100 Favorite Military, Legal & Political Thrillers
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- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJames StewartLee RemickBen GazzaraAn upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsSean ConneryTrevor HowardVivien MerchantA burnt-out British police detective finally snaps whilst interrogating a suspected child molester.
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsGérard DepardieuRoman PolanskiSergio RubiniOnoff is a famous writer who hasn't published any new books for quite some time and has become a recluse. When he is picked up by the police one stormy night, without any identification, out of breath and running madly, without clear memory of recent events, the Inspector is suspicious. Through interrogatory dialectic, the head of this lonely, isolated, broken-down police station tries to establish what has happened, by delving into the mind of his writer-hero, and clearing up a mysterious killing.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsNicolas CageEthan HawkeJared LetoAn arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanLaurence OlivierRoy ScheiderAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittShailene WoodleyMelissa LeoThe NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsDiane KeatonYorgo VoyagisKlaus KinskiAn American actress with a penchant for lying is forcibly recruited by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, to trap a Palestinian bomber, by pretending to be the girlfriend of his dead brother.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsJon VoightMaximilian SchellMaria SchellFollowing the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, a journalist in possession of the man's diary investigates the alleged sighting of a former S.S. Captain, who commanded a concentration camp during World War II.
- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsRicardo DarínSoledad VillamilPablo RagoA retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsFrank SinatraLaurence HarveyJanet LeighAn American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsEric BanaDaniel CraigMarie-Josée CrozeAfter the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPaul NewmanJulie AndrewsLila KedrovaAn American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin before planning an escape back to the West.
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsClive OwenNaomi WattsArmin Mueller-StahlAn Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsHenry FondaVera MilesAnthony QuayleIn 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsEdward FoxTerence AlexanderMichel AuclairIn the aftermath of France allowing Algeria's independence, a group of resentful military veterans hire a professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" to kill President Charles de Gaulle.
- DirectorIsrael Adrián CaetanoStarsRodrigo de la SernaPablo EcharriNazareno CaseroThe goalkeeper of a little-known soccer team is kidnapped by a Argentinean government squad and sent to a detention center. After months of torture, he plots his escape with three other young men.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsGene HackmanWillem DafoeFrances McDormandTwo F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMatthew McConaugheySandra BullockSamuel L. JacksonIn Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorTony GilroyStarsGeorge ClooneyTilda SwintonTom WilkinsonA law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsJeremy IronsGlenn CloseRon SilverWealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsKevin SpaceyKate WinsletLaura LinneyA man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsJulia RobertsDenzel WashingtonSam ShepardA law student uncovers a conspiracy, putting herself and others in danger.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyEdward NortonAn altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsFranka PotenteMatt DamonChris CooperA man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and attempting to regain his memory.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonFranka PotenteJoan AllenWhen Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonEdgar RamírezJoan AllenJason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsNicole KidmanSean PennCatherine KeenerPolitical intrigue and deception unfold inside the United Nations, where a U.S. Secret Service agent is assigned to investigate an interpreter who overhears an assassination plot.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsRussell CroweRachel McAdamsBen AffleckWhen a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsDennis QuaidForest WhitakerMatthew FoxThe attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsJamie FoxxChris CooperJennifer GarnerA team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert ShawBruce DernMarthe KellerWhen a Black September terrorist group begins a plot to carry out a massive terrorist attack in the United States, an Israeli commando works with the FBI to identify the target and conspirators, and prevent the plan from succeeding.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsWilliam HurtLee MarvinBrian DennehyA Moscow police officer investigates a vicious triple homicide and stumbles upon a high-level international political conspiracy.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsTommy Lee JonesCharlize TheronJonathan TuckerA retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsJames MasonMaximilian SchellSimone SignoretA British agent sets out to uncover the hidden facts behind a British government employee's suicide.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsCherDennis QuaidLiam NeesonWhen a homeless man is accused of murdering a Justice Department file clerk, a public defender is tasked with mounting his legal defense.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsMichael CaineNigel GreenGuy DolemanIn London, a wisecracking spy investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of British scientists while dealing with the constraints of his agency's bureaucracy.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGregory PeckLaurence OlivierJames MasonA Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsMichael CaineOscar HomolkaPaul HubschmidSent to East Berlin to retrieve a Communist defector, British spy Harry Palmer suspects the situation is not what his superiors believe it to be.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsJane FondaJack LemmonMichael DouglasA reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsMichael CaineTilda SwintonAlan BatesTale of a former Nazi executioner who becomes a target of hitmen and police investigators.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsSean ConneryAlec BaldwinScott GlennIn November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMark RylanceAlan AldaDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsTommy Lee JonesSamuel L. JacksonGuy PearceAn attorney defends an officer on trial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians after they stormed a U.S. embassy in a Middle Eastern country.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsSean ConneryMichelle PfeifferRoy ScheiderA British publisher is sent a manuscript detailing Soviet Union nuclear missile capabilities. British Intelligence intercept it and recruit him to investigate the author's editor, a beautiful Russian woman he claims never to have met.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerGene HackmanSean YoungA coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsJohn TravoltaSamuel L. JacksonConnie NielsenA D.E.A. Agent investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army Ranger Drill Sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsPaul NewmanEdward G. RobinsonElke SommerAs the Nobel Prize winners come to Stockholm to receive their awards, their lives are overturned and perturbed in various ways.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsDominic CooperLudivine SagnierRaad RawiA chilling vision of the house of Saddam. The world of Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was given a choice; either be the double for Saddam's sadistic son, or die.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsHarrison FordSam SpruellPeter StebbingsWhen Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsMorgan FreemanGene HackmanThomas JaneA wealthy attorney in San Juan comes to the police station for "10 minutes" of follow-up questions to finding a 12-year-old girl's body in a park. Another young girl was also raped and murdered weeks earlier and the evidence points to him.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsGene HackmanDenzel WashingtonMatt CravenOn a U.S. nuclear missile sub, a young First Officer stages a mutiny to prevent his trigger happy Captain from launching his missiles before confirming his orders to do so.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsJeff BridgesGlenn ClosePeter CoyoteA wealthy woman is murdered in her beach house. The husband is allegedly knocked out first. He inherits all. He has a female ex criminal prosecutor represent him in court.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsRobert RedfordDebra WingerDaryl HannahA New York district attorney works and flirts with his adversary and her kooky artist client, who is on trial for a murder she didn't commit.
- DirectorBilly RayStarsChiwetel EjioforNicole KidmanJulia RobertsA tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFrederick StaffordDany RobinJohn VernonA French Intelligence Agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRussell CroweMark StrongA CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
- DirectorSimon WestStarsJohn TravoltaMadeleine StoweJames CromwellWhen the daughter of a well-known and well-respected base commander is murdered, an undercover detective is summoned to look into the matter and finds a slew of cover-ups at West Point.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsBarbara HersheySam ShepardMary Beth HurtA lawyer is hired to defend an old college friend accused of murdering her husband.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsKeanu ReevesMorgan FreemanRachel WeiszTwo researchers in a green alternative energy project are put on the run when they are framed for murder and treason.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsPierce BrosnanGeoffrey RushJamie Lee CurtisA tailor living in Panama reluctantly becomes a spy for a British Agent.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsSean ConneryBrooke AdamsJack WestonA British mercenary arrives in pre-Revolution Cuba to help train General Batista's Army against Castro's guerrillas while he also romances a former lover now married to an unscrupulous plantation owner.
- DirectorGary FlederStarsJohn CusackRachel WeiszGene HackmanA juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
- DirectorBob SwaimStarsSigourney WeaverMichael CainePatrick KavanaghA brilliant researcher in London who works as a high-class hooker in her spare time, becomes a pawn in a dangerous political game, when her latest client, a nobleman who is negotiating an Arab-Israeli peace treaty, falls for her.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsMelanie GriffithTom BerengerCraig ShefferA billionaire's daughter is murdered in her LA home. A tough top lawyer is up against her assistant DA ex, when she defends a musician suspect.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKenneth BranaghEmbeth DavidtzRobert Downey Jr.A lawyer uses his power to help his lover put her father behind bars, but when he escapes, they are all in danger.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsRichard DreyfussSusan AnspachBonnie BedeliaAn ex-'60s radical now working as a private eye is hired by an old flame to investigate a political smear campaign. The case becomes more dangerous as it unfolds.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobert De NiroKevin BaconBrad PittAfter a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsBruce WillisRichard GereSidney PoitierAn imprisoned I.R.A. fighter is freed to help stop a brutal, seemingly "faceless" assassin from completing his next job.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDenzel WashingtonLiev SchreiberMeryl StreepIn the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartDoris DayBrenda de BanzieAn American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
- DirectorBrad FurmanStarsMatthew McConaugheyMarisa TomeiRyan PhillippeA lawyer defending a wealthy man begins to believe his client is guilty of more than just one crime.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonTommy Lee JonesAlicia VikanderThe CIA's most dangerous former operative is drawn out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsTom CruiseJeanne TripplehornGene HackmanA young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsSusan SarandonTommy Lee JonesBrad RenfroA young boy who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to protect him when the District Attorney tries to use him to take down a mob family.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsJim CaviezelMorgan FreemanAshley JuddA successful lawyer's husband is arrested for murdering nine villagers in El Salvador in 1988 as a US soldier under a different name. She decides to defend him in military court and find out the truth about what happened.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsDenzel WashingtonMeg RyanLou Diamond PhillipsA U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsDemi MooreGlenne HeadlyBruce WillisTwo detectives interrogate a hairdresser on two homicides she may or may not have been involved in.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonJulia RobertsPatrick StewartA taxi driver with a penchant for conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of these theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsWill SmithGene HackmanJon VoightA lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsClint EastwoodJohn MalkovichRene RussoSecret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanEd HarrisCareer thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) witnesses a horrific crime involving U.S. President Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman).
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsBruce WillisColin FarrellTerrence HowardA law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsBen AffleckMorgan FreemanIan MongrainCIA analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsDenzel WashingtonBruce WillisAnnette BeningThe secret U.S. abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York City, which leads to the declaration of martial-law.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsBruce WillisMiko HughesAlec BaldwinShadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.
- DirectorKari SkoglandStarsTanya AllenHart BochnerFulvio CecereLiberty, the wife of a gun manufacturer, is held hostage at a hot dog stand by a sniper seeking revenge.
- DirectorDwight H. LittleStarsWesley SnipesDiane LaneDaniel BenzaliA young woman is murdered in the White House. Homicide detective Regis investigates while Secret Service works against him. He's assigned agent Chance. She eventually cooperates after a man's framed.
- DirectorBobby MorescoStarsKarl UrbanSofía VergaraAndy GarciaOn his release from a prison sentence for crimes of which he was innocent, a shamed former cop connects a murder case to a government conspiracy involving rogue agents from a top spy agency.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsJohnny DeppChristopher WalkenCourtney ChaseAn unimpressive, everyday man is forced into a situation where he is told to kill a politician to save his kidnapped daughter.
- DirectorJon AvnetStarsRichard GereBai LingBradley WhitfordAn American attorney on business in China is wrongfully arrested and put on trial for murder, with a female defense lawyer from the country the only key to proving his innocence.