54 articles
Revolution (1985 film)
Revolution is a 1985 historical war drama directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Al Pacino as a New York fur trapper drawn into the American Revolutionary War.
Ridicule
Ridicule is a 1996 French period comedy-drama by Patrice Leconte, set at Louis XVI's Versailles, where engineer Ponceludon must master wit to win royal funding. It opened Cannes 1996 and won four Césars including Best Film.
Rosewood (film)
Rosewood is a 1997 American historical drama directed by John Singleton, dramatizing the 1923 destruction of Rosewood, Florida, by a white mob, starring Jon Voight and Ving Rhames.
Russian Ark (Русский ковчег)
Russian Ark (Русский ковчег), 2002 Alexander Sokurov film shot in one continuous 90-minute Steadicam take through 33 Hermitage rooms, first feature-length single-take narrative film, HD digital, Marquis de Custine guide.
Sado (사도)
Sado (사도, The Throne) is Lee Joon-ik's 2015 Korean historical drama about Crown Prince Sado's death in a rice chest by King Yeongjo's order, starring Song Kang-ho and Yoo Ah-in, September 2015's top Korean film with 4.97 million admissions.
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) is Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1975 final film, adapting Sade's novel to Mussolini's fascist Republic of Salò, structured on Dante's circles of hell, censored worldwide, and released after his murder.
Samurai Assassin (侍)
Samurai Assassin (侍, Samurai) is Kihachi Okamoto's 1965 black-and-white Toho jidaigeki starring Toshiro Mifune as ronin Niiro Tsuruchiyo, who joins the 1860 plot to assassinate Ii Naosuke at Sakurada Gate, unknowingly killing his own father.
Sansho Dayu
Sansho Dayu (山椒大夫, Sansho the Bailiff) is Kenji Mizoguchi's 1954 Daiei drama adapted from Mori Ogai's 1915 story, about siblings sold into slavery; it won the 1954 Venice Silver Lion and ranks joint 75th in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll.
The Messenger (2009 film)
The Messenger (2009), Oren Moverman's directorial debut drama co-written with Alessandro Camon, stars Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton as casualty notification officers and a war widow; Berlin Silver Bear winner and double Oscar nominee.
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a 1999 historical drama directed by Luc Besson, starring Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc opposite John Malkovich and Dustin Hoffman.
The New World (2005 film)
The New World (2005) is Terrence Malick's historical drama about John Smith, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe at Jamestown, starring Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, and Christian Bale, with reconstructed Virginia Algonquian, Lubezki cinematography, and 135/150/172-minute cuts.
The Night of Counting the Years
The Night of Counting the Years (Al-Mummia, المومياء) is Shadi Abdel Salam's 1969 Egyptian drama, his only feature, about the Horabat tribe's tomb raiding and the 1881 Deir el-Bahari mummy cache; restored in 2009 and ranked among the greatest Arab films.
The Night Porter
The Night Porter (Il portiere di notte) is Liliana Cavani's 1974 Italian drama starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling as a former SS officer and camp survivor who resume a sadomasochistic relationship in 1957 Vienna; banned in Italy, savaged by US critics, later reassessed.
The Opium War (鸦片战争)
The Opium War (鸦片战争) is Xie Jin's 1997 Chinese historical epic about the First Opium War, Lin Zexu, and the cession of Hong Kong; a 100-million-RMB record production that won Golden Rooster Best Picture but lost money.
The Ottoman Lieutenant
The Ottoman Lieutenant is a 2017 Joseph Ruben war romance starring Hera Hilmar, Michiel Huisman, Josh Hartnett, and Ben Kingsley, set in 1914 Van; criticized for omitting the Armenian genocide and seen as Turkey's answer to The Promise.
The Painted Bird (film)
The Painted Bird (Nabarvené ptáče) is Václav Marhoul's 2019 black-and-white 169-minute Czech adaptation of Jerzy Kosiński's 1965 novel, spoken largely in Interslavic, following a Jewish boy through wartime Eastern Europe; it premiered at Venice 2019 and won eight Czech Lions.
The Physician (2013 film)
The Physician (German: Der Medicus) is a 2013 German historical adventure film directed by Philipp Stölzl, based on Noah Gordon's novel, about an 11th-century English apprentice who travels to Persia to study medicine under Ibn Sina.
The President's Last Bang (그때 그사람들)
The President's Last Bang (그때 그사람들) is Im Sang-soo's 2005 South Korean black comedy on the October 26, 1979 assassination of Park Chung-hee, starring Han Suk-kyu and Baek Yoon-sik, famous for its defamation injunction and 2008 disclaimer settlement.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) is a Warner Bros. Technicolor historical romance directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Bette Davis as Elizabeth I and Errol Flynn as Essex, based on Maxwell Anderson's play, with five Oscar nominations.
The Promise (2016 film)
The Promise (2016 film), directed by Terry George, is a US-Spanish historical drama starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale in a love triangle during the 1915 Armenian genocide; Metascore 49, released April 2017.
The Promised Land (1975 film)
The Promised Land (Ziemia obiecana) is Andrzej Wajda's 1974 Polish epic drama adapted from Reymont's novel about three friends building a textile factory in Łódź; premiered 21 February 1975, it won Golden Lions, a Golden Hugo, and a 1976 Oscar nomination.
The Promised Land (2023 film)
The Promised Land (Bastarden) is a 2023 Danish historical drama by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen as captain Ludvig Kahlen, who colonizes the 1755 Jutland heath; Venice premiere, Denmark's Oscar entry, 9 Robert Awards.
The Right Stuff (film)
The Right Stuff (1983) is Philip Kaufman's adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book about Chuck Yeager and the Mercury Seven astronauts; a box-office flop that won four Oscars, earned a 96% Tomatometer, and became a classic.
The Samurai Trilogy
The Samurai Trilogy (宮本武蔵三部作) is Hiroshi Inagaki's three-part 1954-1956 Toho color series starring Toshiro Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto, adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel; the first film won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.