Ancient History
Gladiator (2000)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the
beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend
Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are
happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them.
During the welcome parade a brick falls down from Judah's house and barely
misses the governor. Although Messala knows that they are not guilty he sends
Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah
swears to come back and take revenge.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Middle Ages
Braveheart (1995)
Lion in Winter
(1968)
Christmas 1183--an aging and conniving King Henry II plans a reunion where he
hopes to name his successor. He summons the following people for the holiday:
his scheming but imprisoned wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; his mistress,
Princess Alais, whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and
John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of
France (who is also Alais' brother). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake,
everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their
claim.
Anne of the
Thousand Days (1969)
Henry VIII's obsession with siring a male heir endangers all around him: his
courtiers, his government servants, and, especially, young Anne Boleyn. What
ensues is both more, and less, than a love story; it changes England forever.
Renaissance/Reformation
Elizabeth (1998)
Luther (2003)
The Last Valley (1971)
People in a small German village in the last valley to remain untouched by the
devastating Thirty Years' War try to exist in peace with a group of soldiers
occupying the valley.
Retour de
Martin Guerre, Le (1982)
During the medieval times, Martin Guerre returns to his hometown
in the middle of France, after being away in the war since he was a child.
Nobody recognise him, and the people who knew him suspect he is not Martin, but
he knows all about his family and friends, even the most unusual things. Is this
man really Martin Guerre?
The Agony
and the Ecstasy (1965)
Pope Julius is eager to leave behind works by which he will be
remembered. To this end he cajoles Michelangelo into painting the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel. When not on the battlefield uniting Italy, the Pope nags
Michelangelo to speed up his painful work on the frescoes.
A Man for
All Seasons (1965)
Henry VIII wants to divorce his wife, and seeks the approval of the
aristocracy. Sir Thomas More is a man of principle and reason, and is thus
placed in a difficult position: should he stand up for his principles, risking
the wrath of a corrupt King fond of executing people for treason? Or should he
bow to the seemingly unstoppable corruption of Henry VIII, who has no qualms
about bending the law to suit his own needs?
The Other Boleyn Girl (2007)
Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007)
As the Maya kingdom faces its decline, the rulers insist the key to prosperity is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), a young man chosen for sacrifice, flees the kingdom to avoid his fate
Puritan Revolution
French Revolution
Marie Antoinette "All eyes will be on you," says the Austrian duchess, Maria Theresa to her youngest daughter Marie Antoinette. The film, marketed for a teen audience, is an impressionistic retelling of Marie Antoinette's life as a young queen in the opulent and eccentric court at Versailles. The film focuses on Marie Antoinette, as she matures from a teenage bride to a young woman and eventual queen of France.
Danton-(1983)
Action opens in November of 1793, with Danton returning to Paris from
his country retreat upon learning that the Committee for Public Safety, under
Robespierre's incitement, has begun a series of massive executions, The Terror.
Confident in the peoples' support, Danton clashes with his former ally, but
calculating Robespierre soon rounds up Danton and his followers, tries them
before a revolutionary tribunal and dipatches them to the guillotine.
Waterloo
(1970)
After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of
war, Europe is shocked...
18th Century
The Mission- (1986)Jeremy Irons plays a Spanish Jesuit who goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region. Robert DeNiro plays a slave hunter who is converted and joins Irons in his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portugese aggressors.
Amazing Grace (2007)The idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
Russian and Chinese Revolutions
Nicholas
and Alexandra (1971)
The tragic story of Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, set
against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. It is an inside look into the
private lives of Nicholas and his wife Alexandra, their daughters, and the
painful secret which bound the Imperial Couple to the mystical Rasputin, and the
eventual execution of the entire family.
The Last Emperor (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of
China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of
worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and
dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to
his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic
19th Century
Young Victoria- (2009)A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert
Creation The true story of Charles Darwin (2010)
World War 1
World War II
The Children of Huang Shi (2008) Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers
People thrown into an unexpected and desperate situation discover their capacity for love and responsibility. A young Englishman, George Hogg, comes to lead sixty orphaned boys on a journey of over 500 perilous miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. And how, in doing so, he comes to understand the meaning of courage. During his journey, Hogg learns to rely on the support of Chen, the leader of a Chinese communist partisan group who becomes his closest friend. He soon finds himself falling in love with Lee, a recklessly brave American nurse whom war has turned into an unsentimental healer on horseback. Along the way Hogg befriends Madame Wang, an aristocratic survivor who has also been displaced by war, who helps the young Englishman, his friends and their sixty war orphans make their way across mountain and desert regions to a place of safety near the western end of the Great Wall of China
Enemy at
the Gates (2001) Starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law and Ed Harris
In World War II, the fall of Stalingrad will mean the
collapse of the whole country. The Germans and Russians are fighting over every
block, leaving only ruins behind. The Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev stalks the
Germans, taking them out one by one, thus hurting the morale of the German
troops. The political officer Danilov leads him on, publishing his efforts to
give his countrymen some hope. But Vassili eventually start to feel that he can
not live up to the expectations on him. He and Danilov fall in love with the
same girl, Tanya, a female soldier. From Germany comes the master sniper König
to put an end to the extraordinary skilled Russian sniper.
Schindler's List (1993)
Oskar Schindler is a vain, glorious and greedy German businessman who becomes
unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to
turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar
Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz
concentration camp.
Au revoir,
les enfants (1987)
During WWII, in a Catholic boarding school in the French
countryside, two boys become friends. One is a French boy, Julien Quintin, and
the other is a Jewish boy, Jean Bonnet, who is being hidden from the Nazis by
the friars who run the school. Louis Malle directed this film based on what
actually happened when he was at a boarding school himself during the war.
The King's Speech( 2010)The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. Stars are Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
In 1929 an impoverished nine-year-old named Chiyo from a fishing village is sold
to a geisha house in Kyoto's Gion district and subjected to cruel treatment from
the owners and the head geisha Hatsumomo. Her stunning beauty attracts the
vindictive jealousy of Hatsumomo, until she is rescued by and taken under the
wing of Hatsumomo's bitter rival, Mameha. Under Mameha's mentorship, Chiyo
becomes the geisha named Sayuri, trained in all the artistic and social skills a
geisha must master in order to survive in her society. As a renowned geisha she
enters a society of wealth, privilege, and political intrigue. As World War II
looms Japan and the geisha's world are forever changed by the onslaught of
history.
Cold War
Gandhi
(1982)
The biography of Mahatma Gandhi, who rose from a small-time
lawyer to India's spiritual leader through his philosophy of non-violent but
direct-action protest.
October Sky (1999)
In 1950's mining town called Coalwood, Homer Hickam is a kid with only
one future in sight, to work in the local coalmine like his father. However in
October 1957, everything changes when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik
goes into orbit. With that event, Homer becomes inspired to learn how to build
rockets. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that by
trial and a lot of error. Unfortunately, most of the town and especially Homer's
father thinks that they are wasting their time. Only one teacher in the high
school understands their efforts and lets them know that they could become
contenders in the national science fair with college scholarships being the
prize. Now the gang must learn to perfect their craft and overcome the many
problems facing them as they shoot for the stars.
Post Cold War/Post Colonialism
Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the
regime. His mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack
and falls into a coma. Some months later, the GDR does not exist anymore and the
mother awakes. Since she has to avoid every excitement, the son tries to set up
the GDR again for her in their flat. But the world has changed a lot...
Battaglia
di Algeri, La (1966)
A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the
Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam
in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence.
The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's
use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and
sullies everyone who participates in it.
Hotel
Rwanda (2004)
Ten years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of
mankind took place in the country of Rwanda--and in an era of high-speed
communication and round the clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the
rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally
murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his
family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over
a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.
The
Class (2008)
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau
plays a version of himself as he negotiates
a year with his racially mixed students from
a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Invictus(2009)
From director Clint Eastwood, “Invictus” tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.
The Last King of Scotland (2006)(Warning Rated R)In an incredible twist of fate, a Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin's savagery - and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.
The Queen(2006)-After the death of Princess Diana, HRM Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted
Welcome (2009)Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe. He wants to get to England to see his love who lives there. Bilal finally reaches Calais, but how do you cover 32 kilometers of the English Channel when you can't swim? The boy soon discovers that his trip won't be as easy as he imagined... The community of struggling illegal aliens in Calais is captured with authenticity, from the point of view of people who arrived there knowing nothing about France. This immigrant drama, with wonderful performances by the actors, is a strong story which uses documentary austerity and minimalist style to create a great emotional impact.