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282 films

History

History films stage the past, from antiquity to the recent century. Griffith's Intolerance and Gance's Napoléon set the scale in the silent era; Hollywood's biblical and Roman epics of the 1950s–60s followed; European directors such as Visconti, Bertolucci and Angelopoulos used history to explore politics and memory. The strongest examples treat the past as a mirror for the present, not as costume.

Where
The United States, Italy, Britain, France, Russia, Greece
When
From the 1900s; epic peak 1950s–60s
Key figures
D.W. Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein, Luchino Visconti, Bernardo Bertolucci, Theo Angelopoulos, Akira Kurosawa
Landmark films
Battleship Potemkin (1925), The Leopard (1963), Andrei Rublev (1966), The Last Emperor (1987)
Legacy
Shaped popular memory of historical events and periods

What to look for

  • Period design, costume and language
  • Large crowds and spectacle
  • Personal stories inside political change
  • Historical fact versus dramatic licence
  • The past reflecting the present

Directors with the most films in this genre

Andrzej Wajda5 filmsClaude Lanzmann4 filmsEdgar Reitz4 filmsJean-Marie Straub4 filmsSergei Eisenstein4 filmsSpike Lee4 filmsSteven Spielberg4 filmsTheo Angelopoulos4 filmsAbel Gance3 filmsAgnieszka Holland3 filmsAlexander Sokurov3 filmsAva DuVernay3 filmsChen Kaige3 filmsDerek Jarman3 filmsEric Rohmer3 filmsErmanno Olmi3 filmsIstván Szabó3 filmsKathryn Bigelow3 filmsKenji Mizoguchi3 filmsMario Monicelli3 filmsMiklós Jancsó3 filmsPier Paolo Pasolini3 filmsRainer Werner Fassbinder3 filmsRichard Attenborough3 films
See all 187 directors
Roberto Rossellini3 filmsRoland Joffé3 filmsSatyajit Ray3 filmsSteve McQueen3 filmsAndrei Konchalovsky2 filmsBernardo Bertolucci2 filmsBertrand Tavernier2 filmsBo Widerberg2 filmsCarl Theodor Dreyer2 filmsChristopher Nolan2 filmsCosta-Gavras2 filmsD.W. Griffith2 filmsElia Kazan2 filmsErtem Eğilmez2 filmsEttore Scola2 filmsFranklin J. Schaffner2 filmsFrançois Truffaut2 filmsHans-Jürgen Syberberg2 filmsHiroshi Inagaki2 filmsHou Hsiao-hsien2 filmsJan Troell2 filmsJia Zhangke2 filmsJohn Ford2 filmsJosef von Sternberg2 filmsJoseph L. Mankiewicz2 filmsLuchino Visconti2 filmsMarco Bellocchio2 filmsMargarethe von Trotta2 filmsMartin Scorsese2 filmsMichael Curtiz2 filmsNelson Pereira dos Santos2 filmsNikita Mikhalkov2 filmsOliver Stone2 filmsOrson Welles2 filmsPablo Larraín2 filmsPaul Greengrass2 filmsRené Clément2 filmsShyam Benegal2 filmsSofia Coppola2 filmsSrdjan Dragojević2 filmsStanley Kramer2 filmsTerrence Malick2 filmsVeljko Bulajić2 filmsWang Bing2 filmsWerner Herzog2 filmsYousry Nasrallah2 filmsYoussef Chahine2 filmsZhang Yimou2 filmsAbdellatif Kechiche1 filmAgnès Varda1 filmAkira Kurosawa1 filmAlain Resnais1 filmAlan J. Pakula1 filmAlberto Lattuada1 filmAleksandar Petrović1 filmAlexander Dovzhenko1 filmAlexander Kluge1 filmAlf Sjöberg1 filmAli Abbasi1 filmAmanda Kernell1 filmAmos Gitai1 filmAndrei Tarkovsky1 filmAng Lee1 filmAthina Rachel Tsangari1 filmAtıf Yılmaz1 filmBahram Beyzaie1 filmBen Affleck1 filmBille August1 filmCecil B. DeMille1 filmChloé Zhao1 filmChris Marker1 filmChristian Petzold1 filmClaude Chabrol1 filmClaude Lelouch1 filmCorneliu Porumboiu1 filmCristi Puiu1 filmDamien Chazelle1 filmDavid Lean1 filmDerviş Zaim1 filmEdward Berger1 filmElem Klimov1 filmElia Suleiman1 filmFatih Akin1 filmFederico Fellini1 filmFernando Pérez1 filmFernando Solanas1 filmFerzan Özpetek1 filmFrancesco Rosi1 filmFred Zinnemann1 filmG.W. Pabst1 filmGoran Marković1 filmGus Van Sant1 filmHaile Gerima1 filmHenri-Georges Clouzot1 filmHiroshi Teshigahara1 filmHoward Hawks1 filmHumberto Solás1 filmIldikó Enyedi1 filmJacques Demy1 filmJacques Rivette1 filmJames Whale1 filmJasmila Žbanić1 filmJean Cocteau1 filmJean Renoir1 filmJoaquim Pedro de Andrade1 filmJorge Sanjinés1 filmJulien Duvivier1 filmKen Loach1 filmKenneth Branagh1 filmKing Vidor1 filmKira Muratova1 filmKleber Mendonça Filho1 filmKujtim Çashku1 filmLaura Poitras1 filmLeopoldo Torre Nilsson1 filmLordan Zafranović1 filmLucrecia Martel1 filmMani Kaul1 filmMario Camus1 filmMasahiro Shinoda1 filmMasaki Kobayashi1 filmMauritz Stiller1 filmMay el-Toukhy1 filmMed Hondo1 filmMike Leigh1 filmMike Nichols1 filmMikhail Kalatozov1 filmMiloš Forman1 filmMira Nair1 filmMohammed Lakhdar-Hamina1 filmMárta Mészáros1 filmNagisa Oshima1 filmNeil Jordan1 filmPantelis Voulgaris1 filmPatrice Chéreau1 filmPatricio Guzmán1 filmPeter Greenaway1 filmPeter Weir1 filmRadu Jude1 filmRadu Mihăileanu1 filmRainer Simon1 filmRaúl Ruiz1 filmReinhard Hauff1 filmRichard Pearce1 filmRobert Bresson1 filmRoman Polanski1 filmSergei Parajanov1 filmSergio Leone1 filmShohei Imamura1 filmSinan Çetin1 filmTeinosuke Kinugasa1 filmTerence Davies1 filmTodd Haynes1 filmTomás Gutiérrez Alea1 filmTrần Anh Hùng1 filmValerio Zurlini1 filmVictor Fleming1 filmVishal Bhardwaj1 filmVittorio De Sica1 filmVolker Schlöndorff1 filmWalter Salles1 filmWim Wenders1 filmWojciech Has1 film

Often combined with

Drama Biography Romance War Documentary Comedy

Top 100 rated films

  1. Schindler's List 1993 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 9.0
  2. Shoah 1985 · Claude Lanzmann · IMDb 8.7
  3. Night and Fog 1956 · Alain Resnais · IMDb 8.6
  4. Pretty Village, Pretty Flame 1996 · Srdjan Dragojević · IMDb 8.6
  5. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany 1984 · Edgar Reitz · IMDb 8.5
  6. The Salt of the Earth 2014 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 8.4
  7. Death of Yazdgerd 1982 · Bahram Beyzaie · IMDb 8.3
  8. Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.3
  9. The Battle of Chile 1979 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 8.3
  10. 13th 2016 · Ava DuVernay · IMDb 8.2
  11. Napoléon 1927 · Abel Gance · IMDb 8.2
  12. Oppenheimer 2023 · Christopher Nolan · IMDb 8.2
  13. 12 Years a Slave 2013 · Steve McQueen · IMDb 8.1
  14. I'm Still Here 2024 · Walter Salles · IMDb 8.1
  15. Inherit the Wind 1960 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.1
  16. The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 8.1
  17. Variola Vera 1982 · Goran Marković · IMDb 8.1
  18. Andrei Rublev 1966 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
  19. Day of Wrath 1943 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 8.0
  20. Dead Souls 2018 · Wang Bing · IMDb 8.0
  21. Gandhi 1982 · Richard Attenborough · IMDb 8.0
  22. JFK 1991 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
  23. Quo Vadis, Aida? 2020 · Jasmila Žbanić · IMDb 8.0
  24. The Emigrants 1971 · Jan Troell · IMDb 8.0
  25. The Organizer 1963 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 8.0
  26. All the President's Men 1976 · Alan J. Pakula · IMDb 7.9
  27. Battleship Potemkin 1925 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.9
  28. Kagemusha 1980 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.9
  29. Siberiade 1979 · Andrei Konchalovsky · IMDb 7.9
  30. The Leopard 1963 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.9
  31. 4 Little Girls 1997 · Spike Lee · IMDb 7.8
  32. All Quiet on the Western Front 2022 · Edward Berger · IMDb 7.8
  33. Dunkirk 2017 · Christopher Nolan · IMDb 7.8
  34. Hamnet 2025 · Chloé Zhao · IMDb 7.8
  35. The Killing Fields 1984 · Roland Joffé · IMDb 7.8
  36. The Last Bolshevik 1993 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.8
  37. The Travelling Players 1975 · Theo Angelopoulos · IMDb 7.8
  38. The Tree of Wooden Clogs 1978 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.8
  39. A City of Sadness 1989 · Hou Hsiao-hsien · IMDb 7.7
  40. A Man for All Seasons 1966 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.7
  41. Argo 2012 · Ben Affleck · IMDb 7.7
  42. Captain Blood 1935 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.7
  43. Il marchese del Grillo 1981 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 7.7
  44. L'armata Brancaleone 1966 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 7.7
  45. Malcolm X 1992 · Spike Lee · IMDb 7.7
  46. Missing 1982 · Costa-Gavras · IMDb 7.7
  47. Sergeant York 1941 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.7
  48. Stone Years 1985 · Pantelis Voulgaris · IMDb 7.7
  49. The Last Emperor 1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.7
  50. 1900 1976 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.6
  51. Bloody Sunday 2002 · Paul Greengrass · IMDb 7.6
  52. Bridge of Spies 2015 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.6
  53. Chimes at Midnight 1965 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.6
  54. Dark Waters 2019 · Todd Haynes · IMDb 7.6
  55. Intolerance 1916 · D.W. Griffith · IMDb 7.6
  56. Ivan the Terrible, Part I 1944 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.6
  57. Le Bal 1983 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.6
  58. Pictures of Ghosts 2023 · Kleber Mendonça Filho · IMDb 7.6
  59. Special Section 1975 · Costa-Gavras · IMDb 7.6
  60. The Barber of Siberia 1998 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.6
  61. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser 1974 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.6
  62. The Gospel According to St. Matthew 1964 · Pier Paolo Pasolini · IMDb 7.6
  63. The Hour of the Furnaces 1968 · Fernando Solanas · IMDb 7.6
  64. The Sea Hawk 1940 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.6
  65. The Thin Red Line 1998 · Terrence Malick · IMDb 7.6
  66. United 93 2006 · Paul Greengrass · IMDb 7.6
  67. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022 · Laura Poitras · IMDb 7.5
  68. Chushingura 1962 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.5
  69. Europa Europa 1990 · Agnieszka Holland · IMDb 7.5
  70. Killers of the Flower Moon 2023 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  71. Ludwig 1973 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 7.5
  72. Lust, Caution 2007 · Ang Lee · IMDb 7.5
  73. Milk 2008 · Gus Van Sant · IMDb 7.5
  74. Munich 2005 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.5
  75. Selma 2014 · Ava DuVernay · IMDb 7.5
  76. Story of Women 1988 · Claude Chabrol · IMDb 7.5
  77. The Color of Pomegranates 1969 · Sergei Parajanov · IMDb 7.5
  78. The Desert of the Tartars 1976 · Valerio Zurlini · IMDb 7.5
  79. The Last Supper 1976 · Tomás Gutiérrez Alea · IMDb 7.5
  80. The Mystery of Picasso 1956 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 7.5
  81. The Round-Up 1965 · Miklós Jancsó · IMDb 7.5
  82. The Scarlet Empress 1934 · Josef von Sternberg · IMDb 7.5
  83. Wild River 1960 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 7.5
  84. A Bridge Too Far 1977 · Richard Attenborough · IMDb 7.4
  85. Alexander the Great 1980 · Theo Angelopoulos · IMDb 7.4
  86. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.4
  87. Colonel Redl 1985 · István Szabó · IMDb 7.4
  88. Cry Freedom 1987 · Richard Attenborough · IMDb 7.4
  89. Danton 1983 · Andrzej Wajda · IMDb 7.4
  90. Everlasting Moments 2008 · Jan Troell · IMDb 7.4
  91. Gallipoli 1981 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.4
  92. Henry V 1989 · Kenneth Branagh · IMDb 7.4
  93. Les Misérables (1995) 1995 · Claude Lelouch · IMDb 7.4
  94. Macbeth 1948 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.4
  95. No 2012 · Pablo Larraín · IMDb 7.4
  96. One Sings, the Other Doesn't 1977 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.4
  97. Platform 2000 · Jia Zhangke · IMDb 7.4
  98. Queen Margot 1994 · Patrice Chéreau · IMDb 7.4
  99. Sunshine 1999 · István Szabó · IMDb 7.4
  100. The Mission (1986) 1986 · Roland Joffé · IMDb 7.4