202 Best History Movies to Watch (Page 14)

The best history movies streaming right now.

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196. True Spirit, 2023

Lighthearted, inspirational, and warm, True Spirit is the real life story of how the young Jessica Watson circumnavigated the world. Through YouTube-esque vlogs and scribbled out title cards, the film follows the real-life journey, alternating between the sailor with the situation back home, as her mentor and family keep track of her current progress. Inspired by the book, the film fairly sticks to the facts written in her travelogue, but True Spirit mostly plays out the same way a Disney Channel Original Movie would, with its young protagonist setting out for a whimsical adventure, just for the sake of it. It makes for a beautiful film with stunning views and heartwarming messages about perseverance, but it’s more an easy cruise than a daring adventure, as it plays out without any courage in its approach.

Genre: Adventure, Drama, History

Actor: Alice Tate, Alyla Browne, Anna Paquin, Bridget Webb, Charlotte Marquis, Chris Hillier, Cliff Curtis, James McGrady, Jessica Watson, Joey Vieira, Josephine Flynn, Josh Lawson, Justin Gerardin, Ling Cooper Tang, Molly Belle Wright, Nikhil Singh, Olivia Marquis, Shanyn Asmar, Stacy Clausen, Teagan Croft, Todd Lasance, Vivien Turner

Director: Sarah Spillane

Rating: PG

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197. To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb, 2023

With its release coming so close to that of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster treatment of the same subject, To End All War has clearly been designed as a companion piece for that fictional film. Though it mostly performs its function in a by-the-numbers fashion, this rather unexceptional adaptation of Oppenheimer’s Wikipedia page is somewhat livened up by fascinating archival footage and a few compelling talking heads. Among these is Nolan himself, whose contributions provide interesting insight into the structure of his own Oppenheimer movie.

As its title suggests, To End All War hinges on Oppenheimer’s rationalization for developing the atomic bomb — namely, that, by creating such a catastrophically destructive weapon, he was, in effect, helping to deter future aggression. The film provides a counterpoint by suggesting that the scientists may have been somewhat swept up in egotistical fervor, though this is only gently touched on so as not to require the film to grapple too seriously with the ethics of its subject. This combination of ultimately non-threatening treatment with some genuinely compelling nuggets of perspective makes To End All War a quick, largely un-challenging way to brush up on history before or after tackling fictional exploration of its subject.

Genre: Documentary, History

Actor: Adolf Hitler, Alan B. Carr, Albert Einstein, Bill Nye, Charles Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, David Eisenbach, Edward Teller, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ellen Bradbury Reid, Hideko Tamura, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Jon Else, Judy Woodruff, Kai Bird, Leslie Groves, Martin J. Sherwin, Michio Kaku, Richard Rhodes, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping

Director: Christopher Cassel

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198. Sweetwater, 2023

Sweetwater has a precious story in its hands, along with a sparkling cast of tried-and-true actors and a generous budget that allows them to go all in with the movie’s 1950s setting. But the parts are far greater than the sum here, because all together, Sweetwater is a mess. It promises to be a biopic about Clifton but fractures into many other things. During its duller parts, it’s a white savior story about basketball owners, and during its more vibrant parts, it’s a snapshot of the Harlem Globetrotters during their humble beginnings. The basketball matches themselves are playful and exciting to watch, but for every game, there is an overdramatic scene that cranks up the notch on sappy music and predictable dialogues. Often, it also feels like director Martin Guigui went to the Green Book School of Anti-prejudice, given his extremely elementary portrayal of racism and his preference for the white characters over the Black characters. Sweetwater isn’t watchable, but it’s a shame that the star of the film had to share the spotlight with less interesting personalities.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Ashani Roberts, Billy Malone, Ca'Ron Jaden Coleman, Cary Elwes, Dahlia Waingort, Delijah McAlpin, Eric Etebari, Eric Roberts, Ernest Harden Jr., Everett Osborne, Gary Clark Jr., Jason Sklar, Jeremy Piven, Jim Caviezel, Jim Meskimen, Kevin Pollak, Mike Starr, Paul Hipp, Preston Galli, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Ri'chard, Wayne Federman

Director: Martin Guigui

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199. Jesus Revolution, 2023

Based on the autobiography of real-life evangelical pastor Greg Laurie, Jesus Revolution recounts how a Christian movement in the '60s turned lost hippies into dedicated Christians. It was an interesting moment in time, but instead of delving into the movement's peculiarities and intricacies, Jesus Revolution offers a myopic tale that paints Laurie as a hero and the movement as inspirational when, really, they are anything but. Laurie's story never feels significant enough to justify a feature film and the movement never seems as radical as the film thinks it to be. And even though it’s autobiographical, it never really digs into Laurie's spirituality and interiority deep enough to reveal complex truths. In fact, everyone’s a caricature in this simplistic film that feels more like propaganda as it paints religion as perfect and all-saving while glossing over its many imperfections and questionable rhetoric. It could have worked as commentary, satire, or maybe even a sincere memoir, but as it is, it just feels like a short-sighted attempt at telling history.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Alexia Ioannides, Anna Grace Barlow, Billy Graham, Charlie Morgan Patton, DeVon Franklin, Jackson Robert Scott, Joel Courtney, Jolie Jenkins, Jonathan Roumie, Julia Campbell, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Downes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Matthew Montemaro, Mina Sundwall, Nic Bishop, Nicholas Cirillo, Paras Patel, Randall Newsome, Shaun Weiss, Steve Hanks

Director: Brent McCorkle, Jon Erwin

Rating: PG-13

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200. Sight, 2024

	
Sight is based on the extraordinary life of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who fled Communist China and revolutionized his field of ophthalmology in the West. Because of his hardships, he’s sympathetic to the needy and often takes pro-bono cases. In the movie, he even helps partially restore a little girl’s sight, which was cruelly taken from her by an abusive stepmom. Obviously, Wang’s story is rife with intrigue, inspiration, and drama, but this film by Director Andrew Hyatt does him no justice. There is no conflict nor tension to be found here, no exciting twists or turns—just a perfectly bland story whose ending anyone could guess. The performances could’ve elevated it, but Terry Chen, who plays Wang, never compels. To be fair, he doesn’t seem to have a lot to work with; he’s just an all-around good guy who doesn’t find the need to grow past anything. But even in the simplest scenes, his delivery seems wooden, almost like he, too, is unconvinced by the strength of his lines. Looking equally bored is a squandered Greg Kinnear, whose presence makes me wonder whether he has some debts he needs to settle. But even if Chen and Kinnear gave it their all, it’s hard to imagine Sight as anything more than a lazy attempt to retell an inspiring true story.Genre: Drama, History
Actor: Aaron Paul Stewart, Ben Wang, Danni Wang, Donald Heng, Fionnula Flanagan, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Juniper Angeli, Ken Godmere, Mia SwamiNathan, Natalie Skye, Raymond Ma, Sky Kao, Terry Chen, Wai Ching Ho
Director: Andrew Hyatt
Rating: PG-13

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201. Finding Amelia, 2024

In the decades since pioneer pilot Amelia Earhart disappeared from the face of the Earth, countless theories have emerged to fill in the gaps of her still-unknown whereabouts. Historians generally agree she crashed into the ocean, but that’s not dramatic enough, isn’t it? Some people believe she was captured by the Japanese, others believe she turned into a spy. Even others think she assumed a whole new identity. But among the more plausible theories is that she crashed into an airbase in Rabaul, New Britain. This is what Finding Amelia tries to prove true, and up to the task are two independent enthusiasts—one an aviation historian, the other a lawyer. Their insight is interesting enough, except they’re not treading new ground. All of what they say has been explored in previous documentaries both worse and better, so you’re left with nothing more than reminders and weak What Ifs. There is also a sense that some of the parts are staged, which is fine if you’re trying to recreate important but dangerous encounters, but at least make them feel real.

Genre: Adventure, Documentary, History

Actor: Amelia Earhart, Michael Carra, Morgan Spector

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202. Bawaal, 2023

Even before its characters get to Europe, Bawaal sets itself up as a truly ludicrous romantic comedy, completely unmoored from any common sense or internal logic, and with the most cartoonishly awful protagonist at its center. There isn't a single convincing story idea here, from the way Ajay's students learn from and idolize him despite his complete lack of teaching ability, to the way he treats his wife Nisha like dirt after learning she has epilepsy. Movies about scoundrels aren't unwelcome, but it feels as if there hasn't been any thought put into how Ajay views other people and the self-image he so desperately wants to protect—and even less thought seems to have been put into the hilariously shallow ways Ajay "earns" redemption by the end.

But then the characters get to Europe, and Bawaal inexplicably becomes a history lesson about the atrocities of World War II, which are briefly recreated in corny and at times tastelessly done fantasy sequences. The idea that these grown adults who have access to knowledge and pop culture are only now finding out that genocide is bad is nothing short of mind-numbing. Even worse is how Bawaal ignores every difficult and painful truth we've learned and continue to learn from World War II, and reduces so much suffering into a contrived moral lesson about how we should accept each other's flaws and learn to forgive. No matter the efforts of its lead actors or the quality of the production values on display, the film just can't overcome the bad taste it leaves in the mouth.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Anjuman Saxena, Janhvi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, Mukesh Tiwari, Prateek Pachori, Varun Dhawan

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

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