Modern movies set in 1920s-1970s
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- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCarey MulliganJoel EdgertonA 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.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsRobert RedfordMia FarrowBruce DernA Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his nouveau riche neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAsa ButterfieldChloë Grace MoretzChristopher LeeIn 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsRobert PattinsonReese WitherspoonChristoph WaltzJacob takes a job as an animal caretaker in a traveling circus. There he meets Marlena, a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant Rosie leads to love, but Marlena's cruel husband stands in their way.
- DirectorIrwin WinklerStarsKevin KlineAshley JuddJonathan PryceInspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsMaggie SmithRyan PhillippeMichael GambonSet in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsCharlize TheronStuart TownsendPenélope CruzFrom the roaring 1920s to the ruinous Spanish Civil War and Adolf Hitler's rise into power, the lives of an Irish schoolteacher, a provocative heiress and her Spanish muse are intricately interlaced, sharing the same destiny and passion.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeIngrid ThulinHelmut GriemThe dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsIsabella RosselliniMark McKinneyMaria de MedeirosA musical of sorts set in Winnipeg during the Great Depression, where a beer baroness organizes a contest to find the saddest music in the world. Musicians from around the world descend on the city to try and win the $25,000 prize.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsLynn WhitfieldRubén BladesDavid DukesBorn poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success takes Josephine to Paris where her semi-nude dancing causes an international sensation. Through her marriages to an Italian pseudo-count and an orchestra leader, to her bond with army officer Sydney Williams, Josephine's life is a rollercoaster ride of love and rejection from both her lovers and her country. But semi-nude, or head-to-toes in sequins; in battle fatigues or rags - her beauty and ambition ensured that Josephine Baker will always be remembered as the first, and possibly most loved, truly international star.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyMadonnaAl PacinoThe comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAlbert FinneyLauren BacallIngrid BergmanIn December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a multitude of suspects.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsPeter UstinovMia FarrowSimon MacCorkindaleAs Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey?
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsRichard GereGregory HinesDiane LaneMeet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJulie AndrewsJames GarnerRobert PrestonA struggling female soprano in 1934 Paris finally finds work after posing as a female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life when a visiting Chicago gangster finds himself inexplicably attracted to the seemingly male performer.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsRudolf NureyevLeslie CaronMichelle PhillipsIn 1926 the tragic and untimely death of a silent screen actor caused female moviegoers to riot in the streets and in some cases to commit suicide.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDonald SutherlandKaren BlackBurgess MeredithAn art director in the 1930s falls in love and attempts to make a young woman an actress despite Hollywood who wants nothing to do with her because of her problems with an estranged man and her alcoholic father.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsNaomi WattsJack BlackAdrien BrodyA greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsDiana RossBilly Dee WilliamsRichard PryorThe story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
- DirectorGraeme CliffordStarsJessica LangeJonathan BanksBonnie BartlettThe story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsDebbie ReynoldsShelley WintersDennis WeaverTwo middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJosh HartnettAaron EckhartScarlett JohanssonTwo policemen see their personal and professional lives fall apart in the wake of the "Black Dahlia" Elizabeth Short murder investigation.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJosh BrolinGeorge ClooneyAlden EhrenreichA Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.
- DirectorSimon CurtisStarsMichelle WilliamsEddie RedmayneKenneth BranaghColin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interactions between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).
- DirectorTim FywellStarsAshley JuddMira SorvinoJosh CharlesThis film follows Norma Jean from her simple, ambitious youth to her superstar pinnacle and back down. She moves from lover to lover in order to further her career. She finds fame but never happiness, only knowing seduction but not love.
- DirectorKevin ConnorStarsSherilyn FennNigel HaversKatherine HelmondThe story of Elizabeth Taylor's rise to stardom, beginning in Los Angeles 1942. Growing up, Elizabeth has several love-affairs - and several divorces, since her husbands can't accept being married to a Hollywood icon.
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
- DirectorPeyton ReedStarsEwan McGregorRenée ZellwegerDavid Hyde PierceIn 1962 New York City, love blossoms between a playboy journalist and a feminist advice author.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsMike MyersElizabeth HurleyMichael YorkA world-class playboy and part-time secret agent from the 1960s emerges after thirty years in a cryogenic state to battle with his nemesis Dr. Evil.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsMike MyersHeather GrahamMichael YorkDr. Evil is back and has invented a new time machine that allows him to go back to the 1960s and steal Austin Powers' mojo, inadvertently leaving him "shagless".
- DirectorJay RoachStarsMike MyersBeyoncéSeth GreenUpon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRussell CroweRyan GoslingAngourie RiceIn 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsBradley CooperA con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasMatt DamonScott BakulaA chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsMark WahlbergJulianne MooreBurt ReynoldsBack when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsBeyoncéJamie FoxxEddie MurphyA trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsAmanda SeyfriedPeter SarsgaardSharon StoneThe story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband before taking control of her life.
- DirectorMark ChristopherStarsRyan PhillippeSalma HayekNeve CampbellThe famous 1970s New York City nightclub seen and told through the eyes of a young employee.