Austrian peasant farmer Franz Jägerstätter, refuses to fight for the National Socialists in World War II despite every manner of pressure, torture, and abuse. Based on a true story. [ A Hidden Life credits: Dir: Terrence Malick / August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon/ 174 min/ Biography, Drama, Romance/ Resistance to Tyranny, Anti-Draft, Anti-War/ 2020] External … [Read more...]
The Price of Peace | Film Review
A documentary examination of how best to avoid war reveals that maintaining a strong defense, costly though it may be, is inescapably the price of peace. [Price of Peace credits: Dir: Kip Perry, Elan Bentov/ Johan Norberg/ 60 min/ Documentary/ Anti-war/ 2018] War is indeed the health of the State -- pretty much every war ends up stimulating a permanent expansion of … [Read more...]
American Umpire (2016)
A documentary examination of how the US became the world's policeman questions the cost and usefulness of taking up that role. [ American Umpire credits: Dir: James Shelley/ 58 min/ Documentary/ Anti-War] External Reviews "Compelling.” --Veterans News Now "American Umpire delivers an intriguing invitation to re-think America's role in the world." --Pacific Century … [Read more...]
Free State of Jones (2016)
A poor white farmer refuses to defend slave-owners, and leads an armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Based on a true story. [ Free State of Jones credits: Dir: Gary Ross/ Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali/ 139 min/ Action-Adventure, Biography/ Anti-Draft, Anti-War, Second Amendment] External Reviews "Libertarian ode to the free state that exists … [Read more...]
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987)
The story of the Vietnam War as told through actual letters written home by those who served. [ Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam credits: Dir: Bill Couturie/ 84 min/ Documentary-Educational/ Anti-War] Although this film doesn’t directly address libertarian objections to the Vietnam War—the draft, the lack of a declaration of war, the irrelevance of the war to … [Read more...]
White Nights (1985)
A plane crash in Siberia lands a Soviet defector in the hands of the KGB. Only with the help of an American defector will he escape. [ White Nights credits: Dir: Taylor Hackford/ Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Isabella Rossellini, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Page/ 135 min/ Thriller, Musical-Dance/ Escape from Socialism, Anti-War] “White Nights is one of my favorite … [Read more...]
The Killing Fields (1984)
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE: BEST PICTURE A New York Times correspondent and his Cambodian guide brave the dangers of war and socialist atrocity to report the truth, and to protect each other. Based on a true story. [ The Killing Fields credits: Dir: Roland Joffe/ Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich/ 141 min/ Action-Adventure/ Democide, Escape from Socialism, Free Press … [Read more...]
Gallipoli (1981)
Two naive and adventurous young friends enlist in Australia’s military, just in time to be sent far from home into one of the many ill-fated and pointless bloodbaths of World War I. [ Gallipoli credits: Dir: Peter Weir/ Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr/ 111 min/ Action-Adventure/ Australia/ Anti-War] “The film shows just how cheaply lives are spent once in the hands of … [Read more...]
Hair (1979)
A country boy on his way to Vietnam experiences the 1960s counterculture, and is inadvertently saved by it. [ Hair credits: Dir: Milos Forman/ Treat Williams, John Savage, Beverly D’Angelo/ 122 min/ Musical-Dance, Drama/ Anti-Draft, Anti-War] “Part flower-child musical, part social commentary, this is an often entertaining film, with good choreography and a sense of humor. … [Read more...]
No Drums, No Bugles (1971)
A young man hides out in the hills of West Virginia to evade the draft during the American Civil War. [ No Drums, No Bugles credits: Dir: Clyde Ware/ Martin Sheen/ 85 min/ Drama/ Anti-Draft, Anti-War] No trailer available. This story of one man’s self-concealment from the law is a sympathetic portrayal of a draft-evader and a strong antiwar statement as well. It doesn’t do … [Read more...]