House of Cards

It’s very important to learn from the ills of history and not to dismiss cautionary tales. Aside from the superb selections below, I highly recommend two more movies, ones I’ve already covered in the past. Please check out A Face in the Crowd and Network. They both resonate today now more than ever.

House of Cards (2013–present) is an ongoing Netflix series directed by James Foley and others. A driven congressman and his wife have huge political aspirations and won’t stop their relentless pursuits. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright deliver powerful and frightening portrayals of a corrupt couple headed toward the presidency.

Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is directed by John Frankenheimer. Frank Sinatra stars as a soldier who is used as a pawn in an international political conspiracy during the presidential campaign. The film remains sharp, and was very much ahead of its time.

1984

1984 (1984) is directed by Michael Radford. The film is conceived from George Orwell’s incredible book by the same title. 1984 is about a society living under totalitarian rule. John Hurt plays a struggling government employee who is mandated to continually revise history. The book coined the famous terms “Big Brother” and “doublespeak.”