Best Movies About Presidential Assassinations, Ranked

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Best Movies About Presidential Assassinations, Ranked

Whether fictional presidents or actual ones like JFK and Lincoln, these films dramatize the terrifying events of a presidential assassination.

20th Television

There are a surprising amount of presidential assassination movies out there, even though the United States has only seen four sitting presidents killed (and all between 1865 and 1963). The impact each one caused is undeniable, though, meaning that there are several ways to interpret these events and how it affected the world. These movies can show and teach us what it was like to live through these events, since most of us now would never know what it was like to witness the president dying.

However, not all presidential assassination movies are based on real stories. Because it's a topic we've come to know can happen, it becomes a trope in certain fiction movies as well. Whether fictional presidents have to face the possibility of getting assassinated and the hero comes in to save the day, or the story tries to see what the world would be like if a real president was assassinated and what changes might have happened, there are several ways these movies can go. Throughout this list, you'll find a mix of both types of movies about various real and fake presidential assassinations, all broaching this troublesome topic in their own ways.

10. Vantage Point

Sony Pictures Releasing

Vantage Point focuses on the apparent assassination of fictional President Henry Ashton. Ashton is in Spain visiting with the mayor to start negotiations for international help against terrorism. It isn't long after, when Ashton is about to begin a public ceremony, that he's shot, and an explosion kills several others in the surrounding area.

The movie focuses on this one moment but tells it to us from various perspectives, slowly piecing the story together of who was involved in shooting the president and what their motives were. While it might not be the story you'd expect out of a presidential assassination, it focuses a lot on how we should question the truth as not everyone is seeing things from the same perspective, so it can take a while to understand the full story.

9. Death of a President

Optimum Releasing

If you've ever wondered what might have happened if a president who lived to the end of their term was actually assassinated, then look no further than Death of a President . This controversial movie is a mockumentary looking into what might have happened if George W. Bush was assassinated, and was banned from some movie theaters due to its release while Bush was still the president.

While the movie investigates the assassination and the court processes surrounding those accused and those convicted, it mainly takes a dive into what the event would do for the country, including civil liberties and foreign policy, for better or for worse.

8. Killing Kennedy

20th Television

Based on a book of the same name by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Kennedy tells the story of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. This dramatization starts off with Kennedy as president and shows some of his career there before leading into his ultimate demise.

As the movie goes on, it also begins to show more about the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated Kennedy, in the years leading up to that fateful moment as he grew disillusioned with Kennedy and his policies. It's a great way to learn or better understand Kennedy's assassination without watching an actual documentary on the topic.

7. LBJ

Electric Entertainment

Another movie focused around JFK's assassination, LBJ tells the story of President Lyndon B. Johnson before he became president. Johnson was originally the Senate Majority Leader, holding a lot of power in his hands on the Senate floor and soon intending to try to run for president. However, it becomes clear that the Democrats already favor JFK, before Johnson could even announce that he planned on running.

When JFK ultimately wins at the Democratic convention, he's quick to ask Johnson to be his vice president, which Johnson accepts. When JFK is killed, Johnson is suddenly thrust into new power he had grown accustomed to not having, and now had to decide whether to back his old ways or continue on with JFK's plans and legacy. It's another good story to help talk about the more political details surrounding JFK's death without needing to watch a documentary, and Woody Harrelson's performance as the titular politician is wonderful.

6. The Conspirator

Lionsgate

The Conspirator is about the aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the trials and suspects around it. While Lincoln was the only one to die, there were several other attempts, or at the very least, plans to take other officials' lives that night, leading to a large and long trial. While John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed in defense before he could be captured and put on trial, there were others who were caught in the crossfire and could not be proven to be innocent.

One such person happened to be Mary Surratt, the owner of a boarding house that was the host of many meetings where the assassinations were planned. She was the only female conspirator charged and the first woman to be executed by the federal government, and her trial had a lot of impact later into how civilians were to be tried no matter their crimes.

5. Killing Lincoln

20th Television

Inspired by the book of the same name written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Lincoln is a docudrama about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. With Tom Hanks as the narrator, listen and explore what Lincoln's presidency was like as it's acted out, highlighting all the major points of his time in office but especially the time during the Civil War.

Killing LIncoln carries through onto Lincoln's death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. It's a wonderfully made movie that accurately helps describe and understand an important point of U.S. history.

4. Executive Action

National General Pictures

Executive Action is a conspiracy thriller that looks at JFKs assassination from a different perspective: solely through the eyes of the conspirators. Several large industrial, political, and intelligence figures gather to meet and talk about their dissatisfaction with Kennedy and his administration, trying to begin the plans to assassinate him. They believe the problem with previous assassinations and attempts are that most of them were carried out by lone fanatics, while all of them working together means it's less likely they'll get caught. Though one of their friends, Ferguson, remains unconvinced, as the rest continue with their plans to try and assassinate Kennedy.

They eventually win him over when Ferguson grows worried about Kennedy's continued turn into more liberal topics and decides to support the project. Afterward, the group attempts to remove any witnesses and anything else that may tie suspicion to them. While none of it is factual, the film does give more light onto what might have happened to plan such an attack, and why some people were beginning to grow disillusioned with Kennedy in the first place. It's a bold, provocative film, with a great Burt Lancaster performance.

3. The Assassination of Richard Nixon

ThinkFilm

While Nixon was never killed in office, The Assassination of Richard Nixon tells the story of an attempt on his life that didn't quite reach him. Samuel Byck (an unnerving Sean Penn) is a salesman who is down on his luck, wishing not only to own his own tire sales business with his best friend, but reconcile with his estranged wife. However, he's never been a good salesman.

Byck  continues in a downward spiral as nothing seems to be going the way he wanted or expected it to, and when he desperately applies for a government loan to set up his business but doesn't hear back, he turns his problems on Nixon and begins to plan to hijack a plane and crash it into the White House. It's a great drama that brings more attention to a lesser-known topic of Nixon's presidency.

2. JFK

Warner Bros.

JFK is possibly one of the most popular films about Kennedy's assassination, and one of the best conspiracy thriller movies. It takes place after the actual assassination and follows the story of district attorney Jim Garrison, who believed Lee Harvey Oswald didn't act alone. The investigation into the assassination was closed for several years following the death of Lee Harvey Oswald, but Garrison reopens it after reading the Warren Report and supposedly noting several inaccuracies.

He begins to interrogate those who previously knew Oswald, quickly beginning to suspect that the assassination was a coup attempt involving many high level members of the government, including the next President Lyndon Johnson. While it was never confirmed to be true and is still considered a myth today, Oliver Stone's film still shows that even in events as public and important as this, not every question can be answered.

1. In the Line of Fire

Columbia Pictures

The president doesn't even have a name in In the Line of Fire , and yet this is one of the most gripping films revolving around an attempted assassination. Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a Secret Service agent who is actually the only one still on duty from when JFK was assassinated. That moment still haunts him, as he regrets not reacting fast enough to save Kennedy.

A local investigation reveals a former CIA agent is planning on assassinating the current president as he travels for public appearances in his campaign for reelection. The agent taunts Horrigan as he's on the case, and he intends not to make the same mistake twice and let the president die. While it's not tied to any true events, it's still a great story making use of the assassination plot line.