History backdrop

History movies

Period pieces that transport you back in time, recreating the events and figures that shaped our past.

Subgenres include: Historical Event, Biographical History, Political History.

161. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Music Documentary History
8.8
20211h 57min

Overview

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.


162. 12 Mighty Orphans

Overview

Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.

Themes

Resilience under hardship, Mentorship and leadership, Community impact, Exploitation and oppression, Teamwork against odds, Sport as social uplift

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

163. Oslo

Oslo
TV Movie Drama History
6.7
20211h 58min

Overview

The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.


164. The Bad Poet

The Bad Poet
History Drama
6.3
20211h 46min

Overview

1936. Giovanni Comini, the youngest Federal in Fascist Italy, is summoned to Rome for a delicate mission: to surveil aging national poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, whose increasingly restless behavior Mussolini fears could damage his alliance with Nazi Germany. However, after spending time with D'Annunzio, Comini finds himself torn between loyalty to the Party and his fascination with the poet, who will put his burgeoning career at risk.


165. Cliff Walkers

Cliff Walkers
Thriller Crime History Drama
6.5
20212h

Overview

In the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, four Communist party special agents, after returning to China, embark on a secret mission. Sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides.


166. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
Action Adventure History Drama Epic Action
7.2
20212h 18min

Overview

In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Memory and trauma, Revenge cycles, Grudges fueling conflict, Violence as catalyst, Hidden past shaping actions

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

167. The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Overview

Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."

Themes

Surveillance pressures, Fbi agent dynamics, War on drugs crackdown, Ban from profession consequences, Heroin addiction toll, Betrayal within industry

Available on

Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

168. The Auschwitz Report

The Auschwitz Report
Drama History War
6.6
20211h 35min

Overview

This is the true story of Freddy and Walter – two young Slovak Jews, who were deported to Auschwitz in 1942. On 10 April 1944, after meticulous planning, they manage to escape. While the inmates they had left behind courageously stand their ground against the Nazi officers, the two men are driven on by the hope that their evidence could save lives.


169. Quo Vadis, Aida?

Overview

Bosnia, July 1995. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people – rescue or death? Which move should she take?

Themes

Survival under duress, Genocide memory, Translator as information conduit, Human costs of conflict, 1990s context, Bosnian war tension

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

170. Judas and the Black Messiah

Overview

Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Based on true story, Assassination risk, Betrayal by friend, 1960s tensions, African american history

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.