History Lessons Through Film

By: Drew Gregory

This is just a start. Please make suggestions! Historical accuracy is important, but not necessary.

I am no longer only adding films I have seen, so I’m trusting all of the titles you all recommend apply (even though some pretty obviously apply!).

01

The Battle of Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo
02

Gangs of New York

Martin Scorsese
03

The Leopard

Luchino Visconti
04

Barry Lyndon

Stanley Kubrick
05

Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville
06

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci
07

The Age of the Medici

Roberto Rossellini
08

Downfall

Oliver Hirschbiegel
09

The Lives of Others

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
10

The Conformist

Bernardo Bertolucci
11

Cartesius

Roberto Rossellini
12

Z

Costa-Gavras
13

Blaise Pascal

Roberto Rossellini
14

1900

Bernardo Bertolucci
15

The Human Condition

Masaki Kobayashi
16

A City of Sadness

Hou Hsiao-hsien
17

The Puppetmaster

Hou Hsiao-hsien
18

The Golden Thread

Ritwik Ghatak
19

Russian Ark

Aleksandr Sokurov
20

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Rainer Werner Fassbinder
21

Fires on the Plain

Kon Ichikawa
22

Distant Thunder

Satyajit Ray
23

The Taking of Power by Louis XIV

Roberto Rossellini
24

The Patriot

Alexander Kluge
25

Das Boot

Wolfgang Petersen
26

All Quiet on the Western Front

Lewis Milestone

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Abel Gance's "Napoleon", "The Passion of Joan of Arc", "The Gospel According to St. Matthew", "Decameron", "Salvatore Giuliano", "The Mattei Affair", "Saving the Private Ryan", "Schindler's List", "Vincere", "The Age of Innocence", "Titanic", "La Grande Guerra", "The Deer Hunter", "Full Metal Jacket", "La Grande Illusion", "L'Albero degli Zoccoli", "Senso", "Andrey Rublev", "Battleship Potemkin", "Alexander Nevsky", "Ivan the Terrible", "October"... and so on. Nice list, though!

Robert Regan

7Jun10

Drew, it's a good thing that historical accuracy is not necessary. As much as I love Scorsese and Gangs of NY, I wouldn't go there for a history lesson. However, I think he has a real feel for what I think life must have been like in that time and place. So, I guess it does belong on this list. One that is quite accurate is Mountains of the Moon.

Valerie Ann

9Mar10

Cold Mountain. Even the music is largely historically accurate.

Dimitris Psachos

4Mar10

Good Men, Good Women and Angelopoulos' Trilogy of History. ;) Come and See is mandatory WWII and Strike / October mandatory Russian Revolution. Napoleon by Gance, Knights of the Teutonic Order by Ford, Lucian Pintilie, Glauber Rocha and Ann Hui in some parts of their filmography. The Emigrants Series for another U.S. "land of plenty" scope, All Quiet on the Western Front mandatory for WWI and Apocalypse Now! / La 317e Section mandatory for Vietnam.