Inherit the Wind
- (1960) Directed by Stanley Kramer. This film captures the
real-life, 1925 trial, where a Tennessee school teacher was arrested
and jailed for teaching his students about Charles Darwin and the
theory of evolution. Mr. Moloney's students will be encouraged to make
up their own minds about which
theory (creation or evolution) they support.
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Modern Times
- (1936) Directed by Charles Chaplan. Starring Charles Chaplan.
This film will be used to reinforce the themes of the industrial
revolution. There is a great bit where Charlie falls prey to
modernization and industry and gets caught up in an assembly line.
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Mountains of the Moon
- (1989) Directed by Bob Rafelson. This is a great action adventure
film about two English explorers who go into central Africa in 1854 to
find the source of the Nile River. They "discover" Lake Victoria (the
3rd largest lake in the world) and name it after their queen. Film
brings
to life the early days of European Imperialism in Africa.
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Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
- (2005) Directed by Christian
Carion. This European film depicts the famous "Chirstmas Truce" of WW
I. When German, French and Scottish soldiers had a Christmas Eve cease
fire and came out of their trenches to bury the dead and also exchanged
food items and played a Christmas day soccer game. I used to show
Stanley Kubricks Paths
of Glory (which
I highly recommend) when teaching WW I, but have defered to the more
modern (not black and white) Joyeux Noel film, which also teaches about
WW I by teaching peace.
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Doctor
Zhivago - (1965) Directed by
David Lean. Starring: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger.
Nominated for best picture and best director, this visually stunning
film brings to life some of the themes of the Russian Revolution.
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Gandhi
- (1982) Directed by Richard Attenborough. Starring: Ben Kingsley
(as Gandhi). This winner of 9 academy awards (including
best picture and best actor) is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi.
Using the philosophy of non-violence (which influenced Martin Luther
King), Gandhi leads India in its quest for Independence from Britain.
Years earlier Britain had colonized India; that's why Indian people
speak English!
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The Great Dictator -
(1940) Written and directed by Charles Chaplin. Students will see
Chaplin portray Hitler and perform the famous dance of global
domination. There are also amusing scenes of Hitler and Mussolini
trying to upstage each other. I do not intend to offend anyone by
making light of these mass murderers. Scenes from this film are shown
on the Friday before winter
break, with the intention that students will remember these dictators
via
humor. This film was being made as Hitler invaded Poland and World War
II began. Chaplin thought about calling off the film as Hitler
controlled
Europe. Chaplin was ahead of his time in warning of the dangers of
Hitler,
as before WW II many people still did not perceive Hitler as a great
threat.
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Night and Fog -
(1955) This grisly 32 minute documentary about the Holocaust is hard to
watch at times. Filmed at the Nazi killing factory of Auschwitz 10
years after the war ended and the concentration camps were shut down.
The filmaker mixes footage of a quiet and serene Auschwitz with scenes
of live and dead Jews taken while the concentration camp was still in
operation. This is powerful film making and leaves the viewer with
unforgettable images of the horrors of the Holocaust.
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Schindlers
List - (1993) Directed by
Steven Speilberg. Starring: Liam Neeson (as Oskar Schindler), Ralph
Fiennes and Ben Kingsley (hey it's Gandhi). This film, which
won 7 academy awards, including best picture and best director, is
a ghastly depiction of the holocaust. Hitler's Nazi's executed millions
of Jews during WW II. Many were held in concentration camps where
they were tortured, experimented on, killed, and buried in mass graves
or cremated in ovens.
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The Right Stuff
- (1983) Directed by Phillip Kaufman. Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ed
Harris, Scott Glen, Sam Shepard. Winner of 4 Academy Awards in 1983,
and nominated for best picture, this film is about the early days of
the US space program. The US space program tries to keep up
with those darned Russians who have their own successful space program.
This is great cold war drama as the two post-WW II superpowers engage
in a space race.
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Dr.
Stranglove - (1964) Directed
by Stanley Kubrick. Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, James
Earl Jones. Yet another Stanley Kubrick film (Spartucus, Paths of
Glory). Kubrick is one of Mr. Moloney's favorite directors. This film
was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. It is a dark comedy about the cold
war in which the US and Russia face off and threaten to bomb each other
(and the rest of the world) to bits with ridiculously powerful nuclear
bombs.
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