Election season is in the air and Turner Classic Movies is here to celebrate. Starting on September 6 and continuing every Friday up until this year’s general election, TCM will be running a nine-week limited series entitled “Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time.” This cinematic showcase is inspired by The New Republic rankings released in June 2023 and includes selections such as “All the King’s Men,” “Germany, Year Zero,” and “High and Low.”
To introduce the upcoming series, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz took to Washington D.C. for a trailer highlighting some of the films featured, as well as special guests like Stacey Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and John Turturro.
“I grew up here in Washington D.C.,” Mankiewicz said, the Capitol Building behind him. “My father’s life was politics — capital P politics. Though I went in a different direction, I understood at an early age, politics intersects with everything — culture, business, Hollywood. So it’s no surprise that the movies have always reflected the political climate. To predict it. To parody it. To challenge it.”
“Making Change” covers half of the films in The New Republic rankings, but many are also present on IndieWire’s Best Films for our Current Political Moment selection and our curation of the Best American Political Thrillers. The full schedule for the limited series, as well as guests and ranking of each film on The New Republic’s list can be found below.
Friday, September 6 – Night One
8:00 PM The Battle of Algiers (1966) (co-hosted by Michael Tomasky)
10:15 PM All the King’s Men (1949) (Steven Spielberg — #59)
12:15 AM The Great Dictator (1940) (John Turturro — #26)
2:30 AM Fail Safe (1964) (#99)
4:30 AM Ivan the Terrible: Part Two (1958) (#85)
6:00 AM Salt of the Earth (1954) (#31)
Friday, September 13 – Night Two
8:00 PM Reds (1981) (Bill Maher – #41)
11:30 PM The Parallax View (1974) (Kyle Smith — #47)
1:30 AM Germany, Year Zero (1948) (Alexander Payne — #97)
3:00 AM Gabriel Over the White House (1933) (#30)
4:30 AM The Battleship Potemkin (1925) (#7)
6:00 AM The Fog of War (2003) (#56)
Friday, September 20 – Night Three
8:00 PM Dr. Strangelove (1964) (Spike Lee — #3)
9:45 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) (Stacey Abrams — #11)
12:15 AM Hearts and Minds (1974) (Phil Mattingly — #39)
2:15 AM The Lives of Others (2006) (#19)
4:45 AM Born in Flames (1983) (#43)
6:15 AM Bicycle Thieves (1948) (#52)
Friday, September 27 – Night Four
8:00 PM Three Days of the Condor (1975) (Maureen Dowd — #72)
10:15 PM I Am Not Your Negro (2016) (Sara Sidner — #58)
12:00 AM The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) (Melissa Etheridge — #88)
1:30 AM The Last Hurrah (1958) (#57)
3:45 AM Night of the Living Dead (1968) (#35)
5:15 AM The Tin Drum (1979) (#92)
Friday, October 4 – Night Five
8:00 PM The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) (Sally Field — #81)
10:00 PM The Best Man (1964) (Josh Mankiewicz — #69)
12:00 AM I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) (Sec. Lonnie Bunch III — #95)
1:45 AM City Hall (1996) (#80)
3:45 AM Strike (1924) (#25)
5:15 AM High and Low (1963) (#84)
Friday, October 11 – Night Six
8:00 PM A Face in the Crowd (1957) (Barry Levinson — #10)
10:15 PM Wag the Dog (1997) (Diane Lane — #54)
12:00 AM The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) (Abby Phillip — #37)
1:45 AM JFK (1991) (#34)
5:00 AM Z (1969) (#15)
7:15 AM Night and Fog (1956) (#21)
Friday, October 18 – Night Seven
8:00 PM The Birth of a Nation (1915) (Jamelle Bouie — #5)
11:30 PM Lincoln (2012) (Hon. Robert M. Gates — #24)
2:15 AM Malcolm X (1992) (#22)
6:00 AM Primary (1960) (#38)
Friday, October 25 – Night Eight
8:00 PM All the President’s Men (1976) (Steven Spielberg — #4)
10:30 PM Citizen Kane (1941) (Frank Luntz — #33)
12:45 AM Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) (Lizzie Borden — #36)
4:15 AM Olympia Part One: Festival of Nations (1938) (#86)
6:15 AM Olympia Part Two: Beauty of the Festival (1938) (#86)
Friday, November 1 – Night Nine
8:00 PM Being There (1979) (Andy Garcia — #71)
10:30 PM The Candidate (1972) (Kaitlan Collins — #20)
12:30 AM Harlan County USA (1976) (Lee Grant — #12)
2:15 AM The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (#2)
4:00 AM Weekend (1967) (#94)
Watch the trailer for “Making Change” below.
