This may take some readers by surprise, but 2008 is, in fact, an election year. While few political movies have managed to find big audiences, politics remains an irresistible subject for filmmakers. Maybe the last thing viewers want in an election year is to watch movies about elections, but for those who can’t get enough I’ve listed some of my favorites.

The great thing about political movies is how they can clean up real life and spit out emotionally and, of course, politically satisfying third acts. Movie presidents can re-write budgets to save schools (Dave), and fly jets into alien dogfights (Independence Day). Let’s face it, movie politicians give us the ideal against which we measure our real candidates. Who, after seeing Deep Impact, didn’t want Morgan Freeman to be our real president?

Now, I didn’t include a few because I’ve talked about them in other DVD columns (All the President’s Men, Dick). And some are already so revered (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Manchurian Candidate) that they need no additional love from me. Here are four worth seeing again:

Robert Redford in The Candidate. (Courtesy photo)

The Candidate (1972): Writer Jeremy Larner won an Oscar for his screenplay of an idealistic young lawyer who agrees to run for an unattainable senate seat, as long as he can say whatever he wants. Robert Redford is at his most sparkly, and uneven director Michael Ritchie (Bad News Bears) is in peak 1970’s Hollywood renegade form. Some of it doesn’t quite sing anymore, but for a breezy polemic The Candidate gets itself appropriately dirty.

Bob Roberts (1992): In 1992 Tim Robbins had a golden year. He starred in Robert Altman’s influential Hollywood assault The Player, and directed and starred in this pseudo-documentary about the senatorial campaign of an arch-conservative folk singer turned politician. Robbins’ attack on the right wing comes from just enough of an angle to be more amusing than sour grapes. He’s terrific, and he’s supported by deliciously creepy performances from Alan Rickman, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) and a thin young weirdo from Robbins’ acting company named Jack Black.

Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick in Election. (Courtesy photo)

Election (1999): Back in 1999 three things were not yet understood: 1. That Matthew Broderick had a mature performance in him; 2. That director Alexander Payne was a burgeoning master (About Schmidt, Sideways); 3. That Reese Witherspoon was a pretty darn good actress. Election follows teacher Broderick’s effort to keep student Witherspoon from winning the presidency of her class. Payne adapted Tom Perrotta’s novel with a nasty exuberance that allows us to empathize with the characters but maintain just enough distance to enjoy their suffering. With marvelous support from the entire cast, and a charming debut from Chris Klein (American Pie) that he would never come near matching again.

The Contender (2000): The combination of self-serious writer/director Rod Lurie and self-serious actress Joan Allen makes for some self-serious screen time in The Contender. But there are enough rewards to compensate for the heavy-handedness in this story of a female senator (Allen) who is nominated to replace a deceased vice president, then comes under fire for a sex scandal in her past. Tops among the star-studded cast are Gary Oldman as a conservative senator on the warpath and a dazzlingly odd Jeff Bridges as the inscrutable president. It’s the weakest of the bunch, but still dirty fun. Lurie creates a dense, pulpy political mess with third act twists that are surprisingly satisfying.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.