What is the greatest historical movie of all-time?

Kenneth Branagh's Henry V

The Name of the Rose. Sherlock Holmes' distant ancestor?

Greatest historical movie of all time?

Do you mean the best movie that most accurately depicts a historical theme, or the best movie that is based on a historical theme?

In general, movies that hew closely to the historical facts are not great movies. For instance, Gettysburg was fairly accurate (given the literary liberties of the original novel) to the historical event, but it wasn't a particularly great movie. I'd consider Eight Men Out or A Beautiful Mind to be the movies that most closely adhered to the historical facts and that came closest to being "great" movies.

As for great movies based on historical themes, I wouldn't even rank Braveheart among the top twenty (too formulaic). I'd say that Amadeus was far superior. Also Pride of the Yankees and Quiz Show -- movies that took considerable liberties with history but which turned out to be pretty good movies.

IM NOT GONNA THINK TOO HARD ON THIS BUT,



BONNIE AND CLYDE

Ha, ha, FM - if you can visit Tejas this winter we will certainly take you to Bonnie's home town.

i would hesitate to call braveheart a historical movie. the amazing number of inaccuricies make it more a product of a vivid imagination then a history book.

I've got to nominate FULL METAL JACKET.

there's been a bunch of movies about vietnam. But I feel this one movie captured the Vietnam 'times' very powerfully from a unique prospective. Beside it's like getting two movies in one.

In the Director's Commentary, Mel Gibson is more than aware of the historical inaccuricies, but he said the accurate version would not have been as cinematicly appealing.


BRAVEHEART IS GREAT!!

Interesting question. I "taught" my kids about the Holocaust through movies and like "Au Revoir, Mon Enfants" the best.

Thought the overly dramatic speech -- One More! -- at the end of the movie spoiled Schindler's List. But it was still emotionally draining.

Loved Amistad, another Stephen Spielberg movie. I was aware of the cinematography while watching it and how much the camera advanced the story. A week or two later, while my son was with his therapist, I read a magazine for cinematographers in which the cameraman wrote about his work on Amistad. I was right!

I also loved Elizabeth and now that I'm reading Who Killed Kit Marlowe? I have even more respect for it.

In terms of historical accuracy, perhaps one of the worst movies ever made was the Custer film starring Errol Flynn.

To Kill A Mocking Bird - a fiction work that speaks historical truth.

Oh, I just remembered another . . .

Inherit the Wind.

Very good.

The Diary of Ann Frank

I just had an odd thought.....What if it was Diarrhea of Ann Frank?????


That would draw a HOLE new crowd!!

You'll have to reword the question, CotL. You mean a fictionalised account, made as a motion picture, rather than an historical film. The works of Ken Burns ('The Civil War', 'Jazz') are all films, but not fictions.

And sometimes the line between fiction and historical fact is crossed. For instance, the 'Westerns' produced around the turn of the century featured genuine cowboys and pioneers. The story may have been fake, but the setting was 100% authentic.

Mr Stillwater!!!! Pondscum! Good to see ya! How you be?????

Dr. Zhivago.

The best movies of all time would have to be"Lighthorseman" which was about the taking of beersheba in WW1 and "enemy at the gates"which was about a russian sniper at stalingrad.

Jim,
You liked the movie Dr. Zhivago with Julie Christie and Omar Shariff with an appearance by the then obligatory Rita Tushingham (whatever happened to??)? I know I saw it . . . I remember being at the end of my freshman year of college . . . that my date was Jim Rice who had been our valedictorian . . . and that I wore a dress he liked consisting of a white pleated skirt and a white sleeveless tunic with red and navy stripes at the bottom of the tunic. I remember he was very nervous when we left the theatre and reached the restaurant and he left his keys in the car and I removed them and put them in my bag, an oversized navy blue clutch. I remember nothing of the movie other than the famous daffodil scene, supposedly the most expensive movie shot up until that time and I remember Tushingham at the end of the movie, wearing a headscarf and going off to work at a factory and I guessed she was supposed to be the daughter of Z and Lara . . . but I remember nothing else of the film.

Is Shariff still alive?

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Bounty, which has to be one of the most accurate of historical entertainment films i've ever seen. Despite Mr. Gibson's predictable overwrought and often unconvincing preformance, it follows the historical record (based on the Royal Navy inquiry, and the trials of the midshipmen) far better than any other such movies. The classic Mutiny on the Bounty with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, in 1935, won best picture, and deserved it for acting. It's historical accuracy was not bad, being shot on location in Tahiti. It's picture of Bligh and Christian, as well as the crew and crew conditions, were far less reliable. It was actually a remake of an earlier film, in which Errol Flynn had played Christian in a 1933 film which did not take off. The Trevor Howard/Marlon Brando version was terribly overwrought, and, as in the earlier film, made Bligh out to be an unremittant monster. Bligh and Christian were actually friends, in a sort of uncle-nephew way. Bligh had found a place for Christian on two voyages of his when he was working as a merchant captain while on half-pay, temporary retirement from the Royal Navy. There have been few, if any, better foul weather sailors than William Bligh. But in port, and in peaceful times, Bligh tended to let things go, and then rant and rave when he found discipline slack. Bounty (1985, i believe) is far more accurate in the portrayal of the crew and crew conditions, and the dynamic between Lieutenant Bligh, Mr. Fry (the sailing master) and Fletcher Christian, who was actually a midshipman, and rather young. Anthony Hopkins' tour de force as William Bligh more than make up for, in my opinion, Gibson's lackluster performance.