U.S. Politics and the Movies & Television

US Politics in the Movies & Television

Abraham Lincoln(1930)

Directed by D.W. Griffith. Cast: Walter Huston, Una Merkel, Ian Keith, Frank Campeau, Hobart Bosworth, Henry B. Walthall, Kay Hammond, Alyn E. Warren, Fred Warren. This epic biography of the life of Abraham Lincoln is D.W. Griffith's first talking picture. It begins with Lincoln's life just prior to his White House ascent. His romance with Ann Rutledge and the famed Lincoln-Douglas debate receive special attention, and Griffith is in his element when picturing the battle scenes of the Civil War. The film concludes with Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre. 84 min. Video/C 999:1882

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Charney, Mark J. "'Picturizing' History: The Assassination of Lincoln in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation." South Carolina Review, 1990 Spring, 22:2, 58-62.

Petric, Vlada "Two Lincoln Assassinations by D.W. Griffith." Quarterly Review of Film Studies, III/3, Summer 78; p.345-369.

Advise and Consent (1962)

Producer/director, Otto Preminger. Cast: Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Eddie Hodges, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Inga Swenson. Blackmail, suicide and scandal follow the President's appointment of an unpopular Secretary of State, and put the stability of the entire U.S. Government at risk in this highly praised political drama. Based on the novel by Allen Drury. 139 min. DVD 3927; vhs 999:1449

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Poe, G. Tom. "Secrets, Lies And Cold War Politics: "Making Sense" of Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent." Film History 1998 10(3): 332-345.

Air Force One (1997)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews, Dean Stockwell. An uncompromising U.S. President has just told the world he will not negotiate with terrorists. But when Russian terrorists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision-- give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter. 125 min. DVD 1269

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All the King's Men (1949)

Director, Robert Rossen. Cast: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek, Mercedes McCambridge. An honest man from a small town is elected mayor and then governor, but power corrupts him absolutely and he ruins his own life and those of his friends before being assassinated. Based on the book by Robert Penn Warren. 109 min. DVD 5484; vhs 999:264

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All the King's Men(2006)

Directed by Steven Zaillian. Cast: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Kathy Baker, Jackie Earle Haley, Anthony Hopkins. Willie Stark is an uncorrupted small-town mayor in 1950s Louisiana. He gets picked by the political machine to run as a wild card candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial race. But, when Willie realizes that he is being manipulated, he veers off on his own to become the darling of the electorate's downtrodden and forgotten hicks. Covering the campaign for a local paper is Jack Burden, whose editorial pieces become so admiring of Willie that he's fired. But, when Stark wins, Burden hires onto the new governor's team as a personal aide. Once in office, Governor Stark antagonizes the state legislature, the oil companies, and the moneyed classes with his share-the-wealth promises to the sweaty masses. Legislators become so outraged that they start serious impeachment talk, a move supported by the admired and retired Judge Irwin, who also happens to be Jack's godfather. Based on the life of Huey Pierce Long, governor of Louisiana and senator. Special features: The making of All the king's men (featurette) ; An American classic (featurette) ; La. confidential: on location with All the king's men (featurette) ; Shake hands with the devil (featurette) ; The legend and lore of Huey Long (featurette) ; deleted scenes. 128 min. DVD 6716

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All the President's Men (1976)

Directed by Alan Pakula. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, Jane Alexander. A dramatic reconstruction of the true story of the discovery of the White House link with the Watergate affair by two young reporters from the Washington Post. 127 min. DVD 1045; vhs 999:451

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Combs, R. "All the president's men." Sight & Sound v. 45 no. 3 (Summer 1976) p. 189-90

de Antonio, Emile. "Celluloid Reportage (1976)." In: Emile de Antonio : a reader / Douglas Kellner and Dan Streible, editors ; foreword by Haskell Wexler. pp: 368-70 Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c2000. Visible evidence ; v. 8. (Main Stack PN1998.3.D3846.E65 2000)

Elliott, William R.; Schenck-Hamlin, William J. " Film, Politics, and the Press: The Influence of "All the President's Men."" Journalism Quarterly v56 n3 p546-53 Fall 1979

Huntley, Reid. "All the King's Men and All the President's Men: Two Studies of Power over Society." In: Jarvie, I. C. Movies and society. pp: 48-53. New York, Basic Books [1970] (Main Stack PN1995.9.S6.J3 1970; Moffitt PN1995.9.S6.J3 1970)

Toplin, Robert Brent. "All the President's men : "the story that people know and remember". In: History by Hollywood : the use and abuse of the American past Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1996. (Main Stack PN1995.9.H5.T66 1996; Moffitt PN1995.9.H5.T66 1996; PFA PN1995.9.H5.T66 1996)

The American President (1995)

Directed by Rob Reiner. Cast: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, David Paymer, Samantha Mathis, Michael J. Fox. Andrew Shepherd is the most popular American President in decades -- a consummate politician and a man of integrity -- who also happens to be a widower, ready to start dancing again. But when lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade sweeps into his political arena, she unexpectedly sweeps him off his feet! 114 min. DVD 2304

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The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

Directed by Niels Mueller. Cast: Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Naomi Watts, Jack Thompson, Brad Hanke, Michael Wincott, Mykelti Williamson, April Grace, Lily Knight, Jared Dorrance. Based on real-life events tells the tragic story of Sam Bicke, a disillusioned salesman who in 1972 concocted a plot to kill then-President Nixon by hi-jacking a plane to fly over the White House and drop a gas bomb. 95 min. DVD 5573

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Bob Roberts (1992)

Directed by Tim Robbins. Cast: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Gore Vidal, John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Susan Sarandon, Fred Ward. A satirical comedy in which a radical folksinger turned senatorial candidate blends singing, music videos and scandal on the campaign trail. 102 min. 999:1189

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Bobby (2006)

Directed by Emilio Estevez. Cast: Harry Belafonte, Joy Bryant, Nick Cannon, Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Brian Geraghty, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, David Krumholtz, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood. Revisits the night presidential-hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. As the lives of those who were present dramatically intersect, Bobby shows how the gunshots that rang out that night forever changed the course of American history. Special features: 'Bobby' : the making of an American epic ; Eyewitness accounts from the Ambassador Hotel ; theatrical trailer. 119 min. DVD 7463

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Bulworth (1998)

Directed by Warren Beatty. Featuring Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, Isaiah Washington. Believing his career is over, California Senator Jay Bulworth takes out an enormous insurance policy and a contract on his own life. His impending death fills him with an outrageous desire to break the rules and tell it like it is. 108 min. 999:2411

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The Candidate (1972)

Directed by Michael Ritchie. Cast: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvin Douglas. Bill McKay is enlisted by campaign maestro Marvin Lucas to run for U.S. Senator. McKay agrees, but only if he can say exactly what he thinks. That approach is all well and good when McKay does not seem to have a chance, but things change when his honesty unexpectedly captivates the electorate. As McKay inches up in the polls, Lucas and company start to do what it takes to win, leaving McKay to ponder the consequences of his political seduction. 114 min. DVD 6424; vhs 999:2452

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Citizen Kane (1941)

Directed by Orson Welles. Cast: Welles, Joseph Cotten, William Alland, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead. When one of the world's richest and most influential men dies muttering the word "Rosebud", a newspaper's managing editor insists that Kane's obituary film is missing something and "needs an angle." He orders his top reporter Thompson (Alland) to discover what "Rosebud" means. Thompson searches for, finds, and interviews five key figures, but ulimately does not solve the mystery. At one point in his career Kane runs for governor against corrupt political boss Jim Gettys. Gettys discovers that Kane has a mistress and uses this information to blackmail him into quitting the race. Despite the hurt that scandal will bring to his family and the mistress, Kane refuses, convinced that he has the love of the electorate. He is mistaken, however, and loses the race. Because Kane was purportedly based on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, efforts were made to surpress the film, by 'Hearst hatchet woman' Louella Parsons, among others. 119 min. DVD 852; VHS 999:85

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Charles F. Kane campaigns for governor (online audio via AmericanRhetoric.com

The Contender (2000)

Director: Rod Lurie. Cast: Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater, William Petersen, Philip Baker Hall, Saul Rubinek, Sam Elliott.As soon as a woman is nominated to replace the deceased vice president of the United States, her political enemies, seeking to keep her from being confirmed, sift through her private life searching for ways to bring her down. 127 min. DVD 2305

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Daffy Duck for President. (196?)

Animated short. DVD 3137

Dave (1993)

Directed by Ivan Reitman. Cast: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Ivan Reitman, Frank Langella, Ving Rhames, Kevin Dunn, Ben Kingsley. An uncanny Presidential lookalike is recruited as a temporary replacement for the missing president. His unusual style of governing and decision making tip off the opposition that something is definitely "out-of-order" in Washington. Real-life Washington politicos and pundits join the fun as Dave uses ordinary-guy savvy to deal with the extraordinary demands of the Oval Office. 110 min. DVD 5303

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DC 9/11 (2004)

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. Cast: Timothy Bottoms, John Cunningham, David Fonteno, Gregory Itzin, Penny Johnson Jerald, Stephen Macht, Mary Gordon Murray, Lawrence Pressman, Scott Alan Smith, George Takei. A drama telling the story of the days directly after the 9/11 attacks. Focuses on the difficult decisions and tasks faced by President George Bush and his staff on September 11, 2001 and the days following the attacks. Based on in-depth interviews and extensive research, the film recounts the tragic events from the moment Bush hears the news of the attacks to significant briefings with advisors. Chronicles national security meetings, links with Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network. Illustrates the Administrations strategy for responding both to the terrorists and the American people. DVD 6423

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Death of a President.(2006)

Directed by Gabriel Range. Cast: Parham, Seena Jon, Christian Stolte, Chavez Ravine, Patricia Buckley, Patrick Clear, Malik Bader, Tony Dale. A raging crowd of protesters are waiting for President George W. Bush's procession. As the President gives a patriotic speech inside a hotel, the demonstrators' fury increases to the breaking point. The tension mounts until the horrible instant where the President is assassinated. Following the assassination, the FBI hunts for the assassin. All the suspects are interviewed and released except one, the Syrian man who is convicted and put on death row. There is circumstantial evidence against him, but is he really guilty of the crime? Or does his being Middle Eastern provide a convenient excuse to label the death of the President as an Act of Terror? 90 min. DVD 7432

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Dr. Strangelove: or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963)

Director: Stanley Kubrick. Black comedy about a group of war-eager military men who plan a nuclear apocalypse. 93 min. DVD 61; VHS 999:43

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Election (1999)

Directed by Alexander Payne. Cast: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Phil Reeves. In this satirical comedy, a hotly contested high school election becomes a metaphor for the current state of American politics. Tracy Flick, a straight-A go-getter is determined to become president of Carver High's student body. Popular teacher Jim McAllister decides to derail Tracy's obsessive overachieving by recruiting an opposition candidate. 103 min. DVD 620

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Enemy of the State (1998)

Director, Tony Scott. Cast: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Regina King, Loren Dean, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper, Gabriel Byrne. A suspenseful story of espionage and corruption. Robert Clayton Dean is a successful attorney with a happy home life, until he unknowingly receives top-secret information about a murder and becomes the target of a pursuit. 140 min. DVD 7465

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A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Directed by Elia Kazan. Cast: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick, Kay Medford, Bennett Cerf, Virginia Graham, Burl Ives, John Cameron Swayze, Mike Wallace, Walter Winchell. Lonesome Rhodes, a big ol' teddy bear of a man, sits in a dusty, squalid Arkansas jail, swapping stories with his fellow drifters and plunking on his guitar. It's not much of a life -- until a chance encounter skyrockets Lonesome to TV fame and more money, and power than even the greediest man can handle.

"A Face in the Crowd addresses many of the same issues [as All the King's Men] in its tale of Lonesome Rhodes (Andy Griffith), a hillbilly singer who parlays his television popularity into a political movement promoting the presidential campaign of the right-wing Senator Fuller, "last of the isolations." Rhodes is betrayed by an open microphone that allows the audience for his nationwide broadcasts to hear his contemptuous statements about the "sheep" who believe his speeches." [from The Columbia companion to American history on film : how the movies have portrayed the American past / edited by Peter ... New York : Columbia University Press, c2003. Main Stack PN1995.9.U64.C65 2003] 126 min. DVD 3923; vhs 999:880

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Yates, J. "Smart man's burden: 'Nashville', 'A face in the crowd' and popular culture." Journal of Popular Film and Television Vol V nr 1 (1976); p 19-28 A look at two films, made 20 years apart, which deal with US political/moral consciousness.

Fail-Safe (1964)

Director: Sidney Lumet. A computer malfunction causes nuclear equiped American bombers to destroy Moscow and the president of the United States has to take terrible measures to appease the Soviets and prevent all-out nuclear war. 111 min. DVD 4722

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Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

Directed by Gregory LaCava. Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, Arthur Byron, Dickie Moore. United States President Judson Hammond, a corrupt politician, is visited by the Angel Gabriel during recuperation from a near-fatal automobile accident. President Hammond miraculously becomes virtuous, although his zeal for reform is as misguided as his previous indifference was destructive. 78 min. 999:3420

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Great McGinty (1940)

Directed by Preston Sturges; Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff. In this comedy Dan McGinty is a hungry hobo who wows the ballot-stuffers by voting 37 times in an election for mayor. He immediately becomes the protege of a political boss. The boss guides and schemes McGinty to alderman, mayor and ultimately governor. McGinty flees the country and winds up as a bartender in a seedy Central American dive where the tale has a gleeful surprise ending. 82 min. DVD 6582; vhs 999:810

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The Hundred Days of the Dragon (Outer Limits, TV series, 1963)

Director,Byron Haskin. Cast: Sidney Blackmer, Phillip Pine, Nancy Rennick, Joan Camden, Henry Scott. A subversive Chinese agent, scientifically transformed into a perfect likeness of the President of the United States, is running and gradually destroying America. Not even the First Family realizes that the real chief executive has been surreptitiously assassinated. 52 min. DVD 1012

Independence Day (1996)

Director, Roland Emmerich. Cast: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein. Massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies and wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. The world's only hope lies with a determined band of survivors. 153 min. DVD 1012

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JFK (1991)

Directed by Oliver Stone; Cast: Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek. Director Oliver Stone seamlessly blends archival film with acted sequences in his version of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which alleges that there was a massive plot and cover-up surrounding JFK's death. Based on the books "On the trail of the assassins" by Jim Garrison and "Crossfire: the plot that killed Kennedy" by Jim Marrs. 209 min. DVD 772; vhs 999:1260

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The Last Hurrah (1962)

Directed by John Ford; Cast: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O'Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason. Frank Skeffington, the political boss of a New England town, fights his last campaign. This flavorful melodrama is based on Edwin O'Connor's novel of politics, loosely patterned after the life of Boston's Mayor Curley. 121 min. DVD 304

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Man of the Year (2006)

Directed by Barry Levinson. Cast: Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum, David Alpay, Faith Daniels, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Doug Murray. Tom Dobbs makes an offhand comment on his late night talk show that he would be a better president than the leader who currently occupies the White House. A grassroots campaign conducted by his legions of fans finds him unexpectedly ushered into the Oval Office and forced to live up to his promise. Unfortunately for Dobbs, he finds out that his surprise victory was actually the result of a voting computer glitch and not winning the majority vote leaves the outspoken funnyman struggling with the decision to stay the course in the Oval Office or head back behind the microphone where he is truly in his element. Special features: "Commander and chief" featurette; "Robin Williams: a stand up guy" featurette. 105 min. DVD 8200

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Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Directed by John Frankenheimer. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory. A U.S. Army platoon, captured in the Korean conflict, is whisked to Manchuria for three nightmarish days of experimental drug-and-hypnosis-induced conditioning that transform Harvey into a human time bomb.Based on a novel by Richard Condon. 127 min. DVD 1078; vhs 999:406

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Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Directed by Jonathan Demme. Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine, Bruno Ganz, Miguel Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Jude Ciccolella. When his army unit is ambushed during the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saves his fellow soldiers just as his commanding officer, Major Ben Marco, is knocked unconscious. Using the incident for political gain, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, but Marco is haunted by dreams of what really happened in Iraq. As Marco investigates, the story begins to unravel. He begins to figure that the entire unit was kidnapped and brainwashed as part of a plot to get Shaw into the White House. Now the Manchurian Global corporation appears desperate to stop him from finding out. 130 min. DVD 3366

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Medium Cool (1969)

Directed by Haskell Wexler; Cast: Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill, Harold Blankenship. Filmed against the backdrop of the 1968 Democratic National Convention and ensuing riots, this story is about a television cameraman who chooses not to get personally concerned about the ugliness he must film each day for his station. But the hate and hypocrisy command his attentions at last, and he becomes increasingly involved in the realities he finds with his camera. 111 min. 999:1122

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Meet John Doe (1941)

Directed by Frank Capra; Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Gene Lockhart, Spring Byington. A genial and aimless tramp is hoaxed into playing the role of "John Doe" for the sake of a newspaper stunt until he discovers that his appeal will be used by a grasping industrialist to bludgeon his way to power. 123 min. DVD 413; vhs 999:822

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Directed by Frank Capra; Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold. A naive Jefferson Smith is appointed as a U.S. Senator by a corrupt political party machine. When Smith stumbles across a pending bill which promotes graft, he himself is falsely implicated in the scheme. Smith fights back with a heroic one-man filibuster, ending in the exposure of the guilty parties. 130 min. DVD 7188; DVD 202; VHS 999:64

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Senator Smith takes his oath of office

Senator Smith introduces National Boys Camp bill

Senator Smith opens filibuster

Senator Smith collapses and ends filibuster

Nixon (1995)

Directed by Oliver Stone; Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, James Woods. Drama about the fall of President Richard Nixon portrayed as a complex man whose chance at greatness was ultimately destroyed by his passion for power-- when his involvement in conspiracy jeopardizes the nation's security and the presidency of the United States. 191 min. DVD 775; vhs 999:1440

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The Parallax View (1974)

Directed byAlan J. Pakula; Cast: Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Paula Prentiss. A superb political thriller about one man's paranoia that turns out to be fact! A news reporter along with seven others, witnesses the assassination of a political candidate. When the other seven die in "accidents," the newsman begins to doubt the official position: that a lone madman was responsible for the crime. 102 min. 999:3183

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Primary Colors (1998)

Directed by Mike Nichols; Cast: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Paul Guilfoyle, Larry Hagman, Kathy Bates. Follows a virtually unknown Southern governor on a quest for the White House with his strong, savvy and equally ambitious wife. Running against the odds, they need all the help they can get from their extremely colorful political team. Together, they take off on a hilarious, heart-wrenching and ultimately history-making roller coaster ride to the top. 144 min. 999:2527

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Secret Honor: A Political Myth (1984)

Directed by Robert Altman; Cast: Philip Baker Hall. A dramatization of the life of Richard M. Nixon in the final hours before his resignation from the U.S. presidency. The plot theorizes that Nixon did not resign because of the Watergate cover-up but was motivated instead by his secret decision to thwart the plans of a cabal of businessmen to continue their control of the White House. 90 min. 999:201

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Seven Days in May (1964)

Directed by John Frankenheimer. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Martin Balsam. An American general's aide discovers that his boss intends a military takeover because he considers the President's pacifism and a recent nuclear disarmament treaty traitorous. 118 min. DVD 683

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Silver City(2004)

Directed by Frank Capra. Cast: Maria Bello, Thora Birch, David Clennon, Chris Cooper, Alma Delfina, Richard Dreyfuss, Miguel Ferrer, James Gammon, Daryl Hannah. Grammatically challenged, "user friendly" gubernatorial candidate Dicky Pilager has just launched a rosy campaign for the citizens of the New West. But things take an unexpected turn when the taping of an environmental political ad ends up with Pilager reeling in a corpse. Enter his ferocious campaign manager, Chuck Raven who hires idealistic journalist turned rumpled private detective Danny O'Brien to investigate potential links between the corpse and the Pilager family's enemies. In the tradition of the great films noir, Danny's investigation pulls him deeper and deeper into a complex web of influence and corruption, involving high stakes lobbyists, media conglomerates, environmental plunderers, and undocumented migrant workers. 129 min. DVD 3627

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State of the Union (1948)

Directed by Frank Capra. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Adolphe Menjou. An idealistic industrialist who is drafted to run for the presidency is caught between the ruthless ambition of a newspaper owner who pulls the strings of his campaign, and the integrity of his wife 122 min. 999:2711

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Suddenly (1954)

Directed by Lewis Allen. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates, Kim Charney. Frank Sinatra's chilling central performance as a cold-blooded assassin with a heart of steel sparks this explosive thriller about a trio of hired gunmen who plan to murder the President of the United States during his stopover in a small town. 75 min. DVD 3906; vhs 999:2866

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Tanner '88 (TV, 1998)

Directed by Robert Altman; Cast: Michael Murphy, Pamela Reed, Cynthia Nixon. Appearing as themselves: Bob Dole, Pat Robertson, Gary Hart, Waylon Jennings, Mary McGrory, Hodding Carter, Lowell Weicker, Bruce Babbitt, E.G. Marshall, Rebecca DeMornay, Jesse Jackson, Michael Dukakis, Linda Ellerbee, Jeff Daniels, Veronica Cartwright, Ralph Nader, Gloria Steinem, Art Buchwald, Lee Hamilton, Studs Terkel, Harry Anderson. Fact and fiction blend in this "mockumentary" of an American presidential campaign. Set among actual events in the 1988 primaries, it follows a fictitious candidate as he manoeuvers through the political minefield, and uses real events and real people for authenticity. 120 min. DVD 3182; also VHS 999:1160

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Tanner on Tanner (TV, 2004)

Directed by Robert Altman; Cast: : Cynthia Nixon, Michael Murphy, Pamela Reed, Ilana Levine, Luke MacFarlane, Matt Malloy, Aasif Mandvi, Robert Redford, Mario Cuomo, Carl Bernstein, Martin Scorsese, Al Franken, Harry Belafonte, Ron Reagan, Jr., Rev. Al Sharpton, Madeleine Albright, Steve Buscemi, Howard Dean, Janeane Garofalo, Alexandra Kerry, Chris Matthews, John Podestra. This mockudrama features 1988 Democratic candidate Jack Tanner's daughter, Alex, in her quest to make a documentary about her father's failed '88 nomination bid. Includes appearances by modern day politicians, pundits and celebrities, and shot in part during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, this piece offers a sharp and funny spin on "politics as usual." 120 min. DVD 3220

Thirteen Days (2000)

Directed by Roger Donaldson. Cast: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker, Michael Fairman, Kevin Conway, Walter Adrian. October 1962, for thirteen extraordinary days the world stood on the brink of destruction. Krushchev wouldn't back down, President Kennedy wouldn't give in. Inspired by the real-life events that took place in the Kennedy White House during the Cuban Missile crisis. 142 min. DVD 837

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Truman (TV 1995)

Directed by Frank Pierson. Cast: Gary Sinise, Diana Scarwid, Richard Dysart, Colm Feore, James Gammon, Tony Goldwyn, Pat Hingle, Harris Yulin. A made for television docu-drama of the life of President Harry S. Truman who led the nation through the end of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights and the creation of the United Nations. Based on the book by David McCullough. 130 min. DVD 1141

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Wag the Dog (1997)

Directed by Barry Levinson. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Willie Nelson. When the President is caught in a sex scandal less than 2 weeks before the election, a Presidential advisor brings in a spin doctor, who decides they need a war to distract the media's attention and he calls on Hollywood's top producer to create it. 96 min. 999:1995

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The West Wing (TV series)

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Wild in the Streets. (1968)

Directed by Barry Shear. Cast: Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrook, Millie Perkins, Richard Pryor. Max Frost, a malcontented teen and famous rock star, is so popular that he helps elect a U.S. Senator. Next Max gets the voting age lowered to 14 and goes on to become President. His first act is to have everyone over 30 carted off to internment camps as the kids take over the country. 97 min. DVD 5321

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Wrong is Right (1982)

Directed by Richard Brooks. Cast: Sean Connery, George Grizzard, Robert Conrad, Hardy Kruger, Ron Moody, Leslie Nielsen, Katharine Ross, Dean Stockwell. Political double-talk, dirty tricks, hidden microphones, spy satellites, bugging in the Oval Office and a nuclear bomb for sale are the ingredients in this amusing satire of American news reporting, covert agencies and the political system. 117 min. DVD 2414

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Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Directed by John Ford. Cast: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan. Ten formative years in the life of one of America's greatest statesmen are brought vividly to the screen by Henry Fonda in this fictionalized biography of Abraham Lincoln's early years as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois. 137 min. DVD 5100; vhs 999:1039

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