104 articles
Regeneration (1997 film)
Regeneration (US title Behind the Lines) is a 1997 British-Canadian war drama by Gillies MacKinnon, adapted from Pat Barker's novel, about psychiatrist William Rivers treating Sassoon, Owen, and Prior at Craiglockhart War Hospital in 1917.
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.
Schindler's List
Schindler's List (1993), Steven Spielberg's black-and-white drama adapted from Thomas Keneally's Booker-winning Schindler's Ark, stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, who saved over 1,100 Jews; it won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Shadow of Fire
Shadow of Fire (ほかげ, Hokage) is a 2023 Japanese anti-war drama by Shinya Tsukamoto, set in postwar black markets, starring Shuri, Mirai Moriyama, and Ouga Tsukao; it won the Venice Orizzonte NETPAC Award.
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) is a 2005 German drama by Marc Rothemund starring Julia Jentsch, dramatizing the White Rose member's arrest, Gestapo interrogation, trial, and 1943 execution; Oscar-nominated, with two Silver Bears.
Stalingrad (1993 film)
Stalingrad is a 1993 German anti-war film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier. It chronicles a fictional Wehrmacht platoon's experience during the encirclement of the German 6th Army in 1942–43.
Stop-Loss (film)
Stop-Loss (2008) is Kimberly Peirce's Iraq War drama starring Ryan Phillippe as Sgt. Brandon King, a soldier ordered back to duty under the Army's stop-loss policy who goes AWOL. Paramount release, $10.9M gross, 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Suffragette (film)
Suffragette is Sarah Gavron's 2015 historical drama, written by Abi Morgan, starring Carey Mulligan as fictional laundry worker Maud Watts drawn into the militant WSPU, with Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst; it premiered at Telluride, earned £35m, and drew controversy over casting and Pankhurst T-shirts.
Suriyothai (2001 film)
Suriyothai (สุริโยไท), aka The Legend of Suriyothai, is a 2001 Thai historical epic by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol about the 16th-century Ayutthaya queen who died defending her king; Thailand's costliest and highest-grossing film of its era, commissioned by Queen Sirikit.
Taebak Mountains
Taebak Mountains (태백산맥, The Taebaek Mountains) is Im Kwon-taek's 1994 Korean war drama adapted from Cho Jeong-rae's ten-volume novel, depicting left-right conflict in Beolgyo from the 1948 Yeosu–Suncheon incident through the Korean War; it won the Blue Dragon Best Film award.
Tales of the Taira Clan
Tales of the Taira Clan (新・平家物語, Shin Heike monogatari; Taira Clan Saga) is Kenji Mizoguchi's 1955 Daiei color film adapting Eiji Yoshikawa's novel, starring Raizo Ichikawa as young Taira no Kiyomori in 1137 Kyoto.
Tea with Mussolini
Tea with Mussolini (Un tè con Mussolini) is Franco Zeffirelli's 1999 semi-autobiographical Italy-UK comedy-drama, written with John Mortimer, about the Scorpioni expatriate women raising young Luca in fascist Florence; Maggie Smith won a BAFTA.
Temptation of a Monk (诱僧)
Temptation of a Monk (誘僧, You Seng) is a 1993 Hong Kong period film by Clara Law, adapted from Lilian Lee's novel, starring Joan Chen and Wu Hsing-kuo as a Tang dynasty general turned monk after the Xuanwu Gate Incident; Venice Golden Lion nominee, banned in China.
Thank You for Your Service (2017 film)
Thank You for Your Service (2017) is Jason Hall's directorial debut war drama, adapted from David Finkel's 2013 book, starring Miles Teller as Sgt. Adam Schumann, about Iraq veterans facing PTSD and VA bureaucracy; released October 27, 2017, grossing $9.4 million.
That Night in Varennes
That Night in Varennes (La Nuit de Varennes, Italian Il mondo nuovo) is Ettore Scola's 1982 French-Italian historical drama about a stagecoach of passengers, including Restif de la Bretonne, Casanova, and Thomas Paine, who follow Louis XVI's 1791 flight and witness his arrest at Varennes; Cannes competitor and triple David di Donatello winner.
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.