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Rule 303 and political violence on film

Rule 303 and political violence on film
Published 21 Mar 2013   Follow @SamRoggeveen

Political Violence at a Glance is an excellent blog and they have produced a post which I am powerless to resist: a list of the best and worst movies about political violence. I don't agree with the dismissal of The Dark Knight Rises but I did appreciate the reference to the now forgotten 1998 Denzel Washington thriller The Siege, which was indeed prescient.

I would add Breaker Morant to the list of best movies about political violence. This film is often remembered as being, like Gallipoli, a slightly crude Australian nationalist film which depicts a stuffy British officer class that treats the Australian colonials as cannon fodder. But I recall the film more as a treatise on the moral and legal ambiguities that soldiers have to negotiate in wartime.

And of course, I remember it for Edward Woodward and his Rule 303 speech.

Have at it, readers: what films would you recommend that deal seriously with the problem of political violence? Email me on blogeditor@lowyinstitute.org, leave a comment on our Facebook page or connect with the Lowy Institute on Twitter.



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