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.

Silent Wedding

591. Silent Wedding

Comedy Drama History
7.8

20081h 27min

Director: Horațiu Mălăele

In a small village of Communist-era Romania a young couple wish to marry, but Joseph Stalin dies the night prior to their wedding ceremony forcing the bride and groom to marry in silence.


Milk

592. Milk

History Drama Biographical History Political Drama
7.5

20082h 8min

United States

Director: Gus Van Sant

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

Themes

Gay rights activism, Public service backlash, Identity in politics, Activism under scrutiny, Political coalition pressures, Urban minority visibility, Ideology vs pragmatism

Available on

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

North Face

593. North Face

Adventure Drama Action History Thriller
7.4

20082h 6min

Austria, Switzerland

Director: Philipp Stölzl

Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser only want to be the first to conquer the Eiger’s North Face—then the mountain turns their ambition into a deadly fixation. As crowds watch from warm hotel balconies and a storm closes in, how far will they climb before they realize the only way left is down?

Themes

Risk and resilience, Duty vs ambition, Human vs nature, Ideology under strain, Competition and collaboration, Public gaze and story

Available on

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

Frost/Nixon

594. Frost/Nixon

Drama History Historical Drama Political History
7.6

20082h 2min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Ron Howard

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Themes

Reputation salvage under pressure, Interview as battleground, Media spectacle and politics, Private funding and sponsorship, Ethical compromises in journalism, Public image versus accountability

Available on

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

The Baader Meinhof Complex

595. The Baader Meinhof Complex

Action Crime Drama History Thriller
7.3

20082h 29min

Czechia, France

Director: Uli Edel

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

Themes

Journalism versus militancy, State repression of protests, Terrorism as political instrument, Prison hunger strike dynamics, Leftist radicalism and violence, Foreign training and guerrilla tactics

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Everlasting Moments

596. Everlasting Moments

Drama History
7.5

20082h 11min

Director: Jan Troell

In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life.


The Duchess

597. The Duchess

Drama History Romance Historical Drama Passionate Romance
6.9

20081h 50min

Italy, United Kingdom

Director: Saul Dibb

The story of Georgiana, whose mother marries her off to the powerful Duke of Devonshire. A marriage and status that look like a fairy tale from the outside hide coldness, control, and the pressure to provide the duke with an heir.

Themes

Social climbing pressure, Class constraint and marriage, Private life public scrutiny, Betrayal and reputation, Gender expectations and duty, Power through alliance

Available on

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

Red Cliff

598. Red Cliff

Adventure Drama History Action War
7.3

20082h 25min

China, Hong Kong SAR China

Director: John Woo

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Themes

Deception and loyalty, Leadership under pressure, Alliance politics, Strategic maneuvering, Battlefield improvisation, Naval warfare tactics

Available on

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

Hunger

599. Hunger

Drama History Historical Drama Historical Event
7.5

20081h 36min

Ireland, United Kingdom

Director: Steve McQueen

The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.

Themes

Police brutality, Political imprisonment, Prisoner protest, Solidarity under pressure, Moral ambiguity of resistance, Dehumanization in custody

Available on

AMC+ Amazon Channel
Criterion Channel
Philo
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

600. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Drama War History Historical Drama World War II
7.7

20081h 34min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Mark Herman

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

Themes

Occupation regime tensions, Forced relocation, Concentration camp, Family loyalty conflict, Childhood under threat, Gas chamber

Available on

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