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1980s Political Drama Movies

Public list by WPS with 30 movies or TV shows/series

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30 movies found (page 1/1):

Nineteen Eighty-Four(1984)

3.4/5 (with 641 votes)

George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

Danton(1983)

2h 16min | Drama, History
3.4/5 (with 70 votes)

Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.

The Killing Fields(1984)

2h 22min | Drama, History, War
3.8/5 (with 310 votes)

New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg is on assignment covering the Cambodian Civil War, with the help of local interpreter Dith Pran and American photojournalist Al Rockoff. When the U.S. Army pulls out amid escalating violence, Schanberg makes exit arrangements for Pran and his family. Pran, however, tells Schanberg he intends to stay in Cambodia to help cover the unfolding story — a decision he may regret as the Khmer Rouge rebels move in.

The Official Story(1985)

1h 52min | Drama, History
3.8/5 (with 79 votes)

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1983. In the last and turbulent days of the military dictatorship, Alicia, a high school history teacher, begins to ask uncomfortable questions about the dark origins of Gaby, her adopted daughter.

Kiss of the Spider Woman(1985)

2h | Drama
3.6/5 (with 120 votes)

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

Mephisto(1981)

2h 25min | Drama
3.6/5 (with 53 votes)

A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and friends flee or are ground under by the Nazi terror, the popularity of his character supercedes his own existence until he finds that his best performance is keeping up appearances for his Nazi patrons.

Scandal(1989)

3.0/5 (with 36 votes)

An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his contacts and parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. Eventually a scandal occurs when her affair with the Minister of War goes public, threatening their lifestyles and their freedom.

The Honorary Consul(1983)

2.8/5 (with 21 votes)

Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.

Cal(1984)

3.1/5 (with 13 votes)

Cal, a young man on the fringes of the IRA, falls in love with Marcella, a Catholic woman whose husband, a Protestant policeman, was killed one year earlier by the IRA.

Night of the Pencils(1986)

1h 45min | Drama
3.5/5 (with 28 votes)

The Night of the Pencils was a series of kidnappings and forced disappearances, followed by the torture, rape, and murder of a number of young students during the last Argentine dictatorship (known as the National Reorganization Process). The kidnappings took place over the course of several days beginning on September 16, 1976.

A World Apart(1988)

1h 53min | Drama
3.3/5 (with 10 votes)

A White enclave in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 1960s. Molly Roth, 13 years old, is the daughter of leftist parents, and she must piece together what's happening around her when her father disappears one night, barely evading arrest, and, not long after, her mother is detained by the authorities. Some of Molly's White friends turn against her, and her family's friendships with Blacks take on new meaning. Relationships are fragile in the world of apartheid. How will she manage?

El Norte(1983)

2h 21min | Drama
3.6/5 (with 27 votes)

Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.

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Eleni(1985)

1h 54min | Drama, History
3.2/5 (with 6 votes)

Nick is a writer in New York when he gets posted to a bureau in Greece. He has waited 30 years for this. He wants to know why his mother was killed in the civil war years earlier. In a parallel plot line we see Nick as a young boy and his family as they struggle to survive in the occupied Greek hillside. The plot lines converge as Nick's investigations bring him closer to the answers.

'38 - Vienna Before the Fall(1986)

1h 37min | Drama
3.1/5 (with 5 votes)

The film presents the political events surrounding the Anschluss in March of 1938 through the lives of Carola Hell, a popular young actress at the prestigious Theater in der Josefstadt, and Martin Hofmann, the Jewish journalist she plans to marry. When we encounter the couple in the lovely springtime weather their future is full of promise. They are determined to stay clear of politics. Yet in the climate of the time, nobody of her prominence or his religion can remain apolitical. Although Martin's journalist friend, Drechsler, calls to inform them that the Nazis plan to take over Austria soon, they concentrate on their work and their private happiness and dismiss the warnings.

The Final Days(1989)

2h 30min | History, TV Movie, Drama
4.0/5 (with 1 vote)

The Final Days concerns itself with the final months of the Richard Nixon presidency.

Circle of Deceit(1981)

1h 48min | Drama, War
3.0/5 (with 10 votes)

Georg Laschen leaves his family in West Germany to go work as a war correspondent in Beirut during the fights between Christians and Palestinians.

Hidden City(1987)

1h 48min | Thriller, Mystery
3.0/5 (with 1 vote)

Cassies Stuart leads the uncooperative Charles Dance into a world of misplaces government secrets, capalistic artists and bungling secret agents. Will the truth be out, or will the attempts of agents suppress the truth hidden within government propaganda films, classified as top secret by complete mistake, be successful. Or is it the mysterious medical records that are the true catch of the spies.

Esther(1986)

1h 37min | Drama
2.9/5 (with 2 votes)

Ahasverus, king of Persia and Media, puts aside Vashti and makes Esther his queen, choosing her among maidens in a kingdom stretching from India to Ethiopia. Esther, using information from Mordecai, her uncle and patron, saves the king from assassination. Haman, the king's favorite, is miffed when Mordecai won't bow to him, so he orders death to all Jews in the kingdom, under the seal of the king. Esther pleads for her people, and Mordecai is in turn given license to make his own edict under the king's seal. Mordecai loses sight of his original intention, and bloody murder ensues. Purim annually celebrates the story. At the end of the film, the actors comment.

Directed by Amos Gitai - With David Cohen, Juliano Mer-Khamis, Mohammad Bakri, Shmuel Wolf

Unaru(1984)

2h 21min | Drama

Social drama realistically traces the trials and travails in the life of sincere men from impoverished backgrounds, who find themselves unable to get employment due to the stranglehold of powerful trade unions in Kerala.

Directed by Mani Ratnam - With Mohanlal, Sukumaran, Ratheesh, Balan K. Nair, Unni Mary

Avam(1987)

2h 36min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

Indian Army Captain Amar Kumar lives with his father, Ram, and mother, Saraswati. Ram has been associated with top freedom fighters during India's struggle for independence from the British. Almost all of these freedom fighters had taken advantage of their involvement and have taken up important positions in India's administration, and these include Jagrathan, and Mohanlal. While others like Vaisakh Ansari and Ram have chosen not to.

Thanneer Thanneer(1981)

2h 23min | Drama

A small village in Tamil Nadu faces water scarcity. The film highlights the plight of the villagers and the sufferings they endure at the hands of bureaucrats when they try to resolve their problem.

Achamillai Achamillai(1984)

2h 40min | Drama
3.3/5 (with 1 vote)

Achamillai Achamillai is a 1984 Indian Tamil language political satire film directed by K. Balachander. It stars Rajesh and Saritha in the lead with Pavithra, Delhi Ganesh and Charle in other prominent roles. The film deals with party switching and depicts its influence on the lives of small-time politicians. The film met with critical acclaim, winning three awards at the 32nd Filmfare Awards South, as well as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

The Man with the Carnation(1980)

2h 5min | History, Drama
3.0/5 (with 4 votes)

The story of Nikos Belogiannis member of the communist party and officer of Ellas that has come back to Greece only to get arrested, tried for espionage on behalf of Russia and executed.

Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar(1984)

2h 37min

Ram Avtar, a barber in a small village, comes from a poor family, widowed, but has his wife's sister, Sushma, looking after him and his kids. Ram Avtar cuts, shaves, and grooms all males in his village, including Minister Digvijay Singh. When Digvijay's political party is in need of someone to stand in the forthcoming election, Digvijay recommends Ram Avtar as his choice. Ram Avtar accepts this challenge, and then begins the race of getting votes. To his surprise, he wins, and goes on to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Sushma watches from the sidelines as to how the changes affect this simple-minded and straight-forward barber.

The Debt(1988)

1h 35min | Drama, War
3.7/5 (with 3 votes)

- No description / details available yet. -

Directed by Miguel Pereira - With Juan José Camero, Gonzalo Morales, Ana María González

En Thamizh En Makkal(1988)

- No description / details available yet. -

Berlin-Jerusalem(1989)

1h 29min | Drama
2.5/5 (with 3 votes)

Two interconnected stories in the 1930s, one set in Berlin, the other in Palestine: Mania Vilbouchevich Shohat (1880-1961), called Tania, a Russian Jew and revolutionary, goes from Minsk to Palestine to live on a collective. She promotes feminism and laments a shift in the men from self-defense to aggression. Her friend, Else Lasker-Schuler (1869 - 1945), expressionist poet and German Jew, is in Berlin, writing, caring for her son, watching Hitler's movement take power. She goes to Jerusalem and imagines a park for Arab and Jew. Her poems, voiced from within, capture her experience. The film meditates on the violence at the root of Israel's birth: of the Nazis and of the Zionists.

Vicharana(1988)

1h 57min | Thriller, Drama
2.5/5 (with 1 vote)

The story is about the problems faced by a lawyer in his personal, social and professional lives when he undertakes the murder case of a trade union leader in which his brother-in-law is the main accused.

Directed by Sibi Malayil - With Mammootty

Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación(1984)

1h 45min | Drama, History
2.3/5 (with 1 vote)

Historical film that focuses on political and social events took place in Argentina during the beginning of the 30s. Santafecino Deputy Lisandro de la Torre complaint in Congress Argentine meat business with England.

Boycott(1986)

1h 35min | Drama
2.4/5 (with 3 votes)

Valeh, a member of a leftist organization, is arrested by the SAVAK and sentenced to death. In prison, he reconsiders his relationships with members of his political cell, and begins to doubt the validity of the ideas for which he is condemned. At the same time, his comrades pressure him to make a sacrifice for their cause, and his beloved wife experiences personal problems and economic hardships.

Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf - With Majid Majidi
WatchPlayStream ID: LISTS:1173