List of historical films set in Near Eastern and Western civilization: Difference between revisions
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| ''[[Attack of the Normans]]'' || 1962 || early 9th century || set in [[England]] during the [[Viking Age]] ("Normans" in the title being used in its original continental sense, meaning "Vikings") |
| ''[[Attack of the Normans]]'' || 1962 || early 9th century || set in [[England]] during the [[Viking Age]] ("Normans" in the title being used in its original continental sense, meaning "Vikings") |
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| ''[[Pope Joan (1972 film)|Pope Joan]]'' || 1972 || 9th century || |
| ''[[Pope Joan (1972 film)|Pope Joan]]'' || 1972 || 9th - 11th century || Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of [[Pope]] in the middle ages. |
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| ''[[Pope Joan (2009 film)|Pope Joan]]'' || 2009 || 814-855 || |
| ''[[Pope Joan (2009 film)|Pope Joan]]'' || 2009 || 814-855(?) || Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of [[Pope]] in the middle ages. |
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| ''[[The Vikings (1958 film)|The Vikings]]'' || 1958 || 860s || highly fictionalized account of the death of [[Ragnar Lodbrok]] and the subsequent invasion of [[Northumbria]] by two of his sons |
| ''[[The Vikings (1958 film)|The Vikings]]'' || 1958 || 860s || highly fictionalized account of the death of [[Ragnar Lodbrok]] and the subsequent invasion of [[Northumbria]] by two of his sons |
Revision as of 06:44, 8 April 2012
The historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous persons. Some historical dramas attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow. Other historical dramas are fictionalized tales that are based on an actual person and their deeds, such as Braveheart, which is loosely based on the 13th century knight William Wallace's fight for Scotland's independence.
Due to the sheer volume of films included in this genre and in the interest of continuity, this list is primarily focused on films pertaining to the history of Near Eastern and Western civilization. For films pertaining to the history of East Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, please refer also to the list of historical drama films of Asia.
Films set in prehistory
- One Million B.C. (1940)
- Prehistoric Women (1950)
- One Million Years B.C. (1967)
- Prehistoric Women (1967)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
- Creatures the World Forgot (1971)
- Quando le donne avevano la coda (1970)
- Quando le donne persero la coda (1972)
- Caveman (1981)
- Quest for Fire (1981)
- The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
- Bharat Ek Khoj (1988)
- 10,000 BC (2008)
Films set in Antiquity (until the fall of the Roman Empire in the West)
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
La Donna dei Faraoni | 1961 | 3100 BC | shortly after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt |
Land of the Pharaohs | 1956 | 2589-2566 BC | based on the reign of Pharaoh Khufu |
Il Sepolcro dei re | 1960 | 2589-2566 BC | based on the reign of Pharaoh Khufu |
Sudan | 1945 | 2558-2532 BC | set during the reign of the pharaoh Khafra |
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior | 2008 | 2270-2215 BC | set during the reign of Sargon of Akkad |
The Egyptian | 1954 | 2000 BC | primarily based on the Story of Sinuhe, although the film references the pharaoh Akhenaten, the Hittite Empire, and iron technology, all of which require a much later date. |
Slave of Dreams | 1995 | 1544 BC | set in Egypt and based on the story of Joseph |
Joseph | 1995 | 1544 BC | Egypt, probably during the reign of Ahmose I |
The Ten Commandments | 1956 | ca. 15th-13th c. BC | Egypt, during the reign of an unnamed Pharoah, based on the story of the Exodus |
Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete | 1960 | ca. 1500 BC | Minoan Crete |
Minotaur | 2006 | ca. 1500 BC | loosely based on the legendary exploits of Theseus on Minoan Crete, although the film-makers for some reason tell us that this occurred during the Iron Age |
Nefertiti, Regina del Nilo | 1961 | ca. 1370-1330 BC | Egypt; loosely based on Nefertiti |
Clash of the Titans | 1981 | ca. 1300? BC | based on the Greek legends of Perseus. |
Clash of the Titans | 2010 | ca. 1300? BC | based on the Greek legends of Perseus. |
Immortals | 2011 | ca. 1300? BC | based on the Greek legends of Theseus. |
Arrivano I Titani | 1962 | ca. 2000? BC | based on the Greek legends of Cadmus and the Titans. |
Le Fatiche di Ercole | 1958 | mid-13th century BC | roughly a generation before the Trojan War (some of the characters in the Argonautica were fathers to heroes of the Trojan War) |
Hercules | 2005 | mid-13th century BC | |
Jason and the Argonauts | 1963 | mid-13th century BC | the late Bronze Age voyage from Greece to Colchis and back |
Jason and the Argonauts | 2000 | mid-13th century BC | |
Medea | 1969 | mid-13th century BC | the immediate aftermath of the voyage of Argo |
Ifegeneia | 1977 | ca. 1200 BC | Greece immediately before the soldiers set sail to attack Troy |
Helen of Troy | 1956 | ca. 1200 BC | western Anatolia during the Trojan War |
Troy | 2004 | ca. 1200 BC | western Anatolia during the Trojan War |
L'ira di Achille | 1962 | ca. 1200 BC | western Anatolia in the 9th year of the Trojan War |
Guerra di Troia | 1961 | ca. 1200 BC | western Anatolia in the 10th and final year of the Trojan War |
The Trojan Women | 1971 | ca. 1200 BC | the immediate aftermath of the Trojan War |
La Leggenda di Enea | 1962 | early 12th century BC | Aeneas struggles to establish a new home-land in Italy for his fellow survivors of the Trojan War |
Electra | 1962 | early 12th century BC | the daughter of the Greek king Agamemnon seeks revenge for her father's murder |
Ulysses | 1955 | early 12th century BC | the ten year struggle of Odysseus to return home to Ithaca in Greece after the Trojan War |
The Odyssey | 1997 | early 12th century BC | |
Pharaoh | 1966 | 1069 BC | Egypt during the reign of a fictitious king "Ramses XIII" (there were only 11 by that name) |
King David | 1985 | ca. 1040-970 BC | southern Levant |
A Story of David | 1960 | ca.1040-970 BC | southern Levant |
David e Golia | 1960 | ca.1040-970 BC | southern Levant |
David and Bathsheba | 1951 | 1040-970 BC | |
Solomon and Sheba | 1959 | 1011-931 BC | southern Levant |
Sins of Jezebel | 1953 | 874-853 BC | southern Levant during the reign of king Ahab |
Io, Semiramide | 1962 | 810 BC | Assyria |
King Lear | 1971 | 800 BC | Celtic pre-Roman Britain |
King Lear | 1999 | 800 BC | Celtic pre-Roman Britain |
Romolo e Remo | 1961 | 753 BC | based on the story of Romulus and Remus, and the founding of the city of Rome |
El Rapto de las Sabinas | 1962 | ca. 750 BC | early Roman foundation myth |
Orazi e Curiazi | 1961 | ca. 650 BC | Roman legend of the Horatii |
Le Sette Folgori di Assur | 1962 | ca. 627 BC | Neo-Assyrian Empire; focusing largely on Sardanapalus (probably the Greek name for Ashurbanipal, but anachronistically including Zoroaster (11th-10th century BC) and Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) |
Queen of Babylon | 1954 | 600 BC | Neo-Babylonian Empire |
L'eroe di Babilonia | 1963 | 539 BC | Cyrus the Great conquer Babylonia |
Il Colosso di Roma | 1964 | 509 BC | combining the Roman legends of Gaius Mucius Scaevola and the expulsion of Tarquin, the last tyrant |
Coriolano: eroe senza patria | 1964 | 493 BC | Roman legend of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus |
La battaglia di Maratona | 1959 | 490 BC | Greece: Battle of Marathon |
The 300 Spartans | 1961 | 480 BC | Greece: Battle of Thermopylae |
300 | 2007 | 480 BC | Greece: Battle of Thermopylae |
Ester e il re | 1960 | 465-424 BC | the biblical story of Esther |
One Night with the King | 2006 | 465-424 BC | the biblical story of Esther set in the Achaemenid Empire |
Il tiranno di Siracusa | 1961 | 400 BC | Syracuse, Sicily |
Brenno il nemico di Roma | 1963 | 387 BC | the Gallic sack of Rome |
Alexander the Great | 1956 | 356-323 BC | Greece and Persia |
Alexander | 2004 | 356-323 BC | Greece and Persia |
Il Colosso di Rodi | 1961 | 280 BC | |
Asoka | 2001 | 304-232 BC | Asoka the Great, the Maurya Emperor in South Asia |
Revak the Rebel | 1960 | ca. 218 BC | Iberian Peninsula immediately before the Second Punic War |
Siege of Syracuse | 1960 | 214-212 BC | the Roman Siege of Syracuse during the Second Punic War |
Cabiria | 1914 (silent) | 218-202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
The Secret Under the Rose | 2006 | 218-202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
Hannibal | 1959 | 218-202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal | 1937 | 202 BC | Battle of Zama which ended the Second Punic War |
The Centurion | 1961 | 146 BC | Battle of Corinth between Rome and the Achaean League |
Spartaco | 1953 | 73-71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
Spartacus | 1960 | 73-71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
Spartacus | 2004 | 73-71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
Spartacus: Blood and Sand | 2010 | 73-71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
Julius Caesar | 2002 | 100-44 BC | a bio-pic of Julius Caesar, not the Shakespeare play about his death and the aftermath |
Druids | 2001 | 58-51 BC | the struggle between Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix in the Gallic Wars |
A Queen for Caesar | 1962 | 48 BC | Egypt leading up to the arrival of Julius Caesar |
Julius Caesar | 1953 | 44-42 BC | Shakespeare's play about the death and aftermath of this famous dictator |
Julius Caesar | 1970 | 44-42 BC | Shakespeare's play about the death and aftermath of this famous dictator |
Cleopatra | 1934 | 48-30 BC | Egypt and Rome - follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
Cleopatra | 1963 | 48-30 BC | Egypt and Rome - follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
Cleopatra | 1999 | 48-30 BC | |
The Cleopatras | 1983 | 305-30 BC | Egypt - The entire Ptolemaic dynasty |
Rome | 2005–2007 | 52-30 BC | from the end of the Gallic Wars to the death of Mark Antony and the beginning of the Principate |
Empire | 2005 | 1st century BC | Rome |
Imperium: Augustus | 2003 | 49 BC - 14 AD | Rome - the life of Augustus, the first emperor |
Massacre in the Black Forest | 1967 | 9 AD | Germany - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where the Cheruski ambushed and annihilated three Roman legions. |
I, Claudius | 1976 | 12 BC - 54 AD | Rome - the reigns and family life of the Julio-Claudians |
The Caesars | 1967 | 27 BC - 68 AD | Rome - the Julio-Claudian dynasty |
The Passion of the Christ | 2004 | ca. 8-35 AD | Roman Empire - the province of Judea |
Ben-Hur | 1959 | ca. 26-35 AD | Roman Empire - mostly in the province of Judea |
The Inquiry | 2006 | ca. 37 AD | Roman province of Judea shortly after the death of Jesus |
The Robe | 1953 | 30-36 AD | Rome - ending reign of Tiberio, the beginning of Caligula |
Caligula | 1979 | 37-41 AD | Rome - the reign of the third emperor |
Demetrius and the Gladiators | 1954 | 41 AD | Ancient Rome - the end Caligula reign |
Boudica | 2003 | 60 AD | Britain - a rebellion shortly after the area had been conquered by Rome |
Nero | 2004 | 41-68 AD | Rome - spanning the reigns of Claudius and Nero |
Quo Vadis | 1951 | 54-68 AD | Rome during the reign of Nero |
Masada | 1981 | 72-73 AD | Roman province of Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War |
Dacii | 1967 | 86-87 AD | Dacia (modern Romania) -Domitian's Dacian War |
The Apocalypse | 2002 | ca. 90-96 AD | Rome - Ephesus |
Revolt of the Praetorians | 1964 | 96 AD | Rome - the assassination of Domitian |
Centurion | 2010 | 117 AD | Roman Britain - the supposed fate of the Ninth Legion |
The Eagle | 2011 | 140 AD | Roman Britain - a young Roman man attempts to find out what happened to his father and the Ninth Legion |
The Fall of the Roman Empire | 1964 | 180-192 AD | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
Gladiator | 2000 | 180-192 AD | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
Red Cliff | 2008 | 208-209 AD | China during the Three Kingdoms era. The film chronicles the Battle of Red Cliffs between the forces of Cao Cao and the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei |
The Magnificent Gladiator | 1964 | ca. 260-268 AD | Rome during the reign of Gallienus |
Sheba and the Gladiator | 1959 | ca. 260-273 AD | Rome and the Palmyrene Empire during the reigns of Aurelian and Zenobia |
Sebastiane | 1976 | ca. 288 AD | Rome Low-budget homo-erotic film about Saint Sebastian |
Katherine of Alexandria | 2011 | 307 AD | Roman province of Egypt shortly before the legalization of Christianity |
Constantine and the Cross | 1962 | 306-312 AD | Rome's first Christian emperor from the death of Constantius Chlorus to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge |
Fabiola | 1949 | ca. 312 AD | Rome early in the reign of Constantine I |
Mayura | 1975 | 354-365 AD | Kannada film set in Kadamba Dynasty, during the reign of Raja Mayurasharma |
Augustine of Hippo | 1972 | 354-430 AD | Roman province of Africa |
Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire | 2010 | 354-430 AD | Roman province of Africa - focusing on the life of Augustine of Hippo, and including the Vandal conquest of Carthage |
Roar | 1997 | 400 AD | Ireland - Celtic warriors attempt to repel a fictitious Roman invasion |
Agora | 2009 | ca. 360-415 AD | Life and death of scientist/philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and the destruction of the Library. |
Revenge of the Barbarians | 1960 | 410 AD | the Visigothic sack of Rome |
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend | 2000 | 387-493 AD | Ireland and Roman Britain during the life of Saint Patrick |
Attila | 1954 | 406-453 AD | Rome - the Hunnic leader up to his retreat from the Po river |
Sign Of The Pagan (1954) | 1954 | 406-453 AD | Rome - the Hunnic leader up to his retreat from the Po river |
Attila | 2001 | 406-453 AD | Rome - the life and death of the famous Hunnic leader |
Die Nibelungen | 1924 | ca. 450 AD | about the Germanic hero Siegfried, his murder, and his widow's vengeance |
Die Nibelungen | 1967 | ca. 450 AD | about the Germanic hero Siegfried, his murder, and his widow's vengeance |
Ring of the Nibelungs | 2004 | ca. 450 AD | about the Germanic hero Siegfried |
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire | 2006 | 2nd century BC - 410 AD | From Tiberius Gracchus to the Sack of Rome (410). BBC Docu-drama. |
Films set in the Middle Ages (5th to mid-15th centuries)
Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages (5th to 11th centuries)
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
King Arthur | 2004 | early 5th century AD | the Roman withdrawal from Britain and the Battle of Mount Badon |
Hagbard and Signe | 1967 | 5th century AD | Scandinavia during the Germanic Heroic Age |
Arthur of the Britons | 1972–1973 | 5th century AD | Britain after the Roman withdrawal |
The Mists of Avalon | 2001 | connecting (in heavily fictionalized fashion) the story of King Arthur. | |
The Last Legion | 2007 | 476-490 | connecting (in heavily fictionalized fashion) the deposition of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustus by Odoacer with the Battle of Mount Badon |
Teodora | 1919 | ca. 500-548 | Byzantine empress Theodora |
Theodora, Slave Empress | 1954 | ca. 500-548 | Byzantine empress Theodora |
Kampf um Rom I | 1968 | 527-565 | Byzantine emperor Justinian I's reign |
Kampf um Rom II | 1969 | 527-565 | Byzantine emperor Justinian I's reign |
Lovespell | 1981 | 6th century | Britain and Ireland- adaptation of the Welsh legend of Tristan and Iseult |
Tristan + Isolde | 2006 | 6th century | Britain and Ireland - adaptation of the Welsh legend of Tristan and Iseult |
Grendel Grendel Grendel | 1981 | 6th century | animated film based on the 1971 novel Grendel, retelling the Anglo-Saxon poem from the monster's perspective |
Grendel | 2007 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age - very loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
Beowulf & Grendel | 2005 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age - loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
Beowulf | 2007 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age - loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
Hamlet | 1964 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age - this is a Russian adaptation of the Shakespeare play based on the Danish legend of Amleth |
Prince of Jutland | 1994 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age - legend of Amleth from the Danish Gesta Danorum |
Goliath and the Barbarians | 1959 | 568 | the Lombard invasion of Italy |
The Message | 1976 | 570-632 | Arabian Peninsula - the life of Muhammad |
Khan Asparuh | 1981 | 680 | foundation of the Bulgarian Kingdom |
Roland the Mighty | 1956 | 778 | Roland, a knight of Charlemagne's court who was killed at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass |
Charlemagne, le prince à cheval | 1993 | 768-800 | Charlemagne's reign up to his coronation as emperor in 800 |
An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God | 2003 | ca. 800 | Poland - the death of Popiel and the rise of Piast the Wheelwright |
The Last Viking | 1997 | 9th century | Viking Age |
Attack of the Normans | 1962 | early 9th century | set in England during the Viking Age ("Normans" in the title being used in its original continental sense, meaning "Vikings") |
Pope Joan | 1972 | 9th - 11th century | Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of Pope in the middle ages. |
Pope Joan | 2009 | 814-855(?) | Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of Pope in the middle ages. |
The Vikings | 1958 | 860s | highly fictionalized account of the death of Ragnar Lodbrok and the subsequent invasion of Northumbria by two of his sons |
Alfred the Great | 1969 | ca. 870-899 | England - Alfred the Great, king of Wessex repels the army of Guthrum and begins the unification of England |
The Saxon Chronicles | 2006 | ca. 871-899 | England - the reign of Alfred the Great |
A Viking Saga | 2008 | 870s | Russia - the Rus prince Oleg of Novgorod defeats Askold and Dir |
Boris I | 1985 | 852-889 | St. Boris I Michael (first half of the 9th century - 2 May 907), a Bulgarian tzar who imposed Christianity in AD 865 and introduced the new Slavonic alphabets of Glagolitza and Cyrillic in the Kingdom of Bulgaria |
The Conquest | 1996 | 896 | Magyar settlement in Hungary |
When the Raven Flies | 1984 | 897 | Iceland in the Viking Age |
Útlaginn | 1981 | 9th century | Iceland - adaptation of the saga of Gisli Sursson |
Pathfinder | 1987 | ca. 900 | Norway - based on a Sami legend |
In the Shadow of the Raven | 1988 | ca. 900 | Iceland in the Viking Age |
White Viking | 1991 | ca. 900 | Iceland in the Viking Age |
The 13th Warrior | 1999 | 922 | blends elements of the historical account of the travels of Ahmad ibn Fadlan (AD 922), the legend of Beowulf (6th century), and the Kurosawa film Seven Samurai |
The Castilian | 1963 | 930-970 | Ferdinand Gonzalez: an early hero of the Spanish Reconquista |
Gniazdo | 1974 | ca. 972 | about Mieszko I of Poland |
The Viking Sagas | 1995 | late 10th, early 11th centuries | Iceland - borrows elements from several Icelandic sagas, most notably Laxdœla saga and Njáls saga |
The Ceremony of Innocence | 1970 | 978-1016 | a fictionalized version of the reign of Æthelred the Unready |
Njálssaga | 2003 | 960-1020 | Iceland - adaptation of Njáls saga |
Valhalla Rising | 2009 | 1000 | Scandinavia and North America in 1000 AD |
The Viking | 1928 | 999 or 1000 | Leif Ericson and the expedition to North America |
Severed Ways | 2009 | 1007 | two Scandinavians left behind in North America after the settlements made by Leif Ericson were abandoned |
High and Late Middle Ages (1000-1453)
Western Europe
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
Macbeth | 1971 | 1050s | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
Macbeth | 1997 | 1050s | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
Lady Godiva of Coventry | 1955 | 1050s | an English noble woman who allegedly rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest of unfair taxation |
William the Conqueror | 1982 | 1066 | William the Conqueror, the Norman duke who conquered England |
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror | 1990 | 1066 | England during the conquest |
1066 | 2011 | 1066 | England during the conquest |
Hereward the Wake | 1965 | 1066–1087 | Hereward the Wake, the Anglo-Danish leader who led a resistance against Norman rule |
El Cid | 1961 | 1040–1099 | Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, an 11th century Spanish warrior known as El Cid |
The Raid of the Aegean | 1946 | 1096–1099 | the First Crusade |
The Mighty Crusaders | 1958 | 1096–1099 | the First Crusade |
Rytsarskiy roman | 2000 | 1096–1099 | the First Crusade |
The Crusaders | 2001 | 1096–1099 | the First Crusade |
Stealing Heaven | 1988 | ca. 1120 | France - Peter Abelard and Héloïse |
Didgori: Land of Sacrificed Knights | 2009 | 1121 | the Battle of Didgori, in which Georgia's king David IV defeated the Seljuks |
The Pillars of the Earth | 2010 | 1120–1170 | England during the civil wars between King Stephen and his cousin Maud |
Destiny | 1997 | 1126–1198 | about Averroes, the 12th century philosopher from Muslim-controlled Andalusia in Spain whose commentaries would become a staple for subsequent generations of students of Aristotle in Europe |
The Devil's Crown | 1978 | 1154–1216 | England in the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John |
Becket | 1964 | 1155–1170 | archbishop Thomas Becket, once a close personal friend of Henry II... |
Barbarossa | 2009 | 1176 | the Battle of Legnano |
The Lion in Winter | 1968 | 1183 | Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons |
The Lion in Winter | 2003 | 1183 | Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons |
Kingdom of Heaven | 2005 | 1183–1190 | events which led to the Third Crusade (the Battle of Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem) |
Soldier of God | 2005 | 1187 | a Templar who has survived the Battle of Hattin |
Saladin | 1963 | 1187–1192 | events leading up to and including the Third Crusade |
Richard the Lion-Hearted | 1923 | 1190 | based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman and set in the Third Crusade |
Knight Kenneth | 1993 | 1190 | based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman and set in the Third Crusade |
Arn – The Knight Templar | 2007 | 1179–1187 | a Swedish knight is sent to Jerusalem as penance while his lover languishes in a convent |
Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End | 2008 | 1187–1205 | following the Battle of Hattin, the knight returns home to Sweden and participates in the civil wars |
Ivanhoe | 1997 | 1192 | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
The Adventures of Robin Hood | 1938 | 1190s | England, during the life of Richard the Lionheart after his release from captivity in 1194 |
Robin Hood | 2010 | 1199 | from the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John |
Robin and Marian | 1976 | 1199-ca. 1201 | from the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John |
The Life and Death of King John | 1951 | 1199–1216 | England in the reign of King John |
The Life and Death of King John | 1984 | 1199–1216 | England in the reign of King John |
Francis of Assisi | 1961 | 1182–1226 | Saint Francis of Assisi |
Brother Sun, Sister Moon | 1972 | 1181–1226 | St. Francis of Assisi |
Francesco | 1989 | 1181–1226 | St. Francis of Assisi |
Gates to Paradise | 1968 | 1212 | the ill-fated Children's Crusade |
Ironclad | 2011 | 1215 | the siege of Rochester Castle |
Eye of the Eagle | 1997 | 1218 | Denmark |
The Adventures of Marco Polo | 1960 | 1254–1325 | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
Marco Polo | 1982 | 1254–1325 | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
Marco Polo | 2007 | 1254–1325 | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
The Virgin Spring | 1960 | late 13th century | adaptation of the 13th century Swedish ballad, Töres döttrar i Wänge |
The Black Rose | 1950 | mid to late 13th century | the fictional exploits of a young Englishman who travells to China, falls in love along the way, and manages to return with a formula for gunpowder |
Knights of the Quest | 2001 | 1271 | French knights journey to Greece to retrieve the Shroud of Turin |
Braveheart | 1995 | 1272–1305 | William Wallace, a Scottish knight who fought for Scotland's independence in the 1290s |
The Bruce | 1996 | 1274–1329 | Robert the Bruce, who took over the rebellion against Edward "Longshanks" following the death of William Wallace in 1305 |
Les Rois Maudits | 1972 | 1285–1328 | the later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307 |
Les Rois Maudits | 2005 | 1285–1328 | the later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307 |
Petri Tårar | 1995 | 1300 | a con-artist selling the "Tears of Peter," which are said to be a cure for any illness |
Tower of Nesle | 1955 | 1314 | Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France |
Tower of Screaming Virgins | 1968 | 1314 | Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France |
Anchoress | 1993 | 1325 | France - an anchorite |
The Name of the Rose | 1986 | 1327 | set in an Italian monastery |
Kristin Lavransdatter | 1995 | early to mid 14th century | Norway |
The Decameron | 1971 | 1348 | Italy |
Black Death | 2010 | 1348 | England during the initial outbreak of the plague |
The Seventh Seal | 1957 | 1349 | Sweden during the initial outbreak of the plague |
Second Sight | 1994 | 1349 | Norway during the initial outbreak of the plague |
A Knight's Tale | 2001 | 1356 | loose adaptation of The Knight's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, this tale is partially inspired by the exploits of William Marshall, but set in the 1350s (with mention made to Edward, the Black Prince and the Battle of Poitiers (1356)) |
Inês de Castro | 1944 | 1357 | Inês de Castro, the lover of Pedro I of Portugal, who had her posthumously declared his wife and queen in AD 1357 |
The Dark Avenger | 1955 | 1359 | Edward, the Black Prince |
The Canterbury Tales | 1972 | late 14th century | England |
The Canterbury Tales | 1998–2000 | late 14th century | England |
John Wycliffe: The Morning Star | 1984 | 1325–1384 | the life and teachings of John Wycliffe, the 14th century English theologian who is often seen as a fore-runner of the Protestant Reformation |
Richard the Second | 1978 | 1367–1399 | England - adaptation of Shakespeare's play about Richard II |
12 Paces Without a Head | 2009 | 1401 | medieval German folk-hero Klaus Störtebeker, a pirate captain in the Baltic Sea who was said to have walked 12 paces after being decapitated by officials of the Hanseatic League |
Henry V | 1944 | 1413–1422 | Henry V of England's wars in France |
Henry V | 1989 | 1413–1422 | Henry V of England's wars in France |
The Whore | 2010 | 1414–1415 | Germany |
John Hus | 1977 | 1415 | John Hus, the theologian from Prague whose proto-reformationist teachings prompted his conviction and execution for heresy, which would be the catalyst for the anti-imperial Hussite Wars which would plague central Europe in the 15th century |
Joan of Arc | 1948 | 1429 | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
Saint Joan | 1957 | 1429 | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
Joan of Arc | 1999 | 1429 | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | 1999 | 1429 | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
The Passion of Joan of Arc | 1928 | 1429 | the trial and execution of Joan of Arc |
Judgement of | 1952 | 1433 | Germany |
Tirante el Blanco | 2006 | 15th century | France and Constantinople |
The Conclave | 2006 | 1458 | depicting the tense, politically charged Papal election |
Eastern Europe
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
Prince Vladimir | 2006 | 980-1015 | Vladimir I of Kiev |
Yaroslav the Wise | 1981 | 978-1054 | bio-pic about the Rus prince Yaroslav I the Wise |
Asparuh 1, 2 and 3 (681 AD: The Glory of Khan in English, shortened version) | 1981 | 632-681 | epic about the fall of Old Great Bulgaria and the creation of modern day Bulgaria; focuses on Kanasubigi Asparuh's life |
Mongol | 2007 | 1161–1206 | the earlier half of Genghis Khan's life |
Alexander Nevsky | 1938 | 1241 | Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Battle of the Ice |
Valley of the Bees | 1968 | 13th century | Kingdom of Bohemia |
Kazimierz Wielki | 1976 | 1333–1370 | Casimir III the Great of Poland |
Boj na Kosovu | 1989 | 1389 | a battle between Medieval Serbia and the Ottoman Empire |
Mircea | 1989 | 1386–1418 | Wallachia - Mircea the Elder, who repelled the Ottoman Empire during his reign |
Andrei Rublev | 1969 | c. 1360-1430 | centered around the life of Andrei Rublev, who was considered to be the greatest medieval Russian painter of icons and frescoes |
Krzyzacy | 1960 | 1410 | the Battle of Grunwald |
Tirante el Blanco | 2006 | 15th century | adaptation of the 1490 romance, Tirant lo Blanc, about a French knight in the service of the Byzantine emperor in campaigns against the Ottoman Turks |
Vlad Tepes | 1979 | 1439–1476 | about prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, who fought to repel the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire throughout his reign |
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula | 2000 | 1439–1476 | about prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, who fought to repel the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire throughout his reign |
The Conquest of Constantinople | 1951 | 1453 | the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II |
The Dacians | 1967 | 88 | the Roman Emperor Domitian was trying to conquer Dacia |
The Column | 1968 | 105-106 | the Roman Emperor Trajan conquering Dacia |
Early Modern (1452-1700)
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
Richard III | 1955 | 1452–1485 | Richard III of England |
Black Arrow | 1985 | 1455–1485 | adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel about the Lancastrian hero in the Wars of the Roses |
The Conclave | 2006 | 1458 | depicting this tense, politically charged Papal election |
Tower of London | 1939 | 1462-1483 | during the reign of Edward IV of England |
Tower of London | 1962 | 1483-1485 | during the reign of Richard III of England |
Luther | 2003 | 1505–1530 | Martin Luther |
Princes in the Tower | 2005 | 1490s | the trial of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be prince Richard, rightful heir to the throne before his untimely death in the Tower as a child |
Christopher Columbus | 1985 | 1492 | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery | 1992 | 1492 | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
1492: Conquest of Paradise | 1992 | 1492–1506 | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
Los Borgia | 2006 | 1492–1503 | the family life and papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, widely considered to be the epitome of papal corruption of the era |
The Agony and the Ecstasy | 1965 | 1508–1512 | the painting of the Sistine Chapel |
Henry VIII and His Six Wives | 1972 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
The Private Life of Henry VIII | 1933 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
Henry VIII | 2003 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
The Tudors | 2007–2010 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
The Other Conquest | 1998 | 1521 | Mexico, depicting the secret adherence to traditional religious beliefs of the converted Aztec survivors |
Wara Wara | 1930 | 16th century | romance set at the time of the Spanish conquest of Bolivia |
Apocalypto | 2006 | 16th century | Yucatan, Mexico, the declining period of the Maya civilization |
The Headsman | 2005 | ca. 1525 | an executioner in Tyrol (part of the Holy Roman Empire) |
A Man for All Seasons | 1966 | 1525–1535 | Thomas More |
Anne of the Thousand Days | 1969 | 1525–1536 | Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I |
The Other Boleyn Girl | 2008 | 1525–1536 | Anne and Mary Boleyn |
Ivan the Terrible | 1944, 1958 | 1530–1584 | two-part film about Ivan IV of Russia |
The Royal Hunt of the Sun | 1969 | 1532 | Pizarro's capture of Atahualpa |
Young Bess | 1953 | 1535–1558 | from the death of Anne Boleyn to the corronation of Elizabeth I of England |
Mary of Scotland | 1936 | 1542–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
Mary, Queen of Scots | 1971 | 1542–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot | 2004 | 1542–1605 | the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and her son James I of England |
The Return of Martin Guerre | 1982 | 1548–1588 | France - a true case of late medieval identity theft |
Lady Jane | 1986 | 1553 | about Lady Jane Grey, the uncrowned queen regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days |
The Virgin Queen | 2005 | 1558–1603 | the reign of Elizabeth I of England |
Elizabeth R | 1971 | 1558–1603 | the reign of Elizabeth I of England |
Elizabeth | 1998 | 1558-15?? | the early reign of Elizabeth I of England |
Aguirre, the Wrath of God | 1972 | 1560 | Lope de Aguirre's ill-fated expedition down the Amazon |
El Greco | 2007 | 1567-1600 | Greek biographical film about the life of the Greek painter of the Spanish Renaissance , Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco |
La Reine Margot | 1994 | 1572 | France during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre |
Elizabeth I | 2005 | 1578–1603 | the last 25 years of Elizabeth I of England's reign |
Elizabeth: The Golden Age | 2007 | 1585–1590 | the Spanish Armada |
Fire Over England | 1937 | 1588 | the Spanish Armada |
Mihai Viteazul | 1970 | 1593–1601 | Michael the Brave, prince of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania |
The Merchant of Venice | 2004 | ca. 1596 | Republic of Venice |
Shōgun | 1980 | 1600 | loosely based on the adventures of William Adams, an English sailor who travelled to Japan in 1600 and served as a samurai and advisor to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu |
The New World | 2005 | 1608 | the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia |
1612 | 2007 | 1612 | Russia during the Time of Troubles |
The Last Valley | 1970 | ca. 1618-1648 | Germany during the Thirty Years' War |
Molière | 1978 | 1622–1673 | the French playwright Molière |
Molière | 2007 | 1622–1673 | the French playwright Molière |
Day of Wrath | 1943 | 1624 | using a fictitious witchcraft trial as a metaphor for the then current Nazi persecution of Jews |
The Three Musketeers | Several adaptations (1903–2011) | 1625–1673 | Based on the novels (' The Three Musketeers') by Alexandre Dumas |
Cardinal Richelieu (film) | 1935 | 1626–1642 | the life of the great seventeenth century French statesman Cardinal Richelieu and his dealings with Louis XIII of France |
Alatriste | 2006 | <1643 | Life of a Spanish soldier (Capitaine Alatriste) until the battle of Rocroi based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte |
Queen Christina | 1933 | 1632–1654 | Queen Christina of Sweden |
Le Roi danse | 2000 | 1632–1687 | Jean-Baptiste Lully |
Black Robe | 1991 | 1634 | Jesuit missionary among the Hurons |
The Devils | 1971 | 1634 | the life and trial of Urbain Grandier, who was convicted of witchcraft and burned |
The Devil's Whore | 2008 | 1638–1660 | the English Civil War and the reign of Oliver Cromwell |
Witchfinder General | 1968 | 1640s | during the English Civil War |
Barbara | 1997 | 1640 | Faroe Islands |
Cromwell | 1970 | 1640–1653 | the English Civil War and the dissolution of the Rump Parliament |
The Libertine | 2004 | 1647–1680 | life of the poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester |
With Fire and Sword | 1999 | 1648–1654 | the Khmelnytsky Uprising in Ukraine |
To Kill a King | 2003 | 1648–1658 | the reign of Oliver Cromwell |
Charles II: The Power and The Passion | 2003 | 1649–1685 | the reign of Charles II of England |
The Deluge | 1974 | 1655–1660 | Poland - the Second Northern War |
The Man in the Iron Mask | 1977 | 1660–1667 | France in the reign of Louis XIV |
Colonel Wolodyjowski | 1968 | 1668 | the Ottoman invasion of Poland |
Vatel | 2000 | 1671 | France during the life of master chef François Vatel |
The Prince of Homburg | 1997 | 1675 | adaptation of the Heinrich von Kleist play fictionalizing the deeds of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg in the Battle of Fehrbellin against Sweden |
Witchhammer | 1970 | 1678–1696 | Northern Moravia witch trials |
The Red Violin | 1998 | 1681 | one section of the film is set in 1681 in Cremona |
Peter the Great | 1984 | 1682–1725 | the reign of Peter I of Russia |
The Cantor of St Thomas's | 1984 | 1685–1750 | Johann Sebastian Bach |
The Crucible | 1996 | 1692–1693 | dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in Province of Massachusetts Bay |
Tous les matins du monde | 1991 | late 17th century | Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe |
Films set in the 18th and 19th centuries
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
The Sovereign's Servant | 2007 | 1709 | Battle of Poltava |
Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue | 1953 | 1713 | Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor |
Rob Roy | 1995 | 1713 | Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor |
Blackbeard | 2006 | 1718 | the infamous pirate Edward Teach |
King of the Wind | 1990 | 1727 | England |
The Scarlet Empress | 1934 | 1729–1796 | Catherine II of Russia, the "enlightened despot" who reigned as Empress of Russia |
Catherine the Great | 1995 | 1729–1796 | Catherine II of Russia |
The Rise of Catherine the Great | 1934 | 1740s | early years of Catherine II of Russia |
Young Catherine | 1991 | 1744 | early years of Catherine II of Russia |
Chasing the Deer | 1994 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
The Master of Ballantrae | 1953 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
The Master of Ballantrae | 1984 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
Horseman | 2003 | 1747 | deals with the struggle of Dalmatians between two empires and two faiths and with the possibility of love affair between a Christian soldier and a Muslim noblewoman. |
The Amazing Grace | 2006 | 1748 | tells the story of John Newton's transformation from slave trader to Anglican priest; story is set in Calabar, Nigeria |
Plunkett & Macleane | 1999 | ca. 1750 | Loosely based on The Gentlemen Highwaymen Will Plunkett & Captain James MacLaine |
Treasure Island | 1934 | ca. 1750 | adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
Treasure Island | 1950 | ca. 1750 | adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
Treasure Island | 1972 | ca. 1750 | adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
Treasure Island | 1990 | ca. 1750 | adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
Roots | 1977 | 1750–1880 | the slave trade |
Casanova | 2005 | 1753–1757 | Giacomo Casanova |
A Tale of Two Cities | 1911 | 1755–1792 | England and France during the French Revolution |
A Tale of Two Cities | 1935 | 1755–1792 | England and France during the French Revolution |
A Tale of Two Cities | 1958 | 1755–1792 | England and France during the French Revolution |
A Tale of Two Cities | 1980 | 1755–1792 | England and France during the French Revolution |
A Tale of Two Cities | 1989 | 1755–1792 | England and France during the French Revolution |
Amadeus | 1984 | 1756–1791 | Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
Barry Lyndon | 1975 | 1756–1789 | the Seven Years' War, etc. |
The Last of the Mohicans | 1992 | 1757 | French and Indian War |
Northwest Passage | 1940 | 1757 | French and Indian War - Robert Rogers |
The Mission | 1986 | ca. 1760-1763 | Jesuit missionaries in South America |
Mozart's Sister | 2010 | 1763 | the early life of Maria Anna Mozart, older sister of Wolfgang Mozart |
Brotherhood of the Wolf | 2001 | 1764–1767 | based on a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and on the famous legend around the Beast of Gévaudan |
Les Deux Fragonard | 1989 | ca. 1768 |
story of the painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard his cousin, the anatomist Honoré Fragonard, called "Cyprien Fragonard" in the movie, and the supposed model for The Swing |
The Duchess | 2008 | 1770s - 1790s | The life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire |
Marie Antoinette | 1938 | 1774–1792 | French queen Marie Antoinette |
Marie Antoinette | 2006 | 1774–1792 | French queen Marie Antoinette |
Drums Along the Mohawk | 1939 | 1776 | settlers during the American Revolution |
The Crossing | 2000 | 1776 | the crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton |
Revolution | 1985 | 1776-1777 | fictionalized story of the American Revolution in New York |
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor | 2003 | 1776–1782 | Benedict Arnold, both an early hero of the American Revolution and a notorious traitor |
The Patriot | 2000 | 1776–1781 | based on Continental Army officer Francis Marion during the American War of Independence |
The Affair of the Necklace | 2001 | 1780s | Courtesan takes revenge by scamming Marie Antoinette, Cardinal de Rohan, and others, kindling flames of the French Revolution |
Botany Bay | 1953 | 1787 | Fictional story about the First Fleet sailing to New South Wales |
The Madness of King George | 1994 | 1788 | the deteriorating mental health of George III of the United Kingdom, King of Great Britain and Ireland |
Mutiny on the Bounty | 1962 | 1789 | the mutiny on the Bounty |
The Bounty | 1984 | 1789 | the mutiny on the Bounty |
The French Revolution | 1989 | 1789–1792 | French Revolution |
The Married Couple of the Year Two | 1971 | 1789–1793 | French Revolution |
The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1934 | 1792 | French Revolution |
The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1982 | 1792 | French Revolution |
The Red Violin | 1998 | 1793 | one section of the film is set in Vienna in 1793 |
Danton | 1983 | 1794 | conflict between Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre |
Beau Brummell | 1954 | ca. 1795 | Beau Brummell, a 19th century arbiter of fashion in England who popularized the man's suit and necktie |
Désirée | 1954 | 1799–1815 | the love story between Désirée Clary and Napoleon I |
Napoléon | 1927 | 1799–1815 | Napoléon I of France |
Napoléon | 2002 | 1799–1815 | Napoléon I of France |
Vanity Fair | 2004 | 1803–1814 | the Napoleonic Era |
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | 2003 | 1803–1805 | during the Napoleonic Wars |
War and Peace | 1956 | 1803–1815 | Russia during the Napoleonic Era |
War and Peace | 2007 | 1803–1815 | Russia during the Napoleonic Era |
War and Peace | 1972 | 1803–1815 | Russia during the Napoleonic Era |
The Duellists | 1977 | 1804–1814 | the Napoleonic Wars |
Conquest | 1937 | 1806–1816 | the love story between Marie Walewska and Napoleon I |
Amazing Grace | 2006 | 1807 | William Wilberforce's campaign to abolish slavery in the British Empire |
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. | 1951 | 1807 | the Napoleonic Wars |
Lady Caroline Lamb | 1972 | ca. 1810-1828 | Lady Caroline Lamb, the British aristocrat, novelist and Lord Byron's lover |
Waterloo | 1970 | 1815 | Battle of Waterloo |
Les Misérables | 1934 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I |
Les Misérables | 1935 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I |
Les Misérables | 1995 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I |
Les Misérables | 1998 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I |
Les Misérables | 2000 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I |
The Count of Monte Cristo | 1934 | 1815–1838 | France after Napoleon I |
The Count of Monte Cristo | 1975 | 1815–1838 | France after Napoleon I |
The Count of Monte Cristo | 2002 | 1815–1838 | France after Napoleon I |
Shaka Zulu | 1986 | 1816–1828 | Shaka, a Zulu King |
Bright Star | 2009 | 1818–1821 | the last three years of poet John Keats' life |
El Santo de la Espada | 1970 | 1821–1822 | José de San Martín and the emancipation of South America |
Bouboulina | 1959 | 1821–1829 | Laskarina Bouboulina, heroine of the Greek War of Independence |
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser | 1974 | 1828–1833 | Germany - Kaspar Hauser |
Kaspar Hauser | 1993 | 1828–1833 | Germany - Kaspar Hauser |
The Horseman on the Roof | 1995 | 1832 | Second cholera pandemic in France |
The Alamo | 1960 | 1836 | Battle of the Alamo |
The Alamo | 2004 | 1836 | Battle of the Alamo |
The Young Victoria | 2009 | 1837 - 1840s | Early reign of Queen Victoria and her marriage to Albert, Prince Consort |
Amistad | 1997 | 1839–1841 | mutiny aboard a ship containing African slaves bound for the Cuba, and the subsequent trial |
Song of Love | 1947 | 1840–1856 | the marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann and their close friendship with Johannes Brahms |
The Emigrants | 1971 | 1840s | the Swedish immigrants in Minnesota |
Gangs of New York | 2002 | 1846–1863 | New York City during the American Civil War |
Eureka Stockade | 1949 | 1854 | Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion at the Eureka Stockade (Ballarat, Australia) |
The Charge of the Light Brigade | 1968 | 1856 | the disaster of the Crimean War known as the Charge of the Light Brigade |
Mountains of the Moon | 1990 | 1857–1858 | journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to central Africa |
Ride with the Devil | 1999 | 1861–1864 | pro-Confederate guerrilla fighters in Missouri |
Gone with the Wind | 1939 | 1861–1877 | Georgia (U.S. state) during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction |
Mrs. Brown | 1997 | 1861–1883 | Queen Victoria and John Brown |
Glory | 1989 | 1862–1863 | the American Civil War from the Battle of Antietam to the Second Battle of Fort Wagner |
Gettysburg | 1993 | 1863 | the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War |
Wyatt Earp | 1994 | 1863–1884 | events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
Lincoln | 2012 | Early 1865 | Events chronicling the last few months of the life of Abraham Lincoln. |
The Conspirator | 2011 | April 1865 | Based on the events of the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. |
Dances with Wolves | 1990 | ca. 1865-1870 | the American Civil War and shortly after |
Young Winston | 1972 | 1874–1902 | the biography Winston Churchill before he became Britain's World War II-era Prime Minister |
Centennial Summer | 1946 | 1876 | set in Philadelphia at the time of the Centennial Exposition |
Wild Bill | 1995 | 1876 | the last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok |
Deadwood | 2004–2006 | 1876–1877 | historical drama based on actual diaries of residents of Deadwood, South Dakota, includes the last days of Wild Bill Hickok |
The Last Samurai | 2003 | 1876–1877 | in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in the Empire of Japan, 1876–1877 |
Zulu Dawn | 1979 | 1879 | the Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War |
Zulu | 1964 | 1879 | the Battle of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War |
Thousand Pieces of Gold | 1991 | 1880s | Chinese immigrant woman in the American Old West |
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | 2007 | 1881–1892 | the end of Jesse James' career as a criminal and the man who eventually kills him, Robert Ford in 1882 |
Tombstone | 1993 | 1881–1884 | events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
The Four Feathers | 1939 | 1882–1888 | during the British army's Gordon Relief Expedition |
The Four Feathers | 2002 | 1882–1888 | during the British army's Gordon Relief Expedition |
Khartoum | 1966 | 1884 | Gordon's defence of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army during the Siege of Khartoum |
Geronimo: An American Legend | 1993 | 1886 | events leading up to the capture of Geronimo |
Jack the Ripper | 1988 | 1888 | based on the famous unsolved series of murders that took place in Whitechapel, London |
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 | 1890s-1908 | Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh |
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | 2007 | 1890 | Wounded Knee Massacre |
Heaven's Gate | 1980 | 1892 | the Johnson County War |
Gandhi | 1982 | 1893–1948 | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi |
Rough Riders | 1997 | 1898 | the Battle of San Juan Hill, part of the Spanish–American War |
Films set in the early 20th century
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
55 Days at Peking | 1963 | 1900 | Battle of Peking during the Boxer Rebellion |
Breaker Morant | 1980 | 1901 | an Australian Lieutenant, Harry "Breaker" Morant, who ordered the summary execution of several prisoners during the Second Boer War |
Meet Me in St. Louis | 1944 | 1904 | life of a middle-class American family at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition |
The Battleship Potemkin | 1925 | 1905 | the Battleship Potemkin uprising |
A Dangerous Method | 2011 | 1904-1912 | covers personal and professional relationship between Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein |
A Night to Remember | 1958 | 1912 | the Titanic disaster |
Titanic | 1997 | 1912 | the Titanic disaster |
Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | 1912–1923 | World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War |
All Quiet On The Western Front | 1930 | 1914–1918 | World War I |
All Quiet On The Western Front | 1979 | 1914–1918 | Western Front of World War I |
Gallipoli | 1981 | 1914–1915 | Gallipoli Campaign of World War I |
Flyboys | 2006 | 1914–1917 | American volunteer combat pilots in service for the Allies during World War I |
A Very Long Engagement | 2004 | 1914–1920s | Western Front of World War I |
Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | 1916–1918 | T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt |
Michael Collins | 1996 | 1916–1922 | later life of Irish resistance leader Michael Collins and his participation in the Irish War of Independence |
The Lighthorsemen | 1987 | 1917 | Battle of Beersheba |
The Lost Battalion | 1919 | 1918 | units of the 77th Infantry Division penetrating deep into the Argonne Forest of France during World War I, under the command of Major Charles White Whittlesey are trapped and surrounded by the German army |
The Lost Battalion | 2001 | 1918 | units of the 77th Infantry Division penetrating deep into the Argonne Forest of France during World War I, under the command of Major Charles White Whittlesey are trapped and surrounded by the German army |
The Wind that Shakes the Barley | 2006 | 1919–1923 | the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War |
Chariots of Fire | 1981 | 1919-1924 | British runners face prejudice and compete in the Paris Olympics |
Evita | 1996 | 1919–1952 | Evita Peron |
J. Edgar | 2011 | 1919–1972 | Life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, FBI-Director from 1935 to 1972 |
Legionnaire | 1998 | 1920–1926 | Second Moroccan War |
Anastasia | 1956 | 1920s | based upon Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the activities of Anna Anderson |
The First of the Few | 1942 | 1922-1936 | aircraft engineer R.J. Mitchell designs the Spitfire despite his failing health |
The King's Speech | 2010 | 1924-1939 | The quest of King George VI to overcome his stammer. |
The Ogre | 1996 | 1925-1945 | The account of a simple Frenchman who recruits children to the Nazis in the belief that he is protecting them |
Road to Perdition | 2002 | winter 1931 | A man seeks vengeance against a mobster |
The Legend of Bagger Vance | 2000 | 1931 | set in Savannah, Georgia; loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita |
Bonnie and Clyde | 1967 | 1931–1934 | Bonnie and Clyde |
A Pearl in the Forest | 2008 | 1934–1938 | set during the Great Purges initiated by Joseph Stalin in Mongolia |
The Hindenburg | 1975 | 1937 | the Hindenburg disaster |
The Flowers of War | 2012 | 1937 | the Nanking Massacre |
Schindler's List | 1993 | 1939–1945 | German industrialist Oskar Schindler's assistance to keep Jewish people from being interred in concentration camps during World War II |
The Last Bastion | 1984 | 1939–1945 | Australia during World War II |
The Pianist | 2002 | 1939-1945 | Poland during World War II |
Battle of Britain | 1969 | 1940 | the Battle of Britain |
Malena | 2000 | 1940-1944 | Italy during World War II |
The Way Back | 2010 | 1941 | the escape from a Siberian Gulag |
Sink the Bismarck! | 1960 | May 1941 | World War II German battleship Bismarck |
Tora! Tora! Tora! | 1970 | December 7, 1941 | the attack on Pearl Harbor |
Pearl Harbor | 2001 | December 1941 | the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor |
The Pacific | 2010 | 1942–1946 | focuses on the United States Marine Corps' actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War |
Midway | 1976 | June 1942 | the Battle of Midway |
The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | 1942–1943 | construction of the Burma Railway by British prisoners of war during World War II |
The Thin Red Line | 1998 | August 1942-February 1943 | The Battle of Guadalcanal |
Band of Brothers | 2001 | 1942–1945 | centers on the combat experiences of E Company ("Easy Company") of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army in WWII Europe |
Stalingrad | 1993 | winter 1942-1943 | The Battle of Stalingrad from a German perspective |
Enemy at the Gates | 2001 | winter 1942-1943 | Vasily Zaytsev in the Battle of Stalingrad |
Cross of Iron | 1977 | spring 1943 | Eastern Front |
The Dam Busters | 1955 | May 1943 | development of the Upkeep bouncing bomb and its use in Operation Chastise |
Memphis Belle | 1990 | May 1943 | a U.S. bombing mission over Germany during World War II |
Patton | 1970 | 1943–1945 | the exploits of General George S. Patton during World War II |
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | 2008 | 1944 | The Holocaust |
The Longest Day | 1962 | June 6, 1944 | the D-Day invasion |
Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | June 1944 | D-Day and its aftermath |
Valkyrie | 2008 | 1944 | set in Nazi Germany during World War II. It depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. |
A Bridge Too Far | 1977 | September 1944 | Operation Market Garden |
Kanal | 1956 | September 1944 | Warsaw Uprising |
Flags of Our Fathers | 2006 | February–March 1945 | the Battle of Iwo Jima |
Letters from Iwo Jima | 2006 | February–March 1945 | the Battle of Iwo Jima |
Downfall | 2005 | April–May 1945 | the last days of the Third Reich |
Ashes and Diamonds | 1958 | May 1945 | Polish Home Army soldiers assigned to assassinate a Communist commissar |
The Good German | 2006 | July–August 1945 | during the Potsdam Conference |
Nuremberg | 2000 | November 1945-October 1946 | the first of the Nuremberg Trials |
Judgment at Nuremberg | 1961 | 1947 | the Judges' Trial |
Exodus | 1960 | 1947–1948 | foundation of Israel |
Cast a Giant Shadow | 1966 | 1948 | U.S. Colonel Mickey Marcus's involvement in the Israeli war of independence |
Atonement | 2007 | 1935–1940 | A romantic suspense war film, set in the late 1930s and 1940 in Britain. |
Films set in the later 20th century
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
The Good Shepherd | 2006 | 1938–1961 | rise of Central Intelligence Agency Counter-intelligence leading up to the Bay of Pigs Invasion |
The Right Stuff | 1983 | 1947–1963 | the Project Mercury space launches |
American Hot Wax | 1978 | 1950s | disc jockey Alan Freed's involvement in rock and roll |
Good Night, and Good Luck | 2005 | 1953 | the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations |
The Quiet American | 2002 | 1954 | early American covert involvement in Vietnam |
The Battle of Algiers | 1966 | 1954–1960 | during the Algerian War of Independence |
Lumumba | 2000 | 1955–1961 | Path of the first Prime Minister of the Belgian Congo Patrice Lumumba and his killing |
Che | 2008 | 1955–1967 | Che Guevara |
The Motorcycle Diaries | 2004 | 1955–1967 | Che Guevara |
Nasser 56 | 1996 | 1956 | the Suez Crisis from the Egyptian point of view |
Great Balls of Fire! | 1989 | 1956–1958 | rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis |
Quiz Show | 1994 | 1956–1958 | Twenty-One Quiz show scandals |
Scandal | 1989 | 1959–1963 | Christine Keeler, Stephen Ward and the Profumo Affair |
JFK | 1991 | 1961–1966 | the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and subsequent investigation |
Thirteen Days | 2000 | October 1962 | the Cuban Missile Crisis |
Z | 1969 | 1963 | the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis |
Ghosts of Mississippi | 1996 | 1963-1990s | events surrounding the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers |
Mississippi Burning | 1988 | 1964 | the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into the Mississippi civil rights workers murders |
The Doors | 1991 | 1964–1971 | biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison |
Born on the Fourth of July | 1989 | 1965–1968 | Ron Kovic's experiences in the Vietnam War |
The Year of Living Dangerously | 1982 | 1965 | set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno |
We Were Soldiers | 2002 | Nov. 1965 | the Battle of Ia Drang in the Vietnam War |
W. | 2008 | 1966–2003 | The life and presidency of George W. Bush |
Platoon | 1985 | 1967–1968 | Vietnam War |
Bobby | 2006 | 1968 | the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy |
Heaven & Earth | 1993 | 1960s - 1980s | Vietnam War |
Full Metal Jacket | 1987 | 1968 | Vietnam War |
Coming Home | 1978 | 1968 | Vietnam War |
The Deer Hunter | 1978 | 1968–1975 | Vietnam War |
Hamburger Hill | 1987 | 1969 | Battle of Hamburger Hill in the Vietnam War |
Nixon | 1995 | 1969–1974 | the political life of Richard M. Nixon |
Zodiac | 2007 | 1969–1975 | the Zodiac murders in the United States |
The Odd Angry Shot | 1979 | late 1960s | experiences of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War |
Taxi Driver | 1976 | 1970s | After Vietnam War |
Apocalypse Now | 1979 | 1970 | Vietnam War |
Milk | 2008 | 1970–1978 | gay rights activist Harvey Milk |
The Last King of Scotland | 2006 | 1971–1976 | Ugandan President Idi Amin |
Bloody Sunday | 2002 | January 1972 | Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland |
All the President's Men | 1976 | 1972 | the Nixon-era Watergate scandal |
Alive | 1993 | 1972 | Crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 |
Cry Freedom | 1987 | 1972–1978 | Steve Biko and Donald Woods in the apartheid era of South Africa |
Munich | 2005 | 1972–1979 | Mossad efforts to avenge the murder of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics |
Missing | 1982 | 1973 | the coup d'état in Chile and the murder of Charles Horman |
The Killing Fields | 1984 | 1973–1979 | the Khmer Rouge's genocide |
Balibo | 2009 | 1975 | the invasion of East Timor and the Balibo Five |
Raid on Entebbe | 1977 | 1976 | the July 1976 rescue of passengers from a hijacked plane |
Frost/Nixon | 2008 | 1977 | the Frost-Nixon interviews |
Summer of Sam | 1999 | 1977 | the Son of Sam murders in New York City |
Gracie | 2007 | 1978 | six years after the introduction of Title IX |
Miracle | 2004 | February 1980 | the U.S. hockey team's gold medal victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics |
Goodbye Bafana | 2007 | ca. 1980-1990 | Nelson Mandela's imprisonment |
Wonderland | 2003 | 1981 | Wonderland murders |
Hunger | 2008 | 1981 | 1981 Irish hunger strike |
An Ungentlemanly Act | 1992 | 1982 | the first days of the invasion of the Falkland Islands |
Tumbledown | 1988 | 1982 | Falklands War |
Paid in Full | 2002 | 1985 | during the Crack Epidemic of the 1980s |
Catch a Fire | 2006 | 1980–1994 | set during the early eighties concerning the plight of the ANC's military wing in the apartheid era of South Africa |
Charlie Wilson's War | 2007 | 1980–1989 | CIA's covert involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War |
Jarhead | 2005 | 1989–1991 | Persian Gulf War |
Three Kings | 1999 | 1991 | 1991 Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussein and aftermath of the Persian Gulf War |
Snowtown | 2011 | 1992–1999 | Snowtown murders |
Black Hawk Down | 2001 | 1993 | the Battle of Mogadishu |
Hotel Rwanda | 2004 | 1994 | Rwandan Genocide |
Shooting Dogs | 2005 | 1994 | Rwandan Genocide |
Sometimes in April | 2005 | 1994 | Rwandan Genocide |
Invictus | 2009 | 1991–1995 | Post-apartheid South Africa and the 1995 Rugby World Cup |
The Special Relationship | 2010 | 1994–2001 | the UK–US Special Relationship between Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton |
Savior | 1998 | ca. 1995 | during the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia |
Behind Enemy Lines | 2001 | 1995 | the Mrkonjić Grad incident during the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia |
Blood Diamond | 2006 | 1999 | during the Sierra Leone Civil War |
The Queen | 2006 | 1997 | a fictional account of the immediate events following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales |
Open Water | 2004 | 1998 | Tom and Eileen Lonergan |
Films set in the 21st century
Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
---|---|---|---|
World Trade Center | 2006 | September 11, 2001 | September 11 attacks |
Flight 93 | 2006 | September 11, 2001 | September 11 attacks |
United 93 | 2006 | September 11, 2001 | September 11 attacks |
In the Valley of Elah | 2007 | 2004 | the murder of an Iraq War veteran and the subsequent investigation |
Lions for Lambs | 2007 | ca. 2005 | the War in Afghanistan |
The Hurt Locker | 2009 | ca. 2004 | a bomb disposal squad in the Iraq War |
Green Zone | 2010 | ca. 2005 | The Iraq War |
Too Big to Fail | 2011 | 2008 | the 2008 financial meltdown |
See also
- List of war films and TV specials
- Period piece
- List of costume drama films
- Middle Ages in film
- List of World War II films
External links
- History on Film - A historian looks at how Hollywood has presented historical events in the films.