HISTORICAL MOVIES (HISTORICAL FILMS)
IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- I'm watching and writing about these movies as fast as I can, but it is going to take awhile.)
Used a lot of Wikipedia, IMDb and amazon.com
email: plc47@optonline.net
Patrick Louis Cooney, Ph. D., sociologist, historian, botanist
Copyright © 2006 by Patrick Louis Cooney. All rights reserved.
What do the X's mean? The X's just indicate the ones I either have not watched or I have watched but have no review or a puny review. It's just a way to keep me from buying two copies of the same movie. I buy a bunch at a time and then watch them all. Then I buy another batch, etc. It's hard to remember what I have done and what I have not done, hence the X's. patrick Louis cooney
P.S. I try to avoid documentaries, but have used some docu-dramas. I concentrate on movies with actors.
Table of Contents
I. ANCIENT MAN (hominids and man some 4 million years old; dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago).
II.1 Egypt (Nile River Valley)
II.2. China (Yellow River Valley)
II.3. India (Indus River Valley)
II.4. Iraq (Tigris-Euphrates River Valley)
III.2.1. Foundation of the Roman Republic.
III.2.2. Foundation of the Roman Empire.
III.2.3. Rise of Christianity.
III.2.4. Fall of the Roman Empire.
III.3. Byzantine Empire (476-1453).
III.4. Islam. (and Spain)
IV. MEDIEVAL AGES (5th c. to early 16th c.).
IV.1.1. England, Scotland, Ireland.
IV.1.4. Russia, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria.
V. RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION, CATHOLIC COUNTER-REVOLUTION.
V.2. Reformation and Religious Conflict.
V.3. Catholic Counter-Revolution.
V.4. England to the American Revolution.
V.5. France & Holland to the French Revolution.
V.9. Russia & Turkey to the French Revolution & Beyond.
VI. AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT.
VI.3. United States of America & Canada to American Revolution.
VI.4. Latin and South America.
VII. REVOLUTION AND AFTERMATH.
VII.1. American Revolutionary War, 1775-1782.
VII.2. French Revolution, 1789.
VII.4. Early Years of the United States of America.
VII.5. Victorian England to WWI.
VII.10. Siam (Thailand) & Burma (Myanmar)
VII.11. USA: Post-Civil War Period.
VII.12. Mexico under Juarez (president 1858-1872)
VIII.4. China & French Indo-China.
IX.3. Mexican Revolution/Civil War.
X.2. Russian Revolution, Civil War & the Soviet Union.
X.3. Independence for Ireland.
XI. INTERIM PERIOD BETWEEN WORLD WARS.
XI.3. Great Britain & Australia.
XI.4. Black Experience in USA.
XI.7. Fascism in Another Corner -- Argentina.
XI.9. Pre-War Greece & Macedonia.
XII.1. The Fight against Germany and Italy.
XII.1.3. Germans Kicked out of Africa.
XII.1.4. Allied Invasion of Italy.
XII.1.6. Allied Invasion of France.
XII.1.7. German Counter-Attack (Battle of the Bulge) and Beyond
XII.1.11 Italy's Last Days of Fascism.
XII.1.12. Holocaust.
XII.2. THE FIGHT
AGAINST JAPAN.
XII.2.1. The War in China and Burma.
XII.2.2. The USA Finally Gets into the War.
XIII.8. POST-WAR GREECE & MACEDONIA.
XIII.9. POST-WAR SPAIN & PORTUGAL.
XIII.10. POST-WAR SOVIET UNION.
XIII.11. POST-WAR INDIA: INDEPENDENCE
XIII.12. POST-WAR ALGERIA: INDEPENDENCE.
XIV. FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNISM I.
XIV.1. USA -- LOSS OF CHINA, KOREAN WAR & MCCARTHYISM DURING COLD WAR
XIV.2. TEEN REBELLION & ROCK AND ROLL
XV. THE FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.
XV.1. CIVIL RIGHTS -- USA
XV.2. CIVIL RIGHTS -- NORTHERN IRELAND
XV.3. CIVIL RIGHTS -- GREAT BRITAIN
XV.4. CIVIL RIGHTS -- SOUTH AFRICA
XV.5. CIVIL RIGHTS -- CANADA
XV.6. CIVIL RIGHTS -- AUSTRALIA
XVI. THE FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNISM II.
XVI. 1. AMERICAN STRUGGLE TO STOP ALL LEFTISTS IN LATIN & SOUTH AMERICA
XVI.2. VIETNAM WAR
XVI.3. HIPPIE ERA.
XVII. THE TRIUMPH OF THE REACTIONARIES IN THE U.S.A. (1968-2008)
XVII.1. BACKLASH: NIXON & THE 70's (Nixon, the last Keynesian conservative for a long while)
XVII.3. RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENCY, 1979-1987: MORE BACKLASH (and Thatcher in Great Britain)
XVII.4. GEORGE BUSH I PRESIDENCY, 1989-1993
XVII.5. BILL CLINTON PRESIDENCY, 1993-2000: a brief respite from reactionary conservatism
XVII.6. GEORGE BUSH II, 2001-2009: MORE INEQUALITY, BACKLASH, SEMI-FASCISM, TWO MORE
EXPENSIVE WARS AND ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
XVIII. STIRRINGS OF REVOLT AND FREEDOM IN THE SOVIET BLOC
XXI. AMERICANISM VERSUS RADICAL ISLAM
XXII. REJECTION OF THE SECOND AGE OF THE ROBBER BARONS IN THE U.S.A.
I. ANCIENT MAN Back to Contents
One Million Years B.C. (1966) -- Raquel Welch
X When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) with Victoria Vetri
X Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
Quest for Fire (1981) -- the best of the ancient man series because it's closest to the truth as we know it scientifically
II. EARLY CIVILIZATIONS Back to Chapter II Back to Contents
II.1. EGYPT Back to Chapter II Back to Contents
Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008) -- real Scorpion King was of the Early Dynastic: Upper Egypt era from around 3150 BC shortly before the founding of the First Dynasty (3150 to 2890 BC); he may be Narmer who unified Upper and Lower Egypt and was first ruler of Egypt's First Dynasty
X La donna dei faraoni (The Pharaoh's Woman) (1960) -- Giorgio Rivalti, Italy; 31st century BC love story just after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
Land of the Pharaohs (1955) -- building of the Pharaoh Khufu's Great Pyramid of Giza, 2560 B.C. in the 4th Dynasty
X Sudan (1945) -- following the murder of her father, Queen Naila of Khemis is enslaved
The Egyptian (1954) -- story of physician Sinuhe in Akhenaten's reign, 1352-1334 B.C. of the 18th Dynasty
Nefertiti, regina del Nilo (Queen of the Nile) (1961) -- Queen Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaaten1 (reigned 1352- 1334 BC) of the 18th Dynasty
X Faraon (Pharaoh) (1966) – Polish film set in Egypt in 1069 BC of the 21st Dynasty; Smendes I (reigned 1077-1051 BC)
Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517):
X Princess of the Nile (1954) -- c. 1249 AD, an Egyptian princess tries to drive out the Bedouin conquerors; Bedouins were a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group
X El Mamalik (Revolt of the Mamalukes) (1965) -- royal bodyguard in the 13th century; in 1250 a Mameluke, Qutuz, came to the Egyptian throne; Mameluke sultans ruled Egypt; conquered by the Ottomans in 1517
II.2. CHINA (UNIFICATION OF CHINA). Back to Chapter II Back to Contents
western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC)
eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC) -- characterized by a breakup of Zhou territory into states that were largely independent; capital moved eastward in 770 BC from Haojing to Chengzhou
Kong Fuzi (Confucius) (1940) --
Confucius (2010) -- Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC) developed an ethical and philosophical system that in the Han Dynasty developed metaphysical and cosmological elements
Zhao shi gu er (Sacrifice) (2010) -- to save the only child of the Zhao Family, whose entire clan was massacred, a doctor sacrifices his own son and later seeks vengeance; set in the Jin State
Warring States period (475-221 BC)
Muk gong (A Battle of Wits/ A Battle of Warriors) (2006) -- film set amid the Warring States period
Jiang shan mei ren (An Empress and the Warriors) (2008) -- the leader of the very war-liking Yan, one of the Ten Kingdoms, dies and is replaced by his daughter, while facing lots of resistance against her
Qin Dynasty (221- 207 BC)
Jing ke ci qin wang (The Emperor and the Assassin) (1998) - 221 B.C. unification of China
The Emperor's Shadow (Qin Song) (1996) - unification of China
Hero (2004) -- four assassins plot to assassinate the King of Qin (who has the potential to unify the warring states into a nation)
Qin yong (A Terracotta Warrior) (1990) – in the Qin Dynasty the emperor builds an army of terra-cotta warriors
X White Vengeance (2011) -- two brothers contending for supremacy during the fall of the Qin Dynasty
X Last Supper (2012) -- story of two warring generals (Liu Bang and Xiang Yu) fighting for control of China at the end of the Qin Dynasty
X Uprisings – Qin emperor Ying Zheng's harsh and ruthless governing incurs great discontentment
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 8 AD)
Xi chu bawang (The Great Conqueror's Concubine) (1994) -- Xian Yu and Liu Pang depose Qin Dynasty
Xin Dynasty (9-25 AD)
Han Dynasty continuation/Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220)
Chi bi (aka Red Cliff; Battle of Red Cliff) (2009) -- Prime Minister Cao Cao plans to usurp the Han dynasty throne after he defeats any possible allies of the Han Emperor, but that will prove a difficult task (winter of 208/209)
X White Vengeance (2011) – beginning of Battle of Red Cliff battle
X Guan yun chang (The Lost Bladesman) (2011) -- legendary Guan Yu slays six generals in the civil war that led to the collapse of Han Dynasty & the establishment of Shu Han of the 3 Kingdoms, making Liu Bei its first emperor, 219
II.3. INDIA. Back to Chapter II Back to Contents
Magadhan Kings (c. 1700 BC - 550 AD)
X Amrapali (1966) -- Bimbisara (544–491 BC), founder of the first Magadhan empire, fights for the beautiful Amrapali, royal courtesan of the republic of Vaishali
Shakya Dynasty (c. 650-500 BC)
Nanda Dynasty (424-321 BC)
Sikander (Alexander the Great) (1941) -- Alexander the Great's conquests in North-Western India. (in Urdu language with English subtitles)
Mauryan Empire: 321-185 B.C.
X Samrat Chandragupta (1958) -- Indian emperor befriends, but then defeats Alexander the Great, establishing the Maurya Empire (321 - 185 BC)
X Samrat Chandragupta (1945) -- ancient, pre-Islamic India; ruler from 320-298 BC
X Chandragupta (1934) -- founder of Mauryan Empire, originating from Magadha kingdom in modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal in e. India
Asoka (2001) -- India after the age of Alexander the Great, Emperor Asoka (273-232 B.C.)
Shunga Dynasty (185-73 BC)
Kanva Dynasty (73-26)
Western Kshatrapas
Gupta Dynasty (c. 240-550 AD)
X Mayura (1975) -- King Mayurasharma (345–365 C.E.), a Brahmin scholar & founder of the Kadamba Kingdom of Banavasi, the earliest native kingdom to rule over what is today the modern state of Karnataka
II.4. IRAQ. Back to Chapter II Back to Contents
BABYLON
Io Semiramide (I am Semiramis; or Slave Queen of Babylon) (1963) -- woman fights for power in Assyrian empire and begins re-building the city of Babylon; Ninth Dynasty of Babylon, around 811 BC
Cortigiana di Babilonia (Queen of Babylon) (1956) -- Babylon rebels against the Assyrian empire, 626 B.C.
Giuditta e Oloferne (aka Head of a Tyrant) (1959) -- girl gives herself to cruel Assyrian tyrant who has conquered her city in order to overthrow him
Le sette folgori di Assur (War Gods of Babylon) (1962) -- in the later years of the Assyrian Empire, there is conflict between King Ashurbanipal (reign 668 – c. 627 BC) and his brother Shamash-shum-ukin (English & Italian languages)
Cortigiana di Babilonia (Queen of Babylon) (1956) -- Babylonia rebels against the Assyrian empire, 626 B.C.
L'eroe di Babilonia (1963) --last Mesopotamian king of Babylon, Nabonidus (reign 556-539), left rule to his son Belshazzar, and Babylon is overthrown by Cyrus the Great of Persia (Italian language)
Intolerance (1916) -- first of four stories deals with intolerance in Babylon that leads to its fall to the Persians, 539 B.C.
THE BIBLE - OLD TESTAMENT
X Genesis: The Creation and The Flood (1994, Ermanno Olmi) TV
In the Beginning (2000) -- from creation to Moses
X The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) -- first 22 Books of Genesis (Adam & Eve, Noah, Tower of Babel, Abraham, Sarah and Isaac)
X The Bible (1966) Italian
Abraham (1994) -- Abraham, the founding patriarch of the Israelites, through his son Isaac (some time between 2000 and 1700 B.C.)
X Abraham Our Patriarch (The Wandering Jew) (1933) --
X Noah's Ark (1928) -- The story starts as a World War I drama. Someone draws a comparison between the terrible situation in WWI with the troubles of Noah. So two stories are told.
X Noah's Ark (1999) -- Biblical story of the Great Flood and Noah
X Sodom und Gomorrah (Sodom and Gomorrah) (1965) -- made for TV movie
X Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) --
X Sodom und Gomorrah (Sodom and Gomorrah) (1922) --
Jacob (1994) TV -- the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants
X Giacobbe, l'uomo che lottň con Dio (Jacob, the Man Who Fought With God) (1963)
X Giacobbe ed Esau (Jacob and Esau) (1963) –
X The Story of Jacob and Joseph (1974) TV -- Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Joseph
Joseph (1995) --
X Joseph and His Brethren (1960) --
X Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1932) --
X Ten Commandments (1956) -- Charlton Heston as Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt, around 1275 B.C.
X The Ten Commandments (1923) -- directed by Cecil B. DeMille
X Moses the Law Giver (1975) --
Moses (1995) --
X Prince of Egypt (1998) -- animated version of the story of Moses
Samson and Delilah (1949) -- Cecile B. DeMille with Victor Mature, Hedy Lamarr, somewhere between 1200 and 1000 B.C.
Samson and Delilah (1984) TV -- Delilah betrayed by evil Sidka, governor of Gaza
Samson and Delilah (1996) TV --
The Story of Ruth (1960) -- grandmother of King David
David and Goliath (1960) -- David kills the giant Philistine
X King David (1985) -- King of Israel (ruler from 1000 -960 B.C.)
David (1997) -- David survives King Saul, adultery and internal divisions in his family to bring his son Solomon to be king after him
X Koning David (1965) – Dutch film about King David
X Saul e David (Saul and David) (1964) -- David's life with King Saul, the first king of the united Kingdom of Israel
X David and Bathsheba (1951) -- King David steals himself a wife
X The Story of David (1976) -- King David
X Solomon and Sheba (1959) -- supposed relationship between King Solomon (960-928) & the Queen of Sheba
X Solomon and Sheba (1995) -- Halle Berry as the Queen of Sheba
La Regina di Saba (Queen of Sheba) (1952) -- Italian black & white that should have been called Rehoboam and Sheba
X Solomon (1997) -- a king of Israel (970 to 931 BC) and the son of David; the third king of the United Monarchy and the final king before the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah split
X Sins of Jezebel (1953) -- Jezebel was a princess, the daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre, and the wife of Ahab, king of north Israel; her paganism angers Prophet Elijah
Jeremiah (1998) TV -- the prophet beginning 628 B.C.
Esther and the King (1960) -- Esther saves the Jews of 4th c. B.C. Persia (Joan Collins as Esther)
X Esther (1999) -- remake of Esther and the King (Louise Lombard as Esther)
X Esther (1986) -- (Simone Benyamini as Esther)
X One Night With the King (2006) -- Esther saves the Jewish nation (Tiffany Dupont as Esther)
X The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther (1979) -- ABC one-hour special (Olivia Hussey as Esther)
X Liken: Esther and the King (2006) – mother tells her daughter about the great Esther (Summer Naomi Smart as Esther)
III. LATER CIVILIZATIONS. Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
III.1. GREEK CIVILIZATION. Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
Mycenaean Period (1600 BC to about 1100 BC) Mycenae when Mycenae dominated much of southern Greece
Crete:
X Teseo contro il minotauro (Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete) (1960) – Italian film legendary exploits of supposed Athens founder Theseus in Minoan Crete. c. 1,500 BC.
Fight against Troy:
X Troy (2004) -- Troy VII (1275-1240 B.C.) with Diane Kruger and Brad Pitt
Helen of Troy (2003) -- Troy falls to the Greeks (with Sienna Guillory)
Helen of Troy (1956) -- with Rossana Podesta
X Iphigenia (1977) -- the Greek army is about to set sail but King Agamemnon slays a sacred deer and the gods punish him with the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia (Greek language)
X La guerra di Troia (The Trojan Horse (1961) -- stars Steve Reeves and Edy Vessel
X The Trojan Women (2004) -- with Shelley Delayne
The Trojan Women (1971) -- grieving women after fall of Troy (with Irene Papas)
X The Odyssey (1997) TV miniseries -- based on the return voyage of the Greeks from Troy
Ulysses (1954)
X La leggenda di Enea (The Avenger) (1962) --Aeneas leads escapees from the Trojan war to new land in Italy; starring Steve Reeves
Persian-Greek Wars:
Giant of Marathon (1959) – actor Steve Reeves as Phillipides in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
300 (2006) -- Spartan King Leonidas and a force of 300 Spartans fight the Persians (under King Xerxes) at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.
The 300 Spartans (1962) -- Greeks stand against the Persians at Thermopylae
Golden Age of Greece (Age of Pericles) (448 to 429 BC):
X Socrates (1970) TV -- last days of Socrates, a philosopher who was a social gadfly in Athens
X Barefoot in Athens (1966) TV -- Socrates
Battles between Athens, Sparta and Thebes:
Seven from Thebes (1964) -- a group of Thebans fight to rid Thebes from the control of Sparta,, 382-379 BC
Alexander the Great (336 to 323 BC):
Alexander the Great (1968) -- the great Macedonian empire builder (with William Shatner); made for TV
Alexander the Great (1956) -- with Richard Burton
Alexander the Great (2004) -- with Colin Farrell
Sikander (Alexander the Great) (1941) -- Alexander the Great's conquests in North-Western India. (in Urdu language with English subtitles)
Il colosso di Rodi (The Colossus of Rhodes) (1961) – 280 BC a Greek military hero joins a group of rebels to overthrow the tyrannical King Serse on Rhodes
III. 2. ROMAN CIVILIZATION. Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
III.2.1. FOUNDATION OF A ROMAN REPUBLIC Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
X Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006) -- a docu-drama starts with the foundation of Rome and goes to its collapse
Orazi e Curiazi (Duel of the Champions) (1961) -- Roman leader (673-642 BC) challenges forces of Alba Longa
Hero of Rome (1964) – the exile Tarquin, the last tyrant of Rome, 509 BC, tries to get back in power
X Coriolano: eroe senza patria (Coriolanus: Hero without a Country) (1964) – Coriolanus, Roman general at siege of the Volscian city of Corioli, 493 BC
X Coriolanus (2011) -- the revered and feared General Coriolanus' revenge on the city of Rome following his banishment
X Brenno il nemico di Roma (Brennus, Enemy of Rome) (1963) -- the Gallic sack of Rome, 387 BC
Hannibal (1959) -- the great Carthaginian general in the Second Punic War (Carthage vs. Rome), 218-201 BC
Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare (2006) -- Hannibal marched 40,000 soldiers and 37 elephants 1,500 miles to fight the Romans in today's Italy
Cabiria (1914) -- a young girl's odyssey at the time of Hannibal in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) -- focus on n. African front
X L'assedio di Siracusa (Siege of Syracuse) (1960) – Roman siege (214-212 BC) in Second Punic War
X Roma Sub Rosa: The Secret Under the Rose (The Secret Under the Rose) (2006) -- 26 minutes film; Lt. General Cornelius Scipio leads a group to assassinate the politicians who glorify the war against Hannibal and slowly seize control of the Meridian Army for themselves
X The Barbarians (Revak the Rebel) (1960) -- Iberian Prince Revak from the small island of Penda that the Carthaginian fleet enslaved the surviving men; he becomes an elephant driver in Carthage; all he wants now is revenge and he joins the Romans in the attack on Carthage (amazon instant video)
Scipione l'africano (Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal) (1937) -- fascist Italy's epic film about the Roman general defeating Hannibal
X Scipione detto anche l'africano (Scipio the African) (1971) -- ancient Roman warrior Scipio Africanus (currently unavailable)
Cartagine in fiamme (Carthage in Flames) (1960) -- Rome vs. Carthage during Third Punic War, 149-146 B.C.
The Centurion (Conqueror of Corinth) (1961) – Battle of Corinth (146 BC)
Spartacus and the Slave Revolt:
Spartacus (1960) -- slave revolt in 71 B.C.; with Kirk Douglas
X Spartacus (2004) -- TV mini-series
Spartaco (or Sins of Rome) (1953) -- Italian version of Spartacus
Gli invincibili dieci gladiatori (Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators) (1964) – story of Spartacus
III.2.2. FOUNDATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
Julius Caesar:
Julius Caesar (2002) -- solid telling in this mini-series of the Caesar tale; Jeremy Sisto as Julius Caesar & Samuela Sardo as Cleopatra
X Julius Caesar (1984) -- Janet Baker as Caesar; Valerie Masterson as Cleopatra; made for TV
X Julius Caesar (1970) -- Charlton Heston as Caesar; no Cleopatra
X Julius Caesar (1953) -- Shakespeare's play with Marlon Brando as Julius Caesar (48-44 B.C.); no Cleopatra
Giulio Cesare, il conquistatore delle Gallie (Caesar the Conqueror) (1962) -- Caesar conquers Gaul; with Cameron Mitchell as Caesar
Vercingétorix (Druids) (2001) -- story of the battle of the Gauls against the tyranny of Rome; Klaus Maria Brandauer as Caesar
X Die Verschwörung (1969) – Caesar and assassination; made for German TV
X Rome (2005) -- Julius Caesar & Company; Ciarán Hinds as Caesar & Lyndsey Marshal as Cleopatra
Cleopatra:
Cleopatra (1999) -- with Leonor Varela
Cleopatra (1963) -- with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
Cleopatra (1934) -- love affairs with Caesar (to 44 BC) and Mark Antony (second triumvirate, 43-27 BC) (with Claudette Colbert)
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) -- British film with Vivian Leigh as Cleopatra
X Antony and Cleopatra (1974) -- Janet Suzman as Cleopatra
X Antony and Cleopatra (1972) -- with Hildegard Neil
X Antony and Cleopatra (1983) -- Shakespeare version ; Lynn Redgrave as Cleopatra
X The Cleopatras (1983) – miniseries of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305-30 BC) in Egypt
Il sepolcro dei re (Cleopatra's Daughter) (1960) – total fiction
Rome after Caesar:
Imperium: Augustus (2003) -- the great emperor of Rome, 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.
Empire (2005) -- rise of Octavius (the future Emperor Augustus of the Roman Empire)
X Hermann der Cherusker - Die Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald (Massacre in the Black Forest) (1967) – Germanic Cheruski ambushes and annihilates three Roman legions in 9 AD
Orbis Romanus (2008) -- the backstory of the Teutenburg Ambush, a massacre of th4e Roman by Germanic tribesmen; only 22 minutes long
X Caligula (1979) -- 37 to 42 A.D., very wicked emperor of Rome after Tiberius, 14-37 AD
I, Claudius (1976) -- handicapped emperor of Rome after Caligula, 42 to 54 AD
Messalina Venere imperatrice (Messalina Imperial Beauty) (1960) -- incredibly ambitious wife of Claudius who will do anything to get power for herself
Centurion (2010) -- devastation of the 9th Legion of Rome by the Picts in modern Scotland
Imperium: Nerone (Nero) (2004) -- 54-68 A.D., emperor of Rome after Caligula
Titus (1999) – Shakespeare story of "extraordinary human violence" after Roman general Titus Andronicus returns from his war on the northern Goths (note this is not the Roman Emperor Titus who ruled 79 to 81 A..D. )
X Dacii (1967) – King Decebalus of Dacia fought three wars without being eliminated against Rome under two emperors, but Rome in 105 seeks revenge
III.2.3. RISE OF CHRISTIANITY Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
Erode il grande (Herod the Great) (1959) -- governor of ancient Judea , 37-04 BC
Salome (1953) -- the dancer and John the Baptist, executed 33 AD
X The Passion of the Christ (2004)
X Jesus of Nazareth (1977) -- crucified 30 AD
X El redentor (The Redeemer) (1959) – life of Jesus
X Jesus (1999) --
X Jesus (1979) --
X Jesús, el nino Dios (1971) --
X Jesús, María y José (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) (1972) --
X Karunamayudu (Ocean of Mercy) (1978) – Indian cast in Indian movie about the life of Jesus
X King of Kings (1961) -- Jesus
X Mary Mother of Christ (2010) --
X Mary and Joseph (1979)
X Per amore, solo per amore (For Love, Only for Love) (1993) – Mary and the nativity from Joseph’s point of view
X The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
X The Sword and the Cross (1958) -- story of Mary Magdalene (prostitute or disciple?)
X Mary Magdalene (1993) -- ditto
One Who Was There -- Mary Magdalene traveling from Jerusalem to Galilee in AD 64
X Judas (2004) -- the story of the man who betrayed Jesus of Nazareth
X The Revolutionary II (1996) -- Jesus of Nazareth
X Il vangelo secondo Matteo (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) (1964) – Jesus as a Marxist
X Barabbas (1961)
X The Robe (1953)
X Peter and Paul (1981) -- Peter may have been the rock, but it was Paul that spread Christianity to the non-Jewish world
X Life of St. Paul (1938) -- popularizer of Christianity
X Life of St. Paul Series (1949) – ditto
The Da Vinci Code (2006) -- the Catholic church fights and murders to prevent the world from knowing that Jesus was mortal and had actually married Mary Magdalene
X Gli amici di Ges - Maria Maddalena (Mary Magdalene) (2000) –John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene
X Quo Vadis (1951) -- Christian persecution under Emperor Nero
Sign of the Cross (1932) -- Christians in Rome under Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton) are blamed and persecuted for the Great Fire of 64 A.D.
Ben-Hur (1959) -- a proud Jew named Ben-Hur and his boyhood Roman friend Messala become in adulthood bitter enemies.
X Gladiator (2000)
Fabiola (1949) -- love story between a Roman woman and a gladiator and persecution of the Christians
Masada (1981) -- 70 A.D. Jewish Revolt against Roman rule
X San Giovanni - L'apocalisse (The Apocalypse) (2002) -- the apostle St. John tries to save Christianity from Roman Emperor Domitian, 90 AD
Pompeii:
X Last Days of Pompeii (1984) -- Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and covered (thereby preserving) the Roman village of Pompeii
X Ultimi giorni di Pompei, Gli (Last Days of Pompeii) (1960) -- volcanic eruption (under emperors Vespasian 69-79 & Titus, 79-81 AD)
X The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) -- Mt. Vesuvius erupted 79A.D.
X Anno 79: La distruzione di Ercolano (The Destruction of Herculaneum) (1962) – intrigues in the court of Roman Emperor Titus Flavius
III.2.4. FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (180-476) Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
X
La rivolta dei pretoriani (Revolt of the Praetorians) (1964) --
Centurion Valerius Rufus goes up against the unpopular Emperor Domitian (reigned
81 to 96); both Rufus and his fiancée, Lucilla are sentenced to be immersed in a
cauldron of molten lead; Valerius's friends come to his aid
X Dacii (1967) -- Dacia (today's Romania) and Domitian's Dacian War; border defense against raids of Moesia from Dacia in 86–87
X San Giovanni - L'apocalisse (The Apocalypse) (2002) -- 90 AD, a survivor of Christian persecution and death, John is determined to go up against Emperor Domitian (English language)
X Columna (The Column) (1968) -- Roman Emperor Trajan (reigned 98-117) has just murdered all the local men of Dacia and holds a military stronghold in what will later become Romania (Romanian language)
Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)-- Sophia Loren; troubles under Emperor Commodus (who ruled from 180 to 192)
X Sheba and the Gladiator (1959) -- c. 260-273, Septimia Zenobia, wife of the assassinated Septimius Odaenathus, a Prince of Palmyra and governor of province of Syria, takes over, rebels against Rome and establishes short-lived Palmyrene Empire
X Il magnifico gladiatore (The Magnificent Gladiator) (1964) -- Roman soldiers capture Attalus (a.k.a. Hercules) and he become a great gladiator; he falls in love with Velida, the daughter of Emperor Gallienus (reigned 260-268), but a nobleman wants her for himself
X Nel Segno di Roma (Sign of the Gladiator) (1959) -- Queen of Palmyra, Zenobia, revolts against Rome & is captured (under Emperor Aurelian, 270-275) (currently unavailable)
Constantine and the Cross (1962) -- early 4th c. A.D. emperor battling Romans
Fabiola (1949) -- Rome early in the reign of Constantine I, c. 312
X La vendetta dei barbari (Revenge of the Barbarians) (1960) -- the Visigoth's sack of Rome, 410
Ágora (2009)-- Davus, a slave of the philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, falls in love with her; she was killed in 415 by a Christian mob involved in anti-Jewish antics
X Agostino d'Ippona (Augustine of Hippo) (1972) Italian -- story of St. Augustine (354-430)
X Sant' Agostino (Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire) (2010) -- made for TV movie; 430, Augustine tells his own story and that of Rome's too (English language)
Attila (2001) -- the famous barbarian (died 453)
Attila (1954) -- with Sophia Loren
X Sign of the Pagan (1954) -- Attila the Hun threatening Rome (currently unavailable)
X In the Realm of the Knights Templar -- Attila must go into battle, will he go into the dark times of the Middle Ages? (in English)
III.3. BYZANTINE EMPIRE (476-1453). Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
X Kampf um Rom I (Last Roman) (1968) -- Gothic kingdom falls to famous Byzantine General Belisarius (under Emperor Justinian, 527-565) (English language) (currently unavailable)
X Kampf um Rom II - Der Verrat (Last Roman) (1969) --
X Teodora Imparatrice Di Bisanzio (Theodora Queen of Byzantium; Theodora, Slave Empress) (1954) Italian -- Teodora (500-548), wife of Emperor Justinian I (483-565)
X Rytsarskiy roman (2000) -- crusaders need the help of the treacherous Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (reigned 1081-1118) to get to Jerusalem 1096-1099 in the First Crusade
III.4. RISE OF ISLAM. Back to Chapter III Back to Contents
Mohammed, Messenger of God (1977) -- Mohammed (570-633), founder of the Islamic faith
X Fajr al islam (Dawn of Islam) (1971) – son of a powerful sheik meets the prophet Mohammed and converts to the new religion, but runs afoul of his father
Rashidun (rightly guided) Caliphs -- first four Caliphs (632-661):
Ummayad Empire -- a series of Caliphates (662-750): Arabs move into southern Spain ( 711); Umayyad Caliphate in Spain collapsed (1031) followed by age of petty kingdoms
Abbasid (750-1260) -- al-Mansur (754-775); Abd ar-Rahman I establishes an independent caliphate in Spain (756); Harun al-Rashid (786-809); al-Ma'mun (809-813); Aghlabid Caliph deposed by Shiite Fatimid dynasty (909)
X Abu Zayd al-Hilali (1947) --- 10th century Islamic Egyptian hero leader Abu Zayd al-Hilali; he and his wife break away from his father's tribe; later the two tribes engage in battle and son and father have to fight it out (in Arabic)
El valle de las espadas (The Castilian) (1963) -- Spanish film of the first independent Count of Castile, 931-970, who opposed the Moors
Seljuq Turks (a Muslim Turkish clan moved into Persia) take power, 1055):
El Cid (1961) -- 1094, takes Valencia from the Moors
X La Spada del Cid (Sword of El Cid) (1962) -- based on the homonymous poem and other documents from the epoque
X I cento cavalieri (Son of El Cid; Hundred Horsemen) (1964) -- El Cid's son Diego Rodríguez killed fighting invading Muslim Almoravids from North Africa at Battle of Consuegra, 1097
al Massir (aka Le Destin; Destiny) (1997) -- the story of Islamic philosopher Averroes (1126-1198) in Spanish province of Andalusia
Ottoman Empire (1250-1517) -- Mongol Empire brought down the Abbasid period in 1250:
X King Conqueror (2009) -- James I of Aragon (reign 1213-1287) part of the Reconquista (c. 718 and lasting around 800 years)
X La conquista de Albania (1984) – second marriage of Louis of Navarre (1341-1376) gives him the rights to Durazzo and the Kingdom of Albania and Louis strives for their recovery
IV. MEDIEVAL AGES (5th Century to Early 16th Century) Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
IV.1. EUROPE. Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
IV.1.1. Medieval England, Scotland, Ireland. Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
King Lear (TV 2008) - Shakespeare; Celtic pre-Roman Britain, 800 BC
King Lear (1999) -- ditto
King Lear (1987) -- ditto
King Lear (TV 1983) -- ditto
King Lear (TV 1982) -- ditto
The Tragedy of King Lear (1982)
King Lear (1971) -- ditto
King Lear (1971) -- Shakespeare; (Russian language)
King Lear (TV 1953) -- Shakespeare
King Arthur
Boudica (2003) -- Boudica (died 60 or 61 AD) unites the tribes of Briton against the Roman invaders
The Viking Queen (1967) -- Druids battle occupying Romans in ancient Britain/(Boudica-like character)
The Eagle (2011) -- accompanied by his slave, a Roman journeys to Scotland to retrieve his father's long-lost emblem, a golden Eagle of the Ninth Legion
X Camelot(2011) -- multi-DVD set; a French television series with a more "realistic" approach to the Arthurian legend
X King Arthur (2004) -- the legend; Battle of Mount Badon (Britons versus an Anglo-Saxon war band in the late 5th or early 6th century)
Arthur of the Britons (197-732) -- TV series shows Arthur as the chief of a small Celt tribe in Dark-Ages Britain uniting Celts, Jutes, etc and others into a force to counteract the Saxons
Merlin (1998) -- Merlin fights Queen Mab who tries to destroy Arthur to save the old ways before the coming of Christianity
X First Knight (1995) -- life at Camelot
X Arthur the King (1985)
Excalibur (1981) -- King Arthur and Court (legend)
Lancelot du Lac (Lancelot of the Lake) (1974) -- French film about Lancelot
X Camelot (1967) -- King Arthur and Court (legend)
X World of Lancelot (1963) -- Cornel Wilde
X Siege of the Saxons (1963) – Arthur repelling an invasion of the Saxons
X Sword of Lancelot (1963)
X Knights of the Round Table (1953)
House of Wessex, 802-1016:
X Alfred the Great (aka A King is Born) (1969) 9th century uniter of most of what became England
X The Saxon Chronicles (2006) -- Alfred has to flee from the Vikings
Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America (2007) -- in 1007 Vikings mistakenly leave two men behind and the men have to struggle with nature, Irish monks, Abenaki natives and their own natures to try to get back to the Viking settlement
X Í skugga hrafnsins (Shadow of the Raven) (1988) -- Iceland in the Viking Age, c. 900 (currently unavailable)
The Vikings, in England the House of Denmark, 1013-1042:
X Hamlet (1964) -- 6th century, legend of Amleth, Prince of Denmark from the Danish Gesta Danorum
X Prince of Jutland (Royal Deceit) (1994) -- based on original sources, a young prince, after discovering that his father has been murdered, vows to avenge his death and regain the crown
X The Vikings (1958) -- the scourge of Ireland and England/Scotland as well as elsewhere
Valhalla Rising (2009) -- year 1000 A.D., discovery of the new world
Gil Invasori (d'annunzio or The Invaders) (1961) -- 8th-9th century Vikings attack Britain
The Norseman (1978) -- 11th century Viking prince sailed all the way to North America in search of his lost father
The Viking Sagas (1995) -- battles for the chieftainship in Viking Iceland
X A Viking Saga (2008) -- Viking story
X White Viking (1998) -- continuation of the Icelandic Sagas around 1,000 AD and the reign of King Olaf, who holds the wife of Askur hostage (currently unavailable)
The Long Ships (1964) -- Vikings against the Moors in search of a huge all gold bell
L’ Ultimo dei Vikinghi (The Last Viking ) (1961) -- Norwegian Vikings try to overthrow the tyrant Sveno
Den sidste Viking (The Last Viking) (1997) -- Danish movie from boy Harald's perspective about a mad king out to confiscate all the ships of his village
Thirteenth Warrior (1999) -- 10th century Arab shocked by Viking behavior in Russia
X Utlaginn (The Outlaw) (1981) – an Icelandic film about and accurately depicting the peoples involved in a Viking blood feud (based on the Icelanders' Sagas called the Gísla saga)
X Den rde kappe (Red Mantle) (1967) – Icelandic Viking saga
X I Tartari (The Tartars) (1961) -- after the death of his brother Togrul in a battle with the Slavs, Burundai becomes the Tartar leader ; Vikings capture Togrul's daughter
X Michel Strogoff (1956) -- French film of a hero who fought the Tartars
House of Wessex (restored), 1042-1066:
Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) -- during reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066); Norman conquest of England 1066; mother of Hereward the Wake
1066 (2009) -- Norman conquest of England in 1066 along with some Viking trouble
X Hereward the Wake (1965) -- the son of Lady Godiva fought a long time in local resistance against the Normans, but to no avail
House of Normandy , 1066-1154: First Crusade (1096-1099) & Second Crusade (1145-1149)
The War Lord (1965) -- a Norman knight in the 11th century sent to built a defensive castle falls in love with a local maiden which leads to big problems
X Wilhelm Cuceritorul (William the Conqueror) (1982) -- Norman Conqueror of England, 1066
X I normanni (Attack of the Normans) (1962) --
House of Plantagenet, 1154-139
Angevins: 1154-1399 Crusades: Third (1189-1192) Fourth (1202-1204) Fifth (1213-1221) Sixth (1228-1229) Seventh (1248 to 1254) Eighth (1270) Ninth (1271-1272)
X The Lion in Winter (1968) -- 1154-1189 Henry II and his estranged wife, Eleanore of Aquitaine
X The Lion in Winter (2003) TV -- ditto
Becket (1964) -- under Henry II, 1154-1189
Kingdom of Heaven -- the Third Crusade, involving Richard the Lion Hearted, among others
X El Naser Salah el Dine (Saladin) (1963) -- movie about the great Kurdish leader of the Arabs, Saladin
Soldier of God (2005) – a Knight Templar must re-examine his life after a disastrous defeat by the Saracens in 1187
X Vägen till Jerusalem (The Road to Jerusalem) (1998) – trilogy about a fictional Swedish Knights Templar named Arn Magnusson
Arn – Tempelriddaren (Arn – The Knight Templar) (2007) – part of a trilogy
X Arn – Riket vid vägens slut (Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End) (2008)– part of a trilogy
X Lionheart: The Crusade (2003) – Richard the Lion Hearted, son of Henry II, who ruled 1189-1199
Lionheart (1987) -- A young knight (Eric Stoltz) forms a Children's Crusade against the "Infidels" from all the homeless children following in the wake of Richard the Lionheart on his way to fight in the Crusades
X Richard Ivinoye serdtse (Richard the Lion-Hearted) (1992) -- Russian film
X Rytsar Kennet (Knight Kenneth) (1993) -- Richard the Lion-hearted
King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) -- Christian Richard I of England faces off with Moslem Saladin
The Crusades (1935) -- historical drama from Cecil B. DeMille
Crusaders (2005) -- two young men swept up in the Crusades
Ironclad (2011) -- King John tries to recapture total power after the Magna carta; a brave knight of the Knights Templar does what he can to stop him
X Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) -- with Errol Flynn
X Prince of Thieves (1948) -- Robin Hood against King John (1199-1216)
X Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952)
X Robin and Marian (1976) -- Robin Hood
X Robin Hood (1991) -- starring Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman
X Black Death (2010) – bubonic plague enters England, 1348
X Richard of Bordeaux (1955) -- Richard II (ruled 1377-1399) who took the throne at age 10 and overthrown by future King Henry IV
X König Heinrich IV (King Henry IV) (1975) – William Shakespeare adaptation
Scotland
X Macbeth (1948)
X Macbeth (1971) -- 1040, Shakespeare
Brave Heart (1995) -- story of William Wallace, 1297, Scottish independence leader
The Bruce (1996) -- story of Robert the Bruce of Scotland (1274-1329) who was King of the Scots from 1306 to 1329
Edward II (1991) -- 1307-1327, anti-gay bias ruins his rule; directed by Derek Jarman
Edward II (1970) -- Edward II deposed and murdered because of his going overboard for his homosexual lover Piers Gaveston
X Auld Lang Syne (1937) -- story of Scottish poet Robert Burns
Ireland
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000) (TV) -- English slave who became the founder of Christianity in Ireland, 5th century
House of Lancaster (1399-1471)
X Richard of Bordeaux (1955) -- Richard II (ruled 1377-1399) who took the throne at age 10 and overthrown by future King Henry IV
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) -- during the reign of King Henry IV of England (1399-1413), a talented and ambitious peasant tries to work his way up the ladder to knighthood and get the hand of the fair lady of MacWorth castle
X Henry V (1989) -- Henry V (1413-1422) with Kenneth Branagh
X Henry V (1945)
House of York (1471-1485)
Princes in the Tower (2005) -- story of Perkin Warbeck who claimed to be the heir to the British throne during the reign of King Henry VII (ruled, 1485-1509), first monarch of the Tudor dynasty
X Richard III (1955) -- Shakespeare version of King Richard III, 1483-1485
Richard III -- Shakespeare version set in 1930s England
X Looking for Richard (1996) -- Richard III, that is
X Tower of London (1939) -- questionable story of Richard III with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price
X Tower of London (1962) - remake of the 1939 film
IV.1.2. Medieval France to Age of Discovery Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
Charlemagne, Charles the Prince (1995) -- early unifier of Frankish kingdoms,. ruled 768 to 814
X Charlemagne le prince a cheval (Charlemagne) (1993) -- (TV mini-series) Frankish King Charlemagne (French language)
X Orlando e i Paladini di Francia (Roland the Mighty) (1956) -- 778, Roland, a knight of Charlemagne's court is killed at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass against a Muslim army in the Pyrennes
Carolingian Dynasty (843 to 987)
Capetian Dynasty, Direct Capetians (987 to 1328)
X Yaroslavna, koroleva Frantsii (Yaroslavna, Queen of France) (1978) – Anna Yaroslavna, a Princess of Kiev, was the queen consort of France as the wife of Henry I (1027-1060) & regent for her son Philip I
X La Gerusalemme liberata (The Mighty Crusaders) (1958) -- Godfrey of Bouillon was one of the leaders of the Crusades (1096-1100) with a successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099 (currently unavailable)
X Gates to Paradise (1968) -- 1212, launching of the Children's Crusade; set in France
X Les rois maudits (The Cursed Kings) (2005) -- King Philippe IV (ruled 1285-1314) tries to plunder the Knights Templar and other organizations (French language only)
X Les rois maudits (1972 Mini-Series) -- French only
Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois (1328-1589)
House of Lancaster (1422-1453)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) -- 1428; under Charles VII (ruled 1422-1461); Hundred Year's War with England (1337-1453); with Milla Jovovich
Joan of Arc (1999) -- with Leelee Sobieski
X Joan of Arc (1948) -- with Ingrid Bergman
Saint Joan (1957) -- by George Bernard Shaw; with Jean Seberg
X Le passion de Jeanne d'arc (Passion of Joan of Arc) (1928) -- French film
X Das Mädchen Johanna (Joan of Arc) (1935) – German movie about Joan of Arc
X Ciocârlia (The Lark) (2002) – Romanian film about Joan of Arc
X Wired Angel (1999) -- very "different" approach to telling the Joan of Arc story
X Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les batailles (1994) -- Joan of Arc
X Jeanne la Pucelle II - Les prisons (Joan the Maid 2: The Prisons) (1994) – Joan of Arc
Proces de Jeanne d'Arc (The Trial of Joan of Arc) (1962) -- life and death of a more sophisticated Joan of Arc focusing on the psychological and physical torture used to break her
X Beatrice (1988) -- set during the Hundred Year's War (1337-1453), a revisionist view of the noble Knights
Le Retour de Martin Guerre (The Return of Martin Guerre) (1982) -- fascinating film about Medieval France
X Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) -- 1483 Louis XI Notre Dame de Paris
Quentin Durward (The Adventures of Quentin Durward) (1955) – in 1465 Quentin Durward travels to France for an arranged marriage to suit King Louis XI (reigned from 1461 to 1483)
IV.1.3. Medieval Italy and Germany Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
Il terrore dei barbari (Goliath and the Barbarians) (1959) -- Lombard invasion of Italy; the Lombards were a Germanic tribe who ruled a Kingdom in Italy from 568 to 774
The Flame and the Arrow (1950) -- 12 c. Lombardy under German overlord
X Sword of War (Barbarossa) (2009) -- 1176, Frederick I Barbossa (Holy Roman Emperor) is heavily defeated at the Battle of Legnano near Milan on his fifth offensive against Italy
Der Name der Rose (The Name of the Rose) (1986) -- 1327, not a true story, but a good depiction of monastery life of the time; set in Italy
X Götz von Berlichingen mit der eisernen (Iron Hand) (1979) – Germany in the Middle Ages
X 12 Paces Without a Head (2009) -- 1401, pirate captain in the Baltic Sea who walked 12 paces after being decapitated by officials of the Hanseatic League
IV.1.4. Medieval Russia, Poland, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
Russia:
X Legenda o knyagine Olge (The Legend of Princess Olga) (1983) – one of the founders of Christianity in Russia (amazon.com doesn't have it)
X Rus iznachalnaya (1986) -- VI century Russian tribes unite to repel the Khazar invaders & the Byzantine empire collaborators (amazon.com doesn't have it)
Thirteenth Warrior (1999) -- 10th century Arab shocked by Viking behavior in Russia
X Knyaz Vladimir. Film pervyy (Prince Vladimir) (2006) -- Vladimir I, a a prince of Novgorod who became the grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in (980–1015) (Russian language only)
X Yaroslav Mudry (Yaroslav the Wise) (1982) -- reigned 1019-1054 and was thrice Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev
X I Tartari (Tartars) (1961) -- Burundai, head of Tartar invasion of Volga River area, c 1260
X Didgori: Land of Sacrificed Knights (2009) – 1121 AD, 56,000 Georgian warriors under King Davit IV battle 500,000 Seljuk Turks on the Didgori battlefield
Aleksandr Nevskiy (Alexander Nevskey) (1938) -- 13th century attack of the Teutonic Knights on Russia (Sergei M. Eisenstein director)
X Aleksandr. Nevskaya bitva (aka Alexander: The Neva Battle) (2008) -- Battle of Neva, 1240; Swedes invade Novgorod controlled territory
Grand Princes of Moscow, Rurik Dynasty (1283-1547):
Andrei Rublev (1969) -- 15th century Russian icon painter (1360?-1430?)
Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1943) -- 1533-1584; Ottoman Empire troubles, among others; by Sergei Eisenstein
Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1946) -- Sergei Eisenstein
X Tsar Ivan Grozny (Tsar Ivan the Terrible) (1993) -- Ivan the Terrible
Tsar (2009) --
Ivan the Terrible
Poland:
Piast Dynasty (9th century - 1305):
Stara basn. Kiedy slonce bylo bogiem (An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God) (2003) -- 9th century in what became Poland; inhabited by numerous Slavic tribes
Gniazdo (The Cradle) (1974) -- Mieszko I and the Battle of Cedynia, 972 A.D.
Boleslaw Smialy (aka King Boleslaus the Bold) (1972) -- 1079, struggle between the king of Poland, Boleslaus the Bold (reign 1076-1079), and the Bishop of Cracow; the Polish Becket
X I lancieri neri (Charge of the Black Lancers) (1962) -- set after the Mongol-Tartar invasion of Poland and the Battle of Legnica (1241), lost by High Duke of Poland, Henry II (1238-1241) (amazon.com doesn't have it)
Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great) (1976) -- a Piast king of Poland (1333-1370) who doubled his country in size (mostly through addition of lands in the Ukraine)
Jagiellon Dynasty (1386-1572)
Krzyzacy (Black Cross; Knights of the Teutonic Order) (1960) -- under Ladislas II (1386-1434), defeat of the Order of Teutonic Knights of Prussia by the Polish and Lithuanians at Battle of Grunwald (1410)
X Barbara Radziwillówna (Love or a Kingdom) (1936) – Sigismund II, Augustus I, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (reign 1530-1572) (amazon.com doesn't have it)
X Epitafium dla Barbary Radziwillówny (An Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill) (1983) – Barbara in 1547 married Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund II August (amazon.com doesn't have it)
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1574-1795):
Zelazna reka (The Iron Hand) (1989) -- story of right-hand warrior to Stefan Batory, ruler 1576-1586, of the noble Hungarian Báthory family; one of the greatest elected Kings of Poland
Romania:
Mircea (Proud Heritage; Kreuzritter 7) (1989) -- 1393, Ottoman Empire had to go through Romania; King Mircea of the Old Romanian Principate of Valahia decides to fight
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000)-- 1456-1476 Vlad Dracula of Transylvania fights Ottoman Turks; Ottoman Empire (1299-1922)
X Vlad Tepes (1979) -- Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia
X Intoarcerea lui voda lapusneanu (The Return of Prince Lapusneanu) (1979) -- 1564, Moldavia, the Prince seeks revenge for his Turkish exile
Mihai Viteazul (aka Michael the Brave) (1970) -- the king who united three provinces into Romania in the 17th century despite opposition from the Ottoman and Austrian Empires
X Nemuritorii (The Immortals) (1974) -- warriors of Romanian lord Mihai (1611) attacked by Turks while bringing the lord's battle flag back from Austria
X Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
X Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) (1974) – Stephen the Great or the 'Saint' ruled Moldavia, 1457-1504; fought the Ottoman Empire and Hungary
X Alexandru Lapusneanu (????) – Alexandru Lăapuşsneanu was Prince of Moldavia 1552-1561 and 1564-1568
X Neamul Soimarestilor (The Hawk; The Soimaresti Family) (1965) – war in 1600s Romania (Moldova)
X Horea (Castles Aflame in Transylvania) (1984) -- Revolt of Horea, Cloşsca and Crişsan (November 1784 - February 1785) against feudal serfdom in Transylvania, Romania
Bulgaria:
X 681 Величието на хана (681 AD: The Glory of Khan) (1981) -- 681 foundation of Bulgarian medieval state by Khan Asparuh
X Aszparuh (aka Khan Asparoukh) (1981) -- first Bulgarian ruler Khan Asparuh
X Boris I (1985) -- 852-889, St Boris I Michael of Bulgaria imposes Christianity in 864 (Bulgarian language)
Serbia (& others):
X Boj na Kosovu (translation Battle of Kosovo) (1989) – a Serbian film that depicts the historical Battle of Kosovo between Medieval Serbia and the Ottoman Empire, 1389
X Banovic Strahinja (1983) – late 14th century. medieval Serbia. attacked by Ottoman invaders; nobleman Banovic Strahinja searches for his kidnapped wife
X Seljacka buna 1573 (1975) -- peasant revolt of 1573 in Croatia and Slovenia (being heavily taxed to fight off the Turks)
X Konjanik (The Horseman) (2003) – Croatian film about a Muslim girl and a Christian guy fall in love despite it being forbidden; set in 18th c. on the border of Bosnia and Dalmatia, Ottoman Empire and Venetian Republic
X Timocka buna (1983) -- set at the time of the Timok Rebellion, 1883, in Serbia; nationalist peasant anarchism
Turkey:
X Didgori: Land of Sacrificed Knights (2009) -- 1121, Battle of Didgori where Georgian king David IV defeats Great Seljuq Empire, a medieval Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire
X Gültekin amazon kizlara karsi (1969) – 1400s Turkey Medieval period
X Istanbul'un fethi (The Conquest of Constantinople) (1951) – Turks attack and take Constantinople of the Byzantine Empire, 1453
X Suleiman the Conqueror (1961) -- Suleiman the Magnificent, leader of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century
X Fetih 1453 (Conquest) (2012) -- 1453, siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks ending the Byzantine Empire
Hungary:
c. 858-895 -- High Prince Álmos (first Hungarian leader)
c. 895-907 -- Árpád (led the Magyars into Central Europe)
X Honfoglalás (The Conquest) (1996) – 896 AD, Magyar chief Arpad (Nero) and his seven tribes comes out of the steppes and into the Carpathian basin
997-1038 -- Stefan 1 (last Grand Prince and first King of Hungary)
X Szent Gellért legendája (1994) – 11th century Hungary
X Árpád népe (2006) – 11th century Hungary
X István király (1992) – first king of Hungary, King Stephen (1001-1038)
X István, a király (1984) -- King Stephen of Hungary
1047-1061 -- Andrew I, Árpád dynasty restored; lasted to 1301
X Bánk bán (1987) – 13th century Hungary
1310-1342 -- Charles I, establishes the Angevin dynasty in Hungary; lasts until 1386
1446-1453 -- John Hunyadi serves as regent of Hungary
X The Black Knight (2009) -- General John Hunyadi defends Hungary from the Turks in the mid-15th century
X Ítélet (1970) – 1500s Peasant Revolution in Hungary
1608-1619 -- Matthias II
Bathory (2008) – Countess Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614) of Hungary, accused serial killer, but rather a modern Renaissance woman
X The Countess (2009) -- Elizabeth Báthory
X Csínom Palkó (1973) –1700s Hungarian history
1848-1916 -- Francis Joseph
Szirmok, virágok, koszorúk (Flowers of Reverie) (1984) -- after Russians beat down the 1848-1849 Hungarian revolution, Hungarian soldier wrestles with his accepting a forced enrollment into the Austrian army
X Szegénylegények (The Hopeless Ones; The Poor Outlaws; The Round-Up) (1966) -- after the Kossuth Rebellion, the Hungarian police round up peasants and subjected them to psychological torture
Les sans espoir (1966) -- Hungarian soldiers and rebels are trained to be Austrian soldiers while held in prison
X Meg ker a nep (Red Psalm; The People Still Ask) (1972) -- 1890s peasant uprising on estate in Hungary and the wealthy are helped by local authorities and then the army (English subtitles)
Other:
Helden sterben anders (Heroes Die Differently) (2007) -- in the Battle of Sempach, 1386, young Arnold Winkelried turns the battle for the Swiss against Leopold III, Duke of Austria, by throwing himself on the spears of the enemy
Marketa Lazarová (1967) – Czech film account of the shift from Paganism to Christianity
X Mestari Patelin (1985) -- Medieval Finland
IV.2. CHINA & MONGOLIA. Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
Three Kingdoms Period (220-280)
Saam gwok dzi gin lung se gap (Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon) (2008) -- story of a fantastic warrior of the Shu Kingdom and his less accomplished friend who keep on fighting only to find themselves going around in circles
Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Sixteen Kingdoms Period, 304-439 -- collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China and its neighboring areas
Northern Wei Dynasty, 386-534 (not one of the Sixteen Kingdoms)Saving General Yang (2013)
X Mulan Joins the Army (1939) – during the Northern Wei dynasty, a young woman disguises herself as a man in order to take her father's place in the army
Mulan (1998) -- the Disney version of the Mulan story
Tang Dynasty (618-665)
X Shao Lin Si (Shaolin Temple) (1982) -- Tang emperor betrayed by one of his generals, who sets himself up as emperor in the East Capital; son of a slave worker learns kung fu at Shaolin Temple, goes to and sets out to kill the traitor, 1619-1621
Zhou Dynasty (665-705)
Empress Wu Zetian (1939) -- Chinese biopic of the empress who interrupted the Tang Dynasty (618-907) with her behind her husband and sons in the First Zhou Dynasty (665-690) and in her own right in the Second Zhou Dynasty (690–705)
Tian di ying xiong (Warriors of Heaven and Earth) (2003) -- an imperial agent has to escort a caravan carrying an extremely valuable item to the capital, while fighting off the Turks and their allies; action drama;year 700 in the Göktürk Empire which controlled the lucrative Silk Road trade
Tang Dynasty continuation (710-907)
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003) -- an imperial agent has to escort a caravan carrying an extremely valuable item to the capital, while fighting off the Turks and their allies
Yôkihi (Princess Yang Kwei-fei) (1955) – a poor young woman is used by General An Lushan in his rebellion plans against Emperor Xuanzong (ruled 712-756)
Five Dynasties and Six Kingdoms Period
Song Dynasty (960-1279) -- succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period and followed by Yuan Dynasty; first known use of gun powder (960-1127 Northern Song; 947-1125 Liao Dynasty; 1127-1279 Southern Song)
X Dun-Huang (The Silk Road) (1988) -- in western China in 1026, students are shanghaied by crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the Silk Road
Shi si nu ying hao (The Fourteen Amazons) (1972) – the women of the Yang family lead the defense of the Song dynasty against invading Western Xia in 11th century, 960-1127
X Legendary Amazons (2011) -- the Yang Family Generals' women, 960-1127
X Saving General Yang (2013) -- Yang Family Generals, 960-1127
Shi er jin pai (Twelve Gold Medallions)
(1970) -- a man loyal to the emperor, tries to stop a message on 12 gold medallions to
be delivered by traitors (Emperor ruled 1131-1162) 1125-1234 Jin Dynasty 1234-1279 Transitional Period of
Growing Mongolian Control 1279-1368 Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian
Control)
X Po veleniyu Chingiskhana (By the Will of Genghis Khan) (2009) –
X Genghis Khan - Historical TV Series (10 DVD Set) (2007) --
Aoki Ôkami: chi hate umi tsukiru (aka Genghis Khan: To the Ends of Earth and Sea; The Blue Wolf: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea) (2007) – a Japanese-Mongolian depiction of the life of Genghis Khan
The Mongol (2007) – Genghis Khan's slow rise to power
X The Fall of Otrar (2002) – Genghis Khan
X Genghis Khan (1998) -- Genghis Khan
X Gibel Otrara (The Fall of Otrar) (1991) – the incident in Otrar that unleashed Genghis Khan and his hordes
Genghis Khan (1965) -- 1206-1227; with Omar Sharif
The Mongols (1961) -- Jack Palance plays the role of the son of Genghis Khan with Anita Ekberg as his mistress
Conqueror (1956) -- Mongols under Genghis Khan vs. Tartars and others
Marco Polo (2007) -- the adventures, including love ones, of Marco Polo
Marco Polo (1998) -- 1295 with Kublai Khan, opening up the east to trade with the west.
X Marco Polo: Haperek Ha'aharon (Marco Polo: The Missing Chapter) (1996) – Polo returns to Venice in 1295 to find Venice and Genoa at war; he is soon imprisoned by the Genoans and used as a political pawn
X Marco Polo (1982) -- tv mini-series about Marco Polo
X Marco Polo (1962) --
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) -- 1275, in China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
IV.3. INDIA (Medieval Period: 711-1526) Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
X Pritviraj-Samyukta (1946) – Prithviraj Chauhan (1168-1192), second-to-last Hindu to rule Delhi & unifier of Rajputs against Muslim invasions, & his wife Samyukta (heir of Tomar Kingdom in 1170)
Islamic Sultanates (1206-1596)
X Ambikapathy (1937) – 1083, story of the poet Kambar in the time of Kulothunga Chola (1070-1120) of the s. Indian Chola Empire (300s BC-1279)
Vijayanagara Empire (1336-1660)
X Sri Krishnadevaraya (1970) -- Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529); most famous king of Vijayanagara Empire, presided over the empire at zenith
X Urumi: Warriors Who Wanted to Kill Vasco Da Gama (2011) -- fictional story about a young Indian who tried to kill Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, around 1497-1502
X Urumi Malayalam -- Vasco da Gama conquest of south India from the Indian point of view (currently unavailable)
X Joymati (1935) – in 17th century an Ahom princess is killed for refusing to betray her husband; film calls for cooperation between hills and plains people
Khalsa (1999) -- Khalsa (Punjabi for "Pure") all baptized Sikhs; founding of the religion & Sikh history
X Anokhe Amar Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji (2006) -- based on Sikh history
IV.4. Japan (Early Medieval Period: 711-1526) Back to Chapter IV Back to Contents
The Asuka period (538-710)
X Shotoku taishi (Prince Shotoku) (2001) – established a centralized government; aka Prince Umayado; his existence is disputed
Heian period, 794-1185:
Shin heike monogatari (The Taira Clan Saga) (1955) -- an unpaid special forces commander under Emperor Toba who ruled Japan from 1107-1123
Kamakura period, 1185-1333 and Kemmu restoration, 1333-1336:
Muromachi period, 1336-1573:
X Kikuchi sembon-yari: Shidonî tokubetsu kôgeki-tai (Thousand Spears of Kikuchi: Sydney Special Attack Unit) (1944) -- Nanbokucho wars in Nanboku-cho period, 1336-1392, with Northern Imperial Court founded by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto & Southern Imperial Court established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino
Furin kazan (Under the Banner of Samurai; Samurai Banners) (1969) -- Yamamoto Kansuke (1501-1561),Japanese samurai and General who planned the victory at the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima against Uesugi Kenshin
V. RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION & CATHOLIC COUNTER-REVOLUTION Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
V.1. RENAISSANCE, ITALY. Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
House of Habsburg (1437-1657)
Maximilian I (1483-1519)
Borgias:
Lucrezia Borgia (1935) -- good story of the many political marriages of Lucrezia Borgia used by her family as a political pawn
Prince of Foxes (1949) -- Cesare Borgia (1475-1507) plays politics with who his sister will marry
X Bride of Vengeance (1949) -- Cesare Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (1953) – Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) born near Rome
X Il Duca Nero (The Black Duke) (1963) -- Cesare Borgia starring Cameron Mitchell ($32)
X The Borgias (1981) -- BBC miniseries
X Las noches secretas de Lucrezia Borgia (Secret Nights) (1982) -- don't bother; it's more about sex than anything else
X Le notti di Lucrezia Borgia (The Nights of Lucretia Borgia) (1959) --
Los Borgia (The Borgias) (2006) -- Spanish film with English subtitles about the Borgia family
X The Borgias (2011) -- Showtime miniseries
Others:
Flesh and Blood (1985) -- 1501 story of Landsknechts (mostly German mercenaries including pikemen & supporting foot soldiers, late 15th to late 16th century)
Charles V, Holy Roman Empire (1530-1556)
X Il Diavolo nero (The Black Devil) (1957) -- as Carlos I of Spain (1516-1556) and as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (1519-1556) the monarch tries to occupy all of Italy with the help of traitors
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) -- Michelangelo (1475-1564) fights with Pope Julius II; based on Irving Stone novel
X Da Vinci's Demons (2013) -- fictional TV-series about Leonardo Da Vinci's early life as an artist, inventor, idealist and a genius intellectual
X Il mestiere delle armi (The Profession of Arms) (2001) – first victim of modern artillery Captain Giovanni De' Medici, who fought in the war of Charles V against the Pope, first half of 1500s -- (not available)
Rudolph II (1575-1612)
Caravaggio (2007) -- Italian Renaissance painter 1593-1610; proto-Baroque style
X Caravaggio (1986) -- gay Derek Jarman's fictionalized version of the life of Caravaggio
Artemisia (1997) -- Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most accomplished early Baroque painters in the generation; influenced by Caravaggio
Dangerous Beauty -- a courtesan (Catherine McCormack) becomes the most desired woman in 16th century Venice, but faces criticism, humiliation and the Holy Inquisition
X Galilée ou L'amour de Dieu (2005) – Galilée and the Inquisition
Galileo (1975) -- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo Galilei (1969) -- Italian film
Love and freedom - tragic events of Masaniello, which took place in Naples in July 1647 (amazon instant video)
X Pietro Micca (1938) -- soldier becomes national hero in the defense of Turin (1706) against French troops during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
X Casanova (2005) -- yes, even Casanova got dumped; 18th century
X Fellini's Casanova (1976) -- not for historians; erotic adventure
V.2. REFORMATION AND RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
John Hus (1977) -- Czech burned at the stake in 1415; had influence on Martin Luther; part of the Hussite Trilogy; only in Czech
X Jan Žižka (1955) -- General Jan Zizka of Hussite Wars; part of Hussite Trilogy; only in Czech; fought in the Battle of Grunwald (July 15, 1410), where he defended Radzyń against the Teutonic Order, and in the civil wars of Bohemia.
X Proti všem (Against All) (1958) -- Hussite Wars; part of Hussite Trilogy; only in Czech
Luther (2003) -- of the Reformation
X Luther (1973) -- of the Reformation, 1520
X Der Reformator (1968) – German film about Martin Luther
X Martin Luther (1953) -- of the Reformation
The Radicals (1990) -- the story of the radical Anabaptists
Scandanavia:
X Fru Inger til strt (Lady Inger of Ostrat) (1975) -- 1528, Norwegian noble woman seeking independence for the nation in the time of the Kalmar Union (1396-1537) involving Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Modern Sweden begins 1523
Karin Mansdotter (1954) – 1550–1612, started as mistress and ended as Swedish Queen to Eric XIV (reign 1560-1568)
X Queen Christina (1933) -- 1654 Queen Christina of Sweden; Greta Garbo
The Abdication (1974) – Queen Christina of Sweden abdicates; what happened to Queen Christina when she converted to Catholicism
Snapphanar (Scanian Guerilla) (2006) – Scanian War, 1676-1679, between Sweden and Denmark when Sweden's king was Charles XI
X Karl XII (1925) -- Charles XII of Sweden (reigned 1697-1718); Great Northern War (1700-1721)
X Epitaph für einen König (1969) – Epitaph for a King; King Karl XII of Sweden (1697-1718)
X En kongelig affćre (A Royal Affair) (2012) -- Danish King Christian VII (ruled 1766-1808) suffers from mental illness and is pushed around by radical thinker Johann Friedrich Struensee, his personal physician, who made progressive reforms which did not last long
X Kustaa III (1964) – Finnish film, Strindberg play adaptation; Gustav III, King of Sweden (1771-1792) when Finland was part of Sweden
X Gustav III (1974) – assassination of Sweden’s King Gustav III (ruled 1771-1792)
X Lockfgeln (The Decoy) (1971) – on his death-bed, a father asks his son to kill King Gustav III
Gustav III's äktenskap (The Marriage of Gustav III) (2001) – Gustav III of Sweden, nine years into his marriage
Union of Sweden and Norway: 1814-1905
Desiree (1954) -- a French seamstress loves Napoleon, but his marriage to aristocrat Josephine spoils her dream; she becomes wife of Bernadotte, future King Charles XIV John (1818-1844)
X Utvandrarna (The Emigrants) (1971) -- Swedish immigrants to Minnesota, USA
Kautokeino-opprřret (The Kautokeino Rebellion) (2008) -- Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, Norway 1852
X Behöriga äga ej tillträde (1988) – 1890s Sweden when the country became modernized
X General von Döbeln (1942) -- Swedish general who fought in the Russian War, Finnish War and Second War Against Napoleon
X Korkein oikeus (1998) – the "Cudget War" was a peasant rebellion in the late 16th century Finland
X Kolme katku vahel (1970) – Livonian War, 1558–1583, where Russia tried to take Livonia (today’s Estonia a& Latvia) and was opposed by varying Allies
V.3. CATHOLIC COUNTER REFORMATION Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
X Il Mestiere delle Armi (Profession of Arms) (2000) -- Giovanni de Medici, captain in Charles V's war against the pope & fought the Protestant Reformation
X The Cardinal (1936) -- Cardinal de Medici
X Catherine de Médici (1989) -- French movie about Catherine (1519-1589) who was queen consort of King Henry II of France from 1547 to 1559
X La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (Princess of Cleves) (1966) – the princess in the royal court of Henry II of France; she marries but loves another who she thinks has been unfaithful
X Il Diavolo nero (The Black Devil) (1957) -- As Carlos I of Spain (1516-1556) and as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (1519-1556) the monarch tries to occupy all of Italy with the help of traitors
X That Lady (1955) -- story of Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Eboli, and Prince Philip (who became Philip II of Spain, 1556-1598)
X La conjura de El Escorial (The El Escorial Conspiracy) (2008) - deceit and betrayal in the court of King Philip II of Spain
X Seville, 1640 (2004) --
The Last Valley (1971) -- set in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)
V.4 ENGLAND TO AMERICAN REVOLUTION Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Renaissance, Reformation and Religious Conflict
John Wycliffe: The Morning Star (1984) -- Wycliffe (mid-1320s to 1384) -- early English dissident from Roman Catholic Church ; founder of Lollard Movement, predecessor to Luther
House of Tudors: 1461-1603
Henry VIII
The Shadow of the Tower (1972) -- founding of the Tudor Dynasty by Henry VII
Princes in the Tower (2005) -- story of Perkin Warbeck who claimed to be the heir to the British throne during the reign of King Henry VII (ruled, 1485-1509), first monarch of the Tudor dynasty
X The Tudors (2007)-- mini-series with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Henry VIII
X Henry VIII (2003) -- 250 minutes
X Henry VIII (1991) -- 200 minutes
X Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1973)
X Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) -- of England, 1509-1547
X Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) mini-series --
The Sword and the Rose (1953) -- Henry VIII uses his sister Mary Tudor's marriage prospects as a pawn in international politics
X The Twisted Tale of Bloody Mary (2008) -- Mary Tudor as tragic figure
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) -- struggle between the two Boleyn women to marry King Henry VIII
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) -- Anne Boleyn, 2nd wife of Henry VIII & mother of Queen Elizabeth
X Anna Boleyn (1920) -- silent film of tragic story of King Henry's second wife with Emil Jannings as Henry
X A Man for All Seasons (1966) -- Sir Thomas More won't compromise
X A Man for All Seasons (1988) -- Sir Thomas More (1509-1547) gets in deep trouble with Henry VIII
Lady Jane (1986) -- tragedy of Lady Jane Grey, immediate predecessor of Mary, Queen of England
X Nine Days a Queen (aka Tudor Rose) (1936) -- Lady Jane Grey's short life ($95 for a new VHS tape)
The Pearl of York (2007) -- first woman to die for her religious beliefs following the start of the Reformation
Elizabeth I
X Elizabeth (1998) -- Elizabeth I, 1558-1603,daughter of Anne Boleyn and niece of Mary, Queen of England
Elizabeth I -- HBO drama focusing on the private life of the "Virgin" Queen
Young Bess (1953) -- Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger
X The Virgin Queen (1955) -- Bette Davis
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Elizabeth R (1971) -- miniseries about Queen Elizabeth I starring Glenda Jackson
Elizabeth: the Golden Age (2007) -- Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh and the Spanish Armada; starring Cate Blanchett
Masterpiece Theatre: Elizabeth I - The Virgin Queen (2005)
X Drake the Pirate (Drake of England or Elizabeth of England) (1935) -- privateer Sir Francis Drake brings lots of money into England
X Sir Francis Drake (1961) -- 3 DVD-set (26 episodes of a TV series) about the famous privateer
Seven Seas to Calais (1962) -- Sir Francis Drake
X Drake's Venture (1980) -- Sir Francis Drake
Mary of Scotland (1936) -- with Katherine Hepburn
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) -- executed by Elizabeth for plotting against her
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot (2004) -- Mary, Queen of Scots, her son James and Guy Fawkes
The Sea Hawk (1940) -- Spanish Armada (with Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh)
Fire Over England (1937) -- British-Spanish conflict of 1500s
The Stuarts (1603-1649) and the Commonwealth (1649-1659):
To Kill a King (2003) -- Cromwell, General Fairfax, Mrs. Fairfax and Charles I (1625-1649) struggle over the future of England
Cromwell (1970) -- English Puritan leader, ruled England 1653-1658
X The Crimson Blade (1963) -- love affair in the time of Cromwell's struggle
By the Sword Divided (1983) -- in the English Civil War the Lacey family supports King Charles I and the related-by-marriage Fletcher family supports Oliver Cromwell (BBC series)
Witchfinder General (aka Conqueror Worm) (1968) -- Matthew Hopkins tours the land searching for and finding witches
The Moonraker (1958) -- the Moonraker, the Earl of Dawlish, travels to the Windwhistle Inn on the south coast to prepare the escape of the future Charles II
Winstanley (1975) -- Gerard Winstanley leads the religious sect the Diggers to reclaim land for the poor, around 1649
X The Devil's Whore (2008) -- tv mini-series; an aristocratic lady goes through trials and tribulations because of problems associated with the English Civil War
The Stuarts (restored): 1660-1707
X Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003) -- the restoration of the absolute monarchy for a brief time following the reign of Cromwell
X The Exile (1947) -- story of the restoration of Charles II to the English throne -- (discontinued by the manufacturer)
Restoration (1995) -- in the reign of Charles II of England 1660-1685
Forever Amber (1947) -- one of the many mistresses of Charles II
Nell Gwyn (1934) -- one of Charles II mistresses who enjoyed her great liveliness
Stage Beauty (2004) -- first woman to play the role of a woman on the stage in England under Charles II
The First Churchills (1969) -- John Churchill and his wife Sarah Jennings, ancestors of Winston Churchill
Libertine (2004) -- 17th century British poet who leads a life of debauchery
Black Swan (1942) -- Captain Morgan in Jamaica
Captain Blood (1935)-- set in the transition between James II and the reign of William and Mary
early years of House of Hanover: 1714-1901
Sarabande for Dead Lovers (1948) -- Sophie Dorothea seeks out Swedish Count Philip Konigsmark when her husband. the future King George I of Great Britain wants nothing to do with her
The Madness of King George III (1994) -- of American Revolutionary War fame
X Young Mr. Pitt (1942)
Amazing Grace (2006) -- 1807, William Wilberforce is the main force behind the passage of the bill eliminating the slave trade in the British Empire
John Wesley (1954) -- John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism
X The Massacre of Glencoe (1971) -- massacre of the Macdonald Clan by the Campbell Clan, 1692
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) -- British film about Prince Charles of 18th century Scotland
X The Battle of Culloden (1964) -- Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated at this 1746 battle
X Kidnapped (1960) -- a young man cheated out of his inheritance joins forces with Alan Breck, just escaping from the defeat at Culloden, to get the inheritance back; Disney movie
Chasing the Deer (1994) -- last Jacobite uprising; death of the Highland clans at Culloden Moor, 1746
Rob Roy (1995) -- 18th century Scotland
X Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1954)
Blackbeard (2006) -- Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal navy is sent to Jamaica to end Blackbeard's reign of terror
Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) -- Edward Teach (Blackbeard) captured in November 1718
X Morgan the Pirate (1961) --
X Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) -- 1787 mutiny on trip to get the breadfruit plant
X Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) -- the fictionalized story
X The Bounty (1984) -- the true story with Mel Gibson
In the Wake of the Bounty (1933) -- not only what happened on the Bounty, but what also happened afterwards
A Royal Scandal (1996) -- King George IV (ruling from 1820-1830) and Princess Caroline of Brunswick weave a tale of infidelity, illegitimacy and mistresses
X Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947) -- married the future George IV in 1785
V.5. FRANCE & HOLLAND TO FRENCH REVOLUTION Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Reformation & Religious Conflict
Capetian Dynasty, Valois-Orléans Branch (1498-1515)
The Sword and the Rose (1953) -- English King's sister Mary Tudor married to King Louis XII, who ruled from 1498-1515
Capetian Dynasty, Valois-Angoulme Branch (1515-1589) that started with King Francis I (1515-1547) who initiated the French Renaissance
X Diane (1956) -- mistress of King Henri II, first emperor of the French Renaissance (rule from 1547 to 1559)
Queen Margot (1994) -- sister of Frances's Charles IX (ruled 1560-1574), brother of Francis II, weds in 16th c; marries the future King Henri IV
X Saint-Germain ou La négociation (2003) -- Charles IX sends Catholic Baron to Protestant representatives (includes St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572) (French language only)
Capetian Dynasty, House of Borbon (1589-1792)
X Les samedis de l'histoire: Henri IV (1977) – story of Henri IV of France (reign 1589-1610) who enacted the Edict of Nantes for religious freedom
X Henri 4 (2009) -- King Henry IV of France (reigned 1589-1610) from his rise as the Huguenot Henry of Navarre to a very popular King of France
X Ce jour lŕ, tout a changé (2009 TV Series) -- last day of king Henri IV of France before his murder by the fanatical catholic Ravaillac
Louis XIII
X Cardinal Richelieu (1935) -- Cardinal Richelieu oppresses French Protestants, known as Huguenots (under King Louis XIII, 1610-1643)
X Richelieu (1977 Mini-Series) -- French language only
X Richelieu ou La journée des dupes (TV 1983) -- French language only
Under the Red Robe (1937) -- Cardinal Richelieu worried about opposition from the Huguenots in the south
X The Three Musketeers (1935) -- the Musketeers fight against the forces of Cardinal Richelieu.
X The Three Musketeers (1939)
X The Three Musketeers (1948)
X The Three Musketeers (1973) -- King Louis XIII of France, 1610-1643
X The Three Musketeers (1993)
La Kermesse Héroique (aka Carnival in Flanders) (1935) – a French comedy set during the 1616 Spanish invasion of Flanders
Alatriste (2006) -- heroic Spanish soldier fighting in Flanders in 17th century has to look after a dying friend's son in Madrid
Matka Joanna od aniolów (Mother Joan of the Angels) (1961) -- 1630s; womanizing priest Grandier executed for sorcery & the next priest tries to heal the nuns
X Cautio Criminalis oder Der Hexenanwalt (1974) – German movie; witchcraft
The Headsman (Shadow of the Sword) (2005) -- 16th century Tyrol, Austria; of two childhood friends one becomes a friar and the other an executioner, but both are involved in witch hunting
Le moine et la sorcire (Sorceress) (1987) – supposed witchcraft in 13th century France
The Devils (1971) -- witchcraft in 17th c. France
Vredens dag (Day of Wrath) (1943) -- accusations of witchcraft in a 17th c. Danish village
Witches' Hammer (1970) -- witch hunting in Czechoslovakia
X Posledná bosorka (The Last Witch) (1957) – a painter of a nude model angers the clergy so they condemn the model as a witch
The Hour of the Pig (aka The Advocate) (1993) -- a lawyer defends animals accused of being involved in witchcraft
X Anna Göldin, letzte Hex (Anna Goldin, the Last Witch) (1991) -- ($75)
Rembrandt (1936) -- 1630 Dutch painter
Rembrandt (1940) --
Rembrandt (1999) --
X Rembrandt fecit 1669 (Rembrandt - 1669) (1977) --
Night watching (2007) -- Rembrandt's romantic and professional life
X Rembrandt: Fathers and Sons (1999) --
Girl with a Pearl Earring -- Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, 1665
Louis XIV
La Prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (The Taking of Power by Louis XIV) (1966) -- Louis XIV (1643-1715)
X Versailles, le reve d'un roi (Versailles: The Dream of a King) (2008) – Louis XIV
X Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (2006) – mistress of King Louis XIV
Vatel (2000) -- in 1671, Prince de Condé hosts Louis XIV for three days of excess
X Saint-Cyr (The King's Daughters) (2000) -- France under the rule of Louis XIV (including his lady friend and his mistress) ($55)
X Louis, enfant roi (Louis, the Child King) (1993) -- formative years of the young king Louis XIV
X Liselotte von der Pfalz (The Private Life of Louis XIV) (1935) – Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatine (or Pfalz) marries brother of Louis XIV of France and becomes known for her correspondence
X Liselotte von der Pfalz (1966) -- ($40)
X La reine et le cardinal (The Queen and the Cardilnal) (2009) – Mazarin functioned as co-ruler of France with Queen Anne during the regency for young King Louis XIV; later Mazarin directed French policy with the monarch
X Le roi, l'écureuil et la couleuvre (The King, the Squirrel and the Grass Snake) (2009) --
X Versailles, le ręve d'un roi (Versailles: The Dream of a King) (TV 2008) -- French language only
X Le château perdu (TV 1973)
X Le roi danse (The King Is Dancing) (2000)
X L'allée du roi (1996) -- TV mini-series, 241 minutes
X Saint-Cyr (The King's Daughters) (2000) --
X La marquise des ombres (TV 2010) -- woman poisoner leads off the deaths in the Affair of the Poisons
X Voltaire (1933)
Louis XV
Cartouche (1962) -- French Robin Hood during the time of the Régence, 1715-1723, the regent part of the reign of King Louis XV (1715-1774)
Que la fęte commence... (Let Joy Reign Supreme) (1975) -- the Regent over Louis XV, France
X Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (2006) – mistress of King Louis XIV, 1745-1764
Madame du Barry (aka Passion) (1917) -- mistress of King Louis XV of France
Madame du Barry (1954) -- 1768 Louis XV and the Countess Du Barry
V.6. SPAIN & PORTUGAL Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Muslim Era (8th to 15th century):
X King Conqueror (2009) -- James I the Conqueror (reign 1213-1276), King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier
X Ins de Castro (1944) – loved one of Pedro I of Portugal (1357-1367); she had a tragic ending
X Ins de Portugal (1997) -- ditto
X O Judea (The Jew) (1996) -- the Portugal Inquisition (1497 to l821) tries a converso (i.e., a Jew who had converted to Catholicism)
'Non', ou A V Glória de Mandar (No, or the Vain Glory of Command) (1990) -- Portuguese in Portuguese Colonial War review early history of Portugal
Imperial Spain (16th to 17th centuries): under Habsburg Empire: Kings Charles I (1516-1556); Philip II (1556-1598); Philip III (1598-1621); Philip IV (1620-1665); Charles II (1665-1700)
X Torquemada (1989) -- Spanish Inquisition
Secret Passage (2004) -- two Jewish Spanish sisters and a daughter try to escape the wrath of the Spanish Inquisition
X La conjura de El Escorial (The El Escorial Controversy) (2008) -- deceit and betrayal in the court of 16th century King Philip II of Spain who reigned 1556-1598
X Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien (2005) -- bad relations between King Philip II of Spain and his son Don Carlos ($41)
X Cervantes (1980) -- Cervantes (1547–1616), later author of Don Quixote, persuades Philip of Spain to join the Holy League and then becomes a soldier
Expulsados 1609, la tragedia de los moriscos (2009) -- 1609 Moriscos expelled from Spain
X El Greco (2007) – a Greek film about the Greek painter (1541–1614) of the Spanish Renaissance
X El Greco (1966) -- about the Greek painter of the Spanish Renaissance
Alatriste (2006) -- heroic Spanish soldier fighting in Flanders in 17th century has to look after a dying friend's son in Madrid; King Philip IV depicted
X Esquilache (1989) -- Spain under troubled reign of Charles II (1665-1700); (specifically, the Esquilache Riots of March 1766) (Spanish only)
Spain under the Borbons (18th century): Philip V (1700-1724); Louis I (1724); Philip V (1724-1746); Ferdinand VI (1746); Charles III (1746-1788)-; Charles IV (1746-1808); Ferdinand VII (1808)
V.7. GERMANY Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
X Zwölf Meter ohne Kopf (12 Paces without a Head) (2009) -- 1401, German sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels
Il Principe di Homburg (The Prince of Homburg) (1997) -- Prince disobeys orders and leads a cavalry charge against the Swedes and is court-martialed during 17th century Prusso-Swedish Wars (Hitler's favorite play?)
Der große König (The Great King) (1942) – Nazi film glorifying Prussian King Friedrich II during the Seven Years' War (Germans versus Austria and Russia) in the years between 1754/56 and 1763
X Der Choral von Leuthen (The Anthem of Leuthen) (1933) -- German film depicting Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1740–1786) (no subtitles)
X Maria Theresia (1951) -- (1717-1780) the Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and a Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Francis I; son Joseph II ; daughter Marie Antoinette
X Maria Theresia (1980) -- ditto
Barry Lyndon (1976) -- Stanley Kubrik; set against the 7 Year's War 1756-1763
X Amadeus (1984) -- 1762, Mozart, musical genius
Mozart (a.k.a., Life and Loves of Mozart) (1956) -- Mozart and his wife, his former mistress and his new mistress
X Motsart i Salieri (Mozart and Salieri) (1962)
V.8. POLAND Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1574-1795):
1612: Khroniki smutnogo vremeni (aka 1612) (2007) – Russian film set in the Time of Troubles and the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618) (under Polish King Sigismund III (1587-1632))
Taras Bulba (1962) -- fictional character; Cossack life in the Ukraine, once part of Poland
X The Rebel Son (aka The Barbarian and the Lady or The Rebel Son of Taras Bulba) (1938) – earlier fictional film of the Taras Bulba story (amazon.com doesn't have it)
Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword) (1961) Cossacks vs. Poles; first part of a trilogy set in mid-17th century (1648-1649); under Ladislas IV (1632-1648) & John II Casimir (1648-1668)
Potop (The Deluge) (1975) -- second part of the trilogy; Swedish army invades Poland and a warrior fights for the heart of Olenka; lasted 1665-1660 under John II Casimir
Pan Wolodyjowski (Colonel Wolodyjowski) -- third part of the trilogy; Turkish invasion of Poland; (1668-1670) under Polish Kings John II Casimir (1648-1668) and Michael I (1669-1673)
X August der Starke (King August the Strong) (1936) – King August II The Strong (1697-1733) Polish monarch, abdicated 1706, king again 1709 (amazon.com doesn't have it)
X Virtuti Militari (1995) -- the history of Poland's "Virtuti Militari" medal, awarded for bravery since the Polish-Russian war of 1792
Kings of the Kingdom of Poland ("Congress Poland"), 1815-1917
Pan Tadeusz (2000) -- Poland's attempt to free itself from Russian rule in Napoleonic times, 1803-1815
X Wesele (The Wedding) (1973) -- national drive toward self-determination after the Polish uprisings of 1830 and 1863
X Jaroslaw Dabrowski (1976) -- Dabrowski (1836 – 1871) a Polish revolutionary, Nationalist and general who became involved in the preparation of the January Uprising; arrested August 1862
On the Banks of the Niemen (1986) -- 1863 uprising against Russian occupation
Wierna rzeka (The Faithful River) (1987) – only survivor of a unit in the 1863 insurgency in Poland is taken care of by a land steward's daughter
X Wierna rzeka (1936) -- ditto
X Szwadron (Squadron) (1992) – Russian soldier finds out the little insurrection in 1863 Poland is a lot bigger than he expected
Noce i dnie (Nights and Days) (1975) -- life in Poland following the 1863 Poland uprising to World War I; woman marries a man she doesn't love, with some negative repercussions
Goraczka (Fever) (1981) – in 1905 Polish anarchists try to assassinate the Tsarist Governor-General
Zamach Stanu (Coup D'etat) (1981) -- Polish film about General Jozef Pilsudski taking over Poland in 1918 and ruling for four years & coming back in 1926 to rule until his death in 1935
V.9 RUSSIA & TURKEY TO FRENCH REVOLUTION & BEYOND Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Tsars of Russia (1547-1721):
Rurik Dynasty (1547-1598): second part of Ivan the Terrible's reign & reign of Feodor I
X Borus Godunov (1986) -- de facto regent of Russia , 1584-1598, and then the first non-Rurikid tsar, 1598 to 1605
X Mest shuta (A Fool's Revenge) (1993) -- 1500s Russia
Times of Troubles (1598-1613):
Gudonov Dynasty (1598-1605): Boris Gudonov & Feodor II
Usurper I: False Dmitry I (1605-1606)
1612: Khroniki smutnogo vremeni (aka 1612) (2007) – Russian film set in the Time of Troubles and the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618)
Shuysky Dynasty (1606-1610): Vasily IV Shuysky
Usurper II: False Dmitry II (1607-1610)
Council of Seven Boyars (27 July 1610 – 4 November 1612)
House of Vasa -- Włladysłlaw IV Vasa (1595-1610)
Council of All the Land (17 April 1611 – 26 July 1613)
House of Romanov (1613-1721):
X September Eleven 1683 (2012)-- siege of Vienna by the Turks NO LINK
Peter the Great (1689-1725):
Peter the Great (1986)-- 1689-1725, Russian Czar; 1710-11 war with Ottoman Empire
Yunost Petra (Peter's youth) -- young Peter the Great
V nachale slavnykh del (At the Beginning of Glorious Days) (1981) -- Peter the Great and the build up of the Russian Navy
X Sluga Gosudarev (The Sovereign's Servant) (2007) -- 1709 during war between Russia and Sweden (The Great Northern War, 1700-1721) -- (currently unavailable)
X Epitaph für einen König (1969) – epitaph for a king; Karl XII of Sweden (1697-1718)
X Isoviha (1939) – story set in 18th century Finland when the country was occupied twice by Russia, during the Great Northern War (1700-1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1741–1742)
Catherine the Great (1762-1796):
Young Catherine (1991) 1762-1796, Catherine the Great of Russia; 1768 war with Turkey (TV miniseries)
The Scarlet Empress (1934) -- Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great (1934) -- with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Flora Robeson
X Caterina di Russia (Catherine of Russia) (1963) -- Italian film (currently unavailable)
X Catherine the Great (1995) -- with Catherine Zeta-Jones
X The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934) -- troubled marriage of Catherine II (played by German actress Elisabeth Bergner) to Peter III (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and her subsequent ascension to the throne as Empress of Russia
A Royal Scandal (1945) -- love life of Russian Czarina Catherine the Great (with Tallulah Bankhead)
X Tempest (1959) -- Pugachev peasant uprising during the reign of Catherine the Great
Russkiy bunt (Captain's Daughter) (2000) -- during the Pugachev uprising, the love of Masha Mironova and Pyotr Grinev is threatened
X Kapitanskaya dochka (The Captain's Daughter) (1959) -- Pugachev uprising of Cossacks and peasants in 1774-1745 under Empress Catherine II (aka Catherine the Great)
Turkey and others:
X Estergon kalesi (Estergon Castle) (1972) – Estergon Castle in Hungary conquered by Turkish Invaders under Sultan Suleiman II in 1543
Nomad (2005) -- a young fellow in 18th-century Kazakhstan unites the country's disunited tribes
V.10. India. Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
The Mughal Period: 1526-1757
Humayun (1945) -- Mughal emperor Humayun (1530-1539), son of emperor Babar
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) -- Akbar the Great (ruled 1556-1619) and his Hindu wife Jodhabai
Mughal-e-Azam (1960) -- 16th century war between crown prince Saleem and his father, the great Moghul emperor Akbar (1556-1605), over a beautiful court dancer named Anarkali
Anarkali (1953) -- Shahenshah Jalaudin Akbar, grandson of Babbar and son of Humayun, rules Hindustan justly, but has big problems with a rebellious son in love with the gypsy Anarkali
X Akbar Saleem Anarkali (1978) -- story of Arnakali and Saleem
Noor Jahan (1931) -- a Mughal empress (1577-1645), 20th and favorite wife of Emperor Jehangir (1605-27)
Taj Mahal (2005) -- Moghul ruler Shah Jahan (1628-1658) builds a monument to eternal love in honor of his deceased wife
X Taj Mahal: A Monument to Love (2003) -- ditto
X Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960) -- Mysore kingdom was a golden age in Kannada .literature; Mysore royalty’s intrigues & Kannada national chauvinism; King Ranadheera Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638-1659), a devotee of music and literature
Maratha Empire 1674–1818
X Bajirao Mastani (1925) -- prime minister Baji Rao I (1719-17400) to the Maratha Empire; extended the empire
X Ghashiram Kotwal (1976) – story of Nanasaheb Phadnavis, the prime minister and real power of the Peshwa Maharaja, 1773-1797
V.11. JAPAN Back to Chapter V Back to Contents
Azuchi-Momoyama period, 1568 to 1603:
Kagemusha (1980) -- Takeda clan, one of three warlord clans, 16th century
Ugetsu (1953) -- two peasants in search of success in war-torn Japan, 16th century
Ran (1985) -- (Akira Kurosawa) Japanese lord finds his kingdom disintegrating as his sons go to war with each other (adaptation of King Lear & life of Mōri Motonari), 16th century
X Mōri Motonari (1997) -- NHK's TV drama
Rikyu (1989) -- Buddhist priest and improver of the tea ceremony runs afoul of Lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi
X Sekigahara (1981) -- drama set in the time when the Eastern and Western Armies met in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600
Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868):
James Clavell's Shogun (1980) -- based on the achievements of the first Englishman in Japan, early 17th century
Seven Samurai (1954) (Akira Kurosawa) -- wandering ronin (i.e., unemployed samurai) defend a peasant village from bandits, 17th century
Makai tenshô (Samurai Resurrection) (2003) – the Shimabara Rebellion of mostly Christian peasants,1637–1638, during the Tokugawa era against rising taxes
The Samurai Trilogy (1967) -- based on the novel that has been called Japan's Gone With the Wind, 17th century
Life of Oharu (1952)
Hara-kiri (1962) -- Japanese period film 1630, dealing with the plight of the poor end of the samurai spectrum
Ako-Jo danzetsu (aka Swords of Vengeance) (1978) -- Ronin revolt against 5th Togukawa shogun (Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, reign 1680-1709) in honor of their master Lord Asano
X Genroku Chűshingura (The 47 Ronin) (194l) -- the famous actions of the Forty-seven Ronin defending their master's honor in 1701-1703; the country's "national legend"
X Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki (The 47 Ronin) (1962) -- ditto
X Ô-oku: The Movie (2006) – 1713, scandal of a power struggle between Ietsugu's concubine mother and the late Shogun's official wife
Goyokin (1969) -- 1831,debts owed by a small province to the Tokugawa Shogunate causes province leaders to stealing goyokin (gold and silver) from mining sites on Sado Island & worse (e.g., massacre)
Chinmoku (Silence) (1971) --two Portuguese missionaries face torture and death in a closed Japan
X Ansatsu (The Assassination; The Assassin) (1964) -- set in 1853, a masterless samurai's loyalties move dangerously back and forth between the Shogunate and the Emperor
X Sekigahara (1981) -- Ieyasu Tokugawa
X Sen-hime to Hideyori (1962) – based on Princess Sen, daughter to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and wife of Toyotomi Hideyori Masahiro Makino
Shinsengumi (1969) – band of ronin devoted to the Tokugawa shogun fights to protect the Shogun when he confers with the Emperor on expulsion of foreigners; 1863-1864
VI. AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
VI.1. EARLY EXPLORATION. Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
Imperial Spain (16th to 17th centuries): under Habsburg Empire: Kings Charles I (1516-1556); Philip II (1556-1598); Philip III (1598-1621); Philip IV (1620-1665); Charles II (1665-1700)
Apocalypto (2006) -- Mayan Rambo just before the arrival of the Spanish
Kings of the Sun (1963) -- Mayans pursued by Toltec invaders
X La princesa de los ursinos (Princess of the Ursinos) (1947) – French lady (d. 1722) prominent for a decade and a half at the court of the first of the Spanish Borbons, Philip V (reign 1700-1724)
X La espada negra (The Black Sword) (1976) – love story of Ferdinand and Elizabeth of Spain
X Retorno a Aztlan (1991) -- an ancient Indian empire in what became Mexico faces a severe drought and the priest prays for relief
X Christopher Columbus (1949) -- discoverer of America, not a short cut to India (with Fredric March and Francis Sullivan)
X Christopher Columbus (1985) -- mini-series starring Gabriel Byrne, Faye Dunaway, Oliver Reed
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) -- with Marlon Brando, Tom Selleck
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) -- Christopher Columbus
X Alba de América (Dawn of America) (1952) -- account of discovery of America
X Tall Tales & Legends: Ponce de Leon (1986) – children’s tale of the discoverer of Florida, Ponce de Leon
Captain from Castile (1947) -- serves with Cortez in conquest of Mexico
X El juicio de Martin Cortes (1974) -- mestizo son of Cortez represents fundamental dilemma of Mexican society
La Otra Conquista (The Other Conquest) (1998) -- Aztec resistance to Christianization by the Spanish under Cortez
Nuevo Mundo ( New World) (1978) -- in the future Mexico, the Spanish laity and clergy use torture and fear to try to force the native people to accept Christianity and abandon their pagan beliefs
X Tribu (1935) -- conquest of North America
Cabeza de Vaca (1992) -- 1528, explored parts of the future USA and Mexico
Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969) -- Francisco Pizarro and the conquest of Peru
X Los conquistadores del Pacífico (1963) -- inspired by Balboa, discoverer of the Pacific Ocean
X Juana la loca (Locura de amor; Mad Love) (2001) -- Juana's devotion to her husband of an arranged marriage becomes an obsession; remake of Locura de Amor
X Locura de Amor (Love Crazy) (1948)-- Spanish movie about Joanna the Mad or Joanna of Castile (1479-1555) who ruled jointly with her husband Philip the Handsome ($28)
X Perlas ng silangan (1969) -- Spanish colonization of the Philippines (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
X Damong ligaw (199&) -- Filipino-Spanish War (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
The Spanish Main (1945) -- the area containing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was subject to a lot of piracy to get at the gold and other treasures of the New World headed to Spain
X Anne of the Indies (1951) -- pirate Anne Bonny out of Bermuda who married pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham and sentenced to hang in Jamaica
Spain under the Borbons (18th century): Philip V (1700-1724); Louis I (1724); Philip V (1724-1746); Ferdinand VI (1746); Charles III (1746-1788)-; Charles IV (1746-1808); Ferdinand VII (1808)
X Sangre de mayo (Blood of May) (2008) -- love story set against reign of Fernando VII of Spain (currently unavailable)
VI.2. SETTLEMENT OF MEXICO Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
Mission to Glory: A True Story (1977) -- the story of Jesuit missionary Father Kino working in the lower southwest region of the future USA
X Kino (1993) -- Eusebio Francisco Kino (1645–1711) Catholic priest explores and works primarily in northern Sonora, Mexico and the future southern Arizona establishing 24 missions & country chapels
Seven Cities of Gold (1955) -- Portola's expedition to California in 1769 for the cities of gold and Father Junipero Serra and the founding of the California missions
Yo, la peor de todas (I the Worst of All) (1990) -- Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz of Mexico is punished for her writings by the Inquisition
Spain: House of Borbon (First Restoration) -- 1813-1868 Ferdinand VII (1813-1833) and Isabella II (1833-1868 deposed)
Proceso a Mariana Pineda (The Trial of Mariana Pineda) (1984) -- TV mini-series about a woman who fought for a republic in Spain and against Ferdinand VII and who pays a high price for her activities
X Zorro marchese di Navarra (Zorro, the Navarra Marquis) (1969) -- Zorro makes sure the exiled King Ferdinand VII (ruled 1808 & 1813-1833 after got rid of Joseph Bonaparte) gets back to Spain
Spain: House of Savoy -- Amadeo (1870-1873)
VI.3. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA & CANADA TO AMERICAN REVOLUTION Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
First Landing (2007) -- Christian Broadcasting Network story of Jamestown settlement in Virginia, 1607 with the main focus on the life of the chaplain of the expedition
X Plymouth Adventure (1952) -- story of the voyage of the "Mayflower", 1620
X Plymouth Adventure (1945) --- early settlers in America
X Knickerbocker Holiday (1944) -- 1650 dictatorial Governor "Peg-Leg" Stuyvesant in future New York City has outspoken newspaperman arrested
The New World (2005) -- Pocahontas & Captain John Smith
Pocahontas: The Legend (1955)
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)
X Penn of Pennsylvania (or The Courageous Mr. Penn) (1941) -- founds the future state of Pennsylvania
The Crucible (1996) -- 1692 witch hunts in Salem
Salem Witch Trials (2002) -- witch hunting started by greedy people and backed up by an evil reverend
X Les Sorcičres de Salem (The Witches of Salem) (1956) -- French version of Arthur Miller's play about the scandal in Salem, Massachusetts
X The Scarlet Letter (1926) -- bad old American Puritanism
X The Scarlet Letter (1934) --
X Der scharlachrote Buchstabe (The Scarlet Letter) (1973) – German film with Senta Berger
The Scarlet Letter (1995) -- evil effects of Puritanism (with Demi Moore)
Follow the River (1995) -- two women escape from the Shawnee to make it back home in a journey of 500-600 miles; 1755
The Broken Chain (1993) -- story of Sir William Johnson and brother-in-law Joseph Brant from French and Indian Wars through end of the American Revolution
X Last of the Mohicans (1936)
Last of the Mohicans (1971) -- Masterpiece Theatre version
X Last of the Mohicans (1992) -- Daniel Day Lewis -- French and Indian War, 1756-1763; best version
X Winners of the Wilderness (1927) -- wilderness fighter loves daughter of the commander of the French forces during the French and Indian War; Indians, under Pontiac, capture the daughter
Northwest Passage (1940) -- French & Indian War
X Northwest Passage (1958) -- adventure series of 26 episodes about Roger's Rangers in the French and Indian War
Mohawk (1956) -- Indians attack a frontier outpost; Scott Brady
X Frontier Times (1987) -- swashbuckler set during the French and Indian War
X Young Daniel Boone (1950)
Daniel Boone (1936) -- Daniel Boone leads settlers to the future Boonesborough
Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956)
Battles of Chief Pontiac -- failure to capture Fort Detroit, 1763
Unconquered (1947) -- Captain Holden and Abbey try to save Fort Pitt (in future Pittsburg) during Pontiac's War
Captain Kidd (1945)
X Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)
Canada:
Black Robe (1991) -- Canadian-Australian film about Jesuit in 17th century Quebec among the Indians
X Hudson's Bay (1941) -- Canada's early history
Nouvelle France (Battle of the Brave) (2004) -- love story set in period 1758-1761, from the collapse of New France to the British take-over in Canada
X Secret Nation (1992) -- search for a possible conspiracy surrounding the referendum by which Newfoundland joined Canada
X Paper Wheat (1979) – a play by the 25th Street House Theatre about the hard lives of early Saskatchewan settlers
VI.4. LATIN & SOUTH AMERICA Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
Mexico:
Gertrudis (1992) – Mexican War of Independence; woman independence fighter, Gertrudis Bocanega, is executed for her efforts
Cuba:
La Última cena (The Last Supper) (1976) -- slavery in Cuba
Tamango (1957) -- an African slave on a Dutch slave ship heading to Cuba revolts, capturing the captain's mistress, thereby forcing a showdown
X El otro Francisco (The Other Francisco) (1975) -- Cuban abolitionists were not primarily motivated by humanitarianism but had real economic motives & misrepresented the nature of slavery in Cuba
Puerto Rico:
A Show of Force (1990) -- two young independence supporters are killed by government agents, accused of trying to blow up a communication centers, but the story doesn't make sense
Colombia:
Bolívar soy yo (2002) -- an actor playing the Liberator Simon Bolivar starts working to complete Bolivar's dream of a "Great Colombia"
X Simon Bolívar (1942) -- the Great Liberator (may be a documentary)
X Cóndores no entierran todos los días (A Man of Principle) (1984) --
Venezuela:
X Francisco de Miranda (2006) – Venezuelan freedom fighter considered forerunner of Simon Bolivar
X Simón Bolívar (1969) -- the Great Liberator
Brazil:
X O Descobrimento do Brasil (1937) -- old film about the armada of Pedro Álvares Cabral discovering Brazil
The Mission (1986) -- Jesuits in Brazil try to protect natives
X Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) -- a lost 1540s expedition from Peru to the Amazon
O Quinto Império - Ontem Como Hoje (The Fifth Empire) (2004) – King Sebastian of Portugal, reigned 1554-1578 (currently unavailable)
X El Dorado (1988) -- 1560 expedition down Amazon River by Spanish soldiers searching for the fabled city of gold, El Dorado
X Xica (1978) -- slavery in Brazil
Cafundó (2005) – life of black slave in Brazil Joo de Camargo (1858-1942) who led an exemplary life to attain his freedom
Quilombo (1984) -- illegal towns composed of renegade slaves and others at the bottom that whites just had to destroy
X Vendaval Maravilhoso (1949) – Castro Alves, poet of slave liberation in 19th century Brazil
X Desmundo (2002) -- set in 1570 Brazil a young and religious Portuguese woman travels from Portugal to marry a sugar-cane plantation owner
X Ganga Zumba (1963) -- a runaway slave founds a Quilombo, Palmares, an escaped slave community
Netto Perde Sua Alma (2001) -- General Antônio de Souza Netto fights the Farroupilha Revolution (1835-1845) (Garibaldi 's 1st military experience) & Paraguayan War (1864-1870) leading an army of gauchos & black lancers
Argentina:
X La revolución es un sueo eterno (translation: The Revolution is an Eternal Dream) (2008) – May Revolution in 1810 which brought about the first local government not designated by the Spanish Crown NO LINK
X El santo de la espada (1970) – Argentine independence hero Jose de San Martin
X Güemes - la tierra en armas (1971) – wars of independence in Northern Argentina
X Felicitas (2009) -- Felicia Antonia Guadalupe Guerrero y Cueto (1846-1872) was considered the most beautiful woman in the Republic of Argentina
X Argentina hasta la muerte (1971) -- War of the Triple Alliance (Paraguay vs. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, 1864-1870)
X Cerro Cora (1978) -- by Guillermo Vera, Paraguay; War of the Triple Alliance (Paraguay vs. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, 1864-1870); devastation for Paraguay
Haiti:
Lydia Bailey (1952) -- love story set in Haiti, 1802, Toussaing L'Overture, the black president versus the French trying to retake possession of the country
Others:
VI.5. AUSTRALIA Back to Chapter VI Back to Contents
Captain James Cook (1987) -- 1770 voyage discovers east coast of Australia
Against the Wind (1978) -- TV mini-series about the life of a transported convict in the colony of New South Wales, Australia
Botany Bay (1953) -- in 1787 prisoners are shipped from Newgate Jail to a new penal colony in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Eureka Stockade ( Massacre Hill) (1949) -- Australians battle the government during the 1854 miners' revolt
X Heritage (1935/I) – disappointing overview of 150 years of Australian history
X Mary Bryant (2005) -- late 18th century Australia, poverty-ridden Mary is arrested & sent to the new penal colony in Australia where she faces many problems
X Adam's Woman (1970) – settling the west in Australia
VII. REVOLUTION AND AFTERMATH. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
VII.1. AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 1775-1782. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
John Adams (2008) -- miniseries of John Adams and the first 50 years of the USA
Adams Chronicles (1976) -- life of 4 generations of the Adams family of Massachusetts
The Howards of Virginia (1940) -- the run-up to the Revolution in Virginia
X Choosing Revolution (1999) -- brothers of the well-known Randolph family of Virginia choose different sides during the time of revolution
Allegheny Uprising (1939) – colonials in Pennsylvania have an uprising even before the American Revolution
X The Bastard (1978) -- first part of John Jakes' novels: poor French man and his mother come to the 13 colonies and get involved with the events leading up to the American Revolution (based on John Jakes's novels)
X The Rebels (1979) -- second part of John Jakes' novels, not as good as The Bastard
Johnny Tremain (1957) -- a young fellow caught up in the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington & Concord
April Morning (1988) -- Battle of Lexington & Concord,1775, war starts before Dec. of Independence
1776 (1972) -- musical about the political maneuvering in order to produce an acceptable-to-all Declaration of Independence
John Paul Jones (1959) -- Robert Stack as the naval hero
The Crossing (2003) -- Delaware River crossing by George Washington, December 25, 1776
X George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation (1986) -- miniseries with Barry Bostwick as Washington; interesting too because it is Viggo Mortensen's first film ($80)
La Fayette (1961) -- the Frenchman who fought for American independence
X Kosciuszko pod Raclawicami (1938) -- Polish soldier who served in the American Revolution and also battled in Poland
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) -- Mohawk Valley, New York frontier in the Revolution
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor (2003) -- the infamous American traitor (1779)
The Scarlet Coat (1955) -- for money Benedict Arnold wants to offer up West Point to the British
The Patriot (2000) -- Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, January 17, 1781 (with Mel Gibson)
Revolution (1985) -- set within the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, the winter encampment at Valley Forge and the Battle of Yorktown (starring Al Pacino)
"Disneyland" The Birth of the Swamp Fox (1959, 1960) -- South Carolina revolutionary guerrilla leader (with Leslie Nielsen)
X The World Turned Upside Down (1985) – struggle of a family who supported Britain in the American Revolution; emigration to Canada may be the only answer
Revolution in South America:
Bolivar soy yo (2002) -- an actor playing the Liberator Simon Bolivar starts working to complete Bolivar's dream of a "Great Colombia"
VII.2. FRENCH REVOLUTION, 1789 Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Louis XVI
Ridicule (1966) -- wit proves the key to social success at the court of Louis XVI (1774-1792)
Marie Antoinette (2006)
X Marie Antoinette (Shadow of the Guillotine) (1956) -- Marie-Antoinette
X Marie Antoinette (1938) -- daughter of Francis II of Austria; wife of Louis XVI
The Affair of the Necklace (2001) -- with Hilary Swank
X Le collier de la reine (The Queen’s Necklace) (1929) -- affair of the necklace reflects badly on innocent Marie Antoinette
X L'autrichienne (1990) – last days of Queen Marie Antoinette
The Beloved Rogue (1927) -- French poet-patriot Francois Villon battles wits with King Louis XI
X Galgenfrist (2008) – French poet, vagabond Francois Villon convicted of murder
Jefferson in Paris (1995) -- Jefferson's experiences as French ambassador along with his love life
La Marseillaise (1938) -- French Revolution
X La Révolution française (1989) -- the French Revolution
X l'cavaliere di Maison Rouge (The Glorious Avenger) (1953) -- French Revolution
A Tale of Two Cities (1980) -- French Revolution
X A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
X A Tale of Two Cities (1935) -- with Ronald Coleman
Reign of Terror (The Black Book) (1949) -- 1789 French Revolution (DVD with poor production quality)
Scaramouche (1952) -- only set in the 1789 French Revolution
Danton (1982) -- radical but pragmatic leader in the French Revolution
X Danton (1932) -- Georges Jacques Danton (1759–1794)
L' Anglaise et le duc (The Lady and the Duke) (2001) -- Scottish courtesan observes and writes about the French Revolution
Nuit de Varennes (That Night in Varennes) (1982) -- French film about stagecoach passengers who get caught up in the arrest of King Louis XVI in the town of Varennes
De Sade (1969) --
X Sade (2000) -- 1794, Marquis de Sade faces execution by Robespierre's regime
Quills (2000) -- Marquis de Sade at the Charenton Mental Asylum
Lady Oscar (1979) -- in her youth a female guard to Marie Antoinette loved Andre, but they meet again at the assault on the Bastille on opposites sides
Dangerous Exile (1957) -- fate of ten year old Louis XVII, who died in 1795, (many thought he escaped from his French revolutionary captors)
X Caroline chérie (Dear Caroline) (1968) -- French Revolution
X Madame Guillotine (1931) -- French Revolution
X Madame Recamier; Or, The Price of Virtue (1923) – Jeanne-Françoise Julie Adélade Bernard Récamier (777-1849) was a leader of the literary/political circles of the early 19th century
X Madame Récamier (1928) --
X Le diable boiteux (The Lame Devil) (1948) – the French diplomat Talleyrand (1754–1838) worked successfully under the following: Louis XVI, Napoleon I, Louis XVIII, Charles X, and Louis-Philippe
X Si Versailles m'était conté (Royal Affairs in Versailles) (1954) -- history of the palace of Versailles from it's founding to the present
VII.3. AGE OF NAPOLEON. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
X Napoleon (2003)
Napoleon (1955) -- film made by the French
X Napoleon (1927)
X Joséphine (2006) – Napoleon and Josephine
X A Royal Divorce (1938) -- Napoleon and Josephine
Passion in the Desert (1997) – young French officer in Egypt during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign to capture the country
X Adieu Bonaparte (1985) -- reactions of three Egyptian brothers to French Occupation and crushing of Mameluke rule
X Raffl (1984) -- Franz Raffl betrays the great rebel leader Andreas Hofer fighting the French and Bavarians and becomes the "Judas of Tyrol", 1809
X Das Heilige Land Tyrol (2010) -- Katharina and her husband escape from Bavaria to Tyrol and get into a revolutionary hotspot with leader Andreas Hofer
X Austerlitz (1960) -- Napoleon
Kolberg (Burning Hearts) (1945) – Napoleon’s troops in Germany have isolated Kolberg, but the citizens refuse to surrender; French prepare massive bombardments (April-July 1807); last film of the Third Reich
Napoleon in Russia:
War and Peace (1956) -- Napoleon's invasion of Russia, 1812 (from Tolstoy's great novel)
X War and Peace (1972) -- ditto, but with Anthony Hopkins
X Война и мир; Vojna i mir (War and Peace) (1968) -- expensive Russian version of War and Peace
X Pushkin: Poslednyaya duel (2006) – Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), considered greatest Russian poet
X Poslednyaya doroga (The Last Road) (1986) – death and the 'last road' of Aleksandr Pushkin
X 1814 (2007) -- mystery story in the time of Pushkin
After Russian Defeat:
Venere imperiale (Imperial Venus) (1963) -- Italian/French production of story of Paolina Bonaparte, sister of Emperor Napoleon I
Madame Sans-Gene (Madame) (1962) -- wife of Marshal Lefebvre, one of Napoleon's generals and Marshal of France, who constantly gets him into trouble
Waterloo (1970) -- Napoleon in his second romp defeated in this 1815 battle
Eagle in a Cage (1971) – Napoleon's exile on St. Helena
Monsieur N. (2003) – conjecture that Napoleon did not die on St. Helena
X Betzi (1978) – imprisonment of Napoleon Bonaparte on St Helena
X N (Io e Napoleone) (Napoleon & Me) (2006) – the librarian on Elba Island hates Napoleon, but learns to respect him
Conquest (1937) -- a Polish countess (played by the great Garbo) becomes the mistress of Napoleon in an attempt to gain freedom for her country
Marysia i Napoleon (Maria and Napoleon) (1966) -- Polish film about Maria Walewska uses her sensuality to try to convince Napoleon to help liberate Poland
X Le destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary (Mlle. Desiree) (1942) – Désirée Clary once the fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte and later Queen of Sweden & Norway as wife of King Charles XIV John
Desiree (1954) -- the future queen and king of Sweden and Napoleon; a seamstress loves Napoleon, but his marriage to aristocrat Josephine spoils her dreams
X The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008) – religious and cultural reawakening inspires rebellion in a 19th century Norwegian Saami village
Madame Bovary (1991) -- the then scandalous portrait of a bored middle-class married woman engaging in adultery
The Duelists (1977) --- one man is obsessed with killing another, duel over a period of fifteen years covering the Napoleonic era
Napoleon and Love (1974) -- love life of Napoleon
X Fanny Elssler (1937) -- Metternich has Fanny Elsser keep the Duke of Reichstadt (future Napoleon II, ruled 1815) out of French politics, but the two fall in love
X L'aiglon (translation: The Eaglet) (1931) -- Napoleon
English Opponents of Napoleon:
H. M. S. Defiant (1962) -- based on the Spithead and Nore mutinies, in the form of strikes for better pay and conditions, by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797 during war with the French Revolutionary government
X Sea Devils (1953) -- woman working as a double agent for England in France and the English fishermen turned smuggler who loves her
X The Nelson Affair (1973) -- British film on the Lord Nelson-Lady Hamilton affair; Nelson puts an end to Napoleon's naval threat
That Hamilton Woman (1941) -- Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hart Hamilton 1801
The Divine Lady (1929) -- silent about Nelson, Lady Nelson and Emma Hart in a triangular affair
The Making of a Lady: Lady Hamilton (The Making of a Lady: Lady Emma Hamilton) ( 1968) --
X A Bequest to the Nation (1973) -- the relationship between Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton
I Remember Nelson (1982) -- TV mini-series presenting Nelson as seen from viewpoints of his wife, his mistress's husband, Captain Hardy and a common seaman
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) -- English naval ship against a more powerful and faster French ship during the Napoleonic Wars, 1805
X Sharpe's Waterloo (2006) -- Battle of Waterloo, 1815
The Iron Duke (1934) – historical drama about the Duke of Wellington starring George Arliss ($80)
Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) -- novelist famous for a tempestuous affair with Lord Byron in 1812; (was also involved with the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon)
Byron (2003) -- the famous English poet who led a scandalous existence
X Shelly (1972) -- famous British author
Becoming Jane (2007) -- early love affair of Jane Austen that affected her later writing
Les Enfants du siecle (Children of the Century) (1999) -- love affair between female writer George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset
X Chopin: Desire for Love (2004)
Impromptu (1991) -- novelist George Sand and composer Frederic Chopin
X Mlodosc Chopina (Young Chopin) (1952) --formative years between 1825 and 1831
A Song to Remember (1945) -- Frederic Chopin
X Preußische Liebesgeschichte (A Prussian Love Story) (1938) – Frederic Chopin
X Abschiedswalzer (Farewell Waltz) (1934) – Frédéric Chopin and George Sand
X La chanson de l'adieu (Farewell) (1934) – Frederic Chopin and George Sand
Spanish Opposition to Napoleon: House of Bonaparte: Joseph Bonaparte (1808-1813)
X El Nińo del Tambor (El Tambor del Bruch) (1982) -- 1808, Napoleonic army enters Catalonia; at the second battle of the Bruch the reverberations of a drummer boy's drum caused the French to think there were many more Spanish soldiers than there actually were (Spanish language)
The Pride and the Passion (1957) -- Spanish Revolution Against Napoleon 1810
Goya in Bordeaux (1999) -- Spanish painter Francisco Goya (maja is a pretty woman)
Volavérunt (1999) -- Goya and the Duchess of Alba, Goya's "Naked Maja" starring Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Penélope Cruz
The Naked Maja (La maja desnuda) (1958) -- Goya and the Duchess of Alba starring Ava Gardner
Goya (1985) -- TV mini-series; lots of history
Goya's Ghosts (2006) -- Goya and the Spanish Inquisition
X Augustina (2010) -- "Spanish Joan of Arc" Agustina de Aragón (1786-1857) defended Spain during the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814)
X Agustina de Aragón (1950) -- ditto
Other:
X Nezrimyy puteshestvennik (1999) – December of 1825, last days of the Russian Emperor Aleksandr I (known for the victory over Napoleon in 1812)
X Der Herzog von Reichstadt (1931) – story of King Napoleon II, who ruled less than a month in 1815 (aka Herzog von Reichstadt), son of Napoleon I and second wife, Marie Louise of Austria
X L'agonie des aigle (The Death Agony of the Eagles) (1933) -- Napoleon II of France
Immortal Beloved (1994) -- speculation on loves of Beethoven (1795-1815)
X Beethoven's Great Love (1936)
X Spring Symphony -- composer Robert Schumann
X Mazeppa (1993) – biography of French Romantic painter Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) who painted the controversial "Raft of the Medusa" (1819) (new for $29)
X The House of Rothschild (1934) -- biography of the Rothschild family of financiers whose fortune was laid during the latter stages of the Napoleonic Wars
X I megali stigmi tou '21: Papaflessas (1971) – the Greek revolution against the Turks (1821)
X Bouboulina (1959) -- Laskarina Bouboulina, naval commander and heroine of Greek War of Independence (1821-1832) (Greek language)
X Le hussard sur le toit (The Horseman on the Roof) (1995) -- adventures of a young Italian nobleman in France raising money for the Italian revolution for independence against Austria during a time of cholera in southern France in 1832 (French and Italian languages)
VII.4. EARLY YEARS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA & CANADA. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
X Alexander Hamilton (1931) George Arliss as first Secretary of the Treasury of the US
The Hamilton-Burr Duel (1976) -- July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr initiates and carries out duel with Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, New Jersey
Jefferson in Paris (1995) -- Jefferson's experiences as French ambassador along with his love life
Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000)
The Far Horizons (1955) -- Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the west of the USA
X Tripoli (2011) -- Barbary pirates
X Tripoli (1950) -- US Marines battle Barbary pirates in 1805
Little Old New York (1923) -- silent movie; 1807, Robert Fulton and his steamboat run into some nasty opposition
Magnificent Doll (1946) – Dolly Payne Todd is torn between Aaron Burr and James Madison
The Mutiny (1952) -- a mutiny on a ship is motivated by greed to get the gold France has given the USA to help their fight against the British in the War of 1812
The Buccaneer (1938) -- pirate-hero Jean Lafitte, who aids American cause in Battle of New Orleans, War of 1812
The Buccaneer (1958) -- Andrew Jackson relies for help in the Battle of New Orleans on the pirate Lafitte
X Buccaneer's Girl (1950) New Orleans's singer helps free pirate-friend from prison
X Belizaire the Cajun (1986) -- persecution of the Cajuns/Creole culture in the South ($118)
X The President's Lady (1953) -- Andrew Jackson criticized for his wife with a past
The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) -- a relationship between John Eaton and the innkeeper's daughter results in trouble for both of them and President Andrew Jackson
The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) -- trouble for Napoleon exiles in Demopolis, Alabama
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)
X Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956)
The Awakening Land (1978) -- early settlement in Ohio
Western Union (1941) -- building of the first transcontinental telegraph system; Robert Young
X Wells Fargo (1937) -- 1840s development of alternative to the US Post Office
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) -- mountain man who had his own personal war with the Crows
Mountain Men (1980) -- story of mountain men who led many of the settlers into the West
Tomahawk (1951) --- in 1864 mountain man Jim Bridger builds the Bridger Trail from Wyoming to the gold fields in Montana
Canada:
X Random Passage (2002) -- refugees from destitution from Ireland and England head for St. Johns, Canada, but land up in a little place called Random, Canada
X Tecumseh (1972) -- East German film of famed warrior Tecumseh (1768-1813)
Mormons:
Emma Smith: My Story (2008) – story of the wife of Mormon founder Joseph Smith
Brigham: Savage Journey (a.k.a. Savage Journey) (1983) -- Brigham Young leads the Mormons (Latter Day Saints) out to today's Salt Lake City, Utah
Brigham Young (1940) -- ditto
September Dawn (2006) -- Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 in which Mormons massacre a wagon train of settlers
Handcart (2002) – man marries a Mormon woman and becomes part of the ill-fated journey of Martin Handcart Company in 1856 heading to Salt Lake valley, in which 150 people died of cold and starvation
Abide with Me (2012) -- prosecution of Mormons for polygamy in the Edmunds Tucker Act of 1887
The Republic of Texas and the Mexico-America War
Texas (1994)-- history of Texas from its settlement via Stephen Austin to statehood
X The First Texan (1956) -- based on life of Sam Houston (starring Joel McCrea) ($40)
Houston: the Legend of Texas (Gone to Texas) (1986) -- story of Sam Houston (including battle at the Alamo and the battle of San Jacinto)
X Man of Conquest (1939) -- Sam Houston
The Lone Star (1952) -- a very wrong version of the history of the Republic of Texas, so not really worth reviewing; with Clark Gable & Ava Gardner
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956) (TV) -- TV series based on the life of Jim Bowie
X Travis (1991) -- a teenager watches the courage of Col. Travis at the Alamo
X Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988)
X Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987) --
The Alamo (1960) -- 1836
X The Last Command (1955) Jim Bowie and the Alamo
X Heroes of the Alamo (1937) --
X One Man's Hero (1999) -- Irish Americans mistreated in the US army go over to the Mexican side
Santa Anna: Su alteza serenisima (2001) -- the last three days in the life of Santa Anna (1794-1876)
X The Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936) -- Joaquin Murrieta in California seeks revenge on the men who killed his wife and brother (possible source for Zorro character)
X The California Conquest (1952) -- 1840s, the push for statehood for the future California, then part of Mexico (currently unavailable)
Tide of Empire (1929) -- silent movie about conflict between Spanish Rancheros and American immigrants from the USA in California
Pirates of Monterey (1947) -- a Spanish woman is going to California to marry a Spanish officer, but instead falls in love with an American
Seminole Wars
X Drums of Destiny (1937) -- American army captain in 1815 Florida (then under Spanish control) must save his brother
Distant Drums (1951) -- Seminole Indians on warpath in early 19th c Florida
Seminole (1953) -- Seminole Indians and help from a cavalry officer
Gold Rush
Roughing It (2002) -- teenaged Mark Twain out West during the "Gold Rush" days
X Mark Twain: Adventures in the Holy Land (2008) – tourist adventures
VII.5. VICTORIAN ENGLAND TO WWI. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
X The First Gentleman (Affairs of a Rogue) (1948) -- romance between the future King Leopold I of Belgium & the daughter of the Prince of Wales (later George IV), Princess Charlotte
X Victoria the Great (1937) -- Queen Victoria (ruled 1838-1901)
X Sixty Glorious Years (1938) -- Queen Victoria
Victoria and Albert (2001) -- love story of Victoria and Albert
X Network First: Victoria and Albert (1997) -- TV miniseries
The Young Victoria (2009) -- very charming love story of Victoria and Albert
Mädchenjahre einer Königin (Victoria in Dover) (1954) -- Victoria becomes the Queen of England and falls in love in Dover
Mrs. Brown (1997) -- Queen Victoria after death of husband Albert
X The Mudlark (1950) -- Queen Victoria after death of husband Albert
Disraeli (1978) -- the political career of Benjamin Disraeli
X The Prime Minister (1941) -- story of rise of Benjamin Disraeli who came to be the Prime Minister in 1868 and then from 1874-1880
Disraeli (1929) -- Conservative Party prime minister. George Arliss plays Disraeli
Suez (1938) -- Ferdinand Lesseps struggles to build the Suez Canal, which opened in 1869
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (1974) -- Jennie Jerome's life with Lord Randolph Churchill; parents of Winston Churchill
X Dickens of London (1976) -- 4 DVD box set of a British tv miniseries about the great British writer Charles Dickens
X Little Dorrit (1988) – novelist Charles Dickens' political indictment of early 19th century England
River Queen (2005) -- in the 1860s a young Irish woman and her family find themselves torn between the British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand
Utu (1983) -- in the 1870s, Te Kooti's War, a Maori soldier seeks revenge after the British army destroys his home village and kills his uncle
X The Last Stand (1938) -- Maori girl helps her people in a last stand against the British
The Four Feathers (2002) -- man declared a coward has to go to Sudan to fight the Mahdi's forces to prove he is not a coward
X In Desert and Wilderness (1973) -- two kids kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan
X In Desert and Wilderness (2001) --
X Jack the Ripper (1960) -- serial killer in Victorian England 1888
X Jack the Ripper (1988)
X From Hell (2001) – Jack the Ripper
Wilde (1997) -- homosexual writer and brilliant social critic; height of career 1895
X Oscar Wilde (1960)
X The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
X Salome's Last Dance (1988)
X Feasting with Panthers (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1974) -- Oscar Wilde in prison
Lillie (1978) (mini) -- story of beautiful British actress Lillie Langtry admired by Prince of Wales and Oscar Wilde (as well as Judge Roy Bean of Texas)
X Topsy-Turvy (2000) -- Gilbert and Sullivan
X Elephant Man (1980) -- John Merrick with terribly disfiguring disease finally treated with some dignity (becoming a favorite of Queen Victoria)
Edward VII (1901-1910)
Edward the Seventh (a.k.a. Edward the King) (1975) -- the life of Queen Victoria's son who became Edward VII
George V (1910-1936):
Carrington (1995) -- love affair between painter Dora Carrington and gay author Lytton Strachey
VII.6. FRANCE. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Capetian Dyanasty, House of Borbon Restored (1815-1830):
Balzac: A Passionate Life (1999) -- the mother, the work and the loves of a founding father of realism in European literature
Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, ruled 1815-1824
X Count of Monte Cristo (1934) -- Louis XVIII appears briefly in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
X Waterloo (1970) -- Louis XVIII portrayed by Orson Welles
Charles X -- ruled 1824-1830
Louis-Philippe I of the July Monarchy (1830-1848) -- the last king to rule France
Le Conscrit (The Conscript) (1974) -- Belgium film that illustrates the appalling conditions under which soldiers were forced to serve in 1833
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte of the Second Republic (1848-1852) -- became Emperor Napoleon III
Emperor Napoleon III (Louis Bonaparte), the Citizen King, (ruled late 1852 to 1870) -- Second Empire restored
Suez (1938) -- Leon Ames plays Napoleon III, although Loretta Young as Eugenie is much more highlighted
Juarez (1939) -- Claude Rains portrays him as a weak man ready to betray Maximilian in Mexico
X The Song of Bernadette (1943) -- Jerome Cowan plays Napoleon III
X Maytime (1936) -- Guy Bates Post plays Louis Napoleon
X Spy of Napoleon (1936) -- Napoleon III that is
X La contessa di Castiglione (2006) – Italian courtesan & secret agent Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione (1837–1899); as mistress of Emperor Napoleon III she used her influence to soften his response to Italian unification
X La contessa di Castiglione (1954) –
Edward the Seventh (a.k.a. Edward the King) (1975) -- contains many references to Louie Bonaparte
VII.7. CRIMEAN WAR -- Russia (under Nicholas I & Alexander II) vs. Turkey (Ottoman Empire), England and France (under Napoleon III) Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) -- Crimea, 1854-1856
Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) -- love triangle in India solved by British involvement in the Crimean War
Charge of the Lancers (1954) -- affairs set against the Crimean War
Florence Nightingale (1986) -- the great nurse at work during the Crimean War fighting against prejudice to be of service to the soldiers
Lady with a Lamp (1951) -- nurse-crusader Florence Nightingale
X The White Angel (1936) -- Florence Nightingale ($45)
X Bronte (1983) -- Irish film
X Les Soeurs Bronte (Bronte Sisters) (1979) French film
Devotion (1946) -- Bronte sisters from Yorkshire (n.e. England)
The Brontes of Haworth (1973) -- TV mini-series about the Brontes
VII.8. ITALY (1789-1867) Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
0X Die Marquise von O (The Marguise of O) -- in French-controlled Italy, in 1799 Russian General Souvorov invades Italy to kick the French out; he captures and then rapes the widow of the Marquis of O and she becomes pregnant (in German with English subtitles)
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814)
Napoleon I (1805-1814)
X Fuoco su di me (Fire at my Heart) (2006) – story of young soldier of the Napoleonic army in 1815 in Napoli after the era of Gioacchino Murat, King of the Two Sicilies (1808 to 1815) (no English subtitles)
Ferdinando e Carolina (Ferdinando and Carolina) (1999) -- King Ferdinando I of Naples (reign 1816-1825) weds Mary Caroline of Austria, daughter of Empress Mary Theresa, in a political marriage
X L'ultima carica (1964) – set in 1820s war of independence in southern Italy
Wars of Italian Independence --three wars between Italian states and Austrian Empire 1848-1866 ending with conquest of entire Italian peninsula
0X Viva l'Italia! (1961) -- about Giuseppe Garibaldi of Italian unification fame (director is Rossillini) (Italian with Italian subtitles)
In nome del papa re (In the Name of the Pope King) (1977) – in 1867 the papal court fights to prevent Garibaldi's forces from taking power and bringing Rome into the Italian kingdom
X Noi credevamo (2010) -- Italy's battle for unification in the 19th century (no English options)
X In nome del popolo sovrano (In the Name of the Sovereign People) (1990) – 1849, Ciceruacchio declares Independent Republic of Rome, but French & Austrians try to block it by bringing back the Pope to Rome
X Bronte: cronaca di un massacro che i libri di storia non hanno raccontato (Liberty) (1972) — Italian War of Independence
X I vicer (2007) – 19th century Italian wars
X Ovod (The Gadfly) (1955) -- Russian film about 1800s Italy (currently unavailable)
X 'O re (The King of Naples) (1989) – 1860 overthrow of Francesco, the King of Naples and the two Sicilies; the deposed king and queen adapt to their new lives
Senso (1954) -- Venice, Italy 1866, obsessive love story set against Austrian military occupation and its overthrow
VII.9. AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Prequel:
Adanggaman (2000) -- role of black Africans in supplying the human beings for the European slave trade
Slavers (1978) -- slave trade in east Africa around 1884
Amistad (1997) -- slave ship rebellion leads to 1839 court room drama
Ill-Gotten Gains (1997) -- slave revolt aboard the ship Argon Miss
X Ascension Day (2007) -- Nat Turner rebellion in 1831
Roots (1977) -- TV mini series on slavery from more of a black perspective
Alex Haley's Queen (1993) -- in this mini-series the writer of Roots tells the story of his paternal grandmother, whose father was a Civil War-era slave owner
A Woman Called Moses (1978) -- Harriet Tubman helps slaves escape via the underground railroad
X Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987) -- based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel published in 1852
Race to Freedom: Underground Railroad (1994) TV -- slaves escape to Canada and freedom via the Underground Railroad
X Scarecrow (2009) -- partly about underground railroad
X Stand Up and Fight (1939) -- a northerner and a southerner try to stop the kidnapping of black freemen for reselling
Solomon Northup's Odyssey: "Twelve Years a Slave" (1984) -- a free black man living in Saratoga Springs, New York is kidnapped and taken to Louisiana to work as a slave
X Freedom Bound (2009) -- stories covering three centuries, including slavery
Enslavement: The Story of Fanny Kemble (2000) -- artist disturbed by southern slavery
X Dixie (1943) -- composer of Dixie, pioneer minstrel Dan Emmett
I Dream of Jeanie (1952) -- the story of popular song-writer Stephen Foster
X Swanee River (1939) -- mostly fictional biopic of Stephen Foster
Bloody Kansas:
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) -- for vengeance joins "Bloody Bill" Anderson's gang, a pro-southern gang of "outlaws" or better said "war criminals"
Quantrill's Raiders (1958) -- psychopath leading outlaws with a pro-southern slant ($40)
Kansas Raiders (1950) -- Jesse James joins Quantrill's Raiders
Dark Command (1940) -- Civil War Kansas; Quantrill's Raiders
Ride with the Devil (1999) -- the war in bloody Kansas and Missouri
The Jayhawkers! (1959) -- a government agent infiltrates the vigilante group the Jayhawkers (bushwhackers were pro-South and Jayhawkers were pro-union, non-military guerilla raiders)
Seven Angry Men (1955) -- John Brown (Raymond Massey)
Santa Fe Trail (1940) -- on trail of John Brown; 1856 Pottawatomie Creek massacre; 1859 Harper's Ferry
Civil War Begins and Ends:
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) -- Raymond Massey as Lincoln
X Lincoln (2005) --
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) -- John Ford director
Abraham Lincoln (1930) -- directed by D. W. Griffith
Conspirator (2010) -- southerner Mary Surratt is accused of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth and others to kill the president, vice-president and the secretary of state
X The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1976) --
X Just a Man (2008) -- a bit of recovery for the distraught Mrs. Lincoln
X Tad (1995) -- Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad
X Lincoln (2012) -- Lincoln tries to get the states to ratify the constitutional amendment that bans slavery from the United States
X Tap Roots (1948) – very loosely based on farm owner reacting to the attempt by his Jones County to secede from Mississippi (currently unavailable)
Class of '61 (1993) -- graduates of West Point enter the Civil War with the Battle of Bull Run
X Journey to Shiloh (1968) -- seven friends travel for the purpose of joining up with the Confederate army; Battle of Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, s.w. Tennessee on the Tennessee River, April 6-7, 1862
Ironclads (1991) -- the CSS Virginia versus the USS Monitor in the Battle of Hampton Roads, March 8-9, 1862
Hearts in Bondage (1936) -- battle between the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) and the USS Monitor
X John Ericsson - segraren vid Hampton Roads (Ericsson, The Great John) (1937) – designer of the iron-clad ship the Monitor to fight the ironclad Confederate ship the Merrimack
Gods and Generals (2003) -- pro-Southern film about early Confederate victories: Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville that led to excessive hubris in Gen. Lee
X "Disneyland" Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders (1967) -- pro-Southern film about young boy who joins the pro-Confederate Mosby Raiders -- Mosby captured Union General Stoughton March 1863
The Horse Soldiers (1959) -- set in Vicksburg campaign; John Ford and John Wayne
X Gettysburg (1993) -- 1863 battle, high water mark of the Confederacy
X The Perfect Tribute (1991) (TV) -- young boy and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Wicked Spring (2002) -- Battle of the Wilderness, May 5 - May 7 1864
The Gangs of New York (2002) -- ethnic tensions between Irish immigrants and native Americans leads to infamous New York City draft riots of 1863
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) -- during Atlanta campaign, Yanks steal a Reb locomotive and try to tear up the track
Gone With The Wind (1939) -- Battle of Atlanta
Beulah Land (1980) -- TV mini-series; poor man's Gone with the Wind
X Louisiana (1984) -- woman loses her house in the aftermath of the Civil War and vows to recoup her plantation
True Women (1997) -- lives of three women through the Texas Rebellion ,Comanche raids, the Civil War, Reconstruction and beyond
Glory (1989) --- 54th Massachusetts, first black army unit in the US
X The Hunley (1999) -- 1864 submarine in Charleston, SC for Turner Network
Andersonville (1996) -- made for cable movie about infamous Confederate prison
X Andersonville Trial (1970) – a court martialed Confederate officer faces trial for running the notorious prison of war camp in Andersonville, Georgia, where over 14,000 Union prisoners died from disease, starvation and neglect
Lincoln (aka Gore Vidal's Lincoln) (1988) -- reveals more of the inner family problems faced by Lincoln
X The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) -- assassinated at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
X They've Killed President Lincoln (1971) – simulated documentary footage to examine the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
X Prince of Players (1955) – great American stage actor Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth
Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)-- Dr. Samuel Mudd unjustly found guilty of helping in the Lincoln assassination
The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) -- Dr. Mudd accused of helping John Wilkes Booth get away after killing President Lincoln
Hellgate (1955) -- remake of Prisoner of Shark Island
X The Conspirator (2010) -- rush to condemn to death, Mary Surratt, owner of boarding house where conspiracy to kill Lincoln hashed out
The Blue and the Gray (1982 ) -- the families of two brothers divided between the North and the South fight for different sides
X Cold Mountain (2003) -- interesting question of just how unjust were the civil defense bands in the South
VII.10. SIAM (THAILAND) & BURMA (MYANMAR) Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Burma:
X Kyan Sit Min (King Kyan Sit) (2005) -- Burmese film based on Kyanzittha, the 43rd king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1084 to 1112
Thailand:
Ayutthaya Kingdom (1350-1767)
2nd Suphannaphum Dynasty (1409-1569)
The King Maker (2005) -- in 1547 the Portuguese soldier of fortune Fernando De Gama comes to Thailand and finds adventure
The Legend of Suriyothai (2001) -- reign of King Chakkraphat (1548-1568); Queen Suriyothai dies 1548.
Sukhothai Dynasty (1569-1629)
X Naresuan (2006) -- King Naresuan the Great (1590 to 1605); a follow-up to The Legend of Suriyothai
X Tamnaan somdet phra Naresuan maharat: Phaak prakaat itsaraphaap (The Legend of Naresuan: Declaration in Independence) (2007) -- the war for the independence of Siam (Thailand) from Burma
Prasat Thong Dynasty (1630-1688)
Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty (1688-1767)
Bang Rajan (2000) -- Burmese invaders of 18th century Thailand
Thonburi Period, 1768-1781
Ratanakosin Period, 1782- ?
King Rama IV (1856-1868)
X Anna and the King (2000) -- Thailand during American Civil War; Jody Foster, 1862
X The King and I (1999) -- animated version
X The King and I (1956) --
X Anna and the King of Siam (1946)-- widow Anna Owens becomes the tutor to the royal children of Siam (Thailand) and runs into conflict with the king; Irene Dunne
VII.11. USA -- POST-CIVIL WAR PERIOD. Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
USA - RECONSTRUCTION & SEPARATE BUT EQUAL
Gone With the Wind (1939)
X Birth of a Nation (1915) -- the Southern racist version of "truth" by Southerner D. W. Griffith (a great film for racists)
Booker -- youth of Booker T. Washington, later supporter of "separate but equal" racist system (but who also supported the NAACP in secret)
The Toast of New York (1937) -- story behind the Financial Panic of 1869
USA -- COWBOYS
X Meek's Cutoff (2010) -- 1845 wagon train travel on the Oregon Trail where they lose their way on a supposed short-cut
The Oregon Trail (1959) -- experiences of a wagon train on the Oregon Trail
Donner Pass -- The Road to Survival (1984) -- some of the settlers stranded in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains near Truckee, California in the winter of 1846 turn to cannibalism to survive
Lonesome Dove (1989) -- c. 1866, based on cattle drivers Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight
Red River (1948) -- 1867, Chisholm Trail to Abilene, John Wayne
Abilene Town (1946) -- at the end of the Chisholm Trail
X Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991) -- Chinese immigrant woman in the American Old West sold to be wife/slave to a prospector
Heaven's Gate (1980) -- a war in Johnson County, Wyoming between the owners of large-scale ranches and the owners of small ranches in 1892
Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill (1995) -- Hickok that is; 1866-1871, marshal in Kansas cowtowns, including Abilene
Young Bill Hickok (1940) -- B western
Calamity Jane (1953) -- supposed friend of Hickok
Calamity Jane (1984) -- starring Jane Alexander
The Plainsman (1936) -- Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane and George Armstrong Custer
Jesse James
X Jesse James: American Outlaw (2007) --
American Outlaws (2001) -- James and Younger gangs
The Long Riders (1980) -- James, Younger, Miller and Ford brothers
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) -- ill-fated 1876 bank robbery by James and Younger gangs
X Young Jesse James (1960)
The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
X The Great Jesse James Raid (1953)
X The Great Missouri Raid (1950) -- Jesse James and Youngers
X Jesse James Rides Again (1947) --
Jesse James (1939) -- bank and train robber and a very bad man; 1866-1882
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) -- shows James as a bit of a psychopath, but still portrays him somewhat sympathetically
X The Plot to Kill Jesse James (2006) --
X I Shot Jesse James (1949) --
X Cole Younger, Gunfighter (1958) -- with Frank Lovejoy; revenge, romance and a trial
X Bad Men of Missouri (1941) -- the Youngers
The Daltons
When the Daltons Rode (1940) -- Dalton gang in Indian Territory; 1891, first train robbery
The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979) -- Dalton gang of bank robbers
Wyatt Earp
Wichita (1955) -- 1874, Wyatt Earp tries to bring law and order to Wichita, Kansas
Wyatt Earp (1994) -- 1876-1879 marshal of Dodge City, Kansas (my personal favorite western)
Tombstone (1993) -- Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, Arizona; gunfight at O.K. Corral
X Dodge City (1939) -- composite fictional hero
X Hour of the Gun (1967) -- Earp & Doc Holliday form a posse to hunt Ike Clanton and his gang
Gunfight at O.K. Corral (1957) -- gunfight in 1881 Tombstone, AZ
X My Darling Clementine (1946) Henry Fonda
X Frontier Marshal (1939) -- Wyatt Earp and the fight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959) -- very loosely based on Ford County sheriff Bat Masterson
The Woman of the Town (1943) -- story of murder in Dodge City of Dora Hand by Jim Kenedy, who was partly captured by a posse composed of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and other famous lawmen
Billy the Kid
X Billy the Kid (1930) -- first kill 1877
Billy the Kid (1941) -- with Robert Taylor
X The Left-Handed Gun (1958) -- Billy the Kid
X Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
X Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid (1989)
Chisum (1970) -- the Lincoln County War, involving Billy the Kid, in what became New Mexico
X Young Guns (1988) -- six boys, including Billy the Kid, are hired as "regulators" for a rancher in the Lincoln County War; the best true version of Billy the Kid
X Young Guns 2 (1990) -- Billy the Kid plans an escape from jail
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) -- bank robbers; 1896 forms the Wild Bunch
X Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)
Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley
Buffalo Bill (1944) -- Buffalo Bill Wild West Show formed 1883
Buffalo Bill and the Indian, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
X Pony Express Days (1940) -- Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express (which lasted from April 1860 to October 1861)
Annie Get Your Gun (1950) -- musical about female sharpshooter in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show
Annie Oakley (1935) -- ditto
Annie Oakley -- children's film from Shelly Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends
Australia:
Burke & Wills (1987) -- a shocking story of the 1860-1861 expedition across Australia from south to north, Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpenteria at Flinders River
Ned Kelly (2003) -- Australian gang of bank robbers active in the 1870s
Ned Kelly (1970) -- ditto
Mad Dog Morgan (1976) -- Australian outlaw active around the 1880s Australian gold rush
Canada:
X Iron Road (2008) -- a poor Chinese woman disguises herself as a boy and works for the railroad crew in the Rocky Mountains to find out what happened to her long-lost father
Canadian Pacific (1949) -- 1881-1885, building of the Canadian Pacific Railway heading through a pass through the Canadian Rockies
Others:
Union Pacific (1939) -- first transcontinental railroad, 1869
The Invasion of Johnson County (1976) -- large ranch cattle men hire a private army to kill or hang the small ranchers, who they consider as "cattle rustlers" in Johnson County, Wyoming
Far and Away (1992) -- anti-landlord uprising in Ireland sends a young man and woman to the USA and eventually to the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889
The Lawless Breed (1953) -- infamous Texas gunman John Wesley Hardin
Belle Starr (1980) -- made for TV movie about outlaw Belle Starr; Elizabeth Montgomery plays Belle
X Belle Starr (1941) -- outlaw; originally from Missouri; marries Sam Starr in 1880; Gene Tierney as Belle
X Montana Belle (1952) -- Jane Russell as Belle Starr, the bandit queen
Il mio corpo per un poker (The Belle Starr Story) (1968) --
The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959) -- very loosely based on Ford County sheriff Bat Masterson
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) -- c. 1882
X The Westerner (1940) -- Judge Roy Bean of Texas
X Texas Rangers (2001) --
"Disneyland" The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (1958) -- a Mexican-American becomes a hero law officer in Socorro, New Mexico and later becomes a lawyer
The Story of Jack London (1943) -- Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 and the stories that rose from it
& INDIANS
X Kit Carson (1940) -- army scout, guide for explorer Fremont, 1843-1846, and conqueror of the Navajo
X Kit Carson and the Mountain Men (1977) --
Comanche and Cheyenne:
X Rio Grande (1950) -- Col. Ranald Mackenzie's 1873 raid against the Comanche and Kiowa hiding in Mexico; part of John Ford's cavalry trilogy
X Comanche (1956) -- frontier scout tries to prevent the application of a plan of genocide for the Comanche
X Comancheros (1961) -- fight against outlaws selling guns to the Comanche
Cheyenne Autumn (1964) -- Cheyenne return from relocation
Centennial (Vols. 1-12) (1978) -- historic development of state of Colorado as seen in the story of one town
Soldier Blue (1970) -- fictionalized account of the Chivington November 1864 Sand Creek Massacre
X Comanche Territory (1950) -- Jim Bowie works to stop a white settler attack on the Comanche
Custer and the Sioux:
A Man called Horse (1970) -- English nobleman must prove himself to the Sioux by surviving torturous rituals
Tomahawk (1951) --- in 1864 mountain man Jim Bridger builds the Bridger Trail from Wyoming to the gold fields in Montana
They Died With Their Boots On (1941) -- Custer, 1876
Little Big Horn (1951) -- Battle of, 1876
X Seventh Cavalry (1956) -- Capt. Benteen must prove he did not desert Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn
X The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) Custer's last stand
X Custer's Last Stand (1936) -- feature version of the Rex Lease serial
Custer of the West (1968) -- a General Custer biography with the general pushing the Cheyenne into resistance leading to the Battle at the Little Big Horn
X Glory Guys (1965) -- thinly veiled Custer Story (director, Sam Peckinpah)
Little Big Man (1970) -- hero meets Marshall Bill Hickock & General Custer at Battle of Little Big Horn
Son of the Morning Star (1991) -- Custer
Crazy Horse (1996) -- Sioux warrior who fought Custer at Little Big Horn
X Chief Crazy Horse (1955) -- with Paul Guillfoyle and Victor Mature
Crazy Horse and Custer -- no connection with historical truth at all
Sitting Bull (1954) -- Sioux chief at the Battle of Little Big Horn
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) -- bad history, but cavalry movements instructive , part of John Ford's cavalry trilogy
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) -- from the Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) to the Indian massacre at Wounded Knee, December 29, 1890
X Centennial Summer (1946) -- the Custer massacre causes a pale in Philadelphia at the time of the Centennial Exposition
X Tonka (1958) -- a young Sioux male tames a wild horse to prove his man-hood; later the horse is named Comanche and is made famous as the only survivor taken from Custer's Last Stand; Disney movie
Canada:
Canadians (1961) -- Americans as the bad guys in more peaceful Canada
Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald (1867-1873)
Alexander Mackenzie (1873-1878)
Pony Soldier (1952) -- 1876, a mounted policeman in western Canada is sent to get two white hostages from the Cree Indians
Saskatchewan (1954) -- spring 1877, Canadian Mounted Police deal with the Sioux and the Cree after the Custer massacre
Sir John A. MacDonald (1878-1891) (second term)
Big Bear (1998) -- mini-series about Plains Cree Chief Big Bear in Canada of the 1880s and 1890s; whites want to put the chief's people on a reservation, but he won't sign the treaty which leads to his people starving
Riel (1979) -- 19th Century Canadian founder of the province of Manitoba and rebel leader Louis Riel
North West Mounted Police (1940) -- Texas Ranger gets caught up in the Riel rebellion (or Northwest Rebellion)
Apache:
X Conquest of Cochise (1953) -- 1850s southwest, Apache Chief Cochise
Broken Arrow (1950) -- 1870s Apache Chief Cochise (Jeff Chandler) and ex-Army man and peace negotiator (played by James Stewart)
Fort Apache (1948) -- loosely based on the fight against Cochise and Custer's Last Stand; part of John Ford's cavalry trilogy
Fort Bowie (1958) -- not really worth watching from an historical perspective; deals with Apache leader Victorio (1825-1880) and Fort Bowie (s.e. AZ near Wilcox), but historically the two are not directly connected
The Battle at Apache Pass (1952) -- deals with "The Bascom Affair", 1861, and the battle at Apache Pass, 1862, involving Cochise
X Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)
X Geronimo (1939) -- 1886 leader of Apache revolt in the southwest
X Valley of the Sun (1942) -- Geronimo
X I Killed Geronimo (1950)
X The Last Outpost (1951) -- Geronimo
X Indian Uprising (1952) -- Geronimo
Walk the Proud Land (1956) -- Indian Agent John P. Culm at Arizona's San Carlos Reservation and Geronimo
X Geronimo (1962) -- with Chuck Connors
X Geronimo (1993)
X Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Tom Horn (1980) -- legendary western figure Tom Horn, Apache fighter, runs into trouble with the law in Wyoming Territory
Ulzana's Raid (1972) -- Apache raider
Arrowhead (1953) -- partly based on Army Scout Al Sieber
Apache (1954) -- the last Apache warrior, Massai (played by Burt Lancaster)
Major Dundee (1965) -- Dundee on an expedition to hunt down and kill an Apache warrior group raiding in Texas during the Civil War
Other:
Buffalo Soldiers (1997) -- chasing Apaches
Sergeant Rutledge -- buffalo soldier on trial
I Will Fight No More Forever (1975) -- Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce
X Dances with Wolves (1990) Kevin Costner's tribute to the Native Americans living on the mid-West plains
X Witness the Healing (2009) -- a young woman learns how California's early policies toward the Native Americans influenced her family's fortunes
X Chinaman's Chance (2008) -- 1870's, a. Chinese immigrant is falsely accused of murdering a white woman and has to deal with prejudice and injustice
Argentina:
X Savage Pampas (1966) -- a "western" set in the grasslands of the Pampas of Argentina
Mexico under Juarez (president 1858-1872) Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
X El Tres de Copas (The Cards of Luck, Love and Death) (1986) -- love triangle set against the Reform War in Mexico (1857-1861), one of the episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces in 19th century Mexico
Juarez (1939) -- Mexican leader against Napoleon III's man in Mexico
X Aquellos ańos (1973) -- Benito Juarez
Major Dundee (1965) -- Dundee hunts down an Apache warrior group raiding in Texas during the Civil War & runs into French troops in Mexico
X The Eagle and the Hawk (1950) -- in 1863 Texas Ranger and a Union spy cross into Mexico to investigate power struggle between French puppet Maximilian and Mexican Benito Juarez
Vera Cruz (1954) -- Americans try to steal the gold while escorting a countess to Vera Cruz and Emperor Maximilian; Juaristas also want the gold
Mexicanos, al grito de guerra (Mexicans, to the Cry of War) (1943) -- a soldier defends Mexico against the French while in love with the French ambassador's daughter
The Undefeated (1969) -- a group of Confederate soldiers from USA decide to establish a new life in Mexico under French Emperor Maximilian
X Guadalupe La Chinaca (1938) – a love story set during French Intervention in Michoacán
X La paloma (1937) -- Emperor Maximilian and the war for independence
VII.13. FRANCE Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Third French Republic (1870-1940)
Untel pčre et fils (Heart of a Nation) (1943) -- the Froment family of Montmartre, France from the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 to Nazi occupation in World War II
Mademoiselle Fifi (1944) – conquering Germans throw their weight around in occupied France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, while French nobles kiss their posteriors
La commune (Paris , 1871) (2000) -- story of the Paris Commune of 1871, which briefly ruled France; semi-documentary (so I have just a little summary of the film's start)
X 1871 (1990) – the rise and fall of the Paris Commune
X Champ d'honneur (Field of Honor) (1987) – Franco-Prussian War; a fellow sells his high draft lottery number and takes the place of the son of a rich man
Total Eclipse (1995) -- French poets struggle with relationships, 1871
Camille Claudel (1989) -- in 1883 France, sculptor Auguste Rodin meets sculptress Camille Claudel and they begin a relationship
Lust for Life (1956) -- 1885-1891, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (friend of painter Paul Gauguin)
Vincent and Theo (1990) -- the two Van Gogh brothers
X The Eyes of Van Gogh (2005) – based on the year van Gogh spent in the insane asylum of St. Remy
Moulin Rouge (1952) -- painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Félix Faure (1895-1899):
The Life of Emile Zola (1937) -- involved in the anti-Semitic Dreyfus Affair
X I Accuse! (1958) -- Zola and the Dreyfus Affair
Prisoner of Honor (1991) -- anti-Semitic Dreyfus affair, 1894
X L'affaire Dreyfus (Dreyfus Affair) (1995) – French film of the Dreyfus Affair
X L'affaire Dreyfus (Dreyfus Affair) (1965) – French film of the Dreyfus Affair
X Dreyfus (The Dreyfus Case) (1930) -- German film about the Dreyfus affair
X Affäre Dreyfus (Dreyfus Affair) (1959) – German film
X Affäre Dreyfus (Dreyfus Affair) (1968) – German film
French Art Scene: birth of modern art
Impressionists (2006) -- story of Monet and the creation of Impressionism which began in 1860s among Paris-based artists
Modigliani -- Amadeo, the painter
X Montparnasse 19 (Modigliani of Montparnasse) (1993) – life of the painter Amadeo Modigliani
Surviving Picasso (1996) -- Spanish painter Pablo Picasso
La Mome (La Vie en Rose) (2007) -- very rough life of Edith Piaf, one of the world's greatest singers
Waiting for the Moon (1987) -- a few months in the life of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein
VII.14. RUSSIA AND TURKEY Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Alexander II (1855-1881):
X Nas venchali ne v tserkvi (We Weren’t Married in Church) (1982) – love story of young woman wanting to get away from her small town and join a revolutionary group (as the one in Petersburg named "chaikovtsy", 1869-1874)
X Geroite na Shipka (Heroes of Shipka) (1955) -- Bulgarian/Soviet Union film about the Battle of Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78)
X Yuliya Vrevskaya (1978) – for reasons of love a nurse Yuliya Vrevskaya follows the troops in the war between Russia and Turkey (1877-1878)
X The Turkish Gambit (2005) -- spy story set in the War between Russia and Turkey (1877-1878); no English subtitles
V nachale slavnykh del (At the Beginning of Glorious Days) (1981) -- Russo-Turkish War
X Pervye radosti (1977) – life in Saratov, Russia before the Bolshevik revolution
X Pervye radosti (No Ordinary Summer) (1956) -- intellectual joins a revolt and then becomes a professional revolutionary
I Demoni di San Pietroburgo (The Demons of St. Petersburg) (2008) -- Russian writer Dostoevsky just finished 10 years in Siberia; he wants to stop a plot to kill the Grand Duke; the problem is that the young terrorists were inspired mainly by his writings
Others:
X Dmitriy Kantemir (1974) -- Moldavia (now part of Romania), 1700s
X Trandafirul galben (The Yellow Rose) (1982) – outlaw fights corrupt politics in 1800s Romania
X Drumul oaselor (1980) -- 1848 Romania (revolution in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania)
X Manto Mavrogenous (1971) – she (1796 - July 1848) was a heroine of the Greek War of Independence(1821-1829)
VII.15. WORKERS' STRUGGLE Back to Chapter VII Back to Contents
Argentina:
La Patagonia rebelde (The Patagonian Rebellion) (1974) -- in Patagonia farm workers try to get better conditions of work
Australia:
X Comrades (1986) – British farm laborers imprisoned in Australia in 1834 for forming an unauthorized union
X Strikebound (1983) -- worker struggle in the Gippsland coalfields during 1930’s Australia
Eureka Stockade ( Massacre Hill) (1949) -- Australians battle the government during the 1854 miners' revolt
Belgium:
Daens (1993) -- Father Adolf Daens works in Belgium of the 1890s & champions the workers' cause
X Marcinelle (Inferno Below) (2003)-- made for TV movie about 1956 tragedy in the mine at Marcinelle in Belgium where 300 miners died (136 of the dead miners were Italians)
Chile:
Sub Terra (2003) -- coal miners strike for better pay and conditions in 1897 Lota, Chile
Finland:
X Työväenlaulaja (1973) -- labor troubles in Finland
France:
X La Révolte des enfants (The Children's Rebellion) (1992) -- drama set in France around the abuse of child labor
Germinal (1993) -- French film about a perilous workers' strike in the French mines
Germany:
Desertir (The Deserter) (1933) -- labor struggle in Germany and Russia
Great Britain:
Made in Dagenham (2010) -- female workers walk out in protest against sexual discrimination in pay in 1968 at the Ford Dagenham car plant
Italy:
0X I compagni (The Organizer) (1963) -- labor strike in Italy at turn of the 20th century against a 14-hour work day (Italian with Italian subtitles)
Japan:
X Ah! Nomugi toge (Oh! The Nomugi Pass) (1979) -- abuse of women workers in silk industry in Japan in early 1900s
The Bad Sleep Well (1963) -- Kurosawa's film about a man seeking revenge against the Japanese company that murdered his father
Mexico:
Frida (1986) -- the life and paintings of Frida Kahlo (married to the great muralist Diego Rivera)
Frida (2003) -- two left-wing Mexican artists interact with the Rockefellers
X Tina in Mexico (2002) -- life of photographer Tina Modotti and her contacts with intellectual circles (including Diego Rivera)
X En busca de un muro (translation: In Search of a Mural) (1974) -- Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco and help from American journalist Alma Reed (Spanish language)
Raíces de sangre (Roots of Blood) (1979) -- the fight for unionization of the fabric factories around the US/Mexican border
Puerto Rico:
Sudor Amargo (Bitter Sweat) (Bitter Sweat) (2004) -- mysterious death of a supervisor during the Star Kist Caribbean Plant closure in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Russia:
Desertir (The Deserter) (1933) -- labor struggle in Germany and Russia
Stachka (Strike) (1925) -- 1912 strike in Russian locomotive factory; directed by Sergei Eisenstein
Spain:
El Corazon de la tierra (The Heart of the Earth) (2007) -- in Andalusia, 1888, a workers' protest against the miserable conditions at the local mines ends in a massacre
Sweden:
X Ĺdalen 31 (Adalen 31 or Adalen Riots) (1969) -- in 1931 Swedish military opens fire on peaceful labor demonstrators in Adalen
U.S.A.
X Los mineros (The Miners) (1991) -- Mexican-American copper miners fight for better terms 1903-1946 which shapes the course of Arizona history (currently unavailable)
X Joe Hill (1971) -- labor organizer
Bound for Glory (1976) -- story of folk singer Woody Guthrie who discovered the misery of the poor and working class in the USA
Cradle will Rock (1999) -- actor Orson Wells has big trouble trying to put on a theatrical production of a musical about a steel strike
Matewan (1987) -- violent confrontations between company thugs and coal miners in 1920's West Virginia, USA; with Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones
X Sacco e Vanzetti (Sacco and Vanzetti) (1971) -- 1920, the unjust trial of two Italian-American anarchists for a crime they did not commit; documentary
Norma Rae (1979) -- true story of a woman textile worker (Sally Field) being radicalized by New York City labor organizer (Ron Leibman)
Harlan County War (2000) -- a Kentucky coal miner's wife spearheads a 1970s union strike to close the mine and force contract negotiations
Salt of the Earth (1953)-- 1950 zinc mine workers go on strike in Silver City, New Mexico; black listed in Hollywood for making the film were the director, actor Will Geer, producer Paul Jarrico & screenwriter Michael Wilson
Molly McGuires (1970) -- violence used by Irish coal workers to fight the owners
X F.I.S.T. (1978) -- interesting theory that managers and their hired thugs used so much violence that the American labor movement had to turn to organized crime to survive and thereby was corrupted
X Northern Lights (1978) -- early 20th century popular take-over of government in USA northern plains
On the Waterfront (1954) -- fighting corruption on the docks of New York City
Margaret's Museum (1995) -- Margaret finds love but what are her odds for happiness when she lives in a town where half the men die down the coalpit
Others:
X Schwabenkinder (2003) -- a child sent away as a laborer, now an adult, tells his story to his now dying father (currently unavailable)
VII.16. RACE TO THE POLES (North and South)
Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd (The Flight of the Eagle) (1982) -- Swedish film about S. A. Andrée setting out in hydrogen balloon "The Eagle" to be the first man at the North Pole, 1897
X Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole (1983) -- American Frederick Albert Cook claims to have reached the North Pole April 21, 1908; Am. Robert Peary claims he reached the pole first April 6, 1909
Glory and Honor (1998) -- black man Mathew Henson who accompanied Peary to the North Pole (Peary claimed to have been the first person to the North Pole, on April 6, 1909)
Scott of the Antarctic (1948) -- Robert F. Scott's trip to be the first man to reach the South Pole (1910-1912)
The Last Place on Earth (1985) -- mini-series about the race to the South Pole between Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British Capt. Robert F. Scott, 1910-1912
Shackleton (2002) -- Shackleton's journey to the South Pole and the crew's harrowing return trip, 1914-1915
Krasnaya Palatka (The Red Tent) (1969) -- failed 1928 Arctic airship expedition of the "Italia" airship
VIII. AGE OF IMPERIALISM. Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
VIII.1. IMPERIALISM: SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
Spain: First Spanish Republic (1873-1874):
Spain: House of Borbon (Second Restoration) --1874-1931: Alfonso XII (1874-1885); Alfonso XIII (1886-1931)
USA
Citizen Kane (1941) -- the life of William Randolph Hearst & yellow journalism start a war w/ Spain
X The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) -- Hearst and actress Marion Davies ($39)
The Cat's Meow (2001) -- movie producer Thomas Ince dies after yachting with William Randolph Hearst, Charlie Chaplin & Marion Davies
Rough Riders (1997) -- 1898, with Theodore Roosevelt
Newsies (1992) -- musical about the 1899 newspaper boy strike against Pulitzer and Hearst in NYC
X Mambí (1998) – the Cubans loyal to Spain called the insurgents the Mambies, named after the black Spanish officer, Juan Ethninius Mamby, who was a freedom fighter in the Dominican Republic
The White Legion (1936) -- the medical search for the cure for yellow fever killing so many workers on the Panama Canal
The Wind and the Lion (1975) -- Morocco 1904, Pres. TR & political kidnapping
Lillian Russell (1940) -- singing bombshell sensation wooed by Diamond Jim Brady among others
X The Florodora Girl (1930) -- early 1900 Broadway girls
Flame of the Barbary Coast (1945) -- San Francisco's Barbary Coast and the 1906 Earth Quake
San Francisco (1936) -- love triangle set against the San Francisco earth quake
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955) -- beautiful girl Evelyn Nesbit, architect Stanford White, murdering husband Harry Thaw
Jim Thorpe (1951) -- native American star of the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden
X Stars & Stripes Forever (1952) -- march composer and Marine Corp band leader John Philip Sousa
Philippines:
José Rizal (1998) -- Filipino hero who is unjustly tried for treason by the colonial government
X Rizal sa Dapitan (1997) -- the Philippine national hero as a messianic figure
X Ang buhay at pag-ibig ni Dr. Jose Rizal (The Life and Love of Dr. Jose Rizal) (1956) -- Filipino hero
X Bayaning Third World (Third World Hero) (2000) -- the untold love story of Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken is finally revealed after more than 100 years
X El vibora (1972) – Artemio Ricarte, a Filipino patriot, fought against the Spanish and then the Americans; he was later supported by the Japanese
Baler (2008) --1898, Siege of Baler, Philippines between Filipino forces and Spanish soldiers defending Baler (today it's the capital municipality of Aurora)
X Los últimos de Filipinas (The Last Ones in the Philippines) (1945) – Spanish-American War; Spanish soldiers are pushed out of the Philippines
X Sisa (2008) -- Narcisa "Sisa" Dalangin is a young Filipina during the Spanish Occupation & is a childhood friend of Jose Rizal
X Tandang sora (1947) – a heroine of Philippine history (Filipino/Tagalog)
X Tirad Pass: The Story of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (1997) -- story of the Filipino Revolution to oust the USA from the Philippines
X Sakay (1993) -- Filipino American War (Tagalog only)
Cavalry Command (1963) -- after the war's end, in 1902 an American cavalry brigade is sent to quell guerilla resistance in the Philippines
X Emilio Aguinaldo (2000) -- had a key role in Philippine independence during the Philippine Rev. against Spain & the Philippine-American War against American occupation
X El presidente (2012) -- General Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Philippine Republic
X Hen. Gregorio del Pilar (1949) – Philippine hero of the Philippine-American War (Filipino | Tagalog )
The Real Glory (1939) -- doctor in Philippines after Spanish-American War, in second phase of the Philippine-American War, 1906
Hawaii:
Princess Ka'iulani (Princess Kaiulani) (2009) -- a government overthrown by American businessmen and politicians
The Hawaiians (1970) -- Americans overthrow the government of Hawaii 1893
Hawaii (1966) -- an extremely anal retentive, moralistic minister makes it hard for everyone: natives, whites and even his own family
Other events:
X Titanic (1997) -- 1912 sinking of the passenger ship Titanic
X S.O.S. Titanic (1979)
X Titanic (1953) -- 1912 sinking
X A Night to Remember (1958) -- 1912, sinking of the Titanic
X Atlantis (1930) -- fictionalized story of Titanic
X Atlantik (1929) -- fictionalized story of Titanic
X The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) -- 1912, lively survivor of the sinking of the Titanic
VIII.2. IMPERIALISM: AFRICA Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
Mountains of the Moon (1990) -- expedition to find the source of the Nile river in the name of Queen Victoria's British Empire
Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone (1997)
Stanley and Livingstone (1939)-- 1871; Am. newspaperman finds "lost" humanitarian (discontinued by the manufacturer)
Albert Schweitzer: Called to Africa (2006) -- Nobel Peace Prize winner who, as a doctor, served the poor in today's Gabon starting in 1905 (Dutch language and Dutch subtitles)
Egypt:
X Al-Mummia (aka The Night of Counting the Years, The Mummy) (1969) – an Upper-Egyptian clan in 1881 has been robbing a cache of mummies near Kurna
Sudan:
Khartoum (1966) -- 1884
Morocco:
Outpost in Morocco (1949) -- French Foreign Legion and colonialism in Morocco
Morocco (1930) -- Foreign Legion film (with Marlene Dietrich)
Beau Geste (1939) -- French Foreign Legion
Legionnaire (1998) -- the Foreign Legion's battles against Spanish Moroccan Berbers
March or Die (1977) -- French Foreign Legion against the Arabs in Morocco
X La batalla de los Tres Reyes (The Battle of the Three Kings) (1990) – (?) aka The Battle of Alcácer Quibir was fought in n. Morocco in 1578 pitting Abu Abdallah Mohammed II Saadi & King Sebastian of Portugal against Moroccan army under the new Sultan of Morocco
Another Sky (1954) -- in the 1950s, an English woman becomes a paid companion of a wealthy expatriate and is changed by the mysteries of Morocco
Legion of Missing Men (1937) -- Foreign Legion in Morocco fights against Arab tribes
Algeria:
Fort Saganne (1984) -- 1911,the adventures of Charles Saganne in the French Foreign Legion when he is posted to the Sahara in Algeria (& a little of WWI)
Rachida (2002) -- a look at terrorism in the Algerian civil war through the eyes of Rachida, a teacher in one of the school districts.
Cameroon:
Chocolat (1989) -- colonial racism in Cameroon
X Sarraounia (1986) -- troops from the French Sudan in 1899 go up against the black Sultan Rabah in Cameroon
Senegal:
Camp de Thiaroye (1987) -- in WWII African men fight bravely for France but are screwed by their oppressors once it is time for them to be discharged
Noirs et blancs en couleur (Black and White in Color) (1976) -- French and German colonialists learn WWI has been on for seven months
Tanzania:
X Carl Peters (1941) -- colonialism, Tanzania
Mozambique:
X Battle of the Three Kings (1953) – 1894, Portuguese conquer Mozambique to counter the Vatuas insurgency
'Non', ou A V Glória de Mandar (No, or the Vain Glory of Command) (1990) -- 1963 to 1975, Portugal fights to maintain its colonies (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau)
Other:
Coup de Torchon (Clean Slate) (1975) -- life in a French colony in Africa
South Africa:
X Shaka Zulu (1987) -- 1816-1828, feared leader of the South African Zulus
Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior (2005) -- follow up to Shaka Zulu (1987)
Untamed (1955) -- Boer trek through hostile S. Africa, 1835-1840 - Boers leave Cape Colony in the 'Great Trek' and found the Orange Free State and the Transvaal
Zulu Dawn (1979) -- prequel to Zulu; massacre of the British, 1878-1879
Zulu (1964) -- 1879 defense of the British Army outpost at Rorke's Drift against the Zulus
X Rhodes of Africa (1936) -- British imperialist and developer of South Africa, Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia
X Rhodes (1996) TV -- Cecil Rhodes
X Shangani Patrol (1970) -- 1893, battalion of volunteer soldiers face the might of King Lobengula's army in Rhodesia
Breaker Morant (1980) -- 1901 in the Transvaal, South Africa; during second Boer War (1899-1902)
Torn Allegiance (1984) -- in the Boer War, a British Lieutenant is upset that he has to burn out Boer farms and crops
That Englishwoman (1989) -- story of Emily Hobhouse, who worked to improve health conditions for Boer women and children in detainment camps; detested in Britain, heroine in South Africa
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) -- an old soldier relives his life from the second Boer War through World Wars I and II
Young Winston (1972) -- Churchill that is
Gandhi (1982) -- first part deals with the early Gandhi, before 1915
Gandhi, My Father (2007) – Gandhi and his eldest son's bad relationship ( in South Africa and India)
Kenya:
X The Flame Trees of Thika (1982) -- life in colonial Kenya
X The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) -- two man-eating lions delay the building of the railroad in 1899 Tsavo, Kenya
X Out of Africa (1985) -- Kenya, early 20th century with Danish writer Isak Dinesen
Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa) (2001) -- Jewish refugees establish a new life in Kenya during the Hitler reign
Something of Value (1957) -- the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya
Kitchen Toto (1987) -- Mau Mau in Kenya
X The Oath (2005) – short film of the story of the mau mau
Simba (1955) -- Allan comes back to Kenya and finds himself up against the Mau Mau
X Hemingway, the Hunter of Death (2001) -- Hemingway goes on a scientific expedition to Mt. Kenya during Mau-Mau rebellion
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) -- Hemingway's story based on his own life experiences
VIII.3. IMPERIALISM: INDIA Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
British Period: 1757-1947
Clive of India (1935) -- Robert Clive (1725-1774) who secured British rule in India
Jhansi Si Rani (1952) -- in the 1800s, first native revolt against the British in India
The Deceivers (1988) -- 1825 India, with Brosnan as British officer infiltrating Thuggee cult
X Veer (2010) -- 1825 Pindari movement of Rajasthan
Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) (1977) -- a classic in which the British seize the Indian kingdom of Oudh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India, 1856
X Junoon (1979) -- love story between one of the Rebels of 1857 in Rohilkhand and an Anglo-Indian woman that he has held hostage
X The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005) -- hero of an uprising against the British, the Sepoy Mutiny c. 1857
Gunga Din (1939) -- 19th Century Punjab India, Thuggee cult (followers of Kali)
Sunghursh (1968)) -- Indian film accurately depicting the Thuggee cult
Sabaka (1954) --
Kranti (1981) – an Indian family fights to drive the British out of India circa 1825 to 1875 AD
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) -- battles between British and Afghan guerillas
The Bengal Brigade (1954) -- British work to thwart the Sepoy rebellion in India -- 1857
King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) -- Muslim fanatic Karram Khan battles his boyhood friend Capt. King in the Northwest Frontier; later King gets the assignment to get Khan
X Storm over Bengal (1938) -- battles between the British and Indians in Bengal (currently unavailable)
Brigand of Kandahar (1965) -- British army fights off an uprising in the 1850s
North West Frontier (a.k.a., Flame over India) (1959) -- 1905, fighting between Muslims and Hindus & trying to safe an important young Hindu Prince
A Passage to India (1984) - 1920's clash between English racist colonialism and the native Indians
Cotton Mary (1999) -- racism and its effects in post-colonial India
The Jewel in the Crown (1984) -- set against the final years before India gained independence
The Far Pavilions (1984) -- mini-series about forbidden love between a British cavalry officer and an Indian princess
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) -- Hindi movie about the effect of British injustices on a small Indian village of peasants, 1893
X Immadi Pulakeshi (1967) -- actor Dr. Rajkumar film
The Rains Came (1939) -- British colonial love stories set against floods in Boroda, India, 1938
The Long Duel (1967) -- 1920s India where the British Raj still rules India; a British lawman squares off with a freedom-backing sultan (Yul Brynner)
The Drum (Drums) (1938) -- in the time of the British Raj, Indian Prince Azim tries to warn the prejudiced British about a coming revolt
VIII.4. IMPERIALISM: CHINA & FRENCH INDO-CHINA Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Musa (The Warrior) (2001) -- 1375, Korean Koryo warriors band together to help save a Princess of the Ming dynasty from the Mongols of the former Yuan Dynasty
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
Dream of the Red Chamber (1962) – semi-autobiographical story of Cao family in the 18th c. during the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644-1912) founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in Manchuria
X Yingxiong Zheng Chengong (Hero Zheng Chengong) (2002) -- Sino-Dutch War 1661; Zheng Chenggong and his battle with the Dutch Empire for control of Taiwan at the Siege of Fort Zeelandia
X Hong lou meng (A Dream of Red Mansions) (1962) -- musical of the fall of the 18th-century clan ($68)
Tai Pan (1986) -- the First Opium War (1839-1842)
X Yapian zhanzheng (The Opium War) (1997) – 1839, British opium merchants to be executed in Guangzhou, China; start of the Opium War (currently unavailable)
X Lin zexu (The Opium Wars) (1959) – young man wants to end the trade in opium partly because his relatives are addicts
Qing quo ging cheng (The Empress Dowager) (1975) -- Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty who was the de facto ruler of China, 1861-1908
Tau ming chong (The Warlords) (2007) -- Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), a large-scale revolt against the Qing Government by the army and civil administration
X Noroshi wa Shanghai ni agaru (aka Signal Fires of Shanghai) (1944) -- Taiping Rebellion
Jia wu feng yun (Naval Battle of 1894) (1962) -- naval battles of the First Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895)
55 Days at Peking (1963) -- 1898-1901 Boxer Rebellion in China
X Baiyin diguo (Empire of Silver) (2009) -- carefree young man must prepare to take over his family's Chinese banking empire, during Boxer Rebellion
X Da taijian Li Lianying (Li Lianying, the Imperial Eunuch) (1991) -- Li Lianying was a eunuch who held enormous power in the waning days of the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty NO LINK
Hong he gu (Red River Valley; aka The Tale of the Sacred Mountain) (1999) -- British incursion into Tibet in 1904
X Xiang xiang gong zhu (aka Princess Fragrance) (1987) -- kung-fu movie about an uprising in Qing dynasty China (17/18th Century AD) NO LINK
Wo zhe yi bei zi (This Life of Mine) (1950) – Beijing policeman and his family experience a very rough 50 years of life in China, 1900-1950
X Jian hu nu xia Qui Jin (The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake) (2011) -- feminist and writer Qiu Jin and her involvement in revolutionary uprisings against the Qing Dynasty in Anhui province
Republic of China (1911-1949)
Xinhai geming (1911) (2011) -- birth of the Republic of China
The Soong Sisters (1997) -- the lives of three sisters who all married among the highest rank of officials in the Republic of China (1911-1949).
X Guo fu Sun Zhong Shan yu kai guo ying xiong (The Story of Dr. Sun Yat-sen) (1986) – Sun Yat-sen
X The Founding of a Party (Beginning of the Great Revival) (2011) -- Chinese Revolution, the period from 1911 to 1921, when Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty to the rise of the Communist Party and its leader Mao Tse-Tung
X Ye Ming (Road to Dawn) (2007) -- segment of the life of revolutionary Sun Yat-sen
X Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) -- events in Hong Kong near the end of the Qing Dynasty that led to the Wuchang Uprising
The Sand Pebbles (1966) -- 1926 China; an American gun boat, Chiang Kai-shek against the warlords and the move toward civil war
X Yego zovut Sukhe-Bator (His Name Is Sukhe-Bator) (1942) – 1919, commander-in-chief of the Mongolian Peoples' Revolutionary Army defeated China's attempt to retake Mongolia
X Shaolin (2011) -- during Warlord Era (1911-1928) in 1928, warlord Shi You-san burned down 90% of the buildings at the Buddhist Shaolin Temple in Henan province; Shi was killed by his sworn brother and subordinate Gao Shu-xun
Gada Meilin (2002) -- 1931 in Inner Mongolia, Mongolian national hero Ga da mei lin who led Mongolians to protect their homeland from the provincial government
X Shanghai Triad (1995) -- Chinese singer gets mixed up with gangsters in 1930s Shanghai
X The Lover (1992) -- a relationship between a young French teen-ager and wealthy Chinese heir in French Indochina causes problems
X Indochine (1992) -- political upheaval in French Indochina in the 1930s to the defeat of the French in 1954
VIII.5. IMPERIALISM: JAPAN Back to Chapter VIII Back to Contents
Late Tokugawa Shogunate, 1853-1867:
Bushido Blade (1981) -- a drama set around 1854, US Naval Commodore Matthew Perry opens up Japan to trade with the West
The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) – in 1850s US President Pierce sends to Japan the first U.S. Consul-General
Eijanaika (1981) -- rocky road for a love relationship set against carnival atmosphere in 1867 and 1868 for the approach of the Meiji Restoration
The Last Samurai (2003) -- American civil war veteran hired to teach the Emperor's troops how to defeat the last of the samurai, late 19th century
Ansatsu (Assassination) (1964) -- Kiyokawa Hachiro & initial phase of Shinsengumi, the Shogun's corp of ex-ronin fighting anarchy in the Imperial capital Kyoto
X Gohatto (Taboo) (1999) -- Shinsengumi man falls in love with a girlishly attractive young man which causes great instability in a local militia
Mibu Gishiden (When the Last Sword is Drawn)
(2003) -- a poor samurai joins the Shinsengumi under
economic duress in last days of the shogunate
X
Hitokiri (Tenchu) (1969) --
one
of the famous assassins of the Bakumatsu era
Okami yo Rakujitsu o Kire (The Last Samurai) (1974)
-- the Bakumatsu and the involvement of men on different
sides in the fighting
Kedamono no ken (Sword of the Beast) (1965) -- Japanese period film shows how the clan system used and betrayed the samurai
X Tokugawa ichizoku no houkai (1980) -- Matsudaira Katamori (1836-1893), a samurai & the Military Commissioner of Kyoto who fought against the Meiji Government armies
Director Yoji Yamada Trilogy:
The Twilight Samurai (2002) -- lower samurai helped by the merchants, end the Tokugawa government and make way for the Mejii government
Kakushi ken oni no tsume (The Hidden Blade) (2004) -- set in the late Tokugawa era, dealing with the dissatisfied lower samurai who brought an end to the era, a clan makes a samurai kill his friend
Bushi no ichibun (Love and Honor) (2006) -- problems between husband and wife when the samurai poison taster is actually poisoned; about the lower samurai
Korea:
X Jumong Vol. 1 (2007) -- 180 B.C., Korean kingdom of Ancient Josun has fallen to China's Han Empire; Jumong (Song Il Gook, Sea God), founder of the Koguryo kingdom comes to the rescue
Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla) (57 BC-668 AD)
X Hwangsanbul (Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield) (2003) -- 600's, endless disputes between the three separate kingdoms on the Korean peninsula: Baekche, Koguryo and Shilla
Unified Silla and Balhae (676-936)
Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) -- Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and the longest sustained dynasty in Asian history
Muyeong geom (The Legend of the Shadowless Sword) (2005) -- starts 927; female warrior is sent to find an exiled prince after the Killer Blade Army killed the royal family
The Goryeo Dynasty (936-1388)
X Taejo wanggun (Wang-Gun the Great) (1970) -- General Wang-gun overthrows the usurper Ku-jin who slew the last king of the Silla Dynasty and becomes king, starting the new dynasty
Musa (The Warrior) (2001) -- 1375, Korean Koryo warriors band together to save the Yuan dynasty
Ssang-hwa-jeom (A Frozen Flower) (2008) – homosexual relationship between king and his bodyguard Chief is complicated by the necessity to get the Queen pregnant (a task the King gives to the Chief)
Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1896)
X Taejo Lee Seong-gye (King Taeho) (1965) – a general overthrows the old king and founds the Joseon Dynasty
X Sejong daewang ( Sejong the Great) (1978) -- Sejong the Great (1418-1450) of the Joseon Dynasty faces increasing hostility from Ming China
X Shin-gi -jeon (The Divine Weapon) (2008) -- Korea's creation of Singijeon, a variation of the Chinese fire arrow during 1418-1450 reign of Sejong the Great
X Wang-ui namja (The King and the Clown) (2005) -- two clowns arrested for satirizing the king must make the king, the worst Joseon tyrant, laugh or they will be executed; during the reign of Yeonsangun of Joseon (reigned 1494–1506)
X Goo-reu-meul beo-eo-nan dal-cheo-reom (Blades of Blood) (2010) – 1500s; two swordsmen face each other in a fight for control of the country and to be the new king of the land
X Cheongpung myeongwol (Sword in the Moon) (2003) – 1600
Choi-jong-byeong-gi Hwal (War of the Arrows) (2011) -- 1623, brother-sister bond plus love story set during the second Manchurian invasion of Korea
X Dong Yi (2010) -- TV series; Royal Noble Consort Suk (aka Dong Yi) (1670-1718) of the Choe clan was a concubine of King Sukjong of Joseon
X Disturbance in Her Barroom -- set in 1724 against back drop of gangster culture of Joseon Dynasty
X Mi-in-do (Portrait of a Beauty) (2008) -- painter Shin Yun-bok (pen name Hyewon), born 1758, known for his realistic depictions of daily life, is thought to be a woman
Bool-kkott-cheo-reom na-bi-cheo-reom (The Sword with No Name; Like Fireworks, Like Butterflies) (2009) -- love affair between commoner and Queen Myeongseong married to King Gojong (reigned from 1864 to 1907)
Chihwaseon (Painted Fire) (2002) -- famed Korean painter paints while Japan and China fight over Korea
Goongnyeo (Shadows in the Palace) (2007) -- fictionalized account of court maids during Joseon era
X Cheon-gun (Heaven's Soldiers) (2005) – South Korean action and humorous film, but with some historical parts (currently unavailable)
The Korean Empire (1897-1910)
Japanese Colonial Rule (1916-1945)
IX. Pre-World War I Period. Back to Chapter IX Back to Contents
IX.1. ITALY: BEFORE WWI. Back to Chapter IX Back to Contents
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
Victor Emmanuel II (1861-1878)
X Correva l'anno di grazia 1870 (aka 1870) (1971) – 1870 Italy
Umberto I (1878–1900)
Leopard (1936) -- Sicily after Italian unification
Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)
1900 (1976) -- the rise of the Black Shirts
Time of Indifference (1964) -- moral & social decay in 1920s Italy
IX.2. USA: BEFORE WWI Back to Chapter IX Back to Contents
Wilson (1944) -- President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
The Great White Hope (1971) -- black Jack Johnson, heavyweight champion (beats Tommy Burns in 1908)
The Winds of Kitty Hawk (1978) -- story of the Wright Brothers who had the first flight in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Women's Rights and Suffrage:
Iron Jawed Angels (2004) -- Alice Paul and Lucy Burns fight for the right to vote for women
X Nancy Astor (1982)-- 3 DVD set from Masterpiece Theatre follows the story of Nancy Langhorne born in Virginia, USA who married the wealthy Waldorf Astor and became the first woman to take her seat in the British House of Commons
X Sofya Kovalevskaya (1956) – first woman in Russia to become a Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the obstacles she had to overcome
X Sofya Kovalevskaya (1985) -- ditto; made for TV
IX.3. MEXICAN REVOLUTION/CIVIL WAR (1910-1917) ( 1,000,000 dead) Back to Chapter IX Back to Contents
Dictator General Porfirio Diaz (1876-1880) and (1884-1911)
El Atentado (The Attempt Dossier) (2010) -- political corruption in the Porfirio Diaz government
Madera (president 1911-1913)
El Cometa (The Comet) (1999) -- a young Mexican girl wants to get the collected money to San Antonio, Texas to support Madero in his fight against dictator General Porfirio Diaz
Cuartelazo (military uprising) (1977) -- General Vitoriano Huerta overthrows Madera in a plot with US ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson; he was president 1913-1914
X Mexico de mis recuerdos (My Memories of Mexico) (1944) -- (no English subtitles) remembrances of Mexico under Diaz
X Mexico de mis recuerdos (My Memories of Mexico) (1963) -- (no English subtitles) remembrances of Mexico under Diaz
X Thunder over Mexico (Que viva México) (1933) -- excesses of the powerful in the days of dictator Porfirio Diaz
Pancho Villa (leader of the northern forces)
Viva Villa! (1934) -- Pancho Villa, head of the army of the North, 1916, Mexico
Let's Go with Pancho Villa (1936) -- a group of 6 men from the same village decide to join the Villa forces
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) -- Pancho Villa raises money by agreeing to let the Americans film his battles
X Villa! (1958) dull; Mexican revolutionary
Villa Rides! (1968) -- an American pilot becomes involved with Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution
The Old Gringo (1989) -- about the writer Ambrose Bierce who at 70 was a volunteer with Villa
Pancho Villa (1972) -- non-historical comedy
La soldadera (Soldier's Woman) (1966) -- (no English subtitles) a wife becomes a soldier's woman when her husband is conscripted into the Mexican Revolution
Reds -- journalist John Reed interviewed Villa
X Reed, México insurgente (1973) -- American journalist John Reed and the Mexican Revolution ($1,000 for VHS tape)
Caballo prieto azabache (Midnight Stallion) (1965) -- (no English subtitles) shelters Villa in his early days after he killed a landowner and then Villa repays a debt
X El principio (2007) -- (no English subtitles) an artist joins the forces of Villa
Un Dorado De Pancho Villa (1966) -- (no English subtitles) a Villa supporter finds a rich man, steals his sweetheart and Villa is asked for help
El tesoro de Pancho Villa (The Treasure of Pancho Villa) (1935) -- Villa's hidden treasure leads to a great struggle over who will get the treasure
X Flor Silvestre (Wild Flower) (1943) -- set against the Mexican Revolution, class differences between a rich man and poor woman leads to family divisions
Los de abajo (1940) -- farm worker joins Pancho Villa General; fights in takeover of Zacatecas; promoted to rank of lieutenant colonel
X Los de abajo (1978) --
La muerte de Pancho Villa (The Death of Pancho Villa) (1974) -- (no English subtitles) the murder of Pancho Villa, 1923
X Under Strange Flags (1937) -- Pancho Villa prevents some Americans from getting their mined-in-Mexico silver
They Came to Cordura (1959) -- story of courage or the lack of it set during raiding activities of Pancho Villa along the Mexico/USA border
Zapata (leader of the southern forces)
Viva Zapata (1952) -- Marlon Brando 1916, Mexico
X Emiliano Zapata (Zapata) (1970) -- played by Antonio Aquilar
Zapata: Amor en Rebeldia (2004) -- Zapata in a three-way relationship
X Zapata: El sueńo de un héroe (2004) -- Emiliano Zapata, leader of the southern forces fighting the Mexican Revolution
El Compadre Mendoza (1934) -- a wealthy land owner survives the revolution by playing friends to both governmental and Zapata forces
Lucio Vasquez (1968) -- (no English subtitles) a close comrade to Zapata wants revenge for the killings of Zapata and his father
La casta divina (1977) -- the Yucatan aristocracy on the eve of the Mexican Revolution
X Trini (1976) -- East German movie involving the Mexican Revolution
Other:
Cannon for Cordoba (1970) -- soldiers against Mexican bandits on the Texas border ca. 1912
X La Sombra del caudillo (1960) -- corrupt politics in post-revolutionary Mexico
IX.4. GERMANY & AUSTRIA: BEFORE WWI Back to Chapter IX Back to Contents
Germany:
Fall of Eagles (1974) (TV miniseries) -- part of it deals with Bismarck and the unification of Germany and the fall of the Habsburgs of Austria-Hungary
X Bismarck (1940) -- about Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) (done by the Third Reich)
X Bismarck (1990) -- West German TV mini-series
The Shaping of the Western World. Bismarck: Germany from Blood and Iron (2008) -- a docudrama about Otto von Bismarck who was the most responsible man in uniting Germany into a single nation
X Die Entlassung (The Dismissal) (1942) – about Bismarck (sequel by the Third Reich)
Wagner (1982) -- Hitler's favorite composer
X Rosa Luxemburg (1986) -- labor agitator in Germany
X Kuhle Wampe oder: Wem gehört die Welt? (Wither Germany?) (1932) -- left-wing politics in Weimar Germany (written by Bertolt Brecht); banned by the Nazis -- (currently unavailable)
Abschied - Brechts letzter Sommer (The Farewell) (2002) – Bertolt Brecht's last summer and the women in his life with the Stasi watching it all
Austria:
Sissi (1955) -- first of a trilogy about the Austrian princess Elizabeth (a.k.a., Sissi) who married Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria
Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin (Sissi: The Young Empress) (1956) -- second of a trilogy about Austrian Empress Elizabeth (a.k.a., Sissi)
Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress) (1957) -- third of a trilogy about the Empress Elizabeth
X Elisabeth Kaiserin von Österreich (1972) -- Elizabeth married Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in 1854
X Friedrich III. '...gestorben als Kaiser' (1970) – German emperor in the Year of the Three Emperors, 1888
X Mayerling (1936) -- 1889, Austrian, Crown Prince Rudolph, son of Emperor Franz Joseph
Mayerling (1969) -- wants to marry Mary Vetsera even though he is already married
Kronprinz Rudolf (The Crown Prince) (2006)-- the woman Crown Prince Rudolph really wants to marry is not suitable according to his father and mother
X Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe (Mayerling) (1956) -- German movie about Crown Prince Rudolph
X Der Engel mit der Posaune (The Angel with the Trumpet) (1948) – Austrian history from the late 19th century to post-World War II as seen in the fortunes of Vienna piano-makers
X Chopin: Desire for Love (2000) --
X Lisztomania (2000) -- Hungarian composer Franz Liszt
X Szerelmi álmok - Liszt (The Loves of Liszt) (1970) – Liszt in Russia
Lola Montes (1955) -- love affairs with Liszt and King Ludwig I of Bavaria
X Song without End (1960) – Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt is involved in a romantic scandal with a married Russian princess
Ludwig (1972) --Ludwig II, Mad King of Bavaria, friend of Wagner & cousin of Sissi
X Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs (Mad Emperor: Ludwig II) (1955) – Ludwig II (reign 1864-1886)
The Strauss Dynasty (1991) -- the family life and careers of musicians Johann Strauss and his son, Johan Strauss (the King of the Waltz, who died in 1899)
X Strauss: The Waltz King (2005) -- TV movie
Hungary:
X 80 huszár (80 Hussars) (1978) – Hungarian revolution of 1848-1849
A Hídember (The Bridgeman) (2002) -- story of Istvan Szechenyi, the nineteenth-century Hungarian revolutionary
X Szabadságharc Szebenben (2007) – 1860s Hungary
X A komáromi fiú (1987) – 19th century Hungry
Other:
X Mis Ston (Miss Stone) (1958) -- elderly American woman travels in Macedonia when held by the Ottoman Empire, which will soon disappear
X. WORLD WAR I & AFTERMATH. Back to Chapter X Back to Contents
National Leaders: Germany (Wilhelm II, 1888-1918); France (Pres. Raymond Poincaré, 1913-1920); Britain (George V, 1893-1936); Russia (Nicholas II, 1894-1917); United States (Pres. Woodrow Wilson)
X.1. World War I. Back to Chapter X Back to Contents
X Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) -- film follows the Smith family through significant events of World War I; more of a musical of tunes of the times
Assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand:
Fall of Eagles (1974) (TV miniseries) -- fall of Habsburg, Hohenzollern and Romanov dynasties in WWI
X De Mayerling a Sarajevo (From Mayerling to Sarajevo) (1940) -- lead-up to the assassination of the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand and his wife
Sarajevski atentat (The Day that Shook the World) (1975) -- events leading up to the assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand
X Sarajevski atentat (1972) -- events leading up to the assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand
X Sarajevski atentat (1968) -- events leading up to the assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand
X Gavre Princip - Himmel unter Steinen (Death of a Schoolboy) (1990) –assassin of Archduke Ferdinand
X Weltuntergang (1984) – a local doctor is put in charge of the investigation into the assassinated of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by Gabriel Princip
And the Ship Sails On (1983) -- Serbian war refugees
Carlston za Ognjenku (Tears for Sale) (2008) – after WWI 2/3 of Serbian men were killed; two sisters plan to kidnap some men
Austria-Hungary:
Colonel Redl (1985) -- Austrian-Hungarian Empire
X Magyar rapszódia (Hungarian Rhapsody) (1979) – an examination of pre-revolutionary (pre-communist) Hungary around the time of World War I through the eyes of an aristocratic Captain that bonds with the peasants
Gallipoli and Turkey:
Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) (2006) -- soldiers on both sides call a Christmas truce in 1914 and are punished for it
Gallipoli (1981) -- British, New Zealander and Australian troops against Turkey (Ottoman Empire), 1915
X Chunuk Bair (1997) -- a New Zealand film about the Wellington Regiment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli (currently unavailable)
1915 (1982) -- two Australian country boys vie for the same girl, but their world changes when they land in Gallipoli
X The Battle of Gallipoli (Tell England) (1931) -- Battle of Gallipoli 1915
ANZACs: the War Down Under (1985) -- Australian-New Zealand Army Corps head for disaster in Gallipoli and then on to France and the battles of Ypres and Amiens, among others
Çanakkale aslanlari (Lions of Gallipoli) (1964) -- the battle seen from the Turkish point of view
X The Battle of Broken Hill (1981) -- prelude to Gallipoli; a mass killing near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia on January 1, 1915 carried out by Muslims to support the Ottoman Empire
Son Osmanli Yandim Ali (The Last Ottoman: Yandim Ali) (2007) -- veteran wants to meet Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), who wants to start a resistance against the occupiers
X Veda (2010) -- based on the memoirs of Salih Bozok, which traces the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Cumhuriyet (The Republic) (1998) – foundation of Turkish Republic between the years of early 1920's to 1933
X 1922 (1978) -- Asia Minor Disaster and Asia Minor Greeks, arrested and led to death by Kemal's troops and armed groups of Muslims
X Abdul the Damned (1935) -- in Turkey, 1908, Sultan Abdul Hamid resists the Young Turk party (amazon.com doesn't have it )
Armenia:
Ararat (2002) -- Turkish atrocities committed against Armenians
X Huso astgh (Star of Hope) (1978) -- David Bek and Mkhitar Sparapet lead the Armenian liberation movement , XVIII century
Sayat Nova (Color of Pomegranates) (1968) – life of Armenian poet Aruthin Sayadin (a.k.a. Sayat-Nova) (1712-1795)
X La Masseria Delle Allodole (The Lark Farm) (2007) -- 1815, Turkish genocide against Armenia
Western Front 1916 onwards:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) -- horrifying effect of trench warfare and its impact on a small cohort of young German soldiers
All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) -- ditto
The Trench (1999) -- 1st of July 1916, "The day British idealism died "
Paths of Glory (1957) -- French generals hide their own incompetence by declaring their own soldiers cowards, 1916
Britannic (2000) -- sinking of the sister ship of the Titanic, November 1916
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- Arab revolt against Turkey (Ottoman Empire) 1916
Verdun, visions d'histoire (Verdun) (1928) -- major WWI battle, Feb. 2 to December 18, 1916, in northeastern France
X La Vie Et Rien D'Autre (Life And Nothing But) (1989) –a year after WW I has ended, cynical Major Dellaplane has the difficult task of identifying and interring thousands of fallen French soldiers anonymously languishing in field hospitals and littering the vast Verdun battlefield
Beneath Hill 60 (2010) -- Australian miners are used to dig tunnels under the German lines to plant explosives, June 7, 1917
The Monocled Mutineer (1986) -- 2 DVD set of a tv series about the mutiny of soldiers against the harsh British training Camp Etaples, France in 1917 on the eve of the Passchendaele battle, June 11, 1917
Passchendaele (2008) -- Battle of Passchendaele (June-November 1917) in which 10th Battalion of 1st Canadian Division set record for highest number of individual bravery awards for a single battle
Lighthorsemen (1987) -- charge on Beersheba, events after Gallipoli for the Australian troops (October 31, 1917)
Forty Thousand Horsemen (1941) -- Australian cavalry at the Battle of Beersheba (October 31, 1917)
Mata Hari (1932) -- Greta Garbo as the spy Mata Hari executed in 1917
X Mata Hari (1972) -- the spy Mata Hari
X Mata Hari, agent H21 (1964) -- with Jeane Moreau (currently unavailable)
X Vsadniki (aka Guerilla Brigade; Riders) (1939) -- Ukrainian resistance against Germans in 1918
X 1918 (1985) – in a small Texas town, Horace Robedaux feels the pressure to enlist for WWI but has a wife and child to take care of, but his father-in-law intervenes
The Lost Prince (2003) -- Prince John, the youngest child of King George V and Queen Mary of Great Britain, who died of epilepsy at the age of 13 in 1919
All the King's Men (1999) -- a military company from the estate of the mother of King George V just seems to disappear
Behind the Lines (a.k.a., Regeneration) (1998) -- Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, two of England's most important WW1 poets
The Road to Glory (1936) -- trench life as seen by a French regiment; as time goes on Lt. Denet gets in a triangle love relationship with Monique and his captain
Untel pčre et fils (Heart of a Nation) (1943) -- the Froment family of Montmartre, France from the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 to Nazi occupation in World War II
Capitaine Conan (Captain Conan) (1996) -- during the last days of the WWI, French Capitaine Conan is an excellent warrior, but finds he is unsuited for peacetime duty in Bucharest
X Legends of the Fall (1994) -- very good WWI trench combat scenes
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004) -- a French woman has to become a detective in her search for her fiancé who is missing in action, not dead
My Boy Jack (2007) -- Author Rudyard Kipling pushes to get his son into the army; son is reported missing, probably wounded; Mrs. Kipling moves heaven and earth to learn the truth about what happened
X Testament of Youth (1979) -- tv mini-series based on Vera Brittain's autobiography for the years 1913-1925 who becomes a nurse & is almost overwhelmed at seeing the faces of dead and horribly wounded friends and family
X Baruto no Gakuen (The Ode to Joy) (2006) – a Japanese film of the Japanese Bando Prisoner of War camp in World War I depicting friendship of German/Austrian-Hungarian POWs with the camp director
X Padurea spânzuratilor (Forest of the Hanged) (1964) -- Romanian in service of Austro-Hungarian military refuses to fight the Romanians
USA Finally Gets into the War
A Farewell to Arms (1932) -- with Helen Hayes & Gary Cooper
X A Farewell to Arms (1957) -- with Jennifer Jones & Rock Hudson
X Force of Arms (A Girl for Joe) (1951) -- updating of "A Farewell to Arms" (with William Holden)
In Love and War (1996) -- true story behind "A Farewell to Arms" with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell
Sergeant York (1941) -- American World War I hero, 1918
X The Man I Killed (1932) --
A Farewell to Arms (1932) -- with Helen Hayes & Gary Cooper
X A Farewell to Arms (1957) -- with Jennifer Jones & Rock Hudson
X Force of Arms (A Girl for Joe) (1951) -- updating of "A Farewell to Arms" (with William Holden)
X Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) -- 1906-1917, American patriotic popular music composer George M. Cohan
The Fighting 69th (1940) -- Irish-American unit sent to fight in WWI
Company K (2004) -- man struggles with writing a history of his US Marine Corps company in WWI
X The Yanks are Coming (1974) -- college buddies in France
The Lost Battalion (2001) -- Americans caught behind enemy lines, Argonne Forest, 1918 (October)
Canada:
Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden (1911-1920)
X Sam Hughes's War (1984) -- Canada in World War I
X Two Solitudes (1978) -- 1917 Conscription Crisis in Canada
X The Kid Who Couldn't Miss (1983) – docudrama that questions fighter pilot Billy Bishop's accomplishments during WWI
The Air War:
The Blue Max (1966) -- the air war
Der Rote Baron (The Red Baron) (2008) -- Baron Manfred von Richtofen with 80 kills
Von Richthofen & Brown (a.k.a. The Red Baron) (1971) -- Baron Manfred von Richtofen, the German air ace during the World War I
Crimson Romance (1934) -- fly the World War I sky with the Luftwaffe
Aces High (1976) -- RAF squadron and its high turn-over
X Eagle & Hawk (1933) -- air war with Royal Air Force squadron
Dawn Patrol (1938) -- Errol Flynn; air war with British flying aces
X Captain Eddie (1945) -- Captain Eddie Rickenbacker becomes an American flying ace with 26 kills
Lafayette Escadrille (With You in My Arms; Hell Bent for Glory) (1958) -- a young American joins the French Air Force early in the war
Flyboys (2006) -- US pilots in France's legendary Lafayette Escadrille
Others:
Austeria (The Inn) (1983) -- a Polish inn at the border with Russia at the start of WWI
The African Queen (1951) -- the classic with Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn
Time Regained (1999) -- life of French writer and critic Marcel Proust, most famous for his In Search of Lost Time begun in 1909
Harem Suare (Last Harem) (1998) -- effects of the decline of the Ottoman Empire on the harem
X.2. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, CIVIL WAR & THE SOVIET UNION Back to Chapter X Back to Contents
Russian Ark (2002) -- time-traveling journey through 300 years of Russian history
X The Cossacks (1959) -- 1850s Russia; Cossack and son clash in loyalties to Czar Alexander II
X Il figlio di Aquila Nera (1968) – Cossacks plan an uprising against Gen. Volkonsky, governor of the Caucasus
X Dauriya (Dauria) (1971) -- love story set among the Cossacks of Siberia at the time of the Russian Revolution
X Yermak (1996) -- Cossack leader Yermak Timofeyevich explored Siberia (starting 1579 or 1581) which opened that land to Russian expansion
Dersu Uzala (1975) -- 19th century Russian expedition to Siberia
X Mat (Mother) (1926) -- a woman struggles against Tsarist rule during the 1905 Russian Revolution (new for $55)
X Sveaborg (1972) -- 1906 bloody revolt by Russian garrison (in Finland)
Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (Barber of Siberia) (1998) -- Czar Alexander III
Bronenosets Goyokin (Battleship Potemkin) (1925) -- classic Eisenstein silent film about revolt in Russia of sailors on the battleship Potemkin
Zvezda plenitelnogo schastya (Captivating Star of Happiness) (1975) -- Tsar Nicholas I and rebellion of officers in the Decembrist Revolt, 1825
X Strike (1924) -- Sergei Eisenstein; a strike in Czarist Russia, brutally suppressed
X Lenin v Parizhe (Lenin in Paris) (1980) -- Lenin's four years in Paris (1909-1912)
X Lenin v Polshe (Lenin in Poland) (1966) --
X Lenin v oktyabre (Lenin in October) (1937) --
X Lenin: the Train (1988) -- on his return trip to Saint-Petersburg Lenin goes from Zurich, through Germany, through Sweden to Saint-Petersburg
X Scarlet Dawn (1932) -- Russian officer caught up in the troop revolts in WWI (includes a love story)
X Moonzund (1987) -- Soviet film is a love story set against the Russian Navy in the 1915-1917 WWI battles at the Moonzund Islands in the Baltic Sea
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) -- 1894-1917 of Russia; fights Germany and Turkey in WWI
X 120 (2008) – Turkish film about the Battle of Sarikamish between Russia and Ottoman Empire from December 22, 1914 to January 17, 1915
X Romanovy: Ventsenosnaya semya (The Romanovs: An Imperial Family) (2000) -- last year and a half of the life of the royal Romanovs before their execution in 1918 by the Bolsheviks (currently unavailable)
X Rasputin (1996) -- the mad Gypsy adviser to Alexandra; Greta Scacchi, Alan Rickman
X Rasputin (1985)
X Rasputin - Orgien am Zarenhof (1984) --
Agoniya (aka Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin) (1981) -- very good Russian film on the fall of Rasputin and the Russian monarchy
X J'ai tué Raspoutine (I Killed Rasputin) (1967) --
X Rasputin - the Mad Monk (1966) -- the Hammer Studios version of Rasputin
X Nights of Rasputin (1960)
Rasputin and the Empress (1932) --
Fall of Eagles (1974) (TV miniseries) -- fall of Habsburg, Hohenzollern and Romanov dynasties in WWI
Reds (1981) 1917, Am. reporter Jack Reed, sympathizes with Bolsheviks
X Diadi gantiadi (They Wanted Peace; Great Glow) (1938) -- Lenin and the 1917 Russian Revolution
Dr. Zhivago (1965) -- Russian Revolution 1917
October (1928) -- Sergei Eisenstein; Russian Revolution
Tikhly Don (Quiet Flows the Don) (1957) -- covers Russian history from 1912 to WWI to Bolshevik Revolution, to the Russian Civil War
Sibiriada ( Siberiade) (1979) -- two families, one wealthy and the other proletariat, through six decades from WWI to Bolshevik Revolution, to WWII and to the era of modernization
X Khleb - imya sushchestvitelnoe (1988) -- three generations living around the Volga river beginning in 1902 and going through the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War and Stalin’s rule
X Pod znakom skorpiona (1995) – writer Gorky’s positive, then negative view of the Russian Revolution
The End of St. Petersburg (1934) -- worker abuse leads to the Russian Revolution
X Dauryia (1997) -- life of Cossacks in Siberia during time of the Russian Revolution
X Esperanza (1988) -- Russian man flees the Russian Revolution and goes to Mexico
X Gosudarstvennaya granitsa: My nash, my novyy... (1980) – a Russian and his mother try to flee Russia following the Russian Revolution of 1917
X I leoni di Petersburgo (Lions of St. Petersburg) (1972) – Italian film about two brothers who are rivals in the Russian Revolution
X Baltiyskaya slava (The Baltic Glory) (1957) -- Baltic Fleet sailors join in the action in revolutionary Petrograd, autumn 1917
Anastasia (1956) -- story of the young lady who pretended to be one of the children of the executed family of the Tsar
X Anastasia (1997) --
X Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) -- Anastasia is played by Amy Irving\
X Animal Farm (1955) -- animated version of George Orwell's story of the corruption of the communist system in Russia
X Animal Farm (1999) -- uses real animals in the portrayal of the communist dictatorship in the Soviet Union
X His Wife's Diary -- life of Russian writer, Nobel Laureate and critic of the Russian Revolution Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (1870-1953) (currently unavailable)
X Tjurens r (1988) -- five-year-old boy sees turmoil of the First World War and the Russian Revolution
Russian Civil War
Sorok pervyy (The Forty-First) (1956) – Soviet film of the romance of a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer in the Russian Civil War
X Yunost (1937) – 1920, fisherman’s son Andrei recruited on the side of the Whites versus the Reds; he and his father are killed for hiding a Red officer; the family plans revenge
Admiral (2008) -- Russian film about a love story involving the general of the White Army Alexander Kolchak who became the supreme governor of Russia
X Lenin v 1918 godu (Lenin in 1918) (1939) – Soviet film giving the background of the Russian Civil War
X Vikhri vrazhdebnye (Hostile Whirlwinds) (1953) – Soviet film about the first years of Soviet government, 1918-1921, as seen by Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Bolshevik Secret Police
X Sedmoy sputnik (The Seventh Companion) (1968) – Soviet film dealing with the years following the Russian Revolution (currently unavailable)
Beloe solntse pustyni (White Sun of the Desert) (1970) – in today's Turkmenistan a Red Army soldier who fought in the Russian Civil War is going home but has to fight some bandits first
The Red and the White (1967) -- civil war in post-revolutionary Soviet Union
Arsenal (1928) -- Dovzhenko's "Ukraine Trilogy" (along with Zvenigora and Earth)
Chapaev (Chapayev) (1934) -- Russian movie about Vasili Ivanovich Chapaev (1887 - 1919) Commander of the Red Army's 25th Division
X Nenavist (Hatred) (1975) -- the Russian civil war tears a family apart
X The Adjutant of His Excellency – Soviet mini-series set in the Russian civil war where a Soviet secret policeman spies on the White Army
X Бумбараш (Bumbarash) (1971) – Russian film about Pvt. Bumbarash as he tries to survive the Russian Civil War to return to his village and his love
X Pervaya konnaya (First Cavalry) (1984) – Russian Civil War
X Knight Without Armor (1937) – English spy gets caught up in the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War
X Nezabyvaemyy god 1919 (The Unforgettable Year 1919) (1951) – Stalin's cruel suppression of the 1919 anti-communist uprising in St. Petersburg, Russia
X Sedmaya Pulya (The Seventh Bullet) (1972) -- set after the Russian Civil War (in the wake of the Basmachi rebellion)
X Neobyknovennoye leto (1979) – life in city of Saratov in 1919 during the Russian Civil War
X Neobyknovennoye leto (1957) -- ditto
Бer (The Flight) (1970) – Russian film about the defeat of the "White Army" in the Russian Civil War of 1918-21 and emigration to Constantinople
X Lyubov Yarovaya (1970) – Soviet film about the Russian Civil War
X Svoya chuzhaya zhizn (To Live for Another) (2005) – Bolsheviks set up House of Art in Petrogard of 1921 to control the intellectuals
Russia under Stalinism:
Piry Valtasara, ili noch so Stalinym (Baltazar's Feasts or the Night with Stalin) (1989) -- Stalin and his brutal purges
X Prorva (Moscow Parade) (1992) – first Russian, post-Soviet view of Stalinist excesses
X Dreszcze (Creeps) (1981) -- excesses of Stalin and their effect on a man and his two boys
X Est-Quest (East/West) (1999) -- Stalin invites Russian émigrés to return home and then double-crosses them
The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) -- story of the last days of the theorist of the Russian communist revolutionaries, hunted down by his once communist allies
Frida (2000) -- assassination of Trotsky in Frida's home
Finland:
X Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Here Under the Northern Star) (1968) -- life of a tenant farmer family in a Finnish village from 1890s to 1918 and the Finnish Civil War
X Doverie (Trust) (1976) -- set around the founding of the Republic of Finland
X Pako punaisten päämajasta (2000) – Finnish Civil War (January to May, 1918)
X Där vi en gĺng gĺtt (Where Once We Walked) (2011) -- love triangle unfolds over the course of Finland's tumultuous independence from WWI, to the Finnish Civil War, to the fascist Lapua government preceding World War II
Käsky (Tears of April) (2008) -- a White officer in the Finnish Civil War against the Reds repeatedly tries to save a female Red soldier who he loves (in Finnish with English subtitles)
X Mommilan veriteot 1917 (The Mommila Murders) (1973) – richest man in Finland is killed in December 1917 just a few months before the Finnish Civil War by a revolutionary seamen
X Aika hyvä ihmiseksi (aka Pretty Good for a Human) (1977) -- Finnish film about a boy in post-World War I Finland
X Raja 1918 (The Border) (2007) -- guarding the border with Russia following the end of the Finnish War of Independence
X Suuri peli, korkeat panokset (1999) -- 1920s, Russia, Finland, peace negotiations
Latvia:
Der Fangschuß (aka Coup de grâce) (1976) -- 1919, at end of Russian civil war, Latvia; a countess' unrequited love for an army officer leads to promiscuity and disaster
X Rigas sargi (Defenders of Riga) (2007) -- 1919 fight for Latvian independence
X Dolgaya doroga v dyunakh (1980) -- love story set in Latvia around the time Latvia was overtaken by the Soviets
Estonia
X Tants aurukatla ümber (1987) -- life in 20th century Estonia by monitoring a steam boiler
X Detsembrikuumus (December Heat) (2008) -- December 1924 attempted Communist Coup in Estonia
X Äratus (The Awakening) (1989) – 1949 March deportation of Estonian people to Siberia by Soviet Secret Police
Other
Earth (1930) -- collective workers in Ukraine against rich landowner win the day
Smierc prezydenta (Death of a President) (1977) – first president of the Polish Republic 1922 (for five days) Gabriel Narutowicz, who was opposed by the Polish Nationalists /Fascists
X.3. INDEPENDENCE FOR IRELAND Back to Chapter X Back to Contents
The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966) -- in Ireland 1587 Hugh O'Donnell inherits the title of the prince of Donegal and tries to unite Ireland to oppose English occupation
Ryan's Daughter (1970) --an Irish woman has a passionate adulterous relationship with a British officer and is accused of treason
Parnell (1937) -- struggle for Home Rule in Ireland under Charles Stuart Parnell
Captain Boycott (1947) -- origin of the word "boycott" in Ireland
Scarlet (1994) -- follow up on Gone with the Wind; misery of the Irish under British control
Far and Away (1992) -- anti-landlord uprising in Ireland sends a young man and woman to the USA and eventually to the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889
The Informer (1935) -- informing on one's own during the violent Sinn Fein civil rebellion
Juno and the Paycock (1930) -- Irish family breakdown and son accused of being an informant
X Rebel Heart (2001) – miniseries set in period from the 1916 Easter Rising until the end of the civil war (currently unavailable)
X Easter Sixteen (2009) – 1916 Easter Uprising
X Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) -- IRA fights the Black and Tans trained to suppress the IRA (with James Cagney)
Fools of Fortune (1990) – a man wants vengeance after the British army destroys his family and home at the onset of the Irish war of independence
Irish Destiny (1926) -- the Black and Tans make life very difficult for one young IRA fellow
X Ballyvaughan Story (2006) -- 1921, young girl tries to save her village from British retribution for IRA killing two British marines
X Michael Collins (1996) -- leader of the Irish during the 1922 revolt
X The Treaty (1991) -- the one negotiated by Michael Collins in 1921 that led to civil war (1922-1923)
X Allegiance (2005) -- tempestuous first meeting of Michael Collins and Winston Churchill at Churchill's private residence
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) -- criticism of the actions of the British leading to the Irish fight for independence
The Last September (1999) -- the Anglo-Irish play while the Irish world around them is rebelling
Talk of Angels (1998) -- Irish woman flees impending marriage to a political activist only to find political troubles in 1930s Spain
My Left Foot (1989) -- Irish painter/writer Christy Brown who had only his left foot with which to paint/write
Nora (2000) -- famous author James Joyce and his love Nora Barnacle have a rocky relationship
A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man (1979) -- Irish author James Joyce of Dublin
XI. Interim Period Between World Wars. Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
XI.1. USA: 1920s. Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
X Chariots of Fire -- 1924, English athletes at Olympic games
X Knute Rockne, All American (1940) 1924; coach of Notre Dame football team
X Dempsey -- Treat Williams as the heavy weight boxing champion Jack Dempsey
Inherit the Wind (1960) -- 1925 Scopes Trial on evolution, Clarence Darrow vs. Wm Jennings Bryan
X The Great Gatsby (1949) -- F. Scott Fitzgerald's tale of class snobbery among the rich
X Last Call (2002) -- biography of the mature F. Scott Fitzgerald
Spirit of St. Louis (1957) -- Lindbergh, first solo trans-Atlantic flight
X Crime of the Century (1996) Lindbergh kidnapping trial
X Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994) -- the famous aviatrix
Amelia (2009) -- life and tragic death of Amelia Earhart
X Cobb (1994) -- TV Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones), great baseball player
X The Babe (1992) -- John Goodman
X The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
X Pride of the Yankees (1942) -- Lou Gehrig 1927
X The Great Zeigfeld (1936) 1907-1931 Ziegfeld Follies
X Funny Girl (1968) -- 1910-1919; Fanny Brice, comedian in Ziegfeld Follies
X Funny Lady (1975) -- latter life of Fanny Brice
X Tom and Viv (1994) -- American poet T. S. Elliott in England
X Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle (1994) -- 1920s New York intellectual circle meeting at Algonquin Hotel
X Freud (1962)
X Clarence Darrow (1974)
GANGSTERS -- PROHIBITION
Chicago
X Al Capone (1959) -- with Rod Steiger
St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
X The Untouchables (1987) -- Kevin Costner as gangster hunter Eliot Ness
New York
X Eight Men Out (1988) 1919 Black Sox scandal in baseball
X King of the Roaring Twenties (1961) -- Arnold Rothstein, Jewish gangster
X Lucky Luciano (1974) --
X Lansky (1999) -- gangster Meyer Lansky
X Lepke (1975) -- leader of Murder, Inc.
X Billy Bathgate (1991) -- Dustin Hoffman plays ‘30s gangster Dutch Schultz
X Portrait of a Mobster (1961) -- Dutch Schultz
X The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) --
X Bugsy (1991) -- Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, gangster who helped build Las Vegas
X Gangster Wars (1981) –
Independents:
X Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
X The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) -- Bonnie of Bonnie & Clyde
X Public Enemies (2009) - with Johnny Depp as Dillinger, infamous bank robber
X Dillinger (1991) -- Mark Harmon as John Dillinger
X Dillinger (1945) -- infamous bank robber
Dillinger (1973) --
X Baby Face Nelson (1957)
X Gangsters Guns & Floozies Crime Collection: Pretty Boy Floyd (2007)
X Machine Gun Kelly (1958) -- with Charles Bronson
X Melvin Purvis (1974) -- G-man who got Dillinger chases Machine Gun Kelly
X Real Untouchables: Melvin Purvis (2001) --
X Bloody Mama (1970) -- Ma Barker
Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960) --
XI.2. GREAT DEPRESSION USA Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
X The Day the Bubble Burst (1982) -- 1929 stock market crash and its effects on some individuals
X The Grapes of Wrath (1940) -- fleeing from the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma
X The Stars fell on Henrietta (1995) – a group suffering in the Texas Dustbowl of 1935 seeks hope in the dreams of a wildcat oilman No Link
X King of the Hill (1993) -- the Great Depression seen through the eyes of a 12-year old Jewish boy in the midwest
Bound for Glory (1976) -- story of folk singer Woody Guthrie who discovered the misery of the poor and working class in the USA
X They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) -- a brutal competition shows the desperate straits in which people find themselves in the Great Depression
X Eleanor and Franklin: The Early Years and the White House Years (1976, 1977)
X Eleanor Roosevelt Story (1965)
Sunrise at Campobello (1960) -- FDR develops polio at Campobello Island in 1921 at the age of 39
X Warm Springs (2005) -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt overcomes his fear of being pitied as a victim of polio to proceed with his political career
All the King's Men (1949) -- the Kingfisher, populist governor and virtual dictator of Louisiana
All the King's Men (2006) -- remake of the 1949 movie
X Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (1995) -- populist threat to FDR
X Blaze (1989) -- Louisiana Governor Earl K. Long in lust with famous stripper
X The Miracle Worker (1962) -- story of blind and deaf Helen Keller, friend of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
X The Glen Miller Story (1953)-- Big Band leader
X The Benny Goodman Story (1956) -- Big Band leader
X Gypsy (1962) -- stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her over-bearing mother
XI.3. GREAT BRITAIN & AUSTRALIA. Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978) (mini) -- in 1936 King Edward VIII abdicates in favor of marrying the former Mrs. Simpson
Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals (2002) - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth (2002)
The King's Speech (2010) -- story of King George VI and his speech therapist
Gathering Storm (2002) -- Winston Churchill warns against the rising power of fascist Germany
X Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) --- 4 DVD box set; in 1929 Churchill was nearly cut completely out of power; 10 years later he makes a come-back
X Glorious 39 (2009) – mystery surrounding anti-appeasement movement before WWII
They Flew Alone (Wings and the Woman) (1942) -- 1930's British pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson
X Beryl Markham: Shadow on the Sun (1998) -- in 1936 Beryl Clutterbuck became the first person to fly west across the Atlantic solo
X Between Wars (1974) -- a doctor faces important socio-political challenges in Australia and elsewhere between WWI & WWII
XI.4. USA, THE BLACK EXPERIENCE: GREAT DEPRESSION TO CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Cross of Fire -- story of the rise and fall of 1920s' Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson
Black Legion (1936) -- Bogart as a factory worker who, after failing to get a desired promotion and it goes to a guy named Dombrowski instead, decides to join a KKK type group.
X Lady Sings the Blues (1972) -- Sidney J. Furie 1935-1942, Blues singer Billie Holiday
X Josephine Baker Story (1991) -- American becomes famous Paris entertainer
Sounder (1976) -- sharecroppers in 1930's Louisiana try to survive poverty
X Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored (1996) 1940s Mississippi to civil rights movement ($35)
Rosewood -- 1922-1923 burning of a black town in Florida
X Leadbelly (1976) -- master of the 12-string guitar
X Miss Ever's Boys (1997) -- using Blacks as guinea pigs for syphilis study
X The Joe Louis Story (1953) -- the heavy weight champion
X Joe and Max (2002) -- Joe Louis and Max Schmeling representing America and Germany fight it out for the heavy weight championship of boxing
Glory and Honor (1998) -- black man Mathew Henson who accompanied Peary to the North Pole
10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) -- A. Philip Randolph works for unionization of black porters
XI.5. HITLER'S RISE Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
X Novemberverbrecher - Eine Erinnerung (1968) – German Revolution 1918 to the formal establishment of the Weimar Republic in August 1919
Good (2008) -- "evil triumphs when good men do nothing"
Der Rat der Götter (Council of the Gods) (1950) – industrialists cooperate with the Nazis for goods and profit
Max (2000) -- A Jewish art dealer helps a struggling artist named Adolf Hitler
Hitler: the Rise of Evil (2003)
X Cabaret (1972) -- German decadence during Weimar Regime
X I am a Camera (1955) -- precursor to the Movie "Cabaret"
Christopher and his Kind (2011) -- real story of "Cabaret"
The Damned (1969) -- a German family declines as the Nazi party rises; covers "The Night of the Long Knives"
X Bent (1997) -- a homosexual chooses the wrong night to have sex with a storm trooper because he gets caught up in the Night of the Long Knives
Tin Drum (1980) -- Post-Hitler German recognition of the madness of Fascism.
Mephisto (1981) -- a German actor thinks true art can triumph even if it's the Nazis who are in charge
The Hindenburg (1975) -- doomed flight of the Zeppelin; George C. Scott
Triumph of the Will (1935) -- Hitler's effective use of propaganda at Nuremberg rallies
X The Jesse Owens Story (1984) -- American track star who upsets Hitler at 1936 Olympics in Berlin
X The Joe Louis Story (1953) -- the heavy weight champion fights German Max Schmeling
X Olympia (1936) -- in Berlin
X The Great Dictator (1940) -- Charles Chaplin mocking the actions of the dictator Hitler
The Sound of Music (1965) -- singing group escapes from Austria after Nazi takeover
Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl - the Final Days) (2005) -- a few students at Munich University oppose Hitler's fascist regime
Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose) (1982) -- a few students at Munich University oppose Hitler's fascist regime
Edelweiß piraten (Edelweiss Pirates) (2004) – group of young men resisting Hitler's regime
X Bauhaus -Broken Wings (2006) -- March 23rd 1933, students at the Bauhaus School for Arts and Architecture try to save their art from the Nazis
X Fünf letzte Tage (Last Five Days) (1982) -- a few students at Munich University oppose Hitler's fascist regime ($50 for VHS)
Hitler: Beast of Berlin (1939) -- use of torture, imprisonment and concentration camps by Hitler's Germany
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985) – two brothers come to regret their involvement with the Nazis
Enemy of Women (1944) -- Joseph Goebbles, propaganda minister
Taking Sides (2001) -- Berlin orchestra director thinks politics and art won't mix under Hitler
X die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman (The Manns - Novel of a Century) (2001) -- biographical trilogy of the Mann family set during rise of fascism in Germany
X Jump! (2007) -- anti-Semitism in Austria leads to quick conviction of a young Jewish man for supposedly killing his father
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) -- ex-convict attempts to go straight but is hindered by the troublesome and corrosive Weimar-era Germany (mini-series)
X Um das Menschenrecht (1934) -- rise of fascism in Germany
Pramen zivota (Spring of Life) (2000) – German SS program to build an Aryan race of supermen and superwomen
X Dny zrady I& II (Days of Betrayal) (1973) -- Munich Conference agreement of September 1938 gives Germany the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia (occupied October 1938)
Der Bockerer (The Butcher) (1981) -- Viennese butcher doesn't like the Nazi occupation of Austria, says so and gets in trouble; acts like an idiot to survive (only German audio and that's all)
X Livrez-nous Grynszpan (Bring Us Grynszpan) (2008) – a young Jew kills a German diplomat in Paris in desperation, giving the Nazis an excuse to launch "Kristallnacht" Nov, 1938
X Hitler - ein Film aus Deutschland (Hitler: A Film from Germany) (1977)-- seven hour long film exploring why the Germans deified Hitler
The Nightmare Years (1989) -- tv mini-series: story of American journalist William Shirer observes up close the increasing extremism of the Nazis; Shirer wrote the book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"
Underground
(1941) -- like the Nightmare Years shows how Americans did not believe
Germany was as evil as described by those who studied Germany at the time
XI.6. RISE OF MUSSOLINI Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)
1900 (1976) -- the Italian Communist Party and the rise of the Black Shirts
Tea with Mussolini (1999) -- English women stay in Florence up to and during World War II
Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971) -- Italian concurrence with the Final Solution
X La Vita P bella (It's a Beautiful Life) (1997) -- father and son thrown in a concentration camp and dad tries to pretend it's a game to protect his son from the terror there
Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979) Italian -- writer Carlo Levi's exile from Mussolini in the Basilicata region of southern Italy
Lion of the Desert (1981) -- Omar Mukhtar, guerilla leader stymies Italian forays into Libya, 1911- 1931
X Giarabub (1942) – Italian propaganda movie about Italian forces in a critical situation in Libyan desert
Sanquepazzo (Wild Blood) (2008) -- acting couple Valenti and Ferida still act during fascist regime in Italy
Il Federale (The Fascist) (1961) -- an Italian fascist has to capture an anti-Mussolini professor; the fascists gets his man, but they have a series of mishaps getting back
0X Sicilia! (Sicily!) (1999) -- after 15 years of living in the USA a man returns to Sicily to see his mother; he learns a lot about himself and Sicily from different people (Italian with Italian subtitles)
Baarěa (2009) -- -- a young man grows up noticing the injustices of living under the thumb of the local tycoon; he joins the Communist party and we see history through his eyes (only Italian options)
0X Paolmbella rossa (Red Wood Pigeon) (1989) -- star player of the water polo team has a problem with amnesia and goes through over 20 years of Italian communist party history while trying to remember who he is
Una giornata particolare (A Special Day) (1977) -- love story set around the first meeting of Hitler and Mussolini
XI.7. FASCISM IN ANOTHER CORNER -- ARGENTINA Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Camila (1984) -- was Argentina a fascist country from the very start? lovers severely punished
Juan Moreira (1973) -- an outlaw, gaucho (cowboy) and folk-hero, c. 1874
X La Guerra Gaucha (The Gaucho War) (1942) -- creoles led by Martín Miguel de Güemes protect the northwest provinces during the war of independence (currently unavailable)
X Asesinato en el senado de la nación (aka Murder in the Senate) (1984) – set in 1930s Argentina the story is about the assassination attempt on politician Lisandro de la Torre by Senate recruited and trained Ramón Valdez Cora
Miss Mary (1986) -- British governess sees the onslaught of a fascist government in Argentina
La Patagonia rebelde (The Patagonian Rebellion) (1974) -- in Patagonia farm workers try to get better conditions of work
X Evita (1996) -- musical with actress/singer Madonna; Evita Peron of Argentina, wife of the fascist Juan Peron
X Eva Peron (1996) --
X Evita Peron (1981) --
Funny Dirty Little War (No habrá más penas ni olvido) (1983) -- Peronists vs. "Communists" in an Argentine village
El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) (2009) -- legal problems for pursuing justice in fascist Argentina
Hermanas (Sisters) (2005) -- remembrances of the excesses of the military dictatorship in Argentina brings sisters to fighting
X La Amiga (The Girl Friend) (1988) -- Argentine military dictatorship
XI. 8. PRE-WAR JAPAN Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Meiji Restoration, 1868-1912:
X 1895 (Blue Brave: The Legend of Formosa in 1895) (2008) -- Taiwan's resistance against the Japanese invasion
Fall of Eagles (1974) (TV miniseries) -- part of it deals with the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War from the perspective of Russia.
X Nihonkai daikaisen (Battle of the Japan Sea) (1969) -- fought May 27–28, 1905 in the Tsushima Strait; Admiral Heihachiro Togo destroyed two-thirds of Russian fleet under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky
X 203 kochi (The Battle of Port Arthur) (1980) – battle for Hill 203 during the Russo-Japanese war, 1905
X Meiji tennô to nichiro daisenso (Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War) (1957) – Japanese attack on Manchuria
X La Vallee des fleurs (Valley of Flowers) (2006) -- love story (with reincarnation) spanning two centuries starting in the early 19th century
Sisters of the Gion (1936)
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Zi Hudi (Purple Butterfly) (2003) -- espionage and counter-espionage between the Japanese and Chinese in Shanghai
Behind the Rising Sun (1943) -- triumph of fascism over liberalism in Japan and a Japanese father wants his Americanized son to be part of the Sino-Japanese War
Wu Qingyuan (The Go Master) (2006) -- a Chinese man becomes a master of the game of Go in Japan despite the rise of fascism in Japan
Ningen no jôken (Human Condition: No Greater Love) (1959) -- 1st part of the trilogy The Human Condition about a pacifist socialist trying to survive in Fascist Japan
Ningen no jôken (Human Condition: Road to Eternity) (1959) -- 2nd part of the trilogy The Human Condition about a pacifist socialist trying to survive in Fascist Japan
Ningen no jôken (Human Condition: A Soldier's Prayer) (1961) -- 3rd part of the trilogy The Human Condition about a pacifist socialist trying to survive in Fascist Japan
XI.9. PRE-WAR GREECE & MACEDONIA Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
X To homa vaftike kokkino (aka Blood on the Land) (1966) -- hard life of poor Greek land workers in Thessalia at beginning of 20th century; and Marinos Antypas, socialist critic assassinated
X Dust (2001) -- at the turn of the 20th century, one brother fights for the Ottoman sultan and the other is a Macedonian rebel
Before the Rain (1994) -- in Macedonia interwoven tales against a backdrop of ethnic hatred
X Eleftherios Venizelos (1980) -- famed Greek politician of the 1909-1920 period
Meteor and Shadow (1985) -- poet Napoleon Lapathiotis and his shocking lifestyle
Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzei (The Weeping Meadow) (2004) -- roughly spans the period from the end of World War I to post World War II, 1919-1949
X Meres tou '36 (Days of 1936) (1972) – drama with background the 4th of August Regime, a military dictatorship under General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941 (currently unavailable)
Rembetiko (1983) -- 40 years of the life of Greek popular singer Marika Ninou (1922-1957) covers a great deal of Greek history
XI.10. SPANISH CIVIL WAR -- one million dead Back to Chapter XI Back to Contents
Spain: Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
Spain: Francoist Spain (1939-1975)
Belle Epoque (1992) -- love blooms for a young man during the early period of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
Land and Freedom (1995) -- Spanish Civil War
Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1997) -- executed; Spanish Civil War
Little Ashes (2008) -- the friendship of film director Luis Bunuel, artist Salvador Dali and writer Federico Garcia Lorca
Talk of Angels (1998) -- Irish woman flees impending marriage to a political activist only to find political troubles in 1930s Spain
X For Whom the Bell Tolls (1944) -- Spanish Civil War
Hemingway (1988) (miniseries) -- the life and loves of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature
Hemingway and Gellhorn (2012) -- love affair between two war correspondents, Hemingway and Gellhorn
La Nińa de tus ojos (The Girl of Your Dreams) (1998) -- Franco's Spain makes movies in Hitler's Germany
Ay, Carmela! -- captured republican theatre players search their consciences about performing for the fascists
Soldados de Salamina (The Soldiers of Salamina) (2003) -- a woman reporter chases down the story of fascist poet Rafael Sánchez Mazas who escaped a massacre of 50 fascist prisoners
Butterfly (1999) -- fascism didn't mean much until they started rounding up people
Viridiana (1961) -- parable of the Spanish Civil War by director Luis Bunuel
El espiritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive) (1973) -- a child's attempts to make sense out of the horrific effects of the Franco dictatorship
Silencio roto (Broken Silence) (2001) -- a young woman loves a Republican rebel which leads to a great many problems for her
Blockade (1938) -- anti-war drama of peasant farmer forced to take up arms to defend his farm during the Spanish Civil War
Zerkalo (The Mirror) (1975) -- life in the Ukraine following WWII with an intermixture of drama and documentary footage (including Spanish Civil War)
La caza (The Hunt) (1966) -- on a 4-man hunt, bad memories return concerning the Spanish Civil War and lead to big trouble
X Libertarias (Juegos de Guerra, Freedom Fighters) (1996) -- in the Spanish civil war nun Maria flees her convent, joins a woman's anarchist group and fights on the front
Vacas (1991) -- following two Basque families from 1875-1936, from the Carlist War to the Spanish Civil War
Una Pasion Singular (2002) -- Blas Infante, "the father of Andalucia," in the Spanish Civil War
Los santos inocentes (The Holy Innocents) (1984) -- a critical look at the terrible inequality in the Spanish country life of the 1960s
Head in the Clouds (2005) -- two women and one man confronted with the growing fascism in Spain & eventual civil war
Los girasoles ciegos (The Blind Sunflowers) (2008) -- under fascism in Spain, a high school teacher and his family has to live in fear while trying to avoid being caught by the police for the thoughts and writings of the husband
Las 13 rosas (The 13 Roses) (2007) -- republican women try to keep their republican ideal in the aftermath of Franco's victory
Salvador Puig Antich (2006) – based on the life of the last person executed by the garrote under the dictator Francisco Franco
Die Frau des Anarchisten (The Anarchist's Wife) (2008) -- the anarchist's wife never gives up hope of seeing her husband again after he fought in the Spanish Civil War and then joined the French Resistance and then fought against Franco and his regime
X Operación Ogro (Orgo) (1979) – clandestine Basque organization ETA plans to kill Franco successor, Admiral Carrero Blanco
X Raza (Race) (1942) -- film glorifying the fascist forces defeating the democratic ones in the Spanish Civil War
X Cruzada en la mar (1968) – Spanish Civil War
X Días rojos (2004) -- Spanish Civil War
X 20-N: Los últimos días de Franco (2008) -- the last days of dictator Francisco Franco
X Mirant al cel (2008) – Spanish Civil War
X Alféreces provisionales (1964) -- Spanish Civil War
L'assedio dell'Alcazar (The Siege of Alcazar) (1940) – a piece of fascist propaganda; during the Spanish Civil War the Alcazar of Toledo, 45 minutes from Madrid, is besieged by Republican forces
X Las largas vacaciones del 36 (Long Vacations of 36) (1976) – on a long vacation a family tries to remain neutral in the Spanish Civil War (currently unavailable)
El viaje de Carol (Carol's Journey) (2002) -- Carol is a Spanish-American from NYC, but her dad fights in the Spanish Civil War; she & her mother go to Spain
X La Forja de un rebelde (1990) -- autobiographic trilogy of Arturo Barea who became involved in the Spanish civil War; TV series
La buena nueva (The Good News) (2008) -- priest Miguel tries to defend the victims of shootings by the National Front but finds the church is siding with the fascists and not the republic
L'espoir Sierra de Teruel (Man's Hope) (1945) -- a Republican aerial squadron needs to wipe out a secret Franco air field, but don't know its location; so they take an illiterate peasant up in the air with them
Behold a Pale Horse (1964) -- Spanish republican, Manuel Artiguez, continues to fight Franco's fascist forces even after the Republicans lost the war; a policeman plans to trap him
La hora de los valientes (The Hour of the Brave Ones) (1998) -- a man and a woman try to save a Goya masterpiece amidst the violence of war
Dragón rapide (1986) -- two weeks before the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936; the title is the name of the type of plane used by Franco in the carrying out of his overthrow of the Spanish Republic
X Viva la muerte (Long Live Death) (1971) -- Spanish Civil War (warning about some explicit scenes of, for instance, cows being killed -- I censor scenes like these by blocking my sight with my left hand
Others:
Mexico:
X De todos modos Juan te llamas (The General's Daughter) (1975) -- (no subtitles) centers on the Cristero movement, an uprising of Catholic fundamentalists (currently unavailable)
X La Guerra Santa (1979) -- (no English subtitles) a poor pottery maker is coerced into fighting with the Christian army in the Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929)
XII. WORLD WAR II. 75 million dead. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
XII.1. The Fight against Germany and Italy. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
XII.1.1. Germany. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Casablanca (1942) -- love in 1940 French Morocco under French Vichy government
X Inside the Third Reich (1982) -- the rise and fall of Albert Speer, Hitler's favorite architect and later responsible for insuring the continued production of German munitions
X Hitler (1962)
Rotation (1949) -- father is critical of Nazism, while son is in Hitler Youth and may inform on him
Hitler's Children (1943) -- the Nazis declare that a German-American woman is actually a native German and they keep her in Germany
Invasion of Poland, September 1, 1939
Der Fall Gleiwitz (The Gleiwitz Case) (1961) – Nazis dressed as Poles raid a German border radio station to give Hitler an excuse to invade Poland in 1939
Lotna (1959) -- Polish cavalry up against German tanks in the German invasion of Poland
Zezowate szczescie (Bad Luck) (1960) -- odyssey of a naive man through Poland of 1930 to 1950
Matka Królów (Mother of Kings) (1983) -- a Polish charwoman witnesses the start of World War II into the Stalinist Era in Poland
Hubal (1973) -- a Polish leader and his band of soldiers continue to fight the Germans during the occupation of Poland
X Karol, un uomo diventato Papa (Karol: A Man Who Became Pope) (2005) -- from 1939 German Invasion to almost through end of Soviet Occupation of Poland; English only
Urodziny mlodego warszawiaka (The Birthday) (1980) – life of a young man from Warsaw is greatly changed by the German invasion of Poland and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
X To Be or Not to Be (1949) -- occupied Poland; Jack Benny
X Operacja Himmler (1979) – Polish film
X Clouds of war (1973) – Polish series
Invasion of Norway, April 9, 1940
The Last Lieutenant (1993) -- light resistance to the Nazi invasion of Norway
Hamsun (1997) -- Norwegian Nobel Laureate and German invasion of Norway
X Edge of Darkness (1943) -- underground movement in Norway during the Nazi takeover (starring Errol Flynn) -- (not yet available)
Heroes of Telemark (1965) -- Norwegian resistance tries to stop the Nazis from producing an atomic bomb component (with Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris)
X Max Manus (2008) -- true story of key player in the Norwegian Resistance --
X Ni Liv (Nine Lives) (1957) -- about Jan Baalsrud, a member of the Norwegian resistance during World War II (currently unavailable)
X Commandoes Strike at Dawn (1942) -- Norwegian resistance ($35)
Svik (Betrayal) (2009) -- a Norwegian woman works for the Resistance to German occupation of her country and has to deal with corrupt Norwegian businessmen and a corrupt German officer, among other matters
The Day Will Dawn (The Avengers) (1942) -- a foreign correspondent heads to Norway after Hitler's invasion of Poland and his boat is attacked by a German U-boat; he tells the British navy but no one believes him
Flammen & Citronen (Flame and Citron) (2008)-- Danish Resistance to German occupation
Invasion of France, May 10, 1940
X Stukas (1941) -- German pro-war film, dive bomber squadron, the Battle of France, May-June 1940
Dunkirk (1958) -- escape of the trapped British forces in France, June 1940
X Weekend at Dunkirk (1965) -- seen from the French perspective
Mrs. Miniver (1942) -- Dunkirk & the effects of the war on an English family
In Which We Serve (1942) -- based on experiences of Lord Louis Mountbatten
Failed Invasion of Britain, Battle of Britain summer and autumn of 1940
X Enemy at the Door (1978) -- 8 DVD box set of a British television series about German occupation of the British Channel Islands
Battle of Britain (1969) -- never have so many owed so much to so few, July-October, 1940
Dark Blue World (2001) -- Czech pilots flee to England and help in the Battle of Britain
Angels One Five (1952) -- pilots in the Battle of Britain
A Perfect Hero (1991) -- mini-series; Cambridge fellows join the RAF and fight in the Battle of Britain
Hope and Glory (1987) -- British family sticks together in spite of German bombings
Charlotte Gray (2001) -- a woman decides to join the British SOE to become a British spy in Nazi-occupied France
X Danger UXB (1979) -- story of those who had to defuse the Nazi bombs of the London Blitz that were designed not to detonate on impact
X Forever and a Day (1943) -- an American who comes to London to sell a house lands up experiencing the London Blitz Bombing ($65)
X L'homme qui a sauvé Londres (translation: The Man who Saved London) (1972) -- Michael Hollard reconnoiters a number of V1 rocket sites allowing accurate bombings of the rockets
The Way to the Stars (Johnny in the Clouds) (1945) -- shows how the Battle of Britain affected both the lives of civilians and combatants
X Joe Maddison's War (2010) -- in WWII, WWI veteran Joe and his friends join the Home Guard amidst considerable family problems
Canada
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (third term, 1935-1948)
Above and Beyond (2006) -- TV-miniseries about flying Hudson Bombers to Britain from Newfoundland, Canada to fight the Germans
For the Moment (1993) -- love story set against the nearly 100 air bases created across Canada (as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program to get more pilots)
X Partis pour la gloire (1975) – 1942, Liberal Party of Canada votes in a Conscription Law, which causes great unrest in Quebec and avoidance of conscription (currently unavailable)
Ireland:
The Brylcreem Boys (1998) -- in neutral Ireland, a British and a German pilot shoot each other down & are thrown in the same POW camp; the two become rivals for the affection of an Irish girl
French Occupation and Resistance:
Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games) (1952) -- German invasion of France and its effects as seen through the eyes of a small French girl who loses her parents and her dog
X Section spéciale (Special Section) (1975) -- Nazi-collaborative Vichy government in southern France under Marshall Pétain (currently unavailable)
Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea) (1947) -- an old man and his beautiful niece have to house a Nazi officer during the German Occupation
X Les Otages (The Mayor's Dilemma) (1939) -- a German officer in a Nazi-occupied tiny French village is killed; five villager are ordered to be shot if the murderer or murderers don't come forward
Laissez-passer (Safe Conduct) (2002) -- the effects of the German occupation on French cinema
Le septieme jour de Saint-Malo (The Seventh Day in Saint Malo) (1960) -- French film faithfully reconstructs the hardships the town of Saint Malo suffered in August 1944, shortly before the arrival of the Allies
Paris brűle-t-il? (Is Paris Burning?) (1966) -- freedom fighters of Paris and the Paris liberation of 1944
Untel pčre et fils (Heart of a Nation) (1943) -- the Froment family of Montmartre, France from the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 to Nazi occupation in World War II
L' Armée des ombres (Army of Shadows) (1969) -- the many travails of the French Resistance
X Wish Me Luck (1987-1990) -- 6 DVDs; British training of civilians to work with the French Resistance; follows a British woman through her training and her experiences in France
X Jean Moulin (2002) -- French Resistance, 1943 -- ($90)
X Jean Moulin, une affaire française (2003) -- French Resistance
La Bataille du Rail (The Battle of the Rails) (1946) -- railway workers form part of the French Resistance sabotaging the Nazi occupation
X Assignment in Brittany (1943) -- efforts of the Free French
To Have and Have Not (1944) -- skipper becomes reluctantly involved with the French Resistance in Martinique (with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall)
The Train (1964) -- French Resistance tries to destroy a train carrying French treasures to Germany
Monsignor Renard (2000) -- TV series about German occupation of France
Un condamné ŕ mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle oů il veut (A Man Escaped) (1956) -- a French Resistance man is captured and thinks only of escaping from the Nazis
X Un homme de trop (Shock Troops) (1967) -- French Resistance
X Guy Môquet, un amour fusillé (2008) – 1941 France, German occupation
X La vie sera belle (2007) – French Resistance
X Le Sang des Autres (The Blood of Others) (1984) -- a female resistance fighter develops confused loyalties when she succumbs to the charms of a German businessman
X The Silent Invasion (1962) -- Nazi occupation of the small town of Mereux, France in 1940 leads to the formation of a resistance group
X L' armee du crime (The Army of Crime) (2009) -- story of one of the most notorious and feared sects of the French Resistance
Le Sauveur (The Savior) (1971) -- an Englishman is found in the woods by a French girl and he tells her he has come to organize resistance to the Nazis; but is he what he says he is?
X Refractaire (The Undercover War) (2009)-- in Nazi-occupied Luxembourg 21 year old Francois will have to fight for the Nazis or go into hiding in the countryside iron mines
Dutch Resistance:
Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange) (1977) -- Dutch collaboration and resistance to German occupation
Zwartboek (Black Book) (2006) -- young Dutch Jewish woman works with the Dutch resistance against the German occupation
X Oorlogswinter (Winter in Wartime) (2008) – Dutch Resistance ($38)
X Het Woeden der Gehele Wereld (2006) -- Dutchman takes advantage of the German persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands
Wilhelmina (2001) -- TV series, 4 chapters, 50 minutes each; the Queen of the Dutch helps lead Dutch resistance to Nazi-occupation
The Silver Fleet (1943) -- a Dutchman decides to sabotage two Nazi submarines he is forced to build
Greece:
X Aera! Aera! Aera! (Hero Bunker) (1972) -- young people become entangled in military maneuvers at the Greek border with Albania in October 1940, during Mussolini's invasion of Greece
X Ypolochagos Natassa or Ipolohagos Natassa (Battlefield Constantinople) (1970) -- a tragic love story about Natassa and her deceased lover set against the German occupation of Greece and the Greek Resistance, April 1941 to October 1944
Ill Met by Moonlight (aka Night Ambush) (1957) -- Resistance with help of British capture the German commander-in-chief (based on events on Crete in World War II)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) -- atrocities against Italian prisoners of war, such as the massacre of the 'Acqui' Division on Cephallonia
X Ypovryhion: Papanikolis ( SS Papanikolis) (1971) -- one of the most successful Greek submarines during WWII
X Katadromi sto Aigaion (The Raid of the Aegean) (1946) -- commandoes lead a raid into Greece to free the compatriots of Captain Alexis Komninos (Greek language) No Link
Other:
Fortunes of War (1987) -- British professor in Romania is sought for spy work against the fascist elements
X Tales from Hollywood (1992) -- Hollywood colony of German artists who escaped from Nazi Germany including Thomas Mann and Bertold Brecht
Zelary (2003) -- a nurse and her lover in the Czech resistance are found out and she has to hide in a very old-fashioned Czech village
XII.1.2. Naval Warfare. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
X 49th Parallel (1941) -- a Nazi U-boat crew shipwrecked in Canada try to flee to the neutral United States
Action in the North Atlantic (1943) -- before Dec. 7, 1941, the US merchant mariners brought supplies to the Russians; with Humphrey Bogart
X Atlantic Convoy (1942) -- war on U-boats attacking Allied ship convoys
Das Boot (1981) -- U-boats in 1941
We Dive at Dawn (1943) -- British submariners go after the German ship the Brandenburg
The Battle of the River Plate (1956) -- destruction of the Graf Spee, Montevideo, Uruguay, December 1939
Sink the Bismarck! (1960) -- sinking of Germany's most powerful battleship, May 27, 1941
Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) -- British raid on large ship dock at St. Nazaire, France, March 28, 1942
Above Us the Waves (1955) -- a British midget submarine raid damages German battleship Tirpitz, September 1943
Proud (2004) -- the USS Mason, with an African-American crew, was the only such ship to sail into combat, fighting Nazi U-boats
X The Sinking of the Laconia (2010) -- mini-series about German u-boat sinks the Laconia, a cruise ship transformed into a troop ship, September 12, 1942; leads to ban on U-boats picking up survivors
X They Who Dare (1954)-- in the Aegean Sea, Britain's Special Boat Squadron sabotages Axis air bases
Glory at Sea ( Gift Horse) (1952) -- the USA gives Great Britain 3 ageing battleships; one of them is named "The Gift Horse" and proves very useful in a sea battle
XII.1.3. Germans Kicked out of Africa. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Sundown (1941) -- Nazis in East Africa
Desert Fox (1951) -- Field Marshal Rommel
Tobruk (2008) -- Battle of Tobruk; Czech soldiers successfully defend the positions they hold during the Battle of Tobruk
X Tobruk (1967) -- a special British military unit made up of Germans rescue a Canadian POW major to have him help lead an attack on a major Nazi fuel depot in Tobruk, Libya
Fighting Rats of Tobruk (1944) -- one of Australia's greatest wartime legends
X Desert Patrol (1958) -- British patrol in Africa before battle of El Alamein
Lilli Marlene (1951) – a love story is set in North Africa before El Alamein battle
El Alamein (2002) -- the battle that finally stops Rommel in North Africa seen through the eyes of an Italian unit, October- November, 1942
Il Grande Attacco (Battle Force (a.k.a. The Great Battle) (1978) -- story of the build-up to a real Allied offensive against the Germans (in North Africa)
Battaglia di El Alamein (El Alamein)) (1969) -- Italian troops left behind by their German allies
Alexandria . . . Why? (1979) -- personal relationships set against the background of World War II; Alexandria Trilogy
The Story of G. I. Joe (1945) -- story of Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle
Patton (1970) -- from North Africa to Sicily (July 1943) to France and Germany
Big Red One (1980) -- Sam Fuller's WWII diary of squad in First Infantry Division
The Malta Story (1954) -- British Malta holds out against 3,000 air raids from June 1940 to December 1942
World War II - When Lions Roared (1994) -- Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin dialogue through World War II
X Churchill and the Generals (1979) --
X The Way Ahead (1944) -- the film covers the training of a bunch of recruits to transform them into good fighters and make the group a real, effective military unit
XII.1.4. Allied Invasion of Italy. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Anzio (1968) -- French-Italian-Spanish movie dealing with the beach landing, January to May, 1944
Darby's Rangers (1958) -- assault troops in N. Africa & Italy
The Bold and the Brave (1956) -- WWII soldiers fighting in Italy
La Ciociara (Two Women ) (1960) -- an Italian woman and her daughter try to escape the daily air raids in Rome by heading into the countryside
A Walk in the Sun (1945) -- story of one platoon of Americans fighting in Salerno
The Scarlet and the Black (1983) -- Vatican priest hides downed Allied pilots and coordinates with the Italian Resistance
Gli Sbandati (The Disbanded) (1955) -- a mama's boy has great difficulties in breaking away from his mother so he can love a refugee girl around the time of the Italian armistice with the Allies in WWII
Il partigiano Johnny (Johnny the Partisan) (2000) -- Germans occupy Italy after September 8, 1943, Italian soldiers head to the hills to set up a resistance movement
Hotel Meina (2007) -- Italy declares an armistice with the Allies (September 8, 1943) and the Germans take over, putting the Jewish people in the resort Hotel Meina under detention (Italian with Italian subtitles)
Rappresaglia (Massacre in Rome) (1973) -- massacre of Italian citizens (especially Jews) after the partisans attack a German SS company
0X Palombella Rossa (2007) –
0X Baciami piccina (Three on the Road) (2006) – Sept 1943 Carabiniere Umberto escorts prisoner to Venice. His fiancée follows him; train breaks down; have to go on; armistice with Allies is signed & everything changes (Italian w/ Italian subtitles)
X Il sole di Montecassino (Fear of Evil; St. Benedict) (1945) – Battle for Monte Cassino, 1944; built by Saint Benedict around 529
X Dieci italiani per un tedesco (Ten Italians for One German) (Via Rasella) (1962) – vicious reprisal ordered by Austrian Colonel Kappler in 1944 Rome
XII.1.5. Russian Front. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Finland's Defense against the Soviet Union
Talvisota (The Winter War) (1989) -- the Soviet Union attacks Finland; Finnish resistance
A Rukajärven tie (Ambush) (1999) -- Finnish resistance 1939-1940
Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier) (1985) -- remake of the 1955 film of the same name
X Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier) (1955) -- ordinary Finnish soldiers in a machine gun platoon fight desperately in the Continuation War (1941-1944) between Finland and the Soviet Union
Framom främsta linjen (Beyond Enemy Lines) (2004) -- Swedish speaking Finns' infantry regiment 61 fights throughout the Continuation War
X Päämaja (Headquarters) (1970) – June 1944, D-Day. Finns prepare for Soviet attack in Karelian region
Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007) -- the Battle of Tali-Ihantala (June 25 to July 9, 1944) of the Continuation War (1941-1944)
X Mother of Mine (2005) -- Swedish film; over 70,000 Finnish war children sent to Sweden, Norway and Denmark; one boy's story in Sweden
Lupaus (Promise) (2005) --Finnish women's Lotta Service during WWII through the eyes of three young women
Russian Front:
Katyn (2007) -- three women search for relatives killed in the spring of 1940 in a Stalin ordered genocide of 15,000 Polish officers and intellectuals in Katyn Forest
Brestskaya krepost (Fortress of War) (2010) -- Russian soldiers put up a determined defense at Brest Fortress on the eastern border with in Brest in the southwest corner of today's Belarus
Djariskatsis mama (Father of a Soldier) (1964) -- following Russian soldier Gregory all the way to Berlin during WWII
Idi i smotri (Come and See) (1985) -- resistance to the German invasion of the Soviet Union in Byelorussia
The North Star (1943) -- a Ukrainian village under Nazi invasion, June 1941
X Bilyy ptakh z chornoyu vidznakoyu (White Bird with Black Mark) (1971) -- Ukrainian film, set in 1937-1947, where one brother joins the Red Army and another the UPA (Ukrainian insurgent army)
X Shchors (Shors) (1939) -- Russian/Ukrainian film, commissioned by Stalin, about the partisan leader and Ukrainian Bolshevik Nikolai Shchors
Days of Glory (1944) -- guerrillas fight back against the 1941 Nazi invasion of Russia
X Posledniy bronepoezd (The Last Armored Train) (2006) -- Russian resistance against Nazi attack in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa
Attack on Leningrad (2009) -- Nazi siege of Leningrad in the winter of 1942
X Baltiyskoe nebo - 1 seriya, 2 seriya (Baltic Skies, Part I & II) (1960) -- fighter pilots fight against the blockade of Leningrad by German army during 1941 -1943
X Wheels of Terror (The Misfit Brigade) (1987) -- 27th Panzer Division fights the Russians on the Eastern Front in 1943
Hong ying tao (Red Cherry) (1995) -- two Chinese students sent to Russia experience the German invasion of that country
A zori zdes tikhie (The Dawns Here Are Quiet) (1972) – young Russian women up against a larger group of German soldiers in Karelia (North-West of Russia, near Finland) in 1941
Svolochi (Bastards) (2006) -- criminal youths recruited to form five groups of saboteurs behind the enemy lines
Stalingrad:
Stalingrad (1992) -- the real turning point of the war; choice of German or English and using or not using subtitles
Stalingradskaya bitva I & II parts (The Battle of Stalingrad) (1949) -- Soviet Russian version of the Battle of Stalingrad with lots of detail about the battle
Cross of Iron (1977) -- German soldiers at the eastern front with an arrogant Prussian Captain Hauptmann Stransky who claims the Iron Cross for something that another leader did
Stalingrad: Hunde, wolt ihr ewig leben? (Stalingrad: Dogs, Do you Want to Live Forever?) (1959) -- battle of Stalingrad (July 1942 to February 1943) from German perspective
X Der Arzt von Stalingrad (The Doctor from Stalingrad) (1958) -- Dr. Fritz Bohler buoys the German POWs in a Russian camp (currently unavailable)
Enemy at the Gate (2001) -- Russian sniper vs. German sniper at Stalingrad
X The Night Witch (2010) -- Lydia Litvak, highest ranking female ace in history, known as the White Rose of Stalingrad
X Oni srazhalis za rodinu (They Fought for Their Country) (1975) – Battle of Stalingrad
Other:
Italiani brava gente (Attack and Retreat) (1999) -- 1942, Italian army up against the Russians at the Battle of the Don during the Stalingrad counteroffensive
X L'Uomo della Croce (Man with a Cross) (1943) -- Catholic chaplain with Italian expeditionary forces on the Eastern Front
X Il generale della Rovere (General della Rovere) (1959) -- in Milan, Italy a German Nazi goes undercover in a prison to find out who among the prisoners are the Italian resistance fighters
X Zasieki (Barbed Wire) (1983) -- Soviet-backed Polish forces bravely battle the Germans in the Battle of Lenino, October 1943
X Die Flucht (March of Millions) (2007) – the brutal expulsion of Polish Germans from Poland by the advancing Red Army nearing the end of the war (currently unavailable)
Zvezda (The Star) (2002) -- summer of 1944, facing certain death, a group of seven Russian snipers named "Zvezda" does reconnaissance behind enemy lines to stop a planned Nazi tank offensive
Voskhozhdeniye (Ascent) (1977) -- two Soviet partisans fight against the Germans
X Prikhodi svobodnym (1984) – Russian war film
Letyat zhuravli (The Cranes are Flying) (1957) -- a girlfriend of a Russian soldier nearly loses her mind desperately waiting for his return
X A byahme mladi (We were Young) (1961) -- Bulgarian resistance to the Germans in Sofia
X Oglinda (aka The Mirror) (1975) -- Romania during World War II with King Michael Coup; Prime Minister Marshal Ion Victor Antonescu ruled 1940 to 1944
X Die Gustloff (Ship of no Return: The Last Voyage of the Gustloff ) (2008) – Jan. 1945 the Russians sink a German passenger ship evacuating refugees
So weit die Füße tragen (As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me) (2001) -- German POW in Siberia escapes and heads for Iran
X The Way Back (2010) -- 1940, seven prisoners attempt the impossible: escape from a brutal Siberian gulag
XII.1.6. Allied Invasion of France.
Dieppe (1993) -- 1942, worst defeat of Canadian forces in World War II
X Then There Were Giants (1994) -- Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin wage war against Nazi Germany
Yanks (1979) -- love stories involving American troops in England
X Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) -- lives of working class family in Liverpool, England, including the war years
X A Family at War (1970-1972) -- a television series about the lower middle-class Ashton family from Liverpool and how WWII affected them
X We'll Meet Again (1982) -- deals with the building of relationships in England between a group of young women and the rowdy American fighter pilots stationed in their small village
X D-day the Sixth of June (1956) -- June 6, 1944
The Longest Day (1962) -- D-Day with lots of Hollywood stars
X Band of Brothers (2001) - Easy Company of the 101st Airborne in many battles, including Bastogne during Battle of the Bulge
X A Paratrooper's Story: Fort Benning to Bastogne
Saving Private Ryan -- D-Day
X Breakthrough (2000) -- D-Day
Overlord (1975) -- movie follows an ordinary British fellow from induction to D-Day
X They Were Not Divided (1950) -- British and American troops from D-Day to the end of the war over Germany
X The Blockhouse (1973) -- slave workers on the Normandy defenses are trapped in a bunker when D-Day takes place; they stay there for over six years
Ike: Countdown to D-Day -- Eisenhower has a lot of problems with the big egos around him
X Fooling Hitler (2004) -- story of the deception of the Germans as to the D-Day landing
X Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers (2009) -- story of the Pathfinders who landed 30 minutes before the Normandy invasion
X Les femmes de l'ombre (Female Agents) (2008) – French women recruited as members of the British Special Operations Executive commando group -- ($25)
X Ike: The War Years (1978) -- Eisenhower fighting the Nazis and romancing his driver Kate Summersby (currently unavailable)
Patton (1970) -- George C. Scott
The Last Days of Patton (1986)
X Guns of Navarone (1961)
To Hell and Back (1955) -- most decorated soldier in the history of the military, Audi Murphy
Mai Wei (My Way) (2011) -- Korean soldiers are forced to serve in Japan's armed forces to fight the Russians
Go for Broke! (1950) -- Japanese-American troops fight in Europe; the 442, the first all-Nisei (Japanese- American) Regimental combat team
Only the Brave (2006) -- Japanese Americans of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team rescue members of the Texas 141st Regiment known as the "Lost Battalion"
Bridge at Remagen (1969) -- Allies plan to blow the bridge at Remagen, March 7, 1944
Indigčnes (Days of Glory) (2006) -- North African Muslims in French colonies fight for France
Camp Thiaroye (The Camp at Thiaroye) (1990) -- Senegalese soldiers fighting for France rebel against their ill-treatment after the end of the war ($230)
X Jackboot Mutiny (2001) -- attempt to assassinate Hitler, July 20, 1944
Plot to Kill Hitler (1990)
X Stauffenberg (Operation Valkyrie) (2004) --the attempt to kill Hitler
A Bridge Too Far (1977) -- Allied defeat in Operation Market Garden, Sept 1944
The Last Drop (2005) -- the British hatch a plan, Operation Market Garden, that proves a flop; a small unit collides with three renegade German soldiers, out to steal Dutch national treasures for themselves; Sept. 17-25, 1944
X Soldier Soldier (1991) -- made for TV series with 23 DVDs about the lives and soldiering of the King's Own Fusiliers
XII.1.7. German Counter-Attack (Battle of the Bulge) Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
When Trumpets Fade (1998) -- Battle of Hurtgen Forest (second phase beginning Nov. 10, 1944)
Hell is for Heroes (1962) -- film later re-made as When Trumpets Fade
Battle of the Bulge (1965) -- Hitler's famous counter-attack that ultimately failed (Dec. 16, 1944 - Jan. 7, 1945)
X Battleground (1949) -- 101st Airborne's defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge
X 1944 (2006) -- Battle of the Bulge
Saints and Soldiers (2003) -- survivors of the "Malmedy Massacre" of American soldiers by the Germans
Watch on the Rhine (1943) -- the work of the few and brave people working in the anti-fascist cause
X Watch on the Rhine (2008) -- 106th Infantry Division attacked by a half-million German soldiers, Dec. 16, 1944
Rhineland (2007) -- March, 1945 "The last great killing ground in the west"
Brother's War (2009) – toward the end of the war, a British major finds out about Stalin's idea to occupy East Europe permanently; the Russians try to kill him; he joins forces with a German officer and do their best to stay alive
Everyman's War (2009) -- Don Smith is drafted and send to fight in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge; he was in Nennig, Germany
XII.1.8. Air War. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Journey Together (1946) -- RAF air war
Reach for the Sky (1957) -- British RAF flyer who loses both legs fights to fly again
Spitfire (aka The First of the Few) (1942) -- story of the designer of the superior RAF fighter plane, the Spitfire
A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) -- love triangle set in the air war against Nazi Germany
First Light (2010) -- true story of the youngest Spitfire pilot to fight in the Battle of Britain
Appointment in London (1952) -- air war seen through eyes of a wing commander of a British squadron of Lancaster bombers
One of Our Aircraft is Missing! (1942) -- a British aircrew parachutes out over Holland and the Dutch Resistance helps them to get back to England
Captains of the Clouds (1942) -- a defeated man flies new, unarmed bomber across the Atlantic to England & proves himself a hero after all (with James Cagney)
The Dam Busters (1955) -- British Lancaster bomber pilots destroy three dams in the Ruhr Valley flooding the huge industrial valley (May 17, 1943)
The Way to the Stars (Johnny in the Clouds) (1945) -- effect of flying so many missions on pilots, crews and families
Memphis Belle (1990) -- air raids over Bremen
Twelve O'clock High (1949) - US bomber pilots over Germany
Catch-22 -- black comedy set during air war over Europe
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) -- black men train to be pilots
Red Tails (2012) -- Tuskegee Airmen
Dresden (2006) -- love story set against the massive bombing of Dresden Germany in 1945
XII.1.9. Others. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Escape:
X The Great Escape (1963)
Stalag 17 (1953)
X The Wooden Horse (1950) -- three British POWs try to escape
X Escape from Colditz: The Best of British (2000) -- Colditz Castle in Colditz, Germany
X Escape from Colditz: The Escape Academy (2000) –
X Colditz (1972) -- 2 DVD set TV series about 3 men escaping from a WWII prison camp; 2 are caught 1, goes home; Jack is placed in Colditz, a supposed escape-proof camp; meanwhile Nick goes home but is manipulated into working for M19
X The Colditz Story (1955) -- a British officer leads an escape from Colditz, the POW prison run by the Germans, but only three of the escapees remain alive to try to get out of Germany
X Brady's Escape (1983) -- airman Brady shot down in WWII over the Hungarian Plateau who is hidden by the local people (in English)
Poland:
A Generation (1954) -- 1st in trilogy of Polish resistance
Kanal (1957) -- 2nd in trilogy; Warsaw uprising in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1944
Ashes and Diamonds (1958) -- 3rd in trilogy; Polish film of Resistance movement in Poland during WW II's closing days
Eroica (Heroism) (1958) -- Polish reaction to Nazi occupation
Akcja pod Arsenalem (Operation Arsenal) 1978 -- rescue of 31 prisoner being transported to the Pawiak prison by the underground Polish Home Army in occupied Warsaw
The Balkans: Yugoslavia and Albania
The Battle of Neretva (1969) -- Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia and 1943 victory of Tito's partisans
Sutjeska (The Battle of Sutjeska; The Fifth Offensive) (1973) -- this film deals with the climactic battle between the Yugoslavians and the Germans along the Sutjeska River
X Uncerdoaver (1943) -- Yugoslavian family fights guerrilla warfare to stop the Germans from taking their town
X Pad Italije (The Fall of Italy) (1981) -- in Yugoslavia a Partisan commander fighting the Italians goes overboard with his men during and after the war
X Il generale dell'armata morte (The General of the Dead Army) (1983) -- an Italian general is sent to Albania with an army chaplain to bring back the remains of 3,000 of their soldiers; a German is there doing the same thing; but can it be done?
Enigma:
Enigma (2001) -- the British Bletchley Park and code-breaking
Sekret Enigmy (Secret of Enigma) (1979) -- Polish contribution to the breaking of the German enigma code in WWII
U-571 (2000) -- mission to capture a German Enigma coding machine from a U-boat
XII.1.10. Hitler's Last Days. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
The Fall of Berlin: The Restored Soviet Two-Part WW 2 Epic (1949)
Downfall (2004) -- of Hitler that is ; Bruno Ganz as Hitler
The Bunker (1981) -- last days of Hitler ; Anthony Hopkins as Hitler
Hitler -- The Last Ten Days (1973) -- the last ten days of the life of Hitler in his bunker in Berlin; Alec Guiness as Hitler
X Der letzte Akt (The Last Ten Days of Adolf Hitler) (1955) --
The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) -- from his birthday on April 20, 1945 until his death by desperate suicide; Frank Finlay as Hitler
X Nuremberg (2000) -- war crime trials
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) -- war crime trials of the German Nazis
X Nuremberg Trials (1947) -- war crime trials
X Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand (2006) – Goering makes friends with the prison guards to help him get what he wants
Ich war neunzehn (I Was Nineteen) (1968) – 19 years old born originally in Germany reaches the outskirts of Berlin as part of the Red Army's scouting team
Die brücke (The Bridge) (1959) -- German teen-age boys drafted to help stop the Allied invasion
X Die Letzte Brücke (The Last Bridge) (1954) -- anti-war themed German movie about Hitler using boys to fight for the fatherland (starring Maria Schell and Bernhard Wicki)
Der Unhold (The Ogre) (1996) -- a French POW rounds up children for a German military academy, who are ultimately sacrificed to stem the oncoming Russians
Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin (A Woman in Berlin) (2008) -- Russians take revenge for German atrocities in Russia by wholesale raping of the women of Berlin
XII.1.11 Italy's Last Days of Fascism. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Sal o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (The Last 120 Days of Sodom) (1975) -- Marquis de Sade's model applies to 1944 Fascist Italy
Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce (1985) (a.k.a, Mussolini and I)
Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini (1993) -- Mussolini in his early opportunistic career as a socialist
Last Days of Mussolini (1977) -- ad-hoc execution of Mussolini
Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985) -- based on the memories of Vittorio Mussolini, the oldest son of the Italian dictator
X Miracle at St Anna (2008) -- four African-Americans fighting in the Tuscany region, get trapped in a village, fall of 1944
The Bold and the Brave (1956) -- three buddies fighting in Italy come to a bad break up because of a personality disorder of one of the men known as Preacher
Paisan (1946) -- a heart-breaking look at the last days of the war
The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) -- last days of WWII for one town in Italy
Roma, cittB aperta (Open City) (1945) -- the Italian resistance against German occupation
Vincere (Win) (2009) – Mussolini’s mistress Ida Dalser and their son Albino
X Porzus (1997) -- communist unit in Friuli, Italy kills a group of non-communist partisans to prepare Italy for a communist future
X Texas 46 (2002) --- story around the 50,000 Italian POWs in the USA
XII.1.12. Holocaust. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Prelude:
Jew Süss (Power) (1934) – criticism of anti-Semitism which got the film censored in several countries because of the power of the Nazis
Der Ewige Jude (aka The Eternal Jew) (1940) -- Nazi film stressing anti-Semitism in Württemberg (not to be confused with the earlier British film that was supposedly against anti-Semitism)
Europa, Europa (1991) -- anti-Semitism in Germany
X Gentleman's Agreement (1947) -- anti-Semitism in USA
The Shop on Main Street (1965) -- Czechoslovakian film about anti-Semitism
X Komissar (Commissar) (1967) -- anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union
X The Fixer (1968) -- the time of the pogroms in Russia helps lead to a false accusation of murder against an innocent Jewish man
X Levins Mühle (1980) – East German film about anti-Semitism
X The Holocaust (1978) -- Meryl Streep; family members suffer extermination under Anti-Semetic Nazi Law until only one son remains
Sunshine (1999) -- three generations of Hungarian Jews from c. 1900 to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
X Glamour (2000) -- three generations of a Jewish family in Hungary through Nazi tyranny, communism, and economic hardship (English subtitles)
X Hideg napok (Cold Days) (1968) -- anti-Semitism in Hungary (massacre of Jewish and Serbian people of Novi Sad in 1942)
X Jump! (2008) -- anti-Semitism in the 1928 murder trial of famous and innocent photographer Phillippe Halsman in Austria
Spalovac mrtvol (The Cremator) (1969) -- in Czechoslovakia a friend of a cremator convinces Kopfrkingl to emphasize his supposedly German heritage, to send his son to German school & to distance himself from his half-Jewish wife
X Jób lázadása (The Revolt Of Job) (1983) -- a childless, elderly Jewish couple adopt a Christian boy and are determined to pass on their spiritual heritage and worldly goods to him, even with the Holocaust looming over. (English and Hungarian languages)
X Miss Arizona (1988) -- 1930s, mother & son return to Budapest from Italy to run the successful Arizona Club; the son falls for a woman with ties to high-ranking Nazis and then learns he is half Jewish as the Nazi round-up and deportations begin (in English)
Planning of the Holocaust:
X Conspiracy (2001) -- banal, but downright evil at the same time; the design of the implementation of the Holocaust
X Wannseekonferenz (1984) -- planning to implement the idea of a final solution
Auschwitz (a complex of camps in southern Poland):
Sorstalanság (Fateless) (2005) -- teenage Hungarian boy is sent to Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Zeitz concentration camps
Out of the Ashes (2003) -- concentration camp survivor Dr. Gisella Perl
Ostatni etap (The Last Stage) (1948) -- a Polish woman's experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp
X La tregua (The Truce) (1997) – Italian Jews returning home from Auschwitz after the war
Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (Gloomy Sunday) (1999) --
Bergen Belsen:
The Relief of Belsen (2007) -- British military shocked upon seeing the conditions at Bergen Belsen
Buchenwald (on the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain) near Weimar, Germany)):
X Nackt unter Wölfen (Naked among Wolves) (1963) -- last weeks at Buchenwald before its liberation
X Sorstalanság (Fateless) (2005) -- the journey of a 14-year-old Jewish boy from Budapest to Buchenwald (Hungarian with English subtitles)
Dauchau (16 km northwest of Munich, Bavaria):
Der NeunteTag (The Ninth Day) (2004) -- a Catholic priest from Luxembourg is held in the Dachau concentration camp and yet gets a 9-day leave; what? why?
Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg, n.e. Germany):
X Pastor Hall (1940) -- German pastor Martin Niemoller thrown into Sachsenhausen concentration camp for speaking out against the Nazis
Sobibor (Sobibór, s.w. of Warsaw, occupied Poland):
Escape from Sobibor (1987) -- the biggest and most successful escape of Jewish inmates from a death camp
Treblinka (n.e. of Warsaw near Treblinka, Poland):
X Korczak (1991) -- Dr. Janusz Korczak runs a Jewish orphanage in Poland; he and his orphans are sent to Treblinka on August 6, 1942
Warsaw Ghetto and Uprising (Warsaw, Poland):
The Pianist (2002) -- Jewish survivor of the Warsaw ghetto uprising
Uprising (2002) -- uprising in the Warsaw ghetto
In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997) -- struggle for survival during the coming of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Urodziny mlodego warszawiaka (The Birthday) (1980) – life of a young man from Warsaw is greatly changed by the German invasion of Poland and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
X Jacob the Liar (1974) -- Jacob uses story-telling to keep up the spirits of the resident of the Warsaw ghetto even if he has to lie now and then
X Samson (1960) -- man released from prison is imprisoned again in Warsaw Ghetto for being Jewish
Ulnica Graniczna (Border Street) (1948) -- on one street in Warsaw there is a lot of anti-Semitism; WWII starts and the Jews are thrown into the Warsaw Ghetto; good Poles try to help the Jews, while others act like Hitler fans; uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto
X Ninas resa (Nina's Journey) (2005) -- Nina spends three years in the Warsaw ghetto while the people around her keep vanishing
Akcja pod Arsenalelm (Operation Arsenal) (1978)-- rescue of 31 prisoner being transported to the Pawiak prison by the underground Polish Home Army in occupied Warsaw
Jeszcze tylko ten las (Just Beyond This Forest) (1991) -- a Jewish woman hires an Aryan woman to take her young daughter to the countryside until the war is over
In Darkness (2011) -- a gentile Pole saves a number of Jews who sought shelter in the sewers of Lvov
Other Concentration Camps:
X Two Thousand Women (1944) -- 2,000 women are inmates in a WWII German concentration camp in France
Kapň (1960) -- Edith, a French Jewish girl, is transferred from a Nazi concentration camp to a Polish labor camp where she becomes a Kapo in the camp
Resistance:
X Rosenstrasse (2003) -- early 1943, courageous German non-Jewish wives protest against the imprisonment of their Jewish husbands
The Grey Zone (2001) -- revolt of the Jews who fed the Holocaust ovens at Auschwitz II - Birkenau
X Hanna’s War (1988) – Hungarian Jewish martyr Hannah Senesh executed by the Nazis in 1944
Kapň (1960) -- Edith, a French Jewish girl, is transferred from a Nazi concentration camp to a Polish labor camp where she becomes a Kapo in the camp
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2003) -- German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the first clear voices of resistance to Adolf Hitler; he openly challenged his church to stand with the Jews; hanged April 1945
X Sophie Scholl (2006) -- Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine
X Invincible (2002) -- a Jewish strongman performer in Germany sees himself as chosen by God to warn his people of the impending danger
X In Our Own Hands (1998) -- story of the only all-Jewish fighting unit in World War II
Ostre sledované vlaky (Closely Watched Trains) (1966) -- in Czechoslovakia a young man ignores the war, the occupation and the resistance to concentrate on his personal problems
Saving or Failing to Save Lives:
God Afton, Herr Wallenberg (Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg) (1990) -- Swedish national saves Hungarian Jews
X Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985) (2 DVD set) -- the hero saving Jews
X Perlasca. Un eroe italiano (Perlasca: The Courage of a Just Man) (2002) – working with Wallenberg Italian fascist Giorgio Perlasca uses fascist credentials to save more than 5,000 Jews from extermination (in Italian only film)
Divided We Fall (2000) -- in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a couple agree to hide a Jewish friend
The Hiding Place (1975) -- Corrie ten Boom recounts her and her family's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbrück, n. Germany holding mostly women
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) -- Jewish girl and family hide from Nazis
X The Diary of Anne Frank (2008) -- ditto
X The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988) -- Miep Gies (Mary Steenburgen) aids Jewish refugees
Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) -- the story of Anne Frank hiding in the Netherlands from the Gestapo
Das Boot ist Voll (The Boat is Full) (1980) -- destruction of the myth of the Swiss "lifeboat" for the persecuted
The Aryan Couple (2004) -- Himmler makes a deal with a rich Jewish-Hungarian steel industrialist: his vast fortune for his and his extended family's freedom
X Amen (2002) -- the decision of the Vatican to remain neutral on all political matters, especially the Holocaust
Au revoir les enfants (Goodbye, Children) (1987) -- a Catholic school in France hides three Jewish boys from the Gestapo
Le Dernier Métro (The Last Metro) (1980) -- a gentile wife conceals her Jewish theatre director husband from the Nazis during the German occupation of France
X Ghetto (2006) – saving the lives of Jews and others in Vilna, Lithuania in 1942
X The Assisi Underground (1985) -- rescuing Italian Jews from the Nazis in 1943 Assisi
X Lacombe Lucien (1974) -- in occupied France, a young Frenchman is conflicted over his work for the German police and his Jewish girlfriend
Schindler's List (1993) -- rescues his Jewish factory workers from death
X Perlasca, un Eroe Italiano (Perlasca, an Italian Hero or Perlasca, The Courage of a Just Man) (2002) – Italian film about Giorgio Perlasca, who saved five thousand Jews
Edges of the Lord (2000) -- in Poland, Christians hide a Jewish boy from the Nazis
X Esther's Diary (2010)-- a mother's diary reveals the secret ties between two families, one Jewish, the other Christian, during the holocaust in Poland
The Man Who Cried (2000) -- Russian Jewish immigrant is endangered in a Paris, France dance troupe because of her heritage
X Voyage of the Damned (1976)-- Jewish passengers unable to disembark
X Varian's War (2000) -- an American Schindler Varian Fry saving European intellectuals from the Nazis
Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa) (2001) -- Jewish refugees establish a new life in Kenya during the Hitler reign
X La Rafle (The Round Up) (2010) -- French police help in a big round up of French Jews, night of July 16, 1942
X Hidden in Silence (1996) -- a Polish teenage girl risks death by providing refuge for Jewish people
Lena: My 100 Children (1987) -- a woman adopts 100 Jewish Holocaust orphans, but then her problems of defending the children gets really tough
Defiance (2008) -- true story of three brothers taking on the task of defending a multitude of 1,000 Polish Jews from the German occupation force
X Miracle at Moreaux (1986) -- a Catholic nun works to save Jewish children from the Nazis
X Désobéir (Aristides de Sousa Mendes) (2008) – Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes helps save war refugees fleeing from invading Germans
X I slik en natt (It Happened One Night) (1958) – a young woman doctor who in 1942, helped several Jewish children escape for the border to neutral Sweden
X A Day in October (1992) -- Danish resistance helps 7,200 Danish Jews escape to Sweden
Debajo del mundo (Underground; Under the Earth) (1987) -- a family hides underground for six years to escape the Nazi's plans for them
X Boxer a smrt (The Boxer and Death) (1963) -- in a Nazi concentration camp, the commandant, a former prize-fighter, saves an inmate from execution because of his amateur boxing ability
X The Assisi Underground (1985) -- the monasteries and convents of the city of Assisi provide haven to Jewish refugees
X Divided We Fall (2001) -- a couple in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia hide their Jewish neighbor at great risk to themselves
X Haven (2001) -- in Nazi occupied Europe, Ruth Gruber risks her life to help around 1,000 survivors of the Holocaust to escape to the USA
X On pouvait pas savoir (Monsieur Batignole) (2002) -- Batignole gets to take over the apartment belonging to the Bernstein family after they are arrested by the Gestapo; young Simon Bernstein escapes and returns to the apartment; Batignole decides to hide him
X Conspiracy of Hearts (1960) -- in Italy nuns regularly smuggle Jewish children out of a nearby concentration camp
X Me and the Colonel (1958) -- just before the German invasion of Paris, a Jewish refugee tries to escape in a car and picks up an anti-Semite & his girlfriend
Hotel Meina (2007) -- Italy declares an armistice with the Allies (September 8, 1943) and the Germans take over, putting the Jewish people in the resort Hotel Meina under detention and fear
X Father (1967) -- a heroic protector of the Hungarian Jews during the Nazi occupation (English subtitles)
X Confidence ( Bizalom) (1980) -- Janos and Kata are forced to pose as husband and wife to hide from the Nazis where they face their own prejudices (English subtitles)
X Les hommes libres (Free Men) (2011) – in Nazi-occupied Paris, a Muslim black marketer risks his life to join the resistance; he forms deep bonds as the Mosque smuggles Jews to safety
War Criminals Escape and the Search for Them:
The Statement (2003) -- war criminal Pierre Broussard escapes justice for many years because of an intricate web of protection, including the French clergy
X The Debt (2011) -- a woman and two men working for Mossad capture the Butcher of Birkenau and then the intrigue really starts
X Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989) (TV) -- the Nazi-war-criminal-hunter and catcher
X Kessler (1981) -- very cruel Gestapo officer sneaks out to a fascist colony in Paraguay, but anti-fascists come looking for him
X La traque (Manhunt) (2008) -- the Klarsfelds pursue Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon" to South America
X Lisa (1962) – chasing Nazi war criminals
Aftermath:
X La tregua (The Truce) (1997) – Italian Jews returning home from Auschwitz after the war
X Krajobraz po bitwie (Landscape After the Battle) (1970) – Polish film about the after-math of living in a concentration camp on a young couple
X I Love You, I Love You Not (1997) -- a Jewish prep school student shares stories of anti-Semitism with her grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor (with Jeanne Moreau and Claire Danes)
X Under the Domim Tree (1996) -- 1953 Israel has to deal with orphans damaged because of the Holocaust
X For my Baby (1997) -- a young man is forced by his mother to wear female clothes to resemble his sister Hannah, who died in a concentration camp; a man's girlfriend attempts to solve the mystery of her Nazi father's link to a chemical businessman Wittfogel ( English)
X Un secret (A Secret) (2007) -- 1953, a 15 year old gentile boy finds out that his parents and he are Jewish; the parents passed for Aryans to avoid the Holocaust
X Skin - 16 year old son of a Jewish father traumatized by the events of WWII, becomes a skin head neo-Nazi and in 1983 ends up killing a 13 year old boy
X Vielleicht in einem anderen Leben (In Another Lifetime) (2011) -- Vienna, April 1945, an operetta offers hope and healing to both Jewish prisoners and their captors (English subtitles)
Other:
Devil's Arithmetic (1999) -- a young Jewish woman cares little about her Jewish heritage until she gets a taste of life in a concentration camp
Mr. Klein (1976) -- the non-Jewish Klein exploits the Jewish people in occupied Paris, World War II, only to be mistaken as Jewish
Look to the Sky (1993) -- Jonah, an innocent young Jewish Child from Amsterdam, tries to survive life in a concentration camp
Rotation (1949) --- laborer for the Nazis quits his job after his Jewish neighbors are taken away
X Daleká cesta (Distant Journey) (1950) -- Czech Holocaust film about a Jewish eye doctor in love with a Gentile plagued by anti-Semitism
X Pasazerka (The Passenger) (1963) -- on a cruise ship a former Auschwitz camp overseer thinks she sees someone who once was her prisoner (Polish film)
Bent (1997) -- two gay men come to the attention of the Gestapo in Germany; the survivor of the two falls in love with another inmate
X Prisoner of Paradise (2003) -- German-Jewish actor who co-starred with Marlene Dietrich in "The Blue Angel" is sent to a concentration camp
X Me and the Colonel (1958) -- just before the German invasion of Paris, a Jewish refugee tries to escape in a car and picks up an anti-Semite & his girlfriend
X The Boy in Striped Pajamas (2008) - in a concentration camp a German boy becomes friends with a Jewish boy with consequences
X Rondo (2009) -- father and son Jewish Refugees in England come closer emotionally as they learn their relatives died in German concentration camps
X A Friendship in Vienna (1988) -- two friends, one Gentile and one Jewish, are disturbed by Hitler's take-over of Austria
X A Son's War (2009) – Prague, 1939, a young Jewish man faced by the Nazi occupation of the city, has to choose between his freedom and his mother
X Gebürtig (2002) -- a Jewish virtuoso, is pressured to return to testify against a concentration camp leader, while a German newsman has to deal with his father having been an important SS doctor
Operation Daybreak (1975) -- plot to kill the "Butcher of Prague" SS-General Reinhard Heydrich (who was a driving force of the Final Solution)
Hangmen Also Die (1943) -- after the assassination of SS-General Reinhard Heydrich, young Czech woman is enlisted by shady Dr. Svoboda
XII.2. THE FIGHT AGAINST JAPAN. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) in 1925, he predicted Japanese attack on U.S.
Blood on the Sun (1945)
XII.2.1. THE WAR IN CHINA AND BURMA. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
The Last Emperor (1987) -- Pu Yi, emperor of China & emergence of Communist China
Rakuyô (The Setting Sun ) (1992) -- Japanese agent in Manchuria gets money for Japanese war effort there by stealing and selling opium
X Dansou no reijin (2008) -- Yoshiko Kawashima (1907-1948) a Manchu princess raised in Japan who became a spy for the Japanese in Manchukuo
Ba dao lou zi (Seven Man Army) (1976) -- seven Chinese soldiers hold off 20,000 Japanese at a battle at the Great Wall of China
Story of a Prostitute (1965) -- love story set during Sino-Japanese War between a soldier and a comfort woman
X Tunnel War (1965) -- small town defending itself by use of a network of tunnels during the Second Sino-Japanese War
X The Children of Huang Shi (2008) -- George Hogg led 60 orphans across China to save them from conscription during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Hei tai yang 731 (Men Behind the Sun) (1988) -- Japanese atrocities in the prison camp Manchu 731
Hei tai yang: Nan Jing da tu sha (Black Sun: the Nanking Massacre) (1995) -- Nanking Massacre, Dec. 1937
Saam gwok dzi gin lung se gap (The Children of Hung Shi (aka Bitter Sea and Children of the Silk Road)) (2008) -- British journalist in Japan during Nanking Massacre
Nanjing 1937 (aka Don't Cry Nanking) (1995) -- family with Chinese husband and Japanese wife caught in the Nanking Massacre
X The Diary (2007) -- based around the Nanking Massacre
La bei ri ji (John Rabe) (2009) -- a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre
Jin líng shí san chai (The Flowers of War) (2011) -- American tries to save girls and women at a cathedral during the rape of Nanking
Nanjing! Nanjing! (City of Life and Death) (2009) -- the rape and murder of Nanking by the war criminal Japanese
X Hei tai yang 731 (Man Behind the Sun) (1988) -- in Squadron 731 Japanese troops torture and experiment on Chinese and Russian POWs ($70)
Ziri (Purple Sunset) (2001) -- Chinese film about a Russian female soldier ,a Chinese civilian and a Japanese school girl having to work together to get out of a forest, despite their mutual distrust
X Jian qiao ying lie zhuan (Heroes of the Eastern Skies) (1977) – outnumbered Chinese Air Force in increasingly outdated American aircraft fights the Japanese air force ($185)
Dragon Seed (1944) -- Chinese villagers try to adopt a peaceful attitude toward their Japanese conquerors, but not Jade Tan (with Katherine Hepburn)
Hong gao liang (Red Sorghum) (1988) -- a Chinese community rises up against the Japanese after they cut down their sorghum field
Empire of the Sun (1987) -- a British boy becomes a victim of the Japanese invasion of China
Se, jie (Lust, Caution) (2007) -- Japanese Resistance uses a young virgin to seduce Chinese collaborator during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai with surprising consequences
Yi jiang chun shui xiang dong liu (The Spring River Flows East) (1947) -- in pre-war, wartime and post-war a family is split by the war with Japan
The White Countess (2005) -- love story set in pre-war and wartime Shanghai
Tai Hang shan shang (On the Mountain of Tai Hang) (2005) -- Chinese communist commander Zhu De wins some big battles against the Japanese in northern China
X Da Jue Zhan I: Liao Shen Zhan Yi (The Liaoxi Shenyang Campaign) (1990) -- first major victorious campaign in Manchuria of the Chinese communists under Field Marshall Lin Biao
X Da Jue Zhan II: Huai Hai Zhan Yi (Decisive Engagement: Wei-hai Campaign) (1990) – Mao Tse-tung and the Wei-hai campaign
X Da Jue Zhan III: Ping Jin Zhan Yi (Decisive Engagement: Beiping Tianjin Campaign) (1990) – Field Marshall Lin Biao and his achievements (went on to persecute many innocents during the Cultural Revolution) (currently unavailable)
Yi ge he ba ge (One and Eight) (1983) -- eight criminals and a deserting Chinese officer in the communist Eighth Route Army
Guizi lai le (Devils on the Doorstep) (2000) -- Chinese villagers hold two Japanese prisoners of war
Dang doi lai ming (Hong Kong 1941) (1984) -- three friends suffer under Japanese occupation on the island of Hong Kong
Lady from Chungking (1943) – Chinese guerrilla leader resists the Japanese during WWII.
X Tian ma cha fang (March of Happiness) (1999) -- a love story set amid Japanese occupation of China
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) -- service in China and reaction to Japanese invasion
Mai Wei (My Way) (2011) -- Korean soldiers are forced to serve in Japan's armed forces to fight the Russians
War in Burma:
Never so Few (1959) -- Kichan guerilla war against the Japanese in Burma
Flying Tigers (1942) -- fighting the Japanese in Burma and China
Bombs Over Burma (1942) -- devoted woman risks life for sake of China on espionage mission on the Burma Road
X Burma Convoy (Halfway to Shanghai) (1941) -- getting critical supplies through to China via the Burma Road
Orde Wingate (1976) -- play-like movie about commander Orde Wingate who became a Zionist during foreign service in Palestine and developed guerrilla tactics used by the Israelis; leads strikes into Burma in WWII
Merrill's Marauders (1962) Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, battling Japanese in Burmese jungle
Objective, Burma! (1945) -- WWII Brits invade Burma
Biruma no tategoto (Burmese Harp) (1956) -- Brits have to attack Japanese forces in Burma as late as July, 1945
Yesterday's Enemy (1959) -- British unit takes a Burmese village recently controlled by the Japanese; to get info from the collaborator, the commander orders two of them to be executed to show him he means business
XII.2.2. THE USA FINALLY GETS INTO THE WAR. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
X Tora! Tora! Tora! -- Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
In Harm's Way (1965) -- attack on Pearl Harbor and counter-offensive in a backdoor operation
X Pearl Harbor (2001) -- with Ben Affleck
X December (1991) -- coming of age story set during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the decisions of whether they should sign up for the military or not
From Here to Eternity (1953) -- two soldiers fall in love and face difficulties set before, during and after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) -- James H. Doolittle air raid on Japan soon after Pearl Harbor
The Purple Heart (1944) -- US army air corps crew has to ditch their plane in China after the Doolittle raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities and are put on trial for murder
X Hawai Mare oki kaisen (The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay) (1942) –
X Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo no arashi (Storm Over the Pacific) (1960) -- a navigator-bombardier in Japan's Naval Air Force is proud and certain of Japanese victory after Pearl Harbor and the early victories; but then comes the Battle of Midway
To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) -- egotistical young marine recruit gets taught some valuable lessons just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
X War and Remembrance (1988) -- 12 part mini series
Wake Island/Guam
Wake Island (1942) -- Japanese have a hard time taking a small island between Guam and Midway (Dec. 7, 1941)
Air Force (1943) – crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress see action at Wake Island, the Philippines, and the Battle of the Coral Sea
No Man is an Island (1962) -- an American serviceman fights for survival on Japanese-occupied Guam
Malaya (Dec. 8, 1941)
X The Long and the Short and the Tall (aka Jungle Fighters) (1961) -- British soldiers trapped behind Japanese lines in the Malayan jungle
X Paloh (2003) – Malaysian film about the confrontation between the Japanese occupying force and the Communist Party of Malaya, during final days of Japanese occupation (only in Malaysian/Mandarin)
X Shiberia Chôtokky 3 (Siberian Express) (2003) – General Tomoyuki Yamashita who conquered the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore (called "The Tiger of Malaya")
X Judgment: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya - General Yamashita (1974) – the trial of the conqueror of Malaya and Singapore
Tanamera: Lion of Singapore (1989) -- TV-mini series; set in the waning days of the British in Singapore and Malaya, a forbidden romance begins between an Englishman and a Chinese woman
Philippines
Ambush Bay (1966) -- US marines on a Japanese-held Philippine island try to hook up with Filipino guerillas
MacArthur (1977) -- loses Philippines, but comes back; then on to the Korean War and trouble with President Truman
X MacArthur, The Rebel General (1977)
Corregidor (1943) -- Battle of Corregidor, Philippines
Bataan (1943) -- fight against Japanese take over of the Philippines
X Dai Nippon teikoku (The Imperial Japanese Empire) (1982) – Hideki Tojo and Japanese occupations of Okinawa and the Philippines (only in Japanese)
X Beast of Bataan (2010) -- young lawyer tries to save his client from death penalty for war crimes stemming from 1942 Bataan Death March (10,000 American and Filipino POWs died on a forced march to captivity)
American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950) -- resistance to Japanese after fall of the Philippines
X Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita (2004) -- impact of Japanese invasion of the Philippines on a quiet town
X Panaghoy sa Suba (The Call of the River) (2004) -- set during the American Occupation (1942) and the Japanese Occupation (1945) ($33)
Outrages of the Orient (or Atrocities of the Orient) (1948) -- Japanese atrocities against the Filipino people (including attempted rape)
X Markova: Comfort Gay (2000) – young Filipino boy suffers as Japanese soldiers use him for sex work
So Proudly we Hail (1943) -- US army nurses headed to Hawaii diverted by Pearl Harbor attack to Bataan and Corregidor
Cry of Battle (1963) -- during the Japanese attack on the Philippines, a young man struggles with his loyalty to a surrogate father and a commitment to what is good, rather than what is evil
Others
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) -- a British commander in a POW camp becomes so obsessed with building a bridge for the Japanese that he forgets that they are the enemy
X Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) -- 1942, a Briltish POW tries to explain the Japanese reasoning (or rationalizing) behind their brutal treatment of their prisoners
Australia (2008) -- love story set against background of racism and Japanese attack on Darwin, Australia on February 19, 1942
X The Last Bastion (1984) -- Australia during WWII
X Until They Sail (1957) – four New Zealand women fall for four U.S. soldiers waiting in New Zealand to be shipped out to fight -- ($40 VHS tape)
XII.2.3. THE USA STRIKES BACK. Back to Chapter XII Back to Contents
Battle of the Coral Sea (1959) May, 1942 naval Battle of the Coral Sea where Japanese expansionism was turned back for the first time
Midway (1976) -- Battle of Midway, June 5, 1942
Gung Ho (1943) -- 2nd Marine Raider commandos, under Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, raided the Japanese base at Makin Atoll
Guadalcanal Diary (1943) -- Battle of Guadalcanal, began August 7, 1942
The Thin Red Line (1998) -- Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942
X The Thin Red Line (1964) -- an earlier and better version of 1998's The Thin Red Line
Fighting Sullivans (1944) -- five brothers serving on the same ship die while fighting at Guadalcanal
The Gallant Hours (1960) -- Admiral Halsey during the Battle of Guadalcanal
X Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976/1977) -- based on real-life squadron leader Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
Kokoda (2006) -- Australian troops fight the Japanese during the 1942 Kokoda Track campaign
Tarawa Beachhead (1958) -- costly invasion of the island, November 20-23,1943
Jungle Patrol (1948) -- the US air force and the fighting in New Guinea 1943
Battle Cry (1955) -- the run up to and the Battle for Saipan, June 1944
Windtalkers (2002) -- Navajo codetalkers use their own language as the unbreakable code on Saipan, June 15 to July 9, 1944
Taiheiyou no kiseki: Fokkusu to yobareta otoko (Oba, the Last Samurai) (2011) -- a group of Japanese soldiers fight on after US forces capture most of the island of Saipan
Raiders of Leyte Gulf (1963) -- a raid before the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 23-26, 1944, kicks off re-conquest of the Philippines
X Battle Stations (1956) -- kamikaze attacks on the USS Franklin and USS Bunker Hill, October, 1944
The Walls of Hell (1965) -- fight in the walled city of Intramuros in the Philippines, February, 1945
Back to Bataan (1945) -- John Wayne leads Philippine guerillas
The Great Raid (2005) -- rescue of American POWs in the Philippines
The Ravagers (1965) -- Filipino guerrillas repel last remnants of the Japanese on their land
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) -- Battles of Tarawa and Iwo Jima, Feb.-March, 1945
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) -- story of the men behind the second raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) -- the battle for Iwo Jima presented from the Japanese perspective
X The Outsider (1961) -- Tony Curtis plays troubled flag raiser Ira Hayes
X Okinawa (1952) -- largest amphibious assault in the Pacific campaign, April to June, 1945
Gekido no showashi: Okinawa kessen (Battle of Okinawa) (1971) -- horrors of combat from Japanese perspective
X Away all Boats (1956) -- life on the USS Belinda, Attack Transport PA22, which served at Okinawa ($34)
X Paloh (2003) -- Malaysian love story set in last days of Japanese occupation in Malaysia in the small town of Paloh
X The Winds of War (1983) -- world's leaders at the time
Solntse (The Sun) (2005) -- Emperor Hirohito confronted by Gen. Douglas MacArthur at end of WWII (trilogy with Moloch and Taurus)
X Weekly's War (1984) -- story of Australian experience of WWII thru experience of those who worked on the publication of the Australian Women’s Weekly
Nobi (Fires on the Plain) (1959) -- fight of one Japanese soldier to survive facing terrible horrors on the island of Leyte, Philippines in February, 1945
Overlanders (1946) -- fear of Japanese invasion in Australia causes cattlemen to push their herds overland halfway across the country.
Atom Bomb (Manhattan Project):
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) -- story of Los Alamos atomic bomb project
Oppenheimer (1980) -- mini-series about the life of J. Robert. Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, the H-bomb and Oppenheimer harmed by the McCarthy era
X The Beginning or the End (1947) – dramatization of the atomic bomb Manhattan Project and the subsequent bombing of Japan
X Day One (1989) -- story of Manhattan Project focusing on interaction between Col. Leslie R. Groves and J. Robert Oppenheimer
Mission of the Shark (1991) -- dropped off key parts for the atomic bomb, then sunk June 1945 and survivors attacked by sharks
Above and Beyond (1952) -- bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) led by Col. Paul Tibbetts, commander of the Enola Gay
Hiroshima (1995) -- August 6, 1945
Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes (1990) -- emphasis on the damage done to the people of Hiroshima
Nihon no ichiban nagai hi (Japan's Longest Day) (1967) -- the military tries to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government after Nagasaki bombing
Imamura (Black Rain) (1989) -- aunt and uncle try to prove their niece is not unhealthy due to radiation fallout and is, therefore, suitable for marriage
Mistreatment by Japan of POWs:
A Town like Alice (1956) -- British women & children fight to survive under the non-care of the Japanese
Prisoners of the Sun (1990) -- Japanese internment of Australian soldiers
To End all Wars (2001) -- very good movie on Japanese prisoner of war camp in Thailand
Three Came Home (1950) -- true account of American woman's experience in a Japanese prison camp
Paradise Road (1997) -- women imprisoned in Sumatra in WWII dealing with Japanese atrocities
Sisters of War (2010) -- Australian nurses becomes POWs when Japan attacks Rabaul
X Blood Oath (1990) -- the Ambon tribunal tried 91 Japanese soldiers for war crimes against Australian prisoners
X Tenko (1981-1984) -- Australian women interned in a Japanese POW camp (TV series)
Japanese-American Internment:
X Come See the Paradise (1990) -- Japanese-American internment in the USA
X The War Between Us (1995) -- Japanese-Canadian internment in Canada
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) -- prejudice against Japanese-Americans
X Stand Up for Justice (2004) -- Mexican/Irish-American goes to the internment camp with his Japanese-American friends
American Pastime (2007) -- Japanese-Americans interned turn to baseball, the all-American sport
The Dunera Boys (1985) -- imprisonment of German nationals in Australia in WWII (among them were Jewish refugees)
The Home Front and the Soldiers Return
X The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980)
X A League of Their Own (1992) -- women's baseball in World War II
X Bye Bye Blues (1989) --
The Land Girls (1998) - the Women's Land Army starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel
Land Girls (2009) -- British TV series about four English women who join The Women's Land Army and are called "Land Girls"; they help out on the farms to grow more food for the war effort
X Millions Like Us (1943) --
X Since You Went Away (1944) --
X Tender Comrade (1943)
X Best Years of Our Lives (1946) post-WWII adjustment of war veterans
X The Codes (1966) -- for a Polish veteran, home after the war, questions arise of collaboration and resistance in his own family under German occupation
X Zaduszki (All Souls' Day) (1962) -- mental damage caused by World War II in Poland
XIII. POST-WAR PERIOD. Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
XIII.1. Post-War Japan Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Dongjing Shenpan (Tokyo Trial) 2006 -- a Chinese judge helps convinces the other international judges to choose the death penalty for the Japanese war criminals
Stray Dog (1949) -- a cop solves a murder in desperate, war-ravaged, U.S.-occupied Tokyo
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) -- a budding romance is overshadowed by memories of the horrors of the A-bomb
Rhapsody in August (1991) -- memories of the atomic bomb and its aftermath
Gunki Hatameku Motoni (Under the Flag of the Rising Sun) (2001) – the widow of a Japanese sergeant wants information on the death of her husband in New Guinea only to get lies and half-truths, including knowledge of the inhumanity of the Japanese soldiers
Mishima -- Japanese novelist commits traditional suicide, 1970
X Puraido: Unmei no toki (Pride: The Fateful Moment) (1998) – justification of Japanese excesses during World War II from Japanese point of view
XIII.2. Post-War China Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Communist Rule (1949-today)
The Soong Sisters (1997) -- the lives of three sisters who all married among the highest rank of officials in the Republic of China (1911-1949)
Ji jie hao (Assembly) (2007) -- set in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War
X Jian quo da ye (The Founding of a Republic) (2009) -- story of the founding of the People's Republic of China
X Zui hou de gui zu (The Last Aristocrats) (1989) -- Four Chinese women students in the USA are stranded when the Communists take over Shanghai in 1948
X Xin hai shuang shi (The Battle for the Republic of China) (1981) --
Kaiguo dadian (The Birth of New China) (1989) -- April 1949, People's Liberation Army under Mao Zedong and Zhu De take Nanjing & the KMT regime falls; Chiang Kai-Shek flees to Taiwan October 1949
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957) -- 1949, British warship Amethyst blocked by Communist Chinese shore batteries on the Yangtse River
Wo de fu qin mu qin (The Road Home) (1999) -- country girl & a young teacher fall in love during the 1958 Anti-Rightist Movement reaction against the Hundred Flowers Campaign
China Cry (1990) – a barely Christian upper-class woman survives the anti-religious excesses of communism in China
Ba wang bie ji (Farewell, My Concubine) (1993) -- spanning warlord era to past the Cultural Revolution in China
Huozhe (To Live) (1994) -- a married couple experience the effects of the Communist victory, the Great Leap Forward and The Cultural Revolution
Lan feng zheng (The Blue Kite) (1994) -- horrible effects of the Cultural Revolution
Tian yu (The Sent Down Girl) (1998) -- in the Cultural Revolution, teen-aged girl sent to a remote area of China and abandoned
Xiao cai feng (Balzac and the Little Seamstress) (2002) -- two young men sent for re-education in the Cultural Revolution fall in love with the same mountain woman
X Fu rong zhen (Hibiscus Town) (1986) -- a young woman lives through the Cultural Revolution
X Yangguang Canlan de Rizi (In the Heat of the Sun) (1994) -- young people roam the streets because the Cultural Revolution takes up most of their parents' time
Mei you hang biao de he liu (River Without Buoys) (1984) -- during the Cultural Revolution, timber rafters try to rescue a former District Director from a labor camp
Romance on Lushan Mountain (or Love on Lushan Mountain or A Love Story at Lushan Mountain) (1980) -- the Cultural Revolution makes love very difficult for a young couple
Xiang ri kui (Sunflower) (2005) -- following a family harmed by the Cultural Revolution for thirty years
X Dr. Bethune (1990) -- life of Canadian Doctor Norman Bethune who became a hero in China during Mao Tse-Tung's rise to power.
X Bethune (1977) -- Canadian doctor who aided Mao Tse-Tung's army
Last Emperor 1987) -- the Qing Dynasty falls to nationalists, and the emperor later becomes a pawn in Japanese-controlled Manchuria directed by Bertolucci.
Zhantai (Platform) (2000) -- a performance troupe changes with the changes in the political climate in China
Yi ge dou bu neng shao (Not One Less) (1999)--a rural Communist confronts post-Deng modernization efforts in contemporary China.
Qiu Ju da guan si (The Story of Qiu Ju) (1992) -- woman battles frustrating court system in modern China.
Chinese Box (1997) -- a love story set against the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong
Taiwan:
X Dao cao ren (Strawman) (1987) – farming brothers in trouble during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan
X Po lun tai (Flat Tire) (1999) -- talk of film makers touches on political reality in Taiwan
X Bei qing cheng shi (A City of Sadness) (1989) -- first part of the trilogy about modern Taiwan history; average Taiwanese family during years 1945-1949
X Xi meng ren sheng (In the Hands of a Puppet Master) (1993) -- second part of the trilogy about Taiwan history; Japanese use street puppets for propaganda making it tough for a Chinese puppet master
X Hao nan hao nu (Good Men, Good Women) (1995) -- third part of the trilogy about modern Taiwan; a couple returns to China as part of the anti-Japanese movement & are arrested as communists when they go back to Taiwan ($50)
Tibet:
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) -- mountain-climber befriended by 14 year old Dalai Lama during WWII
Kundun (1997) -- Dalai Lama resists Chinese take-over of Tibet; 1949
Little Buddha (1993) -- search for the next Dalai Lama
Korea:
Geuddae geusaramdeul (The President's Last Bang) (2005) – events leading up to assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee (1961-1979)
X Silmido (2003) -- 1968 Korean Republic Army plan to assassinate North Korean president Kim Il-Sung
XIII.3. Post-War Philippines Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
X Dekada '70 (2003) -- middle-class Filipino family realize the full meaning of dictatorship in the Philippines (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
X Bagong Buwan (2001) -- Muslim rebellion in Mindanao, Philippines between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
X Chavit (2003) -- in the Philippines, ouster of corrupt President Joseph Estrad in favor of vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
X Cavite (2005) -- terrorism bred by poverty and injustice (languages Filipino/Tagalog)
XIII.4. Post-War England Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Into the Storm (2009) -- Winston Churchill during and after World War II
X Soho Boho (2005) -- bohemian life in post-war England
Scandal (1989) -- John Profumo scandal in England
Bradford Riots (2006) -- TV movie about tension between far-right fanatics and Asians in the Manningham area of Bradford leads to riots
XIII.5. Post-War Germany Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
West Germany:
Deutschland bleiche Mutter (Germany, Pale Mother) (1980) -- a German woman and her daughter try to survive while the father is away fighting; dad returns and it gets worse
Das schreckliche Mädchen (The Nasty Girl) (1990) -- a German girl researches her town's past, discovers collaboration with the Nazis and earns the enmity of the townspeople
The Tunnel (2001) -- escaping from East Berlin to West Berlin via a tunnel
Heimat - Chronicle of Germany (1985) -- Germany in the years 1919-1982 through the eyes of a woman named Maria
X Heimat II (Home, Vol. 2: A Chronicle of a Generation) (1994) -- portrait of German youth in the wild 1960s
X Heimat III (Heimat, Vol. 3: A Chronicle of Endings and Beginnings) (2004) --
Germania anno zero (Germany Year Zero) (1948) -- young German boy suffers from the hard times following the end of WWII
Die Ehe der Maria Braun (The Marriage of Maria Braun) (1979) -- rough times for Germany immediately following the end of WWII
The Big Lift (1950) -- Berlin Airlift
X Die Luftbrücke - Nur der Himmel war frei (The Airlift) (2005) -- made for TV movie about Berlin airlift
X Im Schatten der Macht (Willy Brandt) (2003) – last days of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, (Chancellor from 1969-1974)
X Stammheim (1986) -- the trial in Stammheim Prison of the left-wing terrorist Baader-Meinhof Group
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (The Baader Meinhof Complex) (2008) – the story of the German leftist terrorist Baader Meinhof Gang
Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum) (1975) -- panic over Red Army Faction terrorism in the 1970s Germany
Es kommt der Tag (The Day Will Come) (2009) -- daughter meets her mother and is disturbed about mom's past with the terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF), but mom has no regrets about it
X Die bleierne Zeit (The German Sisters) (1981) – 1968, West German reporter Julianne starts to question the system when her terrorist sister Marianna is treated very badly
Das Wunder von Bern (The Miracle of Bern) (2003) -- troubles for a family following the end of WWII
X Rosen fuer den Staatsanwalt (Roses for the Prosecutor) (1959) -- attempts of German society to overcome the shadows of the past (currently unavailable; VHS tape)
X Der Schulfreund (The High School Buddy) (1960) -- fellow writes a letter asking for release of a Jewish man recently arrested and now must be declared insane to avoid being executed
X Deutschstunde (1971) -- -youth's uncle is an expressionist painter who the Nazis forbid to paint; youth helps hide uncle's newest paintings from his conservative, policeman father (currently unavailable)
Der Fall Furtwangler (Taking Sides) (2001) -- famous conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic undergoes de-Nazification and an American major forces him to re-examine his life during the Third Reich
East Germany:
X Das Versprechen (The Promise) (1995) -- 1961, a couple get separated from each other when trying to escape from East to West Berlin; Konrad is left behind and has to go to enormous lengths to sneak brief visits with Sophie
X Sonnenllee (Sun Alley) (1999) -- 17-year-old boy growing up in communist East Germany in the 1970s ($105)
X Las Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006) -- 1984 East Berlin, Stasi surveillance tactics changes the life of one Stasi worker
Good Bye, Lenin (2003) -- after unification of the two Germanys, a son tries to restore East German life so his mother recently out of a coma won't have a relapse
.Berlin Calling (2008) -- East German Martin, after getting out of prison after 12 years, finds it hard to adjust to life in Berlin after German unification
Das Wunder von Berlin (The Miracle of Berlin) (2008) -- the lives of a young East German, his girlfriend and his parents are changed forever with the coming down of the Berlin Wall, 1989 (English subtitles)
Wege in die Nacht (Paths in the Night) (1999) -- he was a once-powerful man in East Germany, but after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he is redundant and adrift (English subtitles)
X Westwind ( Retró szerelem) (Zwillinge) (2011) -- 1988, a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 17-year-old twins Doreen and Isabel face a conflict when Doreen falls for Arne; their lives are about to be turned upside down (German with English subtitles)
X Der rote Kakadu (The Red Cockatoo) (2006) – union of East and West Germany
X Kleinruppin (Kleinruppin forever) (2004) -- identical twins Ronny and Tim switch places forcing Tim to experience life in East Germany (currently unavailable)
Die Stille nach dem Schuß (The Legends of Rita) (2000) – a terrorist in West Germany moves over to East Germany but is afraid her cover will be blown, especially when East and West Germany unite
Austria:
X The Red Danube (1949) -- the West was sending refugees back to the brutal Soviet Union where they were put in harsh camps; many refugees committed suicide rather than be sent back
XIII.6. Post-War Italy Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)
Umberto II (9 May 1946 - 12 June 1946) -- last King of Italy
Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thief) (1949) -- Italy's post-war depression
Umberto D. (1955) -- poor treatment of elderly in post-war depression
Shoeshine (1946) -- miserable lives of street children surviving by shining the boots of American GIs
Il sangue dei vinti (Blood of the Losers) (2008) – following WWII, an Italian family fractures (only has audio in Italian and no subtitles)
Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan) (1951) -- a fantasy concerning the post-World War II poor in Italy
X La Dolce Vita (1961) -- disillusionment and decadence after Fascism and War
Mama Roma (1962) -- the continuing negative effects of poverty on a mother trying to improve her life for herself and her son
La Meglio gioventu (The Best of Youth) (2003) -- two brothers live through the period 1966-2000
X Il divo (The Deity) (2008) – Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, 1972-1973, 1976-1979, 1989 to 1992
Buongiorno, notte (Good Morning, Night) (2003) -- 1978, Red Brigade kidnaps Prime Minister Moro
X Guido che sfido le Brigate Rosse (2007) – in 1979 Italy, trade unionist Guido Rossa, killed by a member of the Red Brigades (Italian language only)
X Il caso Moro (The Moro Affair) (1986) — Red Brigade kidnaps the Chief of the Christian Democratic Party (Italian with Italian subtitles -- no English)
Excellent Cadavers (1999) -- battle waged against the Sicilian Mafia during the late 1980's and early 1990's
Salvatore Giuliano (1962) -- young Mafia leader recruited by Sicilian separatist politicians is gunned down close to declaration of Sicily's self-rule
La Prima Linea (The Front Line) (2009) -- story of Italian extreme left-wing terrorist group with leaders of the nature of a Marxist Bonnie and Clyde
Ecce bombo (Behold the Man) (1978) -- black humor spoofs the then current wave of terrorism and bombings in Italy
Il grande sogno (The Big Dream) (2009) -- Italy, 1967-9; a policemen, who wants to be an actor, is a mole among the student radicals when he falls in love with the radical Laura who likes him and a fellow student radical
Five Moons Square (Five Moons Plaza) (2003) -- judge gets an old 8mm film in the mail of the kidnapping of the President of the Italian Christian Democratic party, Aldo Moro, March 16, 1978
XIII.7. Post-War France Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Le Nouveau Monde (New World; The New World) (1995) -- French resentment of the "American occupation"
Un monde presque paisible (Almost Peaceful) (2002) -- in post-war France, Jewish Parisians try to build a new life after the Holocaust
La Haine (1995) -- social and racial tension in the outskirts of French cities leads to some nasty riots
X Liberty Belle (1983) -- a student, Paris, 1959-1960, gets involved with a group opposing the French Algerian war
X La Chinoise (1967) -- leftist French youth on the eve of the May 1968 student riots
X Le grand Charles (2006) – Charles De Gaulle's career, 1939-1959 (no English options)
X Adieu De Gaulle adieu (2009) -- De Gaulle disapproves of the student uprisings of May 1968
La faute ŕ Fidel! (Blame It on Fidel!) (2006) – a married couple in Paris 1970-1971 become radicalized which deeply affects their nine year old child
Presidente Mitterrand le Promeneur du champ de Mars (President Mitterrand) (2005) -- ambivalent portrait of President Francois Mitterrand (1981-1995)
XIII.8. Post-War Greece & Macedonia Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
X O thiasos (The Traveling Players) (1975) – some traveling actors recount the terrible events that happened in Greece, 1939 to just before 1952 ($64.99)
Eleni (1985) -- a grown-up Greek-American son searches for the executioner of his Greek mother in the Greek Civil War
X Petrina Chronia (Stone Years) (1985) -- 1954-1974; a couple is separated by the Greek Civil War
Politiki Kouzina (A Touch of Spice) (2003) -- unrequited love for a young Greek-Turkish boy who has to leave his love when his family is deported from Turkey back to Greece
Z (1969) -- 1963 killing of the Greek liberal politician Gregorios Lambrakise
X I Dokimi (The Rehearsal) (1974) -- indictment of the Greek military junta (1967-1974)
X Haromeni Imera (Happy Day) (1976) -- the story of the director’s exile to an island by the Greek military dictatorship
X Telos Epochis (End of an Era) (1995) -- 1969-1970 Greece as seen through the eyes of a group of high school seniors
X O anthropos me to garyfallo (1980) – Greece between 1949-1974
X Ap’to Hioni (From the Snow) (1993) -- 1990 Greece as seen through the eyes of travelers heading from Corfu to Athens
X Ouloi emeis, efenti (All of us, Efendi) (1998) – civil war in Greece
To Vlemma tou Odyssea (Ulysses' Gaze) (1995) -- in search of lost film reels, a Greek-American director travels across the Balkans, ending up in bomb destroyed Sarajevo
Macedonia:
Before the Rain (1994) -- ethnic conflict in Macedonia
Kako ubiv svetec (How I Killed a Saint) (2004)-- 2001 ethnic conflict in Macedonia involving the country's Albanian minority seen through the eyes of two siblings with opposing views
Golebama Voda (The Great Water) (2004) -- elderly Macedonian politician has heart attack & has flashbacks of his youth: orphaned by WWII, in the orphanage he went through "reprogramming" to be pro-communist; rebellious, he breaks a statue of Stalin
Jas sum od Titov Veles (I am from Titov Veles) (2007) -- portrait of an economically declining post-communist Macedonia in which three sisters try to escape from their dying community
XIII.9. Post-War Spain & Portugal Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Spain: Francoist Spain: 1936-1975
Spain: Third Borbon Restoration 1975-present -- Juan Carlos I (1975-)
X Raza ( Race) (1942) -- Spanish fascist story of Franco family and Franco
X Espérame en el cielo (Wait for me in Heaven) (1988) – a man is grabbed by a group who wants to use him as a model for the Spanish dictator Franco
X ˇBuen Viaje, Excelencia! (2003) -- comic, irreverent treatment of the dictator Franco in his last two years of life
Tiovivo c. 1950 (2004) -- life in post-Civil War Madrid, the city offers entertainment, hope and love, in spite of the many restrictions
Pájaros de papel (Paper Birds) (2010) -- lives of a comic and artistic group in the hard times after the end of the Spanish Civil War
X Operacion Ogro (Ogro) (1979) -- a Basque independence group (ETA) vows to stop Admiral Carrero Blanco from becoming the replacement for the dying Franco
Portugal:
Cinco dias, cinco noites (Five Days, Five Nights) (1996) -- Álvaro Cunhal, communist party chief of Portugal, escapes from prison and tells his story
Capităes de Abril (April Captains) (1997) -- military coup of the left overthrows the dictatorship in Portugal, April 25, 1974, that was established by Salazar in 1933
XIII.10. Post-War Soviet Union/Russia Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Stalin (1922-1953):
Ballada o soldate (Ballad of a Soldier) (1960) -- A sort of Russian road movie about a young Russian soldier's four day trip to go home to see his mother
X The Chekist (1992)-- brutal Cheka security forces (currently unavailable)
Utomlyonnye solntsem (Burnt by the Sun) (1994) -- the paranoid era of the evil Stalin
Przesluchanie (Interrogation) (1989) -- Polish film about Stalinist terror in the early 1950s; Tonia, a sleazy cabaret singer, is imprisoned without explanation
X I am David (2003) -- in 1952 a Bulgarian boy escapes from a Stalinist labor camp and begins a dangerous trek to Denmark
Khrushchev (1958-1964):
Serye volki (The Gray Wolves) (1993) – power struggle; Nikita Khrushchev (in position 1958-1964) is ousted by Leonid Brezhnev, whose reign goes from 1964 to 1982
The Inner Circle (1991) -- a true David and Batsheba story in the Soviet Union
X One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1970) -- Russian gulag penal system ($119 for new, $27 for used VHS tape)
Gulag (1985) -- a reporter is framed by the KBG and has to spend time in the gulag penal system
Sakharov (1984) -- Russian dissident
Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982):
Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991):
Perestroika (2009) -- astro-physicist returns after 17 years of exile to the Soviet Union during the period of "restructuring" starting in 1968
X Moy luchshiy drug, general Vasiliy, syn Iosifa (My Best Friend, General Vasili, the Son of Joseph Stalin) (1991) – Lt. Gen. Vasili Stalin commander of Army and Air Force sports teams befriends a sports talent; but what will happen when the general’s father dies?
Boris Yeltsen (1991-1999):
Vladimir Putin (1999-2008):
Chechen Wars: First Chechen War (Dec. 1994 - August 1996) and Second Chechen War (August 1999 - 2009)
Aleksandra (Alexandra) (2007) -- a feisty, elderly woman visits her Russian army officer grandson inside Chechnya during Second Russian-Chechen War
Prisoner of the Mountains (1997) -- drama set in First Russian-Chechen war (1994-1996)
X Dom Durakov (House of Fools) (2002) -- about psychiatric patients and combatants during the First Chechen War
X Voyna (War) (2002) -- about the realities of the Second Chechen War
X Zhivoy (Alive) (2006) -- Chechen War veteran helped by the ghosts of his two fallen comrades to leave the war behind
Dmitry Medvedev (2008-present)
Other:
Song from the Southern Seas (2009) -- a Russian and a Kazakh couple live in harmony until the white Russian couple have a dark-skinned baby and the fight begins; draws on history of Kazakhstan
Zerkalo (The Mirror) (1975) -- life in the Ukraine following WWII with an intermixture of drama and documentary footage
XIII.11. INDEPENDENCE FOR INDIA -- 1947 Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
Gandhi -- 1915 onward; arrested in 1922 for civil disobedience against British rule
The Making of the Mahatma (1996) -- Gandhi's politically formative years in South Africa
X Lage Raho Munnabhai ("Carry on, Munnabhai") (2006) -- to impress a woman a Mumbai thug pretends to be an expert in Gandhian philosophy
X Anand Math (1952) -- Indian resistance to colonial rule
Kisna: the Warrior Poet (2005) -- love story between British girl and Indian boy set in 1940s Indian Independence Movement
Lord Mountbatten -- The Last Viceroy (1986) -- helps bring independence to India
X Laaj (2003) -- Hindu girl with a Muslim boy equals problems; set in the 1930s; the Pashtoons of India's northwest frontier turned against the ruling British Raj
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005) -- Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945) a Bengali leader who favored violent means to liberate India
Shaheed-e-Azam (2002) -- Bhagat Singh; celebrated martyr of Indian independence movement; hanged by the British March 23, 1931
The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) -- Bhagat Singh
23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) -- Bhagat Singh
X Pagadi Sambhal (“Hold fast to your turban”) (1992) -- Bhagat Singh
X Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (2009) -- fight for Indian independence
X Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000) -- leader of India's dalits ("untouchables")
Nine Hours to Rama (1963) -- events leading up to assassination of Gandhi in 1948
Staying On (1981) -- a British colonel and his wife decide to remain in India after the departure of the British in 1947
Jinnah (1998) -- Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan
Earth (1998) -- love story set against religious violence following Indian independence in 1947
Train to Pakistan (1998) -- ethnic violence between Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs in Punjab after British left in 1947
Bhowani Junction (1956) -- a female half-breed officer is not fully accepted by either the British or the Indians and suffers greatly from this; can she find happiness with a British soldier?
Hey! Ram (2000) – bloody civil war between Hindus and Muslims that ultimately led to the neo-Islamic state of Pakistan
X Dharmputra (1961) -- set in Delhi, violence marks the partition of India in 1947 (Hindi language)
X Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) -- a Sikh-Muslim love story set during the 1947 partition (Hindi and Panjabi only)
X Pinjar (Pinjar: Beyond Boundaries) (2003) -- the partition of Punjab, 1947
X Partition (2007) -- partition of India, 1947
Shakespeare Wallah (1965) -- a fast fading family acting troupe reflects the loss of British influence in India
Sardar: The Iron Man of India (1993) -- a biopic of Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first home minister and deputy prime minister
Pukar (1983) -- after 1947 a boy who sees his father shot by a "revolutionary" fights to kill all revolutionaries in Goa, but earns the hatred of almost every Goan
Bandit Queen (1994) -- Indian film about female Indian outlaw Phoolan Devi (Seema Biswas), 1980s
X Last Day of the Raj (2007) -- dealing with the division of India into Pakistan and India
X Border (1997) -- Battle of Longewala in the Indo-Pakistani war, 1971
Matir moina (The Clay Bird) (2002) – set in 1971, India intervenes on the side of the Bangladeshis against Pakistan, whose forces surrendered and Bangla Desh ("Country of Bangla") was established
X 1971 (2007) -- true story of prisoners of war after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
XIII.12. POST-WAR ALGERIA: INDEPENDENCE. Back to Chapter XIII Back to Contents
La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers) (1966) -- Italian-Algerian film about Algerian revolt against French, 1954-1962
Lost Command (1966) -- French-Algerian guerilla warfare in North Africa
Outremer (Overseas) (1990) -- French film about three sisters during the Algerian War
Hors la loi (Outside the Law) (2010) -- three Algerian brothers are forced to go together to Paris, but there they continue the fight for the liberation of Algeria from French control
X La Trahison (The Betrayal) (2005) -- French officer and recruits in Algerian War
X Cache (2005) -- repressed memories of the aftermath of the Algerian War
X Le Crabe-tambour (1977) -- French war hero of French Indochina and Algeria ($79 for new, $190 for used DVD)
X Nuit Noire (Black Night) (2005) -- French massacre in Algeria
Le Petit Soldat (1963) -- during the Algerian war, young French deserter gets involved with woman who is fighting for the other side
X Chronique des années de braise (Chronicle of the Burning Years; Chronicle of the Years of Fire) (1975) -- the Algerian War as seen through the eyes of a peasant (currently unavailable)
X La vérité si je mens (1997) -- movie about the pieds-noirs community (non-Algerian émigrés from Algeria)
X The Day of the Jackal (1973) -- 1954-1962 De Gaulle and the Algerian War Fred Zinneman 1973 Edward Fox
X L'honneur d'un capitaine (A Captain's Honor) (1982) -- widow tries to restore her husband's reputation from an accusation of using torture in the Algerian War ($100)
X Mon colonel (The Colonel) (2006) -- a murder investigation reveals some terrible things about the Algerian War ($41 for new DVD)
X C'était pas la guerre (It Wasn't War) (2003) -- the Algerian War for Independence seen through the eyes of a six year old
X Un combat singulier (2004) -- Algerian War
L'ennemi intime (Intimate Enemies) (2007) -- story of a French platoon in the Algerian War
Lumumba (2000) TV -- Patrice Emery Lumumba rises to power following independence for the Congo from Belgium
Deserter (Simon: An English Legionnaire) (2002) -- a young Englishman with romantic illusion joins the French Foreign Legion and fights in Algeria's battle for independence for France
X L' Autre cote de la mer (The Other Shore) (1997) -- a pied noir (Frenchman born & raised in N. Africa) visits France but will go back to Algeria even though the fight for that country's independence heats up
La Question (The Question) (1977) -- here the word "question" is used as a euphemism for torture; based on tortured Henri Alleg's small book about the French using torture on the Algerians
Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) (2010) -- tragedy of 8 French Christian monks caught in the religious violence in Algeria who decide whether to leave or stay in the impoverished village
XIV. THE FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNISM. Back to Chapter XIV Back to Contents
XIV.1. USA -- LOSS OF CHINA, KOREAN WAR & MCCARTHYISM DURING COLD WAR Back to Chapter XIV Back to Contents
Est-Quest (East/West) (1999) -- a young Russian doctor, his French wife and son return to the Soviet Union & the disagreements start over the quality of life there
Daniel (1983) -- children of spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg deal with life
The Korean War
Truman (1995) -- Harry S. Truman, president, 1945-1952
Give 'Em Hell, Harry! (1975) -- President Harry S. Truman
X Pohwasogeuro (71: Into the Fire) (2010) – student-soldiers try to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War
One Minute to Zero (1952) -- a love story between a widow and a colonel set during the Korean War
Field of Honor (1986) -- a Dutch sergeant in 1951 in the Korean War
Fixed Bayonets (1951) -- portrait of a platoon in an American division in the mountains of Korea and their trial by fire
Shang gan ling (Battle on Shangganling Mountain) (1965) – Chinese film of the Battle of Triangle Hill (Operation Showdown), October 1952
Hell in Korea (aka A Hill in Korea) (1956) -- U.N. patrol fights Chinese troops (British troops) ($32)
X MacArthur (1977) -- leader in Korean War, fired by Truman
X Inchon! (1982) -- brilliant but risky move by MacArthur in Korean War turns the tide for awhile
Retreat, Hell! (1952) --- US marines land at Inchon and head north
X Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976) --
Taegukgi Hwinallimyo (aka Brotherhood: Taegukgi and Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War) (2004) -- two reluctant South Korean young brothers are torn apart by their experiences in the Korean War
Men in War (1957) -- Korean War, September 1950; American troops nearly cut-off completely from their battalion have to reach safety
All the Young Men (1960) -- racial problems in the marines during the Korean War
Pork Chop Hill (1959) -- Korean War
Go-ji-jeon (The Front Line) (2011) -- ownership of a hill in Korea switches back and forth between the Chinese-N. Koreans and the S. Koreans
Battle Circus (1953) -- doctor and nurse in a romance set against rough conditions of treating patients during the Korean War (starring Humphrey Bogart, June Allyson)
X MASH (1970) -- a comedy set in the pressured world of a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War
War Hunt (1962) -- an idealist confronts who kills for revenge and enjoyment clash during the Korean War
X Prisoner of War (1954) -- mistreatment of American P.O.W.s during Korean War
X The Nest (1999) -- short film on Korean War about men in trenches where if the men go out to help their fallen comrades there is no return
X Welkkeom tu Dongmakgol (Battle Ground 625; Welcome to Dongmakgol) (2005) -- soldiers from both sides of the Korean divide live among villagers who know nothing of the war
X Jageun yeonmot (A Little Pond) (2009) -- based on real events, American soldiers suspect that there are North Korean soldiers among village residents so everyone is evacuate into a cave and massacred (Korean with English subtitles)
Air War:
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1955) -- air war in the Korean War
Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) -- air war in Korea
The Hunters (1958) -- three American pilots have to fight the Chinese "volunteer" pilots over Korea
McCarthyism and the Hollywood Blacklists
Cradle will Rock (1999) -- prequel to McCarthyism in charging Federal Theater with having communist ties
Good Night and Good Luck (2005) -- TV journalist Morrow versus McCarthy
Guilty by Suspicion (1991) -- Hollywood-blacklisting era; Robert De Niro
X Fellow Traveler (1989) -- McCarthyism
X Tail-Gunner Joe (1977) -- Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare
Citizen Cohn (1992) -- Roy Cohn, assistant to Joseph McCarthy, and powerful figure in NYC politics
X Winchell (1998) -- Walter, the gossip journalist, who became tainted by flirting with McCarthyism and suspicions of racism toward blacks
X The Way We Were (1973) -- Barbara Streisand, Robert Redford divided over politics, including McCarthyism
X High Noon (1952) -- portrays feelings of those hounded by House on Un-American Activities
X High Noon (2000) -- a re-do of the "High Noon" of 1952
Rio Bravo (1959) -- John Wayne's answer to High Noon
The Front (1976) -- with Woody Allen as the front-man selling works by authors on the black list
X Chaplin -- the famous funny man in trouble with the witch-hunters.
X Julia (1977) -- writer Lillian Hellman Story
X Dash and Lilly (1999) -- writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman
X The Manchurian Candidate (1962) -- deals pseudo-scientifically with theme of brain-washing
One of the Hollywood Ten (2000) -- blacklisted director Herbert Biberman and the horrible reign of fear during what is called the age of McCarthyism
The Majestic (2001) -- an innocent man is blacklisted during the McCarthy reign of terror and comes back fighting
X Storm Center (1956) -- first film to challenge the Hollywood Blackist; small-town librarian is branded as a Communist when she refuses to withdraw a controversial book from the library's shelves
Other:
X Raging Bull (1980) -- Jake LaMotta, 1949 middle-weight champion
X Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) -- boxer Rocky Graziano
X Babe (1975)-- Zaharias that is; great all-around woman athlete and pro golfer
X Lenny (1974) -- 1950s; Lenny Bruce dies as a result of govt. prosecution and persecution
X Ed Wood (1994) -- dead in 1978; worst Am film director, but loved as campy hero
X Quiz Show (1994) -- 1960 probe into cheating on TV quiz shows ($64,000 Question)
X Pollock -- 1940s art scene with abstract painter Jackson Pollock
X Kinsey (2004) -- sexologist Alfred Kinsey shocks America with his study of its sexual habits; (overestimates the amount of homosexuality)
X In Cold Blood (1967) -- Truman Capote's tale of the murder of a Kansas farm family
X Capote (2005) -- the murder of a Kansas farm family as seen from the perspective of the writer of In Cold Blood
X Infamous (2006) -- Capote falls in love with condemned murderer and pays a high emotional price for his getting too close to his story
X Badlands (1973) -- Charles Starkweather and Carol Ann Fugate on a teenage murder spree
On the Waterfront (1954) -- Marlon Brando; corruption and resistance to it
X K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) -- Soviet nuclear submarine faces a meltdown and explosion
X Behind the Iron Curtain (The Iron Curtain) (1948) -- a Russian code specialist is brought to Canada to help with a spying project decides to defect
XIV.2. TEEN REBELLION & ROCK AND ROLL Back to Chapter XIV Back to Contents
X The Wild One (1954)
X Blackboard Jungle (1956)
X Rebel Without a Cause (1955) -- teenage angst; James Dean
Elvis:
X Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) -- Elvis Presley, king of Rock and Roll
X Elvis on Tour (1972)
X Elvis (1979)
X Elvis and Me (1988)
Others:
X Little Richard (2002) -- biopic of early black rock and roll star
X The Buddy Holly Story (1978) -- singing star killed in air crash with Richie Valens
X La Bamba (1987) -- Richie Valens Story, singing star killed in air crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper
X American Hot Wax (1978) Alan Freed, pioneer Cleveland D.J. of rock and roll
X American Graffiti (1973) -- portrays teen-age life in the early 1960s
Beatles:
X The Compleat Beatles (1982)
X Backbeat (1993) -- the Fifth Beatle
X Beatlemania (1981)
X Stoned (2005) -- death of Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones
XV. THE FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS. Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
XV.1. CIVIL RIGHTS -- USA Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story (1994) -- father of Civil Rights Movement; predecessor of King in Montgomery, AL
Vernon Johns Story (1994) -- father of Civil Rights Movement; predecessor of King in Montgomery, AL
X Separate but Equal (1991) -- legal challenge of school segregation by NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall ($94 for used DVD)
Keep the Faith, Baby (2002) -- Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. pushes integration in New York State and elsewhere
The Rosa Parks Story (2002) -- the story of the woman who did not give up her seat for a white man and started the Montgomery bus boycott
Boycott (2000) -- Martin Luther King. Jr. (Jeffrey Wright) organizes the bus boycott
King (1978) -- story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Long Walk Home (1989) -- Montgomery Bus Boycott; Whoopi Goldberg
Selma, Lord, Selma (1999) -- Clifton Powell as MLK in 1965 in Selma, Alabama where a police riot occurred on a peaceful march, which garnered a lot of sympathy for the movement
X Selma (2009) -- police riot that helped the civil rights movement by showing the brutality of southern governments and police
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) -- fictional story of long range view of race relations starting with the Civil War and ending in the 1960s
Malcolm X (1992) -- opposite views to Martin Luther King; Spike Lee; Denzel Washington
Death of a Prophet: The Last Days of Malcolm X (1981) -- Malcolm X
Murder in Mississippi (1990) -- victims of the Mississippi's racist system: Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman
Mississippi Burning (1988) -- murder of 3 civil rights workers in Mississippi, summer of 1964
X Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975) -- racists kill three civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman
Undercover with the KKK (1979) -- the murder of Viola Luizzo, a civil rights volunteer from Detroit in Alabama who had five children back home in Michigan (March 1965)
Ghosts of Mississippi -- trial of the man who assassinated Mississippi NAACP organizer Medgar Evers
The Klansman (1974) -- the KKK is up in arms when white and blacks want to march in a civil rights demonstration in their town in Alabama
Jackie Robinson Story (1950) -- first black man to desegregate professional baseball
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990) -- his protest of Army race policy
Heat Wave (1990) -- Los Angeles Watts riots of 1965
Panther (1995) -- black panthers, radical black power movement -- ($400)
Riot (1997) -- good movie about four interrelated stories of people harmed by the L.A. riots of 1992 following the innocent verdicts in the trial of the policemen who beat black Rodney King
The Blind Side (2009) -- a rich, southern white family takes in a huge black student who can really play football (showing that things really haven't changed that much in the South)
JFK, president 1961-1963
X The Kennedys of Massachusetts
X JFK - Reckless Youth (1993) -- the young John Fitzgerald Kennedy
PT-109 (1963) -- Jack Kennedy commands a PT boat in the Pacific
Kennedy (1983) -- presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
X JFK (1991) -- Oliver Stone's conspiracy version of the assassination of Kennedy
X Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot (2001) -- Jackie, Ethel and Joan Kennedy
X A Woman Named Jackie -- three-part series: the Bouvier, the Kennedy and the Onassis years
X Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988) -- biography of Greek Aristotle Onassis who became one of the world's most wealthiest men
X Power and Beauty (2002) -- Kennedy and an affair with Judy Exner
X Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976)
X Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996)
X Sugartime (1995) -- mobster Sam Giancana, another lover of Marilyn Monroe, woos singer Phyllis McGuire of the McGuire sisters
The Good Shepherd (2006) -- the early history of the American CIA up to the early 1960s
X O.S.S. (1946) -- the American secret war service blows up railroad lines in France (starring Alan Ladd)
X The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977) -- Oswald, killer of Kennedy
X Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald (1993) -- widow of Oswald tells her story
X Ruby (1992) -- Jack Ruby, killer of JFK' assassin (& involved with mobsters)
Sinatra (1992) -- another one involved with mobsters and the Kennedys
X Hoffa (1992) -- teamster union leader & deep enemy of Robert Kennedy probing corruption turns up missing
X Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992)
X Act of Vengeance (1986) -- Jock Yablonski challenges President of United Mine Workers Tony Boyle
X The Ugly American (1963) -- supposed explanation of why other nations saw US in negative light
RFK (2002) -- story of Robert Francis Kennedy after the death of his brother JFK
Space Program under Kennedy:
X Ukroshcheniye ognya (Taming of the Fire) (1972) – biopic of Sergei Korolev, developer of Russian space industry leading to the launching of Sputnik in 1957
X Space Race (2005) -- TV series about early race into space between Werner von Braun on the American team and Sergi Pavlovich Korolev on the Russian team that ended scores of lives
X Wernher von Braun ( I Aim at the Stars) (1960) -- Nazi-Germany scientist who was important in the early space program for the United States
October Sky (1999) -- reaction to Sputnik, Russian space satellite
The Right Stuff (1983) -- story of early astronauts John Glenn, Allan Carpenter, etc.
X Apollo 13 (1995) -- story of the near disaster in space in 1970
X From the Earth to the Moon (1998) -- Tom Hanks; whole NASA history
XV.2. CIVIL RIGHTS -- NORTHERN IRELAND Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
X The Dawn (aka The Dawn over Ireland) (1938) -- the "troubles" in Ireland in the early nineteen hundreds
Bloody Sunday (2002) -- quasi-documentary style dealing with British soldiers firing on a peaceful civil rights demonstrators
X Sunday (2002) -- about Bloody Sunday
Some Mother's Son (1996) -- mother becomes involved in IRA hunger strike
Hunger (2008) -- last ten weeks of the life of Bobby Sands, an Irish Republican Army hunger striker who starved himself to death
Cal (1984) British film based in Northern Ireland
In the Name of the Father (1993) -- British try to frame innocent for bombings by I.R.A.
The Boxer (1997) -- set in Northern Ireland
Omagh (2004) -- aftermath of the 1998 IRA bombing that killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland
The Crying Game (1992) -- a Br soldier, Jody, is captured by the IRA; Jody develops a friendship with IRA man Fergus, things go wrong & Fergus winds up seeing Jody's girlfriend
This is the Sea (1997) -- troubles for a Protestant and a Catholic who fall in love in Northern Ireland
X Mo (2010) -- Labor politician Mo Mowlam serves as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and signs the Good Friday Peace Agreement April 10, 1998 on Good Friday
XV.3. CIVIL RIGHTS -- GREAT BRITAIN Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
My Beautiful Launderette (1986) -- multiculturalism in Great Britain
My Son the Fanatic (1997) -- Pakistani taxi-driver caught between British culture and Islamic fundamentalism
Vera Drake (2004) -- simple woman sent to prison for giving poor women abortions with no charge
XV.4. CIVIL RIGHTS -- SOUTH AFRICA Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
Cry, The Beloved Country (1995)-- tale of reconciliation between S. African black minister's son who murders white man; James Earl Jones
The Quarry (2000) -- racism leads to the arrest of the wrong man, a black man, for the murder of a rural gay pastor
Dingaka (1965) -- white and black culture contrast in South Africa
Sarafina (1992) -- black student resistance in Soweto, South Africa
Bopha! (1993) -- black policeman in South Africa awakens to the fact that he works for a racist organization
Cry Freedom (1987) -- Stephen Biko 1975-77, black leader of resistance to apartheid
X The Biko Inquest (1984) -- based on inquest into the Biko assassination
Mandela (1987) -- Danny Glover
Mandela and De Klerk (1997) -- the two who worked out a political answer to apartheid
The Color of Freedom (a.k.a. Goodbye Bafana) (2007) -- story of the special relationship between Mandela and James Gregory, his censor officer and prison guard
A Dry, White Season (1989) -- a white teacher finally awakens to the realities of the brutality of the apartheid system in South Africa, 1976
In My Country (2004) -- story set during the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings
Drum (2004) -- apartheid and the forced removal of residents from Sophiatown
A World Apart (1988) -- a white teenage daughter comes to terms with her father and mother's work against apartheid in South Africa
Catch a Fire (2006) -- 1980, South African wrongly accused of a crime, is tortured and becomes radicalized by his experience
Beat the Drum (2003) -- a Zulu boy whose village has been devastated by AIDS goes to Johannesburg to find his long-lost uncle. Actors Junior Singo, Owen Sejake.
The World Unseen (2007) -- the Indian community and its reaction to apartheid illustrated by the problems faced by two women establishing a relationship
Promised Land (2002) -- post-Apartheid era where some whites stick to their old racist ways
XV.5. CIVIL RIGHTS -- CANADA Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
X Atanarjuat (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) (2001) -- first feature film written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut; it tells an Inuit legend
Isaac Littlefeathers (1984) -- racism in 1960s Alberta, Canada
X For Angela (1993) – a short docudrama about the experiences of native Canadians Rhonda Gordon and her daughter, Angela, victims of racist harassment on a Winnipeg city bus
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) -- anti-Semitism in Canada
15 février 1839 (2001) -- the British execute five more Quebec Patriots, among them Chevalier De Lorimier
X Quand je serai parti... vous vivrez encore (The Long Winter) (1999) -- partly fictionalized film about the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 seeking to make Quebec independent
Mon oncle Antoine (1971) -- coming of age in Québec prior to the Asbestos Strike of the late 1940s, that led to the Quiet Revolution
X Le chat dans le sac (English: The Cat in the Bag) (1964) – a Canadian journalist attempts to come to terms with his place in Quebec society and Quebec’s place in Canada
X La vie heureuse de Léopold Z (English: The Merry World of Léopold Z) (1965) – comedy/drama shows how the Québécois people were being exploited by a capitalist, English-speaking power structure
X Les Ordres (Orderers) (1974) -- story of five people out of the 500 rounded up in the government crackdown to get at FLQ terrorists in October 1970
Octobre (1994) -- the October Crisis from the point of view of the FLQ terrorist Chénier Cell who in 1970 kidnapped and murdered Quebec minister and Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte (no English options)
X October 1970 (2006) – an 8-part miniseries about some of the incidents of the October Crisis
X Nô (1998) -- set in 1970 at the height of the FLQ bombings in Montreal, known as the October Crisis
X Quebec (1951) – popular uprising to make Lower Canada (Quebec) independent
X Black October (2000) -- 1970, Quebec separatist Le Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), kidnap the British Trade Consul, and the Quebec Minister of Labor ($40)
X Trudeau (2002) -- biography of the Prime Minister of Canada
X Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making (2005) – the early years of Trudeau’s life
XV.6. CIVIL RIGHTS -- AUSTRALIA Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
Australia (2008) -- love story set against background of racism and Japanese attack on Darwin, Australia on February 19, 1942
Newsfront (1978) -- follows two rivalries against the background of key political events of the 1950s in Australia
Black and White (2002) -- police virtually frame an aboriginal man leading to great controversy over the role of race in Australia
X Jedda (1955) -- conflict arises when an Aboriginal girl is separated from her culture
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) -- aborigine follows the white rules but no matter what he does he can't get ahead
Tracker (2002) -- a racist policeman goes way too far in his reactions to Aborigines
We of the Never Never (1982) -- Aeneas Gunn, the first white woman ever to journey into the Australian Outback
Walkabout (1971) -- a British boy and girl are stranded in the outback and form a relationship with a young Aborigine
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) -- 3 aborigine girls break away from their assimilation school to head back home
Beneath Clouds (2002) -- racial experience between Lena (mixed-caste) & Vaughn (a Murri boy)
X Come out Fighting (1973) -- aborigine torn between black and white worlds
Manganinnie (1980) -- child's view of near-genocide of Tasmanian Aborigines
Tudawali (1987) -- life of the first Australian Aboriginal actor Robert Tudawali, (a.k.a., Bobby Wilson)
Wake In Fright (1971) -- British teacher at isolated school with menacing locals
Romper Stomper (1993) -- Nazi skinheads in Melbourne take out their anger on local Vietnamese
Australian Rules (2002) -- racism in the local football team
The Dismissal (1983) -- first Labor Prime Minister in 23 years who made many liberal changes (dismissed by the Governor-General in 1975)
X Exits (1980) -- effect of the Whitlam sacking on a group of Melbournites
X Apostasy: A Twice Told Tale in Black Red White (1978) -- dealing with the aftermath of the Whitlam sacking & other key events
XV.7. CIVIL RIGHTS - SPAIN Back to Chapter XV Back to Contents
X La pelota vasca: la piel contra la piedra (The Basque Ball: Skin against Stone) (2003) -- problem of Basque region of Spain
X Yoyes (2000) -- fictionalized reconstruction of the life of Dolores "Yoyes" González Catarain a woman member of the Basque liberation group ETA
XV.8. GAY RIGHTS.
Stonewall (1995) -- fictional story highlights events of the Stonewall Inn riots of June 27, 1969 starting the modern Gay/Lesbian/ Bisexual/Transgender movement
Milk (2008) -- Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold a major political office in the United States
XVI. The Fight Against Communism II. Back to Chapter XVI Back to Contents
XVI. 1. AMERICAN STRUGGLE TO STOP ALL LEFTISTS IN LATIN & SOUTH AMERICA Back to Chapter XVI Back to Contents
X The Journey -- on a bicycle trip through South America Martin finds exploitation, destruction and abject subjugation due to the USA
Cuba:
Havana (1990) -- a self-centered gambler falls in love with a revolutionary in Havana, Cuba
Cuba (1979) -- love story of a sort set in Havana at the time of the takeover by Castro
The Lost City (2005) -- love story set in Havana at the time of the takeover by Castro
X Fidel (2002) -- rise to power of Fidel Castro
X I am Cuba (1964) -- ode to Castro revolution
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) -- Che's political education on a motorcycle
X Che: Part One and Part Two (2008) – with Benicio del Torro as Che
Che Guevara (2005) -- Ernesto "Che" Guevara, co-rebel with Fidel Castro in Cuba & rebel leader elsewhere (with Benicio del Torro as Che)
X Che! (1969) -- Che Guevara
Azúcar amarga (Bitter Sugar) (1996) -- a young supporter of Castro becomes disillusioned
X Lucia (1968) -- three transitional periods in Cuban history from the perspectives of three women named Lucia
Guaguasi (1982) -- simple country man leaves his village to join the rebels, in Havana he falls in love, but he also falls apart, changed by the revolution
Thirteen Days (2001) -- Cuban Missile Crisis
Missiles of October (1974) -- Cuban Missile Crisis docudrama
X Fire Bay (2010) -- Bay of Pigs invasion
Before Night Falls (2000) -- homosexual Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas is terribly abused by the totalitarian Cuban system
Memorias del subdesarrollo (Memories of Underdevelopment) (1968) -- wealthy man caught in the transitions during the Cuban revolution of 1959
Cuban Blood (Dreaming of Julia; Cuba Libre) (2003) -- an 11 year old boy is able to live a somewhat normal life against the background of the Cuban Revolution, 1958
X Cuban Rebel Girls (1959) Errol Flynn, playing himself as a war correspondent, helps Fidel Castro overthrow Cuban dictator Batista
Dominican Republic:
X Lilíis (2006) -- Dominican dictator, Ulises Heureaux, presidency 1882 to his assassination in 1899
Trópico de sangre (2010) – about the Mirabal sisters and their fight against dictator Trujillo (who reigned from 1930 to 1961)
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) -- three Mirabal sisters risk their very lives by opposing Dictator Leónidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic
X Patricia: El regreso del sueno (2009) -- Trujillo
La Fiesta del chivo (The Feast of the Goat) (2005) -- Urania Cabral returns to Santo Domingo and the memories of the times of tyrant Leónidas Trujillo
X Crimen (2008) – Manolo Tavárez Justo (1931-1963) lawyer and political activist with the 14th of June Movement and husband of Minerva Argentina Mirabal
El Misterio Galíndez (The Galindez File) (2003) -- about Jesús de Galíndez Suárez, activist of the PNV party and Basque diplomat who disappeared in 1956 because of his opposition to Trujillo
Guatemala:
El Silencio de Neto (1994) -- a young boy grows up against the background of the US-backed takeover of the Guatemalan Government in 1954
Nicaragua:
Walker (1987) -- Ed Harris as Walker who took over Nicaragua in 1855 Carla's Song (1997) -- 1978, CIA war against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua
Under Fire (1983) -- trouble in Nicaragua
X Alsino y el cóndor (Alsino and the Condor) (1982) -- radicalization of a young man in response to US advisor's cruelties
Guts and Glory: The Real Story of Oliver North (1989) -- Marine makes illegal deal of arms for hostages & becomes right-wing hero
El Salvador:
Romero (1989) -- leftist bishop in El Salvador assassinated , 1980
Salvador (1986) -- US journalist investigates assassination of Romero in El Salvador
Voces inocentes (Innocent Voices) ( 2004) -- innocent people caught in the El Salvador civil war in the 1980s
Panama:
Noriega: God's Favorite (2000) -- Manuel Noriega and 1989 Invasion of Panama
X Dollar Mambo (1993) -- based on 5 soldiers in the Panama invasion murdering a Panamanian woman in a drunken spree
Columbia:
Confesión a Laura (Confessing to Laura) (1991) -- a love story set in civil war in Colombia following the assassination of liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948
Condores no entierran todos los dias (A Man of Principle) (1984) -- a man running a cheese business turns professional killer in the troubles plaguing Columbia in 1948
Venezuela:
X El Caracazo (2005) – Venezuela told by an international court to compensate the victims of the riots in the events of El Carcazo, Feb. 27, 1989
Amanecio de Golpe (Coup At Daybreak) (1998) -- '92 coup in Venezuela with Hugo Chávez
X Carlos (2010) -- 3-DVD box set of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization (raided OPEC headquarters in 1975)
Peru:
X La boca del lobo (The Jaws of the Wolf) (1988) -- in an isolated village, Peruvian soldiers surrounded by terrorists ($50)
Días de Santiago (2004) -- ex-Peruvian war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder can't get his life together
Ojos Que No Ven (2003) -- troubles under Japanese-Peruvian President Fujimoro of Peru
La Teta Asustada (The Milk of Sorrow) (2009) -- times of the war against terrorism leads to violation of human rights, which has a profound impact on a young Peruvian woman
Paloma de papel (literally Paper Dove)(2003) -- effect of civil war between Shining Path and Peruvian villagers
Lima: Breaking the Silence (1998) -- terrorist assault in Lima, Peru, 1996
Doble Juego (Con Game) (2004) -- set in days of collapse under President Fujimoro of Peru
Bolivia:
X La tierra ardía (2005) – set in the Chacos War (1932-1935) between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Gran Chaco region falsely thought to be rich in oil (Paraquay got 3/4s of the area)
X El 'Che' Guevara (Bloody Che Contra) (1968) -- Che Guevara's desperate attempt to escape the mountains of Bolivia, pursued by a determined CIA agent
X El coraje del pueblo (The Courage of the People) (1971) – a reenactment of the 1967 government-ordered massacre of striking tin miners in Bolivia
X Yawar mallku (1969) -- social struggle in Bolivia in the 1960s
Chile:
X Cautiverio Feliz (1998) – 17th century Chile
X It's Raining on Santiago (1976) -- military overthrow of Chile's leftist government -- ($75 for a used DVD)
Missing (1982) -- search for a young American who disappeared during the aftermath of the 1973 US overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in Chile
Chico (2001) -- a determined communist filled with rage becomes an idealistic journalist, but also fights for Croatia against the Serbs
Of Love and Shadows (1994) -- fighting against the military dictatorship that followed the overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in Chile
Dulce país (Sweet Country) (1978) -- following two couples and their reactions to the 1973 overthrow of the Allende government in Chile
X Actas de Marusia (Letters from Marusia) (1975) -- a 1907 massacre of miners in Chile is an allegory for the military coup of 1973 ($42)
X Post Mortem (2010) -- autopsy reporter falls in love with a stripper but during the dictatorship she just disappears and he tries to find her
X No (2012) -- second part of director Pablo Larrain's trilogy about Chile during the dictatorial reign of Augusto Pinochet about a civil servant transformed by the 1973 military coup
The Black Pimpernel (2007) -- after the military coupe in Chile, the Swedish ambassador to Chile saves more than 1,300 lives by moving them to Sweden
Mi mejor enemigo (My Best Enemy) (2005) -- the 1978 Beagle Conflict between Argentina and Chile over three islands south of Tierra del Fuego
Machuca (2004) -- overthrow of Allende government leads to a split in friendship among school chums
Pinochet in Suburbia (aka Pinochet's Last Stand) (2006) -- in 1998 British authorities arrest the ex-dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet
Rapa Nui (1994) -- a love story set amidst civil war on Easter Island, Chile
Argentina:
X Días de mayo (Days of May) (2008) -- dictatorship
Darse cuenta (Becoming Aware) (1984) – becoming aware of just how bleak and hard life is under the Argentine military dictatorship, 1976-1983
X Los dias de junio (June Days) (1985) –
X Tangos, el exilio de Gardel (Tangos, the Exile of Gardel) (1985) – Argentine ex-patriots in Paris
X Made in Argentina (1987) -- Argentine family pushed apart by politics reunites but they are still divided by politics
The Official Story (1985) -- continued political problems (the ones who disappeared) in modern Argentina
Lo que vendrá (Times to Come) (1988) -- increasing power of the police state, 1976-1983
X El Arreglo (The Arrangement) (1983) -- a police inspector uncovers murders by a Latin American government using torture
Los Pasos Perdidos (The Lost Steps) (2001) -- a grandfather tries to get back his granddaughter whose parents just "disappeared"
Cautiva (Captive) (2003) -- a young woman's search for her true identity brings her to a knowledge of terrible things that happened in Argentina under the military dictatorship backed the the United States
La Noche de los Lapices (The Night of Pencils) (1986) -- 12 students, arrested in La Plata for advocating changes in bus fares, just disappear
Garage Olimpo (1999) --
Imagining Argentina (2003) -- missing persons in Argentina
Buenos Aires Vice Versa (1996) – one result of the Argentine military dictatorship was a group of youth with murdered relatives
X La Cara del Ángel (The Face of an Angel) (2006) – terrible effects of the military dictatorship’s murderous policies as seen by a small boy
Crónica de una fuga (Chronicle of an Escape) (2006) – four men narrowly escape death at the hands of a military death squad during the Argentina military dictatorship
Kamchatka (2002) – a family hiding from the government in rural Argentina
Apartment Zero (1988) -- the Argentine government hires foreign mercenaries to eliminate leftists
Mi mejor enemigo (My Best Enemy) (2005) -- the 1978 Beagle Conflict between Argentina and Chile over three islands south of Tierra del Fuego
La Deuda Interna (Veronico Cruz) -- poor Indian joins the Argentine navy and sees action in the Falklands War
X Los Chicos de la guerra (The Boys of War) (1985) -- four young soldiers in the 1982 Falklands War
Iluminados por el fuego (Blessed by Fire) (2005) -- Argentine anti-war film about the Falklands War
An Ungentlemanly Act (1992) -- British Royal Marines defend the Governor of the Falkland Islands
Bolivia (2001) -- Bolivian immigrant in Argentina finds big challenges
Esperando al mesías (Waiting for the Messiah ) (2000) -- Argentine middle-class hurt by the economic crisis as seen in the lives of average Argentines, including a Jewish family
Uruguay:
X Under Uruguay (2010) --Tupamoras fight military dictatorship are met with mass arrests and torture
State of Siege (1972) -- in Uruguay assassination of an American who was sent to teach torture to the local police
Brazil:
Carlota Joaquina - Princesa do Brazil (Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil) (1995) – Carlotta (1775-1830) was in 1785 officially married to the future John VI, King of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (reign 1816-1826)
Guerra de Canudos (The Battle of Canudos) (1997) – war of Canudos in the late 1890's that was Brazil’s bloodiest civil war
X Memorias do carcere (Memories of Prison) (1984) – during the 1930's Getúlio Vargas dictatorship (1930-1945) in Brazil, a left-wing writer finds himself in prison
Olga (2004) – German-born Jewish communist female pretends to be wife of Brazilian communist leader; both arrested during Vargas dictatorship and she is sent to Nazi Germany
Olga Benario: A Life for the Revolution (2004) -- the story of Olga Benario, a communist, Jewish-German who worked for a better life for people in Germany and in Brazil and the consequences she faced
Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) (1958) -- life amidst the minorities in Brazil and their deep involvement in Carnival
Pixote (1981) -- the life of a poor boy in Brazil
City of God -- modern day consequences of slavery and racism in Brazil
Cobra Verde (1987) -- young Brazilian goes to West Africa to round up slaves, starring Klaus Kinski (English subtitles)
The Burning Season (1994) -- Chico Mendez attempts to protect the Brazilian forests and the rubber workers
O Que É Isso, Companheiro? (Four Days in September) (1997) -- to oppose the military dictatorship in 1969 young Brazilian leftists kidnap the American ambassador to Brazil
O Ano em Que Meus Pais Sairam de Férias (The Year my Parents went on Vacation) (2006) -- set against the military dictatorship in Brazil, 1964-1985
Macunaima (Jungle Freaks) (1969) -- a comedy set against the turmoil of the Brazilian military coup
X Lamarca (1994) -- during the military dictatorship in Brazil, a captain deserts the Brazilian Army and becomes one of the most prominent leaders of left-wing guerilla groups
X Tenda do Milagres (Tent of Miracles) (1977) -- racism in Brazil
X Os fuzis (The Guns) (1964)-- hunger in the sertâo (backcountry) accompanied by violence between soldiers and peasants
La terra degli uomini rossi (Birdwatchers) (2008) -- set in Mato Grosso do Sul , Brazil, the destitute local Indians stage an uprising against the wealthy fazenderos (owners of farming plantations)
Bye, Bye Brasil (Bye, Bye Brazil) (1980) -- a caravan act starts to go down hill as the old Brazil starts vanishing and the caravan comes to be replaced with movie theaters and television
Mexico:
La ley de Herodes (Herod's Law) -- political corruption in Mexico
Rosa Blanca (translation: White Rose) (1961) (released 1972) -- set in 1930s when powerful oil companies appropriate vast amounts of Mexican land; farmer resists and tragedy ensues (banned until 1972)
Arráncame la vida (Tear This Heart Out) (2008) -- a general sets himself up as a dictator in the state of Puebla; under leadership of his brother President Camacho (1940-1946)
Río escondido (1948) -- (No English subtitles) a dedicated school teacher works in a poverty-stricken community, set during presidency of Miguel Alemán Valdés (1946-1952)
X México '68 (2010) – Mexican student revolt of 1968
Canoa (1976) -- a group of university employees get into real trouble when they are mistaken for Communists
Rojo amanecer (1989) -- family's physical security threatened by their sons' commitment to the 1968 student revolt
X Crates (1970) -- post-1968 militant students have hard time adjusting in face of government repression and society's indifference (Carl J. Mora "Mexican Cinema")
X Mecánica nacional (National Mechanics) (1972) ---- criticism of Mexican lower middle class values; clearly no new Mexican revolution can come from these shallow, sybaritic young people (Carl J. Mora "Mexican Cinema")
X El Cambio (The Change) (1971) -- a kind of Mexican "Easy Rider"
Raíces de sangre (Roots of Blood) (1976) -- attempts to form labor union for the employees of maquiladoras (the mostly American-owned assembly plants along the Mexico border with USA)
X Lola (1989) -- set against the background of the 1985 earthquake, story of a woman overwhelmed by urban existence; awarded two Best First Feature prizes in Latin American film festivals
El violin (The Violin) (2005) -- grandfather tries to retrieve ammunition for the guerilla movement behind government army lines
Mexican emigration:
X El Jardín del Edén (The Garden of Eden) (1994) -- three main stories interwoven dealing with emigration from Mexico (focus is on Tijuana)
X Al otro lado (2004) -- To the Other Side; stories of Cuban boy, Moroccan girl and Mexican boy and the effects of emigration on their lives
X Espaldas mojadas (1955) -- Wet Backs; film made to discourage Mexicans from emigrating to the USA; Mexican illegals at mercy of exploiters and fearful of being discovered
Other:
X L'homme sur les quais (The Man on the Shore) (1993) -- story of Dr. François Duvalier ("Papa Doc") President for Life of Haiti 1957-1971 responsible for 30,000 dead
XVI.2. VIETNAM WAR Back to Chapter XVI Back to Contents
X 317th Platoon (1965) -- the French in Indochina (used $40)
Lost Command (1966) -- from French Indochina to French-Algerian guerilla warfare in North Africa
X Hoa-Binh (1970 – French film on French experience in Vietnam
X The Quiet American (2011) -- early American covert involvement in Vietnam
X LBJ: The Early Years (1987) Randy Quaid ($85 for a new VHS tape)
Path to War (2002)-- the decisions by LBJ to escalate the conflict in Vietnam to the Vietnam War
Bobby (2006) -- assassination of Robert F. Kennedy just after his winning the California primary
Go Tell the Spartans (1978) -- early years of Vietnam War
The Green Berets (1968) -- early film in support of the Vietnam War by ultra-conservative John Wayne
A Rumor of War (1980) – TV miniseries about US Marine in the early years of American involvement in the Vietnam War
We Were Soldiers (2002) -- first major battle of the Vietnam War
The Boys in Company C (1977) -- Vietnam War
Gardens of Stone (1987) -- the gardens of stone are the cemetery stones of Arlington National Cemetery; the film deals with the determination of a member of the cemetery guard who really wants to serve in Vietnam War.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) -- Marine basic training and combat in the Tet Offensive of 1968
The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989) -- one unit caught in the Tet Offensive
Hamburger Hill (1987) -- fight for a hill takes 10 tries
X Apocalypse Now (1979) -- director Francis Ford Coppola
X Apocalypse Now Redux (1979) -- an improved version of Apocalypse Now
Platoon (1986) -- war is hell (and finally so on film)
The Odd Angry Shot (1979) -- Australians fight in the Vietnam War
White Badge (1992) – South Korean film about the experiences of South Korean soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War
84C MoPic (1989) -- unknown actors star in film shot in documentary style about new lieutenant and cameraman combining with unit in Vietnam to make a training film
X Brothers In Arms: The Story of the Crew of Patrol Craft Fast 94 (2004) -- the future Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry heads a six-man team patrolling the Mekong Delta in early 1969
Under Heavy Fire -- a disunited Marine unit seeks to heal itself by returning to Vietnam
Forrest Gump (1994) -- fanciful story but covers a lot of historical events
X Born on the Fourth of July (Ron Kovac Story) (1989) -- all-American soldier boy becomes disillusioned after being wounded in the Vietnam War
X Friendly Fire (1979)-- a woman fights the US army to learn the truth about how her son died in Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) -- radio broadcaster in Vietnam comes under a great deal of censorship by the US army
Heaven and Earth (2006) -- story of a Vietnamese woman caught in the turmoil of the Vietnam War
Dat Kho (Land of Sorrows) (1973) -- the great travails of a Vietnamese family before and during the Tet Offensive in Hue
Hanoi Hilton (1987) -- American P.O.W.s' brutal treatment in North Vietnam's Hoa Lo Prison
Faith of my Fathers (2005) -- story of John McCain (senator from Arizona) and his military experiences in Vietnam
X In Love and War (1987) -- US Navy Commander James Stockdale's 8 year imprisonment in North Vietnam
X Medium Cool (1969) -- Democratic convention of 1968 (new DVD for $145)
Boat People (1983) -- after Vietnam War
Green Dragon (2001) – before and after the fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War, refugee camps are set up in the US desert to accommodate over 100,000 Vietnamese immigrants
Heroes de otra patria (Heroes of Another Country) (1998) -- trouble for Puerto Rican families and their sons when the sons are drafted to fight in the Vietnam War
X Last Stand at Lang Mei (1989) -- American soldiers surrounded (currently unavailable)
X USS Constellation: Battling for Freedom (2007) – saw action in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf
X Vietnam (1987) -- TV mini -series; Australian film about the Vietnam war from Australian perspective
The Killing Fields -- Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; mass extermination
The Fortunes of War (1994) -- a relief worker sent to Cambodia knowing nothing about the politics in the nation finds himself in deep trouble
Angkor: Cambodia Express (Kampuchea Express) (1982) -- American journalist travels back to Cambodia to get the girlfriend he had to leave behind after the Khmer Rouge came to power
The Iron Triangle (1989) -- American army officer learns respect for a young Viet Cong soldier
Troubles for Vietnam War Vets Adjusting to Civilian Live:
X Distant Thunder (1988) -- Vietnam vet in trouble
X The War at Home (1996) -- flashbacks trouble a Vietnam vet
In Country (1989) -- daughter's struggle to find out more about her father, who died in Vietnam before she was born
X The Last Full Measure (2004) -- emotions of a nine-year-old girl awaiting her father's return from the Vietnam War
The Deer Hunter (1978) -- difficulties adjusting back home
X A Street to Die (1985) -- an Australian veteran of the Vietnam War has difficulties back home (including the effects of Agent Orange)
Cayo (2005) -- Puerto Rican Vietnam vet from the island of Culebra has difficulties adjusting to civilian life
X The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969) – a young veteran struggles to reclaim his life after Vietnam
X Rolling Thunder (1977) – after 7 years as a POW in Hanoi, a Major returns to his small Texas town to find that everything seems different to him now
X Sticks and Bones (1973) – black comedy of a blind Vietnam vet who feels guilty over his actions on the battlefield and no one in his family can understand him
X Jackknife (1989) -- Vietnam vet has trouble fitting in with society
X Coming Home (1978) -- injured Vietnam War vet's difficulties re-entering civilian life
X Combat Shock (1986) -- a Vietnam vet starts losing his grip on reality
Three Seasons (1999) -- an American veteran looks for his daughter in Ho Chi Minh City
XVI.3. HIPPIE ERA Back to Chapter XVI Back to Contents
X The Graduate (1967) -- statement of youth disillusionment in America
X Easy Rider (1969) -- free spirits on motorcycle tour of red-neck America
X Woodstock (1970) -- documentary of famous 1969 huge rock concert in upstate NY
X Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival (1996) -- British Woodstock
1969 (1988) -- youth protest in the time of the draft and the Vietnam war
X Four Friends (1981) -- catches the craziness of the era
X Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) -- reunion of 7 anti-war activists at age 30
X Hair (1979) -- musical catching the spirit of the times
X Crumb (1994) -- a sexual cartoonist's self-imposed exile from puritan US
X Helter-Skelter (1976) -- Charlie Manson, the ultimate Hippie
X Panther -- the radical Black Panther Party
X The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979) 1974 kidnapping of heiress; Lisa Eilbacher, Dennis Weaver, Stephen Elliott
X Patty Hearst (1988)
X Attica (1991) -- prison uprising in upstate New York
X The Killing Yard (2001) -- trial of the bloodshed and cover-up of the use of excessive force to put down an Attica prison uprising
X Against the Wall (1994) -- dramatization of the 1971 Attica prison uprising
X The Greatest (1977) -- Muhammad Ali chronicles his life
X Don King: Only in America (1997) -- the corrupt boxing promoter of Ali-Frazier, Larry Holmes
X Steal This Movie (2000) -- story of radical Abbe Hoffman & secret illegal government wire-tapping of dissenters in Nixon's America
X The Rose (1979) -- wild singer Janis Joplin
X The Doors (1991) -- Jim Morrisson, lead singer of the band, the Doors
X Sid and Nancy (1986) --
X Give Me Shelter (1970) -- murder at Altamont concert crushes flower power
XVII. THE TRIUMPH OF THE REACTIONARIES AND CONSERVATIVES IN THE U.S.A. (1968-2008) Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
XVII.1. BACKLASH: NIXON & THE 70's (Nixon, the last Keynesian conservative for a long while) Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
George Wallace (1997) -- racist governor of Alabama and presidential candidate who was the spokesman for all the rednecks around the country
X Good Night, Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston (1990) -- white killer blames blacks
X Howard Beach Making the Case for Murder (1989) -- whites attack black man in Howard Beach
Nixon (1995) -- Oliver Stone directed
All the President's Men -- Washington Post reporters track down Nixon and Watergate
The Pentagon Papers (2003) -- negative report written by the Pentagon on the War in Vietnam released in parts to the public
Kissinger and Nixon (1995)
Frost/Nixon (2008) -- if the President of the United States does it, then it's legal (Nixon and Watergate)
Philadelphia (1993) -- AIDS and discrimination in a law firm in Philadelphia, Pa.
And the Band Played On (1993) -- AIDS research
The Last Days of Disco (1998) -- life at famous disco night club, Studio 54, in NYC
54 (1998) -- Studio 54 and lots of drugs
Joe (1970) -- what scared the hippies and leftists the most; the multitude of Rednecks in the USA favorable to using violence to put down all leftists
X Robert Kramer Collection (Milestones, 1975; second movie is called Ice, 1970) -- tales involving the radical students opposed to the Vietnam War and American materialism No Link
XVII.2. POST-WAR VIETNAM Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
Journey from the Fall (2006) -- one Vietnamese family's experiences as Vietnamese boat people
The Beautiful Country (2004) -- a Vietnamese young man born of an American soldier father has a rough time with prejudice in Vietnam and tries to find his dad in the United States
Ba Mua (Three Seasons) (1999) -- residents of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) have to adjust to the new capitalist trends in the city
X The Company (2007) – traces CIA activities over a 40-year period, from the beginning of the Cold War through the demise of the Soviet Union
XVII.3. RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENCY, 1981-1989: MORE BACKLASH (and Thatcher in Great Britain) Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
The Reagans (2003) --
X The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) -- President Reagan
Beyond Rangoon (1995) -- American tourist gets caught up in the repression of the military dictatorship in Burma
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) -- Reagan sends in the Marines to save American medical on the Caribbean Island of Granada
X Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)-- 1983 false charges of molestation against day-care workers
Riff-Raff (1990) -- British working life under Prime Minister Thatcher
Out of the Present (1995) -- cosmonaut delayed in space and comes back to a very changed Russia
Va, vis et deviens (Live and Become) (2005) -- French and Hebrew (primarily) with subtitles, following the life of a boy rescued during Operation Moses when the Falashas were airlifted from Ethiopia (1980)
X Bhutto Biopic (2009) – first woman elected to lead a Muslim state; Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988–1990; 1993–1996); assassinated
X Rise and Fall of Margaret Thatcher (2011) -- trilogy of Britain's first female prime minister (1979-1990)
X 1) Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley (2008) -- first part of trilogy; coming from Finchley, she became Britain's first female prime minister (1979-1990)
X 2) The Falklands Play (2002) -- first part of trilogy; Thatcher and the decision to take the Falklands back from Argentina
X 3) Margaret -- first part of trilogy; Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's last years in office along with flashbacks to earlier events in her career
X Thatcher: The Final Days -- final days of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (currently unavailable)
X The Iron Lady (2011) -- Margaret Thatcher played by Meryl Streep
XVII.4. GEORGE BUSH I PRESIDENCY, 1989-1993 Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
Moving the Mountain (1994) -- massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, May 1989
Yihe yuan (Summer Palace) (2006) -- non-love stories of troubled young people in China set against the massacre at Tiananmen Square
Lan Yu (2001) -- Gay romance set against Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
X The Lady (2011 ) -- Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi is arrested and held under house arrest for 15 of the 21 years from 1889 and 2010; she was separated from her family; she is one of the world's most prominent political prisoners
X Strange Justice (1999) -- Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas and charges of sexual harassment
XVII.5. BILL CLINTON PRESIDENCY, 1993-2000: a brief respite from reactionary conservatism Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
Bill Clinton Presidency, 1993-2000: a brief respite from reactionary conservatism
X Primary Colors (1998) -- critical look at candidate Bill Clinton
X Wag the Dog (1997) -- pseudo-scenario with implications for President Clinton, but more applicable to George Bush II
X Get on the Bus (1996) -- Oct 16, 1995 Million Man March led by Lewis Farrakhan of Black Muslims
Selena -- Mexican-American singer becomes pop success and then is murdered, 1995
X Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992) --
The Queen (2006) -- Queen Elizabeth II and her difficulties opening up to others
The Queen's Sister (2005) -- biopic of Queen Elizabeth II's sister Margaret (Peggy) who had a knack for getting into trouble
The Deal (2003) -- nasty fight between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for the leadership of the Labor Party of Great Britain
X The Trial of Tony Blair (2007) -- satire about British Prime Minister Tony Blair
The Special Relationship (2010) -- close relationship between Tony Blair of Britain and Bill Clinton
X Diana - Her True Story (1993) -- 1981 engaged to the Prince of Wales; she died in 1997
XVII.6. GEORGE BUSH II, 2001-2009: MORE INEQUALITY, BACKLASH, SEMI-FASCISM, ANOTHER EXPENSIVE WAR AND ECONOMIC COLLAPSE Back to Chapter XVII Back to Contents
W (2008) -- story of the worst president of the United States George Bush II and psychological reasons behind his terrible decisions
Recount (2008) -- Florida becomes a political battleground in 2000 when Ron Klain and Al Gore's campaign advisers push for a recount of the state's ballots
Rudy (2003) -- the story of Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City and 9-11 fame
The Hamburg Cell (2004) -- background of Muslim 9-11 attack
X DC 9/11 - Time of Crisis (2003) -- days following 9-11 attack
X United 93 (2006) -- on 9/11/2001 the story of the fourth hijacked plane
X Flight 93 (2006) -- 9/11/2001
X World Trade Center (2006) -- two of the last survivors extracted from the debris of the World Trade Center and their rescuers
X The Path to 9/11 (2006) -- mini-series of events leading up to 9/11
X Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing (1997) -- events leading up to the bombing of the New York City World Trade Center
X Bukit Kepong (1981) – political terrorism in Malayasia
Iraq War:
A Nation Deceived (2006) -- Bush and Cheney lie the nation into a war with Iraq (with Ed Asner)
X Fahrenheit 9-11 (2004) -- Bush & Co. use fear to win elections and wage unnecessary war
The Road to Guantanamo (2006) -- three Pakistani-British citizens in Afghanistan are tortured by American soldiers
Khuda Ke Liye (meaning "In the Name of God") (2007) -- a Pakistani student in the USA gets arrested following 9/11 hysteria
Rendition (2007) -- USA sends an innocent man accused of terrorism to be tortured at the hands of Egypt's secret police
A Mighty Heart (2007) -- death of journalist for the Wall Street Journal at the hands of a terrorist group in Pakistan
Why We Fight (2006) -- military-industrial complex leads to continued wars for the US
Syriana (2005) -- cynical look at almost all the actors dealing with the politics of oil in the Middle East
Embedded (2005) -- satire of the Iraq War and its starters and promoters, including the news reporters embedded with the American troops
X Redacted (2007) -- pressures on American soldiers leads to criminal acts
Battle for Haditha (2007) – based on the Haditha killings incident in which US marines killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children on November 19, 2005
X Grace Is Gone (2007) – a father who does not want to tell his two daughters that their mother has died while serving in Iraq
Home of the Brave (2006) -- three soldiers, including a doctor, have difficulty adjusting to life at home following a long and difficult tour of duty in Iraq
X The Lucky Ones (2008) -- three Iraqi War veterans suffering from various stages of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder go on a road trip
X Saving Jessica Lynch (2003) -- the US army deliberately fudges a story to make a woman soldier a hero to help with the army's image -- ($29)
X Generation Kill (2008) - HBO Iraq War miniseries about first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003
X Nassiryia - Per non dimenticare (2007) – a terrorist attack in Iraq, November 12, 2003, kills 24 Italians participating in a peace keeping mission (no English options)
The Hurt Locker (2008) -- the problems facing a bomb squad in Iraq with the overwhelming number of IEDs to defuse or explode
Fair Game (2010) -- Bush II lies the USA into war
with Iraq and then Cheney tries to punish Joe Wilson and his wife for exposing
the lies
Green Zone (2010) -- army inspectors sniff out a huge cover-up while looking for weapons of mass destruction
XVIII. STIRRINGS OF REVOLT AND FREEDOM IN THE SOVIET BLOC Back to Chapter XVIII Back to Contents
Hungary:
X Joy Division ( Der Feind im Inneren ) ( Vörös vihar ) (2006) -- teenage orphan fights against the Red Army at the end of WWII and later 'adopted' by a Commissar; still later he is sent to London during the Cold war to work for the KGB, where he questions his life (in English)
Tüzoltó utca 25 (25 Fireman's Street) (2004) -- Hungary and trouble with Nazis and the Communists
Csend és kiáltás (Silence and Cry) (1967) -- the rightist police in Hungary track down and kill former Hungarian Red Army soldiers
X Napló gyermekeimnek (Diary for My Children) (1984) -- 1943 to 1956 Marta Mesazaros experienced WWII in Hungary and then Communist tyranny (her father was a Communist artist who died under mysterious circumstances during a Stalinist purge) (English subtitles)
X Csocsó, avagy éljen május elseje! (May Day Mayhem!) (2001) -- Hungary in time of the communist regime; everyone knows how to act robotically, but one fearless man just won't (English subtitles)
Szökés (Escape from Recsk) (1997) -- political Hungarians of the wrong persuasion secretly arrested and sent to labor camp at Recsk
A Tanú (The Witness) (1969) -- satire of Stalinist government in Hungary
X Fényes szelek (The Confrontation) (1969) -- story of rebellion in Hungary 1947 after the Communist Party had just taken power (English subtitles)
Guilty of Treason (1950) -- Cardinal Josef Mindszenty protests against Soviet occupation of Hungary and is persecuted for it
Sunshine (1999) -- three generations of Hungarian Jews from c. 1900 to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
Szabság, Szabszerelem (Children of Glory) (2006) -- a growing number of Hungarians are demanding independence and are willing to fight for it
X Édes Emma, drága Böbe - vázlatok, aktok (Sweet Emma Dear Bobe) (1992) -- realities of in post-Communist Hungary are brought to life in this compassionate story of two young women, Emma and Bobe, who move from the countryside to Budapest where life is supposedly richer (English subtitles)
X A temetetlen halott (The Unburied Man) (2004) – Imre Nagy (1896–1958) was PM of Hungary; his second term was ended by the Soviet invasion during Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (no English options)
X Eldorádó (The Midas Touch) (1988) -- life in Hungary after the WW2 until the revolt against Russians in 1956 (Hungarian subtitles)
X Liberté '56 (Liberty '56) (2007) -- Hungarian Revolution
X Köszönet a szabadság höseinek (2006) – Hungarian Revolution
X Csendkút (2007) – Hungarian Revolution
X A nap utcai fiúk (2007) -- Hungarian Revolution
X Napló apámnak, anyámnak (1990) -- a young female student grows to adulthood in the shadow of the Hungarian Revolution
X Megáll az idö (Time Stands Still) (1982) -- two brothers during the uprisings of the 1960's in Budapest
No Greater Love (2005) -- a 16 minute short film about the Hungarian refugees following the Hungarian Revolution
X Szabadság tér '56 (56 Freedom Square) (1997) – Hungarian Revolution
X Budakeszi srácok (2006) -- Hungarian Revolution
X Az asszony (1996) – Hungarian Revolution
The Journey (1959) -- Lady Ashmore is caught in Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution and wants to get out of Hungary accompanied by a Hungarian dissenter wanted by the police
X Egy hét Pesten és Budán (A Long Weekend in Pest and Buda) (2003) -- a retiree forced to leave Hungary during the ‘56 revolution returns to his homeland (English subtitles)
Czechoslovakia:
X Der Prager Frühling (2008) – January-August 1968 escalating conflict between the reforms of party leader Alexander Dubcek in Czechoslovakia and Russians who invaded on August 21, 1968
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) -- Czech Rebellion against Soviet Union occupation, 1968
X Rani radovi (Early Works) (1969) -- Yugoslavian film depicting the aftermath of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
X Prague Duet (Lies & Whispers) (2008) -- Dr. Lauren Graham's life is turned upside down when she learns that her grandfather is accused of war crimes
Horí, má panenko (The Firemen's Ball) (1967) -- political satire of failure of Czech communist rule just before the crushing of the Czech Rebellion, 1968
Poland:
X Podróz do Moskwy (1999) – Poland and the Soviet Union and Stalin
Mala Moskwa (Little Moscow) (2008) -- a love story set in 1967, Legnica (headquarters of the Soviet forces in Poland ), comprising a Soviet enclave closed to outsiders
Czlowiek z marmuru (Man of Marble) (1977) -- in Poland, criticism of Stalinist Realism of Nowa Huta, a new socialist city (followed up by Man of Iron)
General Nil (2009) – twentieth century Polish hero, Emil Fieldorf (1895-1953), aka General Nil, executed under Soviet occupation of Poland
Czlowiek z zelaza (Man of Iron) (1981) -- Solidarity labor movement that helped the Poles push for Polish independence from the Soviet Union (follow up to Man of Marble)
To Kill a Priest (1988) -- Catholic priest Jerzy Popieluszko allies himself with the Polish Solidarity movement
X Popieluszko: Wolnosc jest w nas (Popieluszko: Freedom Is Within Us) (2009) -- The Solidarity Chaplain killed by the Soviets (currently unavailable)
X Karol, un uomo diventato Papa (Karol: A Man Who Became Pope) (2005) -- from 1939 German Invasion to almost through end of Soviet Occupation of Poland
Rozmowy kontrolowane (Calls Controlled) (1991) -- black comedy about the outbreak of Martial Law in Poland in 1981-1983
Romania:
Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii (The Way I Spent the End of the World) (2006) -- Eva desperately wants to get out of Romania; to keep his sister home her young brother decides to kill dictator Ceausescu
Amintiri din epoca de aur (Tales from the Golden Age) (2009) – personal history of the late Communist period in Romania
Balanta (The Oak) (1992) -- 1989 Romania just before the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu; a young woman finds out that her adored father was certainly no hero
Bulgaria:
X Vchera (Yesterday) (1988) -- students at a Bulgarian English-learning school fight to participate in the modern western world
X Otkradnati ochi (Stolen Eyes) (2005) -- Bulgarian man who loves a Turkish woman is caught in the "regeneration process" in Bulgaria; ethnic Turk names were forcibly changed to Bulgarian ones
Others:
X Vienui Vieni (Utterly Alone) (2003) -- 1950-1951, Jonas Vaitkus fights against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania
XIX. BOSNIA-KOSOVA-SERBIA WAR Back to Chapter XIX Back to Contents
X Bombaski proces (1978) --Tito from history as young communist to communist president of Yugoslavia
X Cetverored (1999) -- based on the Bleiburg massacre May 1945 toward the end of WWII of fascist Croatians by Yugoslavian communists under Tito
Tito i ja (Tito and Me) (1992) -- a small boy writes the best essay in honor of Tito, Yugoslavia's strong man
Otac na sluzbenom putu (When Father Was Away on Business) (1985) -- boy whose father was sent to prison by Tito thinks he's away on business
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) -- journalists in war in Bosnia become emotionally involved
Harrison's Flowers (2000) -- woman searches for her photographer husband in war-torn Yugoslavia
Grbavica (Esma's Secret: Grbavica) (2005) -- systematic rapes of Bosnian women by Serbian troops has terrible after effects
Where Eskimos Live (2002) -- man and war orphan bind to each other while on a journey through war-torn Bosnia
No Man's Land (2001) -- a Bosnian & a Serbian soldier, both wounded, find themselves together stranded in no man's land
Savior (1998) -- a hard-hearted Foreign Legion mercenary softens his heart when confronted with atrocities during the fighting in Bosnia
Shot Through the Heart (1998) -- two friends on opposing sides in the Bosnia-Serbia conflict find themselves at odds
Lepa sela lepo gore (Pretty Village, Pretty Flame) (1996) -- two men who grew up together find themselves on opposing sides in the Bosnia-Serbia conflict
Guerreros (Warriors) (2002) -- Spanish soldiers at war in Kosovo in 2000
Go West (2005) -- a homosexual couple wants to flee Serbia for western Europe to escape all the violence
Behind Enemy Lines (2001) -- American pilots downed behind Serb lines
Chico (2001) -- a determined communist filled with rage sees the overthrow of Allende in Chile, becomes an idealistic political journalist and ends up fighting for Croatia against the Serbs
X Tirana, année zéro (Tirana Year Zero) (2002) -- problems of a young couple in post-communist Albania considering moving out of the country like so many others
X Burgu i Mërgimit (The Prison of Migration) -- 1990s Albania; suffering of ex-patriate Albanians including staying out of jails of ex-Yugoslavia
X Savrseni krug (The Perfect Circle) (1997) – Bosnian poet befriends two orphans and they all try to survive the hell of the siege of Sarajevo (currently unavailable)
The Hunting Party (2007) -- in search of a Serbian war criminal that the CIA, etc. can't (or won't?) catch
X Résolution 819 (Resolution 819) (2008) -- the Bosnia War's Srebrenica massacre
X Alia: A Bosniac Rhapsody (2008) -- Bosnian War
X Zivi i mrtvi (The Living and the Dead) (2007) -- Bosnian Croat Army defends its homeland in the Yugoslavian Civil War
Stille Sehnsuchi (Warchild) (2006) -- a mother searches for her daughter taken from her when the family was forced into an internment camp
X Armin (2007) -- a father takes his son Armin on a trip from Bosnia to Croatia
Peacekeepers (Warriors) (1999) -- British soldiers sent to Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission and from the start they are up to their necks in troubling situations
X War Crimes (2005)-- six recent British graduates travel to Bosnia and are confronted by the war there; they desperately try to get out of Bosnia alive
Mathilde (2004) -- during the Balkans War, in Croatia Colonel Pertis of the U.N. falls in love with Mathilde, a local girl, and he loses his perspective on his duties
Special Relationship (2010) -- Pres. Clinton of the USA dominates the close relationship he has with British P.M. Tony Blair; but with the Monica Lewinsky Affair, Clinton takes a back-set to Blair
Demony wojny wedlug Goi (Demons of War) (1998) -- Polish UN peacekeepers in the Yugoslavian civil war (the Balkan War)
Jours tranquilles ŕ Sarajevo (Quiet Days at Sarajevo) (1999) -- the quiet hours enjoyed by city residents in spite war and death raging around them
In the Name of the Son (2007) -- a Serbian father snaps and shoots his own son for having fought alongside the Muslims of Bosnia
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) -- a Muslim woman raped by the Serbs plots her revenge
XX. TROUBLES IN AFRICA. Back to Chapter XX Back to Contents
Civil War in Angola
O Herói (The Hero) (2004) -- 20 year civil war veteran returns to the capital of Luanda, Angola
Na cidade vazia (Hollow City) (2004) -- a child escaping the civil war finds himself in trouble in the bitter political situation in Angola after the war
Burkina Faso
Moolaadé (2004 )-- -- a woman offers four girls protection from female genital mutilation and has to face male power and deeply-rooted tradition
Chad
Daresalam (2000) -- civil war in Chad
Congo Free State
Kongo (Congo) (2010) -- elite troops from Germany fight in eastern Congo; a military policewoman discovers a heinous crime in a rough war
X Kongo (1997) -- 3 DVD mini-series; a well-meaning colonial official working in a jungle district of the Belgian Congo in the waning years of white colonial rule has a rough times governing because of the many problems he faces; it gets worse when the call goes out for independence
Eritrea
Feuerherz (Heart of Fire (2l008) -- a young girl is trained to fight in one of Eritrea's liberation armies in the struggle for independence from Ethiopia; became independent in 1993
Madagascar
X Tabataba (1988) -- rebellion against the French leads to Madagascar's independence (French language only?) (currently unavailable)
Mozambique
Terra Sonâmbula (Sleepwalking Land) (2007) -- a boy makes a journey to find his own family in the turmoil of the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992)
Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda (2004) -- 1994 Rwanda genocide
Sometimes in April (2005) -- 1994 Rwanda genocide
Shooting Dogs (aka Beyond the Gates) (2005) -- true story of a Catholic priest and an English teacher caught in the 1994 Rwandan genocide
Shake Hands with the Devil (2007) -- the failure of the west to stop the genocide in Rwanda
Le jour ou Dieu est parti en voyage (The Day God Walked Away) (2009) -- a woman faces the horrors stemming from the Rwandan genocide
X We Are All Rwandans (2008) – short film of the true story of the Rwandan school students who risked everything to protect each other (amazon instant video)
Sierra Leone
Blood Diamonds (2006) -- civil war in Sierra Leone fueled by the money from the diamond trade
Ezra (2007) -- in Sierra Leone's civil war, a child soldiers faces a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and realizes he must come clean on the crimes he committed
Somalia
Black Hawk Down (2001) -- American troops caught in hostile territory in Mogadishu, Somalia, 1993.
X Ilaria Alpi - Il pi crudele dei giorni (The Cruelest Day) (2002) – woman war reporter in Somalia killed in the streets of Mogadishu March, 1994
Desert Flower (2009) -- in Somalia a 13 year old girl runs away from her mother and an arranged marriage; she moves to London, becomes a model and then the UN spokeswoman against female circumcision
Sudan (and the western part known as Darfur)
Darfur (Attack on Darfur) (2009) -- American journalists debate whether they should go home and report the atrocities in Darfur or stay and help some of the victims they have seen
Genocide in Africa: Uganda
The Last King of Scotland (2006) -- a Scottish doctor is seduced by the power provided by the Ugandan monster Idi Amin
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981) -- beginning 1975, the Uganda ruler kills a half-million of his nation's people
Dr. Lucille (2000) -- doctor working in Uganda through the Idi Amin years
Raid on Entebbe (1977) -- Israeli raid to free hostages at the Entebbe Airport, Uganda when it was under the murderer Idi Amin
Victory at Entebbe (1976) -- ditto
Zimbabwe
X Flame (1998) -- two women reminisce about their fighting in the war against the whites of Rhodesia
Game for Vultures (1979) -- a white Rhodesian smuggler buys American helicopters to present to Rhodesia in an act of sanction-busting, while a black Rhodesian man does his best to stop him
XXI. AMERICANISM VERSUS RADICAL ISLAM Back to Chapter XXI Back to Contents
ISRAEL and PALESTINE
Ben Gurion (1948-1954):
Exodus (1960) -- establishment of Israel
Kedma (2002) -- follows new immigrants to Israel shortly after the nation's founding
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) -- US Col. David "Mickey" Marcus goes to late-1940s Israel to reorganize its army
Orde Wingate (1976) -- play-like movie about commander Orde Wingate who became a Zionist during foreign service in Palestine and developed guerrilla tactics used by the Israelis; leads strikes into Burma in WWII
O Jerusalem (2006) -- a Jewish-American is friends with an Arab-Muslim but when British controlled Palestine erupts in war, the two friends find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict
X Alex Holeh Ahavah (Alex is Lovesick) (1986) -- romantic comedy set in the period of Austerity in Israel, 1949-1959
Mose Sharatt (1954-1955):
Ben Gurion (1955-1963):
X Operation Eichmann (1961) -- Israelis capture & execute a Nazi war criminal ($150 for a VHS tape)
Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) TV -- Nazi war criminal
Eichmann (2007) -- based upon the final "confession" of Adolf Eichmann
Levi Eshkol (1963-1969)
The Impossible Spy (1987) -- Israeli spy Eli Cohen performs a valuable espionage service while sacrificing his family and himself in the period before the 1967 Six Days' War
X Matzor (Siege) (1969) -- set during the Six Day War (June 1967), a woman loses her husband and tries to start a new life
Yigal Allon (1969):
Golda Meir (1969-1974):
A Woman Called Golda (1982) -- Israeli leader Golda Meir, prime minister 1969-1974
Munich (2005) -- death of the 1972 Israel Olympic team and the Israeli attempt to kill all those responsible
21 Hours at Munich (1976) -- terrorists capture Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games
Sword of Gideon (1986) -- Mossad team hunts down terrorists involved in the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes
Kippur (2000) -- war seen through the perspective of a member of a rescue squad, 1973
Yitzhak Rabin (1974-1977):
Menachem Begin (1977-1983):
Sadat (1983) -- President of Egypt Anwar
Sadat makes war on and then makes peace with Israel
X Ayyam El Sadat (The Days of Sadat) (2001) -- life of Anwar Sadat (currently unavailable)
Lebanon (2009) -- 1982, four young Israeli tank crewmen find themselves in a nightmarish deathtrap
Yitzhak Shamir (1983-1984):
Shimon Peres (1984-1986):
Yitzhak Shamir (1986-1992):
Ha Chaverim Shel Yana (Yana's Friends) (1999) -- Tel Aviv immigrants bond with each other during the Scud attacks of the Gulf War (1990-1991)
Yitzhak Rabin (1992-1995):
Shimon Peres (1995-1996)
Benjamin Netanyahu (1996-1999)
Ehud Barak (1999-2001):
Beaufort (2007) -- Israeli soldiers in the South Lebanon conflict at the Beaufort castle before the Israeli withdrawal in 2000
Ariel Sharon (2001-2006):
Ehurd Olmert (2006-2009):
Benjamin Netanyahu (2009- ?)
Other:
X Ha-Hesder (Time of Favor) (2002) -- Menachem, an Orthodox Army officer living in a West Bank settlement run by Rabbi Meltzer who preaches the need for Jews to rule all of the Holy Land, finds himself torn between duty and faith when he leads an all-Orthodox unit
Gmar Gavi'a (Cup Final) (1991) -- PLO squad in Lebanon takes an Israeli soldier hostage; the Israelis only want to see the world final soccer cup; his captors also love the game
X Rana's Wedding (2002) -- Palestinian woman who wants to marry has to go through many obstacles thrown up by the occupation
Wedding in Galilee (1988) -- in order for a Palestinian wedding to take place, they have to invite the occupation military governor
Etz Limon (Lemon Tree) (2009) -- Palestinian woman must fight a powerful Israeli couple to save her lemon tree orchard
Paradise Now (2005) -- two Palestinian buddies consider blowing themselves up in Tel Aviv, Israel
X David and Fatima (2008) -- an Israeli Romeo and a Palestinian Juliet try to survive the prejudice coming from both sides
X Ard al-Salam (Land of Peace) (1957) -- an Egyptian helps Palestinians free their village from Israeli control
X Ici et Ailleurs (Here and Elsewhere) (1974) -- a French family is compared to a Palestinian portrait
Yadon ilaheyya (Divine Intervention) (2002) -- a Palestinian man and woman are separated by hostile borders and have to find ways to meet
Private (2004) -- the home of a well-educated Palestinian family is raided by Israeli soldiers imprisoning the family on the ground floor while they take over the top floor as a lookout
X The Promise (2010) -- a four-part drama about Londoner Erin who goes to visit her friend in Israel for the summer; she finds her grandfather's old diary & learns disturbing truths about Palestine & the atrocities he witnessed
Free Zone (2005) -- two women, an American and an Israeli cab driver, drive into Jordan in order to retrieve money owed to the cab driver Hanna by a business partner; they are joined by a Palestinian woman, who is part of the family of the business partner, known as the American; they don't really discuss the Israel-Palestine question, focusing more on the matters of the heart (except for the question of where is the money owed to Hanna?); they form an emotional bound between them
Sof Shavua B'Tel Aviv (For my Father) (2008) -- suicide bomber has second thoughts about his mission after meeting some of the Israelis he was about to bomb
Homeland (2008) -- an Israeli man comes to New York City and falls in love with a Palestinian woman; will the politics of division divide the couple?
X The Time that Remains (2011) -- creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day
X The Little Traitor (Ha'boged Hakatan) (2007) -- 1947 Palestine just a few months before Israel becomes a state, a Palestinian boy grows up under British occupation and is anti-British but he forms a friendship with a British sergeant and gets shunned as a traitor by his Palestinian friends
EGYPT
Iskanderija... lih? (Alexandria . . . Why?) (1979) -- personal relationships set against the background of World War II; Alexandria Trilogy
Hadduta misrija (An Egyptian Story) (1982) -- autobiography set against the Egyptian revolution; Alexandria Trilogy
Iskanderija, kaman oue kaman (Alexandria Again and Forever) (1989) -- personal relationships set against the general strike of 1987; Alexandria Trilogy
Thartharah fawqa al-Nīl (Adrift on the Nile) -- criticism of the Gamal Abdel Nasser period and its censorship of artistic expression
Omaret yakobean (The Yacoubian Building) (2006) -- criticism of Egypt since the coup d'etat of 1952 that overthrew King Farouk and brought in Nasser
X Fi baitina rajul (The Man is in Our House) (1961) -- fighting British rule leads to exile of puppet King Farouk, 1954, and the rise of Nasser
X Ahlam Saghira (Little Dreams) (1993) -- twelve year old boy's view of life during Nasser presidency
X Nasser 56 (1996) – glowing account of Nasser and how he outdid the Americans (Arabic; does it have subtitles?)
Sadat (1983) -- President of Egypt Anwar Sadat makes war on and then makes peace with Israel
X Ayyam El Sadat (The Days of Sadat) (2001) -- life of Anwar Sadat (currently unavailable)
SYRIA, TURKEY, LEBANON AND AFGHANISTAN
Syrian Bride (2004) -- a bride finds herself stranded in the middle of the border between the Israeli and Syrian borders
TURKEY:
X Salkim hanimin taneleri (Mrs. Salkim's Diamonds) (1999) – high tax on Islamic Turks, but much higher ones on non-Muslims leads to minoritization in Turkey
Günese yolculuk (Journey to the Sun) (2001) -- prejudice and discrimination against the Kurds in Turkey
Yol (1982)-- virtual police state in Turkey in the 1980s
X Babam ve Oğlum (My Father, My Son) (2005) -- a politically active Istanbul University student runs afoul of his father and the military dictatorship in Turkey (currently unavailable)
Eve Dönüş (Home Coming) (2006) -- a movie about the 1980 Turkish coup d'état
Beynelmilel (2006) -- a group of street musicians in Adiyaman (southeastern Turkey) cannot earn their living after the 1980 military coup
X Nefes: Vatan Sağolsun (The Breath) (2009) -- 40 soldiers in charge of protecting a relay station near the Iraqi border in southeastern Turkey during the conflict between the Turkish Army and the terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
LEBANON:
West Beyrouth (West Beirut) (1998) -- adolescents caught in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon in 1975
X Zozo (2005) -- during the Lebanese civil war, a Lebanese boy gets separated from his family and ends up in Sweden
Die Fälschung (Circle of Deceit) (1981) -- a German journalist has a marital crisis while Christians and Palestinians fight in Beirut
AFGHANISTAN:
Soviet Occupation: Afghanistan 1979-88
X Afganskiy izlom (Afghan Breakdown) (1990) -- Russian film; one of the best accounts of the war (currently unavailable)
The Beast (1988) -- Russians in Afghanistan
9 Rota (The 9th Company) (2005) -- Russian/Finnish film about Russian soldiers fighting in Afghanistan
Escape from Afghanistan (2002) – uprising of Soviet soldier captives in Badaber
L'étoile du soldat (Star of the Soldier) (2006) – in the Afghanistan war a young Russian soldier captured by the Mujahideen in the early 80s becomes sympathetic to the Afghans
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The Kite Runner (2007) -- two young friends go through rough times personally and politically in Afghanistan
Kandahar (2001) -- a woman makes a perilous journey through Taliban Afghanistan
Osama (2003) -- in Taliban Afghanistan a girl dresses as a boy to save her family from starvation
Escape from Taliban (2003) -- an Indian Hindu woman marries a Afghanistan Muslim man who takes her to Afghanistan and big troubles with the Taliban
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) -- America's assistance to Afghan rebels against the Soviet Union in the 1980s
Flugten (The Escape) (2009) -- female Danish journalist taken hostage in Afghanistan and the terror group threatens to kill her if Denmark does not remove its troops from Afghanistan
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) -- the killing of Osama Bin Laden of 9/11 infamy
X Essential Killing (Essence of Killing) (2010) -- a Taliban fighter kills two American security operatives; he's captured and tortured; he escapes but struggles to survive the winter outside (in English)
IRAN AND IRAQ
IRAN:
X Tamerlane the Great (1991) – Timur or Tamerlane founded the 14th century Timurid Dynasty in central Asia (including Iran and Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India)
X Nadir Shah (1968) – Indian film about the Shah of Iran who ruled 1736–1747 and founded the Afsharid dynasty
Nassereddin Shah, Actor- e Cinema (Once Upon a Time, Cinema) (1992) – one of the last of Iran's extravagant shahs of the Qajar Dynasty (of Turkic descent, 1795-1925) falls in love with the newly invented movies, as well as an early Iranian screen heroine
X In Search of Heaven (2009) – American missionary in Iran in 1907 organizes a revolt
X Mirza Koochak Khan (1983) – Iranian film about Mirza Kuchik Khan, 1880-1921, Iranian national hero who started a revolutionary movement; the uprising started 1914 and went until 1921 when the movement was defeated.
X Soraya (2003) -- the Shah of Iran (French version only -- no English options)
Nun va Goldoon (A Moment of Innocence) (1996) -- 1970's; future filmmaker as a teenage Islamic militant fighting against the Shah, who stabs a policeman and is jailed
X Kamalolmolk (1984) -- life and work of the famous Iranian painter Mohammad Ghaffari (a.k.a., Kamal-ol-molk) who knew many of the Shahs of Iran
Two Women (1999) -- two architecture students in the first turbulent years of the Islamic Revolution in Iran showing obstacles they face as women
Nimeh-ye penhan (Hidden Half) (2001) -- experiences of a female philosophy student (1979 to 1980 academic year) in the Islamic Revolution in Iran
Persepolis (2008) -- animated film; Satrapi's coming of age in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution
Ayneh (The Mirror) (1997) -- a young girl play acts the part of a girl in Tehran who gets lost; she suddenly quits the film and the film crew follow her to see if she make it back home on her own
Takhté siah (Blackboards) (2000) -- male teachers travel in Kurdish region of Iran looking for students and running into terrible situations
X Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper (1981) – during the Iranian hostage crisis Canadian embassy staffers help rescue six American embassy staffers (currently unavailable)
X Argo (2012) -- with Ben Affleck; ditto
X Dayereh (The Circle) (2000) -- the stories of several women who have a hard time surviving in the sexually repressive Muslim society
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008) -- 1986, married woman falsely accused of adultery by her husband with the punishment being stoning to death
The Stoning (2006) -- young American woman converts to Islam and follows her lover to Iran; she meets a tragic fate
X My Tehran for Sale (2009)-- Iranian actress is stymied artistically by the Iran authorities and thinks about escaping to Australia
X Nimeh-ye penhan (The Hidden Half) (2001) -- the wife of an official tells her husband her life story in a letter (including her student activities in the revolution of 1978) to ask him to listen to the woman political prisoner condemned to death
IRAQ:
X Jani gal (The Agony of a People) (2007) -- an Iraqi Kurd gets mistaken for the leader of a protest and gets slapped into prison
House of Saddam (2008) -- biographical film of the Iraqi dictator (1979-2003)
X Al-ayyam al-tawila (aka Long Days) (1980) -- propaganda film for Saddam Hussein trying to overthrow Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Kassem in 1959
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988):
Arousi-ye Khouban (Marriage of the Blessed) (1989) -- young Iranian photographer of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) has troubles adjusting to civilian life
Gulf War (8/90 - 2/91):
Gomgashtei dar Aragh (Marooned in Iraq) (2002) -- a well-known Kurdish musician seeks to find his ex-wife stranded in Iraq at the time of Saddam Hussein's war on the Kurds
Courage Under Fire (1996) -- fiction set during the 1991 Gulf War
Jarhead (2005) -- US marines in the Gulf War
Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998) -- after Gulf War
Live from Baghdad (2002) -- CNN reporting team manages to relay accounts of the bombing of Baghdad in the Gulf War
Bravo Two Zero (1999) -- true story of British SAS mission behind enemy lines
The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein (2002) -- nationalistic fervor in New Mexico during the Gulf War helps lead to tragedy
L'Aube du monde (Dawn of the World) (2008) -- multiple impacts of the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War and the 1991 uprisings in Iraq seen through the eyes of a Marsh Arab in Iraq
The Heroes of Desert Storm (1991) – story of Operation Desert Storm from viewpoint of some of the participants
Iraq War (3/2003 - 2012?):
American Soldiers (2005) -- in the Iraq War American soldiers have to fight their way out of serious trouble
Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand (Turtles Can Fly) (2004) -- tragedy in Iraq before and during Iraq-America War
Kurtlar vadisi - Irak (Valley of the Wolves) (2006) -- the Americans as very bad men; based on 2003 arrest of 11 allied Turkish special forces soldiers and 13 civilians by the United States in northern Iraq
In the Valley of Elah (2007) -- parents search for their missing military son suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) stemming from the Iraq War
Occupation (2009) -- three British soldiers start with the invasion of Basra (March 203) to being stationed in Basra where they see growing sectarian conflict and a financial boom for private military companies
Yemen:
X Citadelle Humanitaire (Humanitarian Citadel) (2009) -- the Red Cross faces danger going into service during the Yemen Civil War, May-July 1994, Northern vs. Southern Yemen ($59)
Indonesia:
Oeroeg (Going Home) (1993) -- in Indonesia, a white Dutch boy and the son of a native servant grow up together; many years later they re-meet during Indonesian War of Independence (obtained officially in 1949)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1983) -- a journalist in 1965 Indonesia under Sukarno
X Ca-bau-kan (A Courtesan) (2002) -- an Indonesian girl adopted by a Dutch family returns to Indonesia and discovers a shocking truth
X The Balibo Conspiracy (Balibo) (2009) -- Indonesia prepares to invade East Timor, five Australian based journalists go missing; veteran reporter goes to find the journalists
XXII. REJECTION OF THE SECOND AGE OF THE ROBBER BARONS IN THE U.S.A.? More Racial Backlash from the Whites. Back to Chapter XXII Back to Contents
Election of Barack Obama in 2008: new possible liberal reforms
Inside Job (2010) -- deregulation is turning the USA into an oligarchy with corrupt systems of business, politics and academia
Game Change (2012) -- Sarah Palin is not ready for prime time and it leads her to a near nervous breakdown
Return to Home Page (Vernon Johns Society)
another source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_drama_films