Films can present philosophical view on the world. You may get to know with some relevant films and their most important ideas which can be easily connected with philosophy. The list of films has been made arranged in order of specific philosophical topics. If you know some films which could be add to this list, send e-mail and they will be included to this list.
If you want to know more about this and other films, their actions and key scenes you may visit web site The Internet Movie Database or Film – Philosophy.
Sergio Leone – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1967)
Therefore, the following sites provide useful information about films in general:
- Philosophical Films by Dr. Jorn K. Bramann
- RML page on Film Theory
- Philosophy of Films (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Listen to Stephen Mulhall on Film as Philosophy
- Brief analysis of films by many directors
- Great Directors
- Senses of cinema. Contents of the film journal Senses of Cinema, devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema.
- Senses of cinema. Links about Film’s Magazines/Journals, Critics, Screen organization, Directors/Films, Asian Cinema, Distributors, Film Festivals and Miscellaneous.
- Cinetext is a bilingual internet forum for film and philosophy located at the University of Vienna (Austria).
- YouTube – A Film for Philosophy
- Themoviesonline.com
- Allmovie.com
- Movie Review Query Engine
- Virtual Philosopher
- Nietzsche and Film
- Andrei Tarkovsky: Film and Philosophy
- Zarathustra’s gift in Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice (Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence of the same). Excellent essay by Gino Moliterno published in Screening the Past online journal.
- Film Terminology
- Philosophy talk
- British Film Institute. BFI’s world-renowned archive, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources.
- American Film Institute
- Cahiers du cinema. New Cahiers site is up. French magazine about films.
- Cineaste. Online version of this magazine, with sample articles. A film magazine genuinely committed to the relationship between film, art and politics. America’s Leading Magazine on the Art and Politics of the cinema.
- El Amante. A monthly Film Spanish-language journal.
- Film Comment. Online version of the New York magazine, featuring several sample articles from each hard copy issue.
- The Film Journal. Quarterly online film journal with essays, interviews, and reviews. Dedicated to serious film writing.
- Flickhead. With new design and articles. Also includes Chabrol and Buñuel tribute pages.
- Interviews with Film Directors
- Essential Movies for Students of Philosophy
- Serbian Movie Center
Francis Ford Coppola – Apocalypse Now (1979)
Scripts of a great number of films can be found at:
DEATH PENALTY
- Dead Man Walking (Tom Robbins) 1995.
- The Green Mile (Frank Darabont) 1999.
TOTALITARIANISM
- 1984 (Michael Radford) 1984.
- Animal Farm (Joy Batchelor, John Halas) 1955.
- Modern Times (Charles Chaplin) 1936. (Marx Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1884).
- The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin) 1940.
- When Father Was Away on Business (Emir Kusturica) 1985.
- Underground (Emir Kusturica) 1995.
- Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer) 2002.
- Cabaret (Bob Fosse) 1972.
- The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci) 1970.
- Cabaret Balkan (Goran Paskaljevic) 1998.
- Utomlyonnye Solntsem (Nikita Mikhalkov) 1994.
- Der Untergang (Oliver Hirschbiegel) 2005.
- Balkanski Spijun (Dusan Kovacevic) 1984.
- The Professional (Dusan Kovacevic) 2003.
- Monanieba (Eng. trans. Confession) (Tengiz Abuladze) 1987.
- Blechtrommel, Die (Engl. trans. TheTin Drum) (Volker Schlondorff) 1979.
- The Boys from Brazil (Franklin J. Schaffner) 1978.
PERSONAL IDENTITY (INDIVIDUALITY), FREE WILL
- Memento (Christopher Nolan) 2000.
- The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman) 2002.
- Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1972.
- Nostalgia (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1983.
- Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven) 1990.
- Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze) 1999.
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (John Ford) 1962.
- Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard) 1959.
- The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, King Vidor) 1939.
- The Fly (David Cronenberg) 1986.
- The Elephant Man (David Lynch) 1980.
- The Straight Story (David Lynch) 1999.
- 8 ½ (Federico Fellini) 1963.
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) 1941.(Xenophon: Memorabilia; Plato: Apology)
- Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman) 1957.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman) 1975.
- All That Jazz (Bob Fosse) 1979.
- Cabaret Balkan (Goran Paskaljevic) 1998.
- Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders) 1984.
- The Professional (Dusan Kovacevic) 2003.
- Fabuleux destin d`Amelie Poulain, Le (Jean-Pierre JEUNET) 2001.
- Man on the Moon (Milos Forman) 1999.
- Mala educacion, La (Engl. trans. Bad Education) (Pedro Almodovar) 2004.
- The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen) 1998.
THE MEANING OF LIFE (SECULAR VERSUS RELIGIOUS IDEAS)
- Films by Ingmar Bergman (especially film ’’Wild Strawberries’’ 1957.)
- Films by Andrei Tarkovsky (especially film ’’Andrey Rublyov’’ 1969.)
- Viva Las Vegas (George Sidney) 1964.
- It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra) 1946.
- Amarcord (Federico Fellini) 1973.
- The Meeting Point (Dusan Kovacevic) 1989.
- Mala educacion, La (Engl. trans. Bad Education) (Pedro Almodovar) 2004.
- The Mosquito Coast (Peter Weir) 1986.
- Films by Monty Python’s (especially films “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969) and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975) and “The Meaning of Life” (1983)).
- Viridiana (Luis Bunuel) 1961.
ETHICS (INCLUDING JUSTICE AND PUNISHMENT)
- Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) 1982.
- Seven (David Fincher) 1995.
- Chinatown (Roman Polanski) 1974.
- 1984 (Michael Radford) 1984.
- Antigone (George Tzavellas) 1960.
- Angel Heart (Alan Parker) 1987.
- Elephant Man (David Lynch) 1980.
- Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1979.
- Nostalgia (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1983.
- Solyaris (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1972.
- The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1986.
- Gladiator (Ridley Scott) 2000.
- Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood) 1992.
- Witness (Peter Weir) 1985.
- On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan) 1954.
- Casablanca (Michael Curtiz) 1942.
- Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut) 1967.
- The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola) 1971.
- A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick) 1971.
- Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa) 1950.
- Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel) 1966.
- Macbeth (Orson Welles, Roman Polanski) 1948. 1971.
- The Third Man (Carol Reed) 1949.
- Apocalypse now (Francis Ford Coppola) 1979. (Nietzsche: The Birth of Tragedy)
- Crime and Punishment (Georges Lampin) 1958.
- Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese) 1976.
- The Devil`s Advocate (Taylor Hackford) 1997.
- Shane (George Stevens) 1953.
- Ben-Hur (William Wyler) 1959.
- Who Sing Over There (Dusan Kovacevic) 1980.
- The Marathon Family (Dusan Kovacevic) 1982.
- High Noon (Fred Zinnemann) 1952.
- Hable con ella (Engl. trans. Talk to Her) (Pedro Almodovar) 2002.
- Mala educacion, La (Engl. trans. Bad Education) (Pedro Almodovar) 2004.
- The Boys from Brazil (Franklin J. Schaffner) 1978.
- Belle de jour (Engl. Trans. Beautiful of the Day) (Luis Bunuel) 1967
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (FAITH VERSUS REASON, THE PROBLEM OF EVIL)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese) 1988.
- Nazarin (Luis Bunuel) 1959.
- Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1979.
- The Mission (Roland Joffe) 1986.
- The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) 1956.
- The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson) 2004.
- The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille) 1956.
- The Crime of Padre Amaro (Carlos Carrera) 2002.
POSTMODERNISM
- Mulholland Drive (David Lynch) 2001.
- The Matrix (Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski) 1999.
- Films by Ingmar Bergman
NIETZSCHE`S GENEALOGY OF MORALS
- Dogville (Lars von Trier) 2003.
- Manderlay (Lars von Trier) 2005.
- Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch) 2005.
Orson Welles – Citizen Kane (1941)
NIETZSCHE`S WILL TO POWER
- Napoleon (Abel Gance) 1927.
- Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl) 1935.
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) 1941.
- Hitler – The Rise of Evil (Christian Duguay) 2004.
- The Devil`s Advocate (Taylor Hackford) 1997.
WITTGENSTEIN: “THE WORLD IS INDEPENDENT OF MY WILL”
FOUCAULT AND REPRESSIVE INSTITUTIONS
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman) 1975.
- Papillon (Franklin J. Schaffner) 1973.
DETERMINISM – DESCARTES
- Memento (Christopher Nolan) 2000.
- Homo Faber (Volker Schlondorff) 1991.
UTILITARIANISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
- Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl) 1935.
- Nixon (Oliver Stone) 1995.
- JFK (Oliver Stone) 1991.
- Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir) 1989.
- The Year of Living Dangerously (Peter Weir) 1982.
- Europe (Lars von Trier) 1991.
- The Devil`s Advocate (Taylor Hackford) 1997.
- The Professional (Dusan Kovacevic) 2003
- The Boys from Brazil (Franklin J. Schaffner) 1978.
HEDONISM
- Misterija Orgazma (Dusan Makavejev) 1971.
- Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl) 1935.
- The Devil`s Advocate (Taylor Hackford) 1997.
- Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven) 1992.
- Jamon, Jamon (Engl. trans. Ham, Ham) (Bigas Luna) 1992.
- Belle de jour (Engl. Trans. Beautiful of the Day) (Luis Bunuel) 1967.
EXISTENTIALISM
- Films by Ingmar Bergman
- Films by Andrei Tarkovsky
- Tricheurs, Les (Marcel Carne) 1958.
- Intimacy (Patrice Chereau) 2001.
- The Condemned of Altona (Vittorio de Sica) 1962.
- Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen) 1992.
- Interview With a Vimpire (Niel Jordan) 1994.
- Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard) 1959.
- The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) 1956.
- The Eclipse (Michelangelo Antonioni) 1962.
- Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders) 1976.
- Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) 1958.
- Runaway Train (Andrei Konchalovsky) 1985.
- Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray) 1955.
- Blue Velvet (David Lynch) 1986.
- Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer) 1998.
- Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut) 1962.
SKEPTICISM AND VIRTUAL REALITY
- Existens (David Cronenberg) 1999.
- Blow up (Michelangelo Antonioni) 1966.
- The Matrix (Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski) 1999.
- The Truman Show (Peter Weir) 1998.
- Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven) 1990.
- Simone (Andrew Niccol) 2002.
DEONTOLOGY
- Dogville (Lars von Trier) 2003.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
- Chinatown (Roman Polanski) 1974.
- Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg) 1993.
- Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard) 1967.
- Vita e bella, La (English trans. Life is beautiful) (Roberto Benigni) 1997.
- Balkanski Spijun (Dusan Kovacevic) 1984.
- The Professional (Dusan Kovacevic) 2003.
- The Pianist (Roman Polanski) 2002.
- Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore) 2002.
METAPHYSICS
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick) 1968.
- Films by Andrei Tarkovsky (especially film ’’Andrey Rublyov’’ 1969.)
- Films by Ingmar Bergman (especially film ’’Wild Strawberries’’ 1957.)
- Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir) 1975.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
- Solyaris (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1972.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick) 1968.
FEMINISM
- Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott) 1991.
- Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee) 1995.
- Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne) 1987.
- Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven) 1992.
- Pretty Woman (Garry Marshall) 1990.
- Films by Laura Mulvey (“Penthesilea” (1974), “Riddles of the Sphinx” (1977), “Frida and Tina” (1983) and “Disgraced Monuments” (1996)).
PSYCHOANALYSIS (INCLUDING FEMINIST FILM THEORIES)
- Films by Laura Mulvey (“Penthesilea” (1974), “Riddles of the Sphinx” (1977), “Frida and Tina” (1983) and “Disgraced Monuments” (1996)).
- Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock) 1960.
- Repulsion (Roman Polansky) 1965.
DISCRIMINATION AND TOLERANCE
- Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee) 2005.
- Crash (Paul Haggis) 2004.
- Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg) 1993.
- Men of Honor (George Tillman Jr.) 2000.
- The People Versus Larry Flynt (Milos Forman) 1996.
- Hitler – The Rise of Evil (Christian Duguay) 2004.
- Vita e bella, La (English trans. Life is beautiful) (Roberto Benigni) 1997.
- Balkanski Spijun (Dusan Kovacevic) 1984.
- The Pianist (Roman Polanski) 2002.
- Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore) 2002.
FREEDOM
- Platoon (Oliver Stone) 1986.
- Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) 1987.
- The Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick) 1964.
- Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg) 1998.
- Braveheart (Mel Gibson) 1995.
- Hair (Milos Forman) 1979.
- Ben-Hur (William Wyler) 1959.
- Vita e bella, La (English trans. Life is beautiful) (Roberto Benigni) 1997.
- Balkanski Spijun (Dusan Kovacevic) 1984.
- The Professional (Dusan Kovacevic) 2003.
- The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino) 1978.
- The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe) 1984.
- The General (Buster Keaton) 1926.
PHILOSOPHY OF TIME
- Underground (Emir Kusturica) 1995.
- Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis) 1985.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron) 1991.
Andrei Tarkovsky – Andrei Rublev (1966)
ART AND PHILOSOPHY
- Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut) 1966.
- Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino) 1994.
- Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli) 1956.
- Death and the Maiden (Roman Polanski) 1994.
- The Egony and the Ecstasy (Carol Reed) 1965.
- Andrey Rublyov (Andrei Tarkovsky) 1969.
- Russian Ark (Aleksander Sokurov) 2002.
FUTURISM / UTOPIANISM
- Soylent Green (Richard Fleischer) 1973.
- Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner) 1968.