10 best historical movies ever, ranked

Katharine Hepburn won the third of her four Best Actress Oscars for her biting portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Anthony Harvey’s 1968 historical drama The Lion in Winter. Peter O’Toole stars as Henry II of England, whose attempts to secure his line of succession during Christmas 1183 result in unrest among his family, including his estranged wife and his equally antagonistic sons, all of whom want a piece of the pie.

Although far more theatrical than one would want from a historical drama, The Lion in Winter still crafts a remarkable depiction of the High Middle Ages that few other films have been able to match. Movie lovers will delight in the verbal sparring between O’Toole and Hepburn, with the revered thespians spitting venom at each other with such poise that it might as well be honey. Unlike other historical pictures, The Lion in Winter is more of an intimate drama that explores the dysfunctional dynamic of a family without ever forgetting the complex political angle that warranted its existence in the first place.

Although centered around fictional characters, Titanic is a truly spectacular dramatization of the Titanic’s voyage that recreates its tragic sinking with as much accuracy as a motion picture possibly can. The performances and classic love story are already affecting, but the film’s production values, most notably its jaw-dropping depiction of the ship’s final hours, are Titanic‘s greatest achievement. Despite the years, Titanic remains evergreen, the epitome of what a true cinematic experience should be and Cameron’s crown jewel.

No matter how accurate, biopics will never fully capture the essence of a person and their story; how can they? Thus, many of the best historical movies opt for a decidedly dramatized approach, using real-life figures and settings to tell a fictionalized story that is no less revealing. Such is the case for Miloš Forman’s Amadeus, which was inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1930 play Mozart and Salieri, which is described as a “fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri.”

Tom Hulce and a magnificent F. Murray Abraham shine in the roles of Mozart and Salieri, respectively, with the film exploring themes of envy, pride, longing, desire, and the idea of innate talent through their infamously adversarial relationship. Amadeus breathes life into a time and place, recreating Vienna in the late 18th century with vivid gusto. Historical in spirit, if not necessarily in execution, Amadeus is a postcard of classical Vienna and a character study of two geniuses whose stories have become irrevocably tied by the sands of time.

Quite possibly the most renowned and revered World War II movie ever, Schindler’s List is mandatory viewing for any self-respecting cinephile. Steven Spielberg’s historical epic drama stars Oscar-nominee Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who uses his factories to employ thousands of Polish-Jewish refugees, thus saving them from extermination in the concentration camps.

By now, Schindler’s List fame is well-documented and irrefutable. Spielberg’s trademark sensibilities are put to the test in a devastating, haunting story set amid the horrors of the Holocaust; alas, the director remains committed to depicting the events with distressing, yet necessary accuracy. The result is a heart-wrenching, yet profoundly stirring and touching drama that feels personal despite its massive scope. Few movies have captured the true horrors of war with such striking honesty, ensuring Schindler’s List‘s place as a once-in-a-lifetime cinematic triumph.

Simply put, no historical film will ever compare to the brilliance of Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean’s epic biographical historical drama stars Peter O’Toole in the performance of his career as T. E. Lawrence, a British lieutenant sent to Arabia to act as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their ongoing war against the Turks.

Lawrence of Arabia‘s sheer scope is nothing short of mesmerizing. The film is the expression “history comes to life” realized, a grandiose production that is vast, thrilling, and engaging. Like most other historical movies, Lawrence of Arabia is quite fictionalized, particularly concerning the timeline of the events. Yet, it still successfully shines a light on a pivotal and elusive figure of early 20th-century history, portraying the complex situation of the Ottoman Empire’s last years through a fierce and majestic lens that few, if any, historical films have been able to match, let alone surpass.