Documentaries
Superpower
Superpower (2008) Director: Barbara-Anne Steegmuller Runtime: 119 min A documentary about U.S. foreign policy, the position of the USA in the World, the journey it made to arrive at global hegemony and the mechanisms by which this position is maintained. This film is full of information, not overcrowded, but very ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)
Guilty By Suspicion
Guilty By Suspicion (1991) Director: Irwin Winkler Actors: Robert De Niro Runtime: 105 min The beginning of the Cold War brought a new wave of anti-communist hysteria and “witch hunts” in the U.S. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations headed by Senator McCarthy took the leading role, accompanied by the House ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)
Stander
Stander (2003) Director: Bronwen Hughes Actors: Thomas Jane, David O’Hara, Dexter Fletcher Runtime: 111 min Andre Stander was an officer in the South African police at the beginning of 1980s. A powerful revolt arises in him after the shock he experiences during his involvement in a police massacre of unarmed civilians ...
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Second half of the 20th century (1945-1990)Special recommendation
The Spook Who Sat by the Door
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) Director: Ivan Dixon Actors: Lawrence Cook, Janet League Runtime: 102 min In the political climate of integration, the CIA was required to enroll African-American recruits, but because of very rigid criteria, only one of them manages to complete the training, and the ...
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Contemporary period (after 1990)
Swept Away
Swept Away (2002) Director: Guy Ritchie Actors: Madonna, Adriano Giannini Runtime: 89 min Due to a hassle during a cruise in the Mediterranean, a poor sailor and an incredibly arrogant, constantly pissed off rich woman end up on a deserted island. Usual social roles of master and subordinate are suddenly ...
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Dystopias, Fiction
Godzilla
Gojira (1954) Director: Ishirô Honda Actors: Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata Runtime:96 min Less than ten years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan made a movie about a prehistoric monster woken from millennial sleep by US underwater nuclear tests. Godzilla is a metaphor for nuclear destruction and a ...
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Pre-20th century
Black Death
Black Death (2010) Director: Christopher Smith Actors: Eddie Redmayne, Kimberley Nixon, Sean Bean Runtime: 102 min The story takes place in plague-ridden England in the mid-fourteenth century. A young monk joins and guides a group of Christian knights who have the task of investigating rumors of a remote village in ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)Special recommendation
Salvador (Puig Antich)
Salvador (Puig Antich) (2006) Director: Manuel Huerga Actors: Daniel Brühl, Tristán Ulloa Runtime: 134 min Salvador Puig was a Spanish anarchist, member of the group MIL, which robbed banks and financed illegal political press, books and other materials, supported workers’ struggles and the fight against authoritarian regime of Francisco Franco. ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)Special recommendation
The Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers (2003) Director: Rod Holcomb Actors: James Spader, Claire Forlani, Paul Giamatti Runtime: 92 min The protagonist of the movie is Daniel Ellsberg, a remarkable young analyst, who is the subject of the U.S. Cold War ideology of spreading liberal-democratic values and the threat of a communist ‘domino ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)Special recommendation
Some Mother’s Son
Some Mother’s Son (1996) Director: Terry George Actors: Helen Mirren, Aidan Gillen, John Lynch Runtime: 112 min This is story about the 1981. hunger strike of Irish political prisoners and the events that accompanied it. One of the main causes of conflict in Northern Ireland was discrimination against Catholics (Irish) ...
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Based on actual eventsSecond half of the 20th century (1945-1990)Special recommendation
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Director: Tomas Alfredson Actors: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy Runtime: 127 min At the very top of the British intelligence agency MI6 is a Soviet double agent. Or maybe not? Very complex and dynamic espionage thriller set in the middle of the 1970s. From ...
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Based on actual eventsPre-20th centurySpecial recommendation
Walker
Walker (1987) Director: Alex Cox Actors: Ed Harris Runtime: 94 min William Walker was US adventurer and mercenary who (among other things) organized a private military expedition to Nicaragua in 1855. This expedition was funded by Cornelius Vanderbilt, a tycoon who controlled transportation in Nicaragua, since at that time the ...
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Contemporary period (after 1990)Special recommendation
Margin Call
Margin Call (2011) Director: J.C. Chandor Actors: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci Runtime: 107 min At the beginning of the global economic crisis, a young analyst uses a computer simulation to predict the imminent fall of the market. The movie covers a period of 24h during which senior executives ...
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Second half of the 20th century (1945-1990)
The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary (2011) Director: Bruce Robinson Actors: Johnny Depp Runtime: 120 min This movie was made as homage to Hunter S. Thompson, based on his semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. A young writer in search of work and inspiration arrives in Puerto Rico and begins working for the ...
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Documentaries
Taxi To The Dark Side
Taxi To The Dark Side (2007) Director: Alex Gibney Runtime: 106 min After 9/11, the U.S. administration and the CIA decided that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to persons who are suspected of having links with terrorism. This film examines the brutal psychological molestation and physical torture of detainees ...
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Documentaries
Czech Dream
Ceský sen (2004) Director: Vít Klusák, Filip Remunda Runtime: 90 min Two students of film directing decided to organize a marketing campaign for the opening of a non-existent hypermarket and over 2000 people show up on the opening day. Throughout the film we see the process of image creation and ...
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Documentaries
The Shock Doctrine
The Shock Doctrine (2009) Directors: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom Runtime: 82 min The economic doctrine that glorifies the free market and deregulation, widely known as the ideology of neoliberalism, is so devastating for the population that it is generally impossible to be carried out except in extraordinary situations. It was ...
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Second half of the 20th century (1945-1990)
The Wages of Fear
Le salaire de la peur (1953) Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot Actors: Yves Montand Runtime: 148 min Several foreigners of various nationalities are trapped in a village in South America. The road leads only to oil rigs, the railroad doesn’t exist, and airplane is the only means of transportation, but none of ...
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DocumentariesSpecial recommendation
Far from Vietnam
Loin du Vietnam (1967) Directors: Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais Runtime: 115 min At the time when this issue was predominant, seven French film directors have jointly made a documentary that grappled with the issue of the Vietnam War. At the ...
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DocumentariesSpecial recommendation
Nazi Concentration Camps
Nazi Concentration Camps (1945) Director: George Stevens Runtime: 59 min The official documentary, made from footage that was recorded by U.S. troops during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. It was used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials. The camps are shown one after the other, and include footage from ...
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