pocket movie tie-in pb [12/89] out of print/used

"Bob Roberts" [1992]: credits at IMDb

"Borgen" Danish TV series [2010-2013]
A female politician suddenly becomes Prime Minister of Denmark; the title means 'castle', and is the common nickname for the Christiansborg Palace
in Copenhagen, which houses all three branches of the national government (similar to 'Capitol Hill' in USA). Three seasons of ten episodes each
are completed • series credits at IMDbentry at Wikipedia

Borgen Danish TV series season 1 on DVD  
Season 1: MHz Networks subtitled widescreen color DVD [3/2013] 4 disks for $33.14
Season 2: available on Region 2 DVD/Blu-ray only
Season 1 & 2: available on Region 2 DVD/Blu-ray only
Season 3 finished being broadcast in Denmark in March 2013

"Born  On  The  Fourth  of  July"  [1989]
credits at IMDb

"Born  Yesterday" [Columbia Pictures 1950]
Directed by George Cukor; adapted by Albert Mannheimer from Garson Kanin's 1946 stageplay;
starring Judy Holliday, William Holden & Broderick Crawford; won Oscar for Best Actress, nominated for
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script • full credits at IMDb

"Born  Yesterday" color remake [Hollywood Pictures March 1993]
Directed by Luis Mandoki; adapted by Douglas McGrath; starring Melanie Griffith, John Goodman,
Don Johnson & Edward Herrmann • full credits at IMDb

"Bulworth" [1998]: credits at IMDb

"Burn !" aka "Queimada" [1969]
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo; starring Marlon Brando; credits at IMDb

"The Campaign" [2012]
http://www.thecampaignmovie.com/

"The Candidate" [1972]
credits at IMDbwatch official trailer [3:09] at YouTube

"Casino  Jack" [Rollercoaster/Metropolitan 2010]
Casino Jack feature film starring Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff  The schemes of a hot-shot Washington, DC lobbyist and his protégé lead to corruption and murder. Directed by George Hickenlooper; written by Norman Snider; starring Kevin Spacey {as Jack Abramoff}, Barry Pepper {as Michael Scanlon}, Christian Campbell {as Ralph Reed}, Spencer Garrett {as Tom DeLay}, Jeffrey R. Smith {as Grover Norquist}, David Fraser {as Karl Rove}, Brian Paul {as Sen. McCain}, Jeff Pustil {as Bob Ney}, Kelly Preston, Eric Schweig, Maury Chaykin & Mike Petersen
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb

"Casino  Jack  &  The  United  States  of  Money"
[Participant Media / Magnolia Pictures May 2010]
Casino Jack & the United States of Money docufilm by Alex Gibney   Two-hour documentary about the various crooked deals of lobbyist 'Casino Jack' Abramoff, currently serving a sentence in federal prison in Maryland. Co-produced, written & directed by Alex Gibney; faeturing Republican crooks Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon & Neil Volz
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDbofficial movie site at Take Part

"The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth"
TV series
[Showtime Jan-Nov 2016, March 2017-??]
Showtime political news TV series 'The Circus'  Renewed for second season starting March 2017; first season of 26 episodes January thru November 2016
featuring 'the usual suspects', co-hosted by Mark Halperin, John Heilemann & Mark McKinnon
Season 1: Showtime Networks color Blu-ray [3/2017] 4 disks for $34.99  3/2017
Season 1: Showtime Networks color DVD-R [3/2017] 5 disks for $29.99  3/2017
full credits at IMDbofficial series websitemovie entry at Wikipedia

"Citizen Kane" [Mercury/R.K.O. May 1941]
Generally considered the 'Best Film of All Time'

A multimillionaire newspaper tycoon who failed a political bid dies, and his last utterance is the single word 'rosebud'; a curious reporter attempts to unlock
the riddle of its meaning by interviewing the tycoon's friends and business partners, revealing the tycoon's life events through flashbacks.

"Citizen Kane" entry at Wikipedia

Citizen Kane poster (retail source not found)  Produced, co-written & directed by Orson Welles [1915-85]; co-written by Herman J. Mankiewicz; cinema-tography by Gregg Toland; music by Bernard Herrmann; co-starring Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Thomas Anderson, Paul Stewart & George Coulouris; number one on the Top 100 List of the American Film Institute, listed on the National Film Registry (1989), and listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005)
Turner b&w DVD [9/2001] 2 disks for $16.97
Turner b&w VHS [8/96] out of prodn/many used
Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [11/99] for $16.18
full credits from IMDb
Citizen Kane screenplay  
"Citizen Kane" screenplay [2002]
by Orson Welles & Herman J. Mankiewicz

includes the essay "Raising Kane" by Pauline Kael
Methuen Drama pb [5/2002] for $18.42
more details (synopsis, books, posters, links) on
Magic Lantern's "Citizen Kane" 1941 Movie Page

"City  of  Hope" [1991]
credits at IMDb

"Client 9: The Rise & Fall of Eliot Spitzer"
[Magnolia Pictures Nov 2010] http://www.client9themovie.com/ /tt1638362/

"Commander  In  Chief"
[Touchstone/A.B.C. 18-episode tv series Sept 2005-June 2006]
Commander In Chief volume 1  
Commander In Chief volume 2  
When the U.S. President dies during emergency surgery, the independent female Vice President is asked to step aside so that the Speaker of the House can become the President. But after a series of insulting and sexist meetings, she decides to thwart the pols and take her rightful place as Leader of the Free World. Produced by Steven Bochco; co-produced by & starring Geena Davis {as President MacKenzie Allen}, also starring Donald Sutherland, Harry J. Lennix, Kyle Secor, Ever Carradine, Matt Lanter, Caitlin Wachs, Anthony Azizi, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Natasha Henstridge & Polly Bergen
series credits from IMDb; A.B.C. network official program site
Episodes 1-10: Buena Vista color DVD [6/2006] 2 disks for $22.99
Episodes 11-18: Buena Vista color DVD [9/2006] 2 disks for $20.99

"The  Conformist" [Italy Oct 1970]
The Conformist movie   A minor bureaucrat takes a job with the Mussolini government and marries a politically-connected young beauty; he is asked to visit an expatriate professor while on his honeymoon in Paris, and is given a gun and silencer at the border. Written & directed by Bernardo Bertolucci; based on a novel {below} by Alberto Moravia; cinematography by Vittorio Storaro; starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio, Fosco Giachetti, José Quaglio, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clémenti & Yvonne Sanson; Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation
Paramount widescreen color DVD [12/2006] for $12.99
Paramount color VHS [undated] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
The Conformist 1947 novel  
based on the 1947 novel by Alberto Moravia [1907-90]
Steerforth Italia 8½x5½ pb [11/99] for $13.26

"Convention" [IFC Films June 2010]
Convention documentary about the August 2008 Democratic Party convention  A team of independent filmmakers documented the 2008 Democratic Party
convention in Denver, Colorado.
Co-produced & directed by A.J. Schnack
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

"Cradle  Will  Rock"
[Touchstone Dec 1999]
Cradle Will Rock video   The Great Depression, labor politics, the McCarthy madness and their effect on a group of actors & writers working to rehearse a leftist musical drama. Written & directed by Tim Robbins; starring Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, Emily Watson & Bob Balaban
Buena Vista color DVD [4/2003] for $13.49
Touchstone color VHS [10/2002] for $9.99
RCA soundtrack CD [12/99] for $17.98
full credits from IMDb
credits of the play within the movie at Internet Broadway Database

"Dave" [1993] Kevin Kline in a dual role
credits at IMDb

"The Deal" [U.K. TV Sept 2003, H.B.O. Nov 2007]
Two British politicians rose thru the ranks as great friends, but then became rivals; when the opportunity arose for one
of the pair to become prime minister, a dinner meeting decision set events in motion that determined the fate of the country.

Directed by Stephen Frears; written by Peter Morgan; starring David Morrissey, Matt Blair & Michael Sheen • full credits at IMDb

"The Distinguished Gentleman" [1992]
directed by Jonathan Lynn; starring Eddie Murphy (also add to afroFF3)

"Dog Fight" [Warner Bros. 2012?]  
Announced December 2010: Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis star as rival politicians in a small congressional district
in South Carolina; Jay Roach will direct; co-produced by Ferrell, Galifianakis, Roach & Adam McKay; script by Chris
Henchy & Shawn Harwell; also starring Jason Sudeikis, Sarah Baker, Katherine LaNasa • latest credits at IMDb

"El Presidente" [Warner Brothers 2012? release]  
Written by Daniel J. Goor; tale of an “overly-committed Secret Service agent who is assigned to guard
the country's worst former president, a bumbling sleaze”; latest info at IMDb

"Electile Dysfunction: Inside The Business of American Campaigns" [2006]
Electile Dysfunction 2006 docufilm by Joe Barber & Mary Patel  Co-directed by Joe Barber & Mary Patel; featuring Congressman Dennis Kucinich, former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, actors Ed Asner & Elliott Gould, Sidney Blumenthal, Joe Trippi, White House correspondent Helen Thomas, and Senators Bob Casey, John Edwards, John Kerry, John McCain, Barack Obama, Rick Santorum & Arlen Specter
Cinema Libre Studios color DVD [10/2008] for $17.99
not listed at IMDb • official movie site

"Electile Dysfunction" [indep 2008]
Electile Dysfunction docufilm & See The Suppressed Movie docufilm  58-minute film produced & directed by Penny Little; featuring Greg Palast, Danny Schechter, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Victor Navasky, Jim Hightower, William Rivers Pitt, David Dill & Congressman John Conyers; on DVD with "See The Suppressed Movie" by Bud Clifton
indep color DVD [undated] out of prodn/used {also available at producer website}
neither film listed at IMDb • official movie site

"Election" [1999] with Reese Witherspoon
credits at IMDb

"Enron:  The  Smartest  Guys  In  The  Room"
[Jigsaw/Magnolia docu feature April 2005]
Enron movie poster  Co-written & directed by Alex Gibney; based on the book
Magnolia widescreen color Blu-ray [9/2006] for $14.49
Magnolia widescreen color DVD [1/2006] for $13.76
full credits from IMDb

see also Spirit of America Bookstore's Enron Corp. [1985-2006] Page

Smartest Guys In The Room / Enron book by Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind  "The Smartest Guys In The Room: The Amazing Rise & Scandalous
Fall of Enron" [2003] by Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind

Portfolio 8½x5½ pb [9/2004] for $10.88
Portfolio 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2003] for $17.79

"Enron" [2012?]
Announced December 2010: The stageplay took the London stage by storm (written by Lucy Prebble &
directed by Rupert Goold), but flopped on Broadway (largely due to a bad review in the New York Times).
George Clooney will produce • stageplay entry at Wikipedialatest info at IMDb

"Fair Game" [Participant Media 2010]
Fair Game feature film about the TreasonGate Scandal  Feature film based on the book by Valerie Plame Wilson about the TreasonGate Scandal of 2003. Directed by Doug Liman; screenplay by Jez & John Butterworth; starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, David Andrews & Geoffrey Cantor
Summit Ent. widescreen color Blu-ray [3/2011] for $19.49
Summit Ent. widescreen color DVD [3/2011] for $13.08
full credits at IMDbofficial movie sitemovie entry at Wikipedia
"Fair Game: My Life As A Spy, My Betrayal By The White House" [2007]
by Valerie Plame Wilson

Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster [10/2007] for $11.99
S&S 8½x5½ pb [6/2008] for $10.20
S&S 9¼x6½ hardcover [10/2007] out of print/hundreds used
S&S ABR audio CD [10/2007] out of prodn/many used
official book site

"Feed: A Comedy About Running For President" [Oct 1992]
1992 docu feature "Feed"  Very funny documentary that includes pirated news network live satellite feeds and compares them to on-air propaganda from the 1992 U.S. presidential primary in New Hampshire. Co-produced & co-directed by Kevin Rafferty & James Ridgeway; satellite feeds provided by Brian Springer
First Run Features widescreen color DVD [11/2007] for $24.95
First Run Features color VHS [11/99] out of prodn/used
full credits at IMDb

"The First Family" [studio 2012?]  
Announced 3/2012: Set to film 104 episodes; largely Afro-American cast includes Christopher B. Duncan {as POTUS},
Kellita Smith {as the First Lady}, Marla Gibbs, Gladys Knight {as the president’s mother}, Jackee Harry, Michael D.
Roberts, John Witherspoon {as the president’s father}, and Paul Rodriguez • not yet listed on IMDb

"Fools On The Hill: The Documentary" [indep June 2011]
Fools On The Hill documentary about Jerrol LeBaron & Congress  Filmed in Los Angeles & Sacramento in California, and in New York, North Dakota & Washington, DC. A record of Hollywood exec Jerrol LeBaron's quixotic quest to require politicians to have read every bill before they vote on it. Co-produced, written & directed by Jed Rigney; co-produced by & starring Jerrol LeBaron; featuring Dean Cain & Ed Begley Jr.
purchase DVD or download at the producer's website
full credits at IMDbofficial movie sitewatch official trailer [2:57] on YouTube

Romney's "47 Percent" Speech [17 May 2012]
Uncovering the Romney 47 Percent Video in Kindle format from David Corn   the actual hidden camera video [1:04] on YouTube
Obama campaign video [1:39] with person-on-the-street commentary on YouTube
"47 Percent: Uncovering The Romney Video That Rocked The 2012 Election"
for Kindle [2012] by David Corn

Kindle Edition from William Morrow / HarperCollins [10/2012] for 99¢ {sic}
Early example of a rapid-response Kindle report. M.S.N.B.C. analyst David Corn also works as Washington Bureau chief for Mother Jones Magazine; when he learned of the existence of the secret video of Romney's speech, he located the source, authenticated the video, and persuaded the source to let him release it on the magazine's website. The video was a sensation and greatly altered the course of the 2012 presidential campaign.

"Frost / Nixon" [Universal/Imagine Dec 2008]
Frost / Nixon movie poster  After U.S. President Richard M. Nixon's near-impeachment then resignation over WaterGate, Australian talk show host David Frost outbids C.B.S. for an exclusive interview with the ailing Nixon. For 12 interview sessions, Nixon manages to overrun Frost with lengthy self-justifying lectures. But then a drunken phone call by Nixon to Frost ramps up the pressure: either Nixon will succeed in restoring his political luster (and Frost go bankrupt), or Frost must implicate Nixon definitively in the Watergate scandal. • Co-produced & directed by Ron Howard; script by Peter Morgan, based on his play; starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Matthew Macfadyen, Toby Jones, Andy Milder & Rebecca Hall
Universal Home Video widescreen color on Blu-ray [4/2009] for $20.99
Universal Home Video widescreen color DVD [4/2009] for $19.98
Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [12/2008] 14 tracks for $14.99
full credits from IMDbofficial movie sitemovie entry at Wikipedia
Frost/Nixon stageplay by Peter Morgan  
"Frost/Nixon: A Play" [London 2006, Broadway 2007] by Peter Morgan
London & New York performances directed by Michael Grandage and starring Michael Sheen & Frank Langella; Langella won Best Actor Tony Award, Drama Desk Award & Outer Critics Circle Award
Faber & Faber 7½x5 playscript pb [4/2007] for $11.20
Broadway play credits at IBDbplay entry at Wikipedia
Frost Nixon Original Watergate Interviews   "Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews" [May 1977]
88-minute TV special culled from 28 hours of in-person interviews • Co-produced & hosted by
Sir David Frost; directed by Jørn Winther; starring interviewee Richard Nixon
Liberation Ent. color DVD [12/2008] for $13.49
Universal Home Video VHS [1/96] 6 hours on 5 tapes - out of prodn/rare
full credits from IMDb
more on President Richard M. Nixon at Spirit of America Bookstore
more on the WaterGate Conspiracy at Spirit of America Bookstore

more selected films & TV on Page Two & Three:
G thru LM thru RS thru Z

Books About Political Films

Visit Our Other Online Film Festival Pages
Afro-American Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Atomic Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Auto-Racing Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Ayn Rand Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Baseball Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Beatnik Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
'Biker Movies' Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Boxing Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Circus Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Classic Movies & Cinema Masters Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Culver City, California Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Cyber Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Economics Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Education Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Existentialist Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Films Noir Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Football Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
47 Rônin / Chüshingura Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Gangster Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Hollywood Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Horse-Racing Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Human Rights Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Kings & Queens Film Festival at Magic Lantern
'Knights of Yore' Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Labor Movement Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Movie Musicals Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Muscle-Head Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Native American Film Festival at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Bookstore
Oscar-Winning Western Movies Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Bookstore
Philosophy Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Pirate Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Magic Lantern's Political Film Festival   « « you are here
Railroad Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Rat Race' Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Road Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Rock Music Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Samurai Films at Magic Lantern
'Shakespeare On Film' at Magic Lantern
Sherlock Holmes Film Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Sports Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
War [& Anti-War] Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
Western Movies Film Festival at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Bookstore

... and others on the Online Film Festivals Index Page

here on Magic Lantern's Political Film Festival Pages
Books About Political FilmsLinks
Selected Films: A thru FG thru LM thru RS thru Z

«                                       «

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