Tanner '88 is probably the closest to what it's like being a politician campaigning for a position although I rather see a filmed version of Hunter S. Thompson's legendary book Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trial '72. If you're fascinated by many aspects of politics, you shouldn't miss this one which is a fine piece of work by Robert Altman.

If you ask me which is the best film I've seen for politics, my answer is The Candidate. What's brilliant about it, which feels like a documentary, is nothing has changed. In fact, it's the bona fide blueprint of how to run a successful political campaign. Hence, I won't be surprised if The Candidate is the standard reference guide for many fledgling politicians.

The Manchurian Candidate is a brilliantly made political thriller picture with the most complex editing imaginable. Now, remember the book was written in 1959 and the film was released in 1962 which was more than one year before JFK's assassination. The President knew all about it and gave the filmmakers his expressed approval to go ahead with the project. Pretty chilling stuff.

One of the all-time great political fantasy pictures made, what had transpired either has happened or will happen. The use of "Gabriel" in the title is meant to signify the change in government was initially approved by a divine authority. A big fan of what's a hit piece against Herbert Hoover, FDR took advantage of many elements that would be part of his New Deal package. The warning at the end of what to expect with nuclear weapons will be demonstrated twelve years later in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A magnificently made masterpiece, it's David Lean's magnum opus. One of the most remarkable jobs he did with his characters is not only to make them larger than life but also mysterious in terms of their ambitions and desires. Thanks to Freddie Young's spellbinding cinematography, it's impossible to deny the power of the desert that Lawrence of Arabia brings to the screen.

A rare film that showcases Marlon Brando at his absolute best, Burn! provides an excellent insight into colonialism to form a banana republic out of a Central American country. Confessing that he did his best acting, Brando plays a villain as in somebody who "sells war."

After seeing The Birth of a Nation, Woodrow Wilson famously said, "It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true." Whether he really did or not is besides the point. The film's place in the annals of cinema is undeniable. It forever changed how movies were made. Hence, D.W. Griffith is the father of film.

When Citizen Kane was released, Orson Welles reached the top of the mountain and became an immortal god of cinema. Afterwards, he had nowhere to go but down...down he went hard. It puts everything about cinema into perspective. An important film for numerous reasons, it's one of the best-shot works of art in terms of storytelling through the power of cinematography. The controversy behind the scenes is the reason for its mammoth reputation which makes the whole thing fascinating.

The Mission is a powerful film about the plight of the Guaraní people under the heel of Portuguese and Spanish colonizers. The reality is underscored by the loss of their homes because the Portuguese and Spanish viewed the land as an imperialistic opportunity to expand their empire while harvesting it for resources, most especially gold. There's a display of concern by the Jesuits, wanting to save them from a predictable wipeout of their culture and habitat.

JFK is an incredible masterpiece, representing Oliver Stone's best. Outstanding are the acting, storytelling, and, most of all, editing. The best moment is when Jim Garrison, after learning the real plot from Donald Sutherland's character, summed up the startling discovery by saying, "The size of this is...beyond me."

How can an U.S. President running for second term avoid a scandal that's being played out in the media two weeks prior to the election? All he has to do is produce a war. The more unknown country is for an enemy, the better. It doesn't matter if the war is fake. Straight out of the politics playbook, this is the premise for Wag the Dog, hence the three lines: "Why does the dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail were smarter, it would wag the dog."

Chinatown is the quintessential neo-noir picture. Everything about the film is meticulously crafted. It starts with Robert Towne's screenplay which is followed up with the exquisite cinematography and an unparalleled cast of Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. The final line "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown" is unforgettable.

A surprise Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1995, Braveheart is the last great epic war motion picture. Characters, big, small, clean, dirty, and nameless, all play a large role in scene after scene with so many of them memorable. Passion is easily felt throughout the wonderful storytelling with a strong script and some of the most brutal medieval battle scenes ever filmed.

One of the strongest political movies made, The Contender has a powerful, thrilling story to tell with superlative performances by Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, and Gary Oldman. If you've heard the phrase "politics is a dirty business," this one exemplifies it very well.

If you want to get into the essence of what Bill Clinton was all about during his heyday, then look no further than Primary Colors. It's a fantastic performance by John Travolta. He knows how to charm people. Then again, that's how Bill Clinton was elected. Larry Hagman is masterful as the late-comer candidate who finally lets his hair down at the end.

The king of high school pictures, Lean on Me is a heartwarming tale that's based on a true story about how Joe Clark created a storm of controversy by using unconventional methods of discipline at Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey, during the 80's. Thanks to Morgan Freeman's stirring performance, it's scene-by-scene brilliant in a moving way that captures the essence of the human spirit.

Clear and Present Danger is by far the best film of the Jack Ryan franchise. The story is so good with different kinds of villains, and the acting, especially by Harrison Ford, Joaquim de Almeida, Miguel Sandoval, Henry "Boom" Czerny, Harris Yulin, and Donald Moffat, is terrific. Speaking of villains, there are not one, two, or three but many of them. Not only are they from the bad side, but they're also from the good side.

This is British history at its finest with some of the best acting and most terrific battle scenes ever. Because of the thousands of extras and warlike atmosphere, it's reminiscent of Braveheart minus a love story. The British production deservingly won an Oscar for Best Costume Design with approximately 4,000 costumes, 16,000 historical props, and thousands of wigs which were ordered from all over Europe.

One of the strangest things I've noticed in regard to Martin Luther King, Jr., is everybody knows who he was, but most don't have any idea of what he specifically did or the events he was involved with. King does an outstanding job of summarizing them all in a five-hour biopic with an exceptional performance by Paul Winfield.

Selling people out is the name of the game in True Colors which is an exceptional picture about friendship, politics, and power. Being the glue that holds the plot together, John Cusack gives the performance of his career; he's terrific in political films, having a big role in City Hall, too. James Spader is wonderful as always.

The Godfather Part II picks up where the original left off. Al Pacino continues the rise of Michael Corleone. Robert De Niro makes things interesting for the other thread by taking over Marlon Brando's role. John Cazale is more famous in this part than the other one with a classic scene with Al Pacino while Gastone Moschin is excellent as Don Fanucci.

The American President has great acting, and Michael Douglas is in supreme form. In fact, he looks presidential. Annette Bening is fantastic. Even more interesting is the introduction of two legislative pieces in the film: the anti-crime bill to ban assault weapons and the environmental bill to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%. Neither has come to fruition to this day.

If I have to pick a film with the best-looking costumes, it's Anne of the Thousand Days. Hence, it's not a surprise this one received the only Oscar win, out of ten nominations, for Best Costume Design which went to Margaret Furse. The cinematography is a bonus as well. Anne of the Thousand Days is a resplendent picture that's first-rate royalty entertainment.

Al Pacino is captivating from start to finish. The funeral speech is one of the greatest scenes of his career. A lot of corruption is going on, and multi-million dollar deals are made between a couple of men in power because they happen to be friends and it's a favor either way. It only takes one bizarre shooting incident to bring them all down through a paper trail.

Executive Suite is a rare film that gives a glimpse of business ethics and how a corporation is run. It's simple story of a power struggle among execs to be next in the line for the CEO position of a furniture manufacturing company. The performances of the all-star cast are outstanding, and they're fun to watch.

Suspend the disbelief, and you'll find Dave a charming comedy about politics, thanks to Kevin Kline, that's in the same vein of Gabriel Over the White House. It has a nice star-studded cast which also includes Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Charles Grodin, Ving Rhames, and Ben Kingsley.

In a way, Richard Gere revives his Julian Kay persona for Pete St. John who's only interested in making big bucks by delivering results in the political arena. What's interesting is the emergence of Denzel Washington's shadowy figure, somebody with secret foreign ties to see a certain person through which ultimately didn't work. Thus, a dimension has been retroactively added to Power.

Some have said Amadeus is boring. Some have said Amadeus is too long. And some have said Amadeus is nothing more than the music. But they all miss out the masterpiece in Amadeus. It's unbelievable watching F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce perform at their absolute best, and they'll be remembered forever for this film. The writing is first-rate. So are the interior set decoration, costumes, and cinematography.

As the town's mayor, Murray Hamilton's line is still a classic in politics: "I'm pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the beaches are open, and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means 'friendship.'"

Rob Roy is one of the best swashbuckling films made. The writing, the acting, and the stabs at primitiveness are uniformly excellent. Then, there's the larger-than-life Rob Roy against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands. The sword battle at the end is perfectly choreographed and is thus the best ever. Tim Roth is unbelievable, garnering an Oscar nomination.

Sometimes, a bunch of all-stars get together to do an important film, and this one is among them which was based on Randy Shilts' seminal book of the AIDS coverage. The performances are excellent; my favorite is Richard Gere's which may feel two minutes long but is still powerful. The other great one is Jeffrey Nordling as the French-Canadian airline steward.

"I'm not a killer, Maggie, but this place makes me want to kill." The Boxer is terrific for its IRA backstory serving as the political force to keep the two lovers apart yet they refuse to be. People have to dig Daniel Day-Lewis in a serious drama role. It's his quiet intensity that's effective. Also outstanding are the supporting roles and Chris Menges' cinematography.

It's the most famous case in U.S. history of education which began with Plessy v. Ferguson and concluded with Brown v. Board of Education. In between is a 58-year black struggle for equal rights. The final verdict was the beginning of the end for racial segregation that dominated race relations for so long in the United States. Hence, there's a lot to learn from this film.

Benicio del Toro is the reason to watch this film over and over. It's such a classy performance that ends with his character watching a kids baseball game and knowing what he had done. It's not easy to turn a film with many competing storylines into an outstanding picture, but Steven Soderbergh, who's always been a top-notch director in his own right, accomplished this feat which led to an Oscar win for him.

For MacArthur, Gregory Peck does what George C. Scott did for Patton. In fact, it's handled by the same production team. A forgotten but very controversial military figure, General Douglas MacArthur was among a handful of famous generals during the 20th century. It was obvious from the outset only Gregory Peck could play him. Not only he gets the job done, but he is MacArthur. Peck can even carry a corncob pipe convincingly well.