Important and powerful historical films reawaken interest in aspects of the past that were not previously well-represented or understood. In history movies the primary plot is based on actual historical events, or an imagined plot unfolds in such a way that actual historical events are central and intrinsic to the story. Historical film subtypes include the epic, the war film, the biographical film, the period or topical film, and what might be called the metahistorical film, that present the past from multiple, conflicting viewpoints in an attempt to illustrate the complexity of representing the historical past. Watch best history movies of all time!
#1 Schindler's List 1993 Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. Director: Steven Spielberg. Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz, Malgorzata Gebel, Shmuel Levy, Mark Ivanir, Béatrice Macola, Andrzej Seweryn, Friedrich von Thun, Krzysztof Luft, Harry Nehring, Norbert Weisser. Overview: Told from the perspective of businessman Oskar Schindler who saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory. Schindler’s List is based on a true story, illustrated in black and white and controversially filmed in many original locations. Genres: Drama, History, War. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 3h 15m. Rated: R. |
#2 The Human Condition I: No Greater Love 1959 The Immortal Story Director: Masaki Kobayashi. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima, Sô Yamamura, Akira Ishihama, Kôji Nanbara, Seiji Miyaguchi, Tōru Abe, Masao Mishima, Eitarô Ozawa, Kôji Mitsui, Akitake Kôno, Nobuo Nakamura, Kyû Sazanka. Overview: A Japanese pacifist and socialist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan. Genres: War, Drama, History. Country: Japan. Runtime: 3h 26m. |
#3 Saving Private Ryan 1998 The mission is a man. Director: Steven Spielberg. Cast: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina, Joerg Stadler, Max Martini, Dylan Bruno. Overview: As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home. Genres: Drama, History, War. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 49m. Rated: R. |
#4 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 A Mighty Motion Picture Of Action And Adventure! Director: David Lean. Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif, Claude Rains, Anthony Quayle, José Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Wolfit, Zia Mohyeddin, I.S. Johar, Gamil Ratib, Michel Ray, John Dimech. Overview: An epic about British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements. Genres: Adventure, Drama, History, War. Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America. Runtime: 3h 36m. Rated: PG. |
#5 Das Boot 1982 When the hunters become the hunted Director: Wolfgang Petersen. Cast: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge, Bernd Tauber, Erwin Leder, Martin May, Heinz Hoenig, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Claude-Oliver Rudolph, Jan Fedder, Ralf Richter. Overview: A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War. Soon it becomes hunted itself. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits... Genres: Action, Drama, Foreign, History, Thriller, War. Countries: Germany, France. Runtime: 2h 29m. Rated: R. |
#6 Downfall 2004 April 1945, a nation awaits its...Downfall Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel. Cast: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Thomas Kretschmann, Ulrich Noethen, Birgit Minichmayr, Rolf Kanies, Justus von Dohnanyi, Michael Mendl, André Hennicke, Christian Redl. Overview: In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his Generals and advisers to fight to the last man. "Downfall" explores these final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting from their beloved Fuhrer, in an effort to save their own lives, while still others (Joseph Goebbels) pledge to die with Hitler. Hitler, himself, degenerates into a paranoid shell of a man, full of optimism one moment and suicidal depression the next. When the end finally does comes, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History, War. Countries: Austria, Germany, Italy, Russian Federation. Runtime: 2h 36m. Rated: R. |
#7 The Elephant Man 1980 I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man! Director: David Lynch. Cast: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, John Standing, Phoebe Nicholls, Kenny Baker. Overview: A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous facade, there is revealed a person of intelligence and sensitivity. Genre: Drama. Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America. Runtime: 2h 5m. Rated: PG. |
#8 Braveheart 1995 Every man dies. Not every man truly lives. Director: Mel Gibson. Cast: Mel Gibson, Catherine McCormack, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen, Brendan Gleeson, James Robinson, James Cosmo, Sean McGinley, Gerda Stevenson, Mhairi Calvey, Jeanne Marine, Sean Lawlor, Sandy Nelson, Alan Tall. Overview: Enraged at the slaughter of Murron -- his new bride and childhood love -- legendary Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule. Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War. Countries: United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America. Runtime: 2h 57m. Rated: R. |
#9 The Great Escape 1963 Put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it... Director: John Sturges. Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Angus Lennie, Nigel Stock, Robert Graf, Jud Taylor. Overview: The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocates them to a high-security "escape-proof" camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story. Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 52m. Rated: NR. |
#10 The King's Speech 2010 God save the king. Director: Tom Hooper. Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Claire Bloom, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Ramona Marquez, Freya Wilson. Overview: Tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History. Country: United Kingdom. Runtime: 1h 59m. Rated: R. |
#11 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 The event the world will never forget Director: Stanley Kramer. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Edward Binns, Werner Klemperer, Torben Meyer, Martin Brandt, William Shatner, Kenneth MacKenna, Alan Baxter, John Wengraf. Overview: In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner. Genres: Drama, History. Countries: Germany, United States of America. Runtime: 3h 6m. Rated: PG. |
#12 Hotel Rwanda 2004 When the world closed its eyes, he opened his arms. Director: Terry George. Cast: Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno, Ofentse Modiselle, Mathabo Pieterson, Neil McCarthy, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Tony Kgoroge, Fana Mokoena, Lebo Mashile, Antonio David Lyons, Leleti Khumalo. Overview: Inspired by true events this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990’s when more than a million Tutsis’ were killed in a Genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History. Countries: United Kingdom, Italy, United States of America, South Africa. Runtime: 2h 1m. Rated: PG-13. |
#13 The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer. Cast: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Antonin Artaud, Jean d'Yd, Louis Ravet, Armand Lurville, Jacques Arnna, Alexandre Mihalesco, Léon Larive, Maurice Schutz. Overview: The Passion of Joan of Arc is the masterpiece from Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer that depicts the story of French martyr Joan from Orleans seven years after her canonization from the catholic church. Genres: Drama, Foreign. Country: France. Runtime: 1h 28m. |
#14 The Battle of Algiers 1967 Director: Gillo Pontecorvo. Cast: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin. Overview: The French Colonel...who was forced even to torture! One of the many women...who stopped at nothing to win! The Algerian Street Boy...who became a rebel hero! Genres: Drama, Foreign, War. Countries: Algeria, Italy. Runtime: 2h 1m. |
#15 Andrei Rublev 1966 Director: Andrei Tarkovsky. Cast: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolay Grinko, Nikolai Sergeyev, Irma Raush, Nikolay Burlyaev, Yuriy Nazarov, Mikhail Kononov, Yuriy Nikulin, Bolot Beyshenaliev, Stepan Krylov, B. Matysik, Anatoliy Obukhov, Aleksandr Titov, Vladimir Vasiliev. Overview: An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again. Genres: Drama, History. Country: Soviet Union. Runtime: 3h 3m. |
#16 Ben-Hur 1959 The entertainment experience of a lifetime. Director: William Wyler. Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Frank Thring, Sam Jaffe, Ady Berber, Finlay Currie, André Morell, Terence Longdon, Lando Buzzanca, Giuliano Gemma. Overview: Judah Ben-Hur, a Palestinian Jew, is battling the Roman empire at the time of Christ. His actions send him and his family into slavery, but an inspirational encounter with Jesus changes everything. He finally meets his rival in a justly famous chariot race and rescues his suffering family. Genres: Adventure, History. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 3h 42m. Rated: G. |
#17 All Quiet on the Western Front 1930 They left for war as boys never to return as men. Director: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Lew Ayres, Arnold Lucy, John Wray, Louis Wolheim, Ben Alexander, Scott Kolk, Owen Davis Jr., Walter Rogers, William Bakewell, Slim Summerville, Zasu Pitts, Beryl Mercer, Raymond Griffith, Yola d'Avril, Joan Marsh. Overview: A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I. Together with several other young German soldiers, he experiences the horrors of war, such evil of which he had not conceived of when signing up to fight. They eventually become sad, tormented, and confused of their purpose. Genres: Drama, War. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 13m. Rated: NR. |
#18 Inherit The Wind 1960 Director: Stanley Kramer. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York, Donna Anderson, Harry Morgan. Overview: This gripping adaptation of the Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee play examines an issue that still causes great controversy: the role religion should play in the schools. Genre: Drama. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 8m. |
#19 Gandhi 1982 Director: Richard Attenborough. Cast: Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Candice Bergen, Roshan Seth, Om Puri, Saeed Jaffrey, Alyque Padamsee, Martin Sheen, Amrish Puri, Ian Charleson, Edward Fox, Geraldine James, Daniel Day-Lewis, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard. Overview: Director Richard Attenborough tells with this epic, and elaborate produced film, the story of freedom and peace fighter Gandhi, the Indian who helped give Indians their independence. The film was nominated in eleven categories at the Academy Awards, winning eight in total. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History. Countries: United Kingdom, India. Runtime: 3h 8m. Rated: PG. |
#20 Z 1969 Director: Constantin Costa-Gavras. Cast: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner, Bernard Fresson, François Périer, Pierre Dux, Georges Géret, Magali Noël, Marcel Bozzuffi, Renato Salvatori, Jean Bouise, Julien Guiomar, Jean Dasté. Overview: A pulse-pounding political thriller, Greek expatriate director Costa-Gavras’s Z was one of the cinematic sensations of the late sixties, and remains among the most vital dispatches from that hallowed era of filmmaking. This Academy Award winner—loosely based on the 1963 assassination of Greek left-wing activist Gregoris Lambrakis—stars Yves Montand as a prominent politician and doctor whose public murder amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials; Jean-Louis Trintignant is the tenacious magistrate who’s determined not to let them get away with it. Featuring kinetic, rhythmic editing, Raoul Coutard’s expressive vérité photography, and Mikis Theodorakis’s unforgettable, propulsive score, Z is a technically audacious and emotionally gripping masterpiece. Genres: Foreign, Thriller. Countries: Algeria, France. Runtime: 2h 7m. |
#21 Battleship Potemkin 1926 Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein. Cast: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov, Mikhail Gomorov, Aleksandr Levshin, Beatrice Vitoldi. Overview: Battleship Potemkin is the classic masterpiece silent film from director Sergej Eisenstein from 1925. The film is based on the true events of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The film had an incredible impact on the development of cinema and was a masterful example of montage editing. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History. Country: Russian Federation. Runtime: 1h 15m. |
#22 The Lion in Winter 1968 Director: Anthony Harvey. Cast: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton, Jane Merrow, Nigel Stock, Kenneth Ives, O.Z. Whitehead. Overview: 1183 AD: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. They and his wife variously plot to force him. Genres: Drama, Foreign, History. Country: United Kingdom. Runtime: 2h 14m. |
#23 Ip Man 2008 The celebrated Kung Fu master of Bruce Lee. Director: Wilson Yip. Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Yu Xing, You-Nam Wong, Chen Zhi Hui. Overview: A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung. Genres: Action, Foreign, History. Country: Hong Kong. Runtime: 1h 45m. Rated: R. |
#24 Rang De Basanti 2006 A Generation Awakens Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Cast: Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Alice Patten, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Madhavan, Siddharth Narayan. Overview: A young idealistic English filmmaker, Sue, arrives in India to make a film on Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and their contemporaries and their fight for freedom from the British Raj. Owing to a lack of funds, she recruits students from Delhi University to act in her docu-drama. She finds DJ, who passed out five years back but still wants to be a part of the University because he doesn't think there's too much out there in the real world to look forward to. Karan, the son of Industrialist Rajnath Singhania, who shares an uncomfortable relationship with his father, but continues to live off him, albeit very grudgingly. Aslam, is a middle class Muslim boy, who lives in the by-lanes near Jama Masjid, poet, philosopher and guide to his friends. Sukhi, the group's baby, innocent, vulnerable and with a weakness for only one thing - girls. Laxman Pandey... Genres: Drama, Foreign. Country: India. Runtime: 2h 37m. Rated: PG-13. |
#25 Michael the Brave 1970 Director: Sergiu Nicolaescu. Cast: Amza Pellea, Ion Besoiu, Olga Tudorache. Overview: An epic fresco depicting the reign (1593-1601) of Mihai Pätrascu (better known as "Mihai Viteazul" / "Michael the Brave"), the famous prince who united the three provinces: Transalpine Vallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia, into the country of Romania, at the end of the 16th century (1599-1601) against the opposition of the Ottoman and Austrian Empires, this movie features large scale battle scenes mixed with political intrigues, murderous treachery, and family drama. Countries: France, Italy, Romania. Runtime: 1h 47m. |
#26 Aguirre: The Wrath of God 1972 Director: Werner Herzog. Cast: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Del Negro, Ruy Guerra, Peter Berling, Cecilia Rivera, Edward Roland, Daniel Ades, Armando Polanah, Alejandro Repulles. Overview: A few decades after the destruction of the Inca empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon river in search of gold and wealth. Soon, they come across great difficulties and Don Aguirres, a ruthless man who cares only about riches, becomes their leader. But will his quest lead them to "the golden city", or to certain destruction Genres: Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Indie. Countries: Germany, Peru. Runtime: 1h 33m. |
#27 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 1925 Directors: Fred Niblo, Charles Brabin, Christy Cabanne, J.J. Cohn, Rex Ingram. Cast: Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Claire McDowell, Kathleen Key, Carmel Myers, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis, Leo White, Frank Currier, Charles Belcher, Dale Fuller, Winter Hall. Overview: Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jew and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman Tribune, Messala. When an accident leads to Ben-Hur's arrest, Messala, who has become corrupt and arrogant, makes sure Ben-Hur and his family are jailed and separated. Genres: Adventure, Drama. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 23m. |
#28 In Cold Blood 1967 Director: Richard Brooks. Cast: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Jeff Corey, John Gallaudet, James Flavin, Charles McGraw, Will Geer. Overview: In Cold Blood is a 1967 film based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. Richard Brooks prepared the adaptation and directed the film. Some scenes were filmed on the locations of the original events, in Garden City and Holcomb, Kansas including the Clutter residence, the site of the murders. Genres: Crime, Drama. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 14m. Rated: R. |
#29 Intolerance 1916 Director: D.W. Griffith. Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, F.A. Turner, Sam De Grasse, Vera Lewis, Lillian Langdon, Olga Grey, Erich von Ritzau, Bessie Love, Margery Wilson, Eugene Pallette, Spottiswoode Aitken, Ruth Handforth, Elmer Clifton. Overview: The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history. Genre: Drama. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 43m. |
#30 Becket 1964 Director: Peter Glenville. Cast: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi, Paolo Stoppa, Donald Wolfit, David Weston, Martita Hunt, Pamela Brown, Siân Phillips, Felix Aylmer. Overview: King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry. Genres: Drama, History. Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America. Runtime: 2h 28m. Rated: PG-13. |
#31 All the President's Men 1976 Director: Alan J. Pakula. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander, Meredith Baxter, Ned Beatty, Jason Robards, Stephen Collins, Penny Fuller, John McMartin, Robert Walden, David Arkin, Henry Calvert. Overview: All the President’s Men is a political thriller from director Alan J. Pakula based on the Watergate scandal and starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 18m. Rated: R. |
#32 Letters from Iwo Jima 2006 Director: Clint Eastwood. Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe, Eijiro Ozaki, Luke Eberl, Hiro Abe, Sonny Saito, Steve Santa Sekiyoshi, Yuki Matsuzaki. Overview: The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it. Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, War. Countries: Japan, United States of America. Runtime: 2h 21m. Rated: R. |
#33 Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession 1973 Director: Leonid Gayday . Cast: Aleksandr Demyanenko, Yuriy Yakovlev, Leonid Kuravlyov, Mikhail Pugovkin, Vladimir Etush, Savely Kramarov, Natalya Krachkovskaya, Natalya Seleznyova, Sergei Filippov, Natalya Kustinskaya, Larisa Eryomina. Overview: Shurik Timofeev builds a working model of a time machine. By accident, Ivan Bunsha, an apartment complex manager, and George Miloslavsky, a petty burglar, are transferred to 16th century Moscow, while Tsar Ivan the Terrible goes into the year 1973. Genres: Comedy, Science Fiction. Country: Russia. Runtime: 1h 33m. |
#34 JFK 1991 The story that won’t go away. Director: Oliver Stone. Cast: Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, Jack Lemmon, Laurie Metcalf, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, John Candy, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay O. Sanders, Walter Matthau, Sally Kirkland, Donald Sutherland. Overview: JFK is a thriller from Oliver Stone that revolves around the Murder of US President John F. Kennedy and the conspiracy theory follow-up. Genres: Drama, Thriller. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 3h 9m. Rated: R. |
#35 Spartacus 1960 More titanic than any story ever told! Director: Stanley Kubrick. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Woody Strode, Harold J. Stone, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, Peter Brocco. Overview: Spartacus is a 1960 American historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast about the historical life of Spartacus and the Third Servile War. The film stars Kirk Douglas as the rebellious slave Spartacus who leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire. The film was awarded four Oscars and stands today as one of the greatest classics of the Sword and Sandal genre. Genres: Action, Drama, History. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 3h 17m. Rated: PG-13. |
#36 The Leopard 1963 Director: Luchino Visconti. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli, Serge Reggiani, Romolo Valli, Ottavia Piccolo, Giuliano Gemma, Terence Hill, Maurizio Merli. Overview: One of Luchino Visconti's most ambitious works. Based on the acclaimed novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. In the 1860s, a dying aristocracy struggles to maintain itself against a harsh Sicilian landscape. The film traces with a slow and deliberate rhythm the waning of the noble home of the Prince of Salina and the corresponding rise to eminence of the wealthy peasant Don Calogero Sedara. Genre: Drama. Countries: France, Italy. Runtime: 3h 5m. Rated: PG. |
#37 Black Rain 1989 Director: Shôhei Imamura. Cast: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shoichi Ozawa, Norihei Miki, Keisuke Ishida, Hisako Hara, Masato Yamada, Tamaki Sawa, Akiji Kobayashi. Overview: Mr and Mrs Shizuma, and their niece Yasuko, make their way through the ruins of Hiroshima, just after the atomic bomb has dropped. Five years later, Yasuko is living with her aunt and uncle, and her senile grandmother, in a village containing many of the bomb survivors. Yasuko does not appear to be affected by the bomb, but the Shizuma's are worried about her marriage prospects, as she could succumb to radiation sickness at any time. Genres: Adventure, Drama, Action, History, Thriller, Crime, War, Foreign. Country: Japan. Runtime: 2h 3m. |
#38 Glory 1989 Their innocence. Their heritage. Their lives. Director: Edward Zwick. Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy. Overview: Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates. Genres: Drama, History, War. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 2m. Rated: R. |
#39 Simon of the Desert 1965 Sacrifice and Temptation Director: Luis Buñuel. Cast: Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Hortensia Santoveña, Enrique Álvarez Félix, Francisco Reiguera, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Antonio Bravo, Enrique del Castillo, Enrique Garcia Alvarez, Eduardo MacGregor, Jesús Fernández, Glauber Rocha. Overview: Simon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him. Genres: Comedy, Drama, History. Country: Mexico. Runtime: 45m. |
#40 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser 1974 Director: Werner Herzog. Cast: Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Willy Semmelrogge, Volker Prechtel, Herbert Achternbusch, Kidlat Tahimik. Overview: The film follows Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.), who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him. Genres: Drama, History, Foreign. Country: Germany. Runtime: 1h 50m. |
#41 The Untouchables 1987 Never stop fighting till the fight is done Director: Brian De Palma. Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Billy Drago, Patricia Clarkson, Vito D'Ambrosio, Steven Goldstein, Peter Aylward, Don Harvey. Overview: Young Treasury Agent Elliot Ness arrives in Chicago and is deternimed to take down Al Capone but it's not going to be easy, because Capone has the police in his pocket. Ness meets Jimmy Malone a veteran patrolman and probably the most honorable one in the force. He asks Malone to help him get Capone but Malone warns him that if he goes after Capone, he is going to war. Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 1h 59m. Rated: R. |
#42 A Night to Remember 1958 The night the unsinkable sank Director: Roy Ward Baker. Cast: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman, Anthony Bushell, John Cairney, Jill Dixon, Jane Downs, James Dyrenforth, Michael Goodliffe, Kenneth Griffith, Harriette Johns, Frank Lawton, Richard Leech, David McCallum. Overview: The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows. Genres: Drama, Action, History. Country: United Kingdom. Runtime: 2h 3m. Rated: NR. |
#43 Breaker Morant 1980 Directors: Mark Egerton, Toivo Lember, Ralph Storey, Christopher Williams, Bruce Beresford. Cast: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown, Terence Donovan, Vincent Ball, Ray Meagher, Chris Haywood, Russell Kiefel, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Rod Mullinar, Alan Cassell, Rob Steele, Chris Smith, Bruno Knez. Overview: During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom. Genres: Drama, History. Country: Australia. Runtime: 1h 47m. Rated: PG. |
#44 The Killing Fields 1984 Here, only the silent survive. Director: Roland Joffé. Cast: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, Craig T. Nelson, John Malkovich, Athol Fugard, Julian Sands, Spalding Gray, Bill Paterson, Graham Kennedy, Katherine Krapum Chey, Oliver Pierpaoli, Edward Entero Chey, Tom Bird, Monirak Sisowath, Lambool Dtangpaibool. Overview: The Killing Fields tells the real-life story of a friendship between two journalists, an American and a Cambodian, during the bloody Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in 1975, which led to the death of 2-3 million Cambodians during the next four years, until Pol Pot's regime was toppled by the intervening Vietnamese in 1979. Genres: Drama, History, War. Country: United Kingdom. Runtime: 2h 22m. Rated: R. |
#45 The Mirror 1975 Director: Andrei Tarkovsky. Cast: Margarita Terekhova, Oleg Yankovskiy, Larisa Tarkovskaya, Alla Demidova, Ignat Daniltsev, Nikolai Grinko, Yuriy Nazarov, Filipp Yankovsky, Tamara Ogorodnikova. Overview: A man in his forties is going to die and remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments but things that also tell the story of all the Russian nation. Genres: Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Indie. Country: Russian Federation. Runtime: 1h 46m. |
#46 The Message 1977 Director: Moustapha Akkad. Cast: Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Johnny Sekka, Michael Forest, Garrick Hagon, Nicholas Amer. Overview: Handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the Islamic faith and the story of the prophet Mohammed. Genres: Adventure, Drama, Action, History. Countries: Kuwait, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Lebanon, United Kingdom. Runtime: 2h 57m. Rated: PG. |
#47 The Winter War 1989 They held back the Russian Juggernaut in a frozen Hell! Director: Pekka Parikka. Cast: Taneli Mäkelä, Vesa Vierikko, Timo Torikka, Heikki Paavilainen, Antti Raivio, Esko Kovero, Martti Suosalo, Markku Huhtamo, Matti Onnismaa, Konsta Mäkelä, Tomi Salmela, Samuli Edelmann, Vesa Mäkelä, Aarno Sulkanen, Ville Virtanen. Overview: Russia attacked Finland in late November 1939. This film tells the story of a Finnish platoon of reservists from the municipality of Kauhava in the province of Pohjanmaa/Ostrobothnia who leave their homes and go to war. The film focuses on the farmer brothers Martti and Paavo Hakala. Genres: Drama, War. Country: Finland. Runtime: 3h 9m. |
#48 Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors 1966 Director: Sergei Parajanov. Cast: Ivan Mikolajchuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva, Spartak Bagashvili, Nikolai Grinko, Leonid Yengibarov, Nina Alisova, Aleksandr Gaj, Neonila Gnepovskaya, A. Raydanov, I. Dzyura, V. Glyanko. Overview: In a Carpathian village, Ivan falls in love with Marichka, the daughter of his father's killer. When tragedy befalls her, his grief lasts months; finally he rejoins the colorful life around him, marrying Palagna. She wants children but his mind stays on his lost love. To recapture his attention, Palagna tries sorcery, and in the process comes under the spell of the sorcerer, publicly humiliating Ivan, who then fights the sorcerer. The lively rhythms of village life, the work and the holidays, the pageant and revelry of weddings and funerals, the change of seasons, and nature's beauty give proportion to Ivan's tragedy. Country: Ukraine. Runtime: 1h 37m. |
#49 Kagemusha 1980 Director: Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu. Overview: When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, in order to protect his clan from appearing weak and vulnerable. But he finds himself haunted by the warlord’s spirit as well as his own ambitions. Genres: Action, Drama, Foreign, History, Indie, War. Country: Japan. Runtime: 2h 59m. Rated: PG. |
#50 Mutiny on the Bounty 1935 Clark Gable as the daring mutineer in the screen's most exciting adventure story! Director: Frank Lloyd. Cast: Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin, Eddie Quillan, Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp, Henry Stephenson, Francis Lister, Spring Byington, Movita, Mamo Clark, Wallis Clark, Pat Flaherty, Byron Russell. Overview: Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on avenging his captors. Genres: Adventure, Drama, History, Romance. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 2h 12m. Rated: NR. |
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