Left Wing Guide To Cinema
Films of interest to anyone left of Attila The Hun .
No party line , includes films about real events and people , films made by left wing directors , anti fascist World War II propaganda films , Depression era films , marxist Spaghetti Westerns etc etc etc
plus a few right wing films to pick over
no order , but a few of the greats at the top
No party line , includes films about real events and people , films made by left wing directors , anti fascist World War II propaganda films , Depression era films , marxist Spaghetti Westerns etc etc etc
plus a few right wing films to pick over
no order , but a few of the greats at the top
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- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert NewtonAlec GuinnessKay WalshIn Charles Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home.
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsGérard DepardieuWojciech PszoniakAnne AlvaroIn 1793, as the Terror begins in France, Georges Danton, a champion-of-the-people, returns to clash against Maximilien Robespierre and his extremist party.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsMalcolm McDowellDavid WoodRichard WarwickIn this allegorical story, a revolution led by pupil Mick Travis takes place at an old established private school in England.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsIan HartRosana PastorIcíar BollaínDavid is an unemployed communist that comes to Spain in 1937 during the civil war to enroll the republicans and defend the democracy against the fascists. He makes friends between the soldiers.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsIngrid BergmanCharles BoyerCharles LaughtonIllegal refugees lead dark lives in pre-World War II Paris.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsAleksandr AntonovVladimir BarskiyGrigoriy AleksandrovIn the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsGian Maria VolontèKlaus KinskiMartine BeswickA band of Mexican gunrunners employed by a revolutionary General accept an American mercenary into their gang, unaware of his true intentions.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinDita ParloPierre FresnayDuring WWI, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are eventually sent to a seemingly inescapable fortress.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsPaul MuniGlenda FarrellHelen VinsonWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonAngela BassettDelroy LindoBiographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
- DirectorHerbert J. BibermanStarsJuan ChacónRosaura RevueltasWill GeerMexican workers at a zinc mine call a general strike. It is only through the solidarity of the workers, and importantly the indomitable resolve of their wives, mothers, and daughters, that they eventually triumph.
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsGian Maria VolontèRiccardo CucciollaCyril CusackIn 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsClaude RainsGloria DicksonEdward NorrisA politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneySpencer TracyWalter AbelWhen a wrongly-accused prisoner barely survives a lynch-mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to fake his death and frame the mob for his supposed murder.
- DirectorJean VigoStarsJean DastéRobert le FlonLouis LefebvreIn a repressive boarding school with rigid rules of behavior, four boys decide to rebel against the direction on a celebration day.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsRichard WrightJean WallaceGloria MadisonIn 1940s Chicago, a young black man takes a job as a chauffeur to a white family, which takes a turn for the worse when he accidentally kills the teenage daughter of the couple and then tries to cover it up.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsZachary ScottBernie HamiltonKey MeersmanA jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsEd HarrisRichard MasurRene AuberjonoisAn unconventional retelling of the life of William Walker, a 19th century American mercenary leader who became the president of Nicaragua.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsRichard HarrisAlec GuinnessRobert MorleyPuritan statesman Oliver Cromwell leads England in a civil war against the absolutist and Catholic-sympathetic King Charles I.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsPierre RenoirLise DelamareLouis JouvetA news-reel like movie about early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people, citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course the king Louis XVI, showing their own small problems.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsJohn GarfieldLilli PalmerHazel BrooksA talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.
- DirectorAbraham PolonskyStarsJohn GarfieldThomas GomezBeatrice PearsonAn unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsDavid WayneHoward Da SilvaMartin GabelIn this Americanization of the 1931 German thriller, both the police and the criminal underworld stalk a mysterious serial killer who preys on little girls.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsMacdonald CareyGail RussellJohnny SandsA newspaper editor in a small agricultural town finds himself going against the people in the town when he gets involved in the plight of the area's fruit pickers, who are mostly Mexican.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsFrank LovejoyKathleen RyanRichard CarlsonA man who is down on his luck falls in with a criminal.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsSam WanamakerLea PadovaniKathleen RyanOne of the few (if any at the time this film was made) films shot in England with New York City's 'Little Italy" as the locale. This was Edward Dmytryk's first film after he had refused to tell a Congressional Committee whether or not he was, or had ever been, a member of the Communist Party. This is a 'runaway production' shot in England for political reasons and not for the usual USA tax-break reasons. Geremio, a young Italian immigrant to New York City, works as a bricklayer and is courting an Italian girl, Annunziata, by mail. He lies to her that he owns his own home and, after they are married, has to rent one for their three-day honeymoon. The years pass and they are unable to save enough money to get out of their slum tenement, and the 1929 depression brings even harder times to the family that now includes three children. Geremio, in order to make enough money to care for his family, exploits his "comrades" in dangerous construction work. This practice leads to the accidental death of his best friend, and, in grief, Geremio also becomes unfaithful to his wife. The messages of the film -- life is aimless and no man can judge the true worth of another man -- are pounded on for most of the two-hour running time.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsEnrique IrazoquiMargherita CarusoSusanna PasoliniThe life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a Marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew.
- DirectorJohn BaxterStarsDeborah KerrClifford EvansGeorge CarneyDuring the Depression in England, a young lady from Lancashire decides to be a rich bookmaker's mistress, just to help the rest of her unemployed family.
- DirectorGrigoriy AleksandrovSergei EisensteinStarsBoris LivanovNikolay PopovVasili NikandrovA large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsWendy AllnuttColin FarrellMalcolm McFeeThe working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsBurt LancasterAlain DelonClaudia CardinaleThe Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsSean ConneryHarry AndrewsIan BannenIn a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDavid BradleyBrian GloverFreddie FletcherA working-class English boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet kestrel.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSpencer TracyRobert RyanAnne FrancisA one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsGregory PeckDorothy McGuireJohn GarfieldA reporter pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a story on anti-Semitism, and personally discovers the true depths of bigotry and hatred.
- DirectorArchie MayoMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartAnn SheridanDick ForanA hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he's seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsPaul MuniKaren MorleyWilliam GarganAn immigrant coal miner finds himself in the middle of a bitter labor dispute between the workers and the mine owners.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonGeorge SandersFrancis LedererFBI agent Ed Renard investigates the pre-war espionage activities of the German-American Bund.
- DirectorBill DouglasStarsRobin SoansWilliam GaminaraStephen BatemanThe story of "The Tolpuddle Martyrs". A group of nineteenth century English farm laborers who formed one of the first trade unions and started a campaign to receive fair wages.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsRichard BurtonAlain DelonRomy SchneiderAfter having been forced to leave the Soviet Union 1929 Trotsky has ended up in Mexico 1940. He is still busy with politics, promoting socialism to the world. Stalin has sent out an assassin, Frank Jacson. Jacson befriends a young communist and gets an invitation to Trotsky's house.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRobert YoungRobert MitchumRobert RyanA man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of demobilized soldiers he met in a bar. But which one? And why?
- DirectorFletcher MarkleStarsFranchot ToneJean WallaceMyron McCormickNew York Assistant District Attorney Howard Malloy investigates a series of murders and uncovers an extremist group.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDorothy McGuireRobert MitchumGuy MadisonDrama about former WW2 Marines readjusting to civilian life and dealing with their mental and physical traumas.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsRenaudGérard DepardieuMiou-MiouIn mid-nineteenth-century northern France, a coal mining town's workers are exploited by the mine's owner. One day, they decide to go on strike, and the authorities repress them.
- DirectorYves AllégretStarsJean SorelBerthe GranvalClaude Brasseur1863. Etienne Lantier, who has been fired from a railway company for being involved in union activities, lands a miner's job in the North of France. He finds bed and lodging at the Maheus', all of whom being miners themselves and whose daughter Catherine proves susceptible to his charm.The work is hard, ill-paid and dangerous. When the miners hear their wages are going to be cut down they revolt, led by Lantier. The company decides to bring workers in replacement and the authorities repress the rebels ruthlessly. The strike ends in death and suffering but hope for a better future still prevails, in spite of everything...
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsMarlon BrandoEvaristo MárquezRenato SalvatoriIn 1844, a British mercenary helps the revolting slaves of an Antilles island colony gain independence from Portugal, but later returns to hunt down a local rebel leader and former protégé.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsFranco NeroJosé CanalejasJosé BódaloA coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyBarbara HaleAnne FrancisA charismatic peddler from the bayous finds his true calling in politics. Is he a demagogue in the making?
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnRichard WhorfJournalist Steve O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him question what the truth about the hero is.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsAnthony PerkinsArnoldo FoàJess HahnAn unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsBeatrice PearsonMel FerrerSusan Douglas RubesThis story is a true account of the lives of Scott and Marsha Carter. Having graduated from medical school, Scott Carter, a fair-skinned African American, marries Marsha Mitchell and moves to Georgia. When he arrives at the black clinic in Georgia, he discovers that the job must inconveniently go to a Southerner. Discussions between two nurses at this clinic suggest that Scott's light skin may have some bearing on the decision not to hire him. Defeated but not conquered, Scott returns to Massachusetts to live with his in-laws until he can get employment. He tries unsuccessfully to obtain employment as an African American. Because Marsha is pregnant, Scott decides to take a job at Portsmouth Hospital, but he reluctantly does so as a white man. While there, he manages to save the life of Dr. Bracket, who encourages him to take a postion in Keenham, New Hampshire. Scott decides to continue "passing" for white. In Keenham, Dr. Scott Carter proves to be quite a success for the town. For twenty years, Dr. and Mrs. Carter live peacefully in Keenham with son, Howard and daughter, Shelley. All goes well until Scott and Howard decide to enter the military during World War II. When Scott applies for officer status with the Navy, an investigation reveals his black heritage, and he is barred from receiving a commission.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsRobert RedfordPeter BoyleMelvyn DouglasBill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsHenry FondaCliff RobertsonEdie AdamsThe two front runners for their party's presidential nomination, one principled and the other ruthless, vie for the former president's endorsement.
- DirectorTim RobbinsStarsTim RobbinsGiancarlo EspositoAlan RickmanA conservative folk singer turns his hand to politics, running for the US Senate. He is not above dirty tricks and smear campaigns to gain an advantage over his opponent.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaWalter MatthauFritz WeaverA technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?
- 19641h 35mPG8.4 (519K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingStarsBarry JonesAndré MorellOlive SloaneWhen a scientist threatens to detonate a powerful bomb in the heart of London, Scotland Yard has just seven days to find him before it is too late.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsJennifer JonesJohn GarfieldPedro ArmendárizIn 1930's Cuba, a bank clerk and an American mercenary assist a revolutionary group in a plan to kill the President but the Cuban Secret Police chief and the dictator's military complicate the plan's execution.
- DirectorRobert S. BakerMonty BermanStarsDonald SindenNicole BergerKieron MooreAs armed police surround a house in the East End of London, a young lady under medical supervision nearby thinks back to the events that lead her and a group of Russian refugee political anarchists to this situation.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseJean-Pierre CasselAn account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterPaul ScofieldJeanne MoreauIn 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsMarcel BarnaultJean ClarieuxJean DaurandRecounts the courageous efforts by French railroad workers who were part of an organized resistance during German World War II occupation.
- DirectorTom CleggStarsJohn ThawDennis WatermanDenholm ElliottSecond theatrical spin-off from the popular 1970's police series. Regan and Carter head a Flying Squad investigation into a series of bank raids by a team of well-armed villains who are flying in from the continent.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsFernando ReyDelphine SeyrigPaul FrankeurA surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsPaul FrankeurLaurent TerzieffAlain CunyTwo drifters go on a pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Along the way, they hitchhike, beg for food, and face the Christian dogmas and heresies from different Ages.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoJean PetersAnthony QuinnThe story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.
- DirectorJack ConwayHoward HawksWilliam A. WellmanStarsWallace BeeryFay WrayLeo CarrilloAfter enacting revenge on the overseer who murdered his father, Pancho Villa becomes a bandit, earning the respect of the poor by brutally attacking the wealthy.
- DirectorElio PetriStarsGian Maria VolontèFlorinda BolkanGianni SantuccioA chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.
- DirectorR.G. SpringsteenStarsRobert RockwellHanna Axmann-RezzoriBetty Lou GersonAn ex-GI becomes involved with the American Communist party, and falls in love with his instructor. The pair quickly realise their mistake, when they see how party leaders handle a member who questioned the party's principles. When they try to leave, they're marked for assassination and hunted by the party killers.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsBruce JonesJulie BrownGemma PhoenixThis Ken Loach film tells the story of a man devoted to his family and his religion. Proud, though poor, Bob wants his little girl to have a beautiful (and costly) brand-new dress for her First Communion. His stubbornness and determination get him into trouble as he turns to more and more questionable measures, in his desperation to raise the needed money.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsRobert CarlyleEmer McCourtJim R. ColemanThe story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsFrances McDormandMaurice RoëvesRobert PattersonWhen an American human rights lawyer is assassinated in Belfast, it remains for the man's girlfriend, as well as a tough, no nonsense, police detective to find the truth.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn PayneLizabeth ScottDan DuryeaIn the western town of Silver Lode, Dan Ballard is arrested for murder and theft by marshals, but he denies the charges and searches for the real culprit as the townsfolk gradually turn against him.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsWarren BeattyPaula PrentissWilliam DanielsAn ambitious reporter gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAnthony HopkinsJoan AllenPowers BootheA biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsKadeem HardisonBokeem WoodbineJoe Don BakerA dramatized account of the story of The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.