Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "american-history"

51. Bowling for Columbine (2002)

R | 120 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama

Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.

Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Salvador Allende

Votes: 148,923 | Gross: $21.58M

52. Nixon (1995)

R | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History

A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris

Votes: 32,792 | Gross: $13.56M

53. The Kid (II) (2019)

R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Western

The story of a young boy who witnesses Billy the Kid's encounter with Sheriff Pat Garrett.

Director: Vincent D'Onofrio | Stars: Jake Schur, Leila George, Chris Pratt, Dane DeHaan

Votes: 9,516 | Gross: $1.51M

54. The Current War (2017)

PG-13 | 102 min | Biography, Drama, History

The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas A. Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Oliver Powell, Sophia Ally, Tuppence Middleton

Votes: 31,050

55. American Experience (1987– )

TV-PG | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, History

A series showcasing documentaries on American history.

Stars: David McCullough, David Ogden Stiers, Michael Murphy, Oliver Platt

Votes: 2,215

56. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War

Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder

Votes: 132,504 | Gross: $119.19M

57. Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)

TV-MA | 48 min | Biography, Drama, History

The inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker who built a haircare empire that made her America's first female self-made millionaire.

Stars: Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Kevin Carroll

Votes: 13,679

58. Strange Angel (2018–2019)

TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History

A rocket scientist in 1940s Los Angeles is secretly the disciple of occultist Aleister Crowley.

Stars: Jack Reynor, Bella Heathcote, Peter Mark Kendall, Greg Wise

Votes: 2,575

59. Benjamin Franklin (2022)

225 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Exploring the life and work of writer and publisher, scientist and inventor, diplomat and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution: Benjamin Franklin.

Stars: Peter Coyote, Mandy Patinkin, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson

Votes: 1,190

60. The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007–2011)

TV-MA | 15 min | Comedy

A sketch comedy show involving five friends.

Stars: Timmy Williams, Trevor Moore, Sam Brown, Zach Cregger

Votes: 5,644

61. Bonnie & Clyde (2013)

TV-14 | 87 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, an American robbery team, were responsible for a 21-month crime spree from 1932. They robbed gas stations, restaurants, and small-town banks, chiefly operating in Texas, Oklahoma, as well as other states.

Stars: Emile Hirsch, Holliday Grainger, Sarah Hyland, Elizabeth Reaser

Votes: 5,952

62. The Conspirator (2010)

PG-13 | 122 min | Crime, Drama, History

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline

Votes: 30,044 | Gross: $11.54M

63. Bobby (I) (2006)

R | 117 min | Biography, Drama, History

The destinies of 22 people of different races, sexes, beliefs and social classes are intertwined on the night that politician Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated.

Director: Emilio Estevez | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Harry Belafonte

Votes: 42,842 | Gross: $11.24M

64. Sergeant York (1941)

Passed | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History

A Tennessee farmer and marksman is drafted in World War I, and struggles with his pacifist inclinations before becoming one of the most celebrated war heroes.

Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias

Votes: 19,841 | Gross: $16.40M

65. Z: The Beginning of Everything (2015–2017)

TV-14 | 27 min | Biography, Drama, History

The story of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, a brilliant and beautiful Southern belle who became the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age.

Stars: Christina Ricci, David Hoflin, Kristine Nielsen, David Strathairn

Votes: 4,765

66. Shock and Awe (2017)

R | 90 min | Biography, Drama, History

A group of journalists of the Knight-Ridder news service covering President George W. Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 are skeptical of the President's claim that Saddam Hussein has "weapons of mass destruction."

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Rob Reiner, Tommy Lee Jones

Votes: 8,714 | Gross: $0.08M

67. Into the Wild Frontier (2022– )

TV-PG | 43 min | Biography, Drama, History

As America expands westward, intrepid explorers and rugged mountain men risk their lives to blaze new trails into the wild frontier.

Stars: Delbert Hunt, Andrew Patrick Nelson, Walter Runningcrane Jr., Rick Hurst

Votes: 186

68. Sons of Liberty (2015)

TV-14 | 90 min | Drama, History

The story of a group of very different men fighting in the American Colonies for freedom, and how they will shape the future for the United States of America. Based on true stories.

Stars: Ben Barnes, Marton Csokas, Henry Thomas, Ryan Eggold

Votes: 4,746

69. LBJ (2016)

R | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History

Lyndon B. Johnson aligns himself with John F. Kennedy, rises to the Presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Michael Stahl-David, Richard Jenkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Votes: 7,737 | Gross: $2.47M

70. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )

TV-PG | 53 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Before the popularity of AncestryDNA, journalist and cultural critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. divulges the family trees of various celebrities, many times with stunning revelations.

Stars: Henry Louis Gates Jr., CeCe Moore, Anita Hill, Ty Burrell

Votes: 1,655

71. JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021)

TV-14 | 118 min | Documentary, History

Declassified files related to President Kennedy's assassination in a far larger context, aiming to shine more light on what really happened in 1963.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Whoopi Goldberg, Oliver Stone, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Votes: 4,257

72. 55 Days at Peking (1963)

Unrated | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. marine, Maj. Matt Lewis, along with British consul, Sir Arthur Robertson, develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international military relief force can arrive.

Directors: Nicholas Ray, Guy Green, Andrew Marton | Stars: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson

Votes: 7,449

73. Harley and the Davidsons (2016)

TV-14 | 60 min | Biography, History

Bill Harley joins Walter and Arthur Davidson to risk their fortunes and livelihoods launching the now-iconic motorcycle company. Each has his own challenges to overcome, but they are united by their dreams and ambitions.

Stars: Michiel Huisman, Bug Hall, Robert Aramayo, Annie Read

Votes: 3,520

74. Atlantic Crossing (2020– )

TV-14 | 55 min | Drama, Family, History

Based on the true story of how the Norwegian crown princess steals the heart of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II and changes the face of world politics.

Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Sofia Helin, Tobias Santelmann, Søren Pilmark

Votes: 3,733

75. Show Me a Hero (2015)

TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History

Nick Wasicsko takes office as mayor of Yonkers in 1987 and has to face the issue of building public housing in the white, middle-class side of town.

Stars: Oscar Isaac, Natalie Paul, Carla Quevedo, Peter Riegert

Votes: 12,067

76. 13th (2016)

TV-MA | 100 min | Documentary, Crime, History

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker, Dolores Canales

Votes: 37,745

77. The Blue and the Gray (1982)

TV-PG | 381 min | Drama, History, War

America just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.

Stars: Stacy Keach, John Hammond, Julia Duffy, Robin Gammell

Votes: 1,877

78. The Untold History of the United States (2012–2013)

TV-MA | 58 min | Documentary, History, War

Oliver Stone 's re-examination of under-reported events in American history.

Stars: Oliver Stone, Alan Shearman, Jim Ward, André Sogliuzzo

Votes: 9,737

79. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X

Votes: 23,570 | Gross: $7.12M

80. The Kennedys (2011)

TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, History, Romance

The triumphs and tragedies of the most popular political family in American history.

Stars: Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, Tom Wilkinson

Votes: 7,709

81. Son of the South (2020)

PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama

The true story of one young white Southerner in the Summer of 1961, caught in a place and time where he had to choose which side he was on.

Director: Barry Alexander Brown | Stars: Lucas Till, Jim Klock, Michael Sirow, Jake Abel

Votes: 2,468

82. Theodore Roosevelt (2022)

TV-14 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Two-part series on U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt looking at his work as a progressive reformer as well as his contradictions such as being a passionate conservationist who also hunted animals.

Stars: Shane John Kruger, Rufus Jones, Marco Mintaka, Sean Cameron Michael

Votes: 481

83. Rough Riders (1997)

16+ | 240 min | Action, Drama, History

Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish-American War.

Stars: Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Gary Busey, Brad Johnson

Votes: 2,291

84. The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022)

TV-14 | 398 min | Documentary, History

Explores America's response to the Holocaust, and how it challenged the ideals of democracy.

Stars: Peter Coyote, Daniel Mendelsohn, Peter Hayes, Deborah Lipstadt

Votes: 1,605

85. Rolling Thunder Revue (2019)

TV-MA | 142 min | Documentary, Biography, History

In an alchemic mix of fact and fantasy, Martin Scorsese looks back at Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour and a country ripe for reinvention.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Martin von Haselberg

Votes: 7,753

86. Stonewall (2015)

R | 129 min | Drama, History

A young man's political awakening and coming of age during the days and weeks leading up to the Stonewall Riots.

Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Jonny Beauchamp, Joey King, Caleb Landry Jones

Votes: 4,466 | Gross: $0.19M

87. McCarthy (II)

Biography, Drama, History | Pre-production

A personal look at the influential former politician who rose to fame as a driving force behind anti-communist and anti-homosexual U.S. political sentiment during the Cold War.

Director: Václav Marhoul | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Michael Shannon, Dane DeHaan, Scoot McNairy

88. The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015)

TV-14 | 42 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

Fictionalized account of actual events and people surrounding Lizzie Andrew Borden after her controversial acquittal of the double murder of her father and stepmother in 1892.

Stars: Christina Ricci, Clea DuVall, Cole Hauser, Dylan Taylor

Votes: 4,461

89. Baseball (1994–2010)

TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, History, Sport

A documentary on the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations and the resilience of the game.

Stars: Daniel Okrent, George F. Will, John Chancellor, Doris Kearns Goodwin

Votes: 4,757

90. That's Entertainment! (1974)

G | 135 min | Documentary, Family, Musical

Various MGM stars from yesteryear present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50-year history.

Director: Jack Haley Jr. | Stars: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford

Votes: 5,440 | Gross: $26.89M

91. HyperNormalisation (2016)

166 min | Documentary

Adam Curtis explains how, at a time of confusing and inexplicable world events, politicians and the people they represent have retreated in to a damaging over-simplified version of what is happening.

Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: Adam Curtis, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Victor Gotbaum

Votes: 7,399

92. Billy the Kid (1989 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Western

Gore Vidal's historical novel is brought to life in this television production of Turner Network Television's Billy the Kid.

Director: William A. Graham | Stars: Val Kilmer, Duncan Regehr, Julie Carmen, Rene Auberjonois

Votes: 764

93. Murder Among the Mormons (2021)

TV-14 | 53 min | Documentary, Crime, History

High-stakes exploits turn deadly - and shake a global church to its core - in the extraordinary true crime story.

Stars: Dorie Hofmann Olds, Shannon Flynn, Brent Metcalfe, Richard Turley

Votes: 7,345

94. Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)

PG | 84 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

The true story of a stray dog who joins his new master on the battlefields of the First World War. For his valorous actions, Sgt. Stubby is still recognized as the most decorated dog in American history.

Director: Richard Lanni | Stars: Logan Lerman, Helena Bonham Carter, Gérard Depardieu, Jordan Beck

Votes: 2,570 | Gross: $3.14M

95. The Central Park Five (2012)

Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, Crime, History

A documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.

Directors: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon | Stars: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Kharey Wise, Raymond Santana

Votes: 7,946 | Gross: $0.27M

96. Washington (2020)

253 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

The life story of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Stars: Jeff Daniels, Joanne Freeman, Alan Taylor, Joseph Ellis

Votes: 1,084

97. RBG (2018)

PG | 98 min | Documentary, Biography

The exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.

Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West | Stars: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ann Kittner, Harryette Helsel, Nina Totenberg

Votes: 15,094 | Gross: $14.02M

98. Sun Records (2017–2018)

TV-14 | 44 min | Biography, Drama, History

Colonel Tom Parker presses to take over Elvis' career, but Sam struggles with the decision to let his star go. Jerry Lee's philandering catches up with him, and Johnny starts his own band.

Stars: Chad Michael Murray, Margaret Anne Florence, Keir O'Donnell, Drake Milligan

Votes: 1,069

99. George Washington (1984)

480 min | Biography, Drama, History

The early life and career of the American General and President through his participation in the Revolutionary War.

Stars: Barry Bostwick, Patty Duke, David Dukes, Jaclyn Smith

Votes: 530

100. Freedom: A History of US (2003)

Documentary, History

A sixteen episode mini-series of the history of America.

Stars: Katie Couric, Eric Foner, Tom Hanks, Stanley Tucci

Votes: 480