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InstantExpert
The Presidency on screen
By Raziqueh Hussain
Artwork: Vincent Raja
 Why
have there been no great films about George Washington? And why are
there so many films featuring Abraham Lincoln? Here's a look at the
most watched films on the leader of the free world and his sacred
office.
Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
Director: Gregory La Cava
Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, Arthur S Byron
In
his first of several presidential roles, Walter Huston plays President
Judson Hammond, a disinterested chief executive all too willing to tow
the party line and ride out his term with little concern for a
constituency mired in the Depression. That's until his miraculous
recovery from a car accident leaves him a changed man. He wakes from a
coma, dissolves Congress and institutes a series of sweeping social
programmes. Is this leader's transformation from laidback to dictator
something to admire or dread? Who's to say, but he did get the job
done.
Young Mr Lincoln (1939)
Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek
Though John Ford's character study doesn't chronicle Honest Abe's
years in office, the film does trace his political rise, from
down-home merchant to lawyer to politician. And Henry Fonda's Abe is
ever honest, with all the homespun virtues Americans could ever want
in a leader.
Wilson (1944)
Director: Daryl F Zanuck
Cast: F Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Vincent
Price
This forgotten biopic wouldn't be considered Earth shattering by
today's standards, but at the time, it was a revealing portrait of a
vulnerable man. The film charts Woodrow Wilson's rise from president
of Princeton to his governorship of New Jersey to the presidency and
follows his active social life after the death of his first wife.
Wilson won five Oscars and was nominated for Best Picture.
Dr
Strangelove
or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963)
Direct or:
Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling
Hayden, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn
This masterful Cold War black comedy remains timeless as it speaks
volumes about the power machines wield over men. Peter Sellers's
bumbling, inefficient President Merton Muffley (one of three roles he
plays in the film) struggles to avert a nuclear disaster spurred on by
a crazy Air Force general who wants to decimate the Soviets because,
he believes, they are out to "pollute the precious bodily fluids" of
Americans.
All the President's Men (1976)
Director: Alan J Pakula
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jason Robards
Though they essentially brought down Tricky Dick, Woodward and
Bernstein can also lay claim to ushering in a new generation of prying
and spying journalists driven by their thirst to unearth the next
scandal that will change the world. The film about the Washington Post
reporters' crusade to lay bare the facts of Watergate did open the
Oval Office to public scrutiny, both in real life and in celluloid.
JFK (1991)
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci,
Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman
Is
there anyone out there who actually bought the Warren Commission
report that concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone? It's doubtful.
And JFK makes the commission's conclusion all the more dubious.
Despite criticism that he has attempted to rewrite history, Stone, has
crafted an important, compelling docudrama that's jam-packed with
fact, and yes, some fiction. JFK was released nearly 30 years after
the assassination of Kennedy, and its major revelation is that the
time is the greatest fertiliser for the human imagination. Stone's
film did not set the record straight. He simply served to cloud the
fuzzy images of that fateful day in Dallas even further.
Dave (1993)
Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley
An
unexpected hit, Dave won some praise. Though Kevin Kline's president
initially recalled George Bush, he's beginning to show more shades of
Bill Clinton. Presidential fill-in Dave Kovic assumes the job full
time when a stroke puts the president in a coma. Dave warms the cold
heart of the First Lady and pushes through a compassionate agenda.
Air Force One (1997)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Wendy Crewson, Glenn Close
Harrison Ford's President James Marshall is the chief executive that
only Hollywood could create: a no-nonsense leader, steadfast in his
resolve to suppress terrorists and dictators and a dedicated family
man. When Air Force One is taken hostage by a group of Communist
fanatics, the prez single-handedly saves the day.
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