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.

Amistad

721. Amistad

Drama History Mystery
7.3

19972h 35min

United States

Director: Steven Spielberg

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.


Bent

722. Bent

Drama History Romance
7.1

19971h 45min

United Kingdom

Director: Sean Mathias

Max is a handsome young man who, after a fateful tryst with a German soldier, is forced to run for his life. Eventually Max is placed in a concentration camp where he pretends to be Jewish because in the eyes of the Nazis, gays are the lowest form of human being. But it takes a relationship with an openly gay prisoner to teach Max that without the love of another, life is not worth living.


Four Days in September

723. Four Days in September

Thriller Drama History
7.4

19971h 50min

Brazil

Director: Bruno Barreto

Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.


Seven Years in Tibet

724. Seven Years in Tibet

Adventure Drama History
7.1

19972h 16min

United States, France

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.


Wilde

725. Wilde

Drama History
6.9

19971h 58min

Germany, Japan

Director: Brian Gilbert

Oscar Wilde is a married playwright who has occasionally indulged his weakness for male suitors. After much toil, Wilde debuts 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in London, and a chat at the theatre with Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas leads to a full-fledged romance. However, this affair leads to a legal dispute with Lord Alfred's oppressive father, the Marquess of Queensberry, and, given the local anti-gay laws, Wilde is jailed. Wilde's vast intellect helps him survive until he regains his freedom.


Mrs Brown

726. Mrs Brown

Drama History Romance
7.2

19971h 45min

Ireland, United Kingdom

Director: John Madden

When Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert dies, she finds solace in her trusted servant, Mr. John Brown. But their relationship also brings scandal and turmoil to the monarchy.


Welcome to Sarajevo

727. Welcome to Sarajevo

War Drama History
6.7

19971h 43min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo—now a danger zone of sniper and mortar attacks where residents still live. While reporting on an American aid worker who’s trying to get children out of the country, a British correspondent decides to take an orphaned girl home to London.


Character

728. Character

History Drama
7.7

19972h 2min

Belgium, Netherlands

Director: Mike van Diem

In pre-WWII Holland, the penniless, illegitimate son of a powerful bailiff sets out to become a lawyer as he spends a lifetime struggling to prove his worth to his relentlessly spiteful father.


Selena

729. Selena

Drama Music History
6.9

19972h 7min

United States

Director: Gregory Nava

In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.


Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

730. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

Drama History Romance
6.0

19971h 57min

United Kingdom, India

Director: Mira Nair

Tara and Maya are inseparable, with the same tastes, habits, and hobbies. Years later, the two have matured but have maintained their friendship. Tara marries local prince Raj Singh, who succeeds the throne as the sole heir. After the marriage, Raj seeks another female to satisfy his sexual desires, with his sights settling on Maya, putting a perhaps unforgivable strain on a longtime friendship.