Our Movie Editor’s Favorite Historical Films
Historical movies are often as notable for their factual inaccuracies as they are for their emotional truths, a tension that continues to define the genre. The best of them strike a delicate balance somewhere in the middle, offering insights that no other medium can deliver in the same way. And while some of the films on this list have more fidelity to the historical record than others, all are worth seeking out for the fresh perspectives they provide on old topics.
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Spartacus (1960)
If you’ve ever seen a crowd of people break into chants of “I’m Spartacus!” but never seen Stanley Kubrick’s three-hour-plus epic, there’s no time like the present to watch one of the best movies ever made about the past. Kirk Douglas stars in the title role, an enslaved gladiator in ancient Rome who breaks his chains and starts an unstoppable movement. The actor lived to be 103 and received three Academy Award nominations as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his legendary body of work, but no singular performance was more moving than this one. (Amazon Prime Video)
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
An epic before it’s even begun thanks to its all-timer of an overture by composer Maurice Jarre, Lawrence of Arabia is, quite simply, one of the greatest films ever made. To say that David Lean specialized in large-scale productions would be putting it lightly — he also directed The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and A Passage to India — as would calling Peter O’Toole’s performance in the title role memorable. (He was nominated for an Oscar for it but, as with all seven other nominations he received, didn’t win.) It’s a movie that has not only stood the test of time but transcended it; in its scope and heft, Lawrence of Arabia has achieved timelessness. (Amazon Prime Video)
Dersu Uzala (1975)
Because choosing just one Akira Kurosawa movie to highlight in any list is a fool’s errand, it seems best in this case to go with a lesser-known entry in the Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Ikiru director’s filmography. Based on a 1923 memoir about the Nanai trapper and hunter of the same name, Dersu Uzala was Kurosawa’s first film after a suicide attempt prompted by a career downturn. The movie was quite successful, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film and selling more than 21 million tickets in the Soviet Union (where it was produced as Kurosawa’s only non-Japanese-language movie). There’s a ruggedness to Dersu Uzala that, along with its unfamiliar setting, makes it feel like an outlier in Kurosawa’s nonpareil filmography, but the longer it goes on, the more you realize it couldn’t have been made by anyone else. (The Criterion Channel)
The Elephant Man (1980)
It’s doubtful that anyone expected David Lynch to follow the singularly disturbing Eraserhead with a movie as comparatively normal as The Elephant Man, but that versatility is part of what makes him one of our most treasured filmmakers. Based on the life of Joseph Merrick, who suffered from severe physical deformities and whose cruel nickname gives the film its title, Lynch’s second feature might just be the saddest movie ever made. It’s also among the most beautiful, with John Hurt’s endlessly sympathetic performance as Merrick standing as a marvel in its own right — just try getting through the climactic “I am a human being!” scene with a dry eye. Despite not winning any of the eight Academy Awards for which it was nominated, the film directly led to the creation of the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. (Kanopy)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
The Last of the Mohicans is a highlight among highlights in the filmographies of both director Michael Mann and leading man Daniel Day-Lewis. But a warning before watching: You will very likely get the music accompanying its breathless final sequence stuck in your head on and off for the rest of your life. Not that this is a bad thing. Mann's adaptation of the 1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper is a true epic featuring adventure and sorrow in nearly equal measure, with much of the latter owed to one of the most poignant shots ever captured on film. (Tubi)
The New World (2005)
Being familiar with the films of Terrence Malick is probably better preparation for The New World than being familiar with the story of Pocahontas. As in much of his work, the uniquely philosophical filmmaker uses his ostensible subject matter — in this case, the 1607 arrival of English settlers to what will soon be known as Jamestown and the subsequent meeting of John Smith and Pocahontas — as a jumping-off point for his usual preoccupations. These include lyrical voice-over narration, striking shots of nature, and a star-crossed romance between two lovers who are seeking the same thing in different ways yet can never seem to find it — or each other. (Max)
