Best Political Movies
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- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJonah HillMargot RobbieBased on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsMatthew BroderickReese WitherspoonLoren NelsonA high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerBruce GreenwoodShawn DriscollIn October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMichael DouglasAnnette BeningMartin SheenA widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsKevin KlineSigourney WeaverFrank LangellaAn uncanny Presidential lookalike named Dave is recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States.
- DirectorHugh WilsonStarsShirley MacLaineNicolas CageAustin PendletonA former U.S. First Lady wants a particular Secret Service agent to head her bodyguard detail, even though he can't stand her.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsClint EastwoodJohn MalkovichRene RussoSecret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsJohn TravoltaEmma ThompsonKathy BatesA man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for President of the United States of America.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRobin WrightJames McAvoyTom WilkinsonMary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsForest WhitakerOprah WinfreyJohn CusackAs Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsRobert RedfordPeter BoyleMelvyn DouglasBill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
- DirectorRod LurieStarsJoan AllenGary OldmanJeff BridgesSenator Laine Hanson is a contender for U.S. Vice President, but information and disinformation about her past surfaces that threatens to derail her confirmation.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsPaul GiamattiGeorge ClooneyPhilip Seymour HoffmanAn idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsSteve CarellThe story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsKeira KnightleyMatt SmithMatthew GoodeThe true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJessica ChastainMark StrongGugu Mbatha-RawIn the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. But when taking on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds winning may come at too high a price.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDenzel WashingtonLiev SchreiberMeryl StreepIn the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsHarrison FordGary OldmanGlenn CloseCommunist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsGerard ButlerAaron EckhartMorgan FreemanSecret Service agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack and works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsChanning TatumJamie FoxxMaggie GyllenhaalWhile on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsAnthony HopkinsDemi MooreSharon StoneThe destinies of 22 people of different races, sexes, beliefs and social classes are intertwined on the night that politician Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated.
- DirectorJohn CurranStarsJason ClarkeKate MaraEd HelmsDepicting Ted Kennedy's involvement in the fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAnthony HopkinsJoan AllenPowers BootheA biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsFrank LangellaMichael SheenKevin BaconA dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsMichael KeatonGlenn CloseRobert DuvallNew York City tabloid editor Henry's faced with tough decisions while he faces several serious life challenges, and a tempting job offer.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsRussell CroweRachel McAdamsBen AffleckWhen a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsCharlize TheronNicole KidmanMargot RobbieA group of women take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsNaomi WattsSean PennSonya DavisonCIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
- DirectorScott Z. BurnsStarsAdam DriverAnnette BeningJon HammIdealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsJeremy RennerRobert PatrickJena SimsJournalist Gary Webb, California 1996, started investigating CIA's role in the 1980s in getting crack cocaine to the black part of LA to get money and weapons to the Contra insurgents in Nicaragua.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMeryl StreepTom HanksSarah PaulsonA cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittShailene WoodleyMelissa LeoThe NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsJonah HillMiles TellerSteve LantzLoosely based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a three hundred million dollar contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsHugh JackmanVera FarmigaJ.K. SimmonsIn 1987, U.S. Senator Gary Hart's presidential campaign is derailed when he's caught in a scandalous love affair.
- DirectorDominic CookeStarsBenedict CumberbatchMerab NinidzeRachel BrosnahanBusinessman Greville Wynne is asked by a Russian source to try to help put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsMichael GambonDonald SutherlandAlec BaldwinIn the mid 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson (Sir Michael Gambon) and his foreign-policy team debate the decision to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsKevin SpaceyBob BalabanDenis LearyA chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
- DirectorRick FamuyiwaStarsKerry WashingtonWendell PierceGreg KinnearJudge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States Supreme Court is called into question when Anita Hill, a former colleague, testifies that he sexually harassed her.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsEd HarrisJulianne MooreWoody HarrelsonGovernor Sarah Palin of Alaska becomes Senator John McCain's running mate in the 2008 Presidential election.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsMichael SheenDemetri GoritsasAdam GodleyA dramatization that traces former UK prime minister Tony Blair's relationships with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJosh BrolinElizabeth BanksIoan GruffuddA chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.
- DirectorVikram GandhiStarsDevon TerrellAnya Taylor-JoyJason MitchellA look into the early life of U.S. President Barack Obama.
- DirectorRichard TanneStarsTika SumpterParker SawyersVanessa Bell CallowayChronicles the 1989 summer afternoon when the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a first date across Chicago's South Side.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWoody HarrelsonMichael Stahl-DavidRichard JenkinsLyndon B. Johnson aligns himself with John F. Kennedy, rises to the Presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsBryan CranstonAnthony MackieMelissa LeoLyndon B. Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination, and spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsKenneth BranaghCynthia NixonDavid PaymerThe stirring true story of Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle with polio in 1921.
- DirectorLiza JohnsonStarsMichael ShannonKevin SpaceyAlex PettyferThe untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, and President Richard Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJennifer LawrenceMeryl StreepTwo low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn humankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleSteve CarellRyan GoslingIn 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsZachary QuintoStanley TucciKevin SpaceyFollows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobin WilliamsForest WhitakerTom T. TranIn 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
- DirectorReginald HudlinStarsChadwick BosemanJosh GadKate HudsonThe story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
- DirectorMimi LederStarsFelicity JonesArmie HammerJustin TherouxThe true story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights, and the early cases of a historic career that lead to her nomination and confirmation as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.
- DirectorJonathan LevineStarsCharlize TheronSeth RogenJune Diane RaphaelJournalist, Fred Flarsky, reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field; now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to run for president, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter, and sparks fly.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenMichael DouglasTamara TunieAn impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsOlivia ColmanEmma StoneRachel WeiszIn early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsKristen StewartTimothy SpallSally HawkinsDiana Spencer, struggling with mental-health problems during her Christmas holidays with the Royal Family at their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, decides to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles.
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsNatalie PortmanPeter SarsgaardGreta GerwigFollowing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsHelen MirrenMichael SheenJames CromwellAfter the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJason SchwartzmanRip TornThe retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsSarah GadonBel PowleyEmily WatsonOn V.E. Day in 1945, as peace extends across Europe, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are allowed out to join the celebrations. It is a night full of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsRachel McAdamsHarrison FordDiane KeatonAn upstart television producer accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program with warring co-hosts.
- DirectorJodie FosterStarsGeorge ClooneyJulia RobertsJack O'ConnellFinancial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes them and their crew as hostage.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsTom CruiseMeryl StreepRobert RedfordInjuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.
- DirectorRobert De NiroStarsMatt DamonAngelina JolieRobert De NiroThe tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsJulia RobertsDenzel WashingtonSam ShepardA law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsWill FerrellZach GalifianakisJason SudeikisAn incumbent Representative embroiled in personal scandal faces a no-holds-barred challenge from a naive newcomer funded by two unscrupulous billionaire lobbyist brothers.
- DirectorJon StewartStarsSteve CarellRose ByrneChris CooperA Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsKirsten DunstMichelle WilliamsDan HedayaAfter wandering off during a White House tour, two high school girls inadvertently become Richard Nixon's top secret advisers at the height of the Watergate scandal.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsBill MurrayLaura LinneyOlivia WilliamsThe story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsNick NolteGreta ScacchiGwyneth PaltrowWidower Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president 1801-09) lives in Paris 1785-90 with his daughter. He has a pretty slave girl accompany his other daughter to France. He has an alleged affair with her resulting in children.
- DirectorAllen CoulterStarsRobert PattinsonEmilie de RavinCaitlyn RundA romantic drama centred on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsRobert Sean LeonardChristian BaleFrank WhaleyA group of teens adores forbidden music in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of World War II.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsPhilip Seymour HoffmanA drama based on a 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.
- DirectorSimon CurtisStarsHelen MirrenRyan ReynoldsDaniel BrühlMaria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes rightfully belongs to her family.
- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMeryl StreepJim BroadbentRichard E. GrantAn elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
- DirectorEric BrossStarsDavid CorenswetThora BirchAdrian GrenierA young campaign aide gets in way over his head when he sleeps with the wife and daughter of a presidential candidate only to end up bleeding out on the side of an empty road at night.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeJanuary JonesZoë KravitzA family man begins to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsHelen MirrenAaron PaulAlan RickmanCol. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsGary OldmanColin FirthTom HardyIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsThomas HornTom HanksSandra BullockA nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanRobert De NiroAnne HecheShortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA 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 BeattyHalle BerryKimberly Deauna AdamsA suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsPhilip Baker HallA fictionalized former President Richard M. Nixon offers a solitary, stream-of-consciousness reflection on his life and political career - and the "true" reasons for the Watergate scandal and his resignation.
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsTom HollanderPeter CapaldiJames GandolfiniA political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsSteve BuscemiSimon Russell BealeJeffrey TamborMoscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.
- DirectorJeffrey NachmanoffStarsDon CheadleGuy PearceArchie PanjabiWhen straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanRachel McAdamsDaniel BrühlA Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror.