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One valuable and pleasurable element of "cultural literacy" - maintaining a kind of continuity among generations, so that we professors (among others) can continue to explain ourselves to our ever-younger students - is a familiarity with film "classics" - easier than ever to obtain thanks to the various classic movie channels plus VCR's! The following classic films are particularly recommended to students interested in political philosophy: "Cabaret" (1972 version, featuring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey). Based on a stage musical, in turn based on the 1950's stage play "I Am a Camera," in turn derived from Christopher Isherwood's stories based on first-hand observation of the rise of the Nazi tyranny. The café scene featuring the Nazi hymn "The Future Belongs to Me" illustrates far better than any Marxist explanation the demonic appeal of Nazism, amid the decadence of the Weimar republic so well depicted in the film. "The Caine Mutiny" (1954): based on a Herman Wouk novel, illustrates the problem of the near-absolute authority wielded by a naval captain in wartime. The closing scene shows that there are two sides to the issue. Featuring Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer … an all-star cast. (The same problem is also depicted in mostly comic fashion by another 1950's gem based on a stage play, "Mr. Roberts" [1955]). "Casablanca" (1942): possibly the most beloved film ever made, and I assume already familiar to many of you. Featuring Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet just before America's entry into World War II. A highly elevated form of war "propaganda," a lot more entertaining AND illuminating than ostensibly “arty” films that lack a grounding in the serious issues of human and political life. "A Few Good Men": Most of you have already seen this relatively recent Tom Cruise film. Listed here only because the interrogation technique by which Cruise's character gets Jack Nicholson to admit having ordered a "Code Red" is the same technique used by Socrates, in Plato's "Apology", to get his accuser Meletus to blurt out his real opinion that Socrates is an atheist, thereby contradicting the legal charge he had "cleverly" drafted against Socrates. "Friendly Persuasion" (1956). Thoughtful film portraying a Quaker family during the Civil War and featuring Gary Cooper and Tony Perkins (subsequently to achieve his greatest fame in "Psycho!"): viewing the limits of pacifism as a response to war and injustice (and in the light of natural male spiritedness). "The Godfather" Part I (1972) and Part II (1974): Aside from their entertainment value, these famous Mafia flicks invite reflection on the difference between the "patron-client" basis of "politics" within the mob (such as also characterized the ancient Roman republic) and the politics of rule of law and individual rights that furnish the basis of the modern liberal regime. Consider the reason for the funeral director’s original request for help from Don Corleone; the Don's initial response; and the fact that the funeral director's name means "Goodnight America!" (These points are developed by the distinguished historian Paul Rahe in “Don Corleone, Multiculturalist,” Business and Professional Ethics Journal, vol. 16 [1997]: 132-153.) "Henry V" (1945 version, featuring Laurence Olivier): Edited-for-World-War-II version of the Shakespeare play about England's "most beloved" king. "High Noon" (1952): Classic Western featuring Gary Cooper as recently retired sheriff who must do his duty even though deserted by all the townspeople he protects. Invites reflection on the nature and causes of civic duty and personal heroism. "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962): A good depiction of the problem of political leadership, and what differentiates statesmanship from military leadership: T.E. Lawrence's failed endeavor to generate Arab unity following his leadership of Arab forces on the side of England during the first World War. "On the Waterfront" (1954): Classic Marlon Brandon film about labor racketeering; another occasion for reflection on heroism and justice. "Patton" (1970): One of the greatest war movies ever made, noteworthy for its balanced depiction of both the great general's virtues and his vices - and the suggestion that the two were inevitably linked. (Yet it also depicts Omar Bradley as the more truly "American" sort of military leader, i.e., a "soldier's general." For the opposite sort of general to Bradley, consider the brutally indifferent European officers portrayed, with some justification, in Stanley Kubrick's 1957 antiwar film "Paths of Glory," and in the later Australian film about World War I "Gallipoli.") "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935): Featuring Charles Laughton as an English butler who becomes Americanized as a result of being transported to the frontier (through having been "lost" by his owner in a card game). The climactic scene: his recitation of the Gettysburg Address. Dramatically illustrates Tocqueville's teaching in Democracy in America about the difference between the political spirit of Americans and that of Continental Europe, exemplifying what Tocqueville portrays as the manly rather than the base spirit of equality. "The Sorrow and the Pity" (1970): French documentary interviewing survivors about France's abject surrender before the Nazis in 1940. Noteworthy for the remark of an unreconstructed member of the old Right that "we had no choice" but to accept the Nazis as the only alternative to the Left! "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948): you need not share the Marxist orientation of the author of the story on which the screenplay was placed to enjoy and profit from this depiction of the dangers of gold. Features Humphrey Bogart (again). "The Triumph of the Will" (1935): Infamous Nazi propaganda documentary directed by Hitler favorite Leni Riefenstahl. Filming of a gigantic Hitler rally, useful along with "Cabaret" for understanding the villainous Nazi dictator's demonic appeal. "Warlock" (1959): This enjoyable Henry Fonda Western is mentioned here only because it is loosely based on Homer's Iliad (note the funeral pyre scene!). ----
Any film featuring the Marx brothers - the only prominent Marxes to whom humanity owes a debt of gratitude (e.g., "Night at the Opera," "Day at the Races," "Horse Feathers," "Duck Soup"). Any of the Alec Guinness comedies filmed at Ealing Studios (U.K.) c. 1949-1951 (e.g., "Kind Hearts and Coronets," "Our Man in Havana," "Captain's Paradise," “The Lavender Hill Mob,” "The Man in the White Suit"). Two great detective films featuring Humphrey Bogart: "The Big Sleep" (1946) and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) Another Bogie classic: “The African Queen” (1951, with Katherine Hepburn). The best Alfred Hitchcock suspense films: “The Lady Vanishes” (1938, with Margaret Lockwood), "North by Northwest" (1959, Cary Grant), "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956, with James Stewart and Doris Day)), and “Dial “M” for Murder” (1954, with Grace Kelly). “The Counterfeit Traitor” (1962), terrific World War II suspense film featuring William Holden, with a Confessional scene so terrifying that you’ll never forget it. “Stalag 17” (1953), the greatest World War II POW movie, featuring William Holden. “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957), remarkable courtroom suspense drama based on an Agatha Christie story, directed by Billy Wilder, and featuring Charles Laughton and an unforgettable Marlene Dietrich. “Diabolique,” 1955 version of this chilling suspense/ crime drama featuring Simone Signoret. “One Two Three” (1961), a Billy Wilder comedy set in Cold War Germany, featuring James Cagney as Coca Cola executive with a ditzy daughter who marries a “committed” young Communist; even funnier than “Some Like It Hot.” “Great Expectations,” the 1946 British version of the Dickens novel (not the awful 1990’s remake!) “Charade” (1963), a marvelous suspense film with Cary Grant, charming Audrey Hepburn, and a remarkable performance by Walter Matthau. "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), a classic suspense/ espionage film featuring "The Chairman of the Board" (Frank Sinatra). “King Solomon’s Mines,” the classic 1950 version of this African adventure tale with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger (not the 1985 remake!). “Heat,” c. 1995, crime/ suspense with my favorite contemporary actors, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino "My Favorite Year" (1982): a comedy based on the filming of a TV comedy;
favorite of my whole family.
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