English-Speaking Cultures Film List
Anouncement:
I repost this list to just make it convenient for everyone who would like do this Final Project:
Repost from Mr. Seth
Here's the List:
(English)
Smoke Signals. (1998) Two Native American brothers go on a road trip, discovering not only their family's past but also themselves.
Inherit the Wind. (1960) The true story of one teacher's struggle to bring the study of evolution to American classrooms in 1925.
The Untouchables. (1987) A fictionalized account of detective Elliot Ness's unconventional style in bringing gangsters to justice in 1920s Chicago, culminating in the arrest of legendary mob boss Al Capone.
Good Night and Good Luck (2005) Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow's quest to take down rogue U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Kingdom of Heaven. (2005) A war epic set during the Crusades of the 12th century, with the forces of Islam and Christianity locked in a bitter conflict to secure what both sides see as their “Holy Land”. I recommend the director's cut.
Anna and the King. (1999) The story of the romance between the King of Thailand and the widowed British teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s.
The Social Network. (2010) A chronicle of the rise of social-networking websites and the young entrepreneurs who made it happen.
The Help (2010) An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003) A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
North Country (2005) inspired by a true story about the first class action sexual harassment suit filed in 1984 on behalf of the women who worked in the Minnesota iron mines.
Thirteen Days. (2000) In 1962, America and the Soviet Union came within 28 hours of nuclear war. This is the true story of the leaders on both sides whose quick thinking prevented World War 3.
The King’s Speech. (2010) King George VI overcomes a speech impediment with the help of an unorthodox therapist, and the two men develop an unbreakable friendship.
Roots. (1977) A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendents' liberation. 6-episode compilation.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. (2007) A tragic chronicle of how American Indians were displaced as the U.S. expanded west.
Gandhi. (1982) Biography of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British Empire through his philosophy of non-violent protest.
Malcolm X. (1992) The biography of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader turned Muslim preacher, Malcolm X.
Dead Man Walking (1995) tells the story of Sister Prejean’s relationship with Matthew Poncelet, a prisoner on death row.
Mask. (1985) A boy with a massive facial deformity and a biker mother attempts to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances in this examination of what it means to be an outsider.
The Great Escape. (1963) An intrepid group of Allied soldiers work secretly to break out of the ultra-secure German POW camp they are being held in.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006) former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate made in the film, he has given more than a thousand times.
Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. (both 2006) “You can no more win a war than win an earthquake”. These two films show both sides of the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima. I highly recommend they be viewed together.
Rabbit Proof Fence. (2002) The story of two kidnapped Australian Aborigine children in the 1930s overcoming oppression to return to their families.
What’s Cooking (2005) In LA's Fairfax district, where ethnic groups abound, four households celebrate Thanksgiving amidst family tensions.
Agora. (2009) Davus, a slave in Roman Egypt, must choose between the chance to gain his freedom through Christianity and his love affair with his pagan master, the scientist Hypatia.
12 Angry Men. (1957) A drama about a jury democratically deciding the fate of a young murder defendant whose guilt is in doubt.
Apollo 13. (1995) The dramatic true story of America's third lunar mission, Apollo 13, and the astronauts whose lives were at stake.
Hairspray. (2007)A comic musical loosely following the path of racial desegregation in 1963 Baltimore, as seen through the eyes of competitors on a dancing show.
This is America, Charlie Brown. (1988) A slow-English, easy to understand introduction to some of America's greatest achievements. 7-episode compilation.
Bowling for Columbine (2002) Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
Pontypool. (2009) English is a tool- but what if that tool becomes a weapon? One small Canadian town finds out in this horror movie that explores the nature of communication.
The Secret of Kells. (2009) The quest of a young Irish monk (and his magical helpers) to preserve learning and the arts during the Viking invasions of Ireland.
Whale Rider. (2002) A young Maori girl fights to prove her worth, overcoming prejudice in her quest to take her rightful place as chief of her tribe.
Kinsey (2004) A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.
Invictus. (2009) Nelson Mandela recruits South Africa's national rugby team to help him unite the apartheid-ravaged country by competing in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
12 Years a Slave (2013) an adaptation of the 1853 slave narrative memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841 and sold into slavery.
(Non-English, subtitled in English)
Black Bread. (2010) In the wake of the Spanish Civil War, a young Catalan boy is caught up in a mystery that reveals the dark secrets of both his village and the Franco regime.
Rapa Nui. (1994) Love conquers all- or does it? This story of forbidden romance amidst social crisis is a poignant and distinctively Polynesian take on the tale of Romeo and Juliet.
Savage Nights. (1992) Jean is a bisexual, sexually active man, who learns he's HIV+. The movie is about him coping with the disease, with his new and violent love with the young and very passionate Laura, his desire for Samy, and his appetite for sexual diversity.
Persepolis. (2007) The coming-of-age story of a young Iranian girl in the 1970s, struggling to come to terms with the social unrest around her.
Of Gods and Men. (2010) Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed in an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay, grappling with ideas of place and identity in the process.
Even the Rain. (2010) An oblivious film crew is caught in the middle of a conflict between Bolivian natives and a malevolent corporation trying to privatize their water supply.
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