10 Best Political Movies Of All Time

On the surface, Citizen Kane does not appear to be a broad political film. However, under the surface, it is hard to identify anything in the film that isn't connected to political power.

Much the same as how Rupert Murdoch's media empire once influenced the results of elections all over the world, Charles Foster Kane's media empire is as much about the pursuit of political power as any seen in the modern world.

There are no words left in any language to describe Orson Welles's film. The best ever? Probably. The standard set for achievement in filmmaking? Absolutely.

Kane is based around the retelling of the life of Charles Foster Kane and the mystery of his last words 'Rosebud', from the point-of-view of those who knew him best. It becomes clear as the film winds on that Kane's power over the United States and its citizens is absolute, they read what he wants them to read, and it is only through his opponent's dealings with the mob that Kane isn't successful in his own hopes of being an elected official.

The scene in which he negotiates his political career and the scandal with opponent Jim Gettys in the apartment of his mistress, and in the company of his wife is stunning.

Kane may be a film of many facets that can never really be nailed down to one or another, but it cannot be said that it isn't a political film. Therefore, as a political film that gives an introspective on private power over public institutions, it belongs firmly where it has sat on just about every best film list since it's re-release in the mid-50's, at the top.