best conspiracy-related movies

[Scott]

Skaboi and h.p. Love I'll try to see the original MANCURIAN CANDIDATE soon and wait for cable for the newer version. Thanks.



Post Edited (06-08-05 10:18)

[trekgeezer]

Marathon Man - I guess you could call it a conspiracy with Dustin Hoffman trying to figure out  who killed his brother and why(and who to trust). Olivier is great as the evil Nazi dentist (If you're scared already of dentists you should skip the dental drill torture scene).

[Ozzymandias]

For a comedy conspiracy there is The President's Analyst . It is one of my favorites.

[Wence]

h.p. Love mentioned "The Odessa File". I nearly forgot this movie inspite i really enjoyed it very much when I saw it some years ago. Yes, this is a great (in my opinion the best) conspiracy-related movie.

[Ken Begg]

Ozzymandias is spot on.  Also Winter Kills, Chinatown, Three Days of the Condor (definately), Capricorn 1, Barracuda...

OK, those last two aren't the 'best' conspiracy movies.

[Chopper]

try the Parallax View, marathon man, the odessa file, & JFK (classic IMO).

[Yaddo 42]

Beaten to some good selections, but I'll second some favorites, and mention some others:

The President's Analyst - I've always liked this one better than the Derek Flint films. So funny and smart. See the scene in the field, and my favorite line from the restuarant, "Ha! I'm not crazy, they're all spies!" and what brings it on and follows it. The looks of confused terror and paranoia on Coburn's face are priceless. I love how they weren't allowed to even use the initials CIA and FBI, according to Coburn, and they had to change them. Even the FBR agents' physical appearance was meant as a dig at Hoover and the Feds.

Parallax View - Threw me the first time I saw all of it. The montage scene has to be seen to be believed, kudos to the people who put it together.

Winter Kills - one of the few times a film I heard about for years met every expectation when I finally saw it. I've mentioned this one lots of times here since I bought the Anchor Bay DVD a few years ago. I've probably watched it more times than any other disc I've bought. I usually call the film a conspiracy theorist's wet dream of a movie. Great, huge cast of character actors and faded stars who still had some chops left, plus a few foreign stars (Toshiro Mifune, Tomas Milian) and a surprise or two. Richard Boone, John Huston, and Anthony Perkins are great, and I wish Sterling Hayden had more to do since he was a hoot. Watch the extras about the making of the film. That story itself would make a hell of a great Hollywood satire.

Seven Days in May
Three Days of the Condor  
The Manchurian Candidate - Only seen the original but what a great film and book.

Seconds - Rock Hudson trying very hard to get an Oscar and John Frankenhiemer (he did conspiracy flicks very well notice how many of his films we've mentioned) when he was still at the top of his game in the 60s. Was a huge failure when first released, but it was appreciated in Europe and some film scholars championed it. Well worth seeking out since not that hard to find now. Best watched the first time knowing as little as possible going in.

So far no one has mentioned "Executive Action" from the early 70s starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan (in his last film), and Will Geer. All were liberals who made this film about right wingers being behind the JFK assassination. Not a great film, but an interesting curiosity and companion piece to "JFK" since they cover much of the same ground, some shots even look like Stone copied them from this film.

Also how about:
FIght Club
The Game
The Crimson Rivers - the plot is sheer pulp, but the film is still fun.

[Yaddo 42]

I forgot:

They Live - John Carpenter's dig at, or satire of aliens/yuppies/Reaganomics/consumerism/TV/Pop culture/machismo all wrapped up with a nice conspiracy bow and one of the best macho lines in movie history (you know the one).

The Conversation

The Formula - not that great a film, Brando is the only good thing in it.

Brass Target - Interesting idea and good cast goes nowhere.

Day of the Jackal (1973) - inspired broadly by the OAS in France's real attempts to overthrow or assassinate De Gaulle. One of my favorites.

I'm surprised to see how many people liked the film of "The Odessa File". I loved the book but never cared for the movie that much.

Sorry, I seem to have a lot of energy to burn this morning.

[Chopper]

good mention for 3 Days of the Condor, and yes the Parallax View is definitely a film that's way ahead of it's time, even if very low budget. thanks for reminding me but i forgot to mention All the President's Men. great film, great director, and a good film to see considering the current events.

[Susan]

anyone remember the name of the movie where a chocolate factory had an accident where someone fell in the vat and it produced yummy irresistable chocolate? So they conspired to keep secretly murdering people by tossing them in to make big profits on their candy.   Yeah - that's my nomination ;-)



Post Edited (06-10-05 21:37)

[Chopper]

yes i believe it went by the title "charlie and the evil syndiate chocolate factory," correct?

[Susan]

Well one has to wonder what ever became of the fat german boy. ;-)

But seriously, this movie was like 70's or early 80's

[Yaddo 42]

I remember hearing about some film with a set up like that years ago, but the title escapes me. And the only thing I can think of in the ballpark to that is the Brit comedy "Eat the Rich" but there was no candy factory in that one.

Was either a member of Monty Python involved in the movie or did George Harrison and Handmade Pictures  produce it, the film I'm thinking of may have had a connection to those people.

[BoyScoutKevin]

What?! 27 replies, and no one has yet mentioned that "sleeper hit" from 1998, that everyone seems to like, "Enemy of the State."

[Susan]

Yaddo - i'm scouring google as we speak trying to find the title.

and i oddly find it on this site which lists several movies involving cannibalism Cannibal Movies

scroll toward bottom

Apparently it's called "Black and Blue: Secrets", aka "Secrets" which came from a very short lived series called "Ripping Yarns". it states it was a BBC play, but surely they don't mean an on-stage play? I totally remember it being movie like a movie or tv show, so i'm assuming "play" may have a different meaning in the UK.

 It says the original videotape was wiped by the bbc (destroyed) IMDB shows nothing on this and it's impossible to locate any pics or info! I found a few sites that says it has been unseen since 1973 and restored on a dvd but i was born in 1974 and i know for a fact i saw it on tv at some time in the late 80's to early 90's...which got me to wondering if maybe someone did a remake of it in some fashion.

I wish i could find pics or something. I have this vivid memory of housewives and people gobbling up this chocolate with an unholy feverishness and grocery store shelves emptying of this candy