Conspiracy films of the 70's and 80's

I've found that I really like a lot of the conspiracy films of the 70's and 80's.

I'd like to know if you guys can think of any that are worth watching.

Here is a list of a few I thought of off the top of my head:

MARATHON MAN
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
THE CHINA SYNDROME
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
STAR CHAMBER
COMA
RACE WITH THE DEVIL
ROSEMARY'S BABY
THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
THE PARALAX VIEW

I know there's more. Please list.

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NEW (as of 1/24/05): Quick Reviews #10

Oh man... Yeah, I really love films like Three Days of Condor, The China Syndrome and All the President's Men. I think there has been made a few decent ones in the 90's too like The Pelican Brief, JFK, Wag the Dog and The Firm.

I think you've mentioned the best from the 70's and 80's.

Except No Way Out (1987) with Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman.

And I don't really know if it counts as a conspiracy film but I just love Falcon and the Snowman from 1985. Sean Penn is allready at this age an amazing actor.

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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

I forgot about THE PELICAN BRIEF and THE FIRM. Even though the books were so much better (aren't they always), I loved both of these films. In fact, I watched the films first, then read the books (if I had done it the other way around, I probably wouldn't like the movies).

I know there are more from the 70's and 80's. At least I hope there are. It would be nice to look forward to a good conspiracy "sleeper."

Can anyone else think of any?

Watergate really brought conspiracy flicks into the fore in American films of the '70s, coupled with the scars of Kennedy's Assassination.

The Conversation (1974)
Winter Kills (1979)
Blow Out (1981)
Last Embrace (1979)
The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
The Domino Principle (1977)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Telefon (1977)
Magnum Force (1973)
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Scanners (1981)
The Fury (1978)
Firestarter (1984)
Dreamscape (1984)
Target (1985)
Frantic (1988)

Of that list, The Conversation and Blow Out are the two biggest must-sees. Scanners, The Fury, Firestarter and Dreamscape are sci-fi twists on the genre, but interesting just the same.


The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is really the blueprint for all such flicks, and it still holds up well, especially the brilliant brainwashing sequence. The President's Analyst (1967) is another key early entry of the subgenre. Some others from much later into the '90s would include Enemy of the State (1998), Arlington Road (1999), L.A. Confidential (1997), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Chain Reaction (1996), Extreme Measures (1997), Bulworth (1998) and Zoolander (2001) on the comic side. But I don't think any of those '90s entries have anything on the best stuff from the '70s, excepting the brilliant corrupt cop saga L.A. Confidential. There's really a whole bunch of others if you start to include corrupt cops, but I was highlighting a couple key ones where the conspiracy goes all the way to the top of command. The Dirty Harry flick Magnum Force is one of the earliest Watergate-era influenced in that regard.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Great list, Holden! I've seen 9 of the films you mentioned, including The Manchurian Candidate. I've put the others on my "Must See" list.

I would also include THE GROUNDSTAR CONSPIRACY in this list- Sure it stars George peppard but the story is good enough to warrant a screening

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******"The Majority Is Always Wrong" Steve Mcqueen in Enemy Of The People******

Never judge an actor by the TV series he made later in his career.

Im actually a fan of Peppard, just seems most think of him as A-Team.

Nice to see someone else who appreciates he has talent and appeared in some quality cinema (Breakfast at Tiffany's, How the West was Won, The Executioner etc).

If you haven't seen Lamont Johnson's GROUNDSTAR CONSPIRACY, check it out because its a largely ignored gem.

I put it on my "to see" list.