Need some quick gift ideas for that special libertarian friend? Here are twelve films currently for sale on DVD for less than $10 at Amazon.
Richard Jewell
Security guard Richard Jewell saves hundreds of lives from an exploding pipe bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, only to be railroaded as the prime suspect by an incompetent FBI and cynical press. Based on a true story. [ Richard Jewell credits: Dir: Clint Eastwood/ Paul Walter Hauser, Kathy Bates, Sam Rockwell/ 131 min/ Drama/ Incompetent government, Government as bigot, Law & liberty, Working for government/ 2019]
“Richard Jewell is an engaging, at times heart-wrenching film, and an act of justice — one might even say vengeance.”
–MissLiberty
“Richard Jewell is a study, not a diatribe, about runaway media and FBI agents victimizing an innocent man. Paul Walter Hauser commands the screen as the security guard falsely accused of the 1996 Olympics bombing in Atlanta.”
–Chicago Sun-Times
“Yes, this is a great movie, and a magnificent centerpiece performance by an unknown actor named Paul Walter Hauser in the title role is a major reason it is so unforgettable.”
–Observer
Footloose
The new kid in a small town leads a high-school rebellion against the town’s anti-dancing law. [Dir: Craig Brewer/ Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid/ 113 min/ Drama, Musical-Dance/ Government Enforced Morality]
“[In Footloose ] the town passed ordinances enforcing a curfew on minors and outlawing public dancing. Alas, the town’s officials and even its pastor – played by Dennis Quaid with nary a twinkle – weren’t up on their Genesis, or else they would have realized: As soon as you tell people what they absolutely must not do, that’s all they want to do.”
–SFGate
Still Mine
WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
When a rural farmer builds a new home as a kindness to his ailing wife, a government bureaucrat threatens to tear it down for building code violations. Based on a true story. [Dir: Michael McGowan/ James Cromwell, Ronan Rees, Geneviève Bujold/ 102 min/ Drama/ Anti-regulation, Individualism]
“This film is notable as well for telling the love story of an elderly couple; in this age of hard-bodied youthful Hollywood stars, you don’t see that very often. And the story works, frankly far better and with more honesty than many cinematic teenage romps, thanks the excellent casting of James Cromwell in the lead and Geneviève Bujold as his memory-impaired wife. There is something a bit “made-for-TV” about the film in terms of production values, but you forget all that in the context–the picture of two people facing the fading light of age with dignity, resolve, and a kind of poignant understated heroism. Tears were shed at the end, both on screen…and off.”
–MissLiberty.com
Currently on Amazon for $9.88 | Great DVD pick for a date night!
How Jack Became Black
WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN DOCUMENTARIES
A father forced by the public school system to categorize his multiracial children by “primary race” explores the silliness of racial identity. [ How Jack Became Black credits: Dir: Eli Steele/ 96 min/ Documentary/ Equality & Law, Individualism/ 2018]
“There is a growing group in this country who feel that they cannot be simply placed into one racial category. Yet, what if that is exactly what society is trying to make them do? This is a battle we see taking place in the new documentary How Jack Became Black.”
–The Black Geeks
Harvey
WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
A woman tries to have her eccentric brother institutionalized. [ Harvey credits: Dir: Henry Koster/ James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake/ 104 min/ Comedy/ Psychiatry & Force, Social Tolerance]
“A well written story full of good will and humor that implicitly defends the freedom of eccentrics to be eccentric.”
–MissLiberty.com
Don Juan Demarco
A young man’s romantic delusion renews his psychiatrist’s passion for life. [Dir: Jeremy Leven/ Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway/ 92 min/ Romance, Comedy/ Psychiatry & Force, Individualism]
“A romantic film in every sense of the word: it’s about love, about making an adventure of life, and about the liberating effect that such an imaginative attitude has on people.”
–MissLiberty.com
Currently on Amazon for $8.99 | Great DVD pick for a date night!
Padman
An heroic and independent entrepreneur creates a low-cost sanitary pad for the world’s poor, but must overcome cultural shame associated with menstruation to get his invention accepted. Based on a true story. [ Pad Man credits: Dir: R. Balki/ Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, Sonam Kapoor/ 140 min/ Biography, Comedy, Drama/ Creator-as-Hero, Individualism/ India/ 2018/ aka Padman ]
“This is a wonderful story of entrepreneurial determination and has many pro-capitalism touches. Pad Man is also a love story, and a story about overcoming shame, and a sweet, colorful film. It’s an engaging window into Indian life, not only what it is today, but how it is evolving in the context of India’s burgeoning capitalist economy. Some say praise for Muruganantham in this film goes over the top, but that an enthusiastic tribute was made about an entrepreneur at all – I haven’t seen one lately from US film studios – says something very good about India.”
–MissLiberty.com
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER: BEST PICTURE (2003)
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE: BEST PICTURE (2001, 2002)
A small band of heroes embark on a journey to destroy an all-powerful ring before its evil conjurer can use it to enslave the world. [ Lord of the Rings credits: Dir: Peter Jackson/ Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen/ 178min/ Fantasy/ Power Corrupts]
“Libertarians will appreciate the ‘power corrupts’ theme as well as the portrayal of the central hero–Frodo, a wide-eyed ‘Hobbit’ (a small elfin creature) admirably played by Elijah Woods. Small and elfin though he may be, he rises to the task of keeping the world free. As so often in real life, the great battles between good and evil, between freedom and slavery, are not won or lost solely in contests of giants, but in the incremental deeds of those ordinary heroes to whom the torch falls.”
–MissLiberty.com
Logan’s Run
Two citizens of a twenty-third century automated welfare state reveal the lie on which their static society is based, and so destroy it. [Dir: Michael Anderson/ Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Peter Ustinov/ 120 min/ SciFi-Fantasy, Action-Adventure/ Democide]
“An imaginative and sometimes exciting story, marked by memorable performances by Michael York and Peter Ustinov.”
–MissLiberty.com
Currently on Amazon for $5.99 | Great DVD pick for classic sci-fi fans!
Tank
An Army sergeant uses his own Sherman tank to rescue his son from a corrupt local sheriff and make a run for the state border. [ Tank credits: Dir: Marvin J. Chomsky/ James Garner, G.D. Spradlin, C. Thomas Howell/ 113 min/ Action-Adventure/ Corrupt Government, Second Amendment]
“A generally satisfying chase film with a libertarian twist.”
–MissLiberty.com
Currently on Amazon for $9.69 | Great DVD pick for a family movie night!
Sons of Liberty
A group of young men–Sam Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren–secretly join together to oppose British domination, and end up sparking the American Revolution. [Dir: Kari Skogland/ Ben Barnes, Marton Csokas, Ryan Eggold/ 87 min/ Drama, History/ American Revolution, Resistance to Tyranny]
“Sons of Liberty is really the first good cinematic update in nearly 60 years to the story of America’s founding. And that’s what makes this History Channel production so important—it breathes new life into the story of the Revolution, by dramatizing it in terms not just accessible but engaging, even one might say sexy.”
–MissLiberty.com
Currently on Amazon for $9.99 | Great DVD pick for July 4th celebrations!
Fahrenheit 451
WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
In a future time when books are banned, a secret underground preserves the world’s literature. [ Fahrenheit 451 credits: Dir: François Truffaut/ Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack/ 112 min/ SciFi-Fantasy, Drama/ Freedom of Speech]
“Fahrenheit 451 is a wonderful Ray Bradbury story, and its antiauthoritarian content will make it of very strong interest to libertarians. Truffaut’s telling of this story is Hitchcockian at times, and seems all the more so supported, as it is, by an excellent Bernard Hermann musical score.”
–MissLiberty.com