100 best history movies of 2019

Rani Padmavati - the wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh, is known for her beauty and valour in 13th century India. She captures the fancy of the reigning Sultan of Delhi, the tyrant Alauddin Khilji, who becomes obsessed with her and goes to great lengths to fulfill his greed.

1809, France. Captain Neuville is called to the front, leaving his future bride heartbroken. Her sister decides to write letters on his behalf to cheer her up.

Based on the true story, international historical project “Sobibor” is dedicated to the heroism of the Soviet o cer Alexander Pechersky. During the great Patriotic war, being in a Nazi concentration camp Sobibor he managed to do the impossible — for only three weeks to organize a revolt and mass escape of the prisoners. Part of the escapees were caught and shot, and the rest led by Pechersky managed to escape and joined the partisans.

An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.

A team of CIA agents and special forces head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban.

A prototype of a new cutting edge tank is being taken on a secret mission to Moscow, to Comrade Stalin. Soon the cross-country run turns into a ruthless race. Followed by Nazis, the tanks' team defeats their pursuers and proves the great ability and vast superiority of the machine that is about to become a legendary T-34.

In 1976, four hijackers take over an Air France airplane with 248 passengers on board and force it to land in Entebbe, Uganda.

A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.

A man and a woman meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatally mismatched and yet drawn to each other.

Risking his life, Luke ventures to Rome to visit Paul -- the apostle who's bound in chains and held captive in Nero's darkest and bleakest prison cell. Haunted by the shadows of his past misdeeds, Paul wonders if he's been forgotten as he awaits his grisly execution. Before Paul's death, Luke resolves to write another book that details the birth of what will come to be known as the church.

In 1960, a team of Israeli secret agents is deployed to find Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust, supposedly hidden in Argentina, and get him to Israel to be judged.

In Norway on 22 July 2011, right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 young people attending a Labour Party Youth Camp on Utöya Island outside of Oslo. This three-part story will focus on the survivors of the attacks, the political leadership of Norway, and the lawyers involved.

In 1944, a courageous group of Russian soldiers managed to escape from German captivity in a half-destroyed legendary T-34 tank. Those were the times of unforgettable bravery, fierce fighting, unbreakable love, and legendary miracles.

The remarkable story of iconoclastic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood as she fights to maintain her brand’s integrity, her principles and her legacy.

Free-spirited writer Juliet Ashton forms a life-changing bond with the delightful and eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed during the occupation of Guernsey in WWII.

The film tells about the history of the Holocaust through the stories of its unwitting Witnesses.

An idealistic young employee at the U.N. investigates the grizzly murder of his predecessor – and uncovers a vast global conspiracy that may involve his own boss.

An ambitious young journalist uncovers the horrific slaughter of 22,000 Polish officers during World War II, a secret kept hidden for far too many years.

England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.

Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.

In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.

Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.

After the British company’s officer Clive takes over the kingdom of Mirza, Princess Zafira and Khudabaksh aka Azaad form a band of rebel pirates who swear to defeat the English officer and win their freedom back. The British Company in return, hire the wily thug Firangi track Azaad’s gang and thwart his plans.

Based in Shinmiyangyo, or the U.S. expedition to Korea in the late 19th century, Mr. Sunshine tells the story of a Korean boy born into a family of a house servant running away to board an American warship, later to return to his homeland as a U.S. marine officer. He ironically falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter and discovers the dark scheme to colonize the country that he once ran away from.

Rebellious Ki-soo from North Korea is mesmerized by tap dance in prison camps. Ki-soo joins as a team member of a dance team named ‘Swing Kids’. Yet suddenly, their dreams about dancing in prison camps are put in danger.

Two families attempt a daredevil plan to escape the GDR with a homemade hot air balloon, but it crashes just before the border. The Stasi finds traces of this attempt to escape and immediately starts investigations, while the two families are forced to build a new escape balloon. With each passing day the Stasi is closer on their heels – a nerve-wracking race against time begins.

Spanish photographer Francesc Boix, imprisoned in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, works in the SS Photographic Service. Between 1943 and 1945, he hides, with the help of other prisoners, thousands of negatives, with the purpose of showing the freed world the atrocities committed by the Nazis, exhaustively documented. He will be a key witness during the Nuremberg Trials.

Kingdom of Goguryeo, ancient Korea, 645. The ruthless Emperor Taizong of Tang invades the country and leads his armies towards the capital, achieving one victory after another, but on his way is the stronghold of Ansi, protected by General Yang Man-chu, who will do everything possible to stop the invasion, even if his troops are outnumbered by thousands of enemies.

After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as Willy, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels.

The famous actress Behnaz Jafari has no idea what to do when she receives a video in which a young girl is begging for help after her family did not allow her to study at Tehran Theatrical University. Behnaz abandons her shoot and turns to the director Jafar Panahi so that they can help the girl deal with her problems together. They drive to the northwest of the country, where they meet the charming and generous people of a mountain village. But Behnaz and Jafar also observe that in these places, it is the traditions of their ancestors that completely determine the way of life.

London, England, May 2000. The peaceful life of elderly Joan Stanley is suddenly disrupted when she is arrested by the British Intelligence Service and accused of providing information to communist Russia during the forties.

The true story of Sonja Henie, one of the world's greatest athletes and the inventor of modern figure skating, who decides to go to Hollywood in 1936 to become a movie star.

An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reforms and protest against rising levels of poverty.

Barents Sea, August 12th, 2000. During a Russian naval exercise, and after suffering a serious accident, the K-141 Kursk submarine sinks with 118 crew members on board. While the few sailors who are still alive barely manage to survive, their families push for accurate information and a British officer struggles to obtain from the Russian government a permit to attempt a rescue before it is late. But general incompetence are against all their efforts.

In the year of 754 AD, during a time of epic battles and bloodshed, the legend of the pagan warrior king, Rebad, is born, but so is a new weapon against his people: Christianity. Redbad must ultimately unite a Viking army powerful enough to defeat the seemingly invincible Franks.

Paris, France, early 19th century. The legendary convict François Vidocq lives in disguise trying to escape from a tragic past that torments him. When, after an unfortunate event, he crosses paths with the police chief, he makes a bold decision that will turn the ruthless mastermind of the Parisian underworld against him.

Northern Europe. 13th century. Last pagan settlement near the Baltic Sea. The evil and cynical warrior crusader Max von Buxhoveden is trying to destroy the pagan beliefs of the people by spreading lies and fostering dissent. Old king of the last free pagan lands is on his deathbed and without an heir to take his place. Max wants to take over the throne and reign over old king’s tribe. Unexpectedly, with his dying breath the King passes on his ring to his nephew Namejs. The youngster, who grew up amongst pagan priests and studied ancient wisdoms, now has to defend his people. Will he be able to unravel the secret of the Ring and gain its power?

Barcelona, ​​Spain, 1921. A tough cop from Madrid arrives in the city to locate, under the suspicious scrutiny of corrupt local police officers, a significant amount of military weaponry stolen from a train, allegedly by revolutionary anarchists.

„Un peuple et son roi" crosses the destinies of the men and women of the population, and those of historical figures. Their meeting place is the newly founded National Assembly. At the heart of the story lie the fate of the king and the birth of the French Republic.

October 1941. Thousands of fascists troops are advancing on Kalinin to capture the city and therefore open a direct route to Moscow. There are two thousand people able to defend the city and they are without tanks or artillery. The only hope of holding the enemy off is in the fifth infantry division convoy, who are about to pass through Kalinin station. But saboteurs intend to do everything to keep this from happening. The head of the Kalinin garrison, Major Sysoyev, struggles to keep order and calm in the city, and himself falls under suspicion of involvement with the subversive enemy group.

Gary Hart, former Senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with young voters, leaving him with a seemingly clear path to the White House. All that comes crashing down when allegations of an extramarital affair surface in the media, forcing the candidate to address a scandal that threatens to derail his campaign and personal life.

The film is based on the true story about a Soviet KV-1 crew of a Soviet KV-1 tank, under the command of Semyon Konovalov , whom despite being heavily outnumbered by German forces, destroyed 16 tanks, 2 armored vehicles and 8 other enemy vehicles at the village of Nizhnemytyakin, Tarasovsky district, Rostov region on July 13th, 1942.

The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.

London, England, April 2015. Brian Reader, a retired thief, gathers an unlikely gang of burglars to perpetrate the biggest and boldest heist in British history. The thieves assault the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company and escape with millions in goods and money. But soon the cracks between the gang members begin to appear when they discuss how to share the loot.

In 1930 in Moscow, USSR. the Soviet government puts a group of top rank economists and engineers on trial, accusing them of plotting a coup d'état. The charges are fabricated and the punishment, if convicted, is death.

The story follows a group of samurai attempting to defend Japan from the first Mongol invasion in 1274.

Only one week left until South Korea will go under sovereign default. Han Shi-Hyun is a leader of the monetary policy team at the Bank of Korea. and is assigned to a crisis team.

Vienna, 1937, on the eve of the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany. The young and inexperienced Franz Huchel begins to learn about both the joys and hardships of life by working as an apprentice to the mutilated war veteran Otto Trsnjek in a small tobacco shop, where he meets the famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, a regular customer, who will become a valuable friend in times of chaos and uncertainty.

Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet's affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny.

An Indian spy is married to a Pakistani military officer during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

The Secret Diary of Simon Petliura takes an unprecedented look at the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic, which declared an independent Ukraine in 1918, and the later assassination of the UNR's chairman, Symon Petliura in Paris in 1926, orchestrated by the Kremlin at the start of the Soviet occupation of Ukraine.

Esen, a young man who has been expelled from his village, escapes with the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the village. Whilst being pursued, he is forced to fight for her hand in a battle that results in the destruction of a sacred totem tree. This puts the whole village in jeopardy, and it is up to Esen to redeem himself and save them all.

London, June 29th, 1613. The Globe Theater, ran by the famous playwright William Shakespeare, accidentally burns to ashes. Seriously affected, he stops writing and returns to his hometown, where his wife Anne and daughters Judith and Susanna get surprised to hear he intends to stay there definitively, after two decades working in the capital, neglecting his sincere affections for them.

An American pilot is sent to a Chinese province to teach a crew of would-be pilots how to fly war planes against the Japanese during World War II.

The true story of the most decorated dog in American military history -- Sgt. Stubby -- and the enduring bonds he forged with his brothers-in-arms in the trenches of World War I.

Stalinstadt, East Germany, 1956. While the Hungarian uprising against Soviets is taking place, teenage members of a classroom of the local school perform a seemingly harmless act that causes unexpected consequences.

Zamperini returns to California where he wound up marrying Cynthia Applewhite while wrestling with untreated PTSD, suffering constant nightmares, angry, bitter and deeply depressed, his wife convinces Zamperini to attend the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade.

Uruguay, 1973. Having been crushed by the military dictatorship, surviving members of the Tupamaro guerillas are imprisoned and tortured. They must find a way to endure the coming 12 years.

The true story of 7 oddly dressed fearless men of ottoman army fight against cruel Vlad.

At the end of the 19th century, somewhere in the outskirts of the Russian Empire, a doctor administers a lethal overdose of ether to a young woman – the object of his desire. After getting away with his crime, he finds employment in a fortress, where he continues his experiments with ether to manage pain and manipulate human behaviour. Despite his evilness, it is not too late for his soul to be saved from eternal damnation…

In 1890, Catherine Weldon, a painter from New York, travels to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull and becomes involved in the struggle of the Lakota people to get the Government respects their rights over the land where they live.

In 1847, when Ireland is in the grip of the Great Famine that has ravaged the country for two long years, Feeney, a hardened Irish Ranger who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, returns home to reunite with his estranged family, only to discover the cruelest reality, a black land where death reigns.

A group of journalists covering George Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 are skeptical of the presidents claim that Saddam Hussein has "weapons of mass destruction."

It’s 1929 on the vast, desert-like, Eastern Arrernte Nation lands that are now known as the Central Australian outback. Sam Kelly, a middle-aged Aboriginal man, works the land of a kind preacher, Fred Smith. After an ill-tempered bully arrives in town and Kelly kills him in self-defence, he and his wife go on the run as a posse gathers to hunt him down.

Ted Kennedy's life and political career become derailed in the aftermath of a fatal car accident in 1969 that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne.

Michael's perfect life changes dramatically when he discovers a portal wich allows him to travel in time. He travels back to the World War II to go through the quest of time and find his one and only beloved.

A young Mohawk woman and her two lovers battle a squad of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge.

A look at India's second confidential nuclear test series at Pokhran lead by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during the time of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure.

Set in 1948, the historic story of India's first Olympic medal post their independence.

Parallels are drawn between Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the presidency of Donald Trump. Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.

In 1994, Sarajevo was a city under siege. Mortars and rocket propelled grenades rained onto the city, killing indiscriminately, every day. Amongst the madness, two United Nations personnel: a British military officer and another Brit working for the UN Fire Department, decided it would be fun to persuade a global rock star, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, to come and play a gig to the population. Scream for Me Sarajevo brings that story, in all its madness, to the big screen. A story of musicians who risked their lives to play a gig to people who risked their lives to live them.

The true story of underdog boxer, Chuck Wepner, who gets a shot to fight the champ, Muhammed Ali.

A young Viking called Vitharr arrives in Britain with dreams of conquest and adventure, but when his family and clan are ambushed and killed, he must survive alone in this strange,dangerous new land as he searches for his Uncle's settlement.

The real life story of East German singer and writer Gerhard Gundermann and his struggles with music, life as a coal miner and his dealings with the secret police (STASI) of the GDR.

During the 1940s, a girl was raped by a group of English soldiers, and three young Egyptians retaliate. The British soldier is being held at the Karamouz police station in Alexandria, headed by General Youssef al-Masri. General Frank Adams demands that the English soldier be handed over to him, but Yusuf refuses. The British army is led to block the police station, and enters a fierce confrontation with General Yusuf and the rest of the Egyptian soldiers.

With his true love captured by the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, the legendary Robin Hood and his crew of outlaws execute a daring rescue to save her.

The captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration: NASA's Voyager mission.

Dramatised origin story of one of Germany's most beloved contemporary comedians.

The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.

Puppets! Pixels! Anime! Live action! Stock footage! Lumpennerd Johannes Grenzfurthner gives an ideotaining cinematic revue about important political concepts. Everyone is talking about freedom! Privacy! Identity! Resistance! The Market! The Left! But, yikes, Johannes can't tolerate ignorant and topically abusive comments on the "Internet" anymore! Supported by writer Ishan Raval, in this film, Johannes explains, re-evaluates, and sometimes sacrifices political golden calves of discourse. Not to be used with false consciousness or silicone-based lubricant.

Man who was a Guardian of The National Treasure of his homeland Sakartvelo (Georgia) in France placed in 39 big boxes, did not lose any item and brought it back in 1945 after 24 years of struggle and became a national hero.

The life of Kayamkulam Kochunni, a famed highwayman who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor during the British Raj in the early 19th century Central Travancore.

In the middle of the 13th century, following the death of "The Iron Sultan, Alaeddin Keykubat," Mongols attack Anatolian Seljuks to destroy the last power against "The Great Khan". Allegiance or independence turns into an issue of debate among the Seljuk statesmen. A secret resistance is possible. A new and stronger state is not a dream. Emir Celaleddin Karatay, Vizier of Seljuks is to sparkle a nationwide resistance. His way is not predictable.

A.E.K., the well-known Greek basketball team founded in 1924 by refugees from Constantinople, after 44 years, beats SLAVIA of Prague and wins the European Cup.

The film SAJJAN SINGH RANGROOT is based on true story about the Sikh Regiment, serving in the British Indian Army, during World War I. The movie depicts one such war hero Sajjan Singh, who is an officer in the British Army and served on the western front during the WW1 against Germany.

A martial arts-infused spy thriller set in 1937 Beijing. A time when China was lurching between revolution, prosperity, and chaos.

The resistance of Ammar battalion in Abughoraib strait at the last days of Iran-Iraq war.

The story of the Serbian army, led by the King Peter, through the World War I.

Explore Emily Dickinson's vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years — most notably her lifelong romantic relationship with another woman.

A group of college students develop an underground network that helps women get abortions in the pre-Roe vs. Wade Chicago.

The love between Mateusz Krol, a Kashubian boy, and Marita von Krauss, a Prussian aristocrat in whose family home he is taken in when his mother dies, grows and matures thorough the years, while Kashubia, the northern Polish region where they live, suffers the consequences of the tragedies that will ravage Europe from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the World War II.

The Cold War and Civil Rights collide in this remarkable story of music, diplomacy and race. Beginning in 1955, when America asked its greatest jazz artists to travel the world as cultural ambassadors, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and their mixed-race band members, faced a painful dilemma: how could they represent a country that still practiced Jim Crow segregation?

As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women.

The true story of punks, queers, & criminals on a ride with two men who accidentally changed music along the way.

The name of car manufacturer Carl F. W. Borgward is still synonymous with the West German Wirtschaftswunder. For hundreds of thousands the "Isabella" from Borgward is the first car after the war while Borgward secures thousands of jobs in Bremen. But in 1961, the company of the passionate constructor goes surprisingly broke.

The wife of the aircraft designer, Olga Pavlova, the head of the Moscow garment factory, and the wife of the director of the opera house, the famous Soviet opera singer Sofia Ter-Ashaturova, meet in the prison car of the train. Together they will go to Akmola camp of the wives of traitors of the Motherland, where there will be representatives of the most different strata of the population. Heroes will need strength of spirit and endurance to pass all the terrible ordeals on their way and remain human.

The year is 620 A.D., North Lebanon. Living with God is men's privilege and the most unreachable women's right. Stubborn as she is, the 20 year-old revolutionary girl breaks the rules and endures all the consequences.