Greetings from the White House

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 19, 2008

Lights. Camera. Election.

Here are the top political movies of all time as judged by Kevin Willmott, a filmmaker and associate professor of film at The University of Kansas.

10. "Ghandi."

Starring Ben Kingsley in the title role, this 1982 biography of Mahatma Ghandi focuses heavily on the Indian leader's dealings with the British and Pakastani governments.

"It's also one of the few films that deals with the power of nonviolence," Willmott said.

9. "All the President's Men."

The Watergate scandal is uncovered, investigated and reported by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman).

"Obviously, it really shows the power of journalism and the need for journalism to monitor government," Willmott said.

8. Tie between "Advise and Consent" and "The Best Man."

Henry Fonda stars in "Advise and Consent," a 1962 film in which a Senate confirmation hearing reveals that a presidential appointee may have had affiliations with a Communist organization. Fonda also stars in "The Best Man," from 1964, as one of two presidential candidates hiding skeletons that could derail their candidacy.

"Both of these films show the underbelly of how politics work and how people use scandals to their advantage," Willmott said.

7."The Seduction of Joe Tynon."

Alan Alda played the title role in this 1979 film about a senator whose principals and family life are put to the test after he's asked to lead his party's opposition to a Supreme Court appointment.

"It shows how good people can make mistakes, and it asks the question of whether we're going to judge people by the mistakes they make or accept them as the flawed but inspiring leaders they are," Willmott said.

6. "Missing"

An American journalist disappears in South America, and his conservative father (Jack Lemmon) and liberal wife (Sissy Spacek) must form an alliance to search for him.

"It's a relationship movie between the Sissy Spacek character and Jack Lemmon, but it also deals with some interesting international issues as far as America's dealings with South American countries," Willmott said.

5. "The Candidate."

Robert Redford stars as a political outsider who agrees to run against a sure-bet opponent only to bring vital issues before voters. But when the race unexpectedly becomes competitive, his integrity takes a back seat to winning.

"It shows how when you get done with the murderous campaign, you can lose sight of what you wanted to do," Willmott said.

4. "Bulworth."

Warren Beatty stars in this 1998 satire in which a disillusioned and depressed senator starts speaking out and defying political convention to the point of become a rapper. In the process, he develops a huge populist following.

"It's a great combination of today's politics and a political character who's funny and really biting," Willmott said.

3. "Seven Days in May."

Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, wrote the screenplay for this 1964 film in which a general tries to seize power from an unpopular American president at the height of the Cold War.

"It's about how someone can use fear to their advantage to gain power," Willmott said. "The fear in this case was from a nuclear threat, but it could easily translate today into terrorism."

2. "Reds."

Warren Beatty makes his second appearance in the Top Five, this time as an American journalist who becomes involved in the Russian revolution and strives to lead a similar revolt in the U.S.

"When you watch the film and if you pay attention to it, you learn left-wing American history," Willmott said. "It has characters that you usually don't see in films -- union organizers, left-wing radicals. It basically shows how the left started in America."

1. "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb."

An American Air Force general goes insane and orders bombers to carry out a nuclear strike in the Soviet Union in this 1964 satire directed by Stanley Kubrick. Can political and military leaders -- and the title character, a demented, former Nazi scientest -- save the world?

"It raises the question of, Did the Nazis really win?" Willmott said. "By bringing that power into America and us embracing it, did we open a Pandora's box? And yet it does it in a really funny, satirical way."

7. "The Seduction of Joe Tynan"

Alan Alda played the title role in this 1979 film about a senator whose principles and family life are put to the test after he's asked to lead his party's opposition to a Supreme Court appointment.

- "It shows how good people can make mistakes, and it asks the question of whether we're going to judge people by the mistakes they make or accept them as the flawed but inspiring leaders they are," Willmott said.Who is Kevin Willmott?

Willmott has been watching political movies since he was a schoolkid in Junction City. Now, he examines politics in many of his films. If his name seems familiar, for example, perhaps you've heard of his film "CSA: The Confederate States of America," which examines how the U.S. would have been different socially and politically if the South had won the Civil War.Still the wheat state