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 Committee on Un-American Activities – …
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 job assigned to him was …
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 effect’. His greatest wish is …
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 Panama Canal hasn’t been constructed …
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 local newspaper. Condemned to write …
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 in U.S. military prisons at …
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 implemented for the first time …
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 beginning of the film we …
Pandora’s Box (1992) Director: Adam Curtis Runtime: 6 x 45 min A six-part documentary series dealing with the effects and irrational consequences of political and scientific rationalism. The focus of the story is how the engineers and scientists inappropriately interfered in economy and politics, while on the other hand, economists and politicians equally inappropriately interfered …
Racism: A History (TV mini-series 2007) Director: Paul Tickell Runtime: 3 x 59 min An excellent overview of the history of racism from its origins to the present day, through the development of colonialism, the abolition of slavery, imperialism, various racial theories, eugenics, monstrous exploitation and genocide around the world. Solid and informative.
