30 Must See Movies for B-School Students

1) Gung Ho | 1986 Starring: Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt Joseph Thomas: This movie was made when Japan was showing the world how to make better products. The movie is about the clash and eventual reconciliation of cultures. Both cultures are overdrawn a bit, but the movie is thoughtful. 2) Norma Rae | 1979 Starring: Sally Field, Beau Bridges James W. Dean Jr.: Leadership doesn't just come from the top. Norman Rae is a single mother whodespite great personal riskfights to unionize her textile mill to improve terrible working conditions 3) Patton | 1970 Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young. Robert F. Bruner: A profile of the most aggressive American general in World War II. This movie prompts deep reflections on the emotional intelligence that must underpin true leaders 4) Moonstruck | 1987 Starring: Cher, Nicolas Cage Paul Danos: The character Cosmo Castorini has the "hard sell" down pat, saying to a naive young couple: "There are three kinds of pipe. There's what you have, which is garbageand you can see where that's gotten you. There's bronze, which is pretty good, unless something goes wrong"

5 ) Herb and Dorothy | 2008 Starring: Herb, Dorothy Vogel Judy Olian: The beauty of maniacal focus: how a couple of modest means amassed one of the great modern art collections in America 6 ) The Secret of My Success | 1987 Starring : Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Richard Jordan Bob Dammon: A great comedy about a young Midwesterner (Michael J. Fox) traveling to the big city to begin his corporate career 7) Something Ventured | 2011 Starring: Bill Bowes, Herbert Boyer Rich Lyons: It's about the history of the VC industry and Silicon Valley. It did a fine job of communicating what the founding actors of VC are really like. One gets the feeling that if this hadn't been captured like this today, it might never have been captured in this first-person way 8 ) Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | 1956 Starring: Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones 9) Repo Man | 1984 Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter Thomas W. Gilligan: Determined professionals relentlessly pursue legitimate commercial objectives in a morally and technologically ambiguous world. 10) Inside Job | 2010 Starring: Matt Damon, William Ackman, Daniel Alpert

Judy Olian: A post-mortem of the most significant global economic crisis in decades, pointing to shared culpability across many institutions, government and organizations 11) Trading Places | 1983 Starring: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy Bob Dammon: A humorous story of greed, deception and redemption. It is always great when the good guys win 12) The Wizard of Oz | 1939 Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan James W. Dean Jr.: This famous classic showcases Industrial Age perfection in the Emerald City 13) House of Strangers | 1949 Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte Paul Danos: House of Strangers shows how microfinance worked in the ghettos of New York in the 1920s and '30s. The Gino Monetti character's banking success is based on lending money to neighborhood people with just a handshake, but that kind of "collateral" does not pass muster with the new breed of bank regulators 14) Animal House | 1978 Starring : John Belushi, Karen Allen, Tom Hulce Thomas W. Gilligan: One of the best documentaries ever made on how to structure management training and leadership-immersion programs 15 The Social Network | 2010 Judy Olian: A must-see primer on how the millennials think, invent, and connectand how bumpy the ride can be from rags to riches

16) The Godfather | 1970 Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan Paul Danos: Michael Corleone, in ordering execution for a top lieutenant's switching loyalty says, "Tessio was smarter," indicating that it did not surprise him that Tessio would be the first to switch allegiance to a new leader when the old leader was past his prime 17) Wall Street | 1987 Starring: Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, and Tamara Tunie Bob Dammon: For me, the story is about a character (Charlie Sheen) who is torn between the moral and ethical upbringing he received from his father (Martin Sheen) and the allure of wealth and power as embodied by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) 18) 12 Angry Men | 1957 Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, and Martin Balsam Joseph Thomas: This is not really a business book, but it is a wonderful depiction of group decision making, consensus-building, and persuasion, all crucial in business. For years, this movie was utilized in one of our courses at Johnson 19) Up in the Air | 2009 Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, & Anna Kendrick Judy Olian: Reminds all leaders that organizationsno matter how complex or technologically advancedare about people, not "thingss" 20) Tunes of Glory | 1960 Starring: Alec Guinness, John Mills

Robert F. Bruner: How does a leader "take charge?" This movie raises a host of lessons about leading. It also offers rich insights about the psychology of managerial bullies. Dramatic kudos to Alec Guinness, who plays the bully 21) Barbarians at the Gate | 1993 Starring: James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Riegert 22) Risky Business | 1983 Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano 23) Citizen Kane | 1941 Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore Paul Danos: The office party scene has dancing girls and bands and ends with "The Charlie Kane Song," where the new leader is not only lampooned, but CEO Kane himself joins in the chorus and shows a different side of himself to the troops 24) It's a Wonderful Life | 1946 Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore Joseph Thomas: The small Savings and Loan officer, George Bailey, lambastes the money bags character, Mr. Potter, with... my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him 25) Other People's Money | 1991 Starring: Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, Penelope Ann Miller 26) A Small Act | 2010 Starring: Chris Mburu, Hilde Back 27) A Christmas Carol | 1984

Starring: George C. Scott, Frank Finlay James W. Dean Jr.: The film addresses the most fundamental question of what business is about. Is it simply profits or some broader purpose? As Marley answers the question: "Mankind was my business! Their common welfare was my business!" 28) Working Girl | 1988 Starring: Melanie, Griffith, Harrison Ford

29) Invictus | 2009 Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge

30) Too Big to Fail | 2011 Starring: James Wood, John Heard