10 best historical dramas of the 21st century that will take you into the past like a time machine

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Historical cinema has always been a favorite in the film industry. And this is no accident, because all the events of past years have influenced our life and the course of history. In our age of modern technologies, watching these films is a pleasure, because you can see the past in colors and with special effects. Thanks to historical films, there is an opportunity to touch all the significant events of our history, look into the castles of kings, see the horror of past wars, clashes of nations and much more. We offer you to plunge into the past and watch the top 10 historical dramas of the XXI century.

Gangs of New York

The plot of the tape was based on the documentary book by Herbert Osbury in 1928. The film tells us about the struggle between Native Americans and Irish immigrants. The law is not written to these criminal groups, they are ready to go to the end for the sake of fighting for territory, regardless of the victims. The action takes place in 1863 in the slums of New York. In one of the brutal brawls, his main enemy, the leader of the Irish gang, is killed by the leader of the Americans. After a while, his son returns to the streets where his father was killed, with a desire to avenge his death.

The Last King of Scotland

The 2006 film is based on the book by Giles Foden. And, although the main character of the film is a fictional character, the people around him and the events in the film are quite real. The film is set in Uganda, where, after college, a young Scottish doctor arrived, who, by chance, becomes the president's personal doctor. Over time, he even became one of the important advisers to the head of state. At first, the young doctor admired the presidential administration, but soon changed his attitude towards him because of the bloody crimes and the dictatorial regime, and tried to influence what was happening in every possible way.

The King Speaks

In the center of the plot of the film is the Duke, who, after the abdication of his brother's throne, is forced to take office as British King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke is horrified by this news, since he suffered from a stutter since childhood, and now he needs to be the face and voice of his country. To overcome his fears, he was forced to seek help from a specialist from Australia who practices effective but highly controversial methods.

Kingdom of heaven

This historical drama is about the events that preceded the Third Crusade, namely the war between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubids, as well as the siege of Jerusalem by Saladin. The main character is a young gunsmith forced to flee his homeland. He comes to the detachment of the crusaders, which was led by his father. But, soon, in the battle, the father dies and confers the dignity of a knight on his son. The heir pledges allegiance to the King of Jerusalem.

The Last Samurai

This film has been nominated for four Academy Awards and has many awards and nominations. The action of the picture takes place in Japan in the 70s of the XIX century. To train in the modern art of warfare, the Emperor of Japan hires an American military officer. Thus, within the framework of global modernization, he is trying to exterminate the samurai warriors and create a new army for his country, choosing a pro-Western and American position in politics and warfare.

Marie Antoinette

The biographical melodrama tells us about the incredible and at the same time tragic fate of the most famous Queen of France - Marie Antoinette - the daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. In 1770, at such a young age (14 years old), Marie Antoinette married her second cousin, the Dauphin of France, heir to Louis XV, thereby concluding an alliance between the two powers. At the age of 19, she ascends to the French throne. Here, after a carefree childhood, she begins a youth full of entertainment, fun and luxury. And it would seem that life was a success, but it was overtaken by a terrible and sudden death - on the guillotine to the jubilation of the Parisian poor. Many historians believe that such a death is her payback for the dislike and misunderstanding of the common people. But the authors have their own version of this situation, which can be seen in this film.

"Hotel" Rwanda"

The plot of the film is based on real events taking place in Rwanda in the 90s of the last century. In 1994, the political situation in the former Belgian colony was aggravated by tensions between the two peoples - the Tutsi and the Hutu. All this inevitably leads to war. The ethnic majority (Hutu) staged a brutal and bloody massacre in the country, as a result of which more than a million people died, most of whom were Tutsis. To save at least some of the people from violence and murder, the manager of the prestigious hotel "Rwanda" shelters them within his walls. The situation is complicated by the fact that the manager is a Hutu and his wife is a Tutsi. Naturally, this leads to disagreements not only with the extremists, but also with his friends. However, despite all the difficulties and the risk of his own life, the manager managed to save more than a thousand refugees from death.

Color of War

In 1937, in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War, an American undertaker arrives at a monastery outside of which fierce battles are being waged to organize the funeral of a priest. Here, the pupils of the monastery take refuge from the war, and soon women of easy virtue from the neighboring brothel arrive there. Finding himself a hostage of the situation and the only man, the undertaker pretends to be a priest and tries to help save all the girls from the attack of the Japanese army. The plot of the film is based on the real story of the "Nanking Massacre". By the way, some scenes from the film were filmed from photographs of those events. An interesting fact is that this film is banned from viewing in Japan.

Frost vs. Nixon

The film is based on the play of the same name by Peter Morgan. The events of the picture unfold in 1977 in the United States. Three years after his forced resignation, former US President Richard Nixon decided to give an exclusive interview to renowned journalist and TV presenter David Frost. However, the usual interview suddenly turned into an intellectual and political duel in which both opponents dreamed of winning, and at any cost. This battle entered the golden annals of American television journalism. And the film was nominated in five Oscar nominations.

Two Queens

The plot of the 2018 film is based on the historical novel by John Guy. After a long stay abroad, the young Queen of Scots Mary I Stuart returned to her native land in 1561. Since she is a Catholic and has the right to claim the throne of England by blood, she hostilely turned against her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. The young contender for the throne finds herself in a series of dangerous court intrigues. She has to fight with politicians in order not to become a puppet in their hands and to claim her rights to possess the English crown, thereby challenging the powerful Protestant queen.

Especially for fans of good cinema with unexpected turns of events, we have collected 10 movies in which things could have gone differently if not for alcohol.