Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest. The official coronation of a new sovereign, Charles III, will be held after an appropriate period. The spectacle will be elaborate.
Hollywood has been transfixed by the passing of leaders within all forms of hierarchy—government, industry, military, religion.
Herewith my list of favorite movies to which the passing of a leader is central:
Stalin Is Dead
The man who shot liberty valence
Goodbye Mr. Chips (Robert Donat 1939)
Lawrence of Arabia
Citizen Kane
All the King’s Men
Doctor Zhivago
Gandhi
The King and I
The Great Ziegfeld
Saving Private Ryan
Braveheart
Spartacus
Gladiator
Executive Suite
The Last Hurrah
El Cid
The Messenger: the Story of Joan of Arc
Becket
The Prince and the Pauper
