List of films about philosophers

This is a list of feature films that include philosophers, or in which philosophers play a significant role.

Biographical films

Biographical films based on real-life philosophers:

Adi Shankaracharya (1983) – The life of Adi Shankaracharya, played by Sarvadaman D. Banerjee.
Agora (2009) – The life of Hypatia, played by Rachel Weisz.
Confucius (2010) – The life of Confucius, played by Chow Yun-fat.
Destiny (1997) – The life of Averroes, played by Nour El-Sherif.
Giordano Bruno (1973) – The life of Giordano Bruno, played by Gian Maria Volontè.
Hannah Arendt (2012) – The life of Hannah Arendt, played by Barbara Sukowa.
Socrates (1971) – The life of Socrates, played by Jean Sylvere.
Cartesius (film) (1974), Rene Descartes portrayed by Ugo Cardea, a Roberto Rossellini film

Films where one or more philosopher play the main role, but that are not otherwise about philosophy:

Irrational Man (2015) – A philosophy professor (Joaquin Phoenix) finds himself in an existential crisis, but eventually discovers a new purpose in life.
The Life of David Gale (2003) – A philosophy professor (Kevin Spacey) and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent.

Films where one or more of the members of the main cast are philosophers:

Alexander (2004) – Based on the life of Alexander the Great, who is mentored by Aristotle (Christopher Plummer).
Gladiator (2000) – The Roman general Maximus is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), murders his father and seizes the throne.
The Oxford Murders (2008) – A Student (Elijah Wood) finds out about mysterious killings in Oxford and helped by a professor (John Hurt) who works on Philosophy of mathematics, they reveal the patterns used by the killer.
When Nietzsche Wept (2007) – A Viennese doctor named Josef Breuer (Ben Cross) meets with Friedrich Nietzsche (Armand Assante) to help him deal with his despair

Films where philosophy is central to the plot:

Sophie's World (1999) – The story of a teenage girl (Silje Storstein) living in Norway, and a middle-aged philosopher (Tomas von Brömssen), who introduces her to philosophical thinking and the history of philosophy.
Waking Life (2001) – The film explores the nature of reality, dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism.

Philosophical Films is a non-profit resource for philosophy teachers who want to incorporate films into their classes.
"I watch therefore I am: seven movies that teach us key philosophy lessons" by Julian Baggini, Christine Korsgaard, Ursula Coope, Peter Singer, Susan Haack, Kenneth Taylor and Slavoj Žižek.

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