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20 Best Libertarian Movies

The 20 best libertarian films, according to the editors of The Orange County Register, in 1999

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Featured Works

Brazil - 1985 comedic film about a bureaucratic future, written and directed by Terry Gilliam
Godfather, The - 1972 movie, first of the trilogy recounting the story of the Corleone crime family
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - 1975 Oscar-winning movie starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Milos Forman
Schindler's List - 1993 Oscar-winning movie about a German businessman who saved Polish Jews from Auschwitz

Notable Works

Braveheart - 1995 movie that recounts the story of William Wallace
Casablanca - 1942 Oscar-winning movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
Duck Soup - 1933 Marx Brothers comedy about the fictional country of Freedonia
Fahrenheit 451 - 1966 movie based on the Ray Bradbury novel depicting a society where books have been outlawed
Fountainhead, The - 1949 movie based on Ayn Rand's novel about architect Howard Roark
Gone With the Wind - 1939 Oscar-winning movie about romance during the U.S. Civil War
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1956 science-fiction movie about alien "pods" taking over individuals in a small town
Man for All Seasons, A - 1966 historical drama recounting the story of how Sir Thomas More stood up to King Henry VIII
Network - 1976 movie, famous for the line "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore"
Ninotchka - 1939 romantic comedy starring Greta Garbo
Quiet Man, The - 1952 Oscar-winning movie starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
Searchers, The - 1956 western movie about a Confederate veteran searching for his niece who had been captured by the Comanches
Sleeper - 1973 science fiction comedy starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton
Star Wars - 1977 science fiction movie, known as "Episode IV: A New Hope", first release of the series
Ten Commandments, The - 1956 movie recounting the biblical story of Moses freeing the Hebrews from Egypt
What About Bob? - 1991 comedy movie about a psychiatrist and his patient

Articles

Freedom's Flicks: The 20 best libertarian movies of all time, Libertarian Party News, Nov 1999
Reports on The Orange County Register editors' choices for "20 Best Libertarian Movies of All Time"; includes short descriptions for each movie as well as "best libertarian moments" for the top ten

It was late November 1998, the elections were over, the impeachment hearings seemed to be a "fizzle," and there was nothing to do at the Orange County Register—one of the most consistently small-"l" libertarian newspapers in the country—except "watch a movie." And, while they were at it, to decide which staff favorites did the best job of celebrating liberty on film ... They were looking for movies, they said, "that encourage individualism over tyranny, self-responsibility over paternalism, and, well, that offer a hearty dose of against-the-grain individualism."