US. History In Film

[bi11y-mays.livejournal.com]

I am preparing a syllabus for US. History 2111, which is a survey course covering all US history from colonization to current, for a university I am applying to teach at (a large liberal Arts college in the Southeast US), and I plan for the students to watch a film that is historically based (or at least reflects the time they are filmed in) and write a review and response to the film. Here are some movies I have personally seen, and plan to include:
Thirteen Days (2000)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Reds (1981)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Birth of a Nation (1915)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)
All the President's Men (1976)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
The Graduate (1967)
Malcom X (1992)
1776 (1972)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Modern Times (1936)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)

I am interested in 1) hearing what everyone here thinks of my list, and 2) give me suggestions in case I missed a few and ones I might need to watch and see if they are applicable. Thanks!

For my foreign friends, what are some films of American history that appeal to you?

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

To be blunt anyone who read a more modern take on that narrative would have known this kind of thing, including the blatant lies about the missile gap. In fact I've used this as one of my major clubs to beat Kennedy over the head with in terms of his legacy and made unfavorable comparisons of this and Bush's fearmongering about non-existent weapons and making a non-threat into greatest threat ever. The real JFK was a more interesting man than his caricature, but he was also rather as much an epic fail as Fransisco Solano Lopez (the guy who single-handedly was the worst dictator in human history).

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

For once we find common ground.