Historical art cinema is a special genre that occupies its own niche in the film library of each spectator. Man has always been interested in past events, but dry shots of documentary chronicle are not able to convey the fullness of what is happening. And if we are talking about the Middle Ages or another era?
The experience accumulated by mankind during its relatively long period of existence is today embodied on the screen by talented directors. If you are history friendly and read relevant literature, film is a unique opportunity to look at events from a different angle. Many viewers can even learn new knowledge from the tape, imbued with the experiences of people who lived long before the formation of the modern world.
Today we will talk about historical cinema, and we will consider not only the scenery, but also the events and personalities that actually existed. Realistic transferring a bygone era to cinema is not an easy task, therefore, it is especially joyful when the directors manage to realize their idea as efficiently as possible.
Braveheart
Director: Mel Gibson
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 1995
Mel Gibson – not only a great actor, but also a talented director. It so happened that he showed himself especially well in historical films, many of which have become classics of cinema. Picture “Braveheart” won an Oscar for Best Picture and 4 more statuettes in other nominations. The value of the tape is given by the fact that it was filmed based on real events and even the main character – William Wallace really existed.
The man had to live in a difficult time of Scotland’s struggle for independence from England. The uprising began with Wallace’s assassination of the local sheriff, and William quickly gained popularity among future rebels. For a while, the patriot managed to liberate Scotland, but the English king Edward I soon began to expand again. Wallace joined the guerrilla movement and was captured and then executed.
Of course, in the film, the events were slightly reworked and more tightly packed. A little pathos and emotionality has been added, however, in general, we have a very good example of a historical film in front of us, which even today looks in the same breath.
Troy
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Genre: Action
Year of issue: 2004
Presence in the film Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom initially set the viewer in a positive mood. And indeed Wolfgang Petersen managed to create a very vigorous heroic action movie based on the ancient epic. The film never received an Oscar, although it claimed the coveted statuette in the Best Costumes nomination.
We know about the Trojan War from the school curriculum. Paris fell in love with the beautiful Helen and kidnapped her from the king Menelaus. At the time, this was enough reason for war, so the army of the Greeks went to conquer Troy. From Homer’s Iliad, we know about all the main characters of this conflict, who were distinguished by incredible courage and willingness to defend their interests at the cost of their lives.
Of course, the film focuses on Achilles (Pete), the culprit of the conflict Paris (Bloom) and Hector (Eric Bana played a brave Trojan warrior very well). The rest of the characters are revealed rather poorly, but the timing of the tape is not rubber either.
Alexander
Director: Oliver Stone
Genre: Action
Year of issue: 2004
Oliver Stoneobviously bet on a stellar cast: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Anthony Hopkins… The result – 6 nominations for the “Golden Raspberry”, although the “award” the film never received, which does him credit. It’s hard to talk about the critics’ vision, but the ordinary viewer definitely liked the picture, as evidenced by its high enough rating.
Alexander the Great known as one of the most talented military leaders of antiquity. His life was not too long, but the young tsar managed to do a lot. In particular, he was engaged in conquest and created the largest empire in the world. The followers, after the death of their king, failed to preserve his legacy, and the state gradually began to disintegrate.
The duration of the picture was almost 3 hours and, although some facts have traditionally been distorted for the sake of the artistic component, many lovers of historical cinema are revising the tape today.
Operation Valkyrie
Director: Brian Singer
Genre: Thriller
Year of issue: 2008
And here is the movie with Tom Cruise about the Second World War, or rather, about a small episode of it. The main feature of the tape is its maximum reliability. Although in the little things Brian Singer allowed himself liberty, the picture can be viewed even for educational purposes.
Operation Valkyrie – the most famous and resonant attempt to eliminate Adolf Hitler in 1944. The conspiracy was led by Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise). After an unsuccessful explosion that did not achieve its ultimate goal, the revolutionaries launched Operation Valkyrie with the aim of overthrowing the dominant regime. Unfortunately, then the efforts of the conspirators were not crowned with success.
Despite the banality of political games, the film has enough poignant and emotional storyline… Even assuming how everything will end, it is extremely curious to watch the heroes.
United. Munich tragedy
Director: James Strong
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2011
Historical movies don’t have to be about war. James Strong created a pretentious, but solid sports drama about one of the main brands of world football – the club “Manchester United”…
February 1958 became fatal for the fans of the team, all those involved in it and just caring people. The plane that United was on at full strength crashed while trying to take off. Most of the passengers died, and the world lost one of the most promising teams in the history of the game number one.
The movie does not focus directly on the disaster, but is more about rebuilding United, which was very difficult and emotional. The film is recommended for viewing not only for Manchester United fans, but also for people far from the world of football, because it carries the right message and makes you think about really important things.
Lincoln
Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2012
Another amazing role Daniel Day-Lewis… Any film with his participation instantly becomes a real hit, since we are dealing with a single copy of a really great actor. Daniel predictably got Lincoln the next “Oscar”, the film academy also noted the work of the production designer.
Lincoln is an iconic historical figure for Americans. Exactly this president managed to end the civil war, contributed to the abolition of slavery, the development of the southern states. The tragic death of the leader made him even more popular. To this day, Lincoln remains an example of an intellectually gifted American president with good manners.
Of course, cinema has not been without traditional blunders, but only a picky critic can notice them. The atmosphere is excellent, Lincoln’s character is conveyed as authentically as possible, so we have an example of a good historical film. The tape was greeted rather coolly by the domestic audience, but this is understandable, because the personality of Abraham is infinitely far from our sphere of interests.
For reasons of conscience
Director: Mel Gibson
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2016
This time Mel Gibson did not play the main role in his own film and entrusted this honorable mission Andrew Garfield… The picture not only earned respect from the audience, but was also highly appreciated at the Oscar ceremony, receiving statuettes for “best sound” and “editing”. The film really came out of high qualitym and told us about real events that took place during the Second World War.
Desmond Doss – a real person. Simple American guy, raised in a religious family, vegetarian. Faith did not allow him to take up arms, let alone kill people at the front. However, Desmond wanted to help his country and volunteered to serve alongside other soldiers. Of course, his beliefs were laughed at, until the guy, who carried out dozens of wounded comrades, proved his prowess.
It is curious that in life people behave in the same way. It is unpleasant for us when someone upsets the equilibrium of the system, goes against the rules, shows individuality. But after all such a special person can have enormous potential, which the rest simply are not able to consider.
Dark times
Director: Joe Wright
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2017
Meaning of British figures Winston Churchill it is difficult to overestimate and to embody the national hero on the screen had to Gary Oldman… Immediately after the release of the picture, it was clear that this particular actor would become an Oscar winner, and so it happened. Another statuette went to the tape for the “best make-up”.
The picture tells about the preparation of Great Britain for the Second World War. Churchill takes office and sees that Europe is in a critical situation. The politician is faced with a difficult choice – to fight or to start shameful negotiations with Germany. All Churchill’s entourage is for a peaceful solution of the issue, but the leader has his own vision of the situation.
The figure of Winston has always been assessed ambiguously, but we will not deny that he was an extraordinary politician and invariably acted in the interests of his homeland.
Dunkirk
Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2017
Creation Christopher Nolan immediately received 3 “Oscars” in technical nominations and told the viewer about another page of the Second World War. Chronologically events Dunkirk intertwined with the painting “Churchill”, it is Winston who gives the order to evacuate the British soldiers blocked by the Germans.
Germany quickly took over France and plunged the country into a state of chaos. The British have not yet made a clear decision whether to negotiate with a potential adversary. German forces blocked the expeditionary force on the seashore, and only the desperate courage of each person helped to keep casualties to a minimum.
In total, with the participation of civilian courts, more than 300 thousand people, although initially the British government counted on a figure six times less.
Farsi lessons
Director: Vadim Perelman
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 2020
The picture did not manage to break through to the Oscar, but took part in the Berlin Film Festival (out of competition). The jury noted that film about the holocaust – first of all, a humanistic tape, worthy of attention, and secondly, a work of fiction.
The movie is based on real events, and really now you can make out which military stories were true, and which turned out to be fiction. A Belgian Jew has to pretend to be a Persian in order to survive in a concentration camp, because by a lucky coincidence, a local chef wants to learn Farsi. The only problem is that Gilles does not know the language and every minute he is in danger.
We are dealing with a truly atmospheric tape, throughout the entire viewing time the viewer feels as uncomfortable as possible… There is no particular cruelty here, but the depth of internal conflict and relationships is amazing.
If you want to know more about the world of cinema, then we recommend reading our selection of the TOP 10 best films of the 21st century, undeservedly left without an Oscar. Well, if you are not interested in famous films, then read about 10 films in the success of which no one believed.