The Best Political Conspiracy Films Of All-Time
“What are the best movies about Political Conspiracies?” We looked at 97 of the top Political Conspiracy films and ranked them so we could answer that very question!
The top 17 films, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Political Conspiracy” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 50+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 17 Best Political Conspiracy Movies
17 .) Conspiracy Theory’ (1997)
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- Joblo
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
16 .) Marathon Man
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- IFC
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
15 .) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinelinx
- Ranker
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed to the United States Senate by the puppet governor of his state. He soon discovers, upon going to Washington, many shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys’ camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss.
14 .) No Way Out (1987)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- IFC
Navy Lt. Tom Farrell meets a young woman, Susan Atwell , and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice, is also romantically involved with Atwell. When the young woman turns up dead, Farrell is put in charge of the murder investigation. He begins to uncover shocking clues about the case, but when details of his encounter with Susan surface, he becomes a suspect as well.
13 .) They Live
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Joblo
Nada, a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
12 .) Wag the Dog (1997)
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- Ranker
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President’s adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
11 .) Winter Kills (1979)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- io9
19 years after President Timothy Keegan was assassinated, his brother Nick discovers a dying man claiming to have been the gunman. While trying to avoid his wealthy and domineering father’s attempts to control his actions, Nick follows the clues that have been handed to him. As he progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern the real trails from the dead ends, and increasing dangerous as unknown parties try to stop Nick from uncovering the truth.
10 .) Z (1969)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinelinx
- Den Of Geek
Repression is the rule of the day in this film that skewers Greek governance of the 1960s. Z, a leftist rabble rouser, is killed in what appears to be a traffic accident. But given the political climate, the death of such a prominent activist raises troubling questions. Though it’s too late to save Z’s life, a postmortem examination suggests that the ruling party was behind his death. As the facts leak out, those who tell the truth pay the price for their honesty.
9 .) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Lists It Appears On:
- Fandango
- IFC
- Joblo
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
8 .) Seven Days In May (1964)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- Fandango
- Thought Co
A U.S. Army general alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
7 .) The Conversation (1974)
Lists It Appears On:
- IFC
- io9
- Thought Co
Surveillance expert Harry Caul is hired by a mysterious client’s brusque aide to tail a young couple. Tracking the pair through San Francisco’s Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.
6 .) JFK (1991)
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Fandango
- Joblo
- Ranker
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there’s more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
5 .) The X-Files (1998)
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Fandango
- Joblo
- The Guardian
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI’s X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
4 .) The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cinelinx
- Fandango
- Joblo
- Ranker
- Thought Co
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.
3 .) All the President’s Men (1976)
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Cinelinx
- Fandango
- IFC
- io9
- Joblo
- Ranker
- Thought Co
In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
2 .) The Parallax View (1974)
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Cinelinx
- Den Of Geek
- Fandango
- IFC
- io9
- Joblo
- Thought Co
An ambitious reporter, investigating a senator’s assassination, realizes witnesses to the shooting are systematically dying and discovers a multi-million dollar corporation which serves as a front for the recruitment of political assassins.
1 .) Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Lists It Appears On:
- AMC
- Cinelinx
- Fandango
- IFC
- io9
- Joblo
- Ranker
- Thought Co
A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
The 50+ Additional Best Political Conspiracy Movies
| # | Movies | Lists |
| 18 | A Clockwork Orange | Ranker |
| 19 | A Very British Coup (1988) | The Guardian |
| 20 | All the King’s Men | Ranker |
| 21 | American History X | Ranker |
| 22 | BALIBO: | Mad Man |
| 23 | Being There | Ranker |
| 24 | Blow Out | IFC |
| 25 | Braveheart | Ranker |
| 26 | Breach (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 27 | Capricorn One’ (1978) | Fandango |
| 28 | Charlie Wilson’s War | Ranker |
| 29 | CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER: | Mad Man |
| 30 | Cutter’s Way (1981) | io9 |
| 31 | Deterrence (1999) | Den Of Geek |
| 32 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Ranker |
| 33 | Edge of Darkness (1985) | The Guardian |
| 34 | Edward S. Herman | Mad Man |
| 35 | ENDGAME: | Mad Man |
| 36 | Enemy of the State’ (1998) | Fandango |
| 37 | Executive Action (1973) | io9 |
| 38 | Fail Safe (1964) | Den Of Geek |
| 39 | Frost/Nixon | Ranker |
| 40 | Gandhi | Ranker |
| 41 | Good Guys Wear Black (1978) | io9 |
| 42 | Gorky Park (1983) | Den Of Geek |
| 43 | Hotel Rwanda | Ranker |
| 44 | Illustrious Corpses/Cadaveri Eccellenti (1976) | Den Of Geek |
| 45 | In the Line of Fire (1993) | Cinelinx |
| 46 | IN THE LOOP: | Mad Man |
| 47 | In the Name of the Father | Ranker |
| 48 | Judgment at Nuremberg | Ranker |
| 49 | Klute | AMC |
| 50 | Lawrence of Arabia | Ranker |
| 51 | MANUFACTURING CONSENT: | Mad Man |
| 52 | Michael Clayton | AMC |
| 53 | Milk | Ranker |
| 54 | Minority Report | IFC |
| 55 | Mississippi Burning | Ranker |
| 56 | Notorious (1948) | Cinelinx |
| 57 | POWER AND TERROR – NOAM CHOMSKY: | Mad Man |
| 58 | PRISONERS OF WAR: | Mad Man |
| 59 | Rendition (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 60 | Rubicon (2010) | The Guardian |
| 61 | Schindler’s List | Ranker |
| 62 | Shadow Dancer (2012) | Den Of Geek |
| 63 | SPOTLIGHT | Joblo |
| 64 | State of Play (2003) | The Guardian |
| 65 | TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE: | Mad Man |
| 66 | Telefon (1977) | io9 |
| 67 | The Amateur (1981) | Den Of Geek |
| 68 | The Anderson Tapes | Thought Co |
| 69 | The Andromeda Strain | Thought Co |
| 70 | The Bourne Series | IFC |
| 71 | The China Syndrome | Thought Co |
| 72 | THE COMPANY YOU KEEP: | Mad Man |
| 73 | The Day of the Jackal (1973) | Cinelinx |
| 74 | The Debt/Ha-Hov (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 75 | The Devil’s Double (2011) | Den Of Geek |
| 76 | The Domino Principle (1977) | io9 |
| 77 | THE GATEKEEPERS: | Mad Man |
| 78 | The Ghost Writer (2010) | Den Of Geek |
| 79 | The Great Dictator | Ranker |
| 80 | The Insider | AMC |
| 81 | The Package (1989) | Den Of Geek |
| 82 | The Prisoner (1967 – 1968) | The Guardian |
| 83 | The Queen | Ranker |
| 84 | The Recruit (2003) | Den Of Geek |
| 85 | THE SHOOTER: | Mad Man |
| 86 | The Shooter/Skytten (2013) | Den Of Geek |
| 87 | The Siege (1998) | Den Of Geek |
| 88 | THE SILENT WAR: | Mad Man |
| 89 | THE WAR ROOM: | Mad Man |
| 90 | The Wave/Die Welle (2008) | Den Of Geek |
| 91 | THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND: | Mad Man |
| 92 | The Whistleblower (2010) | Den Of Geek |
| 93 | Traitor (2008) | Den Of Geek |
| 94 | Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) | Den Of Geek |
| 95 | Unthinkable (2010) | Den Of Geek |
| 96 | V for Vendetta | Ranker |
| 97 | Zero Dark Thirty (2012) | Cinelinx |
11 Best Political Conspiracy Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| AMC | Blogs – The Top Ten Conspiracy Movies Will Have You Thinking They |
| Cinelinx | Ten Best Political Thrillers |
| Den Of Geek | 25 Underrated Political Thrillers |
| Fandango | 12 Great Government Conspiracies on Film |
| IFC | 10 Paranoid Conspiracy Thrillers Worth Investigating |
| io9 | 10 Most Essential 1970s Conspiracy Thrillers |
| Joblo | Top 10 Movies About Conspiracy Theories |
| Mad Man | The 16 Political Thrillers You Need To See |
| Ranker | The Best Political Films Ever Made |
| The Guardian | Six to watch: conspiracy thrillers |
| Thought Co | Paranoid Thrillers – Great Conspiracy Thriller Movies |
