Movies/Videos/DVDs that
might prompt good discussions about male issues
by Richard Rohr, OFM
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All my Sons(1948) –a son returns from war and is
disillusioned with his father's lack of honor.
Angela's Ashes(1999) –the burden of a son with an uninvolved, passive,
alcoholic father.
The Bicycle Thief(1949) –all time Italian classic, a father and son
relationship
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1949) –one man's courage and suffering.
Boyz N the Hood (1991) –the consequences of young black men without fathers
The Burmese Harp (1956) -Haunting Japanese journey of a man, good spirituality
and anti-war.
The Champ (1979) – first class tear jerker of a young boy who adores his weak
father.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (several versions) –Tennessee William' psychological
classic.
Central Station (1998) -Brazilian movie of a little boy's journey to find his
father.
Chariots of Fire (1981) – men of dignity and faith. English athletes.
The Chosen (1978) – Chaim Potok's lovely story of sons wanting their dad's
attention.
Cinema Paradiso (1989) –Charming, Oscar winning story of a boy, sex,
religion, and movies.
City Slickers (1991) –New Yorkers come to Ghost Ranch to find their manhood!!
Cool Hand Luke (1967) –One man's unbreakable spirit. Paul Newman.
DA (1988) –an Irish father and son story.
Dad (1989) –Successful man tries to reconnect with his Dad at the end. A
"wonderful weeper"
Dances with Wolves (1990) –All four male archetypes were consciously used .
Kevin Costner
Das Boot (1991) –German classic of men in submarines, men together in death
and fear.
Dead Poet's Society (1989) –Young men's need for father figures and inspiration, RobinWilliams.
Death of a Salesman (1985) –An aging man facing the futility of his life.
The Deerhunter (1978) – Heroism and friendship among working class American
young men.
Diner (1982) -Coming of age in the late 1950's. Bittersweet, sensitive
drama.
East of Eden (1955) –A modern retelling of the rivalry of Cain and Able for
their father's love.
Equus (1977) –a psychological study of a boy seeking his masculinity in a
horse. Richard Burton
E.T. (1982) –the young boy's need for wonder, otherness, mystery, adventure,
bigger worlds.
Fathers and Sons (1992) –an almost mystical quality to a relationship between
the two men.
Field of Dreams (1989) –A must see movie of male energy, vision, and love.
Baseball imagery.
The Fisher King (1991) –A partial retelling of the classic Grail legend.
Mixed quality.
The Full Monty (1996) –A comedy of men seeking respect and success at all
costs. Clever.
Gallipoli (1981) –The Australian classic about young men as cannon fodder for
war.
Gandhi (1982) –Brilliant film biography of a "great soul", a truly
evolved man. Ben Kingsley
Geronimo, An American Legend (1994)–another well done film biography of a man
of courage
Getting Even with Dad (1994) –A comedy about a son wanting to bond with his
criminal father.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) –A classic story of a man as mentor and teacher.
Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) –Italian study of Jesus as prophet and
social critic.
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – John Steinbeck's novel of men and families at the
bottom.
The Great Gatsby (1974) –And this F. Scott Fitzgerald novel about men at the
top.
The Great Santini (1980) –When the father is a tyrant and how the son suffers.
Good.
The Green Mile (1999) –Lots of good male themes: injustice, racism,
redemption, mysticism.
Harry and Son (1984) –Superb character study with Paul Newman and Robby
Benson.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968) –a sensitive and compassionate male is
presented well.
Homer and Eddie (1989) –A retarded boy's love for his rejecting father.
John Belushi stars.
The Hoodlum Priest (1961) –Mentoring and fathering themes well done for the
time.
Hoop Dreams (1994) –The sports culture, ambition and identity, in the lives of
young men.
I Live with me Dad (1985) –An Australian movie of a boy who they try to take
from his father.
I Never Sang for my Father (1970) – A sad, superbly acted movie of a man and
his older father.
Ikiru (1952) –A Japanese "everyman" finds life at the end of his
life. An emotional wallop.
In and Out (1997) –A Kevin Kline comedy about sexual identity that reveals a
lot of the issues.
In His Father's Shoes (1997) –A black boy gets to experience what it was
like for his dad.
In the Name of the Father (1993) –True Irish story of a father and son in
prison together.
Into The Wild - Use Into The Wild in your small
men's group
Indiana Jones movies (1980's) –Fun, and based on classic mythology and male
adventures.
The Island (1962)Japanese wordless movie that I have never forgotten about the
human struggle.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) –The classic, most beloved movie!
Says it all.
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) –Man in nature, surviving and finding his humanity.
Robert Redford.
Jerry Maguire (1996) –"Show me the money" man discovers quality over
quantity. Tom Cruise.
Joseph (1995) -A better than usual telling of the Genesis story.
Father&brother relationships.
Karate Kid series (1980's) –Great telling of a boy and a mentor relation.
Everybody loves these.
The Killing Fields (1984) -An unforgettable war movie and story of true male
friendship.
King David (1985)–Good presentation of David, the whole man of the Hebrew
Scriptures.
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)-Powerful story of love between a gay and a
straight man.
Last Temptation of Christ (1988) -Great initiation scene of Jesus, other moments
of brilliance.
The Wounded Man (1988) -Heavy French movie of gay male desire.
Lies My Father Told me (1975) -Jewish story of family, tradition, and love.
Grandfather power.
Life is Beautiful (1998) -Lengths that a father will go to protect his son.
Daring and lovely.
Life With Father (1947) -A classic and a delight. William Powell
The Lion King (1994) -All four male archetypes were consciously used in this
Disney favorite.
Little Buddha (1994) -The first half is the story of Siddharta's transformation
into Buddha.
Little Men (1998) -The trials and tribulations of growing up in a boy's home.
From the book.
Looking for Mr.Goodbar (1977) -The tragic effects of sick fathering and sick
religion for girls.
Lord of the Flies (1963 &1989) -What happens to boys when outside of
society. A classic.
A Man Called Horse (1970) -Powerful images of Native Americans and finding one's
manhood.
Man for All Seasons - Best picture of 1966. St. Thomas More & good character
development.
A Man of Passion (1989) - A boy coming of age story, learning of sex and life
from grandfather.
The Man without a Face (1993) -Old man's suffering and young boy's suffering
touch and heal.
Mandela and DeKlerk -(1997) How one evolved man can make a difference. Made for
TV
Mass Appeal (1984) -Intelligent Catholic dialogue on issues of conscience. Old
& young priest
Maurice (1987) -E.M.Forster's autobiographical story of male love and desire.
The Men (1950) -A man trying to deal with war injuries. Made Marlon Brando
famous.
Men in Love (1990) -Sensitive story of gay men and AIDS.
Midnight Cowboy (1969) -A breakthrough movie of male sexuality and friendship.
Midnight Express (1978) -A movie that shakes you up, male survival and testing.
The Mission (1986) -Church politics, men of violence and men of non-violence.
Brilliant.
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) -Feel good movie of music teacher and students.
Richard Dreyfuss
Monsieur Vincent (1949) -Beautiful telling of life of St. Vincent de Paul.
Academy Award!
Monsignor Quixote (1985) -Priest and communist set out to reform the church!
My Dinner with Andre (1981) Two men talking and it does not get boring! An
amazing movie.
My Left Foot (1989) -Award winning true story of man living with handicaps.
My Own Private Idaho (1990) -Daring movie of males on vision quest. Moving,
bittersweet.
Never Cry Wolf (1983) -Man living in nature and learning from it.
Beautiful in many ways.
Object of My Affection (1989) -Intelligent portrayal of the vagaries of sexual
identity.
The Odyssey (1997) - Good enough portrayal of Homer's classic male epic.
Our Sons (1991) Sensitive portrayal of a mother's attempt to deal with a gay
son. Julie Andrews
Padre Padrone (1977) - Italian story of tragic father-son relationship in a
patriarchal society.
Paris is Burning (1990) - How poor gay men of color survive. Documentary style.
Philadelphia (1993) -Oscar winning portrayal of men with AIDS. Tom Hanks.
Pinocchio (1940) -Much more than a children's story. Watch it for male
themes.
Il Postino (1994) -Italian award winning movie of a simple man becoming aware
and alive.
Priest (1994) -All the classic themes of being a celibate priest today.
Good conclusion.
Prince of Egypt (1998) -Disney animation of Moses and the Exodus. Some
powerful scenes.
Pumping Iron (1977) -Very good documentary of males and the cult of the body.
Rain Man (1988) -Two very different brothers, and again Tom Cruise grows up!
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) -The classic on male juvenile delinquency.
James Dean's hit.
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) -Male initiation through war. Audie Murphy
The Return of Martin Guerre (1982) -True story of loss of identity as a man.
Brilliant.
Rites of Passage (1999) - Father and sons meet two convicts in a mountain cabin.
A River Runs Through it (1992) -Beautiful male coming of age story. Lovely
baptismal imagery
Rocky (1976) -Better than you might remember. Some powerful and good male
instincts.
Roger & Me (1989) -A daring film about men without jobs. Strong social
justice documentary.
Romero (1989) -See character development of saintly Oscar Romero. Powerful
social message.
Rudy (1993) -True story of a young man who sets a goal for himself and pursues
it. Great movie!
Saint Maybe (1998) -A self centered college student becomes a loving parent. TV
special.
The Saint of Fort Washington (1993) -Two homeless men surviving in New York.
Sam's Son (1984) -Michael Landon's true story of a son lending a hand to help
his parents.
Saving Grace (1986) -Pope sneaks out of the Vatican to learn how to be an
ordinary man.
A Separate Peace (1972) -Well written story of a young man's entrance into adult
emotions.
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) -True story of Heinrich Harrer's relationship with
the Dalai Lama.
Shaking the Tree (1992) -Male Bonding Film, guys moving from boys to men.
Shawshank Redemption (1994) -Thoroughly rewarding film of men, jail, friendship,
freedom.
Sommersby (1993) -Beautiful story of full manhood, growth, honor. Highly
recommended.
South Central (1992) -hard hitting story of a father's attempts to keep his son
out of gangs.
Stand and Deliver (1988) -A successful Hispanic man gives up a career to help
the boys. True.
Stand by Me (1986) -Young boys ascending to manhood through tragedy.
Stephen King novel.
Star Wars (1977) -classic mythological themes: young hero/"Skywalker",
dark father, the Force.
The Thin Red Line (1998) -A young soldier reflects mystically on nature and war.
This Boy's Life (1993) -Hard-hitting tragic relationship with a father, Robert
de Niro
Trainspotting (1996) -Scottish young men creating their own tragic initiation
rites.
Tribute (1980) -A dying man, Jack Lemmon, decides he needs to make peace with
his son.
Twelve Monkeys (1995) - Heroic men coming back from the future to save us now.
Good.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1994) -Lovely story of a young man's family
dedication. J. Depp
White Men Can't Jump (1992) -Clever, entertaining, good male energy. Wesley
Snipes
The Young Lions (1958) -A young German soldier questions his beliefs.
Marlon Brando
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