History movies
by NoPantsBatman | created - 19 Oct 2017 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicThis list contains movies that I rated 7 or higher. I'll be updating this list. It's not by order of preference. I hope you enjoy it (:
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1. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 255,163 | Gross: $169.61M
2. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer
Votes: 593,841 | Gross: $67.21M
3. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,710 | Gross: $0.01M
4. The 13th Warrior (1999)
R | 102 min | Action, Adventure, History
A man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land.
Directors: John McTiernan, Michael Crichton | Stars: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Dennis Storhøi, Vladimir Kulich
Votes: 132,073 | Gross: $32.70M
5. The Founder (2016)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini
Votes: 177,184 | Gross: $12.79M
6. 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: 1,450,192 | Gross: $96.90M
7. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,433 | Gross: $161.20M
8. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
Votes: 741,142 | Gross: $56.67M
9. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,271 | Gross: $22.24M
10. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,102 | Gross: $75.60M
11. The Birth of a Nation (2016)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, orchestrates an uprising.
Director: Nate Parker | Stars: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley
Votes: 21,820 | Gross: $15.86M
12. Patriots Day (2016)
R | 133 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists responsible.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman
Votes: 112,432 | Gross: $31.89M
13. Silence (I) (2016)
R | 161 min | Drama, History
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano
Votes: 122,949 | Gross: $7.10M
14. Woman in Gold (2015)
PG-13 | 109 min | Biography, Drama, History
Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes rightfully belongs to her family.
Director: Simon Curtis | Stars: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes
Votes: 63,201 | Gross: $33.31M
15. The Lost City of Z (2016)
PG-13 | 141 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Major Percival Fawcett, who disappeared whilst searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland
Votes: 99,446 | Gross: $8.58M
16. The Big Short (2015)
R | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Votes: 484,318 | Gross: $70.26M
17. Rush (I) (2013)
R | 123 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 513,511 | Gross: $26.95M
18. Free State of Jones (2016)
R | 139 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Keri Russell
Votes: 62,424 | Gross: $20.76M
19. The Hurt Locker (2008)
R | 131 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce
Votes: 473,686 | Gross: $17.02M
20. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 640,925 | Gross: $40.22M
21. American Made (2017)
R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemons
Votes: 208,092 | Gross: $51.34M
22. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Votes: 638,992 | Gross: $136.03M
23. Troy (2004)
R | 163 min | Adventure, Drama
An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Julian Glover
Votes: 570,276 | Gross: $133.38M
24. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Votes: 318,863 | Gross: $95.72M
25. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)
R | 78 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In an alternative Victorian Age Gotham City, Batman begins his war on crime while he investigates a new series of murders by Jack the Ripper.
Director: Sam Liu | Stars: Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, Chris Cox, John DiMaggio
Votes: 18,976
26. The Aviator (2004)
PG-13 | 170 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly
Votes: 384,004 | Gross: $102.61M
27. Valkyrie (2008)
PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Kenneth Branagh
Votes: 259,193 | Gross: $83.08M
28. The Queen (2006)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama
After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings
Votes: 115,974 | Gross: $56.44M
29. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington
Votes: 195,994 | Gross: $17.61M
30. American Sniper (2014)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis
Votes: 529,099 | Gross: $350.13M
31. Truth (I) (2015)
R | 125 min | Biography, Drama, History
Newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS "60 Minutes" report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.
Director: James Vanderbilt | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss
Votes: 21,229 | Gross: $2.54M
32. The Front Runner (2018)
R | 113 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1987, U.S. Senator Gary Hart's presidential campaign is derailed when he's caught in a scandalous love affair.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, Mark O'Brien
Votes: 14,167 | Gross: $2.00M
33. Dark Waters (2019)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama, History
A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman
Votes: 101,714
34. Greyhound (2020)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Drama, History
Several months after the U.S. entry into World War II, an inexperienced U.S. Navy commander must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by a German submarine wolf pack.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham, Matt Helm
Votes: 114,772
35. Darkest Hour (2017)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama, War
In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn
Votes: 220,678 | Gross: $56.47M
36. Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
TV-MA | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former assassin who has resolved to never kill again has his vow sorely tested.
Director: Keishi Otomo | Stars: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Yû Aoi, Munetaka Aoki
Votes: 29,006
37. Being the Ricardos (2021)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers--and another that could end their marriage.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda
Votes: 44,677
38. The Last Duel (2021)
R | 152 min | Action, Drama, History
The Knight Jean de Carrouges must settle the dispute over his wife Marguerite by challenging his former friend to a duel to the death.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Harriet Walter
Votes: 181,944 | Gross: $10.85M
39. Oslo (2021 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 118 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Recounts the true-life, previously secret, back-channel negotiations in the development of the pivotal 1990s Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Director: Bartlett Sher | Stars: Ruth Wilson, Jeff Wilbusch, Andrew Scott, Karel Dobrý
Votes: 5,474
40. Redeeming Love (2022)
PG-13 | 134 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended? Based upon the novel by Francine Rivers.
Director: D.J. Caruso | Stars: Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Eric Dane, Famke Janssen
Votes: 14,108
41. Detroit (2017)
R | 143 min | Crime, Drama, History
Fact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore
Votes: 55,936 | Gross: $16.79M
42. Against the Ice (2022)
TV-MA | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, History
In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Denmark expedition in ice-covered Greenland.
Director: Peter Flinth | Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed, Þorsteinn Bachmann
Votes: 28,387
43. American Animals (2018)
R | 116 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Four young men mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk, Chas Allen
Votes: 49,332 | Gross: $2.86M
44. Sound of Freedom (2023)
PG-13 | 131 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The incredible true story of a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from traffickers.
Director: Alejandro Monteverde | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Bill Camp, Cristal Aparicio
Votes: 113,887
45. Tetris (2023)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of how one of the world's most popular video games found its way to players around the globe. Businessman Henk Rogers and Tetris inventor Alexey Pazhitnov join forces in the USSR, risking it all to bring it to the masses.
Director: Jon S. Baird | Stars: Taron Egerton, Mara Huf, Miles Barrow, Rick Yune
Votes: 83,860
46. 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: 725,188 | Gross: $326.11M
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