Uncover the truth behind the silver screen! Join us as we dive into the world of shadowy organizations, government cover-ups, and mind-bending plots. From classic thrillers to modern masterpieces, we're counting down the films that will make you question everything you thought you knew. Get ready for a cinematic journey through the rabbit hole!
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00:00You'll do as I say, and ask no questions, if you follow my drift.
00:05In Technicolor, sir.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for films with the wildest rabbit holes
00:13that will make you question everything.
00:15Harley seems to think you're an innocent man.
00:18Well, I've been accused of a lot of things before, Mrs. Mulray, but never that.
00:24Number 20, Jason Bourne franchise.
00:27For nearly 15 years, the Jason Bourne franchise served a mix of high-stakes action and deep-seated government intrigue.
00:34From the moment Jason Bourne is found adrift in the Mediterranean,
00:38viewers are thrust into a shadowy world where no one can be trusted, and nothing is as it seems.
00:44Where are you now?
00:47I'm sitting in my office.
00:50I doubt that.
00:52Why would you doubt that?
00:54If you were in your office right now, we'd be having this conversation face-to-face.
00:58Each film unravels layer upon layer of secrets, from covert government programs
01:03to elaborate plots involving hidden identities and global surveillance.
01:07The relentless, pulse-pounding pace mirrors Bourne's own frantic quest for truth.
01:12Action fans may be satisfied with gripping hand-to-hand combat and iconic chase scenes,
01:18but at its core, the franchise features a protagonist who's as elusive as the forces hunting him.
01:24You're never going to find any peace.
01:28Not until you admit to yourself who you really are.
01:33It's time to come at Jason.
01:35Number 19, Enemy of the State.
01:38Oh, I know. We'll just tap the criminals. We won't suspend the civil rights of the good people.
01:44Right.
01:45Then who decides which is which?
01:47I think you should.
01:48You know, Bobby, I think you should take this more seriously.
01:51The post-9-11 expansion of the surveillance state was predicted years in advance
01:56in the high-stakes thriller Enemy of the State.
01:58Will Smith stars as lawyer Robert Clayton Dean, who unknowingly receives evidence of a political murder.
02:04From that moment on, his life spirals into utter chaos.
02:08Hunted by government agents using cutting-edge technology to track his every move,
02:13he turns to a surveillance expert, played by Gene Hackman, for help.
02:16Enemy of the State is a portrait of the omnipresence of the surveillance state
02:20and the paranoia that it can instill.
02:22It raises unnerving questions about the relationship between privacy and power.
02:27First, if you're a murder suspect, you're going to be easier to find.
02:31Second, to discredit you in case you ever go public against them.
02:35Number 18, Captain America, The Winter Soldier.
02:39Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?
02:44When the Russo brothers took their first shot at the MCU,
02:47they proved that superheroes could star in genre-bending films.
02:51Captain America, The Winter Soldier is in many ways a throwback to 1970s paranoia thrillers.
02:57From the opening scene, Cap is caught up in a web of lies and deceit,
03:01reaching all the way to the upper echelons of S.H.I.E.L.D.
03:04He and Black Widow are forced to go on the run,
03:06not knowing who to trust as they untangle the lies that surround them.
03:10Confronted by old enemies and older friends,
03:13they have to fight against the powers that be to save the world.
03:17I know I'm asking a lot.
03:20But the price of freedom is high.
03:22It always has been.
03:24And it's a price I'm willing to pay.
03:28And if I'm the only one, then so be it.
03:33But I'm willing to bet I'm not.
03:35Number 17, Marathon Man.
03:37We're always so confident God was on their side.
03:40Now I think we are not so sure.
03:43In Hollywood, there are many apocryphal stories
03:46about how old-school acting and method acting collide in the 1976 film Marathon Man.
03:52A young Dustin Hoffman stars as Babe Levy, a history student and marathon runner.
03:57Babe unknowingly stumbles headfirst into a terrifying plot
04:01involving stolen diamonds, Nazi war criminals, and government agents with dark secrets.
04:07I'm as anxious as you are to find out whoever did this.
04:09I'm a little more anxious, wouldn't you agree?
04:11Babe is an everyman fighting against impossible odds in an insane situation.
04:16Lauren Solivier's Dr. Zell stands in sharp contrast,
04:20with his chilling performance propping up the film's nail-biting suspense.
04:24As the plot weaves and the tension mounts,
04:27viewers are left to wonder who they can trust and what lies beneath the surface of the ordinary.
04:32Number 16, Soylent Green.
04:34This is very important.
04:36I can't help you.
04:38Forgive me. It's destroying me.
04:42What is?
04:44The truth.
04:45The truth Simonson told you?
04:47All truth.
04:48What is it?
04:52What did he confess?
04:54Soylent Green is that rare conspiracy flick that imagines a bleak future,
04:58rather than focusing on a bleak present.
05:00It's a dystopian tale set in a 2022 rife with overpopulation, corruption, and environmental collapse.
05:07Grizzled NYPD detective Robert Thorne, played by Charlton Heston,
05:12investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman tied to the powerful Soylent Corporation.
05:17Thorne's search for answers uncovers shocking truths about the world's food supply.
05:22Edward G. Robinson's moving performance as Thorne's wise, world-weary friend Saul
05:27adds a much-needed human touch, a contrast from the bleak universe of the movie.
05:32I know. I know.
05:35When you were young, people were better.
05:38Oh, nuts.
05:40People were always rotten.
05:43When the world was beautiful.
05:45Number 15, They Live.
05:48I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.
05:56And I'm all out of bubblegum.
05:58Rowdy Roddy Piper, aliens, conspiracies, and Keith David.
06:02What else do you need in a movie?
06:04They Live is a science fiction cult classic about a drifter who discovers a worldwide alien conspiracy.
06:10Many in the upper and ruling classes are actually aliens in disguise.
06:14They use advertisements and the entertainment industry
06:17as vehicles to deliver subliminal messaging directly into the human brain,
06:21slowly subjugating the world.
06:23While the aliens push consumption and conformity,
06:26Piper and David must come together to fight and free humanity from alien control.
06:31While featuring one of the most insane fistfights ever put to film,
06:35They Live is a shockingly trenchant satire of modern Western society.
06:39The golden rule.
06:42He who has the gold makes the rules.
06:44Number 14, Minority Report.
06:51Why'd you catch that?
06:52Because it was gonna fall.
06:54You're certain?
06:55Yeah, but it didn't fall.
06:57You caught it.
06:58It's clear Steven Spielberg has always been interested in the intersection of conspiracy and sci-fi.
07:04One of his first films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
07:07introduced audiences to mysteries hidden in plain sight.
07:11Years later, Minority Report took his vision further.
07:14Spielberg presents us with a high-tech dystopia
07:17where pre-crime officers arrest people before they can commit crimes.
07:22Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton,
07:24a dedicated cop who suddenly finds himself the system's target.
07:28Anderton's flight from the law is replete with the action-heavy sequences
07:31we've all come to associate with Tom Cruise.
07:34Even so, the film also deftly explores themes of free will versus determinism,
07:39casting doubt on the seemingly infallible technology controlling society.
07:44If you don't go through with this, my family gets nothing.
07:47Okay?
07:48You're supposed to kill me.
07:50You said you would.
07:54He?
07:55Who's he?
07:56Number 13, Three Days of the Condor.
07:59Identify yourself.
08:00I don't...
08:01What is your designation?
08:03Condor.
08:05Section 9, Department 17. The section's been hit.
08:08What level?
08:09What level?
08:10Level of damage.
08:11Everybody.
08:12Many of the best-made American conspiracy thrillers
08:15came about in the middle of the 1970s.
08:18The combination of Kennedy's assassination, Vietnam, and Watergate
08:22shattered America's trust in institutions.
08:25Cinemas were filled with films that seized upon the distrustful American zeitgeist.
08:30Three Days of the Condor was just such a film.
08:32When Robert Redford, an average Joe intelligence analyst,
08:36comes back to his office after lunch,
08:38he discovers the corpses of all of his coworkers.
08:41As he goes into hiding, he gets entangled with Faye Dunaway.
08:44Together, they must unravel a mystery that leads to the very top of the American government,
08:49or die trying.
08:51I don't think I want to know you very well.
08:56I don't think you're going to live much longer.
09:02Well, I may surprise you.
09:06Number 12, Blowout.
09:08Political corruption and murder are front and center in Brian De Palma's Blowout.
09:12The film follows Jack Terry, played by John Travolta.
09:15He is a sound technician from Philly who accidentally records audio evidence of a car crash.
09:21As it turns out, the crash may not have been an accident, but an assassination.
09:25What starts as a routine night turns into a spiraling nightmare.
09:30Last night I was recording some sounds, and I recorded your accident.
09:35I got the whole thing on tape.
09:37Oh, you recorded the accident?
09:39Yes, I did. Except I don't think you had an accident.
09:42I think your tire was shot out.
09:44The sound design is, by necessity, impeccable.
09:47Audiences are forced to listen closely for the truth
09:50as Jack's recordings reveal pivotal clues.
09:52Travolta's descent into obsession makes for a gripping emotional journey.
09:56From start to finish, Blowout keeps you on edge, unable to believe anything you see or hear.
10:02Because if we don't get this out and on television for everybody to see,
10:05they're going to close the book.
10:07And any loose ends that happen to be hanging out like you or me are going to be cut right off.
10:11So you've got your choice. You can be crazy or dead. Either will do.
10:13Number 11, The Insider.
10:15In the late 1990s, Jeffrey Weigand, a whistleblower from Big Tobacco,
10:19risked everything to expose the industry's lies about the health risks of smoking.
10:24The Insider is a rip-from-the-headlines story detailing Weigand's journey as a whistleblower.
10:29We worked together for, what was it, three years?
10:32Now the work we did here is confidential, not for public scrutiny any more than our own family matters.
10:38You're threatening my family now, too?
10:40Now don't be paranoid, Jeff.
10:44Weigand is no angel, but he is clearly a man of conscience,
10:48trying to balance his family's well-being with doing the right thing.
10:51As he interacts with Al Pacino's Lowell, a producer with 60 Minutes,
10:55the film invites viewers to question the very fabric of media integrity.
11:00Big Tobacco wielded its power like a weapon,
11:03and the media didn't always do the right thing when given the opportunity.
11:07And now, even now, when every word of what Weigand has said on our show is printed,
11:12the entire deposition of his testimony in a court of law in the state of Mississippi,
11:17the cat totally out of the bag,
11:21you're still standing here debating.
11:26A beautiful, mysterious woman pursued by gunmen.
11:29Sounds like a spy story.
11:31It's exactly what it is.
11:33Many of Alfred Hitchcock's early films were spy and crime thrillers,
11:38but few were as engrossing as The 39 Steps.
11:41The story follows Richard Hannay, a Canadian living in London.
11:44Hannay is unexpectedly thrust into danger when a mysterious woman is murdered in his apartment.
11:50Left only with cryptic clues, Richard uncovers a plot that threatens British national security.
11:55Accused of murder, Hannay hides amongst Scotland's misty moors and crowded theatres.
12:00Pursued by both law enforcement and a shadowy network of spies,
12:04he must discover the truth before it's too late.
12:07The combination of mistaken identity, secret codes and double-crossing agents
12:12helped set the standard for a genre that's still vibrant nearly a century later.
12:17There's a dangerous conspiracy against this island and we're the only people who can stop it.
12:20Think what you've seen happen right under your very nose.
12:23The gallant knight to the rescue.
12:27You are the senior litigating partner of one of the largest, most respected law firms in the world.
12:32You are a legend.
12:33I'm an accomplice!
12:34You're a manic depressive.
12:36I am Shiva, the god of death.
12:38What if Monsanto wanted you dead because you discovered a dirty and deadly little secret?
12:43This question lies at the heart of Tony Gilroy's directorial debut, Michael Clayton.
12:48George Clooney stars as the eponymous Michael, a fixer at a huge corporate law firm in the middle of a tremendous merger.
12:55The deal is threatened when one of their top litigators appears to have a meltdown in the middle of a deposition.
13:01Sent to handle the mess, Michael soon becomes immersed in a deadly conspiracy by their client,
13:06a huge agricultural corporation, to hide evidence.
13:09Both the writing and acting are picture perfect as Michael comes face to face with both murderers and his own private demons.
13:17Five is easier. Yeah, five is something we could talk about.
13:22Good. And then the other five is to forget about the 468 people that you knocked off with your weed killer.
13:29Let me finish up this meeting. I'll talk to Don.
13:31Do I look like I'm negotiating?
13:34Number eight, Z.
13:48The 1963 assassination of Greek politician Grigoris Lembrekis is the inspiration for Z,
13:54a political thriller by Greek-French director Costa Gavras.
13:58The film skillfully reveals how some conspiracies can just lurk in plain sight.
14:03Yves Montand plays a Lembrekis-like figure, brutally murdered after advocating for nuclear disarmament.
14:19After the killing, authorities fabricate a cover story to protect the military's interests.
14:24A committed magistrate and a photojournalist work together in a relentless pursuit of truth.
14:29Z masterfully showcases the manipulation of facts and the chilling realization that power often overpowers justice.
14:36The mix of dark humor and profound unease resonates deeply.
14:39As a result, Z is both a 1960s cinematic landmark and a haunting warning that remains relevant today.
14:47Number seven, All the President's Men.
14:59The 2017 film The Post captures the Washington Post's bold decision to publish the Pentagon Papers,
15:05a classified history of America's involvement in Vietnam.
15:08That battle was only the paper's first skirmish with Nixon.
15:12All the President's Men masterfully chronicles the real-life investigation by Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
15:19Their dogged determination exposed one of the largest political scandals in U.S. history.
15:24With meticulous attention to detail, the film immerses viewers in the reporting process.
15:30From painstaking research to late-night calls, the depth of the conspiracy behind Watergate is slowly revealed.
15:37The viewer is immersed in the hunt for truth.
15:39Each scene drives home the stakes of holding power accountable,
15:43crafting a suspenseful, enduring tale of dedication in the face of corruption.
15:48How much do you need to know?
15:50You trust him?
15:54Yeah.
15:57I can't do the reporting for my reporters, which means I have to trust them.
16:03And I hate trusting anybody.
16:06Number six, JFK.
16:08But rather than admit to a conspiracy or investigate further,
16:11the Warren Commission chose to endorse the theory put forth by an ambitious junior counselor, Arlen Specter,
16:17one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people.
16:22We've come to know it as the magic bullet theory.
16:25The truth behind the JFK assassination has fascinated conspiracy theorists for decades.
16:30Thirty years after Kennedy was assassinated, Oliver Stone directed JFK.
16:35An in-depth and fictionalized look at the investigation,
16:38Kevin Costner stars as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.
16:42As he investigates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy,
16:46Garrison is forced to question the official narrative.
16:49Stone's use of documentary-style footage, flashbacks and stylistic cinematography
16:55pulls viewers into a whirlwind of evidence, suspicion and paranoia.
16:59A fictionalized scene where Garrison speaks with an inside man, X,
17:04leaves the viewer wondering who inside the U.S. government may have been involved.
17:08It's a real question, isn't it? Why?
17:11The how and the who is just scenery for the public.
17:15Oswald, Ruby, Cuba, the Mafia.
17:19Keeps them guessing like some kind of parlor game.
17:21Prevents them from asking the most important question, why?
17:24Number five, L.A. Confidential.
17:26How's it gonna look in your report?
17:28It'll look like justice. That's what the man got. Justice.
17:32Based on James Elroy's novel, L.A. Confidential follows three disparate LAPD officers
17:38as they uncover a series of linked crimes leading to the top of the department.
17:43Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey deliver compelling performances
17:47as characters who must navigate a city rife with secrets.
17:51The film paints a sinister portrait of institutional corruption
17:54set against the glamorous backdrop of 1950s Los Angeles.
17:58The film's sharp dialogue, atmospheric tension and intricate plotting create a noir masterpiece.
18:04In the corrupt city of angels, power, fame and crime come together in a deadly collision.
18:10We want some answers, Patchett.
18:15We all want something.
18:17Number four, Chinatown.
18:19You're a very nosy fellow, kitty cat, huh?
18:21You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh? No? Wanna guess?
18:26When reading a plot summary, one would easily be forgiven for thinking that Chinatown is an overstuffed mess.
18:32Set in 1930s Los Angeles, it delivers an intricate tale involving murder, lies, corruption, water rights and a dark family secret.
18:41In truth, it was one of the quintessential films of the 1970s, helping to usher in a new era of noir cinema.
18:48Directed by Roman Polanski, the film follows private detective Jake Gittis, played by Jack Nicholson.
18:54A simple investigation into a cheating spouse quickly spirals out of control.
18:59Chinatown takes noir tropes into the bald light of day, presenting a world where the truth is elusive and power is abused.
19:06Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
19:09Number three, The Manchurian Candidate.
19:12I wanted a killer from a world filled with killers, and they chose you.
19:16Because they thought it would bind me closer to them.
19:21Long before solving mysteries as crime writer Jessica Fletcher, Angela Lansbury was at the center of a mysterious conspiracy in The Manchurian Candidate.
19:29The film follows Raymond Shaw, a Korean war hero.
19:33Thanks in no small parts to his mother, played by Lansbury, Shaw is unknowingly programmed to become an assassin in a communist conspiracy.
19:41Frank Sinatra stars as Major Bennett Marco, investigating the sinister forces controlling Shaw.
19:47The Manchurian Candidate presents a labyrinthian tale of mind control, deceit, and political machinations.
19:53The film is a Cold War classic, a deep dive into the world of power, influence, and manipulation.
19:59You ought to forget everything that happened at the senator's house. Do you understand, Raymond?
20:04You'll only remember it when I tell you so. You ought to forget about it. Do you understand?
20:10Yes, sir.
20:12Number two, The Parallax View.
20:14The committee wishes to emphasize that there is no evidence of any wider conspiracy. No evidence whatsoever.
20:23One of the most interesting things to come out of new Hollywood cinema is the complete subversion of the protagonist.
20:29The good guy didn't always win. There is no better example than The Parallax View, a chilling tale of political conspiracy.
20:36The film follows journalist Joe Fraddy as he investigates the assassination of a U.S. senator.
20:42Fraddy quickly discovers the existence of a shadowy organization that recruits individuals for covert political killings.
20:50At first I thought these killings were related only to the Carroll assassination. It's much bigger than that.
20:54Whoever's behind this is in the business of recruiting assassins.
20:57As Fraddy digs deeper, he becomes ensnared in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
21:02As the story progresses, the line between victim and perpetrator becomes increasingly blurred.
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21:24Number one, The Conversation.
21:26Mistakes are dangerous. You know what I mean. Someone may get hurt.
21:34In between directing the first two Godfather films, Francis Ford Coppola delivered a woefully underappreciated masterpiece.
21:41Gene Hackman takes the lead as Harry Call, an audio surveillance expert.
21:46Hired by a shadowy figure known only as The Director, Call uses his skills to surreptitiously record a conversation in a public park.
21:54The conversation, he learns, may or may not be part of a murder plot.
21:58As Call listens to the audio, he becomes increasingly obsessed with the lives of those he's spying on.
22:04Both his moral compass and sense of reality start to fracture.
22:08The cinematography and audio design are meant to make the audience uncomfortable.
22:13They are forced to figure out the lines between privacy and guilt and between security and manipulation.
22:19Jactar Hotel. Three o'clock. Group 773.
22:29Kill us if you got the chance.
22:31Did the powers that be conspire to keep your favorite conspiracy thriller off our list?
22:36Let us know in the comments below.
22:38Nobody wants to know about conspiracy. I don't get it.
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23:01Thanks for watching.