The Movies That Knew Too Much
"The answer my friend, is blowin' the whistle..."
Steven Spielberg's upcoming (and anticipated) The Post (2017) seems like a solid companion to famous "whistle-blowing" movies like recent Best Picture winner Spotlight (2015) or the classic All the President's Men (1976). Tom Hanks even reprised the role of Ben Bradlee that earned Jason Robards an Oscar in 1977.
There is a reason why whistle-blowing movies are so inspirational (and a bit Oscar-baity): they deal with the struggles of everyday heroes or heroines, fictional or real, triumphant or tragic, who had the courage to jeopardize their lives by revealing hidden injustices, unveiling shocking scandals or asking controversial questions... here's one that won't be too controversial for once.
Which of these whistle-blowing movies is your favorite?
After voting, discuss the list here
Steven Spielberg's upcoming (and anticipated) The Post (2017) seems like a solid companion to famous "whistle-blowing" movies like recent Best Picture winner Spotlight (2015) or the classic All the President's Men (1976). Tom Hanks even reprised the role of Ben Bradlee that earned Jason Robards an Oscar in 1977.
There is a reason why whistle-blowing movies are so inspirational (and a bit Oscar-baity): they deal with the struggles of everyday heroes or heroines, fictional or real, triumphant or tragic, who had the courage to jeopardize their lives by revealing hidden injustices, unveiling shocking scandals or asking controversial questions... here's one that won't be too controversial for once.
Which of these whistle-blowing movies is your favorite?
After voting, discuss the list here
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30 titles
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia RobertsAlbert FinneyDavid BrisbinAn unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
- 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.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMeryl StreepKurt RussellCherA worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsJane FondaJack LemmonMichael DouglasA reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsRussell CroweAl PacinoChristopher PlummerA research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
- DirectorNiki CaroStarsCharlize TheronJeremy RennerFrances McDormandA fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States, Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsDavid StrathairnGeorge ClooneyPatricia ClarksonBroadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsTom CruiseJeanne TripplehornGene HackmanA young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsMichael KeatonGlenn CloseRobert DuvallNew York City tabloid editor Henry's faced with tough decisions while he faces several serious life challenges, and a tempting job offer.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsSally FieldBeau BridgesRon LeibmanA young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
- DirectorTony GilroyStarsGeorge ClooneyTilda SwintonTom WilkinsonA law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittShailene WoodleyMelissa LeoThe NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsAl PacinoJohn CusackBridget FondaThe accidental shooting of a boy in New York leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsVictor McLaglenHeather AngelPreston FosterIn 1922, an Irish rebel informs on his friend, then feels doom closing in.
- DirectorLarysa KondrackiStarsRachel WeiszMonica BellucciVanessa RedgraveA drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex trafficking scandal.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsBenedict CumberbatchDaniel BrühlCarice van HoutenA dramatic thriller based on real events that reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization.
- DirectorBilly RayStarsChris CooperRyan PhillippeDennis HaysbertFBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was put on trial for selling secrets to the Soviet Union.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsRalph FiennesRachel WeiszDanny HustonA widower's transcontinental quest to find answers about his wife's death leads him to explosive secrets.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael VerhoevenStarsLena StolzeHans-Reinhard MüllerMonika BaumgartnerWhen a young woman investigates her town's Nazi past, the community turns against her.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsJeremy RennerRobert PatrickJena SimsJournalist Gary Webb, California 1996, started investigating CIA's role in the 1980s in getting crack cocaine to the black part of LA to get money and weapons to the Contra insurgents in Nicaragua.
- DirectorFranck MancusoStarsJean DujardinLaurent LucasAgnès BlanchotA cop investigates whether the man convicted of murdering his daughter is really guilty.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMeryl StreepTom HanksSarah PaulsonA cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.I'll wait until I see The Post (2017) before making my choice