Politics in the movies

With the conventions under way, the campaign season is ready to begin in earnest. If the real campaigns aren't enough for you, there are several movies devoted to the subject. M. Keith Booker discusses several of these films in From Box Office to Ballot Box: the American Political Film:

State of the Union (1948, Directed by Frank Capra): Spencer Tracy stars as an idealistic industrialist who runs for the Presidency.

The Candidate (1972, Directed by Michael Ritchie): While Richard Nixon is on his way to re-election by a landslide, a young, honest, idealistic lawyer (Robert Redford) begins to learn the truth about running for office in the U.S. Senate.

Primary Colors (1998, Directed by Mike Nichols) Jack Stanton (John Travolta) is a virtually unknown Southern governor on a quest for the White House with his strong, savvy and equally ambitious wife, Susan. Running against the odds, the Stantons need all the help they can get from their extremely colorful political team. Based on the book by the same name.

Bulworth (1998, Directed by Warren Beatty) Believing his career is over, Senator Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) takes out an enormous insurance policy and a contract on his own life on the campaign trail. His impending death fills him with an outrageous desire to break the rules and tell it like it is.