As well as having access to nuclear missiles and getting a library named after you, one of the very cool things about being President of the United States is that you get your own private cinema - usually with access to films way before anyone else.
A recent FOI request by Gizmodo has yielded some pretty interesting facts about former President Bill Clinton and his viewing habits during his two terms. For one thing, Clinton reportedly watched Braveheart and The Patriot TWICE during his two terms of office and also watched cult classics like Galaxy Quest, Mystery Men and The Big Lebowski at the White House's screening room.
What's more, Clinton also viewed Deep Impact, Independence Day and Dave - all films that featured a fictional US President. A cursory read through the below-list also shows that Clinton favoured romantic comedies over any other genre. One Fine Day, Jerry Maguire, Shall We Dance and Mrs. Brown were all screened in 1997 out of seven films in total that year.
Irish film, however, didn't get much of a look. Waking Ned, or Waking Ned Devine to give its US title, was screened in 1998 as was 1995's Braveheart, however we checked and, sadly, The Commitments was never screened at the White House. It's a shame because, as we know, Bill Clinton was a big fan of soul music.
What's perhaps most striking is that Clinton's film choices were much more up-to-date than previous Presidents. For example, Ronald Reagan is reported to have watched films he starred in more frequently than any other. Jimmy Carter, meanwhile, watched a total of 400 films in his four years in office. Nixon, on the other hand, screened a conspiracy thriller called Executive Action that focused on the assassination of JFK from the view of the supposed conspirators.
Clinton liked the odd paranoid thriller as well, screening Enemy of the State, The Siege and The Pelican Brief during his time in office.
Here's the list in full:
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 â…“ - 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 / A Civil Action- December 25, 1998
Life is Beautiful / The Prince of Egypt - December 26, 1998
1999
You’ve Got Mail - January 2, 1999
Affliction - January 23, 1999
Forever Fever (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
Analyze 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 I: 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 Honor - September 22, 2000
Almost Famous - October 10, 2000
Pay it Forward - October 27, 2000
2001
Chocolat - January 6, 2001
Via Gizmodo
