Highest-Rated Movies about 'Radical'

Network (1976), Mishima (1985), Running on Empty (1988), 1900 (1976), Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008), Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001), The Barbarian Invasions (2003), The Great Debaters (2007) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Radical movies.

#1. Network (1976)

Storyline: In the 1970s, terrorist violence is the stuff of networks' nightly news programming and the corporate structure of the UBS Television Network is changing. Meanwhile, Howard Beale, the aging UBS news anchor, has lost his once strong ratings share and so the network fires him. Beale reacts in an unexpected way. We then see how this affects the fortunes of Beale, his coworkers (Max Schumacher and Diana Christensen), and the network.

Plot Keywords: media, television, satire, tv news, journalism, adultery, media manipulation ...

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#2. Mishima (1985)

Storyline: A fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese author Yukio Mishima. Three of the segments parallel events in Mishima's life with his novels (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kyoko's House, and Runaway Horses), while the fourth depicts the actual events of the 25th Nov. 1970, "The Last Day".—Nick Lopez <ntlopez@fas.harvard.edu>

Plot Keywords: gay, homosexual, self loathing, reference to michelangelo, reference to lord byron, reference to elvis presley, playwright ...

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#3. Running on Empty (1988)

Storyline: The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then, the Popes have been on the run with the authorities never far behind. Today, their eldest son wants a life of his own although he is aware that would mean that his parents would either get caught or he will never see them again.

Plot Keywords: teenage romance, fugitive, music teacher, piano, aspiring musician, fleeing, fire ...

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#4. 1900 (1976)

Storyline: Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of peasant stock (Depardieu), the other born to a land owner (de Niro). The drama spans from 1900 to about 1945, and focuses mainly on the rise of Fascism and the peasants' eventual reaction by supporting Communism, and how these events shape the destinies of the two main characters.

Plot Keywords: class struggle, socialist, male full frontal nudity, world war two, farm worker, army, penis ...

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#5. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)

Storyline: Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: infidelity, iraq war, irony, las vegas nevada, lawyer, limousine, lizard ...

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#6. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

Storyline: Sub-titled "The Birth of Extreme", this documetary takes a look at the transformation of skateboarding from its former image as a land-bound pastime for surfers to its status today as an extreme and acrobatic sport in its own right. Starting from the California surf community of Dogtown, the film follows the evolution of modern skateboarding through it's 70's heyday, its decline during the 80's, and its eventual (and highly lucrative) return in the 90's.—Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>

Plot Keywords: marijuana, injury, falling, gymnast, rock 'n' roll, santa monica california, magazine ...

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#7. The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

Storyline: In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who asks their estranged son Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on.

Plot Keywords: dying, fear of death, heroin, father son reunion, estrangement, junkie, father son conflict ...

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#8. The Great Debaters (2007)

Storyline: Marshall, Texas, described by James Farmer, Jr. as "the last city to surrender after the Civil War," is home to Wiley College, where, in 1935-36, inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and his clandestine work as a union organizer, Professor Melvin Tolson coaches the debate team to a nearly-undefeated season that sees the first debate between U.S. students from white and Negro colleges and ends with an invitation to face Harvard University's national champions. The team of four, which includes a female student and a very young James Farmer, is tested in a crucible heated by Jim Crow, sexism, a lynch mob, an arrest and near riot, a love affair, jealousy, and a national radio audience.

Plot Keywords: student, based on true story, black american, professor, debate, rifle, gun ...

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#9. A Royal Affair (2012)

Storyline: In 1767, the British Princess Caroline is betrothed to the mad King Christian VII of Denmark, but her life with the erratic monarch in the oppressive country becomes an isolating misery. However, Christian soon gains a fast companion with the German Dr. Johann Struensee, a quietly idealistic man of the Enlightenment. As the only one who can influence the King, Struensee is able to begin sweeping enlightened reforms of Denmark through Christian even as Caroline falls for the doctor. However, their secret affair proves a tragic mistake that their conservative enemies use to their advantage in a conflict that threatens to claim more than just the lovers as their victims.

Plot Keywords: infidelity, insanity, based on true story, love triangle, costume drama, extramarital affair, sex in public ...

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#10. Patriots Day (2016)

Storyline: On April 15, 2013 Boston, Massachusetts, Police Sgt, Tommy Saunders is pulling security duty on the annual Boston Marathon when the Tsarnaev brothers strike with their homemade bombs in an act of terrorism. In the resulting chaos as the wounded are cared for, Saunders and his comrades join forces with the FBI to get to the bottom of this attack. As the investigation continues, the Tsarnaev brothers realize that the authorities are close to identifying them and attempt to flee the city to continue their fanatical mayhem. To stop them, a police manhunt is performed that would have bloody confrontations and a massive dragnet shutting down the City of Boston to make sure there is no escape from the law.

Plot Keywords: police, terrorist, based on true story, hospital, terrorist attack, terrorism, boston massachusetts ...

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#11. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

Storyline: Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the yet fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation lead by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold. And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he's only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

Plot Keywords: terrorist, terrorist attack, police brutality, criminal gang, brutality, terrorism, assassination attempt ...

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#12. Harry and Tonto (1974)

Storyline: Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s living in the Upper West Side of New York City, where his late wife and he raised his children, where he's lived all of his life. When the building, in which he lives, is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the U.S., visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.—Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>

Plot Keywords: stock market, retirement, manhattan new york city, widower, violin, traveling salesman, taxi ...

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#13. Across the Universe (2007)

Storyline: Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll. At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, the story moves from high schools and universities in Massachusetts, Princeton and Ohio to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Detroit riots, Vietnam and the dockyards of Liverpool. A combination of live action and animation, the film is paired with many songs by The Beatles that defined the time.

Plot Keywords: song, title directed by female, pantyhose, female stockinged legs, black pantyhose, vietnam war, near death experience ...

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#14. Black Panther (2018)

Storyline: After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new king. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

Plot Keywords: africa, marvel cinematic universe, marvel comics, based on comic book, blaxploitation, superhero, king ...

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#15. The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)

Storyline: After background about the childhood and youth of John Lennon (1940-1980) and the birth of Vietnam-War protests, the film plunges into Lennon's quest for world peace: compositions such as "Give Peace a Chance", the lie-in following his marriage to Yoko Ono, appearances at concerts, "War Is Over" posters, and plans for a series of concerts in 1972 in U.S. presidential primary states reach newly-enfranchised young voters. This plan for concerts, in particular, led a prominent Senator, the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover, and Nixon's White House to initiate a concerted and illegal effort to deport Lennon. Thirty talking heads, led by Yoko, comment on Lennon and these events.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: briton abroad, assassination, home movie, following someone, being followed, immigration, microphone ...

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