Before "Nightcrawler": Five Movies On Sketchy Journalism You Should See

Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is all about stomping ethical journalism into the ground without remorse. Before you watch that, though, check out these five films that depict the morally-compromised world of news. How fun!

1. Citizen Kane (1941)

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This classic film follows the rise and fall of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane. At one point, his newspaper becomes so influential that he successfully encourages the US's entrance into the Spanish American War (1898) -- with some shady journalism and outright lies, of course. Um, go America?

2. Ace in the Hole (1951)

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Tough, opportunistic reporter Chuck Tatum stumbles upon a big story in a small town: a man gets trapped in an abandoned, supposedly haunted mine shaft. It isn't long before Tatum delays the rescuing of the poor man in order to generate more coverage. Even seeing this movie now, it's extremely dark!

3. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

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Gossip columnist columnist J.J. Hunsecker convinces suck-up Sidney Falco to destroy an up-and-coming jazz musician's personal and professional life via newspaper -- all because Hunsecker doesn't like the artist dating his sister. Why? Incestuous subtext. Oh, goody.

4. Network (1976)

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"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" News-anchorman Howard Beale, in danger of losing his job because of his age, threatens suicide and rages. Is he fired? NOPE. He becomes so popular that his boss pitches a nightly news broadcast (complete with a psychic and footage of terrorists) built around Beale's rants.

5. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

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In this sequel, Ron Jeremy reassembles his Channel 4 News Team in order to conquer 24-hour news network GNN (get it?). Amidst the dumb fun, the movie has some semi-smart things to say about today's media. Because an airline owner owns GNN, Ron and crew can't do a report on the airline's faulty planes. Also, the movie skewers "fluffy" news, such as celebrity police chases, taking time away from more investigative reporting. Sound familiar?