HOWZAT

Wag the Dog

Barry Levinson (1997)

With the US president facing a sex scandal on the eve of an election, aide Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) and spin doctor Conrad Brean hatch a plan. Recruiting a Hollywood producer played by Dustin Hoffman they create a fictional war as diversion.

Young Mr Lincoln

John Ford (1939)

Ford and actor Henry Fonda embarked on their legendary partnership with this 1939 film charting the early life of all Amerian hero, Abe Lincoln. In a classic performance, Fonda plays Lincoln as a young idealistic lawyer before he found political fame.

Dave

Ivan Reitman (1993)

Kevin Kline plays both the 44th president Bill Mitchell and his look-alike standing Dave Kovac. When the insufferable Mitchell suffers a stroke in flagrante with his secretary, Kovac must step into the great man’s shoes. Compassionate where Mitchell was brutish, Dave makes his mark on the White House. The film, which also stars Sigourney and Ben Kingsley, was an unexpected hit.

Air Force One

Wolfgang Petersen (1997)

When his private plane Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists, Harrison Ford’s fictional president steps up to the challenge. A decorated former Ford’s James Marshall squares up to terrorist Gary Oldman in this action-packed thriller.

Wilson

Daryl F. Zanuck (1944)

By the standards of the day, Wilson was a revealing portrait of Woodrow Wilson, following his journey from president of Princeton to governor of New Jersey and on to the White House. Wilson won five Oscars.

Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Stanley Kubrick (1964)

Peter Sellers plays three characters in Kubrick’s cold war satire including the inept president, Merton Muffley who cowtows to his lunatic general, intent on a nuclear strike against the Russians. Both chilling and hysterical, the film deserves its reputation as a timeless classic.

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