Historical Films
by jengrave | created - 17 Jun 2016 | updated - 4 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Lovers' lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and... love.
Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 26,983 | Gross: $16.07M
2. Annie (1982)
PG | 127 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A spunky young orphan is taken in by a rich eccentric, much to the chagrin of the cantankerous woman who runs the orphanage.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking
Votes: 49,533 | Gross: $57.06M
3. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,620,992 | Gross: $187.71M
4. Papillon (1973)
R | 151 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon
Votes: 138,420 | Gross: $53.27M
5. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan
Votes: 30,264 | Gross: $6.17M
6. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Romance
When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O'Shea
Votes: 34,789 | Gross: $38.90M
7. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,478 | Gross: $96.90M
8. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,557
9. The Secret Garden (1993)
G | 101 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott
Votes: 44,489 | Gross: $31.18M
10. The Sound of Music (1965)
G | 172 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
Votes: 261,173 | Gross: $163.21M
11. White Squall (1996)
PG-13 | 129 min | Adventure, Drama
Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Scott Wolf
Votes: 25,460 | Gross: $10.30M
12. Monet: Shadow and Light (1999 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 54 min | Drama, Family
Monet's painting ends abruptly with attacks from his father and art critics. He intends to abandon everything, but is convinced otherwise by an aspiring young artist.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Stuart Hughes, Trevor Blumas, Maggie Huculak, Richard Clarkin
Votes: 96
13. Bach's Fight for Freedom (1995 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 53 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A young boy helps the rebellious Johann Sebastian Bach fight for his artistic freedom.
Director: Stuart Gillard | Stars: Ted Dykstra, Kyle Labine, Ian D. Clark, Rosemary Dunsmore
Votes: 113
14. Beethoven Lives Upstairs (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 51 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A young boy learns to appreciate the music of his upstairs boarder, Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Neil Munro, Illya Woloshyn, Fiona Reid, Paul Soles
Votes: 483
15. Bizet's Dream (1994 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 53 min | Music, Drama, Family
A 12 year old Parisian girl takes piano lessons from composer Georges Bizet and becomes captivated by his story of the gypsy Carmen.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Maurice Godin, Brittany Madgett, Catherine Barroll, Yseult Lendvai
Votes: 51
16. Degas and the Dancer (1998 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 56 min | Drama, Family, Music
Searching for inspiration, impressionist Edgar Degas hires a struggling young ballerina to pose for him. However, their critical attitudes and equally stubborn opinions push both towards greater heights. Based on actual events.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Thomas Jay Ryan, Alison Pill, Kathryn Long, Robin Duke
Votes: 97
17. Liszt's Rhapsody (1996 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 49 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A dashing Franz Liszt appears to have it all - talent, success, wealth and adoring fans. Yet when he takes on a young street musician as a violin student, his own fork is transformed.
Director: Richard Mozer | Stars: Geordie Johnson, Drew Jurecka, Peter Keleghan, Ida Carnevali
Votes: 63
18. Einstein: Light to the Power of 2 (1996 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 55 min | Drama, Family
Nine-year old Lannie is unmotivated and struggling at school because of a racist teacher. Reminded of his own intellectual and political challenges, Einstein steps into 1950 to spark a love of learning in Lannie.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Paul Soles, Lataye Studwood, Chris McKinney, Sandra Caldwell
Votes: 35
19. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Votes: 260,770 | Gross: $8.82M
20. Macbeth (1971)
R | 140 min | Drama, History
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler
Votes: 14,979
21. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970 TV Movie)
TV-G | 48 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A mailman reveals the origin of Santa Claus.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees
Votes: 17,509
22. The Little Drummer Boy (1968 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 25 min | Animation, Drama, Family
An orphan drummer boy who hates humanity finds his life changed forever when he meets three wise men en route to Bethlehem.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr., Takeo Nakamura | Stars: José Ferrer, Paul Frees, June Foray, Ted Eccles
Votes: 6,396
23. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
R | 111 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman
Votes: 120,649
24. Castello Cavalcanti (2013)
Not Rated | 8 min | Short, Comedy, Drama
Italy, September 1955. A Formula One driver crashes his car during a race, leaving him stuck in a small village but good surprises will come his way.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Giada Colagrande, Giorgio Zancolla, Paolo Coluccio
Votes: 8,981
25. A Man Escaped (1956)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Thriller, War
A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod
Votes: 25,015
26. The Great Gatsby (2013)
PG-13 | 143 min | Drama, Romance
A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire
Votes: 597,180 | Gross: $144.84M
27. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray
Votes: 366,810 | Gross: $45.51M
28. Midnight in Paris (2011)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller
Votes: 449,986 | Gross: $56.82M
29. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,500 | Gross: $57.60M
30. Mao's Last Dancer (2009)
PG | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
In Maoist China, a boy is taken from his family and trained to become a dancer, but everything he knows is challenged when he is chosen to attend a ballet summer school in Houston, Texas.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Penne Hackforth-Jones
Votes: 8,296 | Gross: $4.81M
31. Patch Adams (1998)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 122,344 | Gross: $135.03M
32. Temple Grandin (2010 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 107 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Claire Danes, Julia Ormond, David Strathairn, Catherine O'Hara
Votes: 32,589
33. Stagecoach (1939)
Passed | 96 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine
Votes: 53,790
34. Orlando (1992)
PG-13 | 94 min | Biography, Drama, Fantasy
After Queen Elizabeth I commands him not to grow old, a young nobleman struggles with love and his place in the world.
Director: Sally Potter | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp, Jimmy Somerville
Votes: 18,728 | Gross: $5.29M
35. Camp de Thiaroye (1988)
157 min | Drama, War
In this semi-autobiographical film, black soldiers help to defend France, but are detained in prison camp before being repatriated home.
Directors: Ousmane Sembene, Thierno Faty Sow | Stars: Sidiki Bakaba, Hamed Camara, Ismaila Cissé, Ababacar Sy Cissé
Votes: 644
36. The King and the Mockingbird (1980)
Not Rated | 83 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A chimney sweep and a shepherdess seek to escape from the clutches of a tyrannical king.
Director: Paul Grimault | Stars: Jean Martin, Pascal Mazzotti, Raymond Bussières, Agnès Viala
Votes: 5,556 | Gross: $0.03M
37. Corpse Bride (2005)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Drama, Family
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 298,938 | Gross: $53.36M
38. The Round Up (2010)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, History, War
A faithful retelling of the 1942 "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup" and the events surrounding it.
Director: Rose Bosch | Stars: Jean Reno, Mélanie Laurent, Gad Elmaleh, Raphaëlle Agogué
Votes: 9,374
39. Roots and Chains (2015)
3 min | Animation, Short, Drama
Continue my path despite the obstacles. Refuse to answer hatred with hatred. Find the way back to my roots.
Directors: Francis Lacelle, Robert Marcel Lepage
40. Namakura Gatana (1917)
4 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A samurai buys a dull sword from a merchant. He is quickly defeated by his intended victims due to his cheap sword and clumsiness.
Director: Junichi Kôuchi
Votes: 289
41. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
PG | 101 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
Director: Travis Knight | Stars: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes
Votes: 138,448 | Gross: $48.02M
42. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,506 | Gross: $1.11M
43. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 740,493 | Gross: $188.37M
44. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,447
45. Paperman (2012)
G | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
An office worker meets the girl of his dreams and uses a fleet of paper airplanes to get her attention.
Director: John Kahrs | Stars: John Kahrs, Kari Wahlgren, Jack Goldenberg, Jeff Turley
Votes: 35,389
46. Canada Vignettes: Log Driver's Waltz (1979)
3 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A short illustrating a traditional Canadian folk song about a woman's admiration for the agility for her boyfriend, the log driver.
Director: John Weldon | Stars: Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle
Votes: 481
47. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,683 | Gross: $53.71M
48. Hamlet (1996)
PG-13 | 242 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet
Votes: 40,061 | Gross: $4.41M
49. A & P (1996)
17 min | Short, Drama
In the 1960s, grocery-store clerk Sammy sees three girls walk into the local A&P wearing nothing but bikinis. Things go awry as that very act leads to a day that Sammy will never forget.
Director: Bruce Schwartz | Stars: Sean Hayes, Randy Oglesby, Jeramy Guillory, Amy Smart
Votes: 130
50. The Black Cauldron (1985)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich | Stars: Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 40,771 | Gross: $21.29M
51. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
PG-13 | 132 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
In 1926, magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York during his worldwide tour to research and rescue magical creatures as something mysterious leaves trails of destruction in the city, threatening to expose the wizarding world.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler
Votes: 507,919 | Gross: $234.04M
52. The Best Is Yet to Come (2020)
114 min | Drama
China, 2003. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed journalism intern Han Dong decides to change the fate of 100 million people with a single article.
Director: Jing Wang | Stars: White-K, Miao Miao, Songwen Zhang, Yang Song
Votes: 323
53. Alice in Wonderland (I) (2010)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
Votes: 441,201 | Gross: $334.19M
54.
Snow White with the Red Hair (2015–2016)
Episode:
OVA
(2016)
TV-14 | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Now in a romantic relationship, Zen and Shirayuki go on their first official date together to one of the cities of Clarines. During their date, details regarding the history of Mitsuhide ... See full summary »
Votes: 16
55. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)
R | 103 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A legendary dhampir competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to return a young woman, who has been seemingly abducted by a vampire, to her family.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Andrew Philpot, John Rafter Lee, Pamela Adlon, Wendee Lee
Votes: 35,830 | Gross: $0.15M
56. Oppenheimer (I) (2023)
R | 180 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
Votes: 730,093 | Gross: $326.11M
57. A Haunting in Venice (2023)
PG-13 | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey
Votes: 112,400
58. The Boy and the Heron (2023)
PG-13 | 124 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
In the wake of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, a headstrong boy named Mahito ventures into a dreamlike world shared by both the living and the dead.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Kô Shibasaki, Aimyon
Votes: 51,127
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