209 articles
My Love Has Been Burning
My Love Has Been Burning (Waga koi wa moenu, aka Flame of My Love) is Kenji Mizoguchi's 1949 Shochiku feminist melodrama starring Kinuyo Tanaka as Eiko Hirayama, based on feminist pioneer Hideko Kageyama's autobiography, set in 1880s Meiji Japan.
Nagabonar
Nagabonar (Naga Bonar), 1986/1987 Indonesian comedy-drama by M.T. Risyaf, written by Asrul Sani, starring Deddy Mizwar as a pickpocket turned self-appointed general; won six 1987 FFI Citra Awards including Best Film.
New Tales of the Taira Clan
New Tales of the Taira Clan (新・平家物語, Shin Heike Monogatari; also Taira Clan Saga) is Kenji Mizoguchi's 1955 Daiei Kyoto color film, first of a trilogy adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel, with Raizo Ichikawa as young Taira no Kiyomori.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (欢迎来龙餐馆, Welcome to the Loong Restaurant) is a 2026 Chinese anti-war drama by Wen Muye starring Shen Teng as chef Xu Fu in a fictional Middle Eastern city during an Iraq-like war; it grossed over $318 million and was released internationally from September 2026.
One Second (一秒钟)
One Second (一秒钟, Yi miao zhong) is Zhang Yimou's 2020 Chinese drama set during the Cultural Revolution, in which an escaped convict, an orphan girl, and a projectionist fight over a film reel; pulled from Berlin 2019, released November 2020.
Panther
Panther (1995 film), directed by Mario Van Peebles and written by Melvin Van Peebles from his novel, dramatizes the founding of the Black Panther Party in Oakland; released May 1995 by Gramercy Pictures, grossing $6.8 million and sparking accuracy disputes.
Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory (Les Sentiers de la gloire) is Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war film starring Kirk Douglas, adapted from Humphrey Cobb's 1935 novel about a French World War I court-martial, withheld from French cinemas until 1975 and added to the National Film Registry in 1992.
Peterloo
Peterloo: massacre of 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged about 60,000 pro-democracy protesters led by Henry Hunt at St Peter's Field, Manchester, killing 15-18 and inspiring the Manchester Guardian.
Polytechnique (film)
Polytechnique is Denis Villeneuve's 2009 black-and-white Quebec drama about the December 6, 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, told through fictional students Valérie and Jean-François; it premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight and won nine Genie Awards.
Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (楊貴妃)
Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (楊貴妃, Yokihi) is Kenji Mizoguchi's 1955 color historical drama, the first Japanese-Hong Kong co-production (Daiei and Shaw Brothers), retelling the Tang story of Emperor Xuanzong and consort Yang Guifei with Machiko Kyō and Masayuki Mori.
Queen Margot
Queen Margot (La Reine Margot) is Patrice Chéreau's 1994 French historical drama adapted from Alexandre Dumas's novel, starring Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, and Virna Lisi; it depicts the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and won the Cannes Jury Prize and five Césars.
Quilombo
Quilombo (1984) is a Brazilian historical drama by Carlos Diegues about the Quilombo dos Palmares, the largest community of escaped slaves in colonial Brazil, led by Ganga Zumba and Zumbi, with music by Gilberto Gil, shown in competition at Cannes 1984.
Red Rain (2025 film)
Red Rain (Mưa đỏ) is a 2025 Vietnamese war drama directed by Đặng Thái Huyền about the 81-day 1972 defense of Quảng Trị Citadel; it became Vietnam's highest-grossing film and its 98th Oscars submission.
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.