human rights movies
by somaya_eltaher | created - 28 Apr 2017 | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Life of David Gale (2003)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Cleo King
Votes: 125,776 | Gross: $19.59M
2. Suffragette (2015)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, History
In 1912 London, a young working mother is galvanized into radical political activism supporting the right for women to vote, and is willing to meet violence with violence to achieve this end.
Director: Sarah Gavron | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep
Votes: 44,641 | Gross: $4.69M
3. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,578 | Gross: $31.84M
4. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
Director: Terry George | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
Votes: 371,185 | Gross: $23.53M
5. Beyond Borders (2003)
R | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
The world's cruelty is confronted with the love of two different people who try to save humanity from poverty and war.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Clive Owen, Angelina Jolie, Linus Roache, Teri Polo
Votes: 29,031 | Gross: $4.43M
6. The Danish Girl (2015)
R | 119 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 198,855 | Gross: $11.11M
7. The Help (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Drama
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 491,076 | Gross: $169.71M
8. Battle in Seattle (2007)
R | 98 min | Action, Drama, History
Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings.
Director: Stuart Townsend | Stars: André 3000, Jennifer Carpenter, Isaach De Bankolé, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 15,156 | Gross: $0.22M
9. Erin Brockovich (2000)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick
Votes: 220,103 | Gross: $125.60M
10. V for Vendetta (2005)
R | 132 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.
Director: James McTeigue | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea
Votes: 1,176,289 | Gross: $70.51M
11. Spotlight (I) (2015)
R | 129 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Director: Tom McCarthy | Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 500,607 | Gross: $45.06M
12. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
R | 117 min | Biography, Drama
In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Steve Zahn
Votes: 517,783 | Gross: $27.30M
13. Bridge of Spies (2015)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, History, Thriller
During 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.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan
Votes: 326,979 | Gross: $72.31M
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: 62,940 | Gross: $33.31M
15. Dragonfly (2002)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A grieving doctor is being contacted by his deceased wife through his patients' near death experiences.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Kevin Costner, Susanna Thompson, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin
Votes: 39,903 | Gross: $30.32M
16. Fair Game (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison, Vanessa Chong
Votes: 50,958 | Gross: $9.53M
17. Snowden (2016)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 162,497 | Gross: $21.59M
18. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 860,471 | Gross: $4.36M
19. Loving (2016)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.
Director: Jeff Nichols | Stars: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton, Dean Mumford
Votes: 36,306 | Gross: $7.70M
20. The Post (2017)
PG-13 | 116 min | Biography, Drama, History
A cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk
Votes: 161,629 | Gross: $81.90M
21. All the President's Men (1976)
PG | 138 min | Drama, History, Thriller
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Votes: 125,605 | Gross: $70.60M
22. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 380,867 | Gross: $83.04M
23. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 257,334 | Gross: $77.32M
24. Trumbo (2015)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K.
Votes: 84,664 | Gross: $7.86M
25. Marshall (2017)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown
Votes: 26,651 | Gross: $10.05M
26. Iron Jawed Angels (2004 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
A little known, yet integral piece of American history: based on the lives of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, two young radical women who were instrumental in getting women the right to vote in America.
Director: Katja von Garnier | Stars: Hilary Swank, Margo Martindale, Anjelica Huston, Frances O'Connor
Votes: 6,408
27. The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1971, twenty-four male students are selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez | Stars: Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Billy Crudup, Olivia Thirlby
Votes: 46,017 | Gross: $0.64M
28. The Great Debaters (2007)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.
Director: Denzel Washington | Stars: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker
Votes: 62,687 | Gross: $30.23M
29. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
R | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III
Votes: 103,080 | Gross: $11.53M
30. 22 July (2018)
R | 143 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A three-part story of Norway's worst terrorist attack in which over seventy people were killed. 22 July looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jonas Strand Gravli, Jon Øigarden, Maria Bock
Votes: 37,397
31. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama
The story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson
Votes: 100,490 | Gross: $20.19M
32. E-Team (2014)
88 min | Documentary, War
When atrocities are committed in countries held hostage by ruthless dictators, Human Rights Watch sends in the E-Team (Emergencies Team), a collection of fiercely intelligent individuals ... See full summary »
Directors: Katy Chevigny, Ross Kauffman | Stars: Anna Neistat, Ole Solvang, Peter Bouckaert, Fred Abrahams
Votes: 946
33. Citizenfour (2014)
R | 114 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Jacob Appelbaum
Votes: 57,873 | Gross: $2.80M
34. Feminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)
86 min | Documentary
Feminists: What Were They Thinking? takes aim at our current culture revealing all too vividly the urgent need for continued change.
Director: Johanna Demetrakas | Stars: Bella Abzug, Laurie Anderson, Phyllis Chesler, Judy Chicago
Votes: 2,471
35. Battle of the Sexes (2017)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman
Votes: 59,723 | Gross: $12.64M
36. 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: 590,588 | Gross: $67.21M
37. A Twelve-Year Night (2018)
TV-MA | 122 min | Adventure, Biography, Crime
1973. Uruguay is governed by a military dictatorship. One autumn night, three Tupamaro prisoners are taken from their jail cells in a secret military operation. The order is precise: "As we can't kill them, let's drive them mad."
Director: Álvaro Brechner | Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Chino Darín, Alfonso Tort, César Troncoso
Votes: 10,935
38. The Square (2013)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Ahmed Hassan, Khalid Abdalla, Magdy Ashour, Ramy Essam
Votes: 9,389 | Gross: $0.12M
39. You Don't Know Jack (2010 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 134 min | Biography, Drama
A look at the life and work of doctor-assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Al Pacino, Brenda Vaccaro, John Goodman, Deirdre O'Connell
Votes: 30,285
40. Boy Erased (2018)
R | 115 min | Biography, Drama
The son of a Baptist preacher unwillingly participates in a church-supported gay conversion program after being forcibly outed to his parents.
Director: Joel Edgerton | Stars: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Russell Crowe
Votes: 42,010 | Gross: $6.79M
41. On the Basis of Sex (2018)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
The true story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights, and the early cases of a historic career that lead to her nomination and confirmation as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Sam Waterston
Votes: 38,150 | Gross: $24.62M
42. I Am Not an Easy Man (2018)
98 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A shameless chauvinist gets a taste of his own medicine when he wakes up in a world dominated by women and locks horns with a powerful female author.
Director: Eléonore Pourriat | Stars: Vincent Elbaz, Marie-Sophie Ferdane, Pierre Benezit, Blanche Gardin
Votes: 15,733
43. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
R | 129 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong
Votes: 192,636
44. One Night in Miami... (2020)
R | 114 min | Drama
A fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.
Director: Regina King | Stars: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
Votes: 34,194
45. Escape from Pretoria (2020)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Crime, Mystery
Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.
Director: Francis Annan | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter
Votes: 43,204
46. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
R | 126 min | Biography, Drama, History
Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
Director: Shaka King | Stars: LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback
Votes: 91,112
47. The Mauritanian (2021)
R | 129 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Mohamedou Ould Slahi fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Nouhe Hamady Bari, Saadna Hamoud, Mohamed Yeslem Mousse
Votes: 61,309
48. The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
R | 126 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Follows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she has a tumultuous affair.
Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, Natasha Lyonne
Votes: 14,620
49. The Report (I) (2019)
R | 119 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.
Director: Scott Z. Burns | Stars: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Ted Levine
Votes: 50,517
50. When They See Us (2019)
TV-MA | 296 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.
Stars: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Marquis Rodriguez
Votes: 137,165
51. Mrs. America (2020)
TV-MA | 51 min | Biography, Drama, History
Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly leads an unexpected fight against the Equal Rights Amendment movement during the 1970s.
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Banks, Uzo Aduba
Votes: 13,495
52. Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (2022)
TV-MA | 49 min | Documentary, Crime
Examines the rise of Warren Jeffs in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and his shocking criminal case.
Stars: Mike Watkiss, Rebecca Musser, Elissa Wall, Ruby Jessop
Votes: 15,935
53. Argentina, 1985 (2022)
R | 140 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina's bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time.
Director: Santiago Mitre | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Gina Mastronicola, Francisco Bertín, Santiago Armas Estevarena
Votes: 30,869
54. She Said (2022)
R | 129 min | Drama, History
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's quest to break the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Director: Maria Schrader | Stars: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Lola Petticrew
Votes: 39,160
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