Let's get Philosophical
A list of my favorite philosophical movies (mostly, but not limited to pure fiction), probably forever a work in progress. Characters striving for truth and wisdom, overcoming obstacles for what they believe is right -- and rightous or sometimes just amazing and beautiful.
List activity
24 views
- 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
30 titles
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsBruno LawrenceAlison RoutledgePete SmithA scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
- DirectorTom TykwerLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsTom HanksHalle BerryHugh GrantAn exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
- DirectorScott DerricksonStarsKeanu ReevesJennifer ConnellyKathy BatesA remake of the 1951 classic science fiction film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorMei HuStarsChow Yun-FatXun ZhouJianbin ChenThe life story of the highly-influential Chinese philosopher, Confucius.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesBrent SpinerThe Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
- DirectorJohn HuddlesStarsJames D'ArcySophie LoweDaryl SabaraAt an international school in Jakarta, a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsGregory PeckRichard BasehartLeo GennThe sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleJosé LewgoyThe story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.I must say -- this movie is epic, and great, but like all movies starring Klaus Kinski it also is a pain in the a. Somehow deep and annoyingly strenous at the same time. For those who are interested in human hybris and who a real movie afficionados: by all means, watch it. And also the making off. But -- I say that with a warning on the label.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsJosef BierbichlerStefan GüttlerClemens ScheitzThe foreman of a small village glassworks dies without revealing the secret to the famous "Ruby Glass".
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruce SpenceWandjuk MarikaRoy MarikaA geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsJason RobardsJoBeth WilliamsSteve GuttenbergThe effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsJouko AholaTim RothAnna GourariA Jewish strongman performs in Berlin as the blond Aryan hero Siegfried.
- DirectorMark RosmanStarsPeter CoyoteHuckleberry FoxArt CarneyHave you ever thought of traveling through time, going forward or backward to any date? That's the intriguing question aviator and inventor Max Knickerbocker asks Jonathan Knicks. Max is unaware that Jonathan is his grandson, already an adventurous time traveller, thanks to a machine built by his neighbor, Henry Coogan. Can Jonathan save his grandfather from a fatal solo flight across the Atlantic and alter the course of history?
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.According to Tibetan Buddhist friends in Hawai'i a rather historically accurate account of the story of the Dalai Lama and the occupation of Tibet. Very deep. Very sad. Very meaningful and stunningly filmed. Must see.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Do I have to comment on Gandhi? Gandhi duly speaks for himself. Grandiose! And it really happened. One of the must see movies of all time.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaElisabeth ShueRecently relocated from NJ to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. When Mr. Miyagi saves him with expert Karate skills, Daniel convinces him to teach him to defend himself, and put his bullies in their place.What is that doing here? Admitted: it mostly is kitchen philosophy, but often we need JUST THAT to carry through. I had a Martial Arts Master names Chung Yong Seok who, when I was in highschool, basically was my lifeline, together with my friends at his school. Their Korean Christmas parties (with totally incredible food cooked by Mrs. Chung with our mennial help) were legend! The nice thing: a quarter century later, we can still go there. No questions asked. Different cultures, eating together, joking about each other without harm. It's possible!
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.Another cultural clash. When I first saw that movie I was Elliot's age. Now I'm a run-down scientist older than keys, the big guy with the keys on his belt. Back then I found him scary. But I now know: Keys would NEVER have harmed ET. No way! But there are other people out there...
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.Loosely based upon the NAZI time German Explorer's Heinrich Harrers autobiography. Beautifully filmed with Bratt Pitt at, imho, at his best. According to a friend in Austria, who was Herrer's neighbor, the historicity is questionable at best, but the movie is marvelous. The meeting of two cultures, to totally opposed world's of thinking, and yet -- Humanism is a Western outgrowth and not all that far away from Buddhism.