These movie favorites provide perspectives in management; all represent a pleasant diversion for a couple of hours. Several provide a unique perspective on New Orleans.

Movies	Comments
12 Angry Men	Jury deliberations provide a compelling study in group dynamics. Watch Henry Fonda emerge from the sidelines to exert leadership over a group by presenting an alternative point of view and backing it up.
12 O'Clock High	WW II classic. Lessons in leadership.
A Clockwork Orange	Mind control anyone, Kubric explores technophobia in the 60's
A Desk Set	Tracy and Hepburn explore a technophobic theme as the computer threatens to eliminate jobs.
Alien	Really scary monsters in a vivid hitech setting. Sigorney Weaver proves humans are tough.
Anna and the King	The King demonstrates the constraints imposed by followers on even an absolute ruler.
Apocalypse Now	The Horror of the Vietnam war provides a vivid counter-point to American culture. In a global market we must realize that not all enjoy McDonalds, yet.
Apollo 13	Are you a steely eyed rocket man? Engineering and problem solving under intense pressure,
Armageddon	Asteroids threaten from space. Compare to Deep Impact and Space Cowboys. Nice Aerosmith theme.
As Good as it Gets	Nicholson is still insane after leaving the Nest
Back to the Future	Time travel travails, fun with Michael J Fox.
Ben Hur	A loooooong story of Judea, galley slaves, chariot races, good vs evil
Body Heat	Twists and turns in the south
Boiler Room	Can you sell? High pressure sales associates at a sleazy brokerage push stock on the phone.
Braveheart	A tale of freedom. Why does the king have a power at all?
Bread and Chocolate	I wonder if the Swiss have limits on their H1B visa's
Bridge over the River Kwai	WW II classic. More management lessons. Also a search for the forest in the trees.
Broke Down Palace	Tai prison teaches young women extraordinary love
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	Fluff….Rules? Swim? Can I move?
Casablanca	WW II classic. More emigration problems. Hero's and villians.
Charade	Can you tell friend from foe?
Chocolat	A taste of France, Juillette Binoche provides an intriguing look into the life of a small town
Cocoon	Opie does aliens and the elderly. Where is the face eating?
Contact	Carl Sagan story suggests a different scenario regarding first contact; also develops the religion vs science theme and adds a twist; another standout role for Jody Foster
Crimson Tide	Leadership lessons in a high stakes thriller. When are you required to challenge the bosses authority?
Dances with Wolves	Kostner at this best in a historical tale of the Ameican west
Deliverance	Squeal like a pig. Backwoods Tennessee meets Burt Reynolds and friends.
Die Hard	Yippie yi yo kay ai , m…… f….. Nonstop action.
Dude Where's My Car	Aliens, comedy, fluff. Compare to Cheech and Chong
ET	Speilberg does aliens also without any face eating
Fargo	Min-nee-soh'-ta' ok North Dakota provides more proof of aliens among us even though their DNA is human
Ferris Buehler's Day Off	Good every time, Buelher……Buehler…..Buelher….
Forrest Gump	Tom Hanks plays a different kind of intelligence and reveals unexpected depths
Fugitive	Run after the one armed man updated with a techno scandal, ethics?
Gandhi	A great soul provides uniquely principled leadership, far beyond ethics
Ghost Busters	Techno comedy fluff
Giant	Texas rancher faces oil boom, could wealth be unwelcome to some? Think Iraq…
Godfather	Brando is the quintessential leader. Lessons in power that would make Machievelle blush.
Goldfinger	James Bond tackles Auric Goldfinger in this Fleming Classic. All the Connery Bonds are highly recommended but are beginning to look a bit outdated. The Broccoli Bonds are more fantastic but caricatures. Look for the theme music and the leading lady as intro roles.
Gone with the Wind	Beautiful adaptation of the Mitchell classic of the Civil War. Fantastic considering when it was made.
Good Will Hunting	Intelligence and insanity make a popular theme. Compare to A Beautiful Mind.
Groundhog Day	Time travel and the power of good over evil. Bill Murray
Hamburger Hill	Vietnam story of heroism and evil, futility of war
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Witches and wizards in training. Harry emerges as a leader through a combination of fame, courage and ethical behavior in this morality play.
Hunt for Red October	Tom Clancy submarine thriller comes to life. Baldwin makes a better Jack Ryan than Ford.
Its a Wonderful Life	Christmas classic. Time travel via angelic intercession. What could have been.
Jaws	Shark attack, fluff with a harpoon
Joe Versus the Volcano	Hanks plays against multiple Meg Ryans as the flourescent lights suck the life right out the office workers. Self discovery. Lloyd Bridges introduces Boobaroo in a classic illustration of the power of a vision. What kind of sales job would induce you to give your life for corporate profits?
Jurassic Park	Dinosaur DNA retrieved from amber. Unfortunately the story turns into a typically Crichton technophobic rant.
K-Pax	Alien or insane. Spacey makes a perfect alien Christ figure in the cookoos nest.
Lawrence of Arabia	WW I classic organizing the Arabs against the Turks. Questioning cultural mores. Diversity and going native. Tolerated tourist becomes revered leader through a combination of courage, ethical behavior and results. Compare to Braveheart.
M.A.S.H.	Korean War military medical hijinks. The lunacy of war.
Memento	What am I doing? Chasing that guy? No he's chasing me! More insanity! Now in reverse! With tatoos!
Midnight Express	Turkish prison with some real face eating.
Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation	Stewart takes his disfunctional family to the shore and they discover themselves and each other.
Mutiny on the Bounty	Good movie about a much better book. Loss of positional leadership through lack of respect, unethical behavior. Men Against the Sea shouldn't be missed because as villianous as Bligh can be he proves his mettle by producing results against impossible odds.
Niagra	Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton make this bit a fluff live.
No Highway in the Sky	Jimmy Stewart the aeronautical engineer and the Reindeer transatlantic aircraft.
North by Northwest	Cary Grant goes to Mount Rushmore in one of my favorite Hitchcocks.
One Flew over the Cukoos Nest	Jack Nicholson gets the genre started.
Patton	A lesson in being the best at what you do. American culture has a particular problem with success when its combined with blatant arrogance (megalomania).
Platoon	Vietnam war. Compare to Full Metal Jacket and Hamburger Hill.
Raiders of the Lost Ark	Indiana Jones engages in action adventure. Numerous sequels also fun.
Rainman	Idiot savante portrayed by Dustin Hoffman
Rear Window	Immobile Stewart peeps through his telescope into other lives.
Risky Business	Youth enters the world of free enterprise. Cruise, a Porsche, and a pair of Ray Bans offer lessons in freedom and its price.
Rocky	Rocky's never say die attitude gains respect but he has to back it up with a punch.
Roman Holiday	Hepburn and Grant demonstrate the isolation of the leader
Rules of Engagement	A6 attack aircraft in the skies over Vietnam. Futility of war particularly one with strict rules. What induces these officers to ignore the rules? Good flying scenes.
Sabrina (both versions)	Coming of age, boy discovers girl and himself in a big business setting. Nothing like a good romance. But take a second to consider Linus. He's earned the love and respect of his employees and family, how? Although his reputation is ruthless and hardboiled a streak of compassion seems to emerge that I believe was instrumental all along.
Saving Private Ryan	WW II realism. Did Marshall have a choice? Was his choice inspirational or ethical or either?
Shrek	Animated fairy tale, boy meets girl with hidden talents
Silence of the Lambs	Hannibal Lector runs up against Jody Foster. Aliens are indeed amongst us. More face eating.
Stand by Me	Coming of age shows young leader recognizing talent, courage on the railroad trestle
Star Man	Seeing ourselves as other see us. "When you see a yellow light step on the gas."
Star Wars	Techno action adventure with Hollywood budget and limited story. Fun fluff.
The Big Easy	New Orleans featured in this bit of cops and criminal fluff
The Dish	Australian radiotelescope participates in Apollo 11 landing; portrays another view of America as seen from outside
The Fellowship of the Ring	Tolkien classic comes to life faithfully on two out of three counts, only the humor and innocence are underportrayed. New Zealand provides an awesome backdrop. Aragorn earns (?) his leadership with unlikely victory in Gondor. Compare use of the undead in Pirates of the Carribean. Why do we fear the dead?
The Firm	Grisham novel with Cruise, read the book. Attorney joins a mysterious firm. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.
The Forbin Project	Computers protect man from himself. Earliest AI theme. The beginning of a new lifeform.
The Gods Must Be Crazy	Coke bottle classic
The Graduate	"Plastics" my boy. Just how old was Dustin Hoffman when he made this movie. I've got this one on the list to be cut. Joins 2001 a Space Odessey as most over rewarded movies.
The Jerk	Hopelessly naïve boy makes good. Opti-grab about as likely as winning the lottery but it does happen.
The Matrix	A.I. thriller suggests another technophobic outcome to the evolution of the planet.
The Princess Bride	A delightful fairy tale.
The Sixth Sense	ESP and a fascinating twist...
The Sound of Music	Julie Andrews does WW II as a hero picks danger over tyranny
The Spirit of St. Louis	Lindberg's historic NY to Paris flight seems to demonstrate the power of a vision or is it just dumb luck.
The Sting	Twist and turns make this story a fun one Newman and Redford
Titantic	Big ship sinks, Celine Dion goes on, don’t' think just sit back and enjoy the wealth and consider the arbitrary class differences. However don't be fooled into believing that its all that much fun in steerage.
To Kill a Mockingbird	Racial predujice in a 1932 Alabama town.
Top Gun	Tom Cruise at this best. Love all that flying.
War Games	Look at those dated modems, teen hacker war-dials for real. Exposes the futility of nuclear war, compare to the Forbin Project. Get a little insight into the motivation, patience and inventiveness of hackers.
Wind	Racing for the America's Cup or just an afternoon on the lake. A fine sailing movie. Blunders build dramatic effect but make the movie unrealistic.
Working Girl	A pleasant bit of fluff. Investment banking can be fun and profitable.