Top Ten Ethics Films

We have been batting this around for a while, and have come up with the following list:

The Top Ten BEST ETHICS Movies of all time

1. Man for All Seasons

Paul Scofield brilliantly plays Thomas More who stands up for his principals against the ultimate difficult boss, King Henry VIIII. In the end, he dies for his faith and his principals, but he gets to become the patron saint of lawyers.

2. Gandhi

Gentle courage in the face of extreme resistance to doing the right thing.

3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Old Fashioned Common Sense and Goodness. Jimmy Stewart would have made a great actor turned president.

4. Serpico

Serpico, a NY police officer, exposes corruption in the police force at great personal cost.

5. All the King’s Men

A study in the corruptive effect of power.

6. All the President’s Men

A testament to the power of information and the 4th Estate.

7. 1984

The Richard Harris/John Hurt version. A bleak picture of society in which information is manufactured and controlled by the government to the end of maintaining power and privilege at the cost of annihilating human relationships.

8. Thank You For Smoking

Hilarious examination of the influence of money in government.

9. Bulworth

Wouldn’t it be great if politicians really talked like that?

10. The Ideal Husband

Set in 1895 London and based on a play by Oscar Wilde. Sir Robert Chiltern is an honorable Government minister happily married to his wife (played by Cate Blanchett) who idolizes him. Enter the conniving Mrs. Chieveley (Julianne Moore), who threatens to expose Sir Chiltern’s youthful misstep to motivate him to award a government contract from which she will derive much money. Very entertaining.

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional “Honorable Mentions” that MAY be worthy of a place in the list. Please feel free to make a comment if you feel strongly about any of these, or wish to add to the list !

  • Brazil (1985)
  • Becket (1964)
  • Catch 22 (1970)
  • The Ideal Husband
  • Hands Over the City
  • Sophie Scholl – the Last Days (Die letzten Tage) (2005)
    The Sophie Scholl movie is in German (subtitles available, of course), but if you haven’t seen it you should.