Subject: Historical Figures
The (usually) great women and men whose exploits have been recorded somewhere by someone provide the base for biographical stories, figures such as Genghis Khan, Ibn Battuta, and Wu Zetian.
A Dangerous Method
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Release Date: 2011
- Production Country: United Kingdom, Germany, Canada. Switzerland
As the world is on the brink of war, two psychologists, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, debate the make-up of the human psyche and how best to treat its dysfunctions, but both men are distracted by the presence of the beautiful and insightful Sabina Spielrein, their fellow psychologist who becomes more than just another patient to them both.
A Man for All Seasons
- Director: Fred Zinnemann
- Release Date: 1966
- Production Country: United Kingdom
A principled and devout man, Sir Thomas More finds himself on the wrong side of the argument when King Henry VIII is determined to divorce not only his current wife, but the church that refuses to allow him to set her aside. But the King looks to get Sir More's approval, one way or another.
Abraham Lincoln
- Director: D.W. Griffith
- Release Date: 1930
- Production Country: United States
The infamous director D.W. Griffith takes on both the myth of Lincoln and a new technology: sound in movies.
Agora
- Director: Alejandro Amenábar
- Release Date: 2009
- Production Country: Spain
In 4th-century pagan Alexandria, Hypatia chooses the independent life of a scientist over marriage to Orestes and is a successful teacher for many years. But as Christianity slowly takes over the city, Hypatia's scientific studies lead to her being charged of witchcraft and, when Orestes, himself now a Christian, hesitates to have her condemned as a witch, the mob takes the matter into their own hands, leaving only a Christian slave whom Hypatia freed years earlier to save her.
Al Capone
- Director: Richard Wilson
- Release Date: 1959
- Production Country: United States
A small town hoodlum who came to town merely as a bodygaurd, Al Capone rises from common thug to mobster kingpin in the era of Prohibition, only to meet his ignominious end, when the great mobster is brought down by tax laws.
Alexander
- Director: Oliver Stone
- Release Date: 2004
- Production Country: Germany, United States, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Italy
Alexander sets out from Macedonia to conquer the world and succeeds.
Alexander the Great
- Director: Robert Rossen
- Release Date: 1956
- Production Country: United States, Spain
Alexander reminds the Greeks his father conquered them, then assumes position at the head of their army to set out and conquer the world.
Alfred the Great
- Director: Clive Donner
- Release Date: 1969
- Production Country: United Kingdom
Though he would rather devote his life to the priesthood, Alfred cannot ignore the plight of his people as they suffer the constant depredations of Danish invaders who have long plagued the Eastern shores of Britain in search of homes and land of their own. Sacrificing his monastic dream, Alfred takes up the crown of Wessex and sets out to free his people—and, in the process, becomes the king of the Anglo-Saxons.
Amadeus
- Director: Milos Forman
- Release Date: 1984
- Production Country: United States
Believing that musical ability is a reward for a godly life, court composer Salieri is appalled at the boorish, yet genius Mozart and his compositions, so much that, as Mozart’s fame grows, Salieri becomes increasingly jealous of Mozart, especially as he is unable to reconcile his beliefs with the reality of his own mediocrity. Salieri finally hatches a desperate scheme to commission a work from Mozart with the intention to present it as his own–a requiem mass for the death of the great composer, Mozart.
Amazing Grace
- Director: Michael Apted
- Release Date: 2006
- Production Country: United Kingdom, United States
After an intense religious experience, a young English politician debates taking up a more spiritual religious career. His friends, however, persuade him that politics can also be spiritually fulfilling—especially when one devotes their attention and talents to ending the practice of slavery in England.
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
- Director: Bruce Beresford
- Release Date: 2003
- Production Country: United States
Drama and reality collide when a young Hollywood director heads to Mexico to film General Francisco "Pancho" Villa's campaigns in the Mexican Revolution. While the general is annoyed by the "dramatization" of his life story, the director is confronted with the stark realities of war and poverty—and still must make a successful film about a charismatic national hero, a man both brilliant and brutal.
Andrey Rublyov (Andrei Rublev)
- Director: Andrey Tarkovskiy
- Release Date: 1966
- Production Country: Soviet Union
An icon painter in Russia finds that art and faith are an integral part of his identity as a Russian–and that in times of chaos and repression the language and function of art become an even more essential, integral part of the human existence.
Anna and the King
- Director: Andy Tennant
- Release Date: 1999
- Production Country: United States
Hired to teach English to the children of King Mongkut, Anna Leonowens' lessons to the court also eventually includes monogamy, the abolition of slavery, the importance of a masterful fireworks display at the right time and the right place, and others that ultimately help the king rule even more effectively.
Anne of the Thousand Days
- Director: Charles Jarrott
- Release Date: 1969
- Production Country: United Kingdom
The King may have pushed his first wife aside in her favor, but Anne Boleyn quickly realizes that her days as Queen may be numbered when she fails to produce a son for a king who is desperate for an heir.
Anonymous
- Director: Roland Emmerich
- Release Date: 2011
- Production Country: United Kingdom, Germany
Queen Elizabeth I is aging and her court is rife with questions concerning her choice of a successor, the intrigue fed by several politically slanted dramatic productions anonymously authored by one of her former lovers, Edward deVere, the Earl of Oxford. When a young upstart named Shakespeare takes credit for deVere's plays and discovers just who is writing them, he threatens to destroy everything the Earl has worked for, including the future of the son Elizabeth gave birth to after their affair.
Antony and Cleopatra
- Director: Charlton Heston
- Release Date: 1972
- Production Country: United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland
Summoned back to Rome from Egypt, Antony leaves behind Cleopatra and their torrid affair, only to be told he must marry Octavian's sister; however, as Octavian's power and ego grow, Antony tires of the triumvir's whims and returns to Egypt, taking Cleopatra as his queen and claiming the eastern third of the new Roman Empire as their own–but it is a claim that Octavian cannot let stand if he wants to secure his own hold over his newly proclaimed Roman Empire.
Aoki Ôkami: chi hate umi tsukiru made (Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea or The Blue Wolf: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea)
- Director: Shin'ichirô Sawai
- Release Date: 2007
- Production Country: Japan
Genghis Khan is born out on the steppes, yet grows up to defeat all his enemies, unite the Mongols, and set in motion the Mongol conquest of most of Eastern Asia.
Asoka (Ashoka the Great)
- Director: Santosh Sivan
- Release Date: 2001
- Production Country: India
Young prince Asoka survives two assassination attempts and then, in hiding as a commoner, meets and marries the lovely Kaurwaki. When Kaurwaki is killed, Asoka swears vengeance, battling his way to the Imperial throne, until only one kingdom, Kirgal, stands in his way.
Attila the Hun
- Director: Dick Lowry
- Release Date: 2001
- Production Country: United States, Lithuania
Though orphaned as a child, Attila shows exceptional skill in battle and leadership and rises to not only command his own people, but also unite the banners of numerous tribes under his command. And while Attila can respect the genius of Rome's military strategies, it doesn't mean he is going to back away from a battle that will win him a new home for his people.
Avvaiyar
- Director: Kothamangalam Subbu
- Release Date: 1953
- Production Country: India
The young orphan Avvaiyar leaves behind wealth and marriage prospects in order to walk the world and preach about the goodness of the Lord Vinayaka. But when a king who sheltered her is murdered, his daughters left penniless and their princely fiance a prisoner, Avvaiyar is the only one who is fearless enough to help—but what can one small woman accomplish with prayer alone?