I know that “The Matrix” is a big one out right now and there has been a few books written about it, and there should be because it is quite Philosophical. I just recently watched the movie “Donnie Darko” and although this movie didnt get alot of attention, it was a great movie. It had an all star cast ie Drew Barrymore. The movie delt with the Philosophy of time travel and had its own little critique of modern society. I am looking for some other movies that are envolved with Philosophy, while also being interesting and good. Also, out of all of these Philosophy movies, which one did you find most enjoyable?
Blade Runner as far as I’m aware, though I’ve not seen it myself.
I recently saw Waking Life and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The philosophy is kinda in-your-face though, there’s not really a plot that abstracts the philosophies. It’s basically a series of people expressing their philosophy.
‘Pi’ and ‘The Cube’ are among them…
The Matrix films were fun and interesting, but I still like “Cool Hand Luke” which is a perfect introduction to the themes of existentialism.
The cube exhibited a bizarre and thoughtful theme. I have always enjoyed movies like that, so many of these movies i have not seen.
i’m not sure if your are asking for obvious ones or ones that we philosophers might like personally.
some obvious ones are
eXistenZ by David Cronenberg
Memento by Christopher Nolan
Fight Club by David Fincher
Metropolis by Fritz Lang
Wittgenstein by Derek Jarman
Derrida by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman
i found a long broken down list here. kinda old but hey?http://www.aesthetics-online.org/teaching/films.html
anyway, my personal favorites as far as philosophical insight go have to be…
American Beauty - i’ve never really talked to anyone that saw the movie the way i did, but i can testify that there is something very deep in. in discussions with others from my generation most say Natural Born Killers was the movie that impacted their outlook on life the most. For me it was American Beauty, but not for obvious reasons.
The Big Lebowski a variety of different schools of thought/philosophy are pitted against one another and parodied in this movie. the femeinist, the nihilist, the capitalist etc.
Desperate Living It’s a movie by John Waters, and one of the best anti-thesis to Plato’s Republic style of idealizing how to perfect societ. For me it reveals “truth” through absurdity, rony and vulgarity… it reminds me alot of Hieronymus Bosch…
Siddhartha. Enough said.
First off, any Woody allen, at least from Annie Hall on, namely Stardust Memories,Crimes and Miisdeameanors, and many others are sure to give you pleanty to think about and admire. Also my English teacher last year said that the original Mad Max had a lot of existential philosophy in it, though I still haven’t seen the movie. Also I noticed Gangs of New York was very existential. Those are at least a few that haven’t been mentioned yet.
nev
Being There starring Peter Sellers.
I’m just listing movies which I think have a bit of content…
I know most people probably think it boring, but (perhaps because of my own circumstances) I recently saw The sheltering sky and it was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. I have to admit I enjoyed ‘La Luna’ and ‘Last tango in Paris’ by Bertolucci as well. Which brings me to Marlon Brando and Apocalypse now which I guess I never was able to appreciate as much up until recently (although I did see it many times before).
Others are: The deer hunter, Eyes wide shut (or is it crap ? I just can’t make up my mind…), what’s that david cronenberg one where Jeremy Irons plays these twin gynaecologists creeps, or that Kafka-esque one with Peter Weller (Robocop), two animations; Akira, Ghost in the shell, ‘Akira’ and ‘Fist of the Northstar’ are way better as far as over the top fighting-power-shit goes then the Matrix.
I also subsribe to ‘Memento’ (one of the coolest main character ever, especially at the end of the movie and you see what kinda guy he really is) and some others that have been mentioned by other posters.
Yeah, I love long drawn out pretentious 70tie-esque movies that everybody loves to hate.
How would Nietzsche have rated movies as an art medium ?
waking life - 2001: a space odyssey - the magic christian - oh brother where art thou - mind walk (very good combination of politics philosophy and science everyone here should see it) - manufacturing consent - the last temptation of christ - slacker - tommy - chariots of the gods - being there - harold and maude - uncle meat
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the works of Ingmar Bergman, like “The Seventh Seal”.
Rhapsody in August
Last Supper
Man Who Wasn’t There
Following
Boondock Saints
Harvey
Gattaca
Bicycle Thief
13 Conversations About One Thing
Photographing Fairies
All the Mornings of the World
Life is Beautiful
Dead Poets Society
Adventures of Baron Munchausen
and oddly enough . . . Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
– Party On (hedonism) and Be Excellent to One Another
The film illustrate’s a deep response to working life. At the time i watched it the first time, it was in a dump of a house that i shared with 6 other lad’s, all bored and confused with the grind of everything and each other. The end part of the film: when the feather is floating off, that was a strangely moving part for me, almost tragic even. Simply the way in which the film presents the things we find most important and serious in life and turns them upside down. Thats the real beauty of the film.
Forest Gump had a simular impression on me, and Fry Green Tomato’s.
American Beaty is one of the few movies i’ve seen more than once. It had an Eastern feel and was paradoxical. For instance, the people who tried to make money couldn’t, while others got their money through drug-selling or blackmailing their boss.
Forrest Gump was one of those great human potential movies that i will always cherish.
Has anyone seen Dogville?
I’m not saying it’s the best phil movie but I found some aspects of it quite compelling…
Yes… I particularly liked the ending 
I just saw that, by coincidence, the other night and remembered somebody here suggesting it.
That was very entertaining. I liked the 70ties funky version of Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” when he first left his house.
Quite a funny (as in comic) movie at times.
Although I did think it became a bit to formula driven after a while.
A sense of Monthy Python cheese came over me.
actually, I think Monty Python movies are probably The best philosophy movies. I mean -what happens when you actually apply analytic Philosophy to real life? A monty python skit.
In The Life of Brian you have the whole problem of Translation - “Romans to the home to go”
In the whole “Wotney’s Red Barrel” Skit you have Problems Of postcolonialism
I could go on and on