Political Docos
Due to the great influx of socio-political documentaries over the last couple of years, Alice thought it was time they had a section of their own. Included here are political bios ('Comandante', 'Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace'); films dealing with the mechanics of politics ('Rats in the Ranks', 'The War Room'); and those dedicated to political issues as diverse as homelessness ('It Was A Wonderful Life'), the death penalty ('Mr Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A Leuchter Jr'), corporate depletion of natural resources ('End of Suburbia'); civil rights ('4 Little Girls') and corruption ('Fahrenheit 911). Undoubtedly two stars of the genre are two very different men, extroverted funnyman, Michael Moore ('Roger and Me') and soft-spoken professor, Noam Chomsky ('Manufacturing Consent'), pictured.
The Panama Deception (1992)
7.5/10
Director: Barbara Trent
Starring: Elizabeth Montgomery, Narrated by
This Academy Award winner for Best Feature Documentary uncovers the real reasons for the internationally condemned attack on Panama in 1989 by U.S. fo... Read more
The Party's Over (2001)
5/10
Director: Rebecca Chaiklin, Donovan Leitch
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Aka "Last Party 2000". Join your dynamic host Philip Seymour Hoffman for this compelling exploration of the state of democracy in America, chronicling... Read more
The Persuaders (2004)
8.2/10
Director: Barak Goodman, Rachel Dretzin
In an increasingly high-tech and media-savvy world, how have advertising and public relations firms adapted to work their messages into the public's e... Read more
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006)
8/10
A look at how Cuba transitioned from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one, having lost access to Soviet oil in the 1990s. This is a s... Read more
The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (2004)
8.9/10
Director: Adam Curtis
Political proverb states that a population in fear is a population that is easily controlled. In this documentary exploring the climate of fear that e... Read more
The President vs David Hicks (2004)
Director: Curtis Levy, Bentley Dean
Starring: David Hicks, Terry Hicks
In January 2002, Australian David Hicks was picked up by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and handed to the US military. He was then sent to the... Read more
The Red Stuff: The True Story of the Russian Race for Space (1999)
6.8/10
Director: Leo De Boer
The untold history of the Soviet space program is revealed in this fascinating documentary that separates truth from propaganda. Rare archival footage... Read more
The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2009)
Starring: Naomi Klein
'The Rise of Disaster Capitalism' features Naomi Klein explaining the ideas and research behind her bestselling book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of... Read more
The Road to Guantanamo (2006)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Saddiqui, Afran Usman, Shahid Iqbal, Sher Khan
A searing dramatisation of the real-life experiences of three men who set off from Tipton, England, for a wedding in Pakistan in September of 2001. O... Read more
The Robert Epstein Collection: The Celluloid Closet / Common Threads / Paragraph 175 / The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Director: Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
A collection of four documentaries from queer filmmaker Robert Epstein. "The Celluloid Closet" (1995) - This entertaining and often hilarious look at... Read more