Six great movies about American politics

The latest American political furore stirred up by President Donald Trump's firing of the FBI director James Comey has prompted comparisons to an earlier US political scandal, Watergate. It also sounds like a movie plot.

Filmmakers have long been fascinated by both Watergate and the behind-the-scenes machinations of US politics. These have inspired countless films featuring everything from farce to satire, and political drama to conspiracy thrillers.

Here are six great films that tackle the highly charged world of American politics:

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All the President's Men

So many films have tackled the Watergate story it's almost a genre in itself – there's even a comic scene about it in Forrest Gump.

All the President's Men sets a high point for both top-notch filmmaking and true-to-life drama, even drawing on archival footage.

The film was released only two years after President Richard Nixon's resignation and is based on the 1974 book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein whose reporting is credited with helping take Nixon down.

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the two reporters. Their gripping performance were key to the film's success at the Oscars.

Available to rent on iTunes and Amazon.

The Manchurian Candidate

Earlier this year, an article in the New York Times asked whether Donald Trump was a "modern Manchurian Candidate".

The story discussed speculation that the US President might be manipulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and refers to the title of a classic 1962 film starring Frank Sinatra.

It tells the story of a former prisoner of war who is brainwashed to carry out an assassination for an international Communist conspiracy. It was remade in 2004 with Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, but catch the nerve-wracking original if you can. DVDs of both available on Amazon.

Dick

This 1999 comedy starring Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams and Will Ferrell is a light-hearted look at the Watergate story, and specifically "Deep Throat", the nickname for the FBI informant who leaked information to the journalists Woodward and Bernstein.

The protagonists in this film, two teenage girls (played by Dunst and Williams), drift away from a tour of the White House and stumble into the middle of the scandal that will bring down the president. It's hilarious, clever and also takes a dig at conspiracy theories.

Available to rent on Amazon and iTunes.

Frost Nixon

Ron Howard's 2008 film brings a British angle to the Watergate scandal and is centred around the famous 1977 interviews Nixon gave to the UK talk show host David Frost.

It was the disgraced ex-president's first interview since his resignation and many speculated that Nixon hoped Frost would go easy on him.

Michael Sheen plays Frost and Frank Langella appears as Nixon uttering the infamous line "when the president does it, it isn't illegal."

The critically acclaimed film won a score of Oscar nominations for its tightly wound performances.

Available to rent on Amazon and iTunes.

The Ides of March

George Clooney directs and stars in this political drama that explores the corrupting nature of power. Ryan Gosling stars as a bright-eyed junior campaign manager for Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney).

When the idealistic aid discovers Morris is involved in the cover-up of a sex scandal, he has to quickly decide where his loyalties lie.

Available to rent on iTunes, and free on Amazon with Prime membership.

The Parallax View

One of the most gripping and disturbing political thrillers to emerge from the 1970s, the film both inspired the general mistrust of politicians following Watergate, and conspiracy theories surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of JF Kennedy.

Warren Beatty stars as a renegade journalist investigating the shadowy Parallax organisation, who finds himself tangled in a plot to carry out a political assassination. Dark, yet plausible, it will chill you to the bone.

Free on Amazon Prime.