Medieval and contemporary historical movies
by sutodoreh1 | created - 07 Apr 2020 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. El Cid (1961)
Approved | 182 min | Biography, Drama, History
The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page
Votes: 15,717 | Gross: $26.62M
2. Luther (2003)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
Director: Eric Till | Stars: Joseph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Peter Ustinov, Alfred Molina
Votes: 16,008 | Gross: $5.79M
3. Napoleon (1927)
330 min | Biography, Drama, History
A film about the French general's youth and early military career.
Director: Abel Gance | Stars: Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmond Van Daële, Alexandre Koubitzky
Votes: 8,800
4. Waterloo (I) (1970)
G | 123 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Facing the decline of everything he has worked to obtain, conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte and his army confront the British at the Battle of Waterloo.
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk | Stars: Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 12,641 | Gross: $3.05M
5. 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: 1,091,985 | Gross: $75.60M
6. Henry V (1944)
Not Rated | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Felix Aylmer
Votes: 7,078
7. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Jim Sturgess
Votes: 120,014 | Gross: $26.81M
8. Elizabeth (1998)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama, History
The early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Liz Giles, Rod Culbertson, Paul Fox
Votes: 105,177 | Gross: $30.08M
9. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Jordi Mollà
Votes: 75,091 | Gross: $16.29M
10. The Madness of King George (1994)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
When King George III goes mad, his Lieutenants try to adjust the rules to run the country without his participation.
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Stars: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Rupert Graves, Amanda Donohoe
Votes: 18,414 | Gross: $15.24M
11. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig
Votes: 187,847 | Gross: $75.51M
12. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
R | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Balian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson, Martin Hancock
Votes: 315,610 | Gross: $47.40M
13. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 471,577 | Gross: $111.11M
14. The Patriot (2000)
R | 165 min | Action, Drama, History
Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs
Votes: 293,661 | Gross: $113.33M
15. The Borgias (2011–2013)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, History
In the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan
Votes: 53,966
16. Medici (2016–2019)
TV-14 | 1,314 min | Biography, Drama, History
A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.
Stars: Daniel Sharman, Alessandra Mastronardi, Synnove Karlsen, Sebastian De Souza
Votes: 22,331
17. Papaflessas (1971)
130 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Under the Ottomans' reign of terror in early-1820s Greece, Papaflessas played a key role in the nation's uprising to gain its independence, until his heroic fall against the tyrants' brutal multitudes, on May 20, 1825.
Director: Errikos Andreou | Stars: Dimitris Papamichael, Alekos Alexandrakis, Angelos Antonopoulos, Katia Dandoulaki
Votes: 923
18. The Souliotes (1972)
91 min | Adventure, Drama, History
As the Revolution against the tyrannical Ottoman Empire rages on, the Souliotes fight tooth and nail to stand their ground. But, disgraceful treason will bring Ali Pasha and his multitudes of soldiers at the gates. Do heroes fear death?
Director: Dimitris Papakonstadis | Stars: Hristos Politis, Katia Dandoulaki, Giannis Katranis, Stefanos Stratigos
Votes: 234
19. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Rab Affleck, Stéphane Algoud
Votes: 69,728 | Gross: $14.28M
20. Theodora, Slave Empress (1954)
Approved | 88 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of Rome. But the divide between nobility and slave is too great. ... See full summary »
Director: Riccardo Freda | Stars: Georges Marchal, Gianna Maria Canale, Renato Baldini, Irene Papas
Votes: 287
21. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,999 | Gross: $15.96M
22. Napoleon (1955)
190 min | Biography, Drama, War
Napoléon Bonaparte's life, loves and exceptional destiny from 1769 to 1821, but as seen through the eyes of Talleyrand, the cynical and ironic politician who once was the Emperor of France's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Director: Sacha Guitry | Stars: Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jeanne Boitel, Pierre Brasseur, Gianna Maria Canale
Votes: 616
23. Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958)
Not Rated | 88 min | Biography, Drama, History
As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Serafima Birman, Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Zharov
Votes: 8,058
24. Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman, Mikhail Nazvanov
Votes: 10,870
25. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Not Rated | 112 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
Directors: Sergei Eisenstein, Dmitriy Vasilev | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitriy Orlov
Votes: 12,265
26. Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020–2022)
TV-MA | 45 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II wages an epic campaign to take the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and shapes the course of history for centuries.
Stars: Cem Yigit Uzümoglu, Tuba Büyüküstün, Alp Ilkman, Ushan Çakir
Votes: 32,932
27. Conquest 1453 (2012)
Not Rated | 162 min | Action, Drama, History
After the death of his father Murat II, Mehmet II ascends to the Ottoman throne. After braving internal and external enemies, he decides to complete what he was destined to do - conquer Constantinople.
Director: Faruk Aksoy | Stars: Devrim Evin, Ibrahim Celikkol, Dilek Serbest, Cengiz Coskun
Votes: 59,096 | Gross: $0.07M
28. Michael Collins (1996)
R | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
Neil Jordan's historical biopic of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, the man who led a guerrilla war against the UK, helped negotiate the creation of the Irish Free State, and led the National Army during the Irish Civil War.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, Ian Hart
Votes: 33,777 | Gross: $11.09M
29. The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)
Not Rated | 127 min | Drama, War
Against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Pádraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald
Votes: 54,662 | Gross: $1.83M
30. Ivanhoe (1952)
Approved | 106 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A knight seeks to free the captive King Richard and put him back on the throne.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
Votes: 10,237
31. 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: 44,771 | Gross: $4.69M
32. Outlaw King (2018)
R | 121 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A true David vs. Goliath story of how the 14th century Scottish 'Outlaw King' Robert the Bruce used cunning and bravery to defeat the much larger and better equipped occupying English army.
Director: David Mackenzie | Stars: Chris Pine, Stephen Dillane, Rebecca Robin, Billy Howle
Votes: 81,024
33. The Three Musketeers (2011)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down-on-their-luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich
Votes: 112,079 | Gross: $20.38M
34. Bloody Sunday (2002)
R | 111 min | Drama, History, War
A dramatization of the Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops on January 30, 1972.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Allan Gildea
Votes: 25,767 | Gross: $0.77M
35. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 314,586 | Gross: $44.82M
36. Scaramouche (1952)
Approved | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
In France during the late 18th Century, a man sets out to avenge the death of his friend at the hands of a master swordsman.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, Eleanor Parker, Mel Ferrer
Votes: 6,369
37. Sword of the Valiant (1984)
PG | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The Green Knight challenges King Arthur's knights. But only young Gawain accepts and decapitates him. The knight takes his head and now gives Gawain one year to learn about virtues, knighthood and then face the challenge himself.
Director: Stephen Weeks | Stars: Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Clair, Leigh Lawson, Sean Connery
Votes: 2,520
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