I love business so much I watch it on TV, too. I'm talking about a little-known genre: the “business movie.” That is, movies in which work, jobs, and business play a key role in the story.
In every other Hollywood production, work doesn't seem to be that important to people. Somehow (often in romantic comedies, it seems) people are able to fly to the other side of the country — or the other side of the world — at a moment's notice; without regard to how they will pay for the flight or what happens to their job or their business while they're gone. (Perhaps they are amazing entrepreneurs with a huge business base and have automated the processes so thoroughly that they can do that!)
The movies I like to watch are about business or involve business-people in some way. My top 3 favorite business movies are…
Although there's not a lot of action in these movies (car chases and gun fighting), there is plenty of drama (and some language… especially in Glengarry Glen Ross).
Business movies are more about the main character struggling with ethics and what it means to be in business without selling out or giving in. Some characters succeed, others fail. And business-loving viewers are along for the ride.
If you love movies about business, here are two more interesting sites:
Forbes has put together a top ten business movies list on their site. Two of my top three movies are listed there, along with (interestingly enough) Godfather II and It's a Wonderful Life. I haven't seen all of the movies on their list, but I admit that their top movie, Citizen Kane, was one that I mostly snoozed through.
Movies for Business sells learning guides to regular movies (the Wizard of Oz is mentioned on the first page) and you can watch the movie and go through the guide and learn about leadership and management principles. It's an interesting idea and much broader than watching strictly business movies.
