Historical epics once ruled the box office, reliably taking home both cash and trophies each year. That’s changed over the past decade or so; much of Hollywood’s big money now goes into either science-fiction spectacles or superhero franchise films, traditionally expensive period epics having fallen a bit out of fashion—at least on the big screen. Ridley Scott, though, hasn’t given up, with the Gladiator director fighting to keep the form alive: the sprawling, big-budget Napoleon is out soon, and an improbable Gladiator sequel is underway as his next film. It might be an uphill battle: 2022’s The Woman King got great reviews and still only did decent box office business, while Scott’s own The Last Duel, from 2021, got similarly good reviews while having lost quite a bit of money. Still, though, movie tastes are always a bit cyclical, and if we’re starting to see stirrings of superhero fatigue, there might be an opening for some big-budget trips to the real-life past.
Titanic (1997)
Historical setting: The north Atlantic, April, 1912
There’s melodrama here, for sure, but James Cameron’s tearjerker is also a glorious portrait of a very particular moment in time, luring us in with the glamour of its era before hitting us with the costs to those living their lives on the lower decks of society. It’s also a wonderfully fastidious feat of recreation, in which the plot cleverly takes us on a tour of Titanic. By the end, we feel like we know her as well as any of her passengers.
Where to stream: Paramount+
Malcolm X (1992)
Historical setting: The entirety of the life of Malcolm X, 1925 – 1965
Spike Lee dodges every dull biopic trope in presenting the life of the Black activist who helped to define the 1960s and the era of the civil rights movement. It’s stylish and propulsive, while Denzel Washington practically channels the movie’s subject with his extraordinary performance.
Where to stream: Tubi
The Last Duel (2021)
Historical setting: Medieval France, circa 1386
Ridley Scott’s previous epic adapts a nonfiction work by Eric Jager involving a trial by combat in medieval France between Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) following the rape of Jean’s wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Scott cleverly approaches the story as a European Rashomon, with the story presented from the very different points of view of each man, before we get the full picture from Marguerite’s perspective. History, and the players in the duel, might not have cared about that point of view, but Scott and the film do.
Where to stream: Fubo
Schindler’s List (1994)
Historical setting: World War II-era Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia
Steven Spielberg earned his first directing Oscar for this wrenching, essential film set during the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler, an industrialist and Nazi himself, becomes slowly disillusioned with, and then horrified by, the actions of the party, employing over 1,000 Jewish refugees to work in his factories as a means of saving them from the concentration camps.
Where to stream: Showtime, Fubo
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
Historical setting: 16th century South America
Probably the lowest-budget epic you’ll find on this list, Werner Herzog’s film follows conquistador Lope de Aguirre (played by a legendarily unhinged Klaus Kinski) on his hunt for the mythical golden kingdom of El Dorado. The real-life Aguirre was called El Loco for his grandiose and megalomanical plans; Herzog and Kinski capture the feel of a doomed obsession. The movie was a tremendous inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.
Where to stream: Tubi, Vudu, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Shout Factory TV, Plex
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Historical setting: Algiers, 1954–1962
A shockingly relevant film about the tensions between Algerian nationalists and French forces in North Africa, a conflict that erupted into a three-year war. Director Gillo Pontecorvo’s hyper-realistic film is thrilling on one level, but also deeply challenging. While the movie’s morality leans slightly toward the Algerians trying to reclaim their home from the French, it’s also clear that the shocking acts of violence perpetrated by the guerrilla fighters render any discussion of heroes or villains ridiculous.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Historical setting: Odessa, 1905
Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpiece of revolutionary propaganda has ked a cinematic life well beyond its intended purpose (that being: honoring the first Russian Revolution on its 20th anniversary). Groundbreaking and wildly influential, echoes of its style and editing techniques can be found in everything from Laurel and Hardy to Star Wars and beyond, with Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables famously recreating one of the film’s most iconic scenes on the Odessa steps, in which a baby carriage rolls out of control amid chaos.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Gladiator (2000)
Historical setting: The Roman Empire, circa 180 CE
Ridley Scott tells the story of a high-ranking Roman officer forced into the gladiatorial arena after running afoul of the incoming emperor, Commodus; the movie was a box-office champ and an awards-season favorite for its year, signaling a revival of the historical epic genre that never quite materialized. But since we’re talking so much about Scott, his next historical epic is set to be a sequel to this Oscar winner.
Where to stream: Netflix, Paramount+
Ran (1985)
Historical setting: Sengoku-period Honshū, Japan
One of Akira Kurosawa’s later films, and his last real epic, Ran is still among the director’s most beloved, blending Japanese history and folklore with hints of Shakespeare. Set in the 16th century, Kurosawa fictionalizes the story of real-life daimyō Mōri Motonari by blending it with King Lear. Elderly warlord Ichimonji Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his kingdom between his three sons, only to discover that greed and lust for power are more powerful than loyalty. It was the director’s most expensive film, with lush cinematography and elaborate period design.
Where to stream: Prime Video
The Death of Stalin (2017)
Historical setting: Moscow, 1953
Armando Iannucci brings his trademark dark wit to the story of the political power plays and jockeying that occurs in the wake of the passing of the Soviet leader. As he did in Veep, Ianucci lays bare the grasping, petty covetousness that lies behind power politics, no matter how outwardly respectable. It might not be the most historically accurate bit of history on film when it comes to the details, but it’s nevertheless among the most honest.
Where to stream: Hulu, Tubi, The Roku Channel
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Historical setting: Tokyo, from the 1920s to 1970
Paul Schrader’s kaleidoscopic drama starts on the last day in the life of Yukio Mishima, a writer who famously committed public seppuku. One of Japan’s most significant 20th-century artists, Mishima’s rejection of modern material culture lead him to an extreme traditionalism and saw him founding his own private army. He’s an unconventional subject for an unconventional historical epic (one that sees moments from his works dramatized alongside scenes from his life), but this was a life lived on a large scale, for better and worse.
Where to stream: The Criterion Channel
Becket (1964)
Historical setting: 12th century England
It’s based on a play rather than the specific history, so there’s much here that’s either dubious or flat-out wrong. Still! It’s a big, fun, old-school cinematic epic about the political and religious struggle between Henry II (Peter O’Toole) and Thomas Becket (Richard Burton), the king’s one-time friend who becomes an opponent as Archbishop of Canterbury. Burton is a little bit of a snooze, but O’Toole is clearly having a ton of fun—he’d play the character again, and be joined by Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, in The Lion in Winter just a few years later.
Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Freevee, The Roku Channel
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Historical setting: Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, 1941
In the early going, this feels more like a solid romantic melodrama than a war picture—the film’s iconic image is of Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster making out on the beach. But it’s all in service of drawing us into the lives of the the people in the orbit of Schofield Barracks on Oahu, played by an all-star cast including Lancaster and Kerr, as well as Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, and Ernest Borgnine among others. By the time the bombs start to drop, we’re deeply invested in these character’s lives and fates.
Where to stream: Max
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Historical setting: Western Europe, 1917-1918
Idealistic soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) hopes to be a hero when he signs on, with his friends, to fight with the German army. His visions of glory and noble sacrifice are quickly shattered as he’s forced to confront horrors, and learns that survival is the best he can hope for. Though it doesn’t have quite the power of the 1930 original, it’s still a powerful film about the futility of war, set amid the trenches of World War I.
Where to stream: Netflix
Edward II (1991)
Historical setting: 14th century England
Filmmaker, provocateur, and activist Derek Jarman removes any historical ambiguity from the relationship between Edward II and his beloved courtier Piers Gaveston (not that it was particularly ambiguous) while imagining medieval Europe as a postmodern fantasia, rife with intentional anachronisms and Annie Lennox on the soundtrack. Think Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, but gayer.
Where to stream: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Pluto, Freevee
Asoka (2001)
Historical setting: The Mauryan Empire (covering much of modern-day India), 3rd century BCE
Hyper-stylized in its action sequences and peppered with musical interludes, the film tells a dramatized version of the life of the titular Mauryan emperor (Shah Rukh Khan), who famously discovered Buddhism and pacifism following an early life of violent conquest. Luckily, that transition comes late in the film, so we still get plenty of brilliantly choreographed action sequences in the lead-up. It was a massive success in much of Asia, and a rare Indian film of its time to receive a wide global release.
Where to stream: Netflix
Seven Samurai (1954)
Historical setting: Sengoku-period Japan, 1586
Both a dramatic and technical achievement, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece succeeds brilliantly as a straight action movie, but establishes the members of the assembled team as unique and complicated individuals, in many ways not that much better than the bandits they’ve been hired to fight. In the movie, penniless villagers decide to hire samurai to defend themselves from raiders. Since they have nothing to offer but food, they have no choice but to seek out only the most desperate rōnin to help them. The rag-tag band of outsiders is forced to come together in the face of a merciless onslaught and, while it’s more about its historical setting than any particular real-life events, there’s striking verisimilitude alongside the movie’s style.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
The Northman (2022)
Historical setting: Northern Europe, circa 895 CE
Shockingly underseen, Robert Eggers’ The Northman isn’t based on any particular bit of Scandinavian history, instead blending elements of legend and mythology into a scrupulously recreated historical setting. Alexander Skarsgård plays Amleth, a Viking warrior-prince who narrowly escapes a coup that wipes out his dynasty, beginning a Shakespearean quest for vengeance at any cost. The film offers a starkly nihilistic worldview while simultaneously challenging ideas of honor taken to extremes. Nicole Kidman’s performance is delicious.
Where to stream: Peacock
The Fortress (2017)
Historical setting: Joseon State Korea, 1636
A war movie that avoids looking much like a war movie at all, The Fortress takes place during Qing invasion of Joseon in 1636. The Joseon state of modern-day Korea had maintained a relationship with the Ming dynasty of China, but came under pressure from the Qing prior to an all-out invasion. The film follows the end of that story, when King Injo and his retainers sought refuge in the title’s fortress. This isn’t the story of an Alamo, though, instead one of moral compromise and politics as the fort’s defenders fight to navigate between two larger powers while under literal siege. The movie was a massive hit in South Korea, picking up several major awards.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Woman King (2022)
Historical setting: Dahomey, West Africa, 1823
Though the movie has much deeper ambitions, there’s something to be said for the pure joy of watching surprisingly swole Viola Davis lead a team of all-but-unstoppable African women warriors as they fight back against colonialist invaders. Set in West Africa in 1823, and based on the real-life the Agojie (also known as the Dahomey Amazons), the movie stars Davis as General Nanisca, leader of the country’s army, forced to navigate complicated regional politics even though her skills, and the movie’s most exhilarating scenes, involve kicking slave-trader ass.
Where to stream: Netflix
1917 (2019)
Historical setting: The Western Front of World War I, 1917
Sam Mendes’ World War I drama has no business working as well as it does, given that its premise includes a bit of a gimmick: It’s presented as though it’s been filmed in two continuous takes, with no cuts in between. The result might have wound up feeling like a video game, but instead the conceit brings an uncommon, harrowing immediacy to the story of two soldiers Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), desperate to deliver a message that would cancel an offensive that they know to be doomed.
Where to stream: Showtime, Fubo
The Last Emperor (1987)
Historical setting: China, particularly Beijing, in the early 20th century
Though not to be taken as a history lesson (very few narrative movies should be), Bernardo Bertolucci’s gorgeous epic makes everything of its location, shooting inside Beijing’s Forbidden City. John lone is excellent as the grown-up Puyi, made emperor of China at age two, and forced to abdicate by the age of six. The movie charts his life in defiance of, and then as a puppet of, China’s new Communist government.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel
Kesari (2019)
Historical setting: Saragarhi (modern Pakistan), 1894
There’s not much here that’s particularly challenging, but Kesari is nevertheless a rousing story of military courage and heroism in the face of impossible odds. The film follows the events around the Battle of Saragarhi, during which 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Raj fought 10,000 Afghani attackers, 300-style, in 1897. The movie’s politics are complicated, but the performances are top-notch, and the battles are impeccably choreographed.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Spartacus (1960)
Historical setting: The Third Servile War, the Mediterranean in the first century BCE
Stanley Kubrick’s Roman Republic-era epic dodges most of the sword-and-sandal conventions that the movie’s release year might suggest, instead telling a rousing tale of freedom and nonconformity. Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, Spartacus challenged not only Roman-style slavery, but the then-modern Communist witch hunts.
Where to stream: History Vault
13 Assassins (2010)
Historical setting: Eco period Japan, 1844
Near the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the utterly sadistic (not to mention corrupt) Lord Naritsugu is to be offered a seat on the Shogunate Council, a promotion that will not only see the cruel lord’s power increase, but will likely set off a civil war between his supporters and those who hate him. The Shogun’s justice minister decides that assassination is the only way, and so hires a dozen samurai in order to carry out the execution. The kinetic and violent film reminds us that director Takashi Miike made his name in several memorably visceral horror films.
Where to stream: Hulu
Rustin (2023)
No wars here, exactly, though the Civil Rights Movement was an era of violent conflict; there are few better, nor more ignored, prisms through which to view it than than that of the life of Bayard Rustin (a brilliant Colman Domingo), one of the movements leaders, and the chief architect of the March on Washington. As an openly queer man, though, he was ignored and erased from the history of the movement—at least until this suitably epic biopic.
Where to stream: Netflix
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