Interesting that revisionist history has been expanded to include the those liberal Hollywood types.

Juno is really the one that made me scratch my head. Really?

Well this proves it. Republicanism should now be listed as a quantifiable mental illness in the DSM.

lol wtf...

Conservative movies? Atleast half of those conservatives wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

Team America: World Police??

THEY CAN"T HAVE BRAZIL!!!!
And Master & Commander? Seriously, with all the Darwinism?

I'm pretty sure Team America was one the most blatant mockeries of American conservatism.

Wow.

>>>And Master & Commander?

Easily one of my favorite Russell Crowe movies, by the way. Totally underrated.

Really? Is this all they have left? Claiming films as their own? Is this some weird attempt at trying to connect with people who wouldn't otherwise think of themselves as conservative?

Interesting that The Lives of Others is a film from "Old Europe" Germany. Here is what Roger Ebert said about the film:


The Berlin Wall falls in 1989 (the event is seen here), and the story continues for few more years to an ironic and surprisingly satisfactory conclusion. But the movie is relevant today, as our government ignores habeas corpus, practices secret torture, and asks for the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on its citizens. Such tactics did not save East Germany; they destroyed it, by making it a country its most loyal citizens could no longer believe in. Driven by the specter of aggression from without, it countered it with aggression from within, as sort of an anti-toxin. Fearing that its citizens were disloyal, it inspired them to be. True, its enemies were real. But the West never dropped the bomb, and East Germany and the other Soviet republics imploded after essentially bombing themselves.


I wonder what the National Review saw in this movie.

>> I wonder what the National Review saw in this movie.

Perhaps it has something to do with them being one of the founders of the "Fascism for Everyone" movement.

red dawn is their wet dream!

okay -- WTF!

So bizarre a list it is hilarious.

Is it because the "conservatives" at the National Review actually have no recognizable political or moral philosophy nor a cogent world view that they choose just anything for their list of greatest conservative movies?

Or is it more that they are all just ape shit crazy?

Where the hell was TRUE LIES on that list?

That is the most over-the-top right-wing coserv-o-rama I've ever seen.

Plus, I remember Rush Limbaugh declaring it 'funny.'

I'm pretty sure Team America was one the most blatant mockeries of American conservatism.

Wow.

What the fuck, indeed.

Is this some kind of joke?! They're certainly not implying that these are by conservatives, but perhaps for them.. I'm confused.

The Lives of Others reveals the absurdity of the GDR's program spying on its own citizens. It might be a bold suggestion- but I imagine that system in place spying on Americans right now might be the most comprehensive one since.

I'd swear it's the Conservatives that have been asking us to sacrifice privacy for security for the last 7 years..

Ok, so if the conservative viewer is dense enough, they wont pick up on the sarcasm of "America: fuck yeah!" or the subtle commentaries of the Gump, but what the fuck does a knuckle-head conservative get out of watching The Lives of others?!

NO! I say again, NO!!!!

This is has to be a joke. Who the fuck do they think they are fooling? Where was that bullshit movie O'Reilly film? Where are the torture films? Where are the "wide bathroom stance" films? Where are the voter suppression films?

I am adding, "The Great Debaters" to this list. Not because the residual message of the movie but the horrible visualization of the Jim Crow south.

Next, they will say they invented Blogging or the TUBES in general. NO!!!!!

Master & Commander is obvious - the Darwin character gets shot! :D

As we have come to expect of the right wing, they are not just insane, they are totally delusional.

I can hear Peter Jackson laughing himself silly in New Zealand. LOTR, neither in book or movie form is remotely conservative. Neither is it liberal, since it is a FANTASY. When the book was released in the U.S. it was denounced by the right wing for espousing communism (must have been those gay elves) as was the Gary Cooper movie 'High Noon'. So now the movies the LOTR is conservative. Consistency? Nah.

With 'The Chronicles of Narnia' on the list I think I shall conclude that the people that made this list live in a fantasy.

Brazil is a scathing criticism of bureaucracies gone wild and how entrenched bureaucracies tend towards fascism. While the film targeted Thatcher's runaway Nanny State in the U.K., Gilliam was clearly also criticizing U.S. trends. I have no idea how this is considered conservative. Perhaps they thought the torture scene was cool. (This film must be seen in the director's cut. The theatrical release is garbage.)

Gattaca is another film that is a criticism of out of control corporatist/fascist governments. Did they miss that the government being criticized resembles our government under Bush? I don't think right wingers grok Sci Fi very well. They totally missed the point. This film was a very thinly veiled critique of the security silliness that Bush put in place. Flew right over their heads apparently.

I could go on, but it doesn't get any better.

The real question I have is with all these movies that have nothing to do with conservatism on this list, it is rather odd that Citizen Kane is missing. How about the Devil and Miss Jones (gotta love Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn). Oh, never mind, those are both commie movies.

Actually, The Incredibles doesn't surprise me. It feeds their hero-wannabe fantasy life. The Supers fought on the side of law and order until the common rabble decided to reign them in and why can't you just let us do our job without your constant meddling because only we know the dangers and what needs to be done.

One of the final lines of The Lives of Others always resonates with me when I think of the Bush years: "Imagine that people like you once ran a country."

Someone please explain Ghostbusters to me. On one level or another, I get some of these--even if I think any conservative claims on them are bonkers--but, Ghostbusters? How?

imprisoning spirits without trial...

Actually, Sillygit, Christians believe the LOTR is a Christian allegory. All the good vs. evil, which liberals don't really believe in...ahem, all that grey area and stuff. Seriously, there is a lot of black and white in the book, and very little grey. Even the portrayal of Eowyn fits. Why she didn't have a feast cooked upon the warriors return is disgraceful. Women should be in the kitchen and all that, what, what. Orcs bad, white warriors good. Gandalf visits heaven and then returns.

You know. That sort of stuff.

the "mayor" releases the ghostbusters to save "new york" from "evil"

can i get a giuliani with a side of 9.11 sprinkled with terrorists?!

PPP, by that analysis you could say that "Episode 1" was a conservative film. That would be blasphemy on the GDAB and Bob's/Elvis' heads would explode.

I can see how Ghostbusters would be on their list. Its a cautionary tale to non-believers. Sure, make fun of the service that offers protection from "the dead rising from the graves" (actually dialog, I think). The ghostbusters are locked up at one point and when all of hell opens up in New York City, where do they go for help? Oh, that's right, the true believers whom you persecuted, fucking atheists.


Another thing, how come no vigilate movies? Death Wish? Dirty Harry? I would think Rudy would be right up their alley too. Boot straps, people!

Jesus! Someone needs to tell Google to pay their internet bill. Is it just me, or are they the slowest site on the Internet? I'm trying to search for movie titles

Ghostbusters is up there because dickless works for the EPA. That's the only reason I can think of.

But if they think of Gran Torino as a conservative movie, they haven't seen it.

That's Rudy, the Sean Astin football movie, not the Guilliani.

That's Rudy, the Sean Astin football movie, not the Guilliani.

I can think of one conservy movie they missed. Talladega-Legend of Ricky Bobby. Even if you love the way he makes fun of religion, you still can't deny that there is no sport more anti-liberal than Nascar.

origamonous -

http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=YWQ4MDlhMWRkZDQ5YmViMDM1Yzc0MTE3ZTllY2E3MGM=

Did not require hacking. Just needed an attention span longer than 5 sec.

I read too fast and missed 'of the last quarter century' part.

Our approach in selecting them doesn’t rise to the level of an actual methodology ...

Breathtaking understatement.

We do not claim that the writers, directors, producers, gaffers, and key grips involved with these films are conservative. We certainly make no such assertion about the actors. Yet the results are indisputable: Conservatives enjoy these films because they are great movies that offer compelling messages about freedom, families, patriotism, traditions, and more.

And yet they failed to recognize that many of these movies were criticizing the actions of the neocons that they elected.

Groundhog Day? WTF? That movie damn near drove me insane...

I guess it does make sense, though. You know how day-to-day changes throw them all for a loop...that, and they're still waking up every morning acting as though GWB is the White House and they're still in control of things.

But, holy shit just the thought of that movie makes me reach for the Xanax.

Conservatives enjoy these films because they are great movies that offer compelling messages about freedom, families, patriotism, traditions, and more.

With that the list makes even less sense when you figure in Gattaca, 300 and Team America: World Police.

And where was Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, and Apollo 13? Has the Conservative Base lost is jingoistic streak?

I would like to know their rationale for choosing each of these movies. And the folks at NRO will burn in hell forever for daring to include Peter Weir and Terry Gilliam films amongst their choices. I'm sure those guys are laughing about that right now, though.

Master and Commander - I don't remember much about this movie in terms of political implications. What I do remember is that it totally sucked. It's telling that a list of "Great" conservative movies would include a stinker like that one.

Forrest Gump - totally conservative, if you skip the hour in the middle about vietnam.

Team America - as usual, Parker and Stone prove themselves equal opportunity offenders.

Braveheart - don't even get me started. The English soldiers in this movie might as well wear elephants on their shields.

There are only like 4 movies that actually belong on this list. I'll give them LOTR, Blast from the Past (perfect conservative movie, since I'm probably the only sap who saw it - 'THINGS SHOULD NEVER CHANGE! BRING BACK THE 50'S!!!'), Chronicles of Narnia, and Red Dawn.

Master and Commander - I don't remember much about this movie in terms of political implications. What I do remember is that it totally sucked. It's telling that a list of "Great" conservative movies would include a stinker like that one.

Forrest Gump - totally conservative, if you skip the hour in the middle about vietnam.

Team America - as usual, Parker and Stone prove themselves equal opportunity offenders.

Braveheart - don't even get me started. The English soldiers in this movie might as well wear elephants on their shields.

There are only like 4 movies that actually belong on this list. I'll give them LOTR, Blast from the Past (perfect conservative movie, since I'm probably the only sap who saw it - 'THINGS SHOULD NEVER CHANGE! BRING BACK THE 50'S!!!'), Chronicles of Narnia, and Red Dawn.

They can only have '300' if they promise to strut around Capitol Hill wearing loincloths. And have Gerard Butler's abs.

On second thought, maybe not.

Not defending the list, but The Incredibles is pretty much Ann Rand's wet dream. It's a very objectivist film.

The only reason I can think of for the inclusion of "Juno" is that she has the baby & doesn't have an abortion. You Know-- "The Right Thing to Do."

Brad Bird who directed the Incredibles is a self confessed Ayn Rand fan. And the movie is practically a grade school primer on objectivism.

I never noticed objectivism in the Incredibles, but I wasn't looking for it...can someone point out some examples?
Yeah, Minx, that's why Juno is supposedly conservative. It's an oddly polarizing movie, a lot of people think it's conservative and a lot of people think Juno is a bad role model for getting pregnant in the first place.

They like Master and Commander because the heroic British fight the French.

Of course, in the original books the villains were American.

PPP -

Actually, Sillygit, Christians believe the LOTR is a Christian allegory.

I can only say that they are sadly mistaken. Tolkien wrote the stories so as to recreate the lost anglo-saxon mythology. The stories intentionally predate Christianity. The influence of druidism is seen in the Ents. The books reek of paganism out of every page.

Of course if one is totally ignorant of the belief systems common on the British Isles before they were all suppressed and destroyed by Christianity, I guess it would be possible not to notice them jumping out of the page at you.

Tolkien was a very complex man and he can not be accurately described in anything less than multiple pages. I will provide some extracts from Wikipedia but I encourage you to read then entire article at Wikipedia.

Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, and in his religious and political views he was mostly conservative, in the sense of favouring established conventions and orthodoxies over innovation and modernization; in 1943 he wrote, "My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood to mean abolition of control, not whiskered men with bombs)—or to 'unconstitutional' Monarchy."

Tolkien had an intense dislike for the side effects of industrialization, which he considered to be devouring the English countryside. For most of his adult life, he was disdainful of automobiles, preferring to ride a bicycle. This attitude can be seen in his work, most famously in the portrayal of the forced "industrialization" of The Shire in The Lord of the Rings.

Sounds like a strict small government conservative. Tories had become as Big Brother, Big Government as Liberals and Labour.

His love of myths and devout faith came together in his assertion that he believed that mythology is the divine echo of "the Truth". This view was expressed in his poem Mythopoeia, and his idea that myths held "fundamental truths" became a central theme of the Inklings in general.

The interplay of good and evil is a fundamental truth that underlies *all* religions throughout history including that of the druids. Tolkien did not need to reference his Catholicism to play the good versus evil game. It is truly universal, even to an atheist. Religions that do not appeal to fundamental truths don't last long.

Here is what they say at NRO:

The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003): Author J. R. R. Tolkien was deeply conservative, so it’s no surprise that the trilogy of movies based on his masterwork is as well. Largely filmed before 9/11, they seemed perfectly pitched for the post-9/11 world. The debates over what to do about Sauron and Saruman echoed our own disputes over the Iraq War. (Think of Wormtongue as Keith Olbermann.) When Frodo sighs, “I wish none of this had happened,” Gandalf’s response speaks to us, too: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Tolkien was deeply conservative in the libertarian sense. Karl Rove is a better fit for wormtongue, except that Rove was not undermining a good ruler.

The post 9/11 stuff is just bogus. If we want to play that game, I would point out that corporatist America closely resembles Mordor. And if you read the books, the chapter 'The Scouring of the Shire' resembles what we did to Iraq, except that what we did was worse.

OK, the horse is dead.

Wow, I love the comment about think of Olbermann as Wormtongue. Had to laugh derisively at that (and most of the list).

In LotR, (I think during the Council in FotR), all the main characters talk about needing to find a final solution to their problems, rather than a temporary fix. In other words, pretty much the opposite of what conservatives do.

Now that I take another look at this list, "United 93" just hit my eyes. So a dramatized documentary of 9/11 told primarily from the point of view of the people on board one of the flights is now a "great conservative movie?"

Well, I doubt that they meant it this way, but fine - since their policies and poor judgment caused 9/11, I guess they can have United 93 after all.

I'll never understand this mindset. 9/11 happened in NYC, but conservatives are always pretending like it happened exclusively to them, and using it to justify their policies. Like the attack took place on an NRA meeting or something. They're scared shitless of another terrorist attack, but they completely ignore the fact that if one were to occur, it'd be in a liberal big city anyways.

Okay, this is off of the topic a bit, but has anyone watched Eric Cantor's Aerosmith video yet? I just caught it on the huffpost:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/16/the-house-gop-is-back-rep_n_167213.html

I mean, I guess their graphics are getting a little better, but I know the "1 Billion for ACORN" is a lie. What about the other stuff? Millions for Golf carts? I feel like if that was true I would have heard it as a talking point before. Typical republican crap souffle with lamesauce.

I did however learn that Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy comprise the "Republican whip team" and that um...that is just dirty. Please, Diana DeGette, don't do anything this dumb!

I thought Passion of the Christ would be number 1 (with a bullet).

Oh, wait. I think I figured it out. The films on this list are fiction. Passion of the Christ was omitted because it's a documentary. That's for another list!

passion of the christ was not in english! therefore too complicated for these people...

I loved Brazil. What a perverse list.

It just shows the disconnect they have with reality. Gran Torino is about a bitter bigot who in spite of himself befriends the Hmong family next door. Redemption and sacrifice overcome Dirty Harry.
What's weird is they don't see that some of this list are movies that mock the hell out of them.
And where is "Reefer Madness?" And there isn't a John Wayne movie in the list? It really is a WTF moment.

Ghostbusters I can actually see, since Dickless was a petty bureaucrat from the EPA. The rest look totally random. Team America took tons of shots at both sides. Did they not notice the fact that Team America actually did as much damage in their battles as the terrorists did?

What about that monumental tribute to conservatism "An American Carol"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Carol

Eric, I think even conservatives don't want to be reminded of that turkey.

This truly is a WTF!

Team America is a great conserative movie if you're into golden showers and fellating your boss to get your job back.

The Incredibles obviously made the list due to the scene early in the picture when Mr. Incredible is at work as a claims adjuster and he helps an old lady get through the corporate red tape to get her claim paid. 'Cause we all know how conservatives are always warning us about the evils of corporations that put profits ahead of people, and how they need to be regulated. Oh, wait....