Recommended Art Films

Editor’s Choice ► Recommended Art Masterpieces Of The Past And Present

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1935
►Mutiny on the Bounty — A drama based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty.
1939
►The Wizard of Oz — A successful adaptation based on the novel by Frank Baum. Uses intentional symbolism, along with ideas and imagery.
1951
►Othello — A drama directed and produced by Orson Welles, who also played the title role.
1960
►Psycho — Based on the book Psycho, cosmic horror writer Robert Bloch was inspired by Ed Gein, found guilty but legally insane.
1962
►The Manchurian Candidate — A neo-noir political thriller that was uncomfortably prescient in its own time. Directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Janet Leigh; co-starring are Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, and James Gregory.
1964
►Fail Safe — Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States lead to a nuclear showdown.
1967
►Barefoot in the Park — A lighthearted comedy that focuses on a newlywed couple and their adventures in Greenwich Village. Starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. Redford is well known for other classics: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor, A River Runs Through It, etc.
►The President’s Analyst — The theme deals with privacy concerns regarding Telecom, linked with government while prying into private lives of citizens.
►The Taming of the Shrew — Based on the play. Stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as Shakespeare’s Kate and Petruchio. Exquisite.
1968
►2001: A Space Odyssey — An epic science-fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, also famous for Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, among other blockbuster hits.
►Romeo and Juliet — Directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.
1970
►The Brotherhood of the Bell — A made-for-television movie starring Glenn Ford. He plays Professor Dr. Andrew Patterson, who discovers that the fraternity he joined as an undergraduate is really a group that obtains wealth and power for its members through nefarious practices.
1974
►The Parallax View — A political thriller concerning a reporter’s investigation into a secretive organization and the primary is assassination. Director Alan Pakula is notable for a string of hit movies.
1975
► Dog Day Afternoon — A depiction of events surrounding a 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery, involving American bank robber John Wojtowicz, which was played by Al Pacino. A crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet.
►One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — A comedy-drama directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. Starring Jack Nicholson.
►The Man Who Would Be King — Adapted from the Rudyard Kipling novella of the same title. Directed by John Huston and starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling.
►Three Days of the Condor — A political thriller directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow.
1976
►Network — A satirical about a fictional television network, UBS, and its struggle with poor ratings. Directed by Sidney Lumet. The film stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall and features Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, and Beatrice Straight.
1978
►Telefon — A spy film starring Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and Lee Remick. “And miles to go before I sleep.” Repeat.
1979
►Winter Kills — It follows the events surrounding the assassination of President Kegan. Who Killed Winter Kills?
1980
►A Tale of Two Cities — A 1980 American made-for-television historical drama based on the Charles Dickens novel set in the French Revolution, also called A Tale of Two Cities. The film stars Chris Sarandon along with Alice Krige.
1981
►Reds — An epic drama centering on journalist John Reed, remembered for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution. Directed by Warren Beatty.
1987
►Escape from Sobibor — The story of Sobibor. Directed by Jack Gold and shot in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Starring Alan Arkin, Joanna Pacuła, and Rutger Hauer. Eshter Rabb is technical consultant.
1990
►Hamlet — Starring Mel Gibson. Features Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, and Nathaniel Parker.
1994
►Interview with the Vampire — A horror film based on the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, and starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Supporting cast features Christian Slater, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rea.
1995
►12 Monkeys — A neo-noir science fiction thriller where a deadly virus wipes out almost all of humanity. Starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt, with Christopher Plummer and David Morse in supporting roles.
►Sense and Sensibility — Directed by Ang Lee and based on Jane Austen’s 1811 novel, Sense and Sensibility, the story follows the Dashwood sisters.
1997
►Wag the Dog — A black comedy which stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, with Anne Heche, Denis Leary, and William H. Macy in supporting roles. Directed by Barry Levinson.
1998
►Bulworth — A political comedy starring Warren Beatty. California Senator Jay Billington Bulworth runs for re-election while trying to avoid a hired assassin. Co-stars are Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah Washington.
►Enemy of the State — A spy-action-thriller loaded with action. Starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman, with Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, and Regina King in supporting roles. Directed by Tony Scott.
1999
►End of Days — The film follows former NYPD detective Jericho Cane after he saves a banker from an assassin, finds himself embroiled in a religious conflict. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
►The Matrix — A blockbuster science fiction thriller depicting a dystopian future where existence enters a simulated reality.
2001
►The Lord of the Rings — Epic directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). Was the first installment in The Lord of the Rings series.
2002
►Minority Report — A science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick.
2005
►Pride and Prejudice — Based on the Jane Austen novel named Pride and Prejudice (1813).
► The River King — A policeman, student and teacher all searching for the truth behind the apparent suicide of a young man at a small private school.
2006
►The Good Shepherd — A fictional based on real events, telling the story of the birth of intelligence. Includes an all-star cast.
2007
►Persuasion — British television film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold and the screenplay was written by Simon Burke. Sally Hawkins stars as the protagonist Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Frederick Wentworth.
2010
►The Ghost Writer — A political thriller directed by Roman Polanski, famous for movies such as Rosemary’s Baby, The Ninth Gate, and Macbeth.
2011
►Jane Eyre — The screenplay is written by Moira Buffini and based on the 1847 novel, Jane Eyre.
►Wuthering Heights — Based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 Wuthering Heights.
2012
►Great Expectations — A 2012 film based on the Charles Dickens 1861 novel Great Expectations. The film was directed by Mike Newell, with the adapted screenplay by David Nicholls, and stars Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Holliday Grainger, Ralph Fiennes and Robbie Coltrane.

A list of films based on actual events can be found, as well as films that feature surveillance. Genres of neo-noir, conspiracy, psycho, thrillers, and sci-fi goth types are favorites. Here are just a few recommended films to watch. I hope you enjoy the list.