"Based on a True Story": British History (exc. Royals and World Wars)
by barthsnotes | created - 08 Jul 2012 | updated - 6 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Duchess (2008)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 87,276 | Gross: $13.82M
2. That Hamilton Woman (1941)
Passed | 125 min | Drama, History, Romance
The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Director: Alexander Korda | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Alan Mowbray, Sara Allgood
Votes: 5,059
3. The Young Mr. Pitt (1942)
Approved | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
This biopic tells the story of the life of Pitt The Younger, who became Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of twenty-four.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Robert Donat, Geoffrey Atkins, Jean Cadell, Robert Morley
Votes: 445
4. Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama, History
George 'Beau' Brummel, a penniless but witty London gentleman, maintains a refined lifestyle with his loyal servant, cook Robinson. Only the friendship of the unpopular Hanoverian heir and ... See full summary »
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe | Stars: James Purefoy, Hugh Bonneville, Phil Davis, Elliot Levey
Votes: 698
5. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Passed | 132 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
First mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1789 mutiny.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin
Votes: 24,846
6. Waterloo (I) (1970)
G | 123 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Facing the decline of everything he has worked to obtain, conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte and his army confront the British at the Battle of Waterloo.
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk | Stars: Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 12,616 | Gross: $3.05M
7. Amazing Grace (2006)
PG | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Romola Garai
Votes: 25,696 | Gross: $21.21M
8. The Lady with a Lamp (1951)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, History, War
Florence Nightingale struggled to gain access to battlefield hospitals during the Crimean War for her nursing staff. But by succeeding, she improved sanitary medical conditions for wounded soldiers, changing the course of medical history.
Director: Herbert Wilcox | Stars: Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Gladys Young, Felix Aylmer
Votes: 229
9. The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, History, War
In 1854, during the Crimean War, poor planning leads to the British Light Brigade openly charging a Russian artillery position with tragic consequences.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Trevor Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Harry Andrews
Votes: 3,879
10. Florence Nightingale (2008 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama
Starring Laura Fraser, this film brings to life the story of Florence Nightingale's spiritual and emotional breakdown after the Crimean War: a moment of crisis, doubt, and failure that ... See full summary »
Director: Norman Stone | Stars: Laura Fraser, Michael Pennington, Andrew Harrison, Barbara Marten
Votes: 157
11. Creation (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Torn between faith and science, and suffering hallucinations, English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to complete 'On the Origin of Species' and maintain his relationship with his wife.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Ian Kelly, Guy Henry
Votes: 15,128 | Gross: $0.34M
12. Khartoum (1966)
Approved | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the Sudan, in 1884 to 1885, Egyptian forces led by British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston) defend Khartoum against an invading Muslim Army led by a religious fanatic, Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi (Sir Laurence Olivier).
Directors: Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon | Stars: Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson, Ralph Richardson
Votes: 8,268 | Gross: $6.54M
13. Zulu (1964)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, History, War
Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth
Votes: 42,745
14. Young Winston (1972)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, War
Complex family relationships, as well as a combat experience, form the personality of the future world-known politician.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Simon Ward, Robert Shaw, Peter Cellier, Ronald Hines
Votes: 2,976 | Gross: $4.69M
15. A Night to Remember (1958)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, History
On her maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman
Votes: 17,153
16. A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 107 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Lawrence and Feisal go to argue for Arab independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.
Director: Christopher Menaul | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Alexander Siddig, Denis Quilley, Nicholas Jones
Votes: 728
17. Codebreaker (2011 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 62 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
The highs and lows of Alan Turing's life, tracking his extraordinary accomplishments, his government persecution through to his tragic death in 1954. In the last 18 months of his short life... See full summary »
Directors: Clare Beavan, Nic Stacey | Stars: Ed Stoppard, Henry Goodman, Paul McGann, Asa Briggs
Votes: 1,132
18. Consenting Adults (2007 TV Movie)
80 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
This movie is a BBC Four television dramatization of the events of the Wolfenden committee, whose report led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain. Set in the 1950s, this ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Curson Smith | Stars: Matt Ryan, Jamie Martin, Charles Dance, Sean Biggerstaff
Votes: 118
19. Aberfan: The Untold Story (2006 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary
Director: Jonathan Jones | Stars: Shane Attwooll, Sean Barrett, Greg Bennett, Alister Cameron
20. Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley (2008 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 84 min | Biography, Drama
In the 1950s, Margaret Thatcher works as a research chemist, begins her attempts to be selected for Parliament and meets her future husband Denis Thatcher.
Director: Niall MacCormick | Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Philip Jackson, Michael Gould, Jonathan Aris
Votes: 452
21. Suez: A Very British Crisis (2006 TV Movie)
59 min | Documentary, Drama
The story of the Suez Crisis, how Britian invaded Egypt 50 years ago, making President Nasser a national hero and British prime Minister Anthony Eden a national disgrace.
Director: Louise Hooper | Stars: Andrew Bicknell, Trevor Bishop, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Chris Buckingham
Votes: 27
22. Food for Ravens (1997 TV Movie)
90 min | Drama
The dying Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, the man pivotal in the creation of Britain's National Health Service, reflects on his life and career.
Director: Trevor Griffiths | Stars: Brian Cox, Sinéad Cusack, Dean Davies, Brana Bajic
Votes: 38
23. The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019–2020)
352 min | Drama, History
Story of Christine Keeler, who found herself at the heart of a political sex scandal that rocked British government in the 1960s.
Stars: Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Ellie Bamber, Emilia Fox
Votes: 2,067
24. Bloody Sunday (2002)
R | 111 min | Drama, History, War
A dramatization of the Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops on January 30, 1972.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Allan Gildea
Votes: 25,754 | Gross: $0.77M
25. Sunday (2002 TV Movie)
109 min | Drama
Sunday tells the story of an infamous day in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland and how the events of that day were subsequently covered up by the British Government of the time. On Sunday... See full summary »
Director: Charles McDougall | Stars: Ciarán McMenamin, Barry Mullan, Paul Campbell, Julieann Campbell
Votes: 202
26. In the Name of the Father (1993)
R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King
Votes: 187,094 | Gross: $25.01M
27. The Investigation: Inside a Terrorist Bombing (1990 TV Movie)
105 min | Crime, Drama
In 1974, a pair of pub bombings rocked Birmingham, England. The terrorist attacks killed dozens of innocent civilians, and wounded many more. But another tragedy took place in their ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Beckham | Stars: Martin Shaw, John Hurt, Roger Allam, John Kavanagh
Votes: 102
28. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,544 | Gross: $0.15M
29. A Very English Scandal (2018)
TV-14 | 56 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover and forced to stand trial in 1979.
Stars: Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge
Votes: 16,236
30. Stonehouse (2023)
TV-14 | 60 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A British politician fakes his own death.
Stars: Matthew Macfadyen, Simon Greenall, Kevin McNally, Dorothy Atkinson
Votes: 3,065
31. The Lavender List (2006 TV Movie)
60 min | Drama, History
A political drama about the last days of Harold Wilson's Labour government in the 1970s.
Director: Colin Barr | Stars: Kenneth Cranham, Gina McKee, Celia Imrie, Neil Dudgeon
Votes: 17
32. The Iron Lady (2011)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama
An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd | Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Susan Brown
Votes: 113,617 | Gross: $30.02M
33. The Falklands Play (2002 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, War
On April 2, 1982, Britain went to war to regain the Falkland Islands. This movie is a gripping account of how Prime Minister Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher MP's government handled the biggest ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Samuels | Stars: Patricia Hodge, James Fox, John Standing, Michael Cochrane
Votes: 657
34. Margaret (2009 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 113 min | Drama, History
Margaret Thatcher's final days as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Director: James Kent | Stars: Roger Allam, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Charlotte Asprey, Elizabeth Bennett
Votes: 467
35. Anne (2022)
47 min | Drama, History
The story of Anne Williams' fight for the truth of her son's death.
Stars: Maxine Peake, Bobby Schofield, Rob Jarvis, Stephen Walters
Votes: 2,161
36. The Queen (2006)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama
After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings
Votes: 115,977 | Gross: $56.44M
37. The Special Relationship (2010 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 93 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization that traces former UK prime minister Tony Blair's relationships with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Michael Sheen, Demetri Goritsas, Adam Godley, Marc Rioufol
Votes: 4,989
38. Mo (2010 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 101 min | Biography, Drama
A revealing biopic about politician Dr. Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (Dame Julie Walters).
Director: Philip Martin | Stars: Julie Walters, Emma Cambridge, David Haig, Lucy Boynton
Votes: 384
39. When Boris Met Dave (2009 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary, Drama
A drama-doc about the early lives of Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
Director: John Dower | Stars: Christian Brassington, Jonny Sweet, Christopher Leveaux, Henry Kelly
Votes: 52
40. Miliband of Brothers (2010 TV Movie)
48 min | Documentary, Drama
Charting the rise of the Milliband brother, from their left-wing upbringing to their University days, using dramatized scenes and interviews with people who knew them.
Director: Richard Curson Smith | Stars: Samantha Morton, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Katherine Kanter
Votes: 18
41. Coalition (2015 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 74 min | Drama
An accurate depiction of the events surrounding the United Kingdom hung parliament in 2010 and the aftermath involving the three main party leaders in attempting to form a government, despite contrasting policies and personal beliefs.
Director: Alex Holmes | Stars: Bertie Carvel, Mike Sengelow, Syreeta Kumar, Mark Gatiss
Votes: 275
42. Brexit (2019 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
Political strategist Dominic Cummings leads a popular but controversial campaign to convince British voters to leave the European Union from 2015 up until the present day.
Director: Toby Haynes | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sarah Belcher, Malcolm Freeman, Lucy Russell
Votes: 17,747
43. Partygate (2023 TV Movie)
85 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Karaoke, suitcases of wine, ambushing cake - this factual drama tells the story of Covid from inside 10 Downing Street as staff kicked back at lockdown breaching parties.
Director: Joseph Bullman | Stars: Charlotte Ritchie, Tom Durant Pritchard, Hugh Skinner, Ophelia Lovibond
Votes: 473
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