# The best political movies

Campaigns, scandals and back rooms: from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and All the President's Men to Election and In the Loop, the political films picked by Rolling Stone and The Movie Blog.

- 2005 votes · 15 items
- Nov 12, 2024 · courtney_filmbuff
- https://even.best/en/l/4399/the-best-political-movies

## Top 15

1. **All the President's Men (1976)** (193 · ▲210 ▼17) — Alan J. Pakula. Woodward, Bernstein and Watergate.
2. **Dr. Strangelove (1964)** (172 · ▲191 ▼19) — Stanley Kubrick. The Cold War as black comedy.
3. **Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)** (138 · ▲154 ▼16) — Frank Capra. James Stewart against corruption in the Senate.
4. **Lincoln (2012)** (128 · ▲141 ▼13) — Steven Spielberg. Passing the Thirteenth Amendment.
5. **The Candidate (1972)** (105 · ▲120 ▼15) — Michael Ritchie. Robert Redford runs for the Senate in California.
6. **Election (1999)** (101 · ▲116 ▼15) — Alexander Payne. A high school student council race.
7. **Being There (1979)** (87 · ▲101 ▼14) — Hal Ashby. A gardener taken for a political sage.
8. **Wag the Dog (1997)** (83 · ▲108 ▼25) — Barry Levinson. A fake war to cover a scandal.
9. **The Manchurian Candidate (1962)** (76 · ▲96 ▼20) — John Frankenheimer. A brainwashed war hero.
10. **Milk (2008)** (74 · ▲91 ▼17) — Gus Van Sant. Harvey Milk in San Francisco.
11. **A Face in the Crowd (1957)** (73 · ▲99 ▼26) — Elia Kazan. A drifter turned media demagogue.
12. **Advise and Consent (1962)** (72 · ▲90 ▼18) — Otto Preminger. A Senate fight over a nominee.
13. **In the Loop (2009)** (57 · ▲77 ▼20) — Armando Iannucci. Spin doctors on the road to war.
14. **Bob Roberts (1992)** (45 · ▲63 ▼18) — Tim Robbins. A folk-singing right-wing candidate.
15. **All the King's Men (1949)** (41 · ▲68 ▼27) — Robert Rossen. The rise of a populist governor.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.