Movies from Richard Dawkins

The League of Gentlemen

Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline and planning are imposed by Hyde and second-in-command Race on the team, although civilian irritations do start getting in the way.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Old enough to remember Jack Hawkins in The League of Gentlemen? I’ve a VERY strong memory of his saying “Call me Colonel or Scott or even Scotty”. Yet I saw it again last night & his name was Hyde not Scott. (Vivid) false memory? Or is there a film where he’s called Scott?
Movies from Richard Dawkins

White Mischief

A millionaire past his prime and his young wife arrive in Kenya circa 1940 to find that the other affluent British expatriates are living large as the homefront gears up for war. They are busy swapping partners, doing drugs, and attending lavish parties and horse races. She begins a torrid affair with one of the bon vivants, and her husband finds out and confronts them. The husband and wife decide to break up peacefully, but the bon vivant is murdered and all the evidence points to the husband.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Watched White Mischief film. Portrayal of decadent Happy Valley perhaps fair. Innuendo that Delves Broughton faked drunkenness is JUST excusable, for the murder is unsolved & he was a suspect. But KNOWN LIES are unforgivable: he didn’t shoot himself but died of an overdose.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Howards End

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Watching film of Howard’s End. Wonderful cast including Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Samuel West, Prunella Scales.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Watched the film of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (US “Pajamas”). Very moving. About a Nazi concentration camp seen through the innocent eyes of the 8-year-old son of the commandant.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Testament of Youth

Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Sobbed my way through the film of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth. Beautifully done. Was the First World War the greatest act of collective folly in all history? Not only itself. It also directly spawned Hitler.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

My Octopus Teacher

After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix) is a sweet film. A talented South African film-maker found solace in the sea, & developed a close relationship with a wild octopus. There’s a dramatic chase & most ingenious escape from a shark, & a final deeply moving embrace with her human friend.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Life of Brian

Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Life of Brian (1979) full movie online I’m guessing this film has converted many people? Am I right?
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Dictator

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
The Dictator, by Sacha Baron Cohen, is a marvellously funny film. Anarchic, satirical, outrageous, witty. Don’t know how I missed it before.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Mon Oncle

Genial, bumbling Monsieur Hulot loves his top-floor apartment in a grimy corner of the city, and cannot fathom why his sister's family has moved to the suburbs. Their house is an ultra-modern nightmare, which Hulot only visits for the sake of stealing away his rambunctious young nephew. Hulot's sister, however, wants to win him over to her new way of life, and conspires to set him up with a wife and job.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
As further language practice I watched Mon Oncle (yet again). What a gloriously, charmingly, deliciously funny film. Jacques Tati is a comic genius, a latter day Charlie Chaplin.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
William Kamkwamba. “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind.” Such a moving film, on Netflix. Set in Malawi, land of my childhood. Tale of human ingenuity and heroism. Please watch it. Will make you weep, then make you proud to be human.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

India's Daughter

The story of the short life, and brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riots throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset. Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. The film examines the society and values which spawn such violent acts, and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Watching "India's Daughter", horrifying. Lawyer defending rapists: "We have the best culture. In our culture there's no place for a woman".
Movies from Richard Dawkins

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Binge watching Cosmos & David Attenborough on Netflix. I adore David A but wish he’d tell us when film is speeded up or slowed. It’s often obvious but not always, and it matters.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Viceroy's House

In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the home of British rulers, whilst 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants lived downstairs.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Just watched Viceroy’s House, moving film on tragedy of Indian partition: bloody separation by faith. Truly, religion poisons everything.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Tom & Viv

The story of the marriage of the poet T. S. Eliot to socialite Vivienne Haigh-Wood, which had to cope with her gynaecological and emotional problems and his growing fame.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Tom and Viv. Well-made, troubling film about TS Eliot & unhappy 1st wife, harrowingly played by Miranda Richardson. William Dafoe uncannily like Eliot. Surprised he didn’t have American accent. But then I listened to Eliot himself reading The Waste Land. Dafoe got him perfectly.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Arrival

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Just watched interesting science fiction film called Arrival. Recommended. But, unless you are a lot brighter than me, it might be a good idea to read up on the plot first. I did so afterwards & it made sense with hindsight. Probably should have done so before.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Half way through film of 1984. Again, surprisingly and gratifyingly faithful to the book. John Hurt is perfectly cast as Winston Smith. Suzanna Hamilton is a lovely Julia. Richard Burton is certain to be good as O’Brien, but I’m not sure I can bear to watch to the tragic end.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Watched the film of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (US “Pajamas”). Very moving. About a Nazi concentration camp seen through the innocent eyes of the 8-year-old son of the commandant.
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Great Hack

Data—arguably the world’s most valuable asset—is being weaponized to wage cultural and political wars. The dark world of data exploitation is uncovered through the unpredictable, personal journeys of players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data story.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
The Great Hack. Sensationally great film, only just out, on how Cambridge Analytica delivered the infamous 2016 votes by gathering & selling massive quantities of data so individually-tailored lies could be aimed at each floating voter (in swing states).
Movies from Richard Dawkins

The Report

The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Shocked by (advance showing of) Scott Burns’ brilliant & courageous film, The Report, exposing CIA’s flagrantly illegal torture of prisoners under GW Bush. Many of the culprits are still in jobs & promoted. I recommend everyone see it
Movies from Richard Dawkins

Salam - The First ****** Nobel Laureate

Salam is a feature length documentary about the Nobel prize winning Pakistani physicist, Abdus Salam. The film reveals the extraordinary life of the charismatic Abdus Salam, in all its color, vitality and tragedy. It is the story of a man who traversed two worlds with ease: one of science and religion, modernity and tradition, war and peace and obscurity and celebrity.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Abdus Salam was a hero of science. He should have been celebrated as Pakistan’s greatest son. Instead he was shamefully ill-used by that country’s ignorant religious leaders. This film is a movingly sensitive treatment of a wonderful world citizen
Movies recommended by Richard Dawkins
10 movies

10 Best Science Fiction Films

Sci-fi movies that got Richard's endorsement among others.
Richard Dawkins
Writer, Scientist
Sci-fi movies that got Richard's endorsement among others.