Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "italian-history"
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1. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,454
2. Medici (2016–2019)
TV-14 | 1,314 min | Biography, Drama, History
A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.
Stars: Daniel Sharman, Alessandra Mastronardi, Synnove Karlsen, Sebastian De Souza
Votes: 22,311
3. The Borgias (2011–2013)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, History
In the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan
Votes: 53,955
4. Da Vinci's Demons (2013–2015)
TV-MA | 60 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Follows Leonardo Da Vinci during his early days in Florence, as a young artist, inventor and dreamer, trying to change the future.
Stars: Tom Riley, Gregg Chilingirian, Eros Vlahos, Laura Haddock
Votes: 79,208
5. Borgia (2011–2014)
TV-MA | 52 min | Biography, Drama, History
Story of the rise and the fall of the Renaissance dynasty.
Stars: Mark Ryder, Isolda Dychauk, Diarmuid Noyes, John Doman
Votes: 7,220
6. 1900 (1976)
Unrated | 317 min | Drama, History
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth-century Italy as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Francesca Bertini
Votes: 27,288
7. The Leopard (1963)
PG | 186 min | Drama, History
The Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa
Votes: 28,837
8. The Traitor (2019)
R | 153 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The real life of Tommaso Buscetta, the so-called "boss of the two worlds," the first mafia informant in Sicily in the 1980s.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi
Votes: 12,985
9. Leonardo (2021– )
TV-PG | 409 min | Biography, Drama, History
The series recounts Leonardo da Vinci's extraordinary life through the works that made him famous, through the stories hidden within those works, revealing little by little the inner torment of a man obsessed with attaining perfection.
Stars: Aidan Turner, Matilda De Angelis, Freddie Highmore, Carlos Cuevas
Votes: 4,190
10. Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
R | 131 min | Drama, Music, Romance
When a fisherman leaves to fight with the Greek army during World War II, his fiancée falls in love with the local Italian commander.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale
Votes: 35,954 | Gross: $25.54M
11. Lion of the Desert (1980)
PG | 173 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as colonial governor to Italian Libya with orders to stamp-out all resistance from Libyan nationalists led by rebel guerrilla leader Omar Mukhtar.
Director: Moustapha Akkad | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, Irene Papas
Votes: 17,382 | Gross: $3.27M
12. The Best of Youth (2003)
R | 374 min | Drama, Romance
An Italian epic that follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca, Adriana Asti
Votes: 23,213 | Gross: $0.27M
13. Roma (1972)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
A fluid, unconnected and sometimes chaotic procession of scenes detailing the various people and events of life in Italy's capital, most of it based on director Federico Fellini's life.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Britta Barnes, Peter Gonzales Falcon, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses
Votes: 13,807 | Gross: $0.73M
14. Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
Set in 1944 Italy, the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller
Votes: 19,193 | Gross: $7.92M
15. Mediterraneo (1991)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, War
In WW2, an Italian Army unit of misfits occupies an isolated non-strategic Greek island for the duration of the war.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bigagli, Giuseppe Cederna, Claudio Bisio
Votes: 16,425 | Gross: $4.53M
16. Il capo dei capi (2007– )
100 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the life of Salvatore Riina ('Totò u Curtu'), a mafioso boss from Corleone, Sicily.
Stars: Claudio Gioè, Daniele Liotti, Salvatore Lazzaro, Simona Cavallari
Votes: 3,808
17. Purple Sea (2009)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, History, Romance
Nothing - not her father, not the church - can stop unruly Angela from being with her childhood best friend and great love, Sara in a 19th century Italian village.
Director: Donatella Maiorca | Stars: Valeria Solarino, Isabella Ragonese, Ennio Fantastichini, Giselda Volodi
Votes: 1,777
18. The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Approved | 138 min | Biography, Drama, History
The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento, Harry Andrews
Votes: 8,055
19. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
R | 94 min | Drama, History, War
The story of the Finzi-Continis, a noble family of Ferrara, during the Jewish persecution in Italy's 1930s.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Dominique Sanda, Lino Capolicchio, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi
Votes: 7,677 | Gross: $0.60M
20. The First King (2019)
TV-MA | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Romulus and Remus, two shepherds and loyal brothers, end up taking part to a journey that will lead one of them to be the founder of the greatest nation ever seen. However, the fate of the chosen one will pass from killing his own brother.
Director: Matteo Rovere | Stars: Alessandro Borghi, Alessio Lapice, Fabrizio Rongione, Massimiliano Rossi
Votes: 5,935
21. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
PG | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham
Votes: 4,947
22. Senso (1954)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, Romance, War
An Italian Countess is allied with Nationalists during the Italian-Austrian war of unification. However, she risks betraying their cause when she falls in love with an Austrian lieutenant.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Farley Granger, Alida Valli, Massimo Girotti, Heinz Moog
Votes: 7,524 | Gross: $0.03M
23. Il Divo (2008)
Not Rated | 110 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, who has served as Prime Minister of Italy seven times since the restoration of democracy in 1946.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci
Votes: 19,012 | Gross: $0.24M
24. Romanzo Criminale (2005)
152 min | Crime, Drama
Set in the 1970s, it's the story of three lifelong friends who take control of organized crime in Rome.
Director: Michele Placido | Stars: Kim Rossi Stuart, Anna Mouglalis, Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Santamaria
Votes: 9,664
25. Barbarossa (2009)
R | 139 min | Drama, History, War
German Emperor Barbarossa will stop at nothing to conquer and build his empire. But a young man from Milan, along with his army of 900 men known as the Company of Death, is prepared to challenge the Emperor.
Director: Renzo Martinelli | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Raz Degan, F. Murray Abraham, Christo Jivkov
Votes: 1,433
26. Esterno notte (2022)
330 min | Crime, Drama, History
The 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists
Stars: Fabrizio Gifuni, Margherita Buy, Toni Servillo, Fausto Russo Alesi
Votes: 1,690
27. Vincere (2009)
Unrated | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of Mussolini's secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michela Cescon
Votes: 5,915 | Gross: $0.62M
28. Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979)
150 min | Drama
A doctor in Fascist Italy is exiled to a remote village for his political views.
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Lea Massari
Votes: 2,736 | Gross: $0.07M
29. The Organizer (1963)
Not Rated | 126 min | Drama, History
A former high school teacher turned unionist tries to organize workers laboring with inhuman conditions at a late 19th Century textile factory.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Gabriella Giorgelli, Folco Lulli
Votes: 3,286
30. Time to Kill (1989)
R | 110 min | Drama, War
In 1936, when Ethiopia is being invaded by the Italian army, Lieutenant Silvestri sets off for the nearest camp hospital to take care of a toothache. En route he meets a young Ethiopian ... See full summary »
Director: Giuliano Montaldo | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ricky Tognazzi, Patrice-Flora Praxo, Gianluca Favilla
Votes: 985
31. Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985)
Unrated | 410 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rise and fall of the Italian fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini.
Stars: George C. Scott, Virginia Madsen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Lee Grant
Votes: 647
32. Kapo (1960)
116 min | Drama, War
A young Jewish girl leads an escape attempt from a concentration camp.
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo | Stars: Susan Strasberg, Laurent Terzieff, Emmanuelle Riva, Didi Perego
Votes: 2,596
33. L'armata Brancaleone (1966)
120 min | Adventure, Comedy, History
A group of misfits, headed by an incompetent knight named Brancaleone, set out to reach the small town of Aurocastro so that their leader can take possession of the fief.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Folco Lulli, Gian Maria Volontè
Votes: 5,276
34. The Great War (1959)
Approved | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The Italian Army fought against the Austrians during World War I.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Bernard Blier, Folco Lulli
Votes: 4,607
35. The Borgias (1981)
50 min | Biography, Drama, History
The ruthless Rodrigo Borgia intends to become Pope and will not let anything stand in his way.
Stars: Oliver Cotton, Maurice O'Connell, Louis Selwyn, Adolfo Celi
Votes: 195
36. La lunga notte (2024)
History
1943. Anticipando la crisi che sta per travolgere il regime, Dino Grandi, Presidente della Camera dei fasci, cerca di riportare l'Italia nelle mani dei Savoia in un clima di forti tensioni.
Stars: Alessio Boni, Pierpaolo Lovino, Duccio Camerini, Marco Foschi
Votes: 105
37. The Mattei Affair (1972)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
An Italian industrialist died in a plane crash. An accident or an assassination?
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Luigi Squarzina, Peter Baldwin, Renato Romano
Votes: 2,461
38. The Spider's Stratagem (1970)
100 min | Drama, Mystery
A man returns to the place where his father was murdered and tries to find closure. But he finds himself in a similar predicament as his late father instead.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Pippo Campanini, Franco Giovanelli
Votes: 3,148
39. The Fascist (1961)
102 min | Comedy
The quest of a Fascist soldier, whose mission is to catch a political enemy during at the end of World War II.
Director: Luciano Salce | Stars: Ugo Tognazzi, Georges Wilson, Mireille Granelli, Stefania Sandrelli
Votes: 834
40. The Profession of Arms (2001)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, History, War
The history of the first victim of modern artillery and its moving agony, amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful. Life and death of Giovanni De' Medici, a young brave captain in ... See full summary »
Director: Ermanno Olmi | Stars: Christo Jivkov, Sergio Grammatico, Dimitar Rachkov, Fabio Giubbani
Votes: 1,909
41. A Bell for Adano (1945)
Approved | 103 min | Drama, War
During WWII, U.S. Army Major Joppolo and his troops are tasked with administering the war damaged Italian town of Adano where the locals decry the loss of the town bell.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gene Tierney, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Glenn Langan
Votes: 863
42. Inconscio italiano (2011)
100 min | Documentary
A documentary in which seven Italian intellectuals survey the political history of their country from its imperial adventure in Ethiopia in 1937 to the ascent of Silvio Berlusconi, focusing on the evolving role of the Fascist Party.
Director: Luca Guadagnino | Stars: Angelo Del Boca, Lucia Ceci, Iain Chambers, Ida Dominijanni
Votes: 59
43. Il soldato di ventura (1976)
111 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Medieval soldier of fortune Ettore is travelling through Europe with his partners looking for fight where they can earn some money. When they come across a Spanish castle under siege by the... See full summary »
Director: Pasquale Festa Campanile | Stars: Bud Spencer, Franco Agostini, Enzo Cannavale, Frédéric de Pasquale
Votes: 2,107
44. Massacre in Rome (1973)
PG | 110 min | Drama, History, War
Rome, March 23, 1944: 33 German soldiers are killed by a bomb. Lt. Col. Herbert Kappler is ordered to execute ten times that many Italians.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Richard Burton, Marcello Mastroianni, Leo McKern, John Steiner
Votes: 1,486
45. Good Morning, Night (2003)
106 min | Drama
The 1978 kidnapping of politician Aldo Moro as seen from the perspective of one of his assailants: a conflicted young woman in the ranks of the Red Brigade.
Director: Marco Bellocchio | Stars: Maya Sansa, Luigi Lo Cascio, Roberto Herlitzka, Paolo Briguglia
Votes: 4,045 | Gross: $0.01M
46. Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (2012)
129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A chronicle of the 1969 bombing at a major national bank in Milan and its aftermath.
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Valerio Mastandrea, Pierfrancesco Favino, Michela Cescon, Giorgio Colangeli
Votes: 2,878
47. Il partigiano Johnny (2000)
135 min | Drama, War
After 8 September 1943, Northern Italy is occupied by the Germans. The Italian army collapses and the soldiers escape to the mountains to set up a resistance. Many civilians do the same, ... See full summary »
Director: Guido Chiesa | Stars: Stefano Dionisi, Gabriele Montanari, Toni Bertorelli, Lina Bernardi
Votes: 327
48. The Man Who Will Come (2009)
115 min | Drama, War
In the winter of 1943 a young girl named Martina stays silent following the death of her brother several years before. Her mother's pregnancy gives her hope, but as her brother is born the Nazis begin rounding up civilians.
Director: Giorgio Diritti | Stars: Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Claudio Casadio, Alba Rohrwacher, Maya Sansa
Votes: 1,813
49. Diaz - Don't Clean Up This Blood (2012)
127 min | Drama
A reenactment of the final days of the 2001 G8 Summit.
Director: Daniele Vicari | Stars: Claudio Santamaria, Jennifer Ulrich, Elio Germano, Davide Iacopini
Votes: 4,061
50. The Assassination of Matteotti (1973)
120 min | Drama
How the Italian Fascist Party managed to turn the physical elimination of a political enemy into a test of strength fundamental for the ascent into the totalitarian regime.
Director: Florestano Vancini | Stars: Franco Nero, Mario Adorf, Riccardo Cucciolla, Damiano Damiani
Votes: 348