Best history movies

BrianTubbs · Dec 31, 2006

What do you all think are the very best HISTORICAL films?

Puma · Dec 31, 2006

Captain from Castile, El Cid, Lloyds of London, The Scarlet Pimpernel (fiction but close enough), A Tale of Two Cities, Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind, Doctor Zhivago, Caesar and Cleopatra (Claude Rains, 1948ish), The Blue Max, Prince of Foxes, Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, plus quite a few of the WWII films. (I need to run look at my collection to see what all I missed).

If anyone can come up with the name of the film that was done about Rommel and the North African campaign in which there is a huge sandstorm and some of the German tank operators are buried in their tanks, I'd love to know what it is. It isn't The Desert Fox. It was probably made in the early 50's (hence the lack of remembery). It's one I'd love to see again. Puma

Willowmound · Dec 31, 2006

Das Boot, German six hour (3*2hrs) TV serial about a U-boat crew. Also available as a three hour movie. But get the full set of episodes. Brilliant.

flannelberry · Dec 31, 2006

Not... not... not New World which took me three tries and lots of fast forwarding to get through the overly angsty (and not good angsty) strange brooding scenes.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone but I just watched it and feel the need to warn people.

Best - I loved Dangerous Liasons. It's old I know but good and I think fairly accurate historically speaking. Also the A and E Pride and P.

robeiae · Jan 1, 2007

The Blue Max. But then, I'm partial to the period.

Oh, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It's got the 80's down.

san_remo_ave · Jan 1, 2007

I thought DANGEROUS BEAUTY was a lovely historical movie (renaissance Venice). And ELIZABETH with Cate Blanchett (I thought I heard that a sequel was coming soon, too).

san_remo_ave · Jan 1, 2007

Oh, and I just watched THE LIBERTINE with Johnny Depp which was nicely done historical piece, based on a true-life story. But then, I like just about anything with Johnny Depp in it, so maybe I'm a bit biased on that one.....

Haven't seen that Marie Antoinette movie, yet, but it looked to be pretty interesting, too.

giftedrhonda · Jan 1, 2007

sanremoave said:
I thought DANGEROUS BEAUTY was a lovely historical movie (renaissance Venice). And ELIZABETH with Cate Blanchett (I thought I heard that a sequel was coming soon, too).

I liked both of these, too.

flannelberry · Jan 1, 2007

I haven't seen Dangerous Beauty but obviously should. I would second Elizabeth - striking movie.

alleycat · Jan 1, 2007

Puma said:
If anyone can come up with the name of the film that was done about Rommel and the North African campaign in which there is a huge sandstorm and some of the German tank operators are buried in their tanks, I'd love to know what it is. It isn't The Desert Fox. It was probably made in the early 50's (hence the lack of remembery). It's one I'd love to see again. Puma

Could it have been The Desert Rats? That was the sequel to The Desert Fox. There's a sandstorm in that movie; I don't specifically remember a scene where Germans are buried in their tanks, but then, it's been a long time since I've seen the movie.

Puma · Jan 1, 2007

Hi Alleycat - Thanks so much for the possibility of The Desert Rats (and the fact there's a sandstorm in it). That could be the one. I have no idea who the movie starred - mostly I remember the sandstorm and the plight of the tanks. I must have been about ten when I saw it and it made an impression. Thanks for your help. Puma

alleycat · Jan 1, 2007

James Mason was also in Desert Rats. I may be wrong, but I think Paul Newman was in it as well.

BTW, my local library had the movie, so I requested it.

robeiae · Jan 1, 2007

There's The Steel Lady. It's a flight-of-the-phoenix type thing, where some guys find a German tank that had been buried by a sandstorm, then rebuild it to fight some other guys.

BardSkye · Jan 1, 2007

Midway impressed me when I first saw it, mostly because up until then I'd never seen a war movie that showed both sides.

Das Boot was fascinating.

I should point out, however, that I'm not much of a movie watcher.

alleycat · Jan 1, 2007

Bard's post reminded me of something, I liked Tora! Tora! Tora!

Puma · Jan 1, 2007

And 12 O'clock High and Run Silent, Run Deep. There were a lot of pretty good World War II movies. There's one, and again, I can't remember the name but it was based on a British airfield with memories by one of the pilots who had flown out of it during the war. I'm pretty sure it was a black and white film and started out at the deserted airfield with "ghostly" singing.

James Mason was also in The Desert Fox. I sort of remember The Steel Lady, Robeiae. Puma

BruceJ · Jan 2, 2007

All Quiet on the Western Front. Both the original and the remake have to be up there on the list. Also the Band of Brothers series and Saving Private Ryan have the advantage of state of the art cinematography and special effects to enhance the realism (is that an oxymoron?).

C.bronco · Jan 2, 2007

The Lion in Winter

Cav Guy · Jan 2, 2007

Cross of Iron is right up there as far as I'm concerned. For a good look at life in the Frontier Army it's hard to beat John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." "Hamburger Hill" is good, and oddly enough "Last of the Mohicans" (the Michael Mann version) is well done, too. "The Rough Riders" (with Tom Berringer as Teddy Roosevelt) is also good, as is "The Lost Battalion." Both were made for TV, but are perhaps the best examples of historical movies done in that medium.

I'm not a huge fan of "Saving Private Ryan," but that has more to do with its immediate lapse into every WW2 movie cliche ever done after the first 15 minutes. "A Midnight Clear" is a better (and underrated) movie dealing with WW2, but that's just my opinion.

Brickie · Jan 2, 2007

robeiae said:
The Blue Max. But then, I'm partial to the period.

*boggles*

Isn't that the one where we show the German Offensive of 1918 and have the British troops rising out of their trenches to meet the Germans for a bayonet-fight in no-man's-land?

I didn't know whether to laugh or clutch my face in aghastness. I was aghast.

BrianTubbs · Jan 2, 2007

My list

Best Big Screen Historical Films based on actual events -- Apollo 13, Amistad, Miracle, Sergeant York, Patton and Braveheart

Best Big Screen Historical Films centered on fictional stories, while set in actual history -- Saving Private Ryan, Flyboys

Best TV history movies or miniseries based on actual events -- Band of Brothers, From the Earth to the Moon, The Rough Riders, and The Lost Battalion

Best TV history movies or miniseries based on fictional stories set in actual history -- North and South

**I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but oh well.

alleycat · Jan 2, 2007

I'm surprised no one has Schindler's List on their, uh, list.

Cav Guy · Jan 2, 2007

Brickie said:
*boggles*

Isn't that the one where we show the German Offensive of 1918 and have the British troops rising out of their trenches to meet the Germans for a bayonet-fight in no-man's-land?

I didn't know whether to laugh or clutch my face in aghastness. I was aghast.

I believe you're right. One reason it didn't make my list. "Dawn Patrol" is a better example of the genre.

I forgot to add "Downfall" to my list. Outstanding portrait of Hitler's last days in the bunker in Berlin. HBO also did a stellar movie about the Wansee Conference (where the Final Solution was planned), but I'm having movie title brain block and can't remember the name. Very accurate and well worth watching.

san_remo_ave · Jan 2, 2007

Then there's always the mega-hits like:

GLADIATOR (loved the computer recreated colosseum and roman-era, uh, Rome
BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY
THE PATRIOT
LAST SAMURAI

Or O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? for Depression Era meets the Odyssey... John Goodman as Cyclops, anyone? George Clooney as "Dapper Dan Man" Ulysses Everett McGill, hee hee

pdr · Jan 3, 2007

Definitions please.

I think Brian T is the only one to offer a definition of the history film. He still hasn't defined best!

How about you all go back and define for me why you choose the films you did and how you define them as history films? Are they history because they were set in the past? I mean some of the films mentioned were merely Hollywood history and bore no relationship to the actual history. There are films which were not history at the time they were made, but are wonderful glimpses of the thirties, forties or fifties now. Does that make them history films?

So are history films set in a period of time past or are they about people and events in history?

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