“The best perk of the White House is not Air Force One or Camp David or anything else, it’s the wonderful movie theatre I get here,” President Bill Clinton told Roger Ebert in 1999.
According to newly released documents obtained by Gizmodo through a Freedom of Information Act request, President Clinton did indeed love watching movies at the White House. He blew through 171 films while he was in office, not including duplicates (Clinton watched The Patriot, Braveheart, and Music of the Heart twice).
But there are some curious gaps in the record.
Based on the heavily-redacted documents provided by the Clinton Presidential Library and the National Archives, I’ve compiled a list of all the movies Clinton watched from 1993 until 2001. The most curious part may be that, according to the documents, the president watched just three movies in 1996, and only seven in 1997. This seems… unlikely.
One of the first questions people have about Clinton’s movie-viewing habits is whether he ever watched a movie with Monica Lewinsky. The short answer is that we don’t know. Most attendee names are redacted, but given that Lewinsky’s nine sexual encounters with President Clinton spanned from November of 1995 to March of 1997 (a period of time for which there are very few movies listed) there will no doubt be further speculation.
A few days after the Lewinsky scandal broke in the mainstream press on 21 January 1998, the Clintons hosted a screening of the Robert Duvall movie The Apostle. Attendees were said to be keeping a close eye on Bill and Hillary’s interactions.
According to the list, Clinton watched new movies almost exclusively. As someone who has become obsessed with the viewing habits of US presidents, I can say that this is a big departure from the Nixon, Carter and Reagan administrations — presidents who watched new releases, but also plenty of classics.
And despite Clinton’s claims to have seen the movie High Noon roughly 20 to 30 times, the classic Western doesn’t appear once in the list provided by the Clinton Library. Clinton has also repeatedly claimed that another of his favourite movies is Casablanca. Again, that movie doesn’t show up in the documents provided to Gizmodo.
What does show up? Mostly mainstream movies of the 1990s, like Forrest Gump, Enemy of the State, Jerry Maguire, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Apollo 13, You’ve Got Mail, Philadelphia and Mrs. Doubtfire. There are a few interesting films that might be considered cult classics, such as The Big Lebowski and Fight Club. For what it’s worth, Clinton told Roger Ebert that Fight Club was a bit too “nihilistic” for his tastes. Clinton also watched Star Wars: Episode I, though I have yet to confirm what he thought of Jar-Jar.
There are a few possible explanations to account for the absence of classic films. Clinton may have exaggerated his taste for older movies in interviews. But it might also have to do with the evolving role of the White House theatre. Since 1915, when President Woodrow Wilson screened the first film at the White House, movies have been a way to connect with foreign leaders, filmmakers and members of the press. But schmoozing over a movie seems to have intensified in the 1990s.
Journalist Maureen Dowd, for example, watched Field of Dreams at the White House with the first President Bush. And Jimmy Carter watched the first Star Wars movie in a secret meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in the lead up to the Camp David Peace Accords. Reagan even hosted director Stephen Spielberg, who brought a print of E.T. for a special screening at the White House that included Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Neil Armstrong. But Clinton’s choice of new movies probably speaks to his use of the theatre for entertaining outside visitors more than a reflection of his personal taste.
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Clinton often showed up as himself in the movies he watched. Films like The Siege and Crimson Tide, both on the list, utilise clips of the real Clinton. The president was reportedly angry about one scene in the 1997 alien drama Contact, but that movie isn’t on the list — yet more evidence that the documents we were given may be incomplete. Another movie missing from 1997 that Clinton told Ebert he adored? L.A. Confidential.
Sure, part of the fun of examining Presidential movie-watching habits is simple voyeurism. But if we accept that media influences the way we see the world, then there are also very real public and foreign policy implications to these lists.
The 1998 movie The Siege is fascinating to watch with the benefit of hindsight. The movie depicts cells of Middle Eastern terrorists setting off bombs in New York. The CIA is implicated in training some of the terrorists and the FBI is frustrated with the lack of communication between the agencies. There’s also fierce debate when martial law is declared and all New Yorkers of Middle Eastern descent are rounded up in camps. The film shows real clips of Clinton talking about a real terrorist attack that predates 1998, but he may as well have been talking about the attacks that would occur just three years later on 11 September 2001.
Practically all modern presidents watched dramatisations of war, government conspiracies and the political process more generally. President Nixon watched The Chairman, On the Beach and Executive Action, a 1973 movie about a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy. The first movie President Carter watched in office was All the President’s Men, and he watched films like The President’s Lady about Andrew Jackson. And when President Reagan wasn’t watching his own movies (yes, he watched Bedtime for Bonzo while in office) he found time for feel-good Cold War comedies like Robin Williams’ Moscow on the Hudson.
But Clinton seemed to watch more movies featuring presidents (both fictional and real) than your average US leader — with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson, whose favourite movie was a propaganda film of himself that he would watch on repeat. From Dave, a movie about an imposter president, to Independence Day, a movie about an alien species defeated single-handedly by an inspiring presidential speech, Clinton watched them all. He even watched Deep Impact, a movie about an Earth-cleansing asteroid that makes President Morgan Freeman sad.
Clinton’s movie tally pales in comparison to Jimmy Carter’s total of well over 400 movies. And Carter only served for four years, as opposed to Clinton’s eight. But I can’t stress enough that this list is probably incomplete, even if it’s the most comprehensive account we have to date.
1993
Lorenzo’s Oil – January 27, 1993
Leap of Faith – February 5, 1993
Falling Down – February 12, 1993
The Bodyguard – February 14, 1993
Howard’s End – February 20, 1993
Groundhog Day – February 27, 1993
Benny and Joon – March 4, 1993
Mad Dog and Glory – March 13, 1993
Married To It – March 20, 1993
Made in America – April 15, 1993
Born Yesterday (1993) – April 16, 1993
Dave – April 23, 1993
Point of No Return – May 1, 1993
Lost in Yonkers – May 14, 1993
Undercover Blues – May 21, 1993
Sleepless in Seattle – June 11, 1993
The Man Without a Face – September 3, 1993
Age of Innocence – September 11, 1993
Searching For Bobby Fischer – September 17, 1993
The Joy Luck Club – October 1, 1993
A Bronx Tale – October 10, 1993
Rudy – October 15, 1993
Striking Distance – October 22, 1993
Demolition Man – October 29, 1993
Philadelphia – November 13, 1993
The Three Musketeers (1993) – November 24, 1993
Cool Runnings – November 25, 1993
The Piano – November 26, 1993
The Pelican Brief – December 10, 1993
A Perfect World – December 26, 1993
1994
Tombstone – January 18, 1994
Shadowlands – January 20, 1994
Mrs. Doubtfire – January 21, 1994
The Air Up There – January 27, 1994
Grumpy Old Men – January 28, 1994
Six Degrees of Separation – February 11, 1994
Romeo is Bleeding – February 21, 1994
Guarding Tess – March 5, 1994
Abraham – March 11, 1994
Naked Gun 33 ⅓ – March 12, 1994
The Hudsucker Proxy – March 18, 1994
Four Weddings and a Funeral – April 15, 1994
Clifford – April 29, 1994
Little Women – December 25, 1994
Forrest Gump – December 26, 1994
1995
Nobody’s Fool – January 5, 1995
Legends of the Fall – January 13, 1995
Higher Learning – February 4, 1995
Boys on the Side – February 17, 1995
Miami Rhapsody – February 18, 1995
A Man of No Importance – February 19, 1995
The Quick and the Dead – February 20, 1995
Rob Roy – April 15, 1995
The Madness of King George – April 21, 1995
Jefferson in Paris – April 22, 1995
French Kiss – May 13, 1995
Braveheart – May 26, 1995
Kiss of Death – May 27, 1995
Braveheart – May 28, 1995
The Bridges of Madison County – May 28, 1995
Crimson Tide – June 2, 1995
Apollo 13 – June 8, 1995
1996
The Birdcage – April 3, 1996
Chicano! – May 2, 1996
Independence Day – June 22, 1996
1997
Jerry Maguire – January 10, 1997
One Fine Day – January 15, 1997
Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown – August 2, 1997
Shall We Dance – August 3, 1997
Cop Land – August 15, 1997
G.I. Jane – September 12, 1997
The Peacemaker – October 3, 1997
1998
Kundun – January 10, 1998
Good Will Hunting – January 11, 1998
The Apostle – January 24, 1998
Titanic – January 23, 1998
Fallen – January 30, 1998
Hard Rain – January 31, 1998
Temptress Moon – February 7, 1998 (mislabeled as Tempest Moon?)
Zero Effect – February 15, 1998
HBO’s From the Earth to the Moon (parts 1-2 of 12) – March 5, 1998
The Boxer – March 14, 1998
Twilight (1998)– April 4, 1998
The Big Lebowski – April 10, 1998
Dangerous Beauty – April 24, 1998
Bulworth – May 30, 1998
Deep Impact – June 1, 1998
The Truman Show – June 6, 1998
About Sarah – June 20, 1998
Out of Sight – July 4, 1998
Smoke Screen – July 8, 1998
Armageddon – July 10, 1998
A Perfect Murder – July 13, 1998
Saving Private Ryan – July 14, 1998
The Mask of Zorro – July 22, 1998
Snake Eyes – August 8, 1998
The Avengers (1998) – September 6, 1998
Wrongfully Accused – October 4, 1998
Rush Hour – October 23, 1998
Holy Man – October 30, 1998
Beloved – November 3, 1998
A Bug’s Life – November 8, 1998
Soldier – November 16, 1998
The Siege – November 17, 1998
Enemy of the State – December 12, 1998
Waking Ned Devine and A Civil Action– December 25, 1998
Life is Beautiful and The Prince of Egypt – December 26, 1998
1999
You’ve Got Mail – January 2, 1999
Affliction – January 23, 1999
Forever Fever (aka That’s the Way I Like It) – February 13, 1999
Little Voice – February 16, 1999
Message in a Bottle – February 20, 1999a
HBO’s Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports – March 4, 1999
October Sky – March 5, 1999
Analyse This – March 6, 1999
The Other Sister – March 14, 1999
8MM – March 26, 1999
True Crime – April 3, 1999
The Winslow Boy – May 2, 1999
Entrapment – May 12, 1999
The Castle – May 17, 1999
Cookie’s Fortune – May 21, 1999
The Harmonists – May 23, 1999
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – June 6, 1999
Shadrach – June 10, 1999
The Mummy – June 26, 1999
The 13th Floor – June 27, 1999
An Ideal Husband – July 2, 1999
Limbo – July 3, 1999
The General’s Daughter – July 12, 1999
Wild Wild West – July 17, 1999
Lake Placid – August 5, 1999
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) – August 13, 1999
Fifty Violins (aka Music of the Heart) – August 15, 1999
Mystery Men – September 4, 1999
Runaway Bride – September 5, 1999
American Beauty – October 10, 1999
My Life So Far – October 11, 1999
Three Kings – October 14, 1999
Double Jeopardy – October 16, 1999
Music of the Heart – October 23, 1999
Fight Club – November 6, 1999
The Bachelor – November 7, 1999
Crazy in Alabama – November 12, 1999 (mislisted as “Crazy in Arizona”?)
Liberty Heights – November 24, 1999
The World is Not Enough – November 25, 1999
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc – November 26, 1999
End of Days – November 27, 1999
The Hurricane – December 3, 1999
Galaxy Quest – December 25, 1999
The Talented Mr. Ripley – December 30, 1999
2000
Any Given Sunday – January 14, 2000
Eye of the Beholder – February 12, 2000
The Height of the Sky – February 17, 2000
Gun Shy – February 21, 2000
Hanging Up – February 25, 2000
PBS’ The American President (president unspecified) – April 7, 2000
Erin Brockovich – April 21, 2000
Frequency – May 13, 2000
I Dreamed of Africa – May 27, 2000
Small Time Crooks – June 9, 2000
Shanghai Noon – June 17, 2000
The Patriot – June 18, 2000
The Patriot – July 7, 2000
Shaft (2000) – July 8, 2000
High Fidelity – August 21, 2000
Space Cowboys – September 3, 2000
Coyote Ugly – September 10, 2000
Men of Honour – September 22, 2000
Almost Famous – October 10, 2000
Pay it Forward – October 27, 2000
2001
Chocolat – January 6, 2001
Top image by Jim Cooke, photo via AP.