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We have to have permission slips for PG-13, and can't show anything rated R, which eliminates some very good films.

I teach Science Fiction, so I would have difficulty teaching with any depth without including film. Literature can carry you only so far in the genre. 

We can show films rated PG-13 and below to high school students but we must get signed parent permission slips to show "R" rated movies. I usually send out a list of "R" rated films I plan to show at the beginning of the year and have parents give permission for their children to watch those films. Parents can edit the film list if they want. Sometimes this is a hassle, but parents and students should have the right not to view something which they think may violate their values. Their values are often challenged simply by the literature we read.

The district I formerly worked for allowed us to play movies, however they had to be movies provided by the library. The library had obtained the rights to play the movies to avoid a law suit. The only catch about playing the movie with the library feeding it to our classroom was that it could not be played in its entirety, but had to be played in 20 minute increments. This was to force discussion on what was being watched as well as to monitor what was being played in the classroom.

I was shocked to see this post about movies being banned from schools. As others have mentioned here, as long as a learning objective is stated, using movies can be very helpful. Not only is it sensitive to the need of teachers to appeal to as many learning styles (13 at last count?) as possible in a classroom, but it also serves as yet another interpretation of the work being studied. 

For many students, TV and film has played a large part in their understanding of the world at large, as the set has often been their babysitter, storyteller, best friend, and all too often, a surrogate parent. To not use these visuals, we miss out on a natural way to achieve objectives for understanding, as well as illustration of point of view, and the five basic elements in all forms of literature: character, plot, setting, theme, conflict. 

I always had writing connected to everything we did in class. I talked about "active reading" (having students write while they read) in another post in this group, but I also used "active viewing" in class and had students write while they watched (I often provided prompts, all relating to the CPSTC).  I covered bases by getting parent permission for every movie, and I even got some parents involved in film selection!  For many of my students, the movie vs. book assignment was given the most effort. 

My favorites:  Star Wars versus The Odyssey (classic epic characteristics), Lord of the Flies, and Thelma and Louise vs. Ibsen's A Doll's House (grad school assignment).

In using Science Fiction in class I have found that the Star Trek The Next Generation and Babylon 5 are excellent media for the classroom.  Both can be used from everything from problem solving and creative writing, to  math and science.  The ceberal nature of Jon Luc Picard and the variety of cultural differences are great.  There is no concern about language and what few episodes where sex is involved they can simply not be shown.  They are exactly 41 min long and can be used effectively in block scheduling.  If you aren't on block scheduling you can plan the lesson over two days and have plenty of time for a pre-viewing and post assessment of your objectives. I simply copy an episode that I think I will use.  They are on at least once or twice a week if you have dish or cable.  If you don't, you can rent them from netflix, or blockbuster.

I use movies quite a bit as a text in themselves.  I avoid the whole "read the book, watch the movie" scenario as much as possible (though I've done it with some classes who were having trouble visualizing the plot). 

I've had some good success with establishing a theme, then having different texts (poetry, novel, short story, movie) that develop that theme.  For example, on the theme of revenge vs. justice, we've read "The Cask of Amontillado," the Biblical account of the rape of Dinah and her brothers' revenge, and the movie "The Count of Monte Cristo."  Using all texts, they had to develop and essay on the theme.  Another one I've used is a compare/contrast of "The Odyssey" and the movie "Trip to Bountiful."

As far as legality, my understanding is that it's okay for a single classroom (just as with making copies from books).  Recordings from TV fall into that category as well, and can be kept for one year.

I teach English in Los Angeles at the middle school level, and my personal thoughts are that movies should be used minimally in English (and I was a film major!).  Our students don't read as much as we did at their age.  Many of them don't read at home for pleasure, so they need to study texts as much as possible at school.  I do usually show one film per year and have the students answer questions while watching it. I also add in a writing assignment afterward.  Last year, when studying theme, I showed The Princess Bride.  Theme is not easy, so the engagement of the film helped.  The kids had not seen it before and loved it! Not only were they engaged, but they were able to do a great job with character and theme analysis.

In discussion-based classes, such as AP or advanced courses, I feel like showing a movie every other month (or attending a play) and discussing that (instead of the book of the week) is a great way to shake things up. Most movies can be dissected just as well as any book--and some, even better. My favorite movie discussions are To Kill a Mockingbird and Citizen Kane.

In AP and Honors classes, I generally show movies after we have read the literature, and we look for differences between the written text and the visual text. In AP classes, I also talk about the visual rhetoric of film, so we look at how shots are filmed, where the actors stand in relation to others, colors and sound used, etc. My favorite movies for discussion and analysis are To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice & Men, Pride & Prejudice, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead.

I also try to avoid the whole "read the book, then watch the movie" thing, although I agree that To Kill A Mockingbird is EXCELLENT.  With my 10th graders, when teaching different forms of writing, I taught movie reviews, and we watched Lord of the Flies and they had to write a movie review on it.  I like the idea of using a movie along the same theme as a novel that has been taught.  My first year teaching, I taught The Pearl, and I showed The Muppets' Christmas Carol to develop the theme of the effect of greed on a character.  The students really enjoyed the movie, and it allowed for some interesting comparisons between Kino and Scrooge.