Lily Taylor rocks out in every movie she's been in. She's played so many diverse rolls.
I think my favorite is Ginger Snaps. I'm such a horror nerd but, you so often find misogynist themes throughout the genre. It was cool to get into the psychological horror through a woman's point of view. And don't even get my started on Alien.

My favorite, hands down, is Foxfire which is another '96 movie starring Hedy Burress and Angelina Jolie. Based on Joyce Carol Oates book (same name) it's about a group of highschool girls that bond and strike back at this teacher who was sexually harassing the students.

My vote is for Silence of the Lambs because of the Clarice Starling character. She strong, smart, and extremely good at what she is doing. And you never lose sight of her character as a woman in a profession and environment that is mostly male.

This is followed by Labyrinth with Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie.

Finding a feminist movie was harder than I thought. Even the ones with great female characters and great acting often have misogynistic themes (like SotL's serial killer of women).

I know these aren't necessarily traditional feminist fare, but I immediately thought of "Kill Bill" and "Hard Candy" (Ellen Page is a far cry from "Juno" in that one!)

Labyrinth for sure. Especially the final scene between Connelly and Bowie were he is super hot and telling her that his abuse was what she wanted of him. She then tells him, "you have no power over me." I can't even express how much I love that part, the film as a whole, everything about it.

Boy, at first I thought there was so many, I didn't even know where to start. Now I feel like every movie I think of has something huge problem in it that makes it difficult for me to call it "feminist." So maybe calling them "movies with positive portrayals of women/girls"?

I'll vote for Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service. I also think Morvern Callar deserves mention, as does 4 Months, Three Weeks, 2 Days.

While I'd hardly call No Country for Old Men a feminist movie, I was deeply moved by the way the damsel in distress character suddenly becomes the moral center of the entire film--the only person willing to question the framework that sets the whole movie in motion.

The Company of Wolves and Valerie and her Week of Wonders.

And I second Ginger Snaps.

I'm going to put in a plug for Aliens specifically for Vasquez--best butch dyke on film ever.

I know it's old school, but "9 to 5". It was so ground breaking at the time, and I still love to watch it.

A Question of Silence, by far.

Oh Man -when I was a teenager I used to say I would have been Bowie's slave if he'd asked /me/. Does that make me a bad feminist, or just kinky?

Anyway, some favorite feminist films:
Dangerous Beauty
Mulan
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Boys Don't Cry

Aliens -yeah, I've loved those movies since I was a kid.
For that matter, if you're going based on strong female characters, things a little outlandish like Jurassic Park, Tremors and From Dusk 'til Dawn would sort of work too.

The First Wives' Club

Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Middler deal justice to their ex-husbands, in the form of opening up a women's crisis center. And go dancing in the streets. What could be better?

Oh also:

Dogma
Chasing Amy

I love both those films

I always liked Muriel's Wedding. Overweight girl finally gets over her obsession with getting married when she realizes that good friends and self-confidence are more important. Yeah, there is a kind of irritating "makeover" issue with this film, but the ABBA music more than makes up for it.

Feminist Quentin Tarrantino? Erm, no. The man has a little too much of a rape fetish for my liking.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised at the ending of Sweeney Todd. Not that the ending between Depp and Carter was all yippie-feminist, but the character of the daughter. She was being treated as a possession by everyone in the movie, even the "love interest." The non-ending to that movie for her actually suggests that she will enjoy actual, real freedom, not simply passing as the property of one character to another.

Also: Dude. Tank Girl.

Oh, Nina, I love Tremors! The heroine is a short doctoral student with curly hair who spends most of the movie wearing sensible clothing and sneakers! And saves the hero more than once!

I know tis is supposed to be a positive blog but I can't help thinking how difficult it is to truly find positive female characters in movies that are vaguely realistic and not seeped in what character women are supposed to play or some spin off of a woman stereotype.

I love First Wives' Club, mathgoddess. Now I'm singing that "You don't own me" song...

I'll vote for Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service.

Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle are great, too.

I think anything by Hayao Miyazaki is pretty fab. He tends to do coming of age stories for young women that have generally healthy romantic subplots. Feminist cartoons?! Yes, please!

Even the ones with great female characters and great acting often have misogynistic themes (like SotL's serial killer of women).

Does having a serial killer of women as part of the plot automatically make a movie misogynist?

My favourite feminist (sort of) movie is definitely my favourite all-time movie - Harold and Maude. I want to be Maude when I grow up.

This is such a brilliant thread! I never would have thought of Labyrinth as feminist, with the whole damsel in distress thing, but I agree now that it is all about an abusive relationship. I love a lot of the movies listed so far, but I'm going to have to second 9 to 5 and Dogma most fervently. 9 to 5 is obviously a feminist classic, and I adore Kevin Smith's attitudes towards women. There is a movie that IFC just put out about the MPAA's entirely messed up rating system, in which they interview him, ask him how he would rate and he says that number one to get an NC17 would be rape, followed by violence against women because, he says, it is so obscenely overused.

shite. I can never tell if the comment is just timing out or if it hasn't posted.

Anyhow, I was trying to say: Quentin Tarrantino movies are not so much on my feminist "love" list -- the man has a little too much of a rape fetish for my tastes.

One movie that I was pleasantly surprised by was Sweeney Todd. It's not like the Depp/Bonham Carter storyline ended well, but the non-ending for the daughter character was actually the most feminist outcome for her... she was being treated like a possession throughout the entire movie by the men in her life, and when we last see her, she has a chance at actually being free to live her own life, not necessary passing as the property from one man to the next.

Also: Any feminist movie list that does not include Tank Girl is flawed.

I'm glad that Radar mentioned Superbad. Have other people seen this? I am so sick of how hip-hop is targeted for "bitch" and "ho" lyrics, when this super whitey-white movie, that appeals to a young, progressive, and (i would have guessed) thoughtful audience was filled with such garbage, both in dialogue and content. There is a actually a point where a dude character gets menstual blood on his leg after dancing with a very forward girl. period blood. really, seth rogan? the bloody vags are just out to get all of you, are they? (now if you don't mind me turning this post into an open letter to Seth Rogan) Seth, you were so great in Freaks and Geeks. I even liked you a lot in 40 Year Old Virgin, and Knocked Up. (a feminist lady knows that mainstream movies are going to include moderate amounts of misogyny, and also knows that in order to function, one will have to overlook such common displays of sexism), but Superbad? What a pile of crap. The characters in that movie (sans maybe Michael Cera's role)are the reason why nerdy dudes can be just as big of douchebags as the hypermasculine ones.
-end of rant-

"Oh Man -when I was a teenager I used to say I would have been Bowie's slave if he'd asked /me/."

Dude, I'd do that _now_. I think that is part of why the movie is so powerful. I don't know if I'd be able to stand up to him like that.

What about Million Dollar Baby? God I loved that movie.

Radar's list leaves a lot to be desired. The MOST misogynist? Really? Sexist, yeah? But a lot of torture porn movies were released in the past couple years, soooo...

Yeah but Marissa, to be fair, I think characters in movies /period/ are often a little stereotypical or flat. But for whatever it's worth, I don't think that's the case for the movies I've named, personally.

More possibilities (though I don't enjoy these films quite as much, personally):

Frida
Proof
Boys on the Side

I have to say, mine aren't so overtly feminist. I'll also note that I, too, am a horror fan.

I'll say in no particular order -

Children of Men: For basically all the reasons pointed out at Pandagon. What makes it especially great is that it is a woman of color that the furture depends on and not in the Magical Negro sense either.

The Scream Trilogy: I think there are many misconceptions about what these movies are trying to say. The series is built on cliche's along gender and color lines/roles, yes ... but only to address them and then turn it all on it's head and tell The Killer (or the audience) how stupid it is. And Sidney Prescott? AWESOME.

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight: Okay, okay, yeah - cheesy boobies and gore, blah blah blah. But it was almost like they knew how stupid it was. Plus the strongest characters were not only women but black women. Especially the hero, Jeryline - not a one-dimensional suburban white boy's fantasy of what a streetwise black woman is, but a real person who is strong and comes full circle.

So that's mine.

I'm also going to add Saving Face, about two Chinese-American women who fall in love.

And let's give some props to the old movies too:

To Have and Have Not, where Bogie doesn't fall for the simpering damsel in distress, but for the hard-edged dame who's been around the block a few times and can give him a run for his money.

The Thing Man--Nick and Nora Charles have the best. marriage. ever. That's all I have to say.

When Ladies Meet--a funky pre-code movie in which a man's mistress and his wife meet and get along swimmingly (not a little lesbian overtones going on here), culminating in the wife throwing the no-good cheater out, the husband being told to run after his wife and grovel and apologize because he's a big schmuck, and the mistress isn't punished. She's vaguely irritated by the whole situation, but she basically reads the newspaper and giggles. She isn't even made to take on the advances of the guy she likes but isn't attracted to as penance!

Curse of the Cat People, about parents being forced to recognize and respect their daughter's imagination.

The Wizard of Oz--Dorothy is brave and adventurous and loyal to her friends; she has female allies (Glinda, Aunt Em) and female adversaries (Miss Gulch, the Witch), and at the end she learns that she herself always had the power to go home if she wanted to.

iron jawed angels gets my blood pumping in a first wave kind of way. go skanky swanky.

i absolutely think JCM's Hedwig and the Angry inch and Shortbus are sex-po feminist films. faves.

yentyl has it's moments, as far as classics go, sits next to 9 to 5 and color purple on my shelf.

finally, off the map has such a quirky self defining young woman.

I've been reading Feministing for a while now but this is my first comment. I just had to mention Girlfight.
Michelle Rodriguez is amazing as a delinquent who turns to boxing as an outlet for her anger. She fights to be taken seriously, and the ending (she's put in a match against her boyfriend) blew me away.

Cedar, I totally agree with you about the ending to No Country for Old Men. I was just feeling so-so about it until the female character spoke up at the end. That made the movie for me.

Miyazaki=

Howl's Moving Castle. Sophie is my hero...it's not every film where the main character is an old woman with spunk!

Oh yeah -more cheesy action flick-ness.

Who all loves the characters in

The Mummy

movies?

iron jawed angels gets my blood pumping in a first wave kind of way. go skanky swanky.

frida!

i absolutely think JCM's Hedwig and the Angry inch and Shortbus are sex-po feminist films. faves.

yentyl has it's moments, as far as classics go, sits next to 9 to 5 and color purple on my shelf.

finally, off the map has such a quirky self defining young woman.

A few more faves:

'Times Square'; 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains'; 'Prey for Rock n Roll'; 'Bound'; 'Don't Need You' (a doc about riot grrrl); 'But I'm a Cheerleader'; 'Itty Bitty Titty Committee' (ok, so it's not a great movie - but any movie that has a character named after Shulamith Firestone has to be included); 'Down and Out With the Dolls'; Deepa Mehta's trilogy: 'Water', 'Earth' and 'Fire'; 'All Over Me'.

Also, for any knitters/crocheters here, there is a similar thread running on Ravelry, started by the 'This Is What a Feminist Knits Like' group.

Howl's moving castle FOR SURE. I loved the book too as a kid. Oh and Return to Oz.

I've never seen Girls Town but now I really want to. Thanks!

My pick: A League of Their Own. Girls who were picked to play a "male" sport because they looked "feminine," discovering that they actually liked it and had a right to play hardball. Makes me choke up every time.

Shortbus bothered me, actually.

I felt the lead was not very empowered to begin with, and then the way she found "enlightenment" struck me as highly unrealistic. (Both in the actual way she achieved orgasm, and the idea that someone who wasn't communicating well with her partner would suddenly be fixed by learning how to orgasm. Seemed like a very stereotypical male-centric view or something, to me...)

And Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz is too whiny for my taste, but I can see where that film has its merits too...

Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt has a tremendous heroine in Charlie (played by Teresa Wright) who is in thrall to her charismatic uncle until she realises he is a murderer. She then sets out to thwart him using initiative and courage.

Also, a big ++ to Howl's Moving Castle. I absolutely love the character of Sophie--and the way that her character evolves is so beautiful.

But a lot of torture porn movies were released in the past couple years, soooo...

Yeah, but to be fair, Radar did say that it was specifically excluding those.

And I want to add Bring it On, a movie about relationships among girls, female ambition, morality, and athleticism. Good flick.

Mists of Avalon (the book is better than the movie, though)

Iron Jawed Angels

9 to 5

If Walls Could Talk I and II

Vera Drake

Ten Things I Hate About You

The Descent

People have added so many that I had to throw a few more out there:

Amelie
Brazil (the main chick is sort of looked at as damsel in distress, but she is having NONE of it)
Mirrormask

My sister suggests both Pirates of the Carribean and School of Rock, which is very heartening in regards to mainstream movies, I think. Sister also points out Cereno De Bergerac, because Christian can't get the girl, even though he is pretty, because he isn't smart enough for her.

"The Descent"

Hmm... the women in that movie are pretty powerful alright. But I think the fact that they ultimately compete for survival and kill each other diverges a little from the view of feminism I like to espouse...

all time favorites:

times square - rich girl and poor girl form punk band, how awesome is that?

9-5 - dolly parton, jane fonda AND lily tomlin.

Two great feminist revenge films are Freeway (which starred Reese Witherspoon before she was a star) and Teeth an update of the vagina dentata myth that also skewers the abstinence movement. Both films are laugh-out-loud funny and feature strong, blonde heroines who end up feeling not one bit guilty about the violence they visit on the men (and sometimes women) who abuse them. These films offer more feminist food-for-thought than I ever expected from gratuitously violent, cheaply-made genre movies. See them!

Also the Golden Compass.

Spoilers: Lyra, the main character tells her best friend (a boy) that she will save him and later does. There are also witches that are both powerful and good and help to save the day.

School of Rock is an interesting suggestion to me because I left that movie feeling unsure. The ways that Sarah Silverman's character, the principal, and Summer (the student/band manager) were strong characters, but also portrayed as super naggy, overbearing, and no fun. But I still liked it, for sure.

"Fried Green Tomatoes" - does that count? It's such a great book and they turned it into a great movie.

How can you not love Idgie and Ruth, and Idgie's bee-charming, tree-climbing ways?

all time favorites:

times square - rich girl and poor girl form punk band, how awesome is that?

9-5 - dolly parton, jane fonda AND lily tomlin.

Babyface (1933) with Barbara Stanwyck, without the changes of the Production Code. Hard Candy (2005) with Ellen Page because she is an absolute badass. The female leads in Sideways (2004), Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh, are so wonderful. Especially when Sandra Oh administers a Grade-A beatdown on Thomas Haden Church's lying ass! And Secretary (2002), if do not find BDSM anti-feminist.

Oh, yes yes yes to A League of Their Own!! So rad.

Ladylike, if you are into knitting, I want to tell you about a group I just discovered that sends cozy blankets to animal shelters for puppehs and kittehs - The Snuggles Project. I'm not involved with them (yet) but I'm trying to spread the word to my friends who knit.

/threadjack

Girls Town?!?!?!? The remake of the crappy 1950's Mel Tormé movie?!?

Personally, my fave has always been Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark (unless your name happens to be The Bride and you kick the shit out of anyone who drive a "Pussy Wagon").

Two great feminist revenge films are Freeway (which starred Reese Witherspoon before she was a star) and Teeth an update of the vagina dentata myth that also skewers the abstinence movement. Both films are laugh-out-loud funny and feature strong, blonde heroines who end up feeling not one bit guilty about the violence they visit on the men (and sometimes women) who abuse them. These films offer more feminist food-for-thought than I ever expected from gratuitously violent, cheaply-made genre movies. See them!

I would add "Mean Girls" to the list. Strong feminist themes and messages under the guise of your average teen comedy. And to top it off, it's actually funny! I love, love, love Tina Fey!

Also, how about "To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar"? Sure it's drag queens empowering women, but there are empowered women none the less. The part with Stockard Channing at the end.....it gets me everytime! I love "To Wong Foo"!

Oh and JustAGrrrlGeek, yes, I loved "This Film Not Yet Rated". Talking about adjusting our rating system to rate cartoon-ish violence (the kind without a lot of blood that doesn't show the consequences) and violence against women the harshest seems to revolutionary, but it really so simple. It makes too much sense to every work here in the US.

"School of Rock"? I really, really didn't get a feminist vibe off that film. Maybe something to do with three of girls being assigned roles as groupies as well as other niggling things like Sarah Silverman's role.

Willow.

I was just watching it with some younger cousins of mine and it struck me that every person in a position of power in that movie is a woman. A baby girl is the "chosen one" needed to save the world - who choses her protector. There's an evil queen (natch) and her warrior daughter. There's at least two other female sorceresses. And the final battle with the baddie is all women.

Having a little person as the titular lead is at least a divergence from the standard. The only other male lead, (a smokin' hot Val Kilmer) is kinda goofy, while he does get the girl, it's her that "gets" him and he doesn't "save the day".

I dig it.

I love that "All I Wanna Do" movie with Gabby Hoffman, Kirsten Dunst, and Rachel Leigh Cook. Young women come together to fight against merging their single-sex school with a nearby school for young men. It's actually quite inspiring and very funny. It actually addresses issues like body image, sexual identity, and co-education.

Pretty cool.

I love this topic.

I'm going to go ahead and echo the Alien sentiments. All the way.

Others:

Antonia's Line
A Question of Silence
Girls Town
The Children's Hour are all on the list.
I'd probably include Killing Us Softly and maybe even 28 Days Later, Pan's Labrynth, and Lady Vengeance. I'm tempted to include films like The Descent, Robocop or Strange Days, but that's mostly just strong female characters, not explicitly feminist.

Pan's Labyrinth came off as sort of feminist to me.
The protagonist was a young girl; that's something you almost never see in movies that aren't geared towards children.
She is an empowered, curious, intelligent, daring character who really shines.

Fat Girl, as long as we're counting foreign films.

And I'm going to have to disagree about Superbad. Yes, the movie shows misogyny, but that is a reality of high school. The movie also shows the two main characters eventually realizing that women are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect. I don't think it's necessarily unfeminist to show that some people behave in a misogynist way, especially if the characters realize that their behavior is negative by the end.

Also, it's worth pointing out that Jonah Hill's character, when he talks about fooling around with a girl, focuses on the fact that he gave her pleasure, rather than the other way around.

amelie.

also, i was kind of surprised by the inclusion of superbad on this list. i actually really liked the way that the females were portrayed- as teenage girls. i think a lot of boys identified with the two main characters, and guess what? teenage guys can be total assholes. i think the movie was meant a lot more to portray the mindset of a teenage boy than be misogynistic.

"Fried Green Tomatoes" - does that count? It's such a great book and they turned it into a great movie.

How can you not love Idgie and Ruth, and Idgie's bee-charming, tree-climbing ways?

Willow makes me smile big. Like this =)

Elizabeth -another favorite

hmmm...

how about:

Norma Rae
Erin Brockovich
North Country

"All I Wanna Do" with Gabby Hoffman and Kirsten Dunst. Young women in fight to keep their single-sex school from going co-educational. It's pretty cool.

I want to agree with:

Iron Jawed Angels
Boys Don't Cry
If These Walls Could Talk (one and two)
Erin Brokovich
North Country
A League of Their Own

and add:

Thelma and Louise
I Shot Andy Warhol

Planet Terror

...because we all know the ultimate end of feminism is for all women to have one regular leg and one MACHINE GUN LEG!!!!

jk lol. I'm going to cheat: I echo the sentiments that it is difficult to think of many feminist movies, however just the other day I was thinking about what a feminist (and otherwise politically awesome) TV show The Wire is... seriously the white lawyer is career-driven and likable without a bit of bitch-factor. But most of all Kima Greggs is hands down the most righteous dyke character of all TV history. (Snoop is the second most righteous dyke. And Omar the most righteous male homo.)

I second both Girlfight, Hard Candy, Prey for Rock 'n Roll and Fried Green Tomatoes. Read the book for FGT if you never have, while the movie was awesome, the book was so much better.

Also, I never thought of Labyrinth as a feminist movie before, either, but now that you mention it...

And, what about All About Eve? Both main characters are strong females who (in their own ways) come out on top in the end. I also really enjoyed Chocolat. I'm not sure if I could make an argument for it being a feminist film, other than having a strong female lead who's also a single mother in a conservative Catholic environment, though.

hmmm...

how about:

Norma Rae
Erin Brockovich
North Country

Ten Things I Hate About You for sure.

Also, I know it's not necessarily feminist, but I'd like to point out that Smiley Face is one of the first stoner movies where a woman is the main character.

Some of my favorite feminist movies are:
Jackie Brown (by Tarantino; the camera drools all over a mature Pam Grier, a kick-ass black woman)
Pan's Labyrinth
Volver
Children of Men
Serenity
Persepolis
Fried Green Tomatoes
Stardust

I'll second Freeway and Mean Girls. As far as teen movies go, I'd nominate Saved.

I didn't really like Hard Candy. Ellen Page is pretty awesome, but that movie was ridiculous.

Superbad and Knocked Up suffer from the same problem as everything I've ever seen Will Ferrell in--you're never sure if they're mocking stupid attitudes or celebrating them.

9 to 5!!! 9 to 5!!!

Also, I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch for the first time a few weeks ago, and I've never cried so hard with joy and sorrow and confusion and wonderfulness in my entire life.

And it is brash to say Clueless? I think Cher is as good a heroine as any I could have asked for as a young teenager.

I agree with all of the above (that I've seen). What I really like about this thread is it's opening my eyes to the feminist aspects of some of my favorite films that I might not otherwise have seen. I especially like what was pointed out about Willow. That is a favorite movie of mine and now I have another reason to love it.

Iron Jawed Angels
Boys Don't Cry
Thelma & Louise
TransAmerica
A League of Their Own
...I know I'm forgetting something!

On a side note, Queen Gorgo's character in 300 was a great change from the weak female/savior men films.

Some of my favorite feminist movies are:
Jackie Brown (by Tarantino; the camera drools all over a mature Pam Grier, a kick-ass black woman)
Pan's Labyrinth
Volver
Children of Men
Serenity
Persepolis
Fried Green Tomatoes
Stardust

I actually really liked Anchorman because I didn't feel that the Christina Applegate character was a negative caricature of a feminist. Also, I liked Will Farrell being told "You're on the air" and declaring "I don't believe you!" and lighting up a cigarette.

Iron Jawed Angels
Boys Don't Cry
Thelma & Louise
TransAmerica
A League of Their Own
...I know I'm forgetting something!

On a side note, Queen Gorgo's character in 300 was a great change from the weak female/savior men films.

What about Orlando

Really good stuff.

Oh, and I'm gonna go a little old school and say

Gone With the Wind

despite the whole "rape" scene...the bulk of the women...Scarlet and Melly and Mammy...are strong and proactive. Really powerful, especially for the 1930s AND the Civil War. Love it.

9 to 5!!! 9 to 5!!!

Also, I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch for the first time a few weeks ago, and I've never cried so hard with joy and sorrow and confusion and wonderfulness in my entire life.

And it is brash to say Clueless? I think Cher is as good a heroine as any I could have asked for as a young teenager.

I forgot one! The film Carrie. As opposed to the book, the young women drive all of the action. From the cruelty of the beginning, to the kindness of the middle, to the horrific ending.

And to answer cheezwizard, no I don't think that having a serial killer of women makes the film anti-feminist, but I get extremely uneasy when torture and mutilation of women is played out for entertainment value.

What about Orlando

Really good stuff.

Oh, and I'm gonna go a little old school and say

Gone With the Wind

despite the whole "rape" scene...the bulk of the women...Scarlet and Melly and Mammy...are strong and proactive. Really powerful, especially for the 1930s AND the Civil War. Love it.

Iron Jawed Angels
Boys Don't Cry
Thelma & Louise
TransAmerica
A League of Their Own
...I know I'm forgetting something!

On a side note, Queen Gorgo's character in 300 was a great change from the weak female/savior men films.

What about Orlando

Really good stuff.

Oh, and I'm gonna go a little old school and say

Gone With the Wind

despite the whole "rape" scene...the bulk of the women...Scarlet and Melly and Mammy...are strong and proactive. Really powerful, especially for the 1930s AND the Civil War. Love it.

I don't want to repeat all the great movies so far, so here's some to add:

The Addams Family, Foxy Brown, Boys Don't Cry, Dirty Pretty Things, Take My Eyes (very good Spanish movie about domestic violence), Volver, Bound, Red Eye, Whale Rider, Cider House Rules.

i totally want to second TREMORS!

Hmm. I agree with you about the movie Carrie, ellestar, but my memory of the book is that women--Sue Snell, the guidance counselor, Mrs. White, the horrible mean girls whose names I can't remember--drive all of the action as well. Am I misremembering?

I've gotta disagree about Gone With the Wind. Leaving aside the fact that I just can't root for slaveowners, I can't overlook the marital rape, and Mammy is portrayed as a buffoon ("I don't know nothing about birthing no babies").

I meant Jackie Brown, oops. People already posted some of the movies I added while I was typing.

I have to enthusiastically second "Foxfire." Girl/woman- *and* LGBTQ-positive. (When I saw it in junior high, it was the first time the thought occurred to me that I was/am bi.)

I also have always loved "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore. Yes, it's got the cheese factor a bit, and I'll have to watch it again to reevaluate the messages, but I love that Cinderella is a voracious reader, does 'unfeminine' things, and saves *herself* from the baddie with her sword skills.

For a really fun one, I have to mention "Saved!" And Serenity. Joss Whedon is God (if god were a man, that is)...speaking of which, if any of you haven't seen his speech at an "Equality Now!" event, go search for
"Joss Whedon Equality Now" at YouTube *right now*. I sob every time (in a good way).

For me:

Before Sunset
Legally Blonde

The Long Kiss Goodnight. Geena Davis as an ass-kicking government-trained assassin.

Anyone else notice that there are several Geena Davis movies mentioned? Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, and, of course, The Long Kiss Goodnight.

I second Iron Jawed Angels, and I also throw in my vote for Kung-Fu Hustle. Qiu Yen as the Landlady, while made to look like a hugely stereotypical bitchy-in-the-bad-way PITA in the beginning, turned out to be a HELLA badass character.

OK, another one from me: Mary Poppins. This is a movie in which a father is castigated for not spending enough time with his children and sees the error of his ways! Mrs. Banks is a committed suffragette with a great marching song (my mother and I used to sing it together). She starts out the movie hiding her suffragism from her husband because he doesn't like it, but at the happy ending, she ties a "Votes for Women" banner to the kids' kite and they all go out and fly it high!

And Mary is ultra-cool, of course.

I have to enthusiastically second "Foxfire." Girl/woman- *and* LGBTQ-positive. (When I saw it in junior high, it was the first time the thought occurred to me that I was/am bi.)

I also have always loved "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore. Yes, it's got the cheese factor a bit, and I'll have to watch it again to reevaluate the messages, but I love that Cinderella is a voracious reader, does 'unfeminine' things, and saves *herself* from the baddie with her sword skills.

For a really fun one, I have to mention "Saved!"
And Serenity. Joss Whedon is God (if god were a man, that is)...speaking of which, if any of you haven't seen his speech at an "Equality Now!" event, go search for
"Joss Whedon Equality Now" at YouTube *right now*. I sob every time (in a good way).

I can't believe no one has mentioned Bandit Queen - everyone needs to see that.

For misogynist I remember getting so worked up seeing the trailer for Milk Money - about boys who save up their milk money to get a prostitute for their dad. How sweet, eh?

I have to enthusiastically second "Foxfire." Girl/woman- *and* LGBTQ-positive. (When I saw it in junior high, it was the first time the thought occurred to me that I was/am bi.)

I also have always loved "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore. Yes, it's got the cheese factor a bit, and I'll have to watch it again to reevaluate the messages, but I love that Cinderella is a voracious reader, does 'unfeminine' things, and saves *herself* from the baddie with her sword skills.

For a really fun one, I have to mention "Saved!"
And Serenity. Joss Whedon is God (if god were a man, that is)...speaking of which, if any of you haven't seen his speech at an "Equality Now!" event, go search for
"Joss Whedon Equality Now" at YouTube *right now*. I sob every time (in a good way).

Also Once Were Warriors - a difficult movie to watch but I'd say feminist for showing the horror of rape and domestic violence.

Labyrinth... oh YEAH!
Circle of Friends, for the ending.
I Am Legend, because although Will Smith plays the 'hero', it's clear that the woman represents the future, and the new way of being in the world, and he is the past.
V for Vendetta. Natalie Portman is unpredictable, smart and strong.

Antonia's Line-go out and rent it RIGHT NOW

I've already posted an homage to 9to5, which I love dearly (especially the first half).

I'll second RiotGrrl's mention of Volver and just elaborate that I think almost every Pedro Almodovar film has phenomenal female characters.

You're right, EG, the book Carrie was mostly female driven, too. But some agency was given to the boyfriends (both Tommy and the bad guy boyfriend decide they weren't just doing what their girlfriends asked them to, they would have done what they were doing, anyway).

That was wiped out in the movie. Sue even wrote the poem that made Carrie like Tommy. The vote for prom queen wasn't legit: All of the mean girls fixed it so that Carrie would win.

Also a quick vote for Kill Bill. Yes, Tarentino does have his rape fantasies, but I have to argue that it's mostly the women in the film that are the righteous fighters. In terms of having honorable deaths in fair fights, with the exception of Bill, every women has an honorable death that reflects what is, for them an honorable life. Only Budd, who used dirty tricks to take on the Bride, had what amounted to a dishonorable death, equally tricky as his tactics. I'm not saying the movie is Yay!Feminist, but I don't think it's anti-feminist, either.

T A N K G I R L ! ! ! (most def my #1 kick ass feminist film), and

FOXFIRE!!

also:
(some of these have been listed already, but i second them)

real women have curves (with america ferrera)

if these walls could talk (both, but mainly the first one where cher, the abortion provider, is attacked)

boys don't cry

boys on the side

watermelon woman (confronts race and queer issues)

a league of their own

thelma & louise

bastard out of carolina (not nearly as incredible as the book, but they did a pretty good job with the movie.)

transamerica

persepolis

erin brockovich

i shot andy warhol

vera drake (about a bad ass secret home-abortion provider masquerading as an aging housecleaner).

north country

girl fight

Aileen- life & death of a serial killer (about aileen wuornos)

AND... (though i have only seen the trailers so far) i nominate "GIRLS ROCK!"- i cannot wait to see this film!!!!

Terminator 2

Granted, it's been a long time since I've seen it, but I recall that Linda Hamilton was most decidedly not pornulated in her role as saviour of the planet. And, dear lord, the scene where she's doing pullups on the bed frame! Positively badass.

Bend It Like Beckham -- I love seeing movies about women in sports.
The Ketchup Effect -- The main character overcomes harassment at school, led by her crush and perpetuated by people she thought were her friends. It's amazing and has more than a few kick-ass scenes.
Deathproof -- Ok, so a few women die gruesome deaths at the hands of this serial killer, but he totally gets owned by a couple of female-stuntdrivers and their make-up artist friend.

I would argue that my favorite movie, Fargo, is also a feminist movie. The heroine is a female cop -- and not just a female cop, but a pregnant female cop, who is also an extremely strong, intelligent, and sympathetic character. Also, Frances McDormand rocks.