Historical films
Films inspired by historical events or characters, or even popular myths of each time worth watching, placed in chronological order.
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79 titles
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.pre-historical ages
- DirectorFelix RandauStarsJürgen VogelAndré HennickeSusanne WuestThe Ötztal Alps, more than 5300 years ago. A Neolithic clan has settled near a creek. It is their leader Kelab's responsibility to be the keeper of the group's holy shrine Tineka. While Kelab is hunting, the settlement is attacked.circa 5400 BC
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando BloomAn adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.circa 1200 BC
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsIrene PapasGiannis FertisAleka KatselliLiving in exile after their father's death, the children of an usurped and murdered king converge to exact eye-for-an-eye revenge.Euripides' adaptation. Written 420 B.C. Time period of the film: early 12th century BC
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsKatharine HepburnVanessa RedgraveGeneviève BujoldThe women of Troy face enslavement after the fall of their city.Euripides' adaptation. Written 415 B.C. Time period of the film: early 12th century BC
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsIrene PapasKostas KazakosKostas KarrasTo appease offended gods before going to war, a commander must sacrifice his favorite daughter to them but does so under the pretext of marrying her off.Euripides' adaptation. Written 414 B.C. Time period of the film: early 12th century BC
- DirectorJerzy KawalerowiczStarsJerzy ZelnikWieslawa MazurkiewiczBarbara BrylskaYoung Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers.1107–1078/77 BC
- DirectorBrian BlessedTony RotherhamStarsBrian BlessedHildegard NeilJason RiddingtonKing Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his other two daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.Shakespeare's adaptation. Written between 1603 - 1606. Time period of the film: 800 BC
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.480 BC
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsJean SylvèreAnne CaprileGiuseppe MannajuoloA false accusation leads the philosopher Socrates to trial and condemnation in 4th century BC Athens.~470 - 399 B.C.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsColin FarrellAnthony HopkinsRosario DawsonAlexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.356 - 323 BC
- StarsJeremy SistoRichard HarrisChristopher WalkenTwenty-year-old Julius Caeser flees Rome for his life during the reign of Sulla, but through skill and ambition rises four decades later to become Rome's supreme dictator.100 - 44 B.C.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.73 - 71 BC
- DirectorBill AndersonStarsAlex KingstonSteven WaddingtonEmily BluntBoudica, the Warrior Queen on Britain, leads her tribe into rebellion against the Roman Empire and the mad Emperor of Rome Nero.60 BC
- CreatorBruno HellerWilliam J. MacDonaldJohn MiliusStarsKevin McKiddRay StevensonPolly WalkerA down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.52 - 30 BC
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsPeter O'TooleCharlotte RamplingVittoria BelvedereCaesar Augustus tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia following the death of her husband Agrippa.49 B.C. - 14 A.D.
- DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.circa 30 - 41 A.D.
- StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.12 B.C. - 54 A.D.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMartin PotterHiram KellerMax BornA series of disjointed mythical tales set in first-century Rome.Fellini's adaptation from Petronius. Time period of the film: 1st century AD
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsMichael FassbenderDominic WestOlga KurylenkoA splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.117 AD
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsChanning TatumJamie BellDonald SutherlandIn Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.140 AD
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.180 AD
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsRachel WeiszMax MinghellaOscar IsaacA historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.360 - 415 AD
- StarsPauline LynchSteven BerkoffAndrew PleavinIn 400 AD, the Roman Empire is the greatest power in the world. But to the east a fierce people arose: the Huns. They believe in a prophecy about a great king who will unite the tribes and challenge Rome for control of the world.406 - 453 AD
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsClive OwenStephen DillaneKeira KnightleyA demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.early 5th century.