5 of The Best Revolutionary Movies

credit: V for Vendetta

A revolutionary movie can take a lot of forms since a revolution set in place against a superior force is something that tends to happen in a lot of movies, but the actual revolution can vary in size, ferocity, and of course, intent. But some of the best revolutionary movies are those that deal with massive upheaval and a desire to see the status quo end in one manner or another so that it can be replaced with another system that may or may not be better. But the point of these movies and what they represent can be taken in a number of ways since, at one point or another, the revolutionaries become the status quo, and somehow, in some way, they become the institution that will one day be fought against. When talking about revolution, one has to take into account what the word actually means, which is “the movement of an object in a circular or elliptical course around another or about an axis or center”. Yes, it means to overthrow a government and replace it with another system of laws as well, but when taken with the definition that was just given, it becomes easy to see how a system that seeks to overthrow an older system will one day make the same mistakes, or new ones that are even worse, and become the system to rail against. In this manner, these movies are simply continuing the cycle and showing how it never appears to end. 

Here are five of the best revolutionary movies ever made. 

5. The Patriot

credit: The Patriot

Sure, it’s historically inaccurate and takes creative license with a lot of elements that were present during the Revolutionary War, but at the same time, this is a powerful piece of propaganda that a lot of people happened to enjoy. For one reason or another, Mel Gibson appears to enjoy taking history and turning it into a pleasant fiction that has equal parts heartache and pride that is on full display for the audience. But in this movie, it has to be noted that while the country that would become America is seen to be built from the sacrifice of those who were willing to fight for it and risk their lives against an empire, the country wasn’t shown in an accurate light to depict how the colonists really treated those they interacted with on a daily basis. There were slivers of truth in this movie, but they didn’t tell the whole story. 

4. Fight Club

credit: Fight Club

Seriously, how many people did this movie resonate with? Disenfranchised individuals who apparently had nothing to look forward to in life save the apparent drudgery of another day spent earning money they didn’t get to spend just to further the goals of people they couldn’t stand. It’s kind of depressing when one looks at it that way, especially since it indicates that once we enter the workforce, our lives are no longer our own and we’re bound to simply trudge along until the day we die, amassing things we don’t need and doing things we don’t want until life is nothing more than a series of wasted opportunities that fade away like dying embers in the dumpster fire that is life. Hey, in Tyler we trust, right? Hoo boy, there’s a mind trip if ever you needed one. 

3. V for Vendetta

credit: V for Vendetta

Movies such as this indicate that when a government squeezes its people too hard, they’re bound to start slipping through the cracks in order to remind the government that it’s best to fear them rather than the other way around. People are easy to keep in line with fear and threats, but the moment that people realize that words can’t hurt them and that banding together makes them stronger than the system that tries to keep them down, the light of reason and possibly rebellion, can burn a little brighter. Sure, anarchy isn’t bound to be perfect, but it’s sometimes preferable to the type of order that throttles the life of the people it’s supposed to protect. 

2. The Matrix

credit: The Matrix

Giving people the illusion of freedom feels like a cruelty that’s only noticed if one ever gets a glimpse behind the smoke and mirrors that are being used to blind them from a truth that exists beyond what’s known. The world beyond the Matrix wasn’t exactly perfect, and it wasn’t even preferable, but it was real in a way that the Matrix could never be since it offered truth on a level that was raw and unyielding rather than a pleasing fantasy that could end at any moment because the machines deemed it to be necessary. It’s interesting to see who would gladly take the illusion over reality since it speaks volumes about a person’s ideas concerning personal freedom. 

1. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

credit: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

George Lucas came up with a way to speak on the subject of tyranny and get people to cheer at the same time since it’s fair to say that rebels in the real world aren’t always given this type of respect unless they’re truly standing up against an evil and harmful regime that threatens an entire populace. It can be stated that the black-and-white concepts of Star Wars managed to take on a few gray areas during the original trilogy, but there was a clear idea of who was in the right and who was in the wrong, while the movies that came after allowed the line to blur a bit now and then when it came to who was in the right.