Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "20th-century-history"
- Movies or TV
- Genres
- Keywords
- IMDb Rating
- Instant Watch Options
- In Theaters
- Release Year
1. The Crown (2016–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
Follows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
Stars: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Matt Smith
Votes: 258,080
2. Fellow Travelers (2023)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance
Follows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world.
Stars: Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache
Votes: 11,153
3. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
G | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.
Directors: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten
Votes: 37,369 | Gross: $29.55M
4. Mirror (1975)
Not Rated | 107 min | Biography, Drama
A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev, Oleg Yankovskiy
Votes: 52,499 | Gross: $0.18M
5. J. Edgar (2011)
R | 137 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Hamilton
Votes: 133,829 | Gross: $37.31M
6. Cristóbal Balenciaga (2024)
TV-MA | 299 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the rise of designer Cristóbal Balenciaga from humble origins to fashion icon.
Stars: Alberto San Juan, Adam Quintero, Emeline Bayart, Gemma Whelan
Votes: 1,598
7. Charité (2017– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, History, Sci-Fi
The series describes the accomplishments of several famous German physicians and scientists at the prestigious Charité hospital in Berlin during its history.
Stars: Alicia von Rittberg, Mala Emde, Nina Gummich, Sesede Terziyan
Votes: 3,814
8. The Red Baron (2008)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
German biopic loosely based on the World War I fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron by friend and foe alike.
Director: Nikolai Müllerschön | Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes
Votes: 13,182 | Gross: $0.04M
9. 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: 1,608
10. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany (1984)
924 min | Drama, History, War
The village of Schabbach experiences the shifting fortunes of Germany from 1919 to 1982.
Stars: Marita Breuer, Rüdiger Weigang, Kurt Wagner, Gertrud Bredel
Votes: 3,340
11. JFK: One Day in America (2023)
TV-14 | 132 min | Documentary, History
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the president of the United States, told in real time by those who were there.
Stars: Clint Hill, Sid Davis, Paul E. Landis, Buell Frazier
Votes: 645
12. Grey Wolf: Hitler's Escape to Argentina (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Adolf Hitler the biggest criminal in history escaped from the ruins of Berlin and fled with his pregnant girlfriend Eva Braun to a life in the depths of Patagonia, Argentina where he died in 1962.
Director: Gerrard Williams | Stars: Dante Venesio, Maria Heller, Martin Gianola, Pietro Gian
Votes: 344
13. Nazi Mega Weapons (2013– )
60 min | Documentary, History, War
An examination of Nazi Germany's various military engineering projects during World War II.
Stars: James Holland, Richard Lintern, Tony Pollard, Julian Forsyth
Votes: 623
14. Double Cross: The True Story of the D-day Spies (2012)
Documentary, History, War
Revealing the heroic spies who helped contribute to the Allied Powers' victory in WWII.
Director: Matthew Whiteman | Stars: Ben Macintyre, Tuppence Middleton, Hugh Astor, Thomas Argyll Robertson
Votes: 44
15. The Kay Griggs Interviews (1998)
Documentary, History, Talk-Show
Pastor Rick Strawcutter interviews Katharine Pollard Griggs, the wife of Marine Corps Colonel George Griggs, about the history of the U.S. military and the power elite.
Stars: Kay Griggs, Rick Strawcutter
Votes: 26
16. The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2010)
109 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Profile of Robert Oppenheimer, controversial father of the atomic bomb.
Director: David Grubin | Stars: Marvin L. Goldberger, Priscilla McMillan, Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin
Votes: 228
17. 1968: The Year That Changed America (2018)
43 min | Documentary, History
A four-part series that looks back at 1968, a year marked by seismic shifts in American politics, social movements, and global relations, including cultural icons who forever changed the landscape.
Stars: Dan Rather, Mark Bowden, Rick Perlstein, Tim Naftali
Votes: 271
18. Apocalypse Hitler attaque à l'Est (2021)
Documentary, History, War
In June 1941, Hitler took his greatest gamble - launching an attack against the Soviet Union. Despite being the largest German operation of WWII, Operation Barbarossa was one of his biggest failures.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Nathan Rippy, Stephen Rashbrook
Votes: 214
19. The 100 Greatest War Films (2005 TV Movie)
385 min | Documentary
The 100 Greatest War Films of all time, as voted for by the public of the UK.
Director: Mark Murray | Stars: Sean Pertwee, David Aaronovitch, Ken Annakin, Jean-Jacques Annaud
Votes: 121
20. The Irish Revolution (2019– )
154 min | Documentary
The story of the Irish war of independence 1919 to 1922
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Conor Mulvagh, Heather Jones, Michael Laffan
Votes: 103
21. Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021)
120 min | Documentary
This documentary explores film through the voices of significant professionals who have contributed to make sure moving images survive and remain accessible.
Director: Inés Toharia Terán | Stars: Ann Adachi-Tasch, Laure Adler, Benjamin Chowkwan Ado, Janice Allen
Votes: 260
22. 1939 Battle of Westerplatte (2013)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, History, War
September 1st, 1939. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein marks the start of World War II by firing on the garrison stationed at the Westerplatte peninsula in Poland.
Director: Pawel Chochlew | Stars: Michal Zebrowski, Robert Zoledziewski, Jan Englert, Piotr Adamczyk
Votes: 981
23. Apocalypse: Stalin (2015)
157 min | Documentary, History, War
The rise of Stalin, from his early beginning as a bankrobber to the cold-blooded leader of the Soviet Union.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Doug Rand
Votes: 1,125
24. Apocalypse: Hitler Takes on the West (2021– )
104 min | Documentary, History, War
May 10th, 1940, Hitler takes on the West. Will he precipitate Europe into the Apocalypse?
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Nathan Rippy, Stephen Rashbrook
Votes: 258
25. Enthusiasm (1930)
Not Rated | 67 min | Documentary
How the miners of the Don coal basin (one of the industrial regions of Ukraine) were striving to fulfill in four years their part of the Five Year Plan.
Director: Dziga Vertov
Votes: 1,057
26. Crusade in Europe (1949)
TV-PG | 30 min | Documentary, News, War
Based on the title of General Eisenhower's book, combat film from from World War II. This was the first documentary series produced for television.
Stars: Maurice Joyce, Westbrook Van Voorhis, Hugh James, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Votes: 69
27. The True Glory (1945)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, War
A documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
Directors: Garson Kanin, Carol Reed | Stars: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Leslie Banks, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle
Votes: 634
28. Not Just a Game (2010 Video)
62 min | Documentary, History, Sport
This critique of U.S. sports culture shows how 20th-century sports has consistently reflected the hegemonic political discourse of the day, specifically, elite narratives about nationalism, war, gender, race, homosexuality and capitalism.
Director: Jeremy Earp | Star: Dave Zirin
Votes: 89
29. De Gaulle (2020– )
297 min | Biography, Drama, History
From the appeal of June 18, 1940 to his departure from power in 1969, a dive into nearly three decades of the public, but also private, life of Charles de Gaulle.
Stars: Samuel Labarthe, Constance Dollé, Christopher Craig, Baptiste Roussillon
Votes: 171
30. The Memory of Justice (1976)
PG | 278 min | Documentary, War
Explores the subject of atrocities during wartime, especially during World War II and the Vietnam War.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Yehudi Menuhin, Noël Favrelières, Anthony Herbert, Edward Sowders
Votes: 385
31. Evolution of Evil (2015)
50 min | Documentary, Biography, History
They are a rogues gallery of the most notorious despots in recent history. From Hitler to Saddam Hussein, from Stalin to Kim Jong-il of North Korea, from Chairman Mao to Colonel Gaddafi ... See full summary »
Stars: Alisdair Simpson, Mohammed Atta, Luigi Boccanfuso, Frank McDonough
Votes: 143
32. Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom (2021 TV Special)
47 min | Documentary, History, War
Based on Iain Ballantyne's book, and shedding new light on one of World War II's most epic sea battles, this documentary provides a thrilling countdown of the Bismarck's final 24 hours.
Director: David Gilbert | Stars: Yves Dias, Chris Parry, Jane Harrold, Iain Ballantyne
Votes: 29
33. Apocalypse, le crépuscule d'Hitler (2023)
Documentary, History, War
The story of the end of the Second World War as seen by Hitler from 1943 and the turning point of the terrible Battle of Kursk. The end of the reign of the Nazi dictator.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Stephen Rashbrook
Votes: 54
34. Desert Victory (1943)
62 min | Documentary, War
The Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including a re-enactment.
Directors: Roy Boulting, David MacDonald | Stars: Harold Alexander, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Bernard L. Montgomery
Votes: 373
35. Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution (2017 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary, Drama, History
In February 1917, Nicolas Ii abdicated as Tsar of All the Russias. By October, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin have seized control. Was the Russian Revolution really a popular uprising? Or merely a stunning coup d'etat?
Director: Renny Bartlett | Stars: Tariq Ali, Martin Amis, Nicholas Asbury, Nicholas Cowell
Votes: 66
36. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston (2019 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.
Director: Simon George | Stars: Nigel Collins, Helen-Jean Long, Jerry Izenberg, Mike Tyson
Votes: 429
37. Bomber: Terror of WWII (2022)
Documentary, History, War
In history of warfare there have been a catalogue of inventions that have changed way battles are fought.
Stars: John Buckley, Donald Nijboer, Callan McAuliffe, Stephen Huggins
Votes: 24
38. Battle of Kursk (2009 Video)
57 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary recounting the WW2 engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front in July 1943.
Director: Robert Garofalo | Stars: Roy Ward, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Hitler, Ivan Konev
Votes: 10
39. Three Songs About Lenin (1934)
Not Rated | 61 min | Documentary
Three anonymous songs about Lenin provide the basis for this documentary that celebrates the achievements of the Soviet Union and Lenin's role in creating them.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Dolores Ibárruri, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin
Votes: 890
40. Ein Tag in Auschwitz (2020 TV Movie)
89 min | Documentary, History
One day in May 1944, Bernard Walter comes to work - his mission is to photograph the Auschwitz concentration camp. So based on his images, so are we in this film following victims and perpetrators during a day in Auschwitz.
Director: Winfried Laasch | Stars: Dario Gabbai, Irene Weiss, Stefan Hördler, Philipp Moog
Votes: 73
41. Strana Sovetov. Zabytye vozhdi (2017–2019)
Documentary, History
This is a project that tells about the key figures in the leadership of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1953.
Stars: Lyubov Germanova, Ilya Isaev, Sergey Chonishvili, Zurab Miminoshvili
Votes: 16
42. The Desert of Forbidden Art (2010)
PG | 80 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Risking being denounced as an 'enemy of the people,' Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists' works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.
Directors: Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope | Stars: Edward Asner, Sally Field, Ben Kingsley, Igor Paramonov
Votes: 233
43. The Troubles (1981– )
Documentary
Six-part documentary series looking at Northern Ireland from the perspective of recent Irish history.
Votes: 10
44. Paris 1919: Un traité pour la paix (2009 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A film about the Paris Peace Conference that negotiated the end of World War I with the Versailles Treaty.
Director: Paul Cowan | Stars: R.H. Thomson, David Lowe, Paul Bandey, Yan Brian
Votes: 177
45. De Gaulle (2006– )
210 min | Biography, History
This film is a labor of love, delicious to watch and full of tenderness for General de Gaulle as a person. Made for TV, (two episodes 1 hour 3/4 each), it retraces some of the most salient ... See full summary »
Stars: Bernard Farcy, Danièle Lebrun, David Ryall, Grégoire Oestermann
Votes: 141
46. Sex, Censorship and the Silver Screen (1996)
50 min | Documentary, History
A six hour series exploring the 100 year evolution of sexuality and censorship in motion pictures.
Stars: Raquel Welch, Jason Alexander, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei
Votes: 108
47. Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 (2012)
87 min | Documentary
An examination of the destruction of cosmopolitan city Smyrna in 1922.
Director: Maria Ilioú | Stars: Eleni Bastea, Alexandros Kitroev, Giles Milton, Jack Nalbantian
Votes: 112
48. The Best of Hollywood (1998 TV Movie)
97 min | Documentary
Join Tab Hunter on a journey through the history of Hollywood's greatest cinematic achievements from the 1950s to the end of the 20th century.
Directors: Daniel S. Hurwitz, Ted Newsom | Stars: Tab Hunter, Barry ZeVan, James Bacon, Anne Baxter
Votes: 119
49. The House of Paisley (2023)
Documentary
Biography exploring the life and political career of Reverand Ian Paisley.
Stars: Joanne Crawford, Gerry Adams, David McIlveen, Reg Empey
Votes: 11
50. The Diary of Anne Frank: A Tale of Two Sisters (2015 TV Movie)
44 min | Documentary, History, War
Stars: Heinz Geiringer, Miep Gies, Adolf Hitler, Johannes Kleiman
Votes: 19