MestnyiGeroi's "100+ Politically Bold Movies"

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A subjective selection of films that I have seen (and can recall) that are politically bold in nature. Boldness here is not defined simply by the power of the statement made, but by an element of risk in making the film—that risk being at the least some degree of potential flak or backlash, and at the most the loss of career or even life.

I am sure I’ve missed dozens of deserving choices, so any recommendations are welcome. And again, obviously this list is subjective and arbitrary; a complete list of all politically courageous films would number in the thousands, surely.

And finally, while it can well be argued that all things are political, I have limited my selections to films that entail politics in the most conventional sense, rather than, say, a movie that is shocking in its treatment of religion or gender, etc.

The movies are listed in chronological order.

[Here is a companion list of Politically Craven Movies—http://www.listsofbests.com/list/54692]

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  1. 1.
    J'Accuse
    by Abel Gance

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  2. 2.
    Within Our Gates
    by Oscar Micheaux

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  3. 3.
    ?
    The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
    by Oscar Micheaux

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  4. 4.
    Jewish Luck (Jidische Glickn; Evreiskoe schast’e)
    by Alexis Granowsky

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  5. 6.
    The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection
    by Carl Theodor Dreyer

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  6. 7.
    White Shadows in the South Seas
    by W.S. Van Dyke

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  7. 8.
    Luis Bunuel's L'Age d'Or

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  8. 9.
    ?
    Westfront 1918 (1930)
    by Georg Wilhelm Pabst

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  9. 11.
    A Nous La Liberte - Criterion Collection
    by René Clair

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  10. 12.
    The peach girl

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  11. 13.
    Boudu Saved from Drowning - Criterion Collection
    by Jean Renoir

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  12. 14.
    I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
    by Mervyn LeRoy

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  13. 15.
    Wild Boys of the Road
    by William A. Wellman

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  14. 17.
    King Vidor's Our Daily Bread

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  15. 18.
    Black Fury (1935)
    by Michael Curtiz

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  16. 19.

  17. 20.
    Grand Illusion - Criterion Collection
    by Jean Renoir

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  18. 21.
    Dead End
    by William Wyler

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  19. 22.
    ?
    Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
    by Anatole Litvak

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  20. 23.
    The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Ford

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  21. 25.
    Citizen Kane
    by Orson Welles

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  22. 26.
    How Green Was My Valley
    by John Ford

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  23. 27.
    The Little Foxes
    by William Wyler

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  24. 29.
    The Best Years of Our Lives
    by William Wyler

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  25. 31.
    Paisa (Roberto Rossellini)
    by Roberto Rossellini

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  26. 32.
    Monsieur Verdoux
    by Charles Chaplin

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  27. 33.
    Body and Soul
    by Robert Rossen

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  28. 34.
    Bicycle Thieves (Criterion Collection)
    by Vittorio De Sica

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  29. 35.
    The Big Clock (Universal Noir Collection)
    by John Farrow

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  30. 36.

  31. 37.
    Spring in a Small Town (Full Sub)

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  32. 38.
    Germany Year Zero
    by Roberto Rossellini

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  33. 40.
    Gun Crazy
    by Joseph H. Lewis

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  34. 41.
    Thieves' Highway - Criterion Collection
    by Jules Dassin

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  35. 42.
    The Set-Up
    by Robert Wise

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  36. 43.
    All the King's Men
    by Robert Rossen

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  37. 44.
    Champion
    by Mark Robson

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  38. 45.
    Intruder in the Dust (1949)
    by Clarence Brown

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  39. 47.
    The Man in the White Suit
    by Alexander Mackendrick

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  40. 48.
    High Noon (Collector's Edition)
    by Fred Zinnemann

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  41. 49.
    The Life of Oharu (1952) (Import All Region)
    by Kenji Mizoguchi

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  42. 50.
    Forbidden Games - Criterion Collection
    by René Clément

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This is MestnyiGeroi's list. Only MestnyiGeroi can edit it. You can make your own version of this list.
Created by MestnyiGeroi on Apr 23, 2008.
 

Comments

Untitled — 10 weeks ago

Peter Watkins’ “La Commune”?


Untitled — 1 year ago

plenty of goodies here, and a few i may add to my own list!