Mister Roberts (1955) staring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and James Cagney: A superb comedy-drama of life aboard a World War II cargo ship where the crew relies on the genial
Mister Roberts to mediate the tantrums of an unqualified captain.  The film is an excellent illustration of two leaders who very different views of their crews' motivations.  The captain operates largely out of a Theory X  world view while Mister Roberts has a more optimistic Theory Y assessment of the crew.  The film received 2 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.  Jack Lemmon won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  The sequel Ensign Pulver (1964) staring Walter Matthau illustrates the same themes and is also quite funny.

Dead Poets Society (1989) staring Robin Williams:  An unconventional New England prep school teacher inspires his students with poetry and encourages them to embrace life.  It is an excellent illustration of what can happen when people become motivated to achieve the last step on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs -- self actualization.  The tension between the teacher and the head master also illustrates the differences between having a Theory X vs. an Theory Y view of student motivation.  The movie was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor--Robin Williams, and Best (Original) Screenplay and won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) staring Richard Dreyfuss: An aspiring composer becomes a terrific music teacher in spite of himself in this inspirational chronicle of thirty years in the life of a man who, through his sheer love of music, leaves an unexpected, indelible mark on the lives of his students. It is a good illustration of one individual's motivation to public service and the impacts that one can have on others through there efforts to lead and motivate.  Richard Dreyfuss received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor.

Stand and Deliver (1987) staring Edward James Olmos, Andy Garcia, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Rosana De Soto:  It is a true story of high school teacher who takes a class not
expected to exceed beyond basic arithmetic and has them achieve record high scores in the state's Advanced Placement Calculus Exam.  It is an excellent illustration of the effect that leadership and motivation can have on people.  Edward James Olmos received an Academy Award nomination for: Best Actor for his performance.

A Few Good Men (1992) staring Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, and Cuba Gooding Jr: Two Marines are charged with murdering a member of their platoon during an unsanctioned disciplinary action.  The Navy assigns who they believe is a lightweight defense attorney to handle the case.  The movie concludes with a dramatic courtroom confrontation between the defense attorney and a high ranking military official. It is a good movie that examines the consequences of blindly following orders.  The movie received 3 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor--Jack Nicholson.

Miss Evers Boys (1997) staring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne: This movie is based on the true story of the decades-long Tuskegee experiment.  Faced with having their federal funding cut off entirely, the staff of a syphilis treatment center in Tuskegee, Alabama is forced to institute a government-mandated research project in which they study--without the patients' knowledge--the effects of the disease on untreated black patients from 1932 to 1972. The government only apologized for the mistreatment of these patients in 1997.  The movie touches on a wide range of ethical issues surrounding program design and evaluation.   It also illustrates the importance of accountability and oversight. 

Boiler Room (2000) staring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, and Nicky Katt: Seth Davis (Ribisi) runs a small time casino out of his apartment until he is recruited to join a hot new stock brokerage firm that is far from the traditions of Wall Street.  Trained by the firm's young turks (Diesel and Katt), Seth quickly takes to the new job, its instant riches, and the hope of his father's approval.  It all seems to good to be true and is when Seth learns the secrets behind the firm and its unethical and illegal activities.  The firm is an excellent depiction of moral dilemmas confronting Seth and the impacts of his actions on his family and new found friends.  

Wall Street (1987) staring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, James Spader, and Hal Holbrook:   It is the story of how an unscrupulous, multi-millionaire corporate raider persuades an ambitious young broker to acquire information about his father's company, profiling the complex crime of "insider trading" in this indictment of '80's style finance.  The movie is an excellent illustration of how greed and the lust for power can lead to ethnical and moral dilemmas.  Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor.