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.

201. Little Women

Little Women
Drama Romance History Historical Drama Passionate Romance
7.8
20192h 15minUnited States
Director: Greta Gerwig

Overview

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Themes

Sibling bonds under pressure, Female authorship and ambition, Coming of age under constraint, Class and social expectations, Romance and autonomy, Family duty and sacrifice

Available on

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

202. Just Mercy

Just Mercy
Drama Crime History Legal Drama Biographical History
7.6
20192h 17minUnited States
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Overview

The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.

Themes

Racial injustice under law, Coercion-driven testimony reversal, Appeal and retrial pressure, Advocacy confronting system bias, Disenfranchised seeking equality, Media scrutiny shaping juries

Available on

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

203. Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell
Drama History Biographical History Historical Drama
7.5
20192h 11minUnited States
Director: Clint Eastwood

Overview

Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.

Themes

Media bias shaping perception, Authority accountability under spotlight, Public memory shaped by reporting, Glory seeking and media manipulation, Institutional scrutiny under pressure, False accusations under procedural pressure

Available on

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

204. The Two Popes

The Two Popes
Drama History Historical Drama Biographical History
7.6
20192h 5minUnited States
Director: Fernando Meirelles

Overview

Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church.

Themes

Papal conclave pressure, Cardinal duty under doubt, Sistine chapel authority, Pope succession politics, Public scrutiny within church, Confessional accountability

Available on

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

205. Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari
Drama Action History Biographical History Sports Competition
8.1
20192h 33minUnited States
Director: James Mangold

Overview

American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Themes

Engineering under constraint, Performance vs reliability, Corporate interference pressure, Leadership power struggle, Media spectacle vs merit, Loyalty and rivalry

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

206. The Rifleman

The Rifleman
War Drama History
7.2
20192h 4min
Director: Dzintars Dreibergs

Overview

The love story of sixteen-year-old Arturs is interrupted by the First World War. After losing his mother and his home, he finds some consolation in joining the army, because this is the first time national battalions are allowed in the Russian Empire. But war is nothing like Arturs imagined – no glory, no fairness. It is brutal and painful. Arturs is now completely alone as war takes the lives of his father and brother. Also, no progress is made in the promised quick resolution of the war and timely return home. Within the notion that only he alone cares about returning home and that his homeland is just a playground for other nations, Arturs finds strength for the final battle and eventually returns home to start everything from scratch, just like his newly born country.


207. Midway

Midway
Action War History Military Action World War II
6.7
20192h 18minCanada, Hong Kong SAR China
Director: Roland Emmerich

Overview

The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.

Themes

Leadership under pressure, Strategic risk taking, Intelligence and misdirection, Information timing and control, Resilience under fire, Command decision under uncertainty

Available on

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

208. The Irishman

The Irishman
Crime Drama History Organized Crime Historical Drama
7.8
20193h 29minUnited States
Director: Martin Scorsese

Overview

Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.

Themes

Violence and consequence, Memory and aging, Family ties under pressure, Aging and loyalty tension, Power within organized crime, Government scrutiny and influence

Available on

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

209. Harriet

Harriet
Drama History Historical Drama Biographical History
6.7
20192h 5minUnited States
Director: Kasi Lemmons

Overview

The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Themes

Family separation and reunion, Slavery oppression, Escape and pursuit, Forged identity resilience, Resistance against law, Collective rescue efforts

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

210. The Endless Trench

The Endless Trench
Drama History Thriller Historical Drama Historical Event
7.2
20192h 28minSpain, France
Director: Jose Mari Goenaga

Overview

A small village in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain, 1936. Higinio and Rosa have been married only for a few months when the Civil War breaks out. Higinio, being afraid of possible reprisals from the rebel faction, decides to use a hole dug in his own house as a temporary hideout.

Themes

Political repression, Family resilience, Isolation in hiding, Wartime uncertainty, Neighbor betrayal, Confinement spaces

Available on

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