Political thrillers: a review of the best films

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Compared to traditional detectives or action films, political thrillers are shot much less often. Indeed, unlike stories about valiant detectives who solve the most intricate crimes, or about movie heroes a la Arnold Schwarzenegger, who do not care, films of this kind, as a rule, destroy faith in the political system as such. They show her ugly side, which most of us try not to think about. Despite this, among the films shot in this genre, there are also very interesting projects. Let's find out about the most famous and interesting of these paintings.

Political thrillers and their hallmarks

Before you start looking at the top best films of this kind, you should know their distinguishing features.

In this case, the name speaks for itself: this picture is a thriller, the events in which are associated with politicians and their games. It is worth remembering that if the draft mentions the president, ministers or special services,that doesn't make it a political thriller. Since, in addition to the story of a hero from the category of those in power, the project should reflect the specifics of the relationship of such people. And also there is some kind of mystery that keeps the viewer in suspense, otherwise what kind of thriller is this.

Often such pictures are called espionage, as their main characters are often intelligence officers or double agents. However, not all tapes with such characters are political thrillers. After all, films about James Bond or Austin Powers are also about spies, and about very unusual ones. But the tapes about the first hero are spy action movies, and about the second one they are parodies.

Another distinguishing feature that is typical for such paintings is the ambiguity of the characters. As a rule, there are no good or bad, their images are very multifaceted and thus close to real people. In addition, in the finale of such tapes, good does not always win. And if justice nevertheless triumphs, then its victory is usually with a bitter aftertaste.

Political Thriller Themes

The list of questions raised in such feeds is long. However, the key ones can be distinguished among them:

• First of all, this is the exposure of spy organizations that seek to change the world order in a particular state. In the early days of the genre, most political thrillers de alt with the attempts of Nazi survivors to regain power. In later years it was the communists.
• Another popular topic raised in such projects is the Cold War. After its completion, the mainterrorists from Islamic countries have become enemies.
• In addition, the game of detectives in political thrillers is very popular. Detectives of this kind, as a rule, are aimed at uncovering the machinations of some politician. Usually this is done by journalists or special agents who accidentally get into trouble. Often scenarios can be based on real events. Thanks to this, the rating of films increases.
• Political thrillers often show the evolution of politicians and their environment, as well as show how power affects people.

Having de alt with the main issues that such tapes are devoted to, it is worth considering the most famous of them.

"Notorious" (1946)

This painting is about the daughter of a German spy, Alicia. Unlike her father, she has bright anti-fascist views. Because of them, an undercover FBI agent befriends a girl and persuades her to help him uncover the conspiracy of the former heads of the Third Reich hiding in Brazil. However, on the way to the goal, young people have to overcome many difficulties and risk their own lives more than once.

It is worth noting that this picture was classified as a thriller only because of the unique, chilling atmosphere created by Alfred Hitchcock. While the plot is more of a spy detective.

Political thriller "All the King's Men" (1949 and 2006)

Already shortly after its publication, Robert Penn Warren's novel became a real sensation. His story of Willy Stark's rise to power is truly magnificent, and all the characters are complex and controversial, as arethe policy itself as a whole.

This novel has been filmed 5 times: 3 series and 2 movies. Although the story in them is still the same, but half a century of difference between the feature films made it possible to tell it differently and convey to the audience one important truth: times change, but human flaws remain the same.

As for the debate about which of the adaptations is better, then everyone decides for himself. It would be nice to see both films and choose for yourself.

It is important to add that "All the King's Men" is just the most typical political thriller, and it was he who largely determined the features of this genre.

"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)

This picture in the Russian box office is better known under the name "Candidate from Manchuria" (1962). Despite the age and slightly outdated political realities of the picture, it is worth watching if only for the sake of Frank Sinatra, who played the main character.

The plot revolves around the American military Marco Bennett. During the Korean War, his squad is trapped and Marco himself is injured and loses his memory of the past few days. Struggling to remember what happened, he becomes embroiled in an anti-American conspiracy, which now he only has to uncover, if he survives, of course.

In 2004 Jonathan Demme filmed a remake of The Manchurian Candidate with more modern realities. Despite the stellar cast of this picture (Denzel Washington, Lev Schreiber, Jon Voight and Meryl Streep), its rating was lower than that oforiginal.

"Three Days of the Condor" (1981)

The next project not to be missed for those who want to watch the best political thrillers is "Three Days of the Condor" with a blond heartthrob from the 60s-80s. - Robert Redford.

According to the plot, the main character is the only one who remains alive during the attack on the office where he works. Although they cooperated with the CIA, they were only engaged in petty paperwork, so it is not clear why someone needed to kill so many innocent people. Trying to figure out the reasons for the death of his colleagues, and at the same time save his own life, the main character is drawn into a web of intrigue.

Jack Ryan movie series

The same category includes pictures based on Tom Clancy's books about CIA analyst Jack Ryan. In total, about this character, who by the will of fate found himself more than once in the center of conspiracies and political intrigues of different countries, five films were shot. These are The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, All the Fear of the World, and Jack Ryan: Chaos Theory. Stars such as Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine played the main character in them.

To tell you the truth, despite such stars starring in these projects, not all of them were successful. However, after watching them all, it is easier to form the most accurate picture of most varieties of political thrillers. Here and chase, and conspiracies, and cunning intrigues. You can also have fun looking at the Russian president, who speaks his native language with a terrible accent, and Ben's attemptsAffleck speak Ukrainian.

"Munich" (2005)

Another similar project that deserves attention is the 2005 film "Munich"

He talks about an Israeli special group that takes revenge on the terrorists for the execution of their compatriots during the Olympics in Munich. How far are they willing to go to reach their goal, and won't they become like their enemies in doing so?

It is worth noting that the film "Munich" (2005) is based on real events. Indeed, in 1972 a group of Israeli athletes were killed by terrorists. By the way, at the end of the picture, real excerpts from the documentary filming of this terrible event are shown.

The Lives of Others (2006)

A special place among films of this kind is occupied by the German project "The Lives of Others".

The picture tells about the last years on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. In the center of the plot is the fate of the disgraced playwright from East Berlin, Georg Dreyman. Because of his views, he is being followed. Captain Gerd Wiesler is assigned to bug his apartment. However, the man gradually begins to sympathize with his "ward".

"The Lives of Others" is more of a political drama than a classic thriller. Despite this, she is interesting with deep psychologism.

Body of Lies (2008)

2008 Body of Lies is a traditional US conspiracy thrillerAl Qaeda. However, it is his typicality that makes the project interesting. After all, just by looking at it, we can assume that we have seen most of the modern American political militants. Moreover, the main role was played by the unsinkable Oscar winner Leo DiCaprio.

What is "Body of Lies" about? This is a story about the heroic CIA agent Roger Ferris, who is looking for terrorists and at the same time gets involved in intrigues. To somehow dilute the plot, so primitive for a political thriller, a love story has been added.

In addition to DiCaprio, Mark Strong and Russell Crowe shone in the project.

"Nothing But The Truth" (2008)

This picture is about the brave journalist Rachel Armstrong, who made public the information that the US government attacked the capital of Venezuela, guided by some of their own motives. While the public was told something quite different. For such a daring act, Rachel began to be persecuted, demanding to reveal the source of information. However, the brave woman decided not to give up…

Although the plot of this story is fiction, part of it was based on a real scandal with CIA agent Valerie Plame.

"Game without Rules" (2010)

The real story of the aforementioned woman was shown in the film "Game without rules".

It tells how Valerie's husband, Joseph Wilson, revealed to the press the truth about WMD intelligence manipulation thatcarried out by the Bush administration in order to be able to start a war with another state. For this courage, Valerie and Josef were poisoned by all available means, trying to compromise them in the eyes of the public.

"S alt" (2010)

Not only men can become the main characters of political thrillers. The film "S alt" is a clear confirmation of this. This is a story about a Russian spy, Evelyn S alt, who has been implanted in the United States since childhood. The girl grew up, went to work for the FBI, and after the collapse of the USSR and a series of events in her personal life, she decided that she no longer wanted to spy. However, her past is catching up with her.

Angelina Jolie shone in the title role in this picture. By the way, Tom Cruise was originally supposed to play the main role, but later it was decided to make a woman the heroine of the project, which turned S alt into a very successful project of its kind.

By the way, it is believed that the idea of the script is partially borrowed from another political thriller of the eighties - "No Exit".

"Spy, get out!" (2011)

Thriller fans will find this British thriller a little boring, but fans of political and espionage games will love it. In the center of the plot is the search for a Soviet mole in the ranks of British intelligence.

It is worth noting that this picture must be seen at least for the sake of the actors who played in it: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch,as well as Konstantin Khabensky and Svetlana Khodchenkova.

"The Fifth Estate" (2013)

The story told in the political thriller "The Fifth Estate" truly excites the imagination and frightens. And it's based on real events. In the center of the plot is a story about the work of the WikiLeaks website, where secret data of special services were laid out for free access.

It is interesting that this resource continues to exist to this day.

"Snowden" (2016)

Another political thriller about our contemporary - Snowden.

It is named after the American programmer who declassified NSA data on secret surveillance of US citizens, which violates their rights. Because of this act, Edward Snowden was forced to flee and hide abroad, which he continues to do today.