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Best History Movies

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943 results

943 results

217. Command and Control

Sep 14, 2016 • Rated PG

Command and Control reveals the long-hidden story of a deadly accident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Arkansas in 1980. Woven through the Damascus story is a riveting history of America’s nuclear weapons program, from World War II through the Cold War, much of it based on recently declassified documents. A cautionary tale of freak accidents, near misses, human fallibility and extraordinary heroism, Command and Control forces viewers to confront the great dilemma that the U.S. has faced since the dawn of the nuclear age: how do you manage weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them?

218. Till

Oct 14, 2022 • Rated PG-13

Till is a profoundly emotional and cinematic film about the true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. In Mamie’s poignant journey of grief turned to action, we see the universal power of a mother’s ability to change the world.

219. A Talking Picture

Dec 10, 2004 • Rated Not Rated

A young history professor and her seven-year-old daughter embark on a cruise through the Mediterranean Sea and befriend three famous women of different nationalities. [Kino International]

220. The Weather Underground

Jun 4, 2003 • Rated Unrated

In 1969, a radical splinter group broke off from SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), convinced that only militant action could end racism, the war in Vietnam and the inequalities they felt inherent in a capitalist society. The Weather Underground engaged in numerous bombings (and failed bombings) that landed them on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Today - in light of a new age of terrorism - former members as well as their critics look back on the '70s and reflect on what they did and why they did it. (Film Forum)

221. Best of Enemies

Jul 31, 2015 • Rated R

In the summer of 1968, television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born. [Magnolia Pictures]

222. Shanghai Triad

Dec 22, 1995 • Rated R

A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.

223. Red Riding Trilogy

Mar 3, 2009 • Rated Not Rated

Sure to be one of the cinematic events of the year, Red Riding is a mesmerizing neo-noir epic based on factual events and adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni from David Peace's electrifying series of novels. An official selection of the Telluride, New York, Chicago and AFI Festivals, and acclaimed by critics an eminent accomplishment, the trilogy follows several characters in intertwining storylines united by the horror wrought by the "Yorkshire Ripper," a serial killer who terrorized northwest England in the 1970s and '80s. The three films are directed by three notable filmmakers and each boasts a stellar British cast that includes Andrew Garfield. (IFC Films)

224. Ailey

Jul 23, 2021 • Rated PG-13

Alvin Ailey was a trailblazing pioneer who found salvation through dance. Ailey traces the full contours of this brilliant and enigmatic man whose search for the truth in movement resulted in enduring choreography that centers on the Black American experience with grace, strength, and unparalleled beauty. Told through Ailey’s own words and featuring evocative archival footage and interviews with those who intimately knew him, director Jamila Wignotweaves together a resonant biography of an elusive visionary.

225. Zulu

Jun 17, 1964 • Rated Approved

Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.

226. Inu-oh

Aug 12, 2022 • Rated PG-13

Born to an esteemed family, Inu-oh is afflicted with an ancient curse that has left him on the margins of society. When he meets the blind musician Tomona, a young biwa priest haunted by his past, Inu-oh discovers a captivating ability to dance. The pair quickly become business partners and inseparable friends as crowds flock to their electric, larger-than-life concerts. But when those in power threaten to break up the band, Inu-oh and Tomona must dance and sing to uncover the truth behind their creative gifts.

227. Prophet's Prey

Sep 18, 2015 • Rated TV-14

When Warren Jeffs rose to Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, he took control of a religion with a history of polygamous and underage marriage. In a short time, Warren managed to expand these practices and the power of his position in unprecedented ways. He bridged the gap between sister wives and ecclesiastically rape, befuddling the moral compass of his entire congregation. The film examines Warren Jeffs' life and shows how he became a worshipped and adored Prophet. Warren has a devout following numbering in the tens of thousands - many of whom would give their life at any moment with just one word from the Prophet. Despite a trail of abuse and ruined lives, Warren has maintained his grip on power.

228. The Promised Land

Feb 2, 2024 • Rated R

In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) sets out to conquer a vast uninhabitable land with a seemingly impossible goal; to cultivate valuable crops and build a colony for the King in exchange for a desperately desired royal name for himself. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, determinedly believes this territory belongs to him. When De Schinkel learns that a recently escaped couple in his employ has taken refuge with Kahlen, the privileged and spiteful ruler swears vengeance, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away. But Kahlen will not waver and nobly takes up the unequal battle - not only risking his life, but also the family of outsiders that has formed around him.

229. How to Change the World

Sep 9, 2015 • Rated Not Rated

In 1971, a group of friends sail into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world's imagination. Using never before seen archive that brings their extraordinary world to life, How To Change The World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement.

230. Maestro

Nov 22, 2023 • Rated R

Netflix's drama traces the complex love story of composer Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), from the time they met in 1946 at a party and continuing through two engagements, a 25-year marriage, and three children.

231. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Jan 31, 1974 • Rated TV-PG

Story of a black woman in the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

232. Tom Jones

Oct 24, 1963 • Rated Not Rated

The romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th century England.

233. Small Axe: Alex Wheatle

Dec 11, 2020 • Rated TV-MA

Alex Wheatle follows the true story of award-winning writer, Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole), from a young boy through his early adult years. Having spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally finds not only a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, but his identity and ability to grow his passion for music and DJ'ing. When he is thrown in prison during the Brixton Uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing.

234. The Beguiled

Jun 23, 2017 • Rated R

The story unfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.

235. Detroit

Jul 28, 2017 • Rated R

Detroit tells the gripping story of one of the darkest moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of '67.

236. The Rape of Europa

Sep 14, 2007 • Rated Unrated

The Rape of Europa is an epic journey through seven countries that follows the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare, which threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For 12 long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on an unprecedented scale in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America, as well as across Europe, fought back. They did so in a miraculous campaign to rescue then return the millions of lost, hidden, and stolen treasures. (Menemsha)

237. Bill Cunningham New York

Mar 16, 2011 • Rated Not Rated

“We all get dressed for Bill,” says Vogue editrix Anna Wintour. The “Bill” in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace. (Zeitgeist Films)

238. Testament of Youth

Jun 5, 2015 • Rated PG-13

Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman's point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it's a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times. [Sony Pictures Classics]

239. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Apr 19, 2019 • Rated Not Rated

Be Natural is both a tribute and a detective story, tracing the circumstances by which pioneer filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché faded from memory and the path toward her reclamation.

240. Corsage

Empress Elisabeth of Austria is known for her beauty and fashion trends. But in 1877, she celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image. With a future of only ceremonial duties in front of her, she rebels against her public image and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.

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