What right-wing movies do you hate yourself for loving?

[DeaconBlues]

Are there any films that seem to have a conservative ideological bent that your really enjoy?

I have to confess, I have a serious weakness for Conan the Barbarian (mainly because of the dialogue). Does anyone else have a similar dark secret?


"The sons of Doom told Conan to throw his sword and return to Earth... Ha! There will be time to return Earth... in the grave!"

[Demonaut]

1. Patton

but Kellys Heroes counters it nicely.

[caledesi]

2. Agree. Good movie. eom

[Zuni]

6. But Patton is a true story

not a propaganda piece. I love that movie. One of my all time favorites.

[WillyBrandt]

40. A favorite--but not a right wing movie

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. Red Dawn

[Rowdyboy]

20. You beat me to the punch...Red Dawn is FLAWLESS

Well, I like it anyway. As uncool as it is, I get shivers at all the right times....Call me a jingoistic American apologist if you will, but when Emilio Estevez kills the commie invaders, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe that explains this Clark fixation of mine. Ya think?

[foxy]

22. Ya scare me child

[Cheswick2.0]

41. I have to agree with the Red Dawn contingent

It hit all my American patriot buttons.... and I didn't know I had any.

[Dogmudgeon]

33. An under-appreciated film

Red Dawn was panned strictly on it's supposed right-wing message. Time has proven that the real underlying message of the film wasn't a right-wing flag-waving anti-Commie bark, but the time-honored Resistance story.

Amerika, the TV-movie-miniseries produced as an "answer" to The Day After, made a similar mistake.

Poor wet-diaper conservatives -- everything they set their hands to turns to, well, wet diapers. For them, anyway.

--bkl

[ldoolin]

35. At the risk of sounding like a raving left-winger...

Yep, I hate to admit it but I rented it a few weeks ago and watched it for old times sake.

And you know what? Three thoughts came to mind:

1. It reminded me of Iraq. People resisting an invading, occupying force.

2. Gotta love the way the filmmakers chose the word "partisans" to call the Colorado high school kids. The original Partisans, in Yugoslavia and Albania during WWII, were communists fighting the Nazi Germany occupation.

3. I hunt deer myself and I have never, *never* heard of any kind of "tradition" of drinking the blood of the first deer you take.

And a lot of it is also pretty laughable. They've been living in the woods for two months and then stroll back into town looking like they all had just had a shower and had clean clothes on, stroll right up to the completely unguarded re-education camp where Dad shouts "avenge me!!" Couldn't Dad have just walked away from the camp? Too funny.

[Zuni]

42. Partisans

The first anti-Nazi partisans were the royalist Chetniks, not the Communists under Tito. Like Communists throughout the world, they only rose up after the USSR was attacked. Between 1939 and 1941 they were more likely pro-Nazi as long as they were fighting 'British Imperialism'. This was due to the Nazi-Soviet accords of August 1939. Most communist parties supported this, including the French Commies, who sabotaged the war effort in 1940 and the Greeks, who did not oppose the invasion of Greece after Yugoslavia.

Partisans can refer to any guerrilla force, most commonly reffering to Russian Guerilla fighters in WWII. It is not as reported than many of these fighters were also anti-soviet, particularly in the Ukraine and among the Cossacks. Some minorities even sent fighters to aid the Germans, the repression being so bad that they would ally with anything against Stalin.

[eileen_d]

47. and don't forget: WOLVERINES! WOLVERINES!

I was more moved by "The Breakfast Club" by Red Dawn... and the latter is actually funnier.

[Paul Hood]

4. On The Waterfront.

Very anti-union, but a classic nonetheless.
"I coulda been a contenda."

[Zuni]

8. great film

Elia Kazan made it. An all time classic,.

[mobuto]

48. Its not really anti-union

You don't have to be anti-union to agree that there have been many bad unions.

In fact the only thing worse than a bad union is, well, no union.

[regnaD kciN]

52. It's not "anti-union"...it's a lot worse!

On The Waterfront was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg -- two Hollywood principals who had just decided to cooperate with HUAC and "name names" of suspected Communists, thus supporting the McCarthy witch-hunts and the Hollywood Blacklist.

Waterfront was essentially their defense of their actions. Terry Malloy realized that the union was corrupt and murderous, and became a hero by breaking the code of silence and helping to defeat Johnny Friendly's mob. Just so, in the Kazan/Schulberg apologia, they had realized the evils of Communism, and merely done their civil duty by going public and identifying the members of the "Hollywood Communist conspiracy."

Schulberg later regretted his cooperation with the Red-hunters and became quite active in the civil rights movement and other liberal causes. Kazan, however, went to his death last year defending his decision to name names, and repeatedly said he'd do the same again.

:puke:

[Myra]

5. The South Park movie

Blame Canada.

I wonder if our DU Canucks consider that movie a
guilty pleasure.

[0rganism]

28. Eh? The Canadian characters have one of the best songs!

T&P: Shut your fucking face, uncle fucka! You're a boner biting bastard, uncle fucka!
T: You're an uncle fucka, I must say.
P: Well, you fucked your uncle yesterday!

in both orchestrated and pop-music formats, no less.

Amazing movie. Amazing score.

But... if this is a right wing movie, I'll eat my shorts.

[Zuni]

7. Red F-in Dawn

Is a badass flick. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. It is a Reaganite "the Russians are coming" kind of movie, but it is still an interesting idea.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

9. Deer rifles vs. tanks...

I loved it!

[Zuni]

13. we must catch these...'wolverines'

It is pretty far fetched. How many high school kids do you know that could take on Russian commandos?

[VOX]

55. "Who *is* on our side?" "Six hundred million screamin' Chinamen."

"I thought there was a billion screamin' Chinamen."

"There was."

[solinvictus]

11. Ditto on Red Dawn

I saw it in the theaters when I was 14. Loved it.

[MrScorpio]

10. Full Metal Jacket

"Half these gook whores are standing officers in the North Vietnamese Army. The other half have TB. Make sure to only fuck the ones who cough."

Private Joker.

[Zuni]

15. I do not know what the politics of that are

FMJ had confused politics that make you think of the grey area in all issues. There is no right or wrong or moral lessons, so I wouldn't be able to call it 'RW' or 'LW'
Stanley Kubrick was not a RWer. Check out Paths of Glory.

[MrScorpio]

18. Paths of Glory and Dr Strangelove are also in my collection.

In all three, the conservative authority figures are either detestable or objects of ridicule.

I also have the follow up book by the late Gustave Hasford, The Phantom Blooper. Hasford was definitely NOT a wing nut.

The thing about FMJ is that it's been co-opted by a lot of right wingers as a great movie (at least the boot camp sequences). And Lee Ermey lent a considerable influence to that part. I love him, but he's a right wing as you can get.

I gues thats one great reason why I love this movie, with all of these conflictling elements, this movies has something everyone can love.

"Anybody who runs is a V.C. Anybody who doesn't run is a well disciplined V.C."

Chopper Door Gunner

[maveric]

26. The Deer Hunter.

It had cool lefty type actors in it but it definately had a RW flavor to it. The cheesy ending when they all sang God Bless America was the topper.

[m-jean03]

34. I can't help but enjoy Bruce Willis

in "Die Hard" -- he was strong, yet sensitive enough to cry.
And I liked him in "In Country", I guess that was pretty anti-vietnam, but is it bad to like Bruce Willis in anything?

[mobuto]

50. Huh?

Its not at all right-wing. You seem to be confusing irony-infused patriotism with right-wing politics. In fact they're antithetical.

[regnaD kciN]

53. I didn't think the ending was cheesy at all...

I couldn't imagine a more fitting ending. What were the characters supposed to do, all turn into anti-war activists?

As far as I'm concerned, those who consider that the ending means that the film is "right-wing" are only repeating the same logical error as the right-wingers themselves -- that if characters are behaving in a certain way, the only possible reason is that the filmmakers wanted to advocate that behavior.

[sasquatch]

37. I heard R. Lee Ermey is a Dem

Is that true?

[VOX]

12. "Dirty Harry" -- the psycho villain wears a peace-symbol belt buckle!

Critic Pauline Kael called this picture a "facist classic," I believe.

[Zuni]

14. It is a fictionalized story of the Zodiac killer

I would disagree with her. I do not see anything fascist about it. It is 'rightwing' in a loose sense, but it is still bad ass.

[VOX]

31. I'm with you, but it didn't sit well with certain critics...

at the time of its release. Hey, I think it's a terrific picture!
:toast:

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:jfLTaWK3JTYJ:www.modbee.com/life/mondaylife/story/7619231p-8526542c.html+%22pauline+kael%22+%22dirty+harry%22+fascist&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
October 20, 2003

Blood truths for Eastwood
By MANOHLA DARGIS
LOS ANGELES TIMES

<snip>
Released amid ongoing protests against the Vietnam War and three months after the Attica prison uprising, a thriller with a white cop aiming a cannon at an unarmed black man didn't sit well with them. Pauline Kael famously denounced "Dirty Harry" for its "fascist medievalism," while Newsweek settled for just "right wing."

<snip>

[RandomKoolzip]

16. The Wizard of Oz.

THink about it- this flick is pure repub propaganda, but is so awesome to behold.

Dorothy calls upon the government (the Wizard) to solve her problems and the problems of her pals (government assistance and social programs), only to find that the Great and Terrible Oz, is nothing but a small man working an elaborate machine (government largesse). She discovers that everything she needed is inside her already (bootstraps). And returns to Kansas (the very center of America, literally.)

So why do I love this movie?

[Zuni]

17. Actually, it is a parable

by a guy who supported William Jennings Bryan. The original story had Silver slippers and the 'yellow brick road' symbolized gold leadin to disapointment and stuff.
Interesting analysis on your part.

[RandomKoolzip]

19. Yeah, I heard about that...

The "OZ" refers to weighing gold in ounces, etc.

The story itself is flexible enough to engender several different subtextural readings.

Damn, I'm stoned! I'm sitting here, smoking green things, listening to "Coast to Coast" on AM radio, where they're talking about alien implants, and posting a thread about how the Wizard of Oz is republican...A very odd place to be. Jeez, I think I need some water, my mouth is dry.

[Rowdyboy]

21. Know whats worse?

Being really high and reading the thread about Limbaugh where he says Robin Hood is a Republican. Huh? Explanation...he robs from the "government" and gives to the people. Thats about as bizarre interpretation as I've ever seen.

[RandomKoolzip]

23. Jeez, what a buzzkill!

No, fuck that, Robin Hood is solidly liberal. He steals from RICH PEOPLE, i.e. corporations, and gives to the starving workers.

Jeez, maybe it's time for bed! No more weed tonight....too strange to handle this stuff right now.

[Rowdyboy]

24. I think its about time

for me too...

[Zuni]

25. ditto

I am blazed, listening to Muddy waters sing the blues and my cat is chasing a lone cricket about the apartment.

[Interrobang]

54. Actually, in a short bio of Baum, it said...

When he was first coming up with the story, he needed a name for his magical land and his eye happened on the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet -- O-Z. And the rest, as they say, is history. So it has nothing to do with gold at all.

My favourite RW movie is "The Natural," which is only a RW movie because of Robert Redford. There are NO non-white characters in the *film* version at all, even though there are many in the novel. The only reason I like the movie so much is because the book, which is definitely NOT RW, rocks. (Check it out -- _The Natural_ by Bernard Malamud.)

[0rganism]

29. But does it really synch up with "dark side of the moon"?

Sadly, I have yet to try this experiment.

[sujan]

30. yes

[Zomby Woof]

43. actually, it's not!

L. Frank Baum wrote the story as a Populist Party allegory. Gore Vidal did a brilliant essay on this, because he looked into Baum's biography, and his political roots.

The Populist Party was championed by rural/agrarian interests to compete against the urban/mercantile interests of the Gilded Age. But over all, it championed the workers and common people. Baum set up Kansas, the heart of rural farming America, as the locale, and the characters each represented the various interests, like a political cartoon. The scarecrow represented the farmers of course, the Tin Man the factory worker in industrial America, and the Lion, as the virtue of courage that they both needed to triumph over the ruling classes. With the Scarecrow and Tin Man needing brains and heart, they rounded out the 3 principle virtues.

The Wicked Witches, came from the compass points flanking the virtuous heartland - east and west. In the book, Dorothy wore silver slippers - the silver standard was championed by the Populists. The movie only used ruby because it would look better in the brand new Technicolor technology. "Oz", the abbreviation for ounce, was the standard weight of silver coinage.

The Wizard was the government in a sense, who was seen as rather threatening to the rank and file populace - and in order to maintain control, but was benevelont if truly run by the people (think of how kindly and doddering the Wizard was when they found out who he was).

You can fill in the rest by thinking about the different characters in Oz and how they fulfilled their roles.

[Khephra]

27. Death Wish

(just the first one)

[VOX]

32. DW, along with "Dirty Harry," was assailed by critics as right wing...

at the time of its release in the early 70s. The notion of a gun-toting vigilante was generally reprehensible back then.

But nevertheless, it's a compelling movie. Look for a young Jeff Goldblum as one of the "freaks," and Christopher Guest as a novice cop.

:toast:

[ldoolin]

36. Vigilante films

There are a couple to see that were in the same vigilante genre but had definitely left-wing overtones:

Billy Jack

and the original Shaft

both from 1971, which I think predates both Death Wish and Dirty Harry.

I'm wondering if the whole run of right-wing vigilante films didn't start with left-wing movies like those two?

[mitchum]

44. that's the one for me...

particularly reprehensible because the Bronson character is the "mugged liberal" of musty jokes and and RW spew. But the movie works on a visceral level

[Skittles]

38. The Dirty Dozen

I love that movie which is out of character for me because I dislike violence.

[Zomby Woof]

45. but you love KICKING MY ASS!

:P

[mitchum]

46. nothing wrong with loving "The Dirty Dozen"

I watched it again a couple of months ago. It really is well-written
Great cast: Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Bronson, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland... (and a lot more I'm leaving out, but which will probably come to me later)
It is a great movie...(and Ernest Borgnine)

[WillyBrandt]

39. Death Wish Three!

I own a copy of the movie! It is NRA propaganda pure and simple, but I've watched it at least a dozen times.

There's this fantastic section where all the citizens of the run down neighborhood take guns, rocket launchers, zip guns, etc. and start shooting their way back into civilized control of their neighborhood.

It's hilarious.

[TheMightyFavog]

51. Dont forget the machine guns!!!

Like the German MG42's that Kearsy's Korean War buddy had!

[eileen_d]

49. The Ten Commandments

OK, it's NOT right-wing but it does star Charlton Heston, plus there's the Roy Moore connection now...