Best movies of all time inspired by great historical events
Some of the best plots in screenplays come from iconic moments in world history, from the Crusades to the American Civil War, which are retold and reexamined through film numerous times. Many actors jump at the chance to play revered characters from years past, while others shy away from taking the place of men and women who started real revolutions. While you think you may know as much as you can about a certain historical leader or moment in history class, movies inspired by historical events often tell long-forgotten parts of history.
Read on to find out the top-rated film portraying the life of Jesus, early American history, world wars, and more major historical events.
Life of Jesus: ‘The Gospel According to St. Matthew’
- – Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
- – IMDb user rating: 7.7
- – Metascore: data not available
- – Runtime: 137 minutes
- – Year released: 1964
Triumph of the Roman Empire: ‘Gladiator’
- – Director: Ridley Scott
- – IMDb user rating: 8.5
- – Metascore: 67
- – Runtime: 155 minutes
- – Year released: 2000
The Trial of Joan of Arc: ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’
- – Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
- – IMDb user rating: 8.1
- – Metascore: data not available
- – Runtime: 114 minutes
- – Year released: 1928
Atlantic slave trade: ‘Amistad’
- – Director: Steven Spielberg
- – IMDb user rating: 7.3
- – Metascore: 63
- – Runtime: 155 minutes
- – Year released: 1997
French and Indian War: ‘The Last of the Mohicans’
- – Director: Michael Mann
- – IMDb user rating: 7.7
- – Metascore: 76
- – Runtime: 112 minutes
- – Year released: 1992
The American Revolution: ‘Hamilton’
- – Director: Thomas Kail
- – IMDb user rating: 8.5
- – Metascore: 90
- – Runtime: 160 minutes
- – Year released: 2020
Napoleonic Wars: ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’
- – Director: Peter Weir
- – IMDb user rating: 7.4
- – Metascore: 81
- – Runtime: 138 minutes
- – Year released: 2003
The Civil War: ‘Dances with Wolves’
- – Director: Kevin Costner
- – IMDb user rating: 8.0
- – Metascore: 72
- – Runtime: 181 minutes
- – Year released: 1990
World War I: ‘Paths of Glory’
- – Director: Stanley Kubrick
- – IMDb user rating: 8.4
- – Metascore: 90
- – Runtime: 88 minutes
- – Year released: 1957
Russian Revolution: ‘Doctor Zhivago’
- – Director: David Lean
- – IMDb user rating: 8.0
- – Metascore: 69
- – Runtime: 197 minutes
- – Year released: 1965
Irish Civil War: ‘The Wind that Shakes the Barley’
- – Director: Ken Loach
- – IMDb user rating: 7.5
- – Metascore: 82
- – Runtime: 127 minutes
- – Year released: 2006
Nazi concentration camps: ‘Schindler’s List’
- – Director: Steven Spielberg
- – IMDb user rating: 8.9
- – Metascore: 94
- – Runtime: 195 minutes
- – Year released: 1993
D-Day: ‘Saving Private Ryan’
- – Director: Steven Spielberg
- – IMDb user rating: 8.6
- – Metascore: 91
- – Runtime: 169 minutes
- – Year released: 1998
Life of Gandhi: ‘Gandhi’
- – Director: Richard Attenborough
- – IMDb user rating: 8.0
- – Metascore: 79
- – Runtime: 191 minutes
- – Year released: 1982
The Vietnam War: ‘Apocalypse Now’
- – Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- – IMDb user rating: 8.4
- – Metascore: 94
- – Runtime: 147 minutes
- – Year released: 1979
U.S. Civil Rights Movement: ‘Malcolm X’
- – Director: Spike Lee
- – IMDb user rating: 7.7
- – Metascore: 73
- – Runtime: 202 minutes
- – Year released: 1992
Assassination of JFK: ‘JFK’
- – Director: Oliver Stone
- – IMDb user rating: 8.0
- – Metascore: 72
- – Runtime: 189 minutes
- – Year released: 1991
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: ‘Selma’
- – Director: Ava DuVernay
- – IMDb user rating: 7.5
- – Metascore: 80
- – Runtime: 128 minutes
- – Year released: 2014
The moon landing: ‘The Right Stuff’
- – Director: Philip Kaufman
- – IMDb user rating: 7.8
- – Metascore: 91
- – Runtime: 193 minutes
- – Year released: 1983
Watergate: ‘All the President’s Men’
- – Director: Alan J. Pakula
- – IMDb user rating: 8.0
- – Metascore: 84
- – Runtime: 138 minutes
- – Year released: 1976
Apartheid: ‘District 9’
- – Director: Neill Blomkamp
- – IMDb user rating: 7.9
- – Metascore: 81
- – Runtime: 112 minutes
- – Year released: 2009
The Cold War: ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’
- – Director: Stanley Kubrick
- – IMDb user rating: 8.4
- – Metascore: 97
- – Runtime: 95 minutes
- – Year released: 1964
Rwandan genocide: ‘Hotel Rwanda’
- – Director: Terry George
- – IMDb user rating: 8.1
- – Metascore: 79
- – Runtime: 121 minutes
- – Year released: 2004
9/11: ‘United 93’
- – Director: Paul Greengrass
- – IMDb user rating: 7.6
- – Metascore: 90
- – Runtime: 111 minutes
- – Year released: 2006
2007 financial crisis: ‘The Big Short’
- – Director: Adam McKay
- – IMDb user rating: 7.8
- – Metascore: 81
- – Runtime: 130 minutes
- – Year released: 2015
Read Also
The 25 Best Movies of All Time Inspired by Great Historical Events: Life of Jesus: ‘The Gospel According to St. Matthew’, Triumph of the Roman Empire: ‘Gladiator’, The Trial of Joan of Arc: ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’…..
The 25 Best Movies of All Time Inspired by Great Historical Events (With Image)
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