10 Political Movies to Watch to Escape the Politics of the Primaries

As two Democrats battle it out to see who will face Republican John McCain in the November presidential election, politics has been dominating the news for months and will become even more prevalent in our lives for seven more months. Whether it is television, radio, newspapers or magazines you cannot escape all of the political brouhaha.

Let's face it. The only way to escape it is to crawl in a hole and keep yourself there until you hear Christmas music in the air. Of course these days Christmas music begins in early November so you better wait until you hear champagne corks flying and the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

I thought it would be fun to recommend some "political" movies that all seem prudent at this time in an election year. For the political junkie who can't get enough or for those who have had enough of the real tussling between the candidates but wouldn't mind a fictional film with politics then these may be just for you.

It should be noted that these ten are not my choice of the ten best in this arena but ten films worth seeking out for one reason or another. Had I done a ten best list almost certainly Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove would have been in the top three. The following films are also worthy of your attention but not included in the list below. Frankly there are so many political movies it would tough to include them all and not offend someone whose favorite is missing. But these films should not be missed: All The King's Men (1949), The Best Man, Dave, Munich, No Way Out, and Seven Days In May among many others.

Here are 10 others worth seeking out. They are in alphabetical order and not preferential order. Some are better then others but all of them are good in their own way.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976; Director - Alan J. Pakula) For me this is the king of all political movies, a taut journalistic procedural that slowly uncovers a chilling political thriller. Based on the non-fiction novel by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), the film tells the story of two young newspaper reporters who begin investigating what at first appears to be a simple hotel break in that soon leads to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. Director Pakula takes the audience on a step by step look at how these two reporters come to uncover the truth, sometimes with the aid of willing witnesses and sometimes using whatever resources they had to break a story that turned out to be bigger then anyone realized. The film is fascinating to watch and has improved through the years after multiple viewings as we gradually realize the brilliantly layered construction of William Goldman's Academy Award winning script. The film also features a one of a kind supporting cast including Jason Robards (Winner of Best Supporting Actor as Ben Bradlee, the executive editor who supported Woodward and Bernstein along with owner Katherine Graham who is not portrayed in the film), Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jane Alexander (Best Supporting Actress nominee), Hal Holbrook (memorable as Deep Throat), Robert Walden and Lindsay Crouse. One of the best films of the 1970's.

BEING THERE (1979; Director - Hal Ashby) Peter Sellers' performance here as Chance, a simple minded gardener who has lived a sheltered life with little to no contact with the outside world, who is suddenly thrust into that very outside world after the death of his household boss, is the crowning achievement in a memorable career. Director Ashby takes this simple story and turns it into an allegory of how easily some people can ride to the zenith of political and societal rankings by others who barely know them. Chance walks the streets of Washington D.C. and is accidentally injured (slightly) by the limousine of a millionaire businessman (Melvyn Douglas, in an Academy Award winning supporting performance). Chance is brought to the home where he recovers and gets to know both the millionaire, Ben Rand, and his wife Eve (Shirley MacLaine). Chance introduces himself as "Chance the Gardener" but it is mis-interpreted as "Chauncey Gardner." Chance tells Ben about his having to leave after attorneys come to shut the estate down. Ben mistakes this as Chance having lost his business and takes pity on the simple man whose knowledge was gained from years and years of television viewing. Ben, the top adviser to the President, soon introduces Chance to political big wigs leading up to a meeting with the President (Jack Warden). Chance talks of his garden and how it changes per season but the President mistakes it for political advice and soon Chance the Gardner is the most desired man in the political world. This is a wonderful comedy/drama that shakes the political world on its tail with its absurd but very believable situations. The final scene is one that should cause a lot of discussion with those who have never seen it.

BLOW OUT (1981; Director - Brian DePalma) A different kind of political film that borrows heavily from the tragic story of Senator Edward Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick tragedy. John Travolta stars as the sound man for a B movie company who, one night while out recording sounds for a new horror movie, accidentally records a car crashing into a pond. Travolta is able to rescue a woman in the car but not the male driver whom he later discovers was the Governor and likely the next President. Travolta gets caught up in political intrigue when he starts putting the pieces of the accident together and realizes that the accident was not caused by a blow out but by a gunshot thus turning it into a political assassination. The woman (Nancy Allen) in the car turns out to be a low grade hooker who soon realizes she should have died in the accident as well. With Travolta helping her, the two try to stay alive while proving a conspiracy is taking place. DePalma's direction is slick and exciting with an unexpectedly poignant ending. John Lithgow co-stars as one of the creepiest villains you will ever see and Dennis Franz turns in a good performance as a slimy con man that happens to film the accident. This is a top notch thriller that provided Travolta with one of his best performances but somehow managed to flop at the box office despite strong reviews.

DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973; Director - Fred Zinnemann) Based on the novel by Frederick Forsythe, Jackal tells the intriguing story of a professional killer who is hired to assassinate the then president of France, Charles de Gaulle. The film is basically a character study of a man we don't really get to know save for his artistry as a killer. Known as the Jackal, he is a man that people know of but few people can even identify. Edward Fox plays the Jackal as a man who is brilliantly cunning with his work and kills without thought when assigned to. The brilliance of this film, and the brilliance of director Zinnemann, is keeping the audience interested in a plot we know has to fail since de Gaulle was never assassinated. It's an interesting choice that could have backfired instead of using a fictional character where the tension could have grown. Zinnemann pulls it off and delivers a terrific "how to" on assassinating people and how to live as the assassin. This film was a big hit when it was released in 1973 but seems to have been somewhat forgotten. It deserves to be found again.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962; Director John Frankenheimer) A masterful political thriller for the ages stars Laurence Harvey as one of a group of platoon mates in Korea who are kidnapped and brainwashed. Harvey is honored for heroism and then returns home only to begin having strange nightmares and soon it becomes apparent that he has become an assassin triggered off every time he sees the Queen of Hearts playing card. For what his ultimate target will be is one of the several fascinating plot threads in this classic film. Frank Sinatra also stars (and produced) as another member of the platoon who begins to realize that Harvey's character wasn't the hero he is known for and tries to uncover what has happened to them. Angela Lansbury stands out as Harvey's domineering mother who has some sinister plans of her own as she helps her current husband ascend the ladder to the White House. Janet Leigh also stars as a mysterious woman Sinatra meets on a train who may or may not be a trigger to set off Sinatra. This is simply one of the great thrillers of all time and continues to improve with age. Do not confuse this with Jonathan Demme's inferior remake from 2004.

THE PACKAGE (1989; Director - Andy Davis) This multi-layered thriller stars Gene Hackman as a U.S. army sergeant who travels to Russia to bring home a "package," another army soldier who has been arrested for fighting. The soldier, played beautifully by Tommy Lee Jones, is part of a bigger conspiracy plot to have the Russian president assassinated while in Chicago to sign a nuclear weapons policy to eliminate them. There are factions on both sides that don't want this policy signed. After Jones escapes Hackman's custody it is up to Hackman, aided by his army colonel ex-wife (Joanna Cassidy) and a Chicago cop (Dennis Franz) who is an old friend to uncover the conspiracy and stop the assassination. Director Davis, who would go on to direct The Fugitive, tells his complicated but tight story directly and keeps things moving forward and very involving, culminating in a terrific final act where everything comes together on the streets of Chicago.

THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974; Director - Alan J Pakula) Director Pakula's second film on this list is an underappreciated thriller from 1974 starring Warren Beatty. In it Beatty plays a reporter who has a friend, and former lover, who has witnessed the assassination of a Presidential hopeful and whose killer is shot and killed. She soon starts to believe there was more to it then that and her beliefs are reinforced when witnesses at the scene start turning up dead. She can't convince Beatty of the possibilities until she herself turns up dead and he undertakes the investigation which leads to startling results. This thriller is, at first, hard to follow but soon the story threads start to come together leading to a genuinely exciting conclusion. For good escapist fair this is one to see.

THE SEDUCTION OF JOE TYNAN (1979; Director - Jerry Schatzberg) Alan Alda wrote and stars in the title role of the political romantic drama with some doses of humor to create a most entertaining film about the rise of a liberal senator through the ranks. Tynan is asked to lead the opposition of the appointment to the Supreme Court of an old friend of his and he reluctantly accepts and then begins to enjoy the fruits of his betrayal as his power increases. Also complicating matters is his researcher (Meryl Streep) on the Supreme Court case who enters into a personal relationship that threatens to tear apart the senator's home life. Alda the writer finds just the right tones and mixes them together perfectly so the heavier scenes, involving Joe's betrayed wife (nicely played by Barbara Harris) don't come across and too heavy handed. It's a nice debut for Alda as a writer and a film leading man.

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975; Director - Sydney Pollack) Robert Redford, at the height of his popularity, stars in this suspenseful thriller as a book reader for the CIA. One day he goes out to get lunch for the whole crew and finds them all dead upon his return. Soon he finds himself a man without a country as he tries to hide while contacting the CIA for help only to discover that perhaps the CIA wants him dead more then anyone. Faye Dunaway co-stars as a helpless woman Redford literally kidnaps to stay in hiding. The terrific supporting cast includes Max Von Sydow as the main assassin out to find Redford, Cliff Robertson as a CIA Deputy Director who may or may not be involved and John Houseman as a top boss who wants the mess taken care of without having his own hands soiled. This is not as great o film as it should be considering the cast and director Pollack primarily because the sub-plot with Faye Dunaway is implausible at times. The fact that Redford is able to bed her so easily is positively ridiculous. But the film stands out for a series of scenes that stand on their own. The opening massacre sequence is exciting. An elevator ride in which Redford and Von Sydow ride together and realize that not only do they know who the other person is but that it is likely the other person knows they know is chilling with minimal dialogue. Redford's ruse to get out of it is smart. Lastly there is an amazingly well done fight scene in which an assassin dressed as a postal worker infiltrates Dunaway's home and has a brutal fight with Redford. Not a great movie but a very entertaining one.

WAG THE DOG (1997; Director - Barry Levinson) A deliciously funny political satire stars Robert DeNiro as a political spin doctor who is getting his money worth on his latest job after the President is caught in a sex scandal and tries to cover it up by hiring a Hollywood producer (Best Supporting Actor nominee Dustin Hoffman) to invent a war with a small country to detract from the real events of the scandal. David Mamet's brilliant use of dialogue propels this satire to levels of black comedy that have you laughing and shaking your head in shock at the same time. The terrific supporting cast includes Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy and Woody Harrelson who is hilarious as a supposed soldier of the war who is more then a little off his rocker. This film is what makes black comedies so great.