Historical Dramas - AD 1950 - 2000
A list of historical drama films and television series set in the second half of the 20th century.
The list follows a chronological order based on the historical setting. For the most part, these are films and television series that I've seen and evaluated.
In those cases where the setting remains uncertain, I tried to approximate it as much as possible based on the clues provided by the plot and also on my personal historical knowledge.
Some of the dates provided may be subject to future corrections, especially for those films that I've yet to see or for those I haven't watched in a long time.
This list is also based on personal assessments. For this reason, I've not included those films and television series that do not reflect my valuation standards.
Andres Contos aka Siddo Vicio
The list follows a chronological order based on the historical setting. For the most part, these are films and television series that I've seen and evaluated.
In those cases where the setting remains uncertain, I tried to approximate it as much as possible based on the clues provided by the plot and also on my personal historical knowledge.
Some of the dates provided may be subject to future corrections, especially for those films that I've yet to see or for those I haven't watched in a long time.
This list is also based on personal assessments. For this reason, I've not included those films and television series that do not reflect my valuation standards.
Andres Contos aka Siddo Vicio
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- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsNick NolteMelanie GriffithJennifer ConnellyIn 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.1950
- DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsSaoirse RonanEmory CohenDomhnall GleesonAn Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.1951
- CreatorPeter MorganStarsClaire FoyOlivia ColmanImelda StauntonFollows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.1951-1977
Note: from the 2nd episode of Season 1 up to Season 3 - DirectorStephen DaldryStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonWith King George too ill to travel, Elizabeth and Phillip embark on a four-continent Commonwealth tour. Party leaders attempt to undermine Churchill.1951-1952
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsCarmen MauraRiccardo ReimDomenico FortunatoFamily of stray artists disguised their son in a woman and trying to steal the bequest of a rich stranger by force of old gypsy habit.1952
- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsChris PineCasey AffleckBen FosterThe Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.1952
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonWith Elizabeth in a new role, Phillip tries to assert some power. Churchill wants to delay the coronation. King George's disgraced brother arrives.1952
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVanessa KirbyWhen dense fog cripples London for days and creates a serious health hazard, Churchill's inaction leaves him vulnerable to his political enemies.1952
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsIngrid BergmanGeorge SandersMaria MaubanAn unhappily married couple attempts to find direction and insight while vacationing in Naples.1953
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsDavid StrathairnGeorge ClooneyPatricia ClarksonBroadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.1953
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonElizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.1953
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonMargaret and Peter come to Elizabeth with a request. With a royal scandal about to break in the newspapers, the Queen Mother intervenes.1953
- DirectorBenjamin CaronStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonAs the Soviets test the H-bomb, both Churchill and Eden have major health crises. Angry about her inadequate education, Elizabeth hires a tutor.1953
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsSteve BuscemiSimon Russell BealeJeffrey TamborMoscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.1953
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonElizabeth and Phillip go on an exhausting world journey. Margaret takes over some of her sister's official duties and tries to liven things up.1953-1954
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioEmily MortimerMark RuffaloTeddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.1954
- DirectorBenjamin CaronStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonAs tensions with Phillip increase, Elizabeth spends time with her old friend Porchey. Churchill's portrait is painted for his 80th birthday.1954-1955
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.1954-1960 (aka "The Battle of Algiers")
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.1954-1981
- DirectorPhilip MartinStarsClaire FoyMatt SmithVictoria HamiltonMargaret and Peter are reunited, but another obstacle stands in their way. Elizabeth is torn between her duty as Queen and her love for her sister.1955
- DirectorJames StrongStarsDean AndrewsKate AshfieldNatalie BurtBased on the true story of Manchester United's legendary "Busby Babes", the youngest side ever to win the Football League, and the 1958 Munich Air Crash that claimed eight of their number.1956-1958
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMark RylanceAlan AldaDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.1957-1961
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsWilliam ShatnerFrank MaxwellBeverly LunsfordA charismatic "social reformer" rallies the white populace of a Southern town to oppose school integration, but he soon finds himself in a situation that he cannot control.1958
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsRex HarrisonKay KendallJohn SaxonWhile visiting her father, an American teenage girl is thrown into London society during its "Debutante Season."1958
- DirectorJulie TaymorStarsEvan Rachel WoodJim SturgessJoe AndersonThe music of The Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.1960-1970
- CreatorMatthew WeinerStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserA drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.1960-1971
- StarsTom HanksNick SearcyLane SmithDramatized portrayal of the Apollo manned space program.1961-1972
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.1961-1969
- DirectorFrancesco RosiStarsRod SteigerSalvo RandoneGuido AlbertiPrior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.1963
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanBill NighyNick FrostA band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.1966-67
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJohn BoyegaAnthony MackieAlgee SmithFact-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.1967
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.1967-1968
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.1967-1968
- DirectorCarlo LizzaniStarsGian Maria VolontèDon BackyRay LovelockA detective is assigned to head a manhunt for four violent bank robbers.1968
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.1968-1979
- DirectorTodd Douglas MillerStarsNeil ArmstrongMike CollinsBuzz AldrinA look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.1969
- DirectorMarco Tullio GiordanaStarsValerio MastandreaPierfrancesco FavinoMichela CesconA chronicle of the 1969 bombing at a major national bank in Milan and its aftermath.1969-1972
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.1969-1991
- DirectorElio PetriStarsGian Maria VolontèFlorinda BolkanGianni SantuccioA chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.1970
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksBill PaxtonKevin BaconNASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.1970
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).1970-1985
- DirectorYann DemangeStarsJack O'ConnellSam ReidSean HarrisIn 1971, a young and disoriented British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the deadly streets of Belfast.1971
- CreatorDahvi WallerStarsCate BlanchettRose ByrneElizabeth BanksConservative activist Phyllis Schlafly leads an unexpected fight against the Equal Rights Amendment movement during the 1970s.1971-80
Episode 1: 1971-72
Episode 2-3: 1972
Episode 4: 1973
Episode 5: 1973-74
Episode 6: 1974-76
Episode 7-8: 1977
Episode 9: 1978-80 - DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsGian Maria VolontèFabio GarribaCarla TatòA populist right-wing tabloid newspaper tries to derail the official police investigation of a brutal murder of a young girl in order to help the fascist and right-wing candidates it supports in the upcoming elections.1972
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsEthan HawkeVincent SpanoJosh HamiltonAfter crash-landing in the snowswept Andes, a Uruguayan rugby team has no choice but to turn to desperate measures in order to survive.1972
- DirectorMichele PlacidoStarsFabrizio BentivoglioMichele PlacidoOmero AntonuttiAn intriguing look at a sinister web of power, linking politics and the mafia in modern day Italy.1974-1979
- DirectorRon HowardStarsFrank LangellaMichael SheenKevin BaconA dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.1977
- StarsVinicio MarchioniAlessandro RojaMarco BocciThis crime drama, set in Rome in the 1970s, tells the story of the Banda della Magia, a prolific Italian crime family responsible for some of the country's most violent crimes.1977-1989
- DirectorGiuseppe FerraraStarsGian Maria VolontèMattia SbragiaBruno ZaninThe story of the infamous 1978 kidnapping of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro by the left-wing terrorists from the Red Brigades.1978
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsMaya SansaLuigi Lo CascioRoberto HerlitzkaThe 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.1978
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing 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 1979.1979-1980
- DirectorGiuseppe FerraraStarsOmero AntonuttiPamela VilloresiGiancarlo GianniniThis movie attempts to reconstruct the bankruptcy of the Banco Ambrosiano and its liaisons with the Vatican and the Masonry through the story of its President Roberto Calvi (Omero Antonutti), who was notoriously found dead under the Blackfriars Bridge in London, England in June 1982.1981-1982
- DirectorGiuseppe FerraraStarsMichele PlacidoAnna BonaiutoMassimo BonettiThe story of the first ever "anti-mafia judges pool" established in the '80s at the Palermo Courthouse, in Sicily, in the '80s, while two mafia families started a 10-year-long war to obtain the complete control of smuggles. Giovanni Falcone was the most important of them: he discovered the liaisons between mafia and politicians, working along with Rocco Chinnici and Paolo Borsellino. Rocco Chinnici was killed by Mafia in the middle '80s, with a bomb. Giovanni Falcone was killed by mafia in 5/23/1992, with more than 100 kilograms of TNT placed under the highway between Palermo and the Punta Raisi airport, and he died along with his wife and three police officers from the VIP Protection Bureau. Paolo Borsellino was killed by mafia 50 days later, with a bomb-car placed under his mother's house, and he died along with many police officers from the VIP Protection Bureau.1981-1992
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsPierfrancesco FavinoMaria Fernanda CândidoFabrizio FerracaneThe real life of Tommaso Buscetta, the so-called "boss of the two worlds," the first mafia informant in Sicily in the 1980s.1981-2000
- DirectorGiuseppe FerraraStarsLino VenturaGiuliana de SioArnoldo FoàIn the late 1970s and early 80s, assassinations in Sicily get the attention of Communist deputy, Pio La Torre, who appeals to General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa to become prefect in Palermo and take on the Mafia. Dalla Chiesa approaches the job with the same focus and methods he used in hunting down the Red Brigade. His sweetheart, the much-younger Setti Carraro (everyone calls her Emanuela), wants to be with him in Palermo, but he sends her away, knowing he is in danger. Then, a few months into office, he asks her to marry him, and he tries to be both husband and investigator. Meanwhile, the Mafia bankers are feeling the heat, and they start with La Torre.1982
- DirectorShane MeadowsStarsThomas TurgooseStephen GrahamJo HartleyA young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.1983
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsDavid MorrisseyMatt BlairMichael SheenFollows the rise to power of Tony Blair, and his friendship and rivalry with his contemporary, Gordon Brown.1983-1994
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsMichael FassbenderKate WinsletSeth RogenSteve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.1984-1998
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSigourney WeaverBryan BrownJulie HarrisThe story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.1985
- StarsDomenico CiaramitaroGiovanni GuardianoFabrizio ColicaA TV series to tell, with the language of docu-fiction, the story of the 1986-87 "Maxi-trial" against Cosa Nostra in Palermo, Italy. Instructed by the Anti-Mafia pool, led by Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the story of this historical process and of its exceptional numbers (476 defendants, 200 lawyers, a 8,000-pages-long verdict, 19 life sentences and 2,665 total years of prison) is recounted through the real images from court audiences (thousands of hours of audiovisual material that RAI Teche have restored, digitized, studied and investigated), enriched by reconstructions with fictional scenes.1986-1987
- CreatorCraig MazinStarsJessie BuckleyJared HarrisStellan SkarsgårdIn April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.1986-1988
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.1990-1995
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsGeorge ClooneyMark WahlbergIce CubeIn the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.1991
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloAnna BonaiutoGiulio BosettiThe story of Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, who has served as Prime Minister of Italy seven times since the restoration of democracy in 1946.1991-1993
- CreatorAlessandro FabbriLudovica RampoldiStefano SardoStarsStefano AccorsiGuido CaprinoMiriam LeoneFollows six people whose lives are intertwined with the rapidly changing political landscape of early 90's Italy.1992
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.1993
- CreatorAlessandro FabbriLudovica RampoldiStefano SardoStarsStefano AccorsiGuido CaprinoMiriam LeoneItalian drama based in the turbulent political landscape of 1990s Italy.1993
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.1994
- StarsRafael Sebastián Guillén VicenteCarlos Salinas de GortariArchival video and new interviews provide an investigative look at Mexican politics in 1994, a year marked by the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio.1994-2011
- DirectorJohn MooreStarsGene HackmanOwen WilsonGabriel MachtA disillusioned pilot shot down over war-torn Bosnia goes on the run from the local military and an assassin, as his commanding officer risks all to save him.1995
- DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsJason ClarkeAng Phula SherpaThomas M. WrightOn May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.1996
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsHelen MirrenMichael SheenJames CromwellAfter the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.1997
- CreatorDan FuttermanAlex GibneyLawrence WrightStarsJeff DanielsTahar RahimWrenn SchmidtA look at how the rivalry between the CIA and FBI inadvertently set the stage for the tragedy of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan.1998-2001
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsBradley CooperSienna MillerKyle GallnerNavy 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.1998-2013
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsLeonardo DiCaprioDjimon HounsouJennifer ConnellyA fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.1999