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MestnyiGeroi's "100+ Politically Bold Movies"

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.
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J'Accuse
by Abel Gance
 
2.
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Within Our Gates
by Oscar Micheaux
 
3.
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The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
by Oscar Micheaux
 
4.
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Jewish Luck (Jidische Glickn; Evreiskoe schast’e)
by Alexis Granowsky
 
5.
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Bed and Sofa (Tretya meshchanskaya)(A. Room, 1927)  
6. The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection
by Carl Theodor Dreyer
 
7.
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White Shadows in the South Seas
by W.S. Van Dyke
 
8. Luis Bunuel's L'Age d'Or  
9.
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Westfront 1918 (1930)
by Georg Wilhelm Pabst
 
10. M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)  
11. A Nous La Liberte - Criterion Collection
by René Clair
 
12. The peach girl  
13. Boudu Saved from Drowning - Criterion Collection
by Jean Renoir
 
14. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
by Mervyn LeRoy
 
15.
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Wild Boys of the Road
by William A. Wellman
 
16.
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The Jolly Fellows (Vesyolye rebyata)(G. Aleksandrov, 1934)  
17. King Vidor's Our Daily Bread  
18.
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Black Fury (1935)
by Michael Curtiz
 
19. Modern Times (2 Disc Special Edition)  
20. Grand Illusion - Criterion Collection
by Jean Renoir
 
21. Dead End
by William Wyler
 
22.
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Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
by Anatole Litvak
 
23. The Grapes of Wrath
by John Ford
 
24. The Great Dictator (2 Disc Special Edition)  
25. Citizen Kane
by Orson Welles
 
26. How Green Was My Valley
by John Ford
 
27. The Little Foxes
by William Wyler
 
28. Rome, Open City (Roma, città aperta) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ]
by Roberto Rossellini
 
29. The Best Years of Our Lives
by William Wyler
 
30. The Blue Dahlia [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]  
31. Paisa (Roberto Rossellini)
by Roberto Rossellini
 
32. Monsieur Verdoux
by Charles Chaplin
 
33. Body and Soul
by Robert Rossen
 
34. Bicycle Thieves (Criterion Collection)
by Vittorio De Sica
 
35. The Big Clock (Universal Noir Collection)
by John Farrow
 
36. La Terra Trema (The Earth Trembles)  
37. Spring in a Small Town (Full Sub)  
38. Germany Year Zero
by Roberto Rossellini
 
39. The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition)  
40. Gun Crazy
by Joseph H. Lewis
 
41. Thieves' Highway - Criterion Collection
by Jules Dassin
 
42. The Set-Up
by Robert Wise
 
43. All the King's Men
by Robert Rossen
 
44. Champion
by Mark Robson
 
45.
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Intruder in the Dust (1949)
by Clarence Brown
 
46. Young And The Damned (Los Olvidados) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ]
by Luis Bunuel
 
47. The Man in the White Suit
by Alexander Mackendrick
 
48. High Noon (Collector's Edition)
by Fred Zinnemann
 
49. The Life of Oharu (1952) (Import All Region)
by Kenji Mizoguchi
 
50. Forbidden Games - Criterion Collection
by René Clément
 
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.