Historical
by MACZEES | created - 23 Jan 2013 | updated - 20 Mar 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Amistad (1997)
R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 82,772 | Gross: $44.18M
2. The Gathering Storm (2002 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
Winston Churchill's wilderness years prior to World War II, when only he could see the threat that Adolf Hitler and a rearmed Germany posed to Europe.
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Linus Roache
Votes: 7,043
3. Roots (1977)
TV-14 | 74 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
Stars: LeVar Burton, Robert Reed, John Amos, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 18,874
4. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Jordi Mollà
Votes: 75,059 | Gross: $16.29M
5. Nixon (1995)
R | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History
A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris
Votes: 32,724 | Gross: $13.56M
6. John Adams (2008)
TV-14 | 71 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett, Stephen Dillane
Votes: 36,620
7. W. (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Hanks
Votes: 50,032 | Gross: $25.53M
8. The Molly Maguires (1970)
M | 124 min | Drama, History
In 1876 Pennsylvania, a group of Irish immigrant coal miners begin to retaliate against the cruelty of their work environment.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay
Votes: 4,334 | Gross: $0.22M
9. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 334,246 | Gross: $198.68M
10. The Patriot (2000)
R | 165 min | Action, Drama, History
Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs
Votes: 293,464 | Gross: $113.33M
11. Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor (2003 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama, History
On the glorious battlefields of the American Revolution, two great generals distinguished themselves; George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Washington is remembered as America's founding ... See full summary »
Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Jane Brennan, Laura Brennan, Anthony Brophy, Frank Coughlan
Votes: 540
12. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 272,620 | Gross: $182.21M
13. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Passed | 129 min | Drama
An Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 99,937 | Gross: $0.06M
14. The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Approved | 135 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Charles 'Slim' Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith, Bartlett Robinson
Votes: 8,607
15. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
G | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarry.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Leo McKern
Votes: 37,152 | Gross: $28.35M
16. Christopher Columbus (1985)
360 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
After his proposal to sail west to the East Indies is rejected by Portugal, Columbus overcomes court intrigue in Spain to gain support for his expedition.
Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Rossano Brazzi, Virna Lisi, Oliver Reed
Votes: 709
17. Hatfields & McCoys (2012)
TV-14 | 97 min | Drama, History, Romance
Dramatization of the bitter blood feud between the two families on the West Virginia/Kentucky border in the years after the Civil War.
Stars: Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Matt Barr, Tom Berenger
Votes: 29,336
18. Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, History
A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Whoopi Goldberg, Virginia Madsen
Votes: 12,149 | Gross: $13.05M
19. Shenandoah (1965)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, War, Western
A Virginia farmer who has vowed to remain neutral during the Civil War is spurred into action when his youngest son is taken by Union soldiers.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne
Votes: 9,626
20. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,258 | Gross: $75.60M
21. Inchon (1981)
PG | 140 min | Drama, History, War
During the Korean War, General Douglas MacArthur masterminds the amphibious invasion of Inchon in September 1950.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, Toshirô Mifune
Votes: 849 | Gross: $5.20M
22. Gangs of New York (2002)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 472,876 | Gross: $77.81M
23. The Big Lift (1950)
Approved | 120 min | Drama, War
Experiences of two Air Force sergeants during the 1948 Berlin Airlift.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas, Cornell Borchers, Bruni Löbel
Votes: 1,733
24. Cleopatra (1963)
G | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History
Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.
Directors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown
Votes: 37,401 | Gross: $57.78M
25. The Devil's Disciple (1959)
Approved | 83 min | Comedy, History, Romance
The black sheep of a family and the local minister discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.
Directors: Guy Hamilton, Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott
Votes: 2,875
26. Union Pacific (1939)
Passed | 135 min | Drama, Western
In 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Akim Tamiroff, Robert Preston
Votes: 3,381
27. The Last Command (1955)
Passed | 110 min | History, War, Western
Moderate Jim Bowie leads rebellious Texicans--and Davy Crockett--in a last-ditch stand against his old friend, Santa Anna.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt
Votes: 939
28. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,541 | Gross: $108.64M
29. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Votes: 318,900 | Gross: $95.72M
30. Troy (2004)
R | 163 min | Adventure, Drama
An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Julian Glover
Votes: 570,399 | Gross: $133.38M
31. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 707,886 | Gross: $138.80M
32. The Good Shepherd (2006)
R | 167 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
Director: Robert De Niro | Stars: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 108,576 | Gross: $59.95M
33. Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
R | 94 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West
Votes: 12,365 | Gross: $6.37M
34. Munich (2005)
R | 164 min | Action, Drama, History
After the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Marie-Josée Croze, Ciarán Hinds
Votes: 238,262 | Gross: $47.40M
35. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro
Votes: 62,277
36. George Wallace (1997)
TV-14 | 178 min | Biography, Drama
Following Alabama governor George Wallace through segregation, presidential elections, an assassination attempt and personal trauma.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Angelina Jolie, Stieven Davidson, Richard Yett
Votes: 1,601
37. The Leopard (1963)
PG | 186 min | Drama, History
The Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa
Votes: 28,815
38. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
Not Rated | 100 min | Crime, Drama, History
Al Capone's Valentine's Day surprise for the rival Bugs Moran gang in 1929 Chicago.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale
Votes: 4,767
39. Missing (1982)
PG | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea
Votes: 23,360 | Gross: $14.00M
40. A Night to Remember (1958)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, History
On her maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman
Votes: 17,154
41. Brigham Young (1940)
Approved | 114 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 1844, after the assassination of Mormon leader Joseph Smith by an angry mob in Illinois, the Mormons choose Brigham Young as their new leader and follow him to a new promised land in Utah.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Dean Jagger, Brian Donlevy
Votes: 1,140
42. Custer of the West (1967)
G | 143 min | Biography, Drama, History
George Armstrong Custer's love of the heroic traditions of the Calvary and his distaste with the coming of industrialization leads him to his destiny at the Little Big Horn.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, Ty Hardin, Jeffrey Hunter
Votes: 1,620
43. Ludwig (1973)
R | 238 min | Biography, Drama, History
The reign of the tormented Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from 1864 to 1886.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano
Votes: 5,999
44. Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the sixteenth century, the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots engages in over two decades of religious and political conflict with her cousin, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England, amidst political intrigue in her native land.
Director: Charles Jarrott | Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Patrick McGoohan, Timothy Dalton
Votes: 4,882 | Gross: $2.33M
45. The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, History, War
In 1854, during the Crimean War, poor planning leads to the British Light Brigade openly charging a Russian artillery position with tragic consequences.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Trevor Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Harry Andrews
Votes: 3,879
46. Stalin (1992 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 172 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The life and career of the brutal Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.
Director: Ivan Passer | Stars: Robert Duvall, Julia Ormond, Maximilian Schell, Jeroen Krabbé
Votes: 2,781
47. The Crossing (2000 TV Movie)
89 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Roger Rees, Sebastian Roché, Steven McCarthy
Votes: 2,191
48. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Votes: 639,077 | Gross: $136.03M
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