Maison d'Κtre Philosophy Bookstore
Economics Film Festival
A slate of intriguing & informative documentary & dramatic movies &
TV programs about the too-often ignored realm of economics.
"It's not about the money - It's about the game." — character Gordon Gekko
in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" [2010]
Selected Films
{ in chronological order }
jump to NEW movies, coming soon
search keyword 'economics' on DVD catalog at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Mondovino-Albiera-Antinori/dp/B0009OL8E4/
http://www.amazon.com/Madoff-Scamming-America-Bernie/dp/B002AT4MCQ/
http://www.amazon.com/FRONTLINE-Ten-Trillion-Counting-n/dp/B001UW59K8/
http://www.amazon.com/Final-Warning-Grant-R-Jeffrey/dp/B000RZIH6W/
http://www.amazon.com/American-Experience-Narrator-Philip-Bosco/dp/B002Q5O6Y8/
http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Money-Narrated-Lance-Lewman/dp/B003CWEQEE/
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Debt-Belinda-Becker/dp/B00008NNPK/
http://www.amazon.com/Waging-Living-Brian-Danitz/dp/B000GG4Y0K/
http://www.amazon.com/Close-Home-Narrator-Ofra-Kikel/dp/B002RWX4EI/
http://www.amazon.com/Outsourced-Education-Library-Josh-Hamilton/dp/B004CRT88M/ + labor?
http://www.amazon.com/Investigative-Reports-Artist-Not-Provided/dp/B000FKP0TQ/
http://www.amazon.com/TIME-BOMB-Americas-Crises-Consequences-Solutions/dp/B000DLAHG8/
http://www.amazon.com/Explaining-Globalization-MacNeil-Lehrer-Productions/dp/B000MR9IZY/
http://www.amazon.com/Money-Lenders-Home-Use/dp/B001P06JZE/
http://www.amazon.com/Ripped-Off-Madoff-Scamming-America/dp/B0026RDPFM/
http://www.amazon.com/High-True-Tale-American-Marijuana/dp/B001GFBO0S/
"Wall Street" sound feature film [Columbia Dec 1929]
Produced by Harry Cohn; directed by Roy William Neill; starring Ralph Ince, Aileen Pringle,
Sam De Grasse, Philip Strange & Freddie Burke Frederick
video/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia
"The World Changes" [First National / Warner Bros. Nov 1933]
 | A farmer in the Dakota Territory becomes a cattle baron, then a meat packer, then a Wall Street tycoon. Cameos by Sheriff 'Wild Bill' Hickok {Charles Middleton}, 'Buffalo Bill' Cody {Douglass Dumbrille} & LtCol. George Custer {Clay Clement}. The protagonist speechifies against speculation as the cause of the stock market crash of 1929. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy; starring Paul Muni, Aline MacMahon, Mary Astor, Donald Cook, Jean Muir, Guy Kibbee,Anna Q. Nilsson, Mickey Rooney, Alan Mowbray, George Chandler & Sidney Toler
video/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb |
"The History Book" animated documentary
[Fiasco/Tricontinental 1968-70]
Danish animated documentary (with English subtitles); produced by Li Vilstrup & Jannik Hastrup;
distributed by Tricontinental Film; a nine-part cartoon history of the world from the middle ages to the
present, with a Marxist slant;
released on VHS in 1974, possible entry on IMDb, not found on Amazon (2010)
available for schools & libraries on VHS at CinemaGuild for $295
Arthur Hailey's "The Moneychangers"
[Paramount / NBC-TV Dec 1976]
  | The president of a Midwestern bank announces that he has cancer and tells the board to choose a successor; the prime contenders are a good man whose wife is confined in an asylum (so he's having an affair with an outside lawyer) and a ruthless Episcopalian who wants the job at any cost. Directed by Boris Sagal; based on the novel {below}; starring Kirk Douglas, Christopher Plummer, Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Timothy Bottoms, Joan Collins, Susan Flannery, Robert Loggia, Marisa Pavan, Jean Peters, Hayden Rorke, James Shigeta, Patrick O'Neal, Lorne Greene, Helen Hayes, Woodrow Parfrey, Miiko Taka & Barry Coe; five Emmy noms, CP won for Best Acting VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb "The Moneychangers" [New York Times bestseller 1975] by Arthur Hailey Bantam mass pb [1975] out of print/many, many used Berkley mass pb [11/2001] out of print/used Doubleday 8x5½ hardcover [2/75] out of print/hundreds used book entry at Wikipedia |
"Rollover" [1981] /tt0083006/
Directed by Alan J. Pakula; starring Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson & Hume Cronyn
http://www.amazon.com/Rollover-Jane-Fonda/dp/B0009S4ILK/
"Trading Places" [Paramount June 1983]
 | Far from a documentary, this hit comedy takes place on Wall Street among investors & other crooks; two banker brothers make a bet that swapping the lives of a doofus emplo-yee and a homeless street person will have certain results; after both Murphy and Ackroyd realize that they have been screwed by the bankers, they join up to exact revenge. Co-produced by Aaron Russo; directed by John Landis; written by Timothy Harris & Herschel Weingrod; starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, Jamie Lee Curtis, Paul Gleason & Bo Diddley Paramount widescreen color Blu-ray [6/2008] for $15.49 Paramount widescreen color DVD [6/2007] for $12.98 Paramount color VHS [7/97] for $10.25 full credits at IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Insider Trading: The Making of Trading Places [2007] /tt1050248/
"Down and Out In America" [H.B.O. 1986]
  | Examines three sectors of American society, and the rampant & devastating economic injustice that causes bank foreclosure of heartland farms, unem-ployment from the thousands of jobs going overseas each day, and villages of stunned homeless urban Americans. Directed & narrated by [blacklistee] Lee Grant; won Oscar for Best Documentary Feature
M.P.I. Medis color VHS [10/87] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Other People's Money" [1991] /tt0102609/
http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Money-Danny-DeVito/dp/B0006J28N2/
"Traders" TV series [19962000] /tt0115397/
http://www.amazon.com/Traders-Complete-Season-Alex-Chapple/dp/B0002GFREQ/
"Rogue Trader" [1999] /tt0131566/
"Boiler Room" [2000] /tt0181984/
"Commanding Heights: The Battle For The World Economy"
PBS 6-hour tv mini-series [April 2002]
 |
WGBH color DVD [5/2002] 3 disks for $33.99
WGBH color VHS [5/2002] 3 tapes for $10.99 |
 | "The Commanding Heights: The Battle Between Government & The Marketplace That Is Remaking The Modern World" [1998] by Daniel Yergin, with Joseph Stanislaw Touchstone 9¼x6¼ pb [rev 4/2002] for $11.20 S&S 9½x6½ hardcover [2/98] for $26.00 BooksOnTape audio [1/2000] out of prodn/used |
"Capital Crimes: How The Federal Reserve Robs Us Blind"
This hard-to-find video is a 4-hour treatise on the history of central banking, beginning with
the money changers in the temple that were confronted by Jesus of Nazareth; directed by
John Edwards; not found on Amazon or IMDb (2010), VHS is two tapes
"Wall Street Warriors" documentary TV Series [20062009] /tt0843835/
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Warriors-Season-1/dp/B000OPOCMS/
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Warriors-Season-2/dp/B001BP4K36/
"In Debt We Trust" documentary feature [Globalvision 2006]
 | Co-produced, written & directed by Danny Schechter
Disinformation color DVD [4/2007] for $14.99 full credits from IMDb official movie site |
"Black Gold: Wake Up & Smell The Coffee"
[indep June 2006]
 | 'Your Coffee Will Never Taste The Same Again': A nuanced and sensitive docu-mentary view of our globalized economic and social systems, comparing whole-salers, marketeers, and the high-priced retail coffee world with exploited coffee plantation laborers in Ethiopia. Co-produced & directed by Marc Francis
Speak It Films/Fulcrum Prodns color DVD [8/2007] for $26.95 full credits from IMDb official movie site |
"America: From Freedom To Fascism" [independent Sept 2006]
 | Documentary covering a range of issues: income taxes, the Federal Reserve, federal identification, police brutality, erosion of civil liberties – and a solution: civil disobediance.
Produced, written & directed by Aaron Russo [1943-2007]
Cinema Libre color DVD [12/2006] for $13.99 full credits at IMDb official movie site |
"Capitol Crimes" [aired October 2006] /tt0905587/
episode of "Moyers On America" TV series on Public Affairs Television
"Overdrawn !" [indep 2007]
 | Explores predatory lending practices of the major U.S. banks, focusing on overdraft charges, plus the larger issues of corporate domination of gov-ernment & society, and the consumer revolution against banks in the U.K. Written & directed by Karney Hatch; featuring Ralph Nader & Joel Bakan
Northwest Media color DVD [2009] direct from producer via Amazon full credits at IMDb official movie site |
"Maxed Out" documentary feature [Trueworks March 2007]
 | full title "Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit & The Era of Predatory Lenders" Co-produced, written & directed by James D. Scurlock Magnolia widescreen color DVD [6/2007] for $17.99 full credits from IMDb official movie site {Flash only} Scribner 8¼x5½ pb [12/2007] for $11.20 Scribner 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/2007] for $18.00 |
"I.O.U.S.A." documentary film
[Roadside Attractions Aug 2008]
 | 85-minute docufilm that examines the rapidly growing U.S. National Debt and its conse-quences for the United States and its citizens, proposing solutions to recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations.Co-written & directed by Patrick Creadon; based on the book by Addison Wiggin & Kate Incontrera; featuring U.S. Comptroller General David Walker; nominated for Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival
PBS Direct widescreen color DVD [4/2009] for $21.99 full credits at IMDb official movie site |
 | "I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt." [2008] by Addison Wiggin & Kate Incontrera features interviews with Warren Buffett, former Treasury Secretaries Paul ONeill & Robert Rubin, former Fed Chairs Paul A. Volcker & Alan Greenspan, Peter G. Peterson of The Blackstone Group, Congressman Ron Paul [R-TX], author Bill Bonner, and others Wiley & Sons 9x6 pb [9/2008] for $12.97 |
"The Ascent of Money: The Financial History of The World"
TV mini-series [P.B.S./WNET-TV July 2009]
 | Economist-historian Niall Ferguson traces the evolution of money and demonstrates that financial history is the essential back-story behind all history. 4-hour documentary directed by Adrian Pennick; written & presented by Niall Ferguson, based on his book; won International Emmy Award P.B.S. Home Video color DVD [9/2009] for $23.73 bare credits at IMDb official movie site |
"The Ascent of Money" Episode 1: From Bullion To Bubbles
watch [56:27] free online at PBS website
"The Ascent of Money" Episode 2: Bonds of War
watch [55:41] free online at PBS website
"The Ascent of Money" Episode 3: Risky Business
watch [56:14] free online at PBS website
"The Ascent of Money" Episode 4: Planet Finance
watch [57:44] free online at PBS website
 | "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World" [2008 bestseller] by Niall Ferguson Kindle Edition from Penguin Press [11/2008] for $12.99 Penguin 8½x5½ pb [10/2009] for $10.88 Penguin Press 9x6 hardcover [11/2008] for $18.72 Penguin Press hardcover [11/2008] out of print/used |
"American Ca$ino" documentary feature [indep Aug 2009]
 | This film finally explains how and why the global financial system crumbled from the sub-prime loan market 'bubble' and over $12 trillion of our money vanished into the pockets of Wall Street titans. Co-written & directed by Leslie Cockburn; co-written by Andrew Cock-burn; featuring Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon, former Senator Phil Gramm, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson & Congressman Henry Waxman
DVD/Blu-ray not available at Amazon full credits at IMDb official movie site Working Minds Philosophy Essay #18 "The Stock Market Casino" [Dec 2001] |
"Capitalism: A Love Story" [Dog Eat Dog/Weinstein Oct 2009]
 | Back in 2008, Michael Moore described his next film as being about 'the wonders of capitalism'. However, fate provided him with the 'G.O.P. Meltdown', the still-rolling collapse of the U.S. and worldwide economy. The American Dream is looking like a nightmare for more and more ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down, as families pay the price each day with their jobs, their homes and their savings – the disastrous impact of unregulated corporate dominance and scared politicians seeking re-election versus mystified & angry citizens across America.
Co-produced, written & directed by & starring Michael Moore; interviewees include Cong. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Cong. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Wallace Shawn & Elizabeth Warren, with archive footage of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Ronald Reagan & Franklin Delano Roosevelt; won 2 awards at the Venice Film Festival
Starz / Anchor Bay widescreen color Blu-ray [3/2010] for $24.99 Starz / Anchor Bay widescreen color DVD [3/2010] for $17.99 full credits from IMDb official movie site |
"Capitalism Hits The Fan: Richard Wolff On The Economic Meltdown" [3/2009] /tt2079483/ + meltdown
http://capitalismhitsthefan.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Hits-Fan-Economic-Meltdown/dp/B0029SK2Z4/
"Frontline: Breaking The Bank" [PBS-TV June 2009] /tt1441576/
http://www.amazon.com/Frontline-Breaking-Bank-Will-Lyman/dp/B002BO2R4A/
"House of Cards: The Definitive Look At The Causes of Today's Global Economic Crisis"
[CNBC-TV June 2009] /tt1957928/ + meltdown + http://www.cnbc.com/id/28892719
http://www.amazon.com/House-Cards-David-Faber/dp/B002SF9YCU/
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1145392808
"Untold Wealth: The Rise of The Super Rich" [CNBC-TV June 2009]
http://www.cnbc.com/id/24791078
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1157133460
http://www.amazon.com/Untold-Wealth-Rise-Super-Rich/dp/B002SF9YMK/
"Collapse: It Happened To Every Great Civilization" [2010]/tt1503769/ + meltdown
http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Michael-Ruppert/dp/B003CJXJ8Q/
http://www.collapsemovie.com/
"The End of Poverty? Think Again"
[Cinema Libre Studio Nov 2009]
 | Examines the true causes of poverty today and how deliberate exploitation of the poor perpetuates colonialism and its consequences, where 25% of the world's population consumes 85% of its wealth – and lives in fear that the people will take it away from them. Written & directed by Philippe Diaz; narrated by Martin Sheen DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb official movie site |
 | "Why Global Poverty? Think Again: A Companion Guide To The Film The End of Poverty?" [2009] by Clifford W. Cobb & Philippe Diaz Robert Schalkenbach Foundation 9x6 pb [11/2009] for $20.99 |
"Inside Job" [Sony Pictures Classics Oct 2010]
 | "If you're not enraged by the end of this movie, [then] you haven't been paying attention." — Mary & Richard Corliss, in Time Magazine
A comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, thru exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists & academics. Co-produced, written & directed by Charles Ferguson; narrated by Matt Damon; featuring Congressman Barney Frank, Raghuram Rajan, Nouriel Roubini, George Soros, Eliot Spitzer, Paul Volcker, many others; won Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, D.G.A. & W.G.A. Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Award Sony Pictures Classics widescreen color DVD [3/2011] for $14.99 credits at IMDb official movie site |
"Freakonomics: The Movie" [Magnolia Pictures Oct 2010]
 | Filmed segments cover topics of naming children, cheating & sumo wrestling, incentives at school, and the results of Roe v. Wade, as well as the base theory of economist Levitt & journalist Dubner that economics is, at root, the study of incentives.
Produced by Chad Troutwine, Chris Romano & Dan O'Meara; directed by Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki & Morgan Spurlock; featuring authors Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb official movie site |
 | "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything" [2005 N.Y. Times bestseller] by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner Harper Perennial 7¾x5¼ pb [8/2009] for $6.74 Ediciones B 9x6 Spanish-language pb [8/2006] for $12.21 William Morrow 9x6 hardcover [rev 10/2006] for $19.77 William Morrow Book Club 9x5¾ hardcover [4/2005] out of print/many, many used official dual book site book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance"[2009 N.Y. Times bestseller] by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner HarperCollins 9x6 pb [10/2009] out of print/used Penguin 9x6 pb [10/2009] out of print/used William Morrow 9x6¼ hardcover [10/2009] for $19.49 official dual book site book entry at Wikipedia |
"The Flaw" documentary [New Video/Docurama 2011]
Inspired by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspans acknowledgment
that hed found a flaw in his model of how the world market worked.
Directed by David Sington DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
credits at IMDb
"Margin Call" [LionsGate Oct 2011]
 | The film tracks eight people at a prominent investment bank during a tumultuous 24 hours during the 2008 financial collapse. "One of the strongest American films of the year and easily the best Wall Street movie ever made." — David Denby, New Yorker Magazine film critic Written & directed by J.C. Chandor; starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Penn Badgley, Mary McDonnell, Aasif Mandvi, Ashley Williams, Susan Blackwell & Maria Dizzia
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb official movie site |
"Ayn Rand & The Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged" 
[limited release Jan 2012]
 | 87-minute color documentary film describing how Ayn Rand's warnings in the 1950s are appearing as world economic events of today. Co-produced & directed by Chris Mortensen; narrated by Gary Anthony Williams; featuring Mike Berliner, Andrew Bernstein, Harry Binswanger, Yaron Brook, Christopher Cerf, Kevin O'Connor, Amy Peikoff, Elliot Persico, Richard E. Ralston, Albert S. Ruddy, Ed Snider, many others
Arts Alliance America widescreen color DVD [DUE April 2012] for $20.49 full credits at IMDb official movie site watch official trailer on YouTube |
"Arbitrage" [Infinity Media for 2012? release]
Writer-director Nicholas Jarecki; starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling,
Monica Raymund & Laetitia Casta DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
full credits at IMDb
"A Conspiracy of Paper" [Warner Bros. 2014? release]
Announced December 2010: The period mystery thriller novel by David Liss sparked a bidding war after
its publication in 2000; Ridley & Tony Scott will produce; adaptation by Danny Strong; story is set in
early 18th century London against the backdrop of the beginnings of stock speculation and the retreat
from a metal-based currency DVD/Blu-ray not yet available latest info at IMDb
 | "A Conspiracy of Paper: A Novel" [2000] by David Liss Ballantine Books 8¼x5½ pb [1/2001] for $10.29 Random House 9¼x6 hardcover [2/2000] out of print/many, many used |
. . . and more on management, Wall Street, the Corporate Wars, and the G.O.P. Meltdown on
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