10 Best Political Movies Of All Time

10. Lincoln

When Steven Spielberg finally got round to making his film about the 16th President of the United States, amid several casting changes and date shift along the way, he delivered something special.

Over the years Spielberg has become corporate and has been accused by some of not being the Director he once was, in this he dispelled those critics with a powerful message about unity and compassion. Tony Kushner was wise to write a script that focused only on the latter period of Lincoln's life and his abolishment of slavery in the US. In doing so, it keeps the narrative tight and fast-paced without slipping into idealism.

Of course, for a film like this to work you need a great cast, with Sally Field, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, and countless others, the film had a brilliant shot at being as authentic and real as could be.

However, none of it would have worked without its Commander-In-Chief being the dominating force throughout, step up Daniel Day-Lewis. The greatest actor of the modern era, and one of the greatest of all time, he simply forms Lincoln before your very eyes in a fully realised depiction of a man, not a myth.

Lincoln's commitment to showing the ugly parts to both its eponymous character and to the era for which it is set is admirable and sets the tone for what is a brilliant movie about getting rid of America's original sin.