Highest-Rated Movies about 'American Politics'

The War Room (1993), The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947), The Candidate (1972), The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Ballot Measure 9 (1994), Street Fight (2005) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best American Politics movies.

#1. The War Room (1993)

Storyline: Given unprecedented access, documentary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker Chris Hegedus follow part of the 1992 Clinton campaign for president. During the New Hampshire primary, the campaign hits some stumbling blocks, chief among them the Gennifer Flowers scandal, but nevertheless manages to pull out a second-place finish. From there, strategists George Stephanopoulos and James Carville repair to national campaign headquarters in Little Rock to monitor the remaining duration of the campaign.

Plot Keywords: politics, documentary, behind the scenes, democratic party, media manipulation, real events, american politics ...

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#2. The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)

Storyline: Melvin G. Ashton (William Powell) is a crooked U.S. senator embarking on a campaign for the presidency. Ashton is a political buffoon, but he blackmails the party leaders to support his candidacy with his secret diary, which chronicles years of political corruption that, if made public, would destroy the success of his party and the careers of many. Enemies from a variety of sources attempt to steal the diary and prevent Ashton's rise to the nation's highest office.

Plot Keywords: political satire, comedy, black comedy, scandal, election, corruption, media ...

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#4. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Storyline: 2 Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk & San Francisco Mayor, 'George Moscone (I)' were assassinated by recently resigned Supervisor Dan White on Monday, November 27th, 1978, approximately 8:45 AM to 9:15 AM. Milk's life leading up to his election, his successful efforts to politically represent San Francisco's gay community, and the city's reaction to the assassinations are documented with extensive news film and personal recollections.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: documentary, biography, lgbtq+, politics, activism, san francisco, civil rights ...

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#5. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)

Storyline: This film showcases Noam Chomsky, one of America's leading linguists and political dissidents. It also illustrates his message of how government and big media businesses cooperate to produce an effective propaganda machine in order to manipulate the opinions of their populations. The key examples featured for this analysis are the simultaneous events of the massive coverage of the communist atrocities of Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia and the suppression of news of the US supported Indonesian invasion and subjugation of East Timor.—Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

Plot Keywords: documentary, propaganda, politics, journalism, social criticism, capitalism, ideology ...

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#6. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Storyline: Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal.

Plot Keywords: political, idealism, corruption, democracy, fight, justice, american politics ...

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#7. Ballot Measure 9 (1994)

Storyline: Ballot Measure 9 was an anti-gay amendment proposed to Oregon voters in 1992 by the conservative group, Oregon Citizen's Alliance. This documentary goes behind the scenes of the fight to stop Measure 9. It contains portions of anti-gay videos produced by the Citizen's Alliance as well as news clips and interviews with the people who successfully fought passage of Measure 9.—Travis <mtharris@erols.com>

Plot Keywords: documentary, political, lgbtq+, election, civil rights, social movement, american politics ...

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#9. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Storyline: Major Ben Marco (Frank Sinatra) is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He served valiantly as a captain in the Korean war and his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), even won the Medal of Honor. Marco has a major problem however: he has a recurring nightmare, one where two members of his squad are killed by Shaw. He's put on indefinite sick leave and visits Shaw in New York. Shaw for his part has established himself well, despite the misgivings of his domineering mother, Mrs. Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury). She is a red-baiter, accusing anyone who disagrees with her right-wing reactionary views of being a Communist. Raymond hates her, not only for how she's treated him but equally because of his step-father, the ineffectual U.S. Senator John Iselin (James Gregory), who is intent on seeking higher office. When Marco learns that others in his Korean War unit have had nightmares similar to his own, he realizes that something happened to all of them in Korea and that Raymond...

Plot Keywords: political thriller, cold war, brainwashing, conspiracy, espionage, mind control, assassination ...

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#10. Punishment Park (1971)

Storyline: "Punishment Park" is a pseudo-documentary purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of the team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types across the desert in a type of capture the flag game. The soldiers vow not to interfere with the rebels' progress and merely shepherd them along to their destination. At that point, having obtained their goal, they will be released. The film crew's coverage is meant to insure that the military's intentions are honorable. As the representatives of the 60's counter-culture get nearer to passing this arbitrary test, the soldiers become increasingly hostile, attempting to force the hippies out of their pacifist behavior. A lot of this film appears improvised and in several scenes real tempers seem to flare as some of the "acting" got overaggressive. This is a interesting exercise in situational ethics. The cinéma vérité style, hand-held camera, and ambiguous demands of the director - would the actors be able to maintain their roles given the hazing they were taking - pushed some to the brink. The cast's emotions are clearly on the surface. Unfortunately this film has gone completely underground and is next to impossible to find. It would offer a captivating document of the distrust that existed between soldiers willfully serving in the military and those persons who opposed the war peacefully.—Dick Rockwell <dr1orok@atlas.moa.net>

Plot Keywords: political thriller, mockumentary, dystopian, social critique, american politics, activism, survival game ...

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#12. Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election (2002)

Storyline: Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is the riveting story of the undermining of democracy in America. Focusing on events leading up to election day and the foiled attempt to count legally cast votes, it examines the suspicious pattern of irregularities, injustices and voter purges in Florida - a state governed by the winning candidate's brother.

Plot Keywords: documentary, political, election, american politics, president, florida, controversy ...

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#13. Miss Sloane (2016)

Storyline: In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price.

Plot Keywords: political thriller, drama, female lead, power struggle, ethical dilemma, courtroom drama, psychological warfare ...

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#14. Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)

Storyline: Documentary on the rise of Eliot Spitzer, first as Attorney General and then Governor of New York and his subsequent downfall due to a sex scandal. Spitzer had a hard driving, take no prisoners approach to prosecuting criminals. When he focused his efforts on Wall Street, he came up against some very powerful men. The chink in his armor was an escort whom he met regularly. When the fact that he spent time with a prostitute became public the knives came out so to speak, and Spitzer found himself isolated, resigning the Governorship. At one point, Spitzer recounts the story of a friend who gave him a t-shirt with 'Hubris is Terminal' printed on the front. A fitting epitaph somehow for his political career.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: documentary, politics, scandal, corruption, new york, power, investigation ...

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