All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

APUSH Movie List

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All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Teenage German soldiers pass from idealism to despair in this deeply-felt movie version of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel. This Academy Award-winning film (including for Best Picture) was banned in countries going to war years after its release, and unlike most "message" films that date themselves almost immediately, director Lewis Milestone's film has lost little of its original impact. Unrated.

All the President’s Men (1976)

The film that launched a thousand journalism school students, All the President's Men chronicles how reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) brought down Richard M. Nixon. The duo connected a Washington, D.C., hotel break-in with a Nixon "dirty tricks" team assigned to discredit Democratic rivals. Director Alan J. Pakula ratchets up the tension (no small feat, as the outcome is assured). Rated PG.

Amistad (1997)

Steven Spielberg directed this story about the 1839 revolt aboard Spanish slave ship La Amistad and the uprising's tragic aftermath. An African-born slave (Djimon Hounsou) leads a mutiny against his brutal captors. Because the ship is in American waters, a U.S. court must decide the slaves' fate. In an eloquent courtroom speech, ex-president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) argues for the Africans' freedom. Rated R.

The Atomic Cafe (1982)

The Atomic Cafe recounts a defining period of 20th century history and serves as a chilling and often hilarious reminder of cold-war era paranoia in the United States, artfully presented through a collage of newsreel footage, government archives, military training films and fifties music. Not Rated.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Winning seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), this classic drama follows three World War II veterans as they return to small-town America. Homer (Harold Russell), Al (Fredric March) and Fred (Dana Andrews) are desolate as they try to come to terms with their experiences. Best Supporting Actor Russell, a real veteran who lost his hands in the war, also won an Honorary Oscar "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans." Unrated.

The Big Red One (1980)

One of the great, unsung war films follows four comrades -- members of the 1st Infantry Division, aka the Big Red One -- from the invasion of North Africa onto Sicily, Normandy and to the liberation of the Nazi death camps. This autobiographical film from B-movie master (and 1st Infantry veteran) Samuel Fuller is alternately funny, absurd and deeply moving. Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, Kelly Ward and Lee Marvin star. Rated R.

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Marine Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise in an Oscar-nominated performance) returns from Vietnam a quadraplegic. After months of hellish rehabilitation, he finds renewed purpose protesting the war he once proudly fought. Born on the Fourth of July stands as the middle chapter in director Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy (preceded by Platoon and followed by Heaven & Earth). Rated R.

Casablanca (1942)

As time goes by, this 1942 classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (as Rick and Ilsa, star-crossed lovers who just aren't meant to be) only gets better. Of all the "gin joints" in Morocco, Ilsa, with husband Victor (Paul Henreid) in tow, had to walk into the one owned by Rick, a former beau she abandoned in Paris. War looms over them all, and in a much-discussed ending, Rick and Ilsa make heroic but heartbreaking choices. Rated PG.

Cinderella Man (2005)

Russell Crowe stars as pugilist Jim Braddock in this riveting biopic created by the Academy Award-winning team of producer Brian Grazer, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. and searches for a soul mate. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Hanks). Rated PG-13.

The Crucible (1996)

Playwright Arthur Miller's parable of the 1950s anti-communist crusade (thinly veiled here as the Salem, Mass., witch trials of 1692) receives lush treatment in this 1996 film adaptation. After being spurned by her married lover (Daniel Day-Lewis), young Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) stirs up a frenzy of hysteria and fear with accusations of witchcraft. Paul Scofield (who won a BAFTA Award) and Joan Allen turn in strong supporting performances. Rated PG-13.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

In director Stanley Kubrick's blackly comedic send-up of the nuclear age, deranged American general Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) leads an attack against the Russians that sets the stage for Armageddon. In a series of virtuoso comic performances, Peter Sellers plays an impotent U.S. president, a harried British captain and an ex-Nazi bomb maker. George C. Scott and Slim Pickens also appear in this classic Oscar-nominated satire. Unrated.

Eight Men Out (1988)

Adaptation of the 1919 major league baseball scandal involving the Chicago White Sox. A great sports drama that captures the disappointment of all associated with one of the worst occurrences in sports history. Rated PG.

El Norte (1983)

Mayan Indian peasants, tired of being thought of as nothing more than "brazos fuertes" ("strong arms", i.e., manual laborers) and organizing in an effort to improve their lot in life, are discovered by the Guatemalan army. After the army destroys their village and family, a brother and sister, teenagers who just barely escaped the massacre, decide they must flee to "El Norte" ("the North", i.e., the USA). After receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant on strategies for traveling through Mexico, they make their way by truck, bus and other means to Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants. Rating Unknown.

Failsafe (1964)

Director Sidney Lumet transforms the doomsday scenario played for laughs in Dr. Strangelove into a taut thriller. When a computer glitch sends a bomber crew on a suicide mission to Moscow, the U.S. president (Henry Fonda) agonizes over how to stop it. Will Fonda tell the Russians to shoot down the plane? Global thermonuclear war may hinge on his decision. Unrated.

Far and Away (1992)

In Ron Howard's epic drama, two 19th century Irish immigrants make the journey to the United States together, but for very different reasons. Joseph Donelly (Tom Cruise) is a poor farmer who's lost everything, while Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman) is chafing against her privileged but stifling upbringing. Looking for land as they make their way west, they also find love as they endure a series of hardships that strengthens their relationship. Rated PG-13.

Freedom Song (2000)

In this made-for-cable drama about the Civil Rights movement, unsung citizens risk their lives to bring change at the grassroots level. Set in a fictional Mississippi hamlet, the movie is based on eyewitness accounts of veteran activists who stood on history's frontlines and responded with passion and commitment to the challenge of equal rights for all Americans. The sterling cast includes Danny Glover, Glynn Turman and David Strathairn. Not Rated.

Forest Gump (1994)

You'll never view the world the same way after seeing it through the eyes of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a simpleminded man who finds himself in the middle of nearly every major event of the 1960s and '70s. Along the way, he makes friends, changes lives and searches for a soul mate. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Hanks). Rated PG-13.

Gangs of New York (2002)

Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated epic focuses on the rise of Irish and Italian gangs in New York in the mid-1800s. When the leader of the Dead Rabbits is assassinated, his son Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) seeks out the perpetrator, Bill "The Butcher" Poole (a magnificent Daniel Day-Lewis). Along the way he finds love with a street-smart thief (Cameron Diaz). Rated R.

Gettysburg (1993)

The fiercest battle fought on American soil comes to the screen in a stunning production that painstakingly re-creates the events of three fateful days in July 1863. Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen and Richard Jordan play key roles in this magnificent epic (based on Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels), which was filmed at actual battle locations and rigorously authenticated -- right down to the boots.. Rated PG.

Glory (1989)

Loosely based on the letters of Col. Robert G. Shaw (Matthew Broderick), this Academy Award-winning war film follows the first group of African-Americans to serve in combat during the Civil War. The heroics of Shaw's Union Army regiment of black volunteers -- including fugitive slave Pvt. Trip (Denzel Washington, in an Oscar-winning performance) and grave digger Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) -- helps turn the tide of the war. Rated R.

Gods and Generals (2003)

Director-producer Ron Maxwell mines America's history in this epic movie chronicling the Civil War's beginnings in 1861 to the tragic Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 and the heroes who defended their honor on both fronts. Robert Duvall is Gen. Robert E. Lee, who leads the Confederates; Jeff Daniels is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a BowdoinCollege professor who fights for the Union army. Rated PG-13.

Good Night and Good Luck (2005)

George Clooney's Oscar-nominated docudrama pits TV newsman Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) against Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his single-minded crusade to quell the red threat at home. Despite corporate pressure to back off, Murrow and his CBS staff are determined to examine the lies and fear tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his Communist witch-hunts. The impressive cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson and Jeff Daniels. Rated PG.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Based on Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel, Grapes follows the Joad family's exodus from the Oklahoma Dustbowl to California's fruit harvest. Unrated.

The Green Berets (1968)

Gung-hoCol. Mike Kirby (John Wayne) is leading his Green Berets on a mission to kidnap an enemy general during the Vietnam War. When a skeptical reporter accompanies them, the colonel and his team outline their reasons for participating in the war. Wayne co-directed this action-packed, hawkish film, which was surprisingly successful at the box office. The macho cast includes David Janssen and Aldo Ray. Rated G.

Guilty by Suspicion (1991)

Suspected of Communist ties, movie director David Merrill (Robert De Niro) is told to name names in director Irwin Winkler's look at McCarthy-era Hollywood. Once on top, Merrill finds that no one will hire him after he's blacklisted. The strain brings Merrill back together with his estranged wife (Annette Bening), but he must still appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee and respond to questions about his friend Bunny Baxter (George Wendt). Rated PG-13.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star as wealthy Californians who consider themselves progressive -- until their daughter brings home her black fiancé, Sidney Poitier. Produced in 1967, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner took on pointed subject matter (for its time). Watching Tracy's and Hepburn's characters struggle with prejudices they didn't know they had is a powerful metaphor for a society's long-overdue awakening. Unrated.

Heaven & Earth (1993)

Fleeing the atrocities of the Viet Cong, Le Ly and her mother journey south to Saigon. Soon after, Le Ly becomes pregnant with her new master's child and begins selling her body to American soldiers to make ends meet. She then meets Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), who convinces her to move back with him to the United States to start a better life. Rated R.

High Noon (1952)

Retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) insists on defending his town from a gang of hooligans who are due on the noon train -- but he faces the task alone as the cowardly townspeople flee like rats from a sinking ship. Director Fred Zinnemann creates an incredibly tense Western (rightly considered one of the true genre classics) that unfurls in real time -- as the clocks on the wall constantly remind us. Unrated.

In America (2002)

Academy Award-winning director Jim Sheridan brings authenticity and grit to this heartwarming drama about an Irish family starting life anew in early-1980s America. With their two daughters in tow, Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) leave Ireland and head to New York so Johnny can pursue an acting career. What follows is a series of adventures, both comical and terrifying, as they struggle to make the most of their new life. Rated PG-13.

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Spencer Tracy (in one of his best roles) as lawyer Henry Drummond and Frederic March as Matthew Harrison Brady square off as opposing attorneys in this blistering courtroom drama about the famed 1930s "Scopes Monkey Trial," where a Tennessee teacher was taken to task for teaching Darwinism in the schoolroom. Song-and-dance man Gene Kelly co-stars as newspaper reporter H.L. Mencken. Unrated.

Iron Jawed Angels (2004)

From 1912 to 1920, a group of fiery young suffragettes led by Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor) band together to wheedle the United States into adapting a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Along the way, they incur the wrath of President Woodrow Wilson (Bob Gunton) and anger other suffragette leaders (Anjelica Huston and Lois Smith). Directed by Katja von Garnier. Not Rated.

Jarhead (2005)

Cpl. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) endures the worst of war in this drama based on ex-Marine Anthony Swofford's biting memoirs about Operation Desert Storm. Swoff, his mercenary mentor, Troy (Peter Saarsgard), and the rest of the unit resort to cynicism and caustic humor in order to deal with the unbearable heat, dangerous missions and uncertain war. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx co-stars as Sgt. Sykes. Rated R.

JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone's fascinating movie is part deconstruction, part re-creation and part history lesson all wrapped up in one. One of America's most enigmatic and mythical presidents, John F. Kennedy, is assassinated in Dallas, and a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, takes the fall. But was he acting alone when he shot JFK from the Texas Book Depository? Rated R.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Set against the backdrop of the American frontier, a story of war and romance unfolds as the battle for the colonies is underway. Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his adoptive Mohican brethren join a group of British soldiers in an effort to defeat the French and win control of the territories. The lovely daughter of a British officer (Madeleine Stowe) captures Hawkeye's heart as he continues to fight for the land in the name of his people. Rated R.

Malcolm X (1992)

Director Spike Lee's Oscar-nominated drama illuminates the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X (Denzel Washington), following him from his early days as a prison-bound gangster to his conversion to Islam, marriage to Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) and discovery of the Nation of Islam writings of Elijah Mohammad (Al Freeman Jr.). When Malcolm turns his back on the Nation of Islam (following a pilgrimage to Mecca), he becomes a murder target. Rated PG-13.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Some thrillers remain as suspenseful -- and timely -- as when they were first released. Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is a Korean War hero with a lethal secret: He's been brainwashed into being a sleeper agent for the communist Chinese. With one phone call, the Reds can transform Shaw into a deadly assassin -- unless fellow veteran Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) can stop them first! Rated PG-13.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

In this remake of the 1962 political thriller, Capt. Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) and Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) are taken captive during the first Persian Gulf War and brainwashed so that they're programmed to rebel once they return home. Ten years later, as Shaw's mother (Meryl Streep) is busy helping her son in his bid for the presidency, Marco recalls the brainwashing. Can he get to Shaw before it's too late? Rated R.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

After serving as an Army captain in World War II, Tom Rath (Gregory Peck) returns home a changed man. But 10 years later, with her eyes on a nicer house and a better life, his wife (Jennifer Jones) is still longing for the go-getter she once knew. To make her happy, Tom takes a high-paying PR job with a Madison Avenue company. But his memories of the past -- and his discomfort with the present -- make it difficult to embrace the future. Unrated.