This series started last week, but it continues tonight Friday the 13th through November 1st.
The films are drawn from a list compiled by The New Republic last year of the 100 most impactful political movies.
The films encompass both documentaries and dramatized works; most are American, while a few are from other countries. Their release dates range from 1915 (The Birth of a Nation) to 2016 (I Am Not Your Negro). Many will have celebrity presenters introducing them, along with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.
From Hollywood Reporter:
The series runs Sept. 6 to Nov. 1 — four days before America votes for its next president — and features TCM host Ben Mankiewicz in conversation with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Lee Grant, Sally Field, Andy Garcia, Melissa Etheridge, John Turturro, Bill Maher, Alexander Payne, Diane Lane, Josh Mankiewicz, Barry Levinson, Maureen Dowd, Stacey Abrams and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
More from the Advocate:
LGBTQ+ issues won’t be neglected. I Am Not Your Negro, for instance, is a documentary based onan unfinished manuscript by Black gay writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, reflecting on the lives of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Baldwin himself. The Times of Harvey Milk(1984) will be featured, presented by Sally Field, the proud mother of a gay son. Also scheduled are 1964’s The Best Man, scripted by gay writer Gore Vidal, in which a same-sex liaison threatens to derail a politician’s career, and Born in Flames, director Lizzie Borden’s 1983 vision of a dystopian future in which women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color are oppressed.
Borden will be among the celebrity presenters, introducing Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Chantal Akerman’s 1975 feminist feature about a widow engaged in sex work. Melissa Etheridge will be a presenter as well, discussing the 1928 silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Times listed are for Eastern Time. I've skipped last week and bolded titles ranked in the top 20.
Friday, September 13 - Night Two
- 8:00 PM Reds (1981) (Bill Maher - #41)
- 11:30 PM The Parallax View (1974) (Kyle Smith - #47)
- 1:30 AM Germany, Year Zero (1948) (Alexander Payne - #97)
- 3:00 AM Gabriel Over the White House (1933) (#30)
- 4:30 AM The Battleship Potemkin (1925) (#7)
- 6:00 AM The Fog of War (2003) (#56)
Friday, September 20 - Night Three
- 8:00 PM Dr. Strangelove (1964) (Spike Lee - #3)
- 9:45 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) (Stacey Abrams - #11)
- 12:15 AM Hearts and Minds (1974) (Phil Mattingly - #39)
- 2:15 AM The Lives of Others (2006) (#19)
- 4:45 AM Born in Flames (1983) (#43)
- 6:15 AM Bicycle Thieves (1948) (#52)
Friday, September 27 - Night Four
- 8:00 PM Three Days of the Condor (1975) (Maureen Dowd - #72)
- 10:15 PM I Am Not Your Negro (2016) (Sara Sidner - #58)
- 12:00 AM The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) (Melissa Etheridge - #88)
- 1:30 AM The Last Hurrah (1958) (#57)
- 3:45 AM Night of the Living Dead (1968) (#35)
- 5:15 AM The Tin Drum (1979) (#92)
Friday, October 4 - Night Five
- 8:00 PM The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) (Sally Field - #81)
- 10:00 PM The Best Man (1964) (Josh Mankiewicz - #69)
- 12:00 AM I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) (Sec. Lonnie Bunch III - #95)
- 1:45 AM City Hall (1996) (#80)
- 3:45 AM Strike (1924) (#25)
- 5:15 AM High and Low (1963) (#84)
Friday, October 11 - Night Six
- 8:00 PM A Face in the Crowd (1957) (Barry Levinson - #10)
- 10:15 PM Wag the Dog (1997) (Diane Lane - #54)
- 12:00 AM The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) (Abby Phillip - #37)
- 1:45 AM JFK (1991) (#34)
- 5:00 AM Z (1969) (#15)
- 7:15 AM Night and Fog (1956) (#21)
Friday, October 18 - Night Seven
- 8:00 PM The Birth of a Nation (1915) (Jamelle Bouie - #5)
- 11:30 PM Lincoln (2012) (Hon. Robert M. Gates - #24)
- 2:15 AM Malcolm X (1992) (#22)
- 6:00 AM Primary (1960) (#38)
Friday, October 25 - Night Eight
- 8:00 PM All the President’s Men (1976) (Steven Spielberg - #4)
- 10:30 PM Citizen Kane (1941) (Frank Luntz - #33)
- 12:45 AM Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) (Lizzie Borden - #36)
- 4:15 AM Olympia Part One: Festival of Nations (1938) (#86)
- 6:15 AM Olympia Part Two: Beauty of the Festival (1938) (#86)
Friday, November 1 - Night Nine
- 8:00 PM Being There (1979) (Andy Garcia - #71)
- 10:30 PM The Candidate (1972) (Kaitlan Collins - #20)
- 12:30 AM Harlan County USA (1976) (Lee Grant - #12)
- 2:15 AM The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (#2)
- 4:00 AM Weekend (1967) (#94)