Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago

Since the early days of the movie industry, filmmakers have created visions of what the presidency of the United States is like. Several have been biographical studies of famous individuals who have served, such as Lincoln, Kennedy, and Nixon. Many movies have also displayed fictional presidents, in roles big and small, in dramatic tales that displayed them at their best—and sometimes even at their worst.

Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal examines the ways Hollywood has portrayed the presidency over the years. Pop culture expert Dale Sherman examines famous presidents and their movies, detailing historical information for each and how or if the filmmakers and artists came close to telling the real story. But let us not forget the many imagined examples of presidents that have appeared in movies and television, as well: presidents have battled aliens, fought monsters, and have even been caught on the wrong side of the law.

Lincoln, Thirteen Days, Air Force One, Independence Day, All the President's Men, The President's Analyst, Escape from New York, and several of our favorite movies about real and fictional presidents are included in Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal.