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100 Movies for Progressive Political Education

A selection of documentaries and feature films to inspire and teach progressive activism.
by sch-gabor • Created 9 years ago • Modified 2 months ago
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  • 104 titles
  • Imelda Staunton, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, George MacKay, Ben Schnetzer, and Faye Marsay in Pride (2014)

    1. Pride

    20141h 59mR79Metascore
    7.8 (64K)
    U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
    DirectorMatthew WarchusStarsBen SchnetzerAbram RooneyJim McManus
  • Julia Jentsch in The Edukators (2004)

    2. The Edukators

    20042h 7mR68Metascore
    7.4 (33K)
    Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
    DirectorHans WeingartnerStarsDaniel BrühlJulia JentschStipe Erceg
  • Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot (2000)

    3. Billy Elliot

    20001h 50mR74Metascore
    7.7 (150K)
    A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
    DirectorStephen DaldryStarsJamie BellJean HeywoodJamie Draven
  • Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Connie Nielsen, André 3000, Martin Henderson, Michelle Rodriguez, and Channing Tatum in Battle in Seattle (2007)

    4. Battle in Seattle

    20071h 38mR54Metascore
    6.6 (15K)
    Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings.
    DirectorStuart TownsendStarsAndré 3000Jennifer CarpenterIsaach De Bankolé
  • The Corporation (2003)

    5. The Corporation

    20032h 25mNot Rated73Metascore
    8.0 (22K)
    Analyzes the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
    DirectorsJennifer AbbottMark AchbarStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher Gora
  • Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (2000)

    6. Erin Brockovich

    20002h 11mR73Metascore
    7.5 (240K)
    A flamboyant law firm secretary works tirelessly to gain justice for a small town wrecked by a utility company's pollution.
    DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia RobertsDavid BrisbinDawn Didawick
  • The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

    7. The Barbarian Invasions

    20031h 39mR70Metascore
    7.5 (31K)
    During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
    DirectorDenys ArcandStarsRémy GirardStéphane RousseauMarie-Josée Croze
  • George Clooney in Michael Clayton (2007)

    8. Michael Clayton

    20071h 59mR82Metascore
    7.2 (181K)
    A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.
    DirectorTony GilroyStarsTom WilkinsonMichael O'KeefeSydney Pollack
  • Russell Crowe and Al Pacino in The Insider (1999)

    9. The Insider

    19992h 37mR85Metascore
    7.8 (189K)
    A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
    DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRussell CroweChristopher Plummer
  • Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

    10. Rabbit-Proof Fence

    20021h 34mPG80Metascore
    7.4 (31K)
    In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
    DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsEverlyn SampiTianna SansburyLaura Monaghan
  • Daniel Brühl and Chulpan Khamatova in Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

    11. Good Bye Lenin!

    20032h 1mR68Metascore
    7.7 (158K)
    In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.
    DirectorWolfgang BeckerStarsDaniel BrühlKatrin SassChulpan Khamatova
  • The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

    12. The Baader Meinhof Complex

    20082h 30mR76Metascore
    7.3 (41K)
    A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
    DirectorUli EdelStarsMartina GedeckMoritz BleibtreuJohanna Wokalek
  • Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

    13. Fiddler on the Roof

    19713h 1mG67Metascore
    8.0 (51K)
    In 1905 Russia, a traditionalist Jewish peasant contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals, all while anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
    DirectorNorman JewisonStarsTopolNorma CraneLeonard Frey
  • Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving in V for Vendetta (2005)

    14. V for Vendetta

    20052h 12mR62Metascore
    8.1 (1.2M)
    In a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.
    DirectorJames McTeigueStarsNatalie PortmanHugo WeavingStephen Rea
  • Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King (1991)

    15. The Fisher King

    19912h 17mR67Metascore
    7.5 (95K)
    A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he once made, finds redemption in helping a mentally unstable homeless man who was an innocent victim of that mistake.
    DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesAdam BryantPaul Lombardi
  • Edward Norton in American History X (1998)

    16. American History X

    19981h 59mR62Metascore
    8.5 (1.3M)
    A white supremacist is released from prison a changed man and hopes to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps.
    DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'Angelo
  • Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)

    17. Invictus

    20092h 14mPG-1374Metascore
    7.3 (173K)
    Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
    DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony Kgoroge
  • Syriana (2005)

    18. Syriana

    20052h 8mR76Metascore
    6.9 (137K)
    A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved in and affected by it.
    DirectorStephen GaghanStarsKayvan NovakGeorge ClooneyAmr Waked
  • Rang De Basanti (2006)

    19. Rang De Basanti

    20062h 47mNot Rated
    8.1 (126K)
    The story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.
    DirectorRakeysh Omprakash MehraStarsAamir KhanSiddharthSharman Joshi
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave (2013)

    20. 12 Years a Slave

    20132h 14mR96Metascore
    8.1 (775K)
    In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
    DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforDwight HenryDickie Gravois
  • Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (2005)

    21. The Constant Gardener

    20052h 9mR82Metascore
    7.3 (154K)
    A widower's transcontinental quest to find answers about his wife's death leads him to explosive secrets.
    DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsRalph FiennesRachel WeiszHubert Koundé
  • Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

    22. Zero Dark Thirty

    20122h 37mR95Metascore
    7.4 (336K)
    A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
    DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJason ClarkeReda KatebJessica Chastain
  • Gandhi (1982)

    23. Gandhi

    19823h 11mPG79Metascore
    8.0 (246K)
    The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
    DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyRohini HattangadiRoshan Seth
  • Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds (1981)

    24. Reds

    19813h 15mPG76Metascore
    7.3 (26K)
    A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
    DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward Herrmann
  • Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

    25. Charlie Wilson's War

    20071h 42mR67Metascore
    7.0 (129K)
    A drama based on Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
    DirectorMike NicholsStarsTom HanksAmy AdamsJulia Roberts

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