skip to main content
Films
Click on the headings to sort the list in alphabetical order by title, genre or theme. (
| Title | Genre | Synopsis | More information about the film | Similar theme in ESL textbook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #'s | ||||
| 11TH HOUR | Documentary | A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. | IMDB | |
| 60's, the- The Years that Shaped a Generation (PBS) (currently not available) | Documentary, History | the 1960s history/culture | IMDB | |
| A | ||||
| Akeelah and the Bee | Drama | A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence | IMDB | |
| Al Capone | Adventure, Drama, Western | This factual biography of gang lord Al Capone | IMDB | |
| Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Drama, Romance | A recently widowed woman on the road determined to make a new life for herself as a singer. |
IMDB | |
| Alive | Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller | Plane crash in Andes | IMDB | |
American Beauty (currently not available)
|
Drama | Asuburban father in a mid-life crisis,r decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation for his daughter's attractive friend. |
IMDB | |
| American History X | Crime, Drama | A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did. | IMDB | |
| An Inconvenient Truth | Documentary | Environment/global warming, Al-Gore's campaign | IMDB | |
| Anne Frank Remembered | Documentary, Biography, War | British documentary offers the most complete biographical account ever compiled of the young Jewish girl diary. | IMDB | 33B (Level 5) 2 Novels Available |
| Apollo 13 | Adventure, Drama, History | True story of the moon-bound mission that developed severe trouble and the men that rescued it with skill and dedication | IMDB | 420 (Level 1) Penguin Reader |
| As Good As It Gets | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Unlikely friendships | IMDB | |
| Awakening | Drama | A doctor finds cure for comatose patients | IMDB | |
B |
||||
| Babe | Adventure, Drama, Family | Babe, a pig raised by sheepdogs, learns to herd sheep with a little help from Farmer Hoggett. |
IMDB | |
| Backdraft | Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | Fire fighting | IMDB | |
| Badland (currently not available) | Drama | Iraq war vetera returns with mental health issues | IMDB | |
| Beautiful mind, a | Drama |
Schizophrenia |
IMDB | |
| Bend it like Beckham | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sport | Soccer | IMDB | |
| Big (1988) | Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance | IMDB | ||
| Blade Runner | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller |
Future sci-fi in LA | IMDB | |
| Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary | Documentary | Hitler's secretary provides new view on WWII | IMDB | |
| Bourne Identity, The (2002) | Action, Crime, Mystery | Amnesiac discovers that he is skilled at killing | IMDB | Level 33A/B (Level 4 & 5) Novel Available |
| Bowling for Columbine | Documentary | school violence/guns in the US | IMDB | |
| Bridget Jones's Diary | Drama, Romance, Western | British orphan goes to live with Uncle in India | IMDB | |
| Brokeback Mountain | Drama, Romance, Western | Cowboys/relationships | IMDB | |
| C | ||||
| Call of the Wild | Adventure, Drama, Family | In Montana, a young girl attracts the attention of an evil stranger after she rescues a hurt wolf. |
IMDB | 420 (Level 1) Novel Available |
| Casablanca (1942) | Classics ,Drama, Romance, War | During World War II American meets a former lover. | IMDB | |
| Catch 22 | Comedy, War | A man is trying desperately to be certified insane during World War II, so he can stop flying missions. | IMDB | |
| Chicago | Crime, Musical, Drama | A chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) | IMDB | |
| China Rises | Documentary | Brief history of China/Culture | IMDB | |
| China Syndrome | Thriller, Drama | Nuclear power plant accident + media | IMDB | Level 33A/B (Level 4 & 5) Novel Available |
| China's Lost Girls | Documentary, China/Culture | Gender gaps in China | ||
| Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe | Adventure, Family, Fantasy | Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion. |
IMDB | Novel Series Available |
| Citizen Kane | Classics,Drama, mystery | Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. |
IMDB | |
| Clear and Present Danger | Action, Drama, Thriller | Illegal war between US and Cuba | IMDB | |
| Coal Miner's Daughter | Drama, Music | Country singer Loretta Lynn | IMDB | |
| Color Purple, THE | Drama | Race in the US, slavery | IMDB | |
| Crash (2004) | Drama, Thriller | Racial/socio-economic relations in LA | IMDB | |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Action, Adventure, Drama | Two warriors pursue stolen sword | IMDB | |
| D | ||||
| Dances with Wolves | Adventure, Drama, Western | Native american | IMDB | |
Day without a Mexican, A (2004) |
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery |
Need for foreign labor |
||
| Dead Man Walking | Crime, Drama | Death penalty | IMDB | |
| Dead Poets Society | Drama | US private school | IMDB | |
| Dim Sum | Comedy | Asian-american | IMDB | |
| Do the Right Thing | Comedy, Drama | Tolerance | IMDB | |
| Dogtown and Z-Boys | Documentary, Sport | Skateboarding | IMDB | |
| Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Comedy | Cold war hysteria | IMDB | |
| Dr. Zhivago | Drama, Romance, War | Russian revolution | IMDB | |
| E | ||||
| Easy Rider (1969) | Adventure, Crime, Drama | Two counterculture bikers travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of America. |
IMDB | |
| Emma | Drama | In rural 1800s England things go bad for a young matchmaker after she finds a man for another woman. | IMDB | ESL 122 (Level) Penguin Reader |
| Empire of the Sun | Drama, Biography, War | Japanese occupation in England | IMDB | |
| Evita | Argentina/Culture, Biography, Drama Music | Evita Duarte | IMDB | |
| F | ||||
| Fahrenheit 9-11 | Documentary, Comedy, history | 9-11 terrorist attacks | IMDB | |
| Falling Down | Drama, thriller | Mentally ill or just frustrated? | IMDB | |
| Fast Food Nation | Documentary, Drama | Fast food in the US | IMDB | |
| Ferris Bueller's Day Off (currently not available) | Comedy, Drama | US high school (public school) | IMDB | |
| Fidel | TV Movie, Drama | Fidel Castro | IMDB | |
| Field of Dreams | Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sport | Baseball | IMDB | |
| Forrest Gump | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him. |
IMDB | ESL 422 (Level) Penguin Reader |
| French Connection, The | Action, Crime, Thriller | NYC cops battle drug smuggling op | IMDB | |
| Frida | Biography, Art, Drama, Romance | Frida Kahlo | IMDB | |
| Fried Green Tomatoes | Drama, Comedy | Americana/ friendships | IMDB | |
| Fugitive, the | Action, Crime | Adventure | IMDB | ESL 33B (Level 5) Novel Available |
| Fugitive Pieces | Drama | Boy escapes from Poland in WWII | IMDB | |
| G | ||||
| Gandhi | Biography, Drama, History | The lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of non-violent protest. | IMDB | ESL 456 (Level 1) Penguin Reader |
| Ghostbusters | Comedy, Fantasy | Ghost Removal | IMDB | |
| Godfather, The | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Italian mafia, | IMDB | |
| Good Will Hunting (currently not available) | Drama | Math genius janitor discovered by MIT professor | IMDB | |
| Grease | Comedy, Musical, Romance | American high school | IMDB | |
| Great Debaters, The | Drama, History | African-American debate team/civil rights | IMDB | |
| great wall, a | Comedy, Drama |
Chinese/Chinese-American |
IMDB | |
| Groundhog Day | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again. |
IMDB | |
| Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Drama, Romance | Inter-racial romance (1960's) | IMDB | |
| H | ||||
| Happy Feet (currently not available) |
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical | Penguins, animated | IMDB | |
| Hearts and Minds | Documentary, War | Vietnam War | IMDB | |
| Higher Learning | Drama, Romance, sports | Tolerance/ college shooting | IMDB | |
| Holes | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason. |
IMDB | ESL 422 (Level 2) Novel Available |
| Hunt for Red October, the | Action, Adventure, Thriller | In 1984, the USSR's best submarine captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the USA. Is he trying to defect, or to start a war? |
IMDB | |
| I | ||||
| In America | Adventure, Drama | Irish family moves to NY | IMDB | |
| It's a Wonderful Life | Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance | Classic Christmas tale | IMDB | |
| J | ||||
| JFK | Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller | JFK/politics | IMDB | |
| Joy Luck Club, The | Cross-cultural exchanges | Chinese/Chinese-american family relations | IMDB | |
| Journey to America (PBS) (currently not available) | Documentary | Immigration to the US | IMDB | |
| Jungle Fever | Drama, Romance | Inter-racial romance | IMDB | |
| Jurassic Park | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | IMDB | ESL 33A/B (Level 4&5) Novel Available |
|
| K | ||||
| Kramer vs. Kramer | Drama | Divorced man battles for child custody | IMDB | |
| L | ||||
| LA Confidential | Crime, mystery, thriller | As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - the straight-laced, the brutal, and the sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice | IMDB | |
| LA Story | Comedy, Drama, fantasy | Satire on LA culture | IMDB | |
| Lars and the Real Girl | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Community/need for companionship | IMDB | |
| Last Emperor, the | Biography, China History/Culture | Emperor of China | IMDB | |
| Last of the Mohicans (currently not available) | Adventure, Romance, War | native american | IMDB | |
| Las Vegas - An unconventional history (PBS) (currently not available) | Documentary | history of Las Vegas | PBS | |
| Leading with Kindness | Documentaries | 5 model companies on leadership in the US, including Google | contact mmmichelson@pasadena.edu | |
| Like Water for Chocolate | Mexico/Culture, Drama, Romance | Forbidden love | IMDB | ESL 122 (Level 3) Novel Available |
| Little Miss Sunshine | Drama, Comedy | beauty contest | IMDB | |
| Little Women (1994) (currently not available) | Drama, Family, Romance | IMDB | ||
| Lord of the Flies | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | Stranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery. |
IMDB | |
| Lord of the Rings | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | IMDB | ||
| Lost in America | Comedy | travel around the US in mobile home | ||
| Lost in Translation | Comedy, Drama, romance | Americans in Japan | IMDB | |
| M | ||||
| Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media | Documentary | Media & Propoganda | IMDB | |
| Man Who Knew Too Much, the | Classics, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller | Hitchcock | IMDB | |
| Mao Tse Tung: China's Peasant Emperor | Biography, China History/Culture | Mao Tse Tung | ||
| Maxed Out | Documentary on US themes | the credit crisis in the US | IMDB | |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | Drama, Romance | IMDB |
| |
| Million Dollar Baby | Drama, Sport | boxing | IMDB | |
| Miracle on 34th Street | Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance | classic Christmas tale | IMDB | |
| Miracle Worker, the (Anne Bancroft) | Other | Helen Keller's story | IMDB | |
| Miss America (PBS) (currently not available) | Beauty Contest | beauty contests | IMDB | |
| Mr Bean series | Other | good for summarizing past tense | ||
| Mr Holland's Opus | Drama, Music | teacher inspiration/band class | IMDB | |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) | Classics, Drama | A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down. |
IMDB | |
| Murder on the Orient Express (1974) | Crime, Mystery, Drama, Thriller | In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before. |
IMDB | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Comedy, romance | American marries into Greek | IMDB | |
| My Fair Lady (1964) | Drama, Family, Musical, Romance | A misogynistic and snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society. | IMDB | |
| N | ||||
| Namesake, the | Cross-cultural exchanges | Indian/Indian-American family relations | IMDB | |
| Naom Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause | Documentary, War | Current affairs | IMDB | |
| Not Without My Daughter | Drama, Thriller | American woman in Iran wants to escape | IMDB | |
| O | ||||
| October Sky | Drama, Biography, Family | Coal-miner's son, follow dreams of becoming astronaut | IMDB | |
| Of Mice and Men | Drama | IMDB | ESL 33A/B (Level 4 & 5 ) Novel Available |
|
| Old Man and the Sea, the | Based on literature | Hemingway's classic story | ESL 33A (Level 4) Novel Available |
|
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Drama | Mental health | IMDB | ESL 33B (Level 5 ) Novel Available |
| Outsourced (2006) | Comedy, romance | American in India | IMDB | |
| P | ||||
Passage to India, a |
Adventure, Drama, history |
India/British |
||
| Patch Adams | Comedy, Drama | doctor uses humor to treat patients | IMDB | |
| Pelican Brief, The | Based on literature | IMDB | ||
| People vs. Larry Flint, the (currently not available) | US History/culture | free-speech | IMDB | |
| Perfect Score, The | High school/college in US | getting into college - SAT test | IMDB | |
| Philadelphia Story, The (currently not available) | Other | Funny love triangles | IMDB | |
| Picture of Dorian Gray (2008) (currently not available) | Based on literature | |||
| Pieces of April (currently not available) | Comedy, Drama | family and Thanksgiving | IMDB | |
| Planes, Trains and Automobiles | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | Comedy of friendship on Thanksgiving | IMDB | |
| Pride and Prejudice | Based on literature | ESL 33A (Level 4) Novel Available |
||
| Psycho (currently not available) | Horror, Thriller | classic psycho thriller (good for Halloween) | IMDB | |
| Q | ||||
| Quinceañera | Drama | family ties/ growing up | IMDB | |
| R | ||||
| Rain Man | Drama | Two brothers travel cross-country | IMDB | |
| Raise the Red Lantern | Drama | Life as one of many wives, China History/Culture, Other | IMDB | |
| Real Life | Comedy | media | IMDB | |
| Real Women Have Curves | Comedy, Drama | 1st gen Mexican-American growing up | IMDB | |
| Rebecca (1940) | Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | IMDB | ESL33A/B (Level 4 & 5) Novel Available |
|
| Rebel without a Cause | Drama, Romance | Teenager rebellion in the 50s | IMDB | |
| Recount (currently not available) | Documentary, Drama | 2000 US election/civics | IMDB | |
| Roots | ESL 33B (Level 5) Novel Available |
|||
| Rosa Parks Story (Angela Bassett) (currently not available) | Biography, Drama | African American/civil rights | IMDB | |
| S | ||||
| Schindler's List | Biography, Drama, History, War | Holocaust | IMDB | ESL 33A/B (Level 4 & 5) Novel Available |
| Secret Garden, The | Other | IMDB | ||
| Sense and Sensibility | Drama, Romance | |||
| Seven Years in Tibet | Biography, Adventure, Drama | An Austrian befriends Dalai Lama | IMDB | |
| Shining, The | Classic psycho thriller (good for halloween) | IMDB | ||
| Shrek | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance | IMDB | ||
| Sicko | Documentary | Health insurance in the US | IMDB | |
| Slangman Guide, The(currently not available) | lang educational | American Idioms, slang and culture | ||
| Slavery & the Making of America (4-Disc Series) (2004) | History | Slavery | IMDB | |
| Smoke Signals | Comedy, Drama | Native American, US History/culture | IMDB | |
| Soul Man | Comedy | affirmative action | IMDB | |
| Sound of Music, The | Musicals | governess for von Trapp family in Nazi Austria | IMDB | |
| Speed | Action, Crime, Drama | Bomb on bus | IMDB | |
| Spellbound (2002) (currently not available) | Documentary | spelling bee | IMDB | |
| Spiderman | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Your friendly, web-slinging, neighborhood Spidey | IMDB | |
| Squid and the Whale, The | US History/culture | family ties/divorce | IMDB | |
| Stand and Deliver | Drama | LA public high school / teacher inspiration | IMDB | |
| Straight Story. the | Other | family / americana | IMDB | |
| Supersize Me (currently not available) | Documentary, Comedy, Drama | fast food in the US | IMDB | |
| Swingers (currently not available) | Comedy, Drama | LA nightlife/male relationships | IMDB | |
| T | ||||
| Thank you for Smoking | Documentary, Comedy, Drama | satirical Comedy on Big Tobacco | IMDB | |
| Thin | Documentaries on US themes | obsession with weight | IMDB | |
| Titanic | US History/culture | historical fiction | IMDB | |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Based on literature | IMDB | ESL 33A/B (Level 4&5 ) Novel Available |
|
| Total Recall | Other | Virtual Reality | IMDB | |
| True Story of Charlie Wilson, The | US History/Culture, Biography | Charlie Wilson | ||
| Truman Show, the | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | media/propganda | IMDB | |
| V | ||||
| Vertigo | Drama, mystery, Romance, Thriller | Hitchcock | IMDB | |
| Visitor, the (currently not available) | Crime, Drama, Romance | Illegal immigration | IMDB | |
| W | ||||
| West Side Story | Musicals, Romance, Drama | IMDB | ||
| Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary | Documentary | illegal immigration | IMDB | |
| When Harry Met Sally (currently not available) | Comedy, Drama, Romance | relationships | IMDB | |
| Who Killed the Electric Car (currently not available) | Documentary | electric vehicles | IMDB | |
| Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory(Gene Wilder) (currently not available) | Family, Musical, Fantasy, Comedy | IMDB | ||
| Witness (Harrison Ford) | US History/culture | Amish community | IMDB | ESL 33A/B (Level 4&5 ) Novel Available |