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A CINEMATIC HISTORY OF HUMANKIND

By: Kenji


Kwaidan: Battle of Dan-no-ura, April 25, 1185; The Minamoto clan defeat the Taira Clan. (April 25th was also the date of the Portuguese “Carnation” revolution of 1974)

i’m trying to get a proper international spread; for history-based films from round the world, not just period fiction (which would get out of hand, and with which i’m being very selective, e.g Lucia, All Quiet on the Western Front, and the chronologically vague Ceddo).
The list is approximately in chronological order, for events depicted

Not on the site:

The World at War (BBC)

PEOPLE/EVENTS DESERVING DECENT FILM TREATMENT

Queen Tahm-Rayiš/Tamyris: defeated and killed Cyrus the Great
Archimedes of Syracuse (born 287 bc)
Hannibal of Carthage, who marched with elephants over the Pyrenees and Alps before victories over Rome in the 2nd Punic War-(i hear from Greg X there’s been an ok film Hannibal with Victor Mature, but anyway…his exploits fascinated me at school, he deserves the best)
Han dynasty in China, with the silk route and trade routes expanded
Nazca lines created in Peru, 400-650 AD
The Battle of Hastings, 1066; William the Conqueror becomes King of England
Suleiman the Magnificent, the Lawmaker, Sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1520
Jemima Nicholas who led a band of Welsh women in capturing the French in the last invasion of Britain, 1798
Betsi Cadwaladr and Mary Seacole, prominent nurses in the Crimean war (1854-6)
Alfred Russel Wallace, co-originator of theory of evolution by natural selection
Amalia Rodrigues, Portuguese fado singer (a recent film about her is apparently not up to scratch)

I’ll be interested to see the new film Revolution: the Crossing of the Andes, as i was fascinated as a kid by José de San Martin’s crossing of the Andes in the quest to liberate the region from Spain.

-
suggestions please

Related lists: The Middle Ages, 19th Century Britain and Depictions of Classical Antiquity in Film


Lola Montes

 

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Picture of Malik

Malik

17Dec11

I'd like to suggest Rosa Luxemburg and Barren Lives.

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Dimitris Psachos

12Aug11

Great list but we do need more variety. The Hawaiian, Filipino and Indian matters have to be thoroughly explored and I hope to see more films being added concerning the Byzantine Empire and the neighbouring lands of its then era.

  • Picture of Kenji

    Kenji

    12Aug11

    Quite right- with lots of lists on the go, i've not quite had the energy to concentrate on the possible additions here.

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Malik

8Aug11

I would recommend adding Quilombo, 500 Years Later, and Che. My favorite list I've seen on Mubi thus far though.

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  • Picture of Kenji

    Kenji

    8Aug11

    I'm glad you like the list and thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to see Quilombo. Just the sort of addition i was hoping for cos i feel the list is lacking for so many countries and periods. Of course it's quite a hard task!.

Picture of greg x

greg x

16Jan11

FYI, there is a 1959 film about Hannibal called, oddly enough, Hannibal. It stars Victor Mature and was partly directed by Ulmer. It's not bad in the enjoyment sense and has some worthwhile qualities, but it's sort of a Hollywoodesque take on the subject, going for the drama and excitement foremost, even though it was filmed in Italy. It certainly wouldn't be considered a great film or be to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it well enough.

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