George Clooney's fourth film as a director, The Ides of March, arrives on DVD and Blu-ray today following a commendable run in theatres.

The timing of a film built around a political house of cards couldn't be more appropriate. Critics loved not only the film's strong political message but also an against-type Ryan Gosling, who plays a junior campaign manager threatening to derail a state governor (Clooney) who is gunning for the presidency. Expect its release on home video — which comes at a hot-tempered time, politically — to do solid business.

With eyes turned south of the border to the Republican presidential primaries, The Ides of March won't be the only politically charged movie being taken home in the coming weeks.

You might also have difficulty getting your hands on some certified classics, such as Dr. Strangelove or All the President's Men, but a smart shopper will cast their net to include some lesser-known gems.

Here are 10 of particular note. There's bigger, there's better. But at the end of the day, each of these underrated films packs a hefty political punch.

1. The Contender (2000). Everything is top-tier in writer-director Rod Lurie's provocative look at the state of U.S. politics as the country prepares to welcome its first female vice-president.

With one can't-miss scene after another, The Contender exposes the ugly underbelly of win-at-all-costs politicking.

The highlights are a scenery-chewing performance from Gary Oldman (who has never been better) and an Oscar-nominated turn from Jeff Bridges, whose U.S. president is perhaps the best in film history.

2. Being There (1979). Peter Sellers is a tour-de-force as Chance the Gardener, the messianic main character in Hal Ashby's flawless satire. Being There has obvious political undertones. Though he's a child-like shut-in, Chance is mistakenly viewed as a prophet by a society of politicos that includes the U.S. president. But much is left up to the viewer, in terms of the film's true meaning. Told from the unclouded point of view of someone experiencing life for the first time, it requires repeated viewings to fully digest. It's a ride well worth taking.

3. The Candidate (1972). Backed by a sharp, Oscar-winning screenplay penned by Jeremy Larner — a former speech writer for U.S. senator Eugene McCarthy — The Candidate delivers on a simple promise: Make viewers understand the vapidity of its electoral system. Robert Redford is note-perfect as the title character, a political pawn who runs for California state senator based solely on his good looks. Imagine that.

4. Charlie Wilson's War (2007). Phillip Seymour Hoffman uncorks the juiciest role of his career as a coffee-swilling, chain-smoking CIA agent whose collaboration with "Good Time Charlie" Wilson, a real-life Democratic congressman played by Tom Hanks, resulted in a covert operation sponsored by the U.S. government. There's an embarrassment of riches here, including director Mike Nichols and writer Aaron Sorkin, but the sparring of Hanks and Hoffman is a title bout for the ages.

5. Seven Days in May (1964). Forget that John Frankenheimer's film about a conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. president arrived in theatres just three months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Even without such real-life relevance, Seven Days in May would be assured of its place in film history. A pair of fine performances by Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas give this thriller extra oomph.

6. Wag the Dog (1997). A sizzling satire written with spite and zip by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, Wag the Dog is an equal-opportunity offender. Arrows are flung at Hollywood and Washington in equal measure as Robert DeNiro plays a spin doctor tasked with staging a fake war to cover-up the U.S. president's illicit affair. For that, he hires a razzle-dazzle film producer played by Dustin Hoffman, whose Oscar-nominated performance is the stuff of acting legend.

7. Bob Roberts (1992). Tim Robbins wrote, directed and stars in this peculiar film about a Bob Dylan-styled musician who runs for the U.S. Senate. Though somewhat heavy-handed in its attempt to satirize (which might explain why it bombed at the box office), the film does score points for bravery after openly name-checking the media for being complicit in dirty politics.

8. Bulworth (1998). It isn't always an easy film to swallow, but there's a boldness to Bulworth that doesn't come along very often. Pushing every boundary possible, writer-director-star Warren Beatty plays a faded politician whose only career move left is to kill himself. After a drunken, off-the-cuff, off-colour rant curries favour with his constituents, the senator must run from the gunman in order to keep his career on track. Some cringed at Beatty's skewering of black culture, but the Oscar-nominated, razor-sharp script helps the movie overcome its shortcomings.

9. Salvador (1986). The biggest provocateur of the 1980s was Oliver Stone, a writer-director whose interests ranged from the banking industry (Wall Street) to free speech (Talk Radio). His favourite axe to grind, however, was the act of war. Before there was Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July there was Salvador, a little-known but worthwhile film fronted by James Woods in a stupendous, Oscar-nominated, raw-nerved performance.

10. Z (1969). Costa Gavras and Yves Montand make magic together with Z, a timeless film that includes a scandal, a cover-up and all sorts of intrigue. Z was dubbed anti-American upon its release, in addition to drawing the ire of Greek officials (the major players behind the film were all banned from one thing or another at one point).

Despite the adversity, Z won the Oscar for best foreign-language film.

mdevlin@timescolonist.com