 |
Norma Rae
Sally Field won an Oscar for best actress as the naive textile
worker in the South who fights against the deplorable working conditions at the
textile plant. This movie is the touchstone of labor movies. |
|
Inherit the
Wind
Your kids will be amazed that this
movie is the true story of the Scopes Monkey trial, the trial that paved the
way for the teaching of evolution as science. Spencer Tracy and Frederic March
are incredible as attorneys based on Clarence Darrow and William Jennings
Bryan, battling for the future of our children's education in a Tennessee
courtroom. |
|
Shawshank
Redemption
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman
star in a prison movie about the wheels of justice (and injustice) and the
growth of a life-long friendship. It is hard to recommend this movie enough.
And it is hard to not be moved by it for a long time after seeing it. The
original story is by Stephen King. If they had only named this movie something
else, it would have made millions. |
|
Reds
Warren Beatty is John Reed, whose "Ten Days That Shook the World"
is a first-hand account of the Russian Revolution. Reds is the story of Reed's
attraction to and eventual disillusionment with the revolution and with
communism. Diane Keaton is Reed's wife, writer Louise Bryant, with Maureen
Stapleton as Emma Goldman and Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill. Reds brings
this little-known time in history to life. |
|
Grapes of
Wrath
The story of the depression and the
economic devastation of the dustbowl, told through the eyes of the Joad family,
making their historic trek across the country in search of a better life. The
Steinbeck novel was so powerful, and no one could translate that power like
Henry Fonda. The sadness and pain of this time in our history could not be
better learned than by this movie. |
|
On The
Waterfront
Marlon Brando is longshoreman
Terry Malloy, who is blackballed and beaten for informing against mobsters who
have taken over his union. Not just social commentary, but one of the most
gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever
made. |
|
Modern
Times
Charlie Chaplin's silent movie tells
us more about the dehumanizing of an industrial society than any talking film
could ever do. This is Chaplin at his absolute best, showing us literally what
it meant to be a cog in a wheel. |
|
Bob
Roberts
Tim Robbins is right-wing,
folk-singing Senatorial candidate Bob Roberts, who isn't what he seems. The
movie is smart and funny and, as with all political satire, scary in how close
to home it hits. The message isn't about the correctness of the right vs. the
left, but more how easily the public and the media can be manipulated. Watch it
around election time and you will trust no one. |
|
Stand and
Deliver
Edward James Olmos is amazing as
real life math teacher Jaime Escalante, who motivates the East L.A. barrio kids
in his class to pass the Advanced Placement calculus test. The film shows the
biases of mainstream authorities about disadvantaged kids, and the results of
that bias - an education system that assumes failure as the norm. This is a
passionate movie with a great cast. |
|
Bulworth
Warren Beatty is Senator Jay Bulworth who, disillusioned with the
corruption of his political life, plans his own assassination. Facing death, he
can now tell the ugly truth about politics - that money rules everything. The
language is VERY vulgar, so beware. Still, after this hilarious look at how our
political system really works, you will root for campaign finance
reform. |
