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The title says it all. I'd like to hear from your best business related movies and what you like about them.

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9 Answers

Glengarry Glen Ross

Film version with Alec Baldwin = win

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ABC -> Always Be Closing! :-) – Tall Jeff Dec 3 '09 at 1:45
This is danged good movie. One that is hard to understand or appreciate until you've tried to actually get your hands dirty and start and grow a business. – Gabriel Magana Dec 3 '09 at 3:11
GlenGarry shows exactly how NOT to treat your employees. – TimJ Dec 4 '09 at 15:44

I'll nominate Tucker: A Man and his Dream to the list. It's the story of Preston Tucker, who designed an innovative automobile in the 1940s. His company didn't survive competition with the "Big Three" but it left its mark on the industry.

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I always thought the documentary Startup.com was pretty compelling. Just a decent telling of a dot-com that rose and fell with the bubble. Lots of good perspectives (company valuations, co-founders, etc.). Also, they didn't seem to pull too many punches.

Here's some background and a pretty comprehensive review. It's no longer on DVD, but you can get it used or rent it at Amazon or iTunes (one of the few movies I'd actually rent again). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be on NetFlix.

EDIT: Whoops, actually forgot another fantastic 'true story'... Triumph of the Nerds is a great, great story that is brilliantly told by Robert Cringely. IMO, one of the best films that PBS has ever done. Unfortunately, it only seems to be purchased on DVD (vs. renting) for about $50.

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Gladiator is a good movie, since it helps to show what life can be like in a startup, and how to overcome, by taking control and having a good team. :)

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WallStreet

Boiler Room

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Pirates of Silicon Valley was very interesting.

Startup.com was also very good, and I've seen the main guy Kaleil Isaza Tuzman speak and he is pretty amazing; it definitely seemed like he learned a lot and grew from the experience! I almost couldn't believe it was the same guy after watching the film!

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I definitely agree with the suggestion in another answer that books are probably a better source of suggestions on the topic, but in the spirit of your question, I might offer the movies that have not yet been suggested by others:

August - Tom and Josh Sterling have a dot com start up. It's gone public to initial success. Josh is the technical genius. Tom is the fast-talking and abrasive CEO, in charge of the business side. It's August, 2001, less than a month before they can sell their shares and, perhaps, make lots of money.....

The King of Kong - An excellent documentary that covers the inspirational aspect of the drive and passion required in entrepreneurship, never quitting, etc. In any case, this story is about Steve Wiebe who is on a mission to set a world record playing Donkey Kong arcade game.

Deep Water - Another excellent documentary that is the counter to the Kind of Kong movie and shows the counter example of going too far and over committing to your venture.

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If you read the book "Voyage for Madmen" you will see that sailing around the world is fine if you know what you were doing. That person who lied about his positions and then ended up dying had no integrity. If I recall correctly he crashed his boat into another one on his way out of the harbor on the first day... – TimJ Dec 4 '09 at 15:42
@Tim - I agree with your point, but I would add that Deep Water, I believe, is less about the fact that he lied, and more about the ways that got him sucked into his adventure to the point where he thought that lying was the only way out. That is, he wasn't even honest with himself and could not properly assess his own skills and figure out that he was really in over his head to the point that failure was a given. This leads to death - literally and/or figuratively. – Tall Jeff Dec 5 '09 at 2:20

You're probably better off discussing books, in which case there are a slew of titles that are really good.

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Just saw Around the World in 80 Trades and found it very inspiring. I would recommend it to anyone in lack of inspiration or looking forward to learn about the global trade industry.

From IMDB:

Economist Conor Woodman uses £25,000 from the sale of his flat to travel to various countries around the world to buy products from certain regions and later sell them to other countries for a profit.

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