Political Dramas on Netflix
Last updated September 29, 2023
Masquerade
2012 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsIn this stylized and operatic costume drama, Lee Byung-hun stars as the temperamental and autocratic king and as an actor conscripted into replacing the ruler when he is seized by nightmares of assassination attempts and coups d'etat.
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Winnie Mandela
2011 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsSouth Africa's Winnie Mandela, one of the most galvanizing public figures in modern history, comes to life in this absorbing biopic. Though it traces Winnie's whole story, the film hinges on the Apartheid-era imprisonment that would define her image.
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Hotel Rwanda
2004 | NR | 4.1 out of 5 StarsAmid the holocaust of internecine tribal fighting in Rwanda that sees the savage butchering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, one ordinary hotel manager musters the courage to save more than 1,000 helpless refugees.
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The Long Walk Home
1990 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsSissy Spacek stars as Miriam Thompson, a Montgomery, Ala., housewife who finds herself in the midst of a civil rights revolution when she helps her black maid, Odessa (Whoopi Goldberg), during the infamous bus boycott of the 1950s. When Miriam discovers Odessa is forced to walk the 9 miles to her house and back, she volunteers to give Odessa a ride -- much to the dismay of Miriam's husband and social circle.
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World Without End
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWith 14th-century England as the backdrop, this epic sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth" picks up events 200 years later as the king leads the country into the Hundred Years War, and the plague begins to spread throughout Europe.
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House of Cards Trilogy (BBC)
1990 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsAfter he's passed up for a promotion, British politician Francis Urquhart vows to exact revenge on the system that's holding him back. Through charm and persuasion, Urquhart gains the trust of his colleagues while simultaneously undermining them.
Details about House of Cards Trilogy (BBC)
House of Cards Trilogy III (BBC): The Final Cut
1995 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsRuthless prime minister Francis Urquhart wants to leave his mark on the world before his term as the political leader of Great Britain ends. But skeletons in his closet keep raising their ugly heads and threaten to bring about his ruin.
Details about House of Cards Trilogy III (BBC): The Final Cut
World Without End
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWith 14th-century England as the backdrop, this epic sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth" picks up events 200 years later as the king leads the country into the Hundred Years War, and the plague begins to spread throughout Europe.
Details about World Without End
Political Animals
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsFormer First Lady and current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish juggles international crises, a journalist who has it out for her, and her family's needs following her recent divorce from her unfaithful ex-husband.
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House of Cards Trilogy II (BBC): To Play the King
1993 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsNow firmly entrenched as prime minister, Francis Urquhart faces a fresh challenge when the new King expresses a desire to reshape British society. With the help of a new adviser, the PM aims to hold the King at bay and retain absolute power.
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Political Animals
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsSigourney Weaver stars as Elaine Barrish Hammond, a former first lady and current U.S. secretary of state struggling to keep her family together while dealing with national crises and a journalist who's determined to tear her down.
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House of Cards Trilogy I (BBC): House of Cards
1990 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsConservative Party whip Francis Urquhart expects to be handed a high-level cabinet position upon the election of a new prime minister. When he's told he hasn't been promoted, Urquhart chooses to exact revenge by creating dissent within the party.
Details about House of Cards Trilogy I (BBC): House of Cards
La Soga
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsMaking his screenwriting debut, Manny Perez also stars in this tough chronicle of Luisito, a young man walking the line between honesty and the corruption he sees all around him in the Dominican Republic.
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Che
2008 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsBenicio Del Toro delivers a searing performance as Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an asthmatic Argentine doctor who became one of Latin America's most legendary revolutionary leaders in the 1950s.
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The Winds of War
1983 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsRobert Mitchum heads an all-star cast in this miniseries based on Herman Wouk's acclaimed World War II novel focusing on two families' experiences. Their personal dramas are interwoven with historic events and supported by documentary segments.
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Che
2008 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsBenicio Del Toro delivers a searing, emotional performance as Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an asthmatic Argentine doctor who became one of Latin America's most legendary revolutionary leaders in the 1950s. Director Steven Soderbergh recounts the events of the Cuban revolution, in which Guevara, Fidel Castro (Demiàn Bichir), Tamara Bunke (Franka Potente) and other revolutionaries worked to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
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Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis biopic chronicles how the shrewd Virgin Queen assumed the throne of a nation in turmoil, stabilized the economy, earned her subjects' devotion and manipulated a succession of suitors to political advantage.
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Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis biopic chronicles how the shrewd Virgin Queen assumed the throne of a nation in turmoil, stabilized the economy, earned her subjects' devotion and manipulated a succession of suitors to political advantage.
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The Winds of War
1983 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsRobert Mitchum stars as naval commander Victor Henry in this epic miniseries set during World War II. Hitler leads Germany's expansion in Europe, Mussolini fights to establish fascism in Italy, and the Japanese exert pressure on China. Against this broad landscape, the Henry clan attempts to stay together even as larger forces threaten to rip them apart. This Emmy-winning production is based on a historical novel by Herman Wouk.
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Veer-Zaara
2004 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsSquadron leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) is a rescue pilot with the Indian Air Force. One day, on duty, he comes across Zaara (Preity Zinta), a stranded girl from Pakistan. Veer saves her life -- and his life is never the same again.
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In the Name of the Father
1993 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsNominated for seven Oscars in 1993, this biopic features the dramatic prowess of Daniel Day-Lewis as the Irishman Gerry Conlon, who was wrongfully sentenced to life in prison for an IRA terrorist attack that killed four people. As if a forced confession weren't enough injustice, the police work to implicate Conlon's father (Pete Postlethwaite) in the same crime. Emma Thompson plays the lawyer who worked for years to uncover the truth.
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The Last Emperor
1987 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsRecounting the last years of China's Ching Dynasty through flashbacks and flash-forwards, this Oscar-winning epic charts the life of Pu Yi (John Lone) -- who ascended the throne at age 3 -- from coddled aristocrat to enlightened insurgent to ordinary citizen. Co-starring Peter O'Toole as Pu Yi's Scottish tutor and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, the lavish drama collected nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
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The Little Traitor
2007 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn 1947 Palestine, the occupying British army is a source of outrage and anger for the locals, and young Proffy Liebowitz is no exception, until he strikes up an unusual and unexpected friendship with a fatherly British officer. The great Alfred Molina plays Sgt. Dunlop, who is hardly the enemy Liebowitz takes him for upon their first meeting. Ultimately, their relationship will change the two men's lives in ways they could never imagine.
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Blood Done Sign My Name
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFrom director Jeb Stuart comes this earnest drama based on the real-life 1970 murder of black Vietnam veteran Henry Marrow by virulent racists subsequently acquitted by an all-white North Carolina jury despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt. As local white minister Vernon Tyson (Rick Schroder) tries to integrate his congregation in the midst of the trial, African-American schoolteacher Ben Chavis (Nate Parker) begins a crusade of his own.
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Even the Rain
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn this provocative film-within-a-film, a director heads to Cochabamba, Bolivia, to shoot a movie about the trespasses of Christopher Columbus in the New World, only to find the locals protesting present-day exploitation of the poor.
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