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So what did make the final list of the 100 best historical movies?

Our historians' brief was simple: choose up to five movies they deemed great, and make the case for them. To count, the movie had to have a cinema release, but beyond that our experts were not limited in what they could choose.

Now it's over to you. This historians have nominated the movies that they think could take the crown, but only you have the power to rank them. Explore the list, then get voting!

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The 100 best historical movies: what the historians said

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Nominated by Hannah Skoda | Directed by Carl Dreyer

This version of Joan of Arc’s story focuses entirely on her trial and follows the original document quite closely. It is truly one of the great works of world cinema – entirely silent, it’s a harrowing and deeply moving experience for the viewer.

The film itself has the most extraordinary history. Controversial on its release (Joan had only been canonised in 1920), it disappeared; the final cut was discovered hidden away in a mental institution just outside Oslo in 1981 and re-released. Joan herself is played by Renée Jeanne Falconetti, who delivers a devastating performance and never acted again.

La Grande Illusion (1937)

Nominated by Rana Mitter | Directed by Jean Renoir

Set during the Great War, the ‘great illusion’ of the title is the idea that war can resolve the problems of humanity. The protagonists are an aristocratic French POW and his German captor, and the film is as much about the links between them, because of their shared upper-class experiences, as their separation because of their nations being at war.

The film was released just a couple of years before the Second World War broke out and was a massive hit, but its pacifist message offended both Goebbels, who condemned it, and the French authorities, who banned it after the outbreak of war with Germany.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Nominated by Mark Glancy | Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley

Historical films made during Hollywood’s studio era could be stodgy tales, designed to enhance the studio’s prestige rather than entertain audiences, but there is nothing dull about this fast-paced Technicolor take on the legend of Robin Hood as directors Michael Curtiz and William Keighley capture the action with pacey camerawork.

In the lead role, Errol Flynn is the most dashing and witty of swashbucklers. Co-star Olivia De Havilland is steely and resourceful Maid Marion. It is a romp from start to finish and, unlike some of the more recent Robin Hood films, it has scarcely aged.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Nominated by Alex von Tunzelmann | Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Made during the Second World War, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s epic turns Colonel Blimp, a popular buffoon from a comic strip, into Major-General Clive Wynne-Candy, a veteran of the Boer War and First World War whose life is defined by honour and lost romance.

Winston Churchill hated this film so much he tried to stop production – perhaps it was too close to the bone – but it stands now as one of the greatest British films ever made. It’s a profound elegy to British history: at once witty, sharp and deeply moving.

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

Nominated by Mark Stoyle | Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Although the action of A Canterbury Tale is chiefly set in the 1940s, when the film was made, an immensely powerful sense of history runs through it. From the opening sequence – in which a hawk, unleashed from the hand of a medieval pilgrim riding to Canterbury, transforms itself into a Spitfire flying over the same countryside nearly 600 years later – the film’s central theme is that of ‘times trans-shifting’.

It’s concerned with how the past and the present are intrinsically interlinked, and of the way in which the boundaries between the two can shift and blur. There is no space to do justice to this strange, mystical and intensely humane film here: it is, quite simply, a work of cinematic genius.

Henry V (1944)

Nominated by Sarah Gristwood | Directed by Laurence Olivier

It’s been said, and truly, that every work of history reflects the time in which it was made as much as the one it depicts. This has never been more true than it is of Laurence Olivier’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V.

In 1944, Britain needed a morale boost as surely did the English troops before Agincourt. The film was partly funded by the British government, crafted on Winston Churchill’s orders, and makes no secret of its message. But Olivier, Shakespeare, and a great medieval leader? What’s not to be bowled over by?

The Spring River Flows East (1947)

Nominated by Rana Mitter | Directed by Cai Chusheng and Zheng Junli

The Spring River Flows East is a three-hour epic about a young couple torn apart during the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. The husband, Zhongliang, escapes to the unoccupied southwest of China, recovers his life and marries again. His wife Sufen, in contrast, lives under occupation and when war ends in 1945, remains in poverty.

The film is bleak, yet audiences flocked to it on release in 1947, because its protagonists seemed so accurately to reflect the trauma that millions had suffered during the Second World War. Two years after its release, China would see a communist revolution that would sweep away the world depicted in the film.

The Cruel Sea (1953)

Nominated by James Holland | Directed by Charles Frend

This is simply one of the best war movies ever made. If you’re a pedant like I am, historical errors really grate, but this is flawless: filmed on a real wartime corvette, by actors who actually served in the war. Every part of it is pitch perfect.

Jack Hawkins is superb and utterly convincing as the ship’s captain, while the “Bloody murderer!” scene is one of the finest in cinema, perfectly conveying the terrible moral conundrums that faced so many ordinary men in war.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Nominated by Mary-Ann Ochota | Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Seven Samurai is a masterpiece of storytelling. Set in the feudal society of 16th-century Japan, a village is defended from bandits by a group of Samurai warriors.

This isn’t a simple tale of good guys battling bad guys – tied to a code of honour and duty, the warriors’ relationship with the peasants they’re defending is complex, and it’s all played out in a landscape of existential social change, in which they all face an uncertain future.

The historical accuracy of clothing, houses and weapons brings an often-overlooked period to life. And if you like a good fight scene, you won’t be disappointed either: the rooftop combat sequences are awesome.

• On the podcast | Samurai: everything you wanted to know

Kanal (1957)

Nominated by Rana Mitter | Directed by Andrzej Wajda)

One of the greatest films made about the Second World War, Kanal is set almost entirely in a sewer (in Polish, the ‘kanal’ of the title).

The film concentrates on a few of the last fighters in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising who try to outpace the Nazis who have tracked them down. It shows heroism, but it is not simplistic (one shocking scene near the end comes because one character admits having abandoned his men), and the overall atmosphere of dank despair and a literally dirty realism caused huge controversy in communist Poland on the film’s release.

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Nominated by Eleanor Barraclough | Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Long before I was a historian, I was a Terry Pratchett fan. It was through his Discworld novels that I came to the figure of Death, who plays games with mortals (chess, yes, but also cards, and another game involving "three streets and all the utilities").

So it was through Terry Pratchett and the Discworld version of Death that I came to Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal, in which a medieval crusader returns home to Sweden and finds the land ravaged by plague. The knight meets Death and challenges him to a chess match in order to prolong his life. I've always found it a difficult film, one that lingers to trouble the mind long after that final scene with the figures dancing over the hill.

Despite plenty of historical anachronisms, it has a very late-medieval feel: Bergman found inspiration not least in a 15th century painting of Death playing chess with a mortal, on the wall of the medieval church at Täby.

Hercules Unchained (1959)

Nominated by Paul Cartledge | Directed by Pietro Francisci

Hercules Unchained is basically an Italian film, starring an American, Steve Reeves, in the title role. The then-33-year-old Reeves had already established himself as a superstar bodybuilder, carrying off all the major trophies then available. He then transitioned to the world of the ‘peplum’ or ‘sword and sandals’ sub-epic cinematic genre.

The story of Hercules Unchained, such as it is, is a variant on a standard pattern: superheroes of civilisation battle and overcome assorted monsters and lesser breeds, without the law and in pursuit of some quest or other, such as securing the golden fleece. But that really wasn’t the point of this film, which was to appeal to the (then necessarily) closeted gay community on both sides of the Atlantic.

Spartacus (1960)

Nominated by Rana Mitter | Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Spartacus was the gladiator who fought back against the Roman empire. In real life, his rebellion started in 73 BC, but the hero as portrayed by Kirk Douglas is a product of Cold War America as much as he is part of a lavish and glittering portrayal of the ancient world.

While hardly a paragon of historical accuracy, the overall themes including the fall of Rome into tyranny echo debates that genuinely wracked the politics of republican Rome. Yet the film’s famous “I am Spartacus” scene, while entirely fictional, is particularly poignant because it had been written by scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted and isolated during the McCarthy “red scare” in Hollywood.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Nominated by Alex von Tunzelmann | Directed by David Lean

Historians may quibble with some of the fictionalisations in David Lean’s desert epic, and the family of the Sheikh Auda Abu Tayi quibbled with his racially insensitive portrayal by Anthony Quinn.

Yet Lawrence of Arabia remains one of the most visually stunning films ever made, with a gorgeous soundtrack and powerfully compelling chemistry between Peter O’Toole as Lawrence and Omar Sharif as the fictional Sherif Ali.

For all its inaccuracies, it captures a truth about Lawrence’s character and charisma that scholarly biographies don’t always convey.

Jason & the Argonauts (1963)

Nominated by Paul Cartledge | Directed by Don Chaffey

The chief glory here is the utterly brilliant visual effects created by American-British stop-motion animation artist-genius Ray Harryhausen. Surprisingly, Jason & the Argonauts was not a box office success, but acquired its cult status later. Another of its winning features besides the visuals was its score, composed by Bernard Herrmann of Psycho (1960) fame.

Rather charmingly the film’s Wikipedia entry contains a long section entitled ‘Differences from classical mythology’: for example, it omits enchantress Medea’s murdering of her own brother. But ancient myths such as that of Jason and the Argonauts weren’t fixed in every detail, so the screenwriters and filmmakers had every right to ‘vary’ the ancient versions, and the result is distinctly watchable still.

Zulu (1964)

Nominated by Luke Pepera | Directed by Cy Endfield

To watch and understand Zulu is in some measure to understand Britain, its colonial history and its historical view towards not just Africans but its ‘colonial subjects’ generally.

Zulu tells the story of the 1879 battle of Rorke’s Drift, fought between around 150 British soldiers and a more than 3,000 Zulu warriors. Michael Caine’s performance as the supercilious Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead is the most emblematic of what is believed to have been Britons’ attitude towards Africans, and therefore the most memorable.

This film is epic, dramatic and enlightening with some of the best battle scene set-pieces in all of cinema. But the entire film is told from the British perspective; that of the Zulu, which would improve the film’s accuracy, is lacking.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Nominated by Emily Brand | Directed by David Lean

Like Boris Pasternak’s original novel of 1957, this epic romance, released during the Cold War, is implicitly critical of the early Soviet regime and the popular suffering it caused.

It might not score too highly for accuracy with historians of the Russian Revolution (politics remain a tantalising backdrop and it was filmed during a Spanish summer) but this tale of forbidden love, decaying ideals and personal sacrifice is an atmospheric and seductive exploration of how grand events impact upon the individual, and whether head or heart is more important. And who wouldn’t fall in love with Julie Christie as Lara?

The War Lord (1965)

Nominated by Robert Bartlett | Directed by Franklin J Schaffner

Charlton Heston stars in the title role as a Norman knight. He was apparently so taken by the play on which the film is based that he bought the film rights when he was still an aspiring actor.

Unlike Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments, there is no cast of thousands (which Heston refused) but a desolate tower on the North Sea coast, with semi-pagan peasants, Frisian raiders, sibling rivalry and sexual conflict. A great evocation of the grim world of early feudalism.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Nominated by Mary-Ann Ochota (Also nominated by Marc Morris) | Directed by Fred Zinnemann

A masterful representation of an episode of British history which still impacts us today, as Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) stands firm in the face of King Henry VIII's desire for divorce and a schism with Rome.

More’s world is visceral – from draughty corridors, flickering tapers and muddy riverbanks. The danger and turmoil of the period is vividly evoked, where More appreciates that a misspoken word will cost him his life, and his silence might well too.

In the careful, dramatic language, it offers a reminder that the men arguing issues of political and religious truth believed that the ultimate price they might pay was the eternal damnation of their soul. The executioner’s axe was nothing compared to what was really at stake.

Andrei Rublev (1966)

Nominated by Robert Bartlett | Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Fair warning: this is an art house film – slow, with a disjointed narrative, and no car chases. It is also black and white and in Russian, but notable as it delves deeply into the spirituality and brutality of 15th-century Russia as it presents Andrei Rublev, Russia’s most famous icon painter, confronting the question of what art is for.

It includes a riveting depiction of the way pagan beliefs survived in the Christian Middle Ages and the best representation of the sack of a city in world cinema.

Chimes at Midnight (1966)

Nominated by Tom Holland | Directed by Orson Welles

The best film adaptation of Shakespeare’s works ever made, this is also one of the best cinematic evocations of medieval England – despite having been shot in Spain.

The hints of grooviness in Keith Baxter’s portrayal of Prince Hal (the film premiered in 1966) merely serves to add a further layer of historical resonance. Orson Welles as Falstaff, the part he was born to play; brilliant cinematography; a battle fought in thick mist: the Bard would have loved it.

The Lion in Winter (1968)

Nominated by Alex von Tunzelmann | Directed by Anthony Harvey

This deliciously vicious Plantagenet Christmas comedy boasts a jaw dropping cast. Peter O’Toole is Henry II, Katharine Hepburn is Eleanor of Aquitaine, and both Anthony Hopkins in his. lead role screen debut and Timothy Dalton in his film debut as Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France respectively – complete with a sizzling backstory.

James Goldman’s razor-sharp script, adapted from his own stage play, captures the high stakes of medieval royal family feuds. “What shall we hang?” Henry asks Eleanor. “The holly, or each other?”

Anne of a Thousand Days (1969)

Nominated by Tracy Borman | Directed by Charles Jarrott

Geneviève Bujold and Richard Burton deliver an intoxicating double act as the ill-fated Anne Boleyn and her royal suitor-turned-husband Henry VIII. It opens with the much-married king on the verge of signing Anne Boleyn’s execution warrant, then looks back on the nine years that led to that point.

The film received mixed reviews when it first aired but was nominated for no fewer than ten academy awards. True, the dialogue might be a bit hammy for modern tastes, but it is beautifully filmed, escapist stuff. For me, the standout (if entirely fanciful) moment is when Anne defiantly proclaims to Henry: ‘My Elizabeth shall be queen! And my blood will have been well spent!’

Waterloo (1970)

Nominated by Zack White | Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk

Imagine being so dedicated to depicting a battle that you resculpt the countryside to create a film set. That was Sergei Bondarchuk’s approach to Waterloo, retelling the story of the Napoleonic era’s most famous battle with stunning visual spectacle.

Inevitably, as with any cinematic production, the film is laced with historical errors, but the gravitas and authenticity of Rod Steiger’s portrayal of Napoleon, combined with Christopher Plummer’s bitingly sarcastic Wellington are ample compensation.

From the mass cavalry charges to the steadfast infantry squares holding their ground, there is no better depiction of a Napoleonic battle to have graced the big screen.

Blanche (1971)

Nominated by Robert Bartlett | Directed by Walerian Borowczyk

Blanche is set in 13th-century France, though the plot was stolen from the story of Mazeppa, a 17th-century Cossack. A grim tower in the mist houses an old lord married to a much younger wife, the lord’s idealistic and infatuated son from his earlier marriage and a visiting royal party (including a page keen on sexual conquests).

It pays much attention to historical detail in music, costume and the ritual and boredom of court life.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Nominated by Sarah Gristwood | Directed by Werner Herzog

I’ll always remember Aguirre as the first film I saw that went beyond the conventional, sanitised school of history movies.

Loosely (very loosely) based on the story of a real 16th-century mercenary, and of two expeditions up the Amazon in search of El Dorado, it was directed by Werner Herzog, the controversial visionary of New German Cinema.

An increasingly insane Aguirre was unforgettably played by Klaus Kinski. The filming was fraught: Herzog reputedly pulled a gun when Kinski tried to quit. But not only did the picture become a cult classic, extensively referenced by Apocalypse Now among others, it did much to explode the heroic colonial narratives of earlier days.

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Nominated by Luke Pepera | Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Adapted from Frederick Forsyth’s supreme 1971 spy novel of the same name, The Day of the Jackal is an anatomy of an assassination.

In 1963, aggrieved that French President Charles de Gaulle has ‘allowed’ Algeria to win back its independence, the leaders of OAS (Organization de l’Armée secrète), a rogue French paramilitary organisation, pay a skilled assassin known only as ‘the Jackal’ half-a-million dollars to assassinate de Gaulle. An adeptly-shot and tightly-plotted film, we follow the Jackal, played utterly convincingly by Edward Fox.

One wonders whether Zinnemann had been a 1960s assassin himself, or else interviewed some, so accurately he brings to life the period, the contemporary political tensions in France and the steps an assassin would take to finish such a job.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Nominated by Maddy Pelling | Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Shot using natural light with a camera lens developed by NASA, Stanley Kubrick’s classic recreates in painstaking detail the Hogarthian progress of one young man through riotous, violent and scandal-filled Georgian society.

Where else would you get Space-Age technology combined with 18th-century art history?

The film also occupies its own interesting historical moment – production was shifted from Ireland to England after Kubrick received a phone call, allegedly from the IRA, warning him to leave the country.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Nominated by Marc Morris (Also nominated by Eleanor Barraclough) | Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

As a medievalist, I can’t abide most films set in the Middle Ages, but the first original Python film is a notable exception. While no one would attempt to argue that it’s historically accurate, it is nevertheless respectful of the Arthurian source material and held together by a passionate performance by Graham Chapman as the legendary King Arthur.

The comedy remains superb – Dennis the Constitutional Peasant is a particular favourite – but the inspired silliness is also offset by a magnificent soundtrack and a suitably heroic main theme.

All the President’s Men (1976)

Nominated by Mark Glancy | Directed by Alan J Pakula

The Watergate scandal centred on a sprawling, often grubby set of crimes that emanated from US President Richard Nixon’s White House and ultimately led to his downfall. The story is told here, however, from the vantage point of the two dogged journalists who did so much to expose it. Hence, the film is not a cynical, sordid political exposé but a tense political thriller that has often been imitated but seldom matched.

Its success ensured that using ‘gate’ as suffix, and the phrases ‘follow the money’ and ‘deep throat’, were established as everyday expressions.

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Nominated by Marc Morris | Directed by Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough’s film of Operation Market Garden was not a huge hit in 1977, with many critics complaining about its running time of almost three hours. In subsequent decades, however, it has established itself as a splendid way to waste a Sunday afternoon.

The cast list is veritable who’s who of male matinee idols, including Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Laurence Oliver, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Anthony Hopkins, Elliott Gould and Ryan O’Neal. Screenwriter William Goldman laboured to ensure the script was as accurate as possible, knowing that several of the people portrayed in the film were still alive at the time of its release.

The Chess Players (1977)

Nominated by Rana Mitter | Directed by Satyajit Ray

Based on a story by the novelist Premchand, the film is set on the eve of the Indian Uprising of 1857 as the state of Awadh is about to be annexed by the British.

The chess players of the title are two indolent noblemen who spend much of their time in games and banter, while their equally detached maharajah allows British officers to subvert his rule. The story is fiction, but Martin Scorsese was among those who described the film as deeply evocative of a moment of major historical change, and its comic tone hides the greater tragedy of the ruling classes’ complicity in the conquest of India.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Nominated by Luke Pepera (Also nominated by Roger Moorhouse) | Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

For non-Vietnamese and non-Americans, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classic is a crash-course in the brutal history of the Vietnam War.

Based on Joseph Conrad’s sublime 1899 novella, Heart of Darkness, we join Captain Willard, whom Martin Sheen plays deftly, on his treacherous and eye-opening journey through Vietnam and Cambodia. His mission is to assassinate a rogue US Special Forces colonel called Walter Kurtz, played unforgettably by Marlon Brando.

The story is fictional, but Coppola enlightens viewers as to how strange American soldiers found Vietnam, the wanton destruction the American military executed upon the country, the way in which Americans perceived themselves in contrast to the Vietnamese, and how easy it is in war to lose both your mind and humanity.

The Elephant Man (1980)

Nominated by Mark Glancy | Directed by David Lynch

David Lynch’s film about the life of Joseph Merrick is not a fact-based biopic; Lynch signals as much by calling his lead character John Merrick. Instead, the film is a dark and at times surreal exploration of how the world reacts to Merrick’s disfigurement.

John Hurt’s quietly vulnerable performance is heartbreaking, and the representation of Victorian London is bleaker than any offered by Dickens. A corrective to the heritage film, this paints an unforgettable portrait of the brutal poverty of the era.

Das Boot (1981)

Nominated by Roger Moorhouse | Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Adapted from the eponymous novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim – who had served aboard U-96 in 1941 – with numerous U-boat veterans serving as consultants, Das Boot is the definitive film depiction of Germany’s U-boat war.

Telling the story of one of U-96’s eleven war patrols, it shows the boredom, the drama and the camaraderie of the battle of the Atlantic, as well as the mental and physical toll endured by U-boat crews. Gritty, claustrophobic and utterly compelling, it is essential viewing for every history buff.

Excalibur (1981)

Nominated by Robert Bartlett | Directed by John Boorman

An overheated (in the best sense) dive into the world of King Arthur, in which Nicol Williamson’s eccentrically voiced Merlin and Helen Mirren’s erotically charged Morgana stand out.

Don’t raise the cry of “Anachronism!” if you see knights in full plate armour in the Dark Ages or something quite close to lap-dancing at the Cornish court – this is the Arthurian world, where time and place are flexible. Shrug off the absurdities and enjoy the full-blooded approach to the story.

The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)

Nominated by Hannah Skoda | Directed by Daniel Vigne

Set in the 16th century, this film tells the extraordinary story of Martin Guerre, or at least of a man who claimed to be Martin Guerre. In 1560, a peasant claimed that he had returned from the war, and set up house with his wife: but not everyone was convinced, and a trial ensued to prove his identity.

It’s the most extraordinary story, and one which captured the imagination of writers across the ages. And the documents of the trial survive to give amazing insights into sixteenth-century identities and relationships. It’s a very moving film, and the historical reconstruction is superb – the historical consultant was the utterly inspiring historian Natalie Zemon Davis who went on to write a book about the case.

Amadeus (1984)

Nominated by Alice Loxton (Also nominated by Emily Brand)| Directed by Miloš Forman

Amadeus takes us to 18th–century Vienna for a frothy tribute to the world of Mozart, seen through the eyes of another great composer, Salieri. Most memorable is the portrayal of Mozart himself: not the formal portrait you might imagine, but a ridiculously silly, childlike character – a stark contrast to the sublimity of his music.

Though Amadeus plays fast and loose with historical fact – writer Peter Shaffer saw it as a “fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri” – it certainly conveys a sense of his extraordinary genius, and how this captivated the beau monde.

Come and See (1985)

Nominated by Roger Moorhouse | Directed by Elem Klimov

Elem Klimov’s account of a Belarusian boy’s coming of age during the wartime German occupation of his country is both epic in scale and terrifying in its hyperrealism. The horror is viscerally conveyed in a series of set-pieces and sometimes surreal sequences that form an unsettling, apocalyptic whole. The central performance of the Belarusian boy Flyora, played by Aleksei Kravchenko, is simply spellbinding.

Klimov had to fight the Soviet censors to get his film made; we should be thankful that he succeeded.

Ran (1985)

Nominated by Alex von Tunzelmann | Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa’s spectacular epic retelling of the life of 16th-century daimyō (a Japanese feudal lord) Mōri Motonari enriches his story with plenty of references from Motonari’s contemporary, William Shakespeare – mostly from King Lear, though Lady Macbeth gets an unforgettable look-in.

As an evocation of Sengōku Japan, it’s unsurpassed, and as a piece of cinema it’s mesmerising. The battle scenes are not only the best cinematic depiction of 16th-century Japanese warfare; they’re among the best cinematic depictions of warfare, full stop.

The Name of the Rose (1986)

Nominated by Eleanor Barraclough | Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud

I discovered The Name of the Rose as a young teenager and was hooked, mostly because I was going through a protracted Christian Slater phase. It took me a long time to realise it was actually based on the extraordinary novel by Umberto Eco, and even longer to appreciate the haunting medieval world-building that is translated so well from the book to the screen.

This is an evocative portrayal of the theological and intellectual complexion of life in a 14th century Benedictine abbey, the superstitions and fears of its inhabitants, the looming Romanesque and Gothic architecture (permanently wreathed in eerie fog: this is a murder mystery after all).

Sure, it loses some of its complexity en route from novel to film (lighter on the medieval metaphysics, heavier whodunnit), but it holds a very special place in my heart.

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Nominated by Mark Stoyle | Directed by Steven Spielberg

Based on JG Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, Empire of the Sun recounts the experiences of Jim, a British boy held in a Japanese internment camp near Shanghai during the Second World War.

The film chronicles both the collapse of the British empire in East Asia, and the rise and fall of the Japanese empire which so briefly replaced it, while foreshadowing the rise of China to come. It is a deeply poignant and unsettling piece of work: never more so than in the scene where Jim salutes the teenage Japanese kamikaze pilots who are taking part in a perfunctory ceremony on the runway beside the camp, as they prepare to set off on their final, futile missions towards the war’s end.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Nominated by Alex von Tunzelmann | Directed by Stephen Herek

Traditional historians may drop their sherry at the prospect of two hair-metal-obsessed teenagers trying to pass a history test with a time machine. Yet few films better illustrate historical reception – how history is interpreted, appropriated and used in the present day.

Bill and Ted collect historical figures including Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Sigmund Freud and Socrates, then we get to see how they fare in 1980s California. Of Genghis Khan, we learn: “This is a dude who, 700 years ago, totally ravaged China, and who, we were told, two hours ago, totally ravaged Oshman’s Sporting Goods.” Entirely believable.

La Révolution Française (1989)

Nominated by Emily Brand | Directed by Robert Enrico and Richard T Heffron

Released to mark the bicentenary, this two-part film depicts the French Revolution from the opening of the Estates General (1789) to the fall of Robespierre (1794). Focusing on the political struggles of Danton and Desmoulins, it is exquisitely French (except, perhaps, Sam Neill as Lafayette).

Despite inevitable bias and bursts of sentimentality, the telling is nuanced and largely traceable to real events. A fantastically chilling Robespierre and petulant but benevolent Louis XVI are particularly well drawn. Not for the faint-hearted – at almost six hours long – it evokes the energy and tragedies of the revolutionaries, offering an antidote to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Nominated by Estelle Paranque | Directed by Michael Mann

This is a classic that may have slipped past younger generations. Set in 1757 during the Seven Years’ War, The Last of the Mohicans gets some of its timelines confused, yet still succeeds in explaining the rivalry between the French and the English which led to the destruction and annihilation of so many Native American tribes caught in the middle. This movie makes you realise that survival was all that mattered for anyone living during that time.

Unforgiven (1992)

Nominated by Sarah Gristwood | Directed by Clint Eastwood

Every Western is a history movie – but not all of them take seriously that aspect of their role. Clint Eastwood’s revisionist Western not only recast the Oscar-winning actor/director as a creative force to be reckoned with, but opened the door to a new way of looking at the most iconic period of American history.

An ageing ex-gunslinger turned farmer (with fellow fighter Morgan Freeman, up against sheriff Gene Hackman) takes on one last, lucrative job to avenge an injured woman. It recast the West as a place of real mud and blood, where moralities are not black and white, but shades of grey.

Les Visiteurs (1993)

Nominated by Hannah Skoda | Directed by Jean-Marie Poiré

This is one of the silliest films I have ever seen, but also one of the most fun. It involves a time-travelling 12th-century knight and his squire, who find themselves in the 20th century by mistake.

It is full of deliciously ridiculous stereotypes of the Middle Ages, and gorgeous scenery – many scenes are filmed in the fabulous city of Carcassonne. And the performance by Jean Reno, as the Count Godefroy de Montmirail is hilarious – and completely po-faced.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Nominated by Eleanor Barraclough | Directed by Mel Brooks

Did it get panned by critics for its slow pace and clunky jokes? Yes. Have some of its jokes aged badly? Painfully. Does it have as much historical authenticity as a plastic Viking horned helmet? Emphatically. And yet for many children of the 90s who grew up with the clanging historical anachronisms and mullet hairstyles of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, or indeed those of older generations more familiar with Errol Flynn in his skintight green leggings and jaunty feathered cap, this film has developed a cult status.

Hovering somewhere between a pantomime, a pastiche and a piss-take, the film pops the bubble of the cliches and clangers that surround the Robin Hood myth thanks to other film adaptations. And most importantly, remember that, unlike some other Robin Hoods, this one can speak with an English accent.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Nominated by Nathen Amin (Also nominated by Roger Moorhouse) | Directed by Steven Spielberg

Haunting viewing that captures, as well as a film can, the absolute terror of Nazi Germany and the unspeakable suffering of the Jewish community.

Schindler’s List is an important film, perhaps even THE most important film. With a world so often in turmoil, Steven Spielberg’s emotive masterclass directly challenges the viewer and reminds us of the danger of allowing evil to take root.

The liquidation of the ghetto, in particular, is uncomfortable viewing, as it should be. The further removed from the Holocaust we are, this film is, in a word, necessary.

The Remains of the Day (1993)

Nominated by Emily Brand | Directed by James Ivory

This beautiful film, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s sublime novel of the same name, constructs an unsettling picture of England in the 1930s, as pro-German fascist sentiment percolated among the aristocracy.

From the refreshing perspective of Anthony Hopkins’ marvellously authentic, repressed and regretful butler, we witness the intrigues of his fictional employer Lord Darlington – reminiscent of real-life Nazi appeaser Lord Londonderry – and associates both real and invented. Exploring one man’s deeply personal emotional journey within a dark and momentous historic context, it offers a quietly devastating examination of English character, class and power.

La Reine Margot (1994)

Nominated by James Holland (Also nominated by Estelle Paranque and Hannah Skoda) | Directed by Patrice Chéreau

I’m a sucker for French cinema but this movie, set around the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572 and the turbulent French Wars of Religion, is stunning: every scene a work of art, with the entire cast perfect from Vincent Perez, to Jean Hughes Anglade and Isabelle Adjani – never more ludicrously beautiful. A tale of love, violence and devastating regicide, I have watched this over and over since that first time in the cinema.

The Madness of King George (1994)

Nominated by Marc Morris (Also nominated by Emily Brand) | Directed by Nicholas Hytner

Released in 1994 to instant critical acclaim, The Madness of King George is a fictionalised account of George III’s well-known mental collapse in the late 1780s. Nigel Hawthorne’s command performance as the king lingers in the memory, by turns cutting and affectionate towards his family, and pitiable as he is tortured back to a semblance of sanity by Dr Willis (Ian Holm).

Adapted by Alan Bennet from his own stage play, it contains frequent comic moments among the tragedy (‘If we did forget ourselves, I would so like to remember!’). Castle enthusiasts will note that Arundel stands in for Windsor.

Apollo 13 (1995)

Nominated by Zack White | Directed by Ron Howard

Did you know that one of the most famous lines in the history of space travel, “Houston we have a problem”, is a misquote?

When the real-life Apollo 13 Moon mission encountered difficulties, Astronaut Jack Swigert actually said “Houston, we’ve had a problem here”, but this was changed in the film of the same name to increase tension.

Little inaccuracies aside, Apollo 13 is a great film for emotionally bringing to life the human side of the story of the stricken spacecraft and the challenges and strains placed on the crew and NASA engineers who overcame this unprecedented challenge. It reminds us how small we are in the vastness of space, and how success is possible, regardless of the odds, through teamwork and ingenuity.

Braveheart (1995)

Nominated by Luke Pepera | Directed by Mel Gibson

Braveheart is a film for which the term ‘historical epic’ must’ve been coined. Thirteenth-century Scotland: in the face of decades of English oppression and the murder of his beloved wife, Scottish farmer William Wallace (played expertly by Mel Gibson) leads a rebellion against English king Edward I. Patrick McGoohan, who plays Edward, delivers one of the best performances as a villain in cinematic history.

The film doesn’t earn many points for sticking to historical facts – the real Wallace was a minor aristocrat, not a farmer, and he wasn’t as flawlessly noble and skilled in battle as Gibson’s counterpart. Still, Braveheart reflects how the Scottish have seen, and arguably continue to see, themselves, especially in contrast to the English.

Richard III (1995)

Nominated by Marc Morris | Directed by Richard Loncraine

Shortly before he took up his wizard’s staff in The Lord of the Rings, Ian McKellan delivered an outstanding performance as Shakespeare’s notorious homicidal king.

The original play is shifted from the 15th century to an imagined 1930s Britain, with Richard III portrayed as a would-be fascist dictator. Both the script and staging are cleverly handled, with McKellan delivering his villainous monologues straight to camera, confiding in the audience like Michael Caine in Alfie. Clever casting, too, with US actors playing the nouveau-riche Woodvilles, despised by the old aristocrats played by Brits.

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Nominated by Maddy Pelling | Directed by Ang Lee

Released in 1995, the same year BBC’s Pride and Prejudice aired, Sense and Sensibility set a whole new generation of Jane Austen fans swooning.

Shot across historical sites in South West England, including Montacute House in Somerset and Saltram House in Devon, director Ang Lee captures the aesthetic sensibilities of the early 19th-century with exquisite precision. But it’s Emma Thompson’s script, and her performance alongside Kate Winslet as the eldest Dashwood sister, that makes this witty exploration of Austen’s original satire on gender politics what it is.

Ridicule (1996)

Nominated by Tom Holland | Directed by Patrice Leconte

An 18th-century aristocrat who dreams of draining the swamps around his chateau, and thereby sparing the local peasantry the ravages of malaria, is obliged to travel to Versailles and win royal backing for his project with brilliant sallies of wit.

The feline delicacies of a court that we all know will soon be swept away utterly has never been more brilliantly portrayed. Ridicule is the perfect example of a film that operates, not by adapting the past to our sensibilities, but by adapting our sensibilities to those of a very alien past.

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Nominated by Nathen Amin | Directed by Mike Newell

The mob has been depicted on film for as long as movies have been made, but few have come near portraying the peril of being immersed in organised crime, all the while exploring the complex bond between men of different generations.

An anxious watch, Donnie Brasco’s gripping screenplay has its roots in one intrepid FBI agent’s years undercover in the New York Mafia, an investigation that brought the mob to its knees. Al Pacino’s hunched embodiment of the desperate, even pathetic, low-ranking soldier Lefty Ruggiero is arguably his finest work.

Titanic (1997)

Nominated by Emily Brand | Directed by James Cameron

This 90s blockbuster combined a doomed fictional romance with the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic in April 1912.

There is plenty for history lovers to feast over: the recreation of the ship was painstaking – from artworks to the Renault used for the sex scene – while the portrayal of how the Titanic sank was based on maritime archaeology at the wreck (footage of which also featured). Historical figures appear and Edwardian gossip is revived. Creative liberties are taken and it is unashamedly Hollywood, but for me the visual spectacle and emotional punch were formative in inspiring a fascination with history.

Elizabeth (1998)

Nominated by Tracy Borman | Directed by Shekhar Kapur

As an aficionado of Elizabeth I, I should hate this film. It is riddled with inaccuracies and leaves the viewer in no doubt that here was no ‘Virgin Queen’. And yet, it brilliantly evokes the drama, intrigue and sheer treachery of Elizabeth’s life before and after she became queen.

Cate Blanchett’s commanding performance in the title role rightly won her international recognition and an Oscar nomination. She brought to life the vulnerable woman behind the magisterial image and showed the personal traumas and heartaches that helped craft her into the ‘Gloriana’ of legend. All round, a brilliant film.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Nominated by Roger Moorhouse | Directed by Steven Spielberg

One of the most famous and commercially successful films of all time, Spielberg’s epic Second World War drama is worth your time for the opening scene alone – the landings on Omaha beach.

What follows is essentially a quest movie, with Tom Hanks wonderfully vulnerable as Captain Miller, leading his squad in their efforts to find and repatriate Matt Damon’s character Private Ryan. Stunningly realised, emotionally profound and shot through with standout performances – from Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies and Hanks himself – it is simply one of the best war films ever brought to the screen.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Nominated by Tracy Borman (Also nominated by Alice Loxton and Hannah Skoda) | Directed by John Madden

This hugely enjoyable romp, based only loosely on history, tells the story of a fictional love affair between the most celebrated playwright of the Tudor age, William Shakespeare (played by Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet.

There might be slim pickings for scholars of the period, but several characters are based on known historical figures, and many of the characters, lines and plot devices allude to Shakespeare’s plays. The film scooped seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Paltrow) and Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench’s truly inspired portrayal of Elizabeth I.

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Nominated by James Holland | Directed by Terrence Malick

The historical detail in The Thin Red Line is faultless, the performances from a star-studded cast flawless and full of incredible set-pieces.

Based on the novel by James Jones, which in turn was based heavily on Jones’s own experiences on Guadalcanal in early 1943, this is the best depiction of war in the Pacific I’ve ever seen. It also has a superb score by Hans Zimmer and while some hated the musings of the various characters on the nature and insanity of war, I loved it.

Ride with the Devil (1999)

Nominated by Mark Stoyle | Directed by Ang Lee

This film proved a flop at the box office when it was first released in 1999, but it’s hard to understand why. In Ride with the Devil, director Ang Lee provides a superb portrayal of the bitter conflict which was fought out in 1860s Missouri between pro-Confederate guerrillas – known as ‘bushwhackers’ – and their Unionist foes, during the American Civil War.

Beautifully filmed and written and drawing on the wealth of historical research which has been carried out on this subject in recent years, Lee’s film draws a credible, sobering portrait of what it was like for the partisans of both sides (and of neither) to live through a period of internecine conflict which has been well described as ‘household war’.

The 13th Warrior (1999)

Nominated by Eleanor Barraclough | Directed by John McTiernan and Michael Crichton

Based on Michael Crichton's 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead, this is one for the historical source buffs. It draws on the Old English poem Beowulf – but while plenty of Beowulf films exist, this is not one of them, because it is also inspired by a 10th-century Arabic text written by Ahmad ibn Fadlan, describing his journey north from Baghdad and his encounter with Rus traders – of Scandinavian heritage – on the banks of the River Volga.

Much of my research explores far-travellers and cross-cultural encounters, so my favourite bit of the film is where the character of Ibn Fadlan (played by Antonio Banderas) is sitting around the campfire with his new companions, who are talking in Old Norse. Slowly, as time passes and he starts to understand what they are saying, intelligible words emerge, then full sentences, until he’s able to respond to them in their own language.

Gladiator (2000)

Nominated by Nathen Amin (Also nominated by James Holland and Luke Pepera) | Directed by Ridley Scott

Are you not entertained? Yes, yes I was, and so were millions around the globe. The very embodiment of an historical epic, Gladiator is Oscar-winning storytelling at its finest. Russell Crowe’s intense Maximus carries the viewer on an explosive journey through ancient Rome, accompanied by a rousing musical score.

Historical truth may be an afterthought and the script rather unsophisticated, but Gladiator is an exhilarating and emotional experience – and its legacy continues to echo through eternity.

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Nominated by Alice Loxton (Also nominated by Emily Brand) | Directed by Brian Helgeland

Set in 14th-century England, A Knight’s Tale stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a fictional peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments. Along the way he bumps into historical figures, such as Edward the Black Prince and Geoffrey Chaucer (who first appears stark naked).

The film scores low on historical accuracy, and high on anachronism (medieval crowds sing Queen’s We Will Rock You), but through wit and a brilliant cast, it captures the drama and thrill of medieval tournaments, translated effectively for modern audiences.

Ali (2001)

Nominated by Nathen Amin | Directed by Michael Mann

Muhammad Ali earned the epithet ‘The Greatest’ for his exploits in the ring, but his fame far transcended mere sport.

Visually beautiful with a soaring contemporary soundtrack that helps transport the viewer back to the 1960s and 70s, Ali not only faithfully depicts the boxer’s in-ring career, but follows his transformation into a social and political titan, that invited detestation in his own day but bequeathed a legacy that cannot hope to be replicated. A film of utmost importance as a vehicle to understand the Civil Rights Movement.

Gosford Park (2001)

Nominated by Sarah Gristwood | Directed by Robert Altman

You have to admire any film that spawned a cultural phenomenon, and Gosford Park gave birth to Downton Abbey.

Robert Altman directed Julian Fellowes’ Christie-esque whodunnit, framed by an inter-war house party with a murdered host. The ensemble cast constitutes a veritable who’s who of British acting: the late great Maggie Smith as the dowager (a role she’d go on to develop in Downton), Helen Mirren as the housekeeper, Emily Watson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Clive Owen, Charles Dance, Derek Jacobi and many more, with a comic turn from Stephen Fry as the bumbling policeman.

But perhaps the real star is the house itself, ravishingly filmed, and poised precariously on the cusp of social change.

Hero (2002)

Nominated by Tom Holland | Directed by Zhang Yimou

This exquisitely beautiful and thrillingly violent account of how China came to be forged as a unitary state transplants a western audience into a world that has absolutely no truck with our ideological presumptions.

Based on authentic accounts of how Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese emperor, foiled repeated assassination attempts, the film brilliantly toys with our sense of whom we should be rooting for. Ancient autocracy has never seemed more potent, more dazzling, or more heroic.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Nominated by Mary-Ann Ochota (Also nominated by Alice Loxton and Zack White) | Directed by Peter Weir

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is alive with the realities of life at sea during the Napoleonic Wars, following the misadventures of Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), Dr Stephen Maturin (the brilliant Paul Bettany) and the crew of HMS Surprise.

The original books are a bit long and meticulous for my taste, but as a movie, the historical detail – from uniform, to food, to naval tactics – feels so vivid and immersive, you’ll taste the salt. It’s also a sobering reminder of the futility and heroism of war, and that not that long ago life was nasty, brutish and short for many.

Alexander (2004)

Nominated by Paul Cartledge | Directed by Oliver Stone

There are at least three ‘cuts’ of Oliver Stone’s Alexander on offer – which should we select? Critics mostly favour (as I do) any cut other than the one originally shown on the silver screen.

Nor is Stone’s Alexander the Great mine. Colin Farrell doesn’t measure up anywhere near to my elevated vision of the Macedonian king, conqueror and empire-builder who transformed the ancient world. Nor, I think, could Stone quite make up his own directorial mind as to what sort of Alexander he wanted from Farrell. Was he to be the butch warrior leader, fighting and commanding armies in triumph over mainly non-Greek Asiatic foes, or was he to be the sensitive man, capable of genuinely loving an Iranian eunuch as well as a fiery Asian princess hailing from what is today Afghanistan?

Falling between those two arenas, Farrell rather fell down on the job. But that doesn’t detract from the film’s many positives, not least a couple of grandstanding pitched battle-scenes.

Downfall (2004)

Nominated by Roger Moorhouse | Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

Oliver Hirschbiegel’s depiction of the last days of the Third Reich – and of Adolf Hitler – set a new benchmark for historical filmmaking on its release in 2004.

Central to the film is Bruno Ganz’s outstanding portrayal of Hitler himself, whom Ganz portrayed with a dollop of human sympathy, a move that was controversial for some. The luminous Alexandra Maria Lara excelled as his secretary, Traudl Junge. Based on first-hand accounts and the work of historian Joachim Fest, Downfall is a historical and cinematic feast.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Nominated by Nathen Amin | Directed by Ridley Scott

A Ridley Scott blockbuster that must rank as one of most ahistorical, Kingdom of Heaven is rife with questionable casting and forced plot devices.

Nevertheless, this introspective Crusade-era epic enlightens a modern audience about Jerusalem’s historical and religious magnetism, and the contemporary power struggle that continues to shape the political map today, unfortunately with similar levels of wanton violence and inflexibility.

The underlying message of honour and the need for coexistence is hugely appealing, Orlando Bloom’s passive messenger perhaps less so.

300 (2006)

Nominated by Tom Holland | Directed by Zack Snyder

300 is the thrilling story of how Leonidas and a band of Spartan warriors in tight black speedos defended the pass of Thermopylae against the Persian king of kings, a million-strong army, and a rhinoceros.

To criticise it for historical inaccuracies, however, would be entirely to miss the point. It is impossible to make a realist film set in antiquity, and 300 – precisely because it recognises this – is the most convincing and unsettling evocation of ancient mores that you will see in the cinema. There were no liberals in Sparta. The Lacedaemonian Film Board would have been all over 300.

The Lives of Others (2006)

Nominated by Mary-Ann Ochota | Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

A worthy Oscar-winner, this haunting film invites us into the contorted, agonising world of 1980s East Germany. It’s easy to make the history of political regimes impersonal, or tell the story from the perspective of those persecuted.

The genius of this film is that we see the world from inside the machine – our ‘hero’ is a Stasi officer. It accurately depicts the slow, poisonous methods that the East German state used to surveil its own citizens, and reminds us of the astonishing resilience of the human heart, in even the darkest of circumstances.

The Queen (2006)

Nominated by Tracy Borman | Directed by Stephen Frears

Helen Mirren boasts the distinction of having played both of the Elizabeths who have sat on the throne. It is the second of those queens who takes centre stage in this thoughtful and moving portrayal of the royal family’s reaction to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

This seismic event shook the monarchy to its core and plunged Elizabeth II herself into the greatest crisis of her reign. Mirren’s exquisite, poignant portrayal of a queen torn between public duty and private grief won her many deserved accolades – and an invitation to dinner at the palace. Michael Sheen’s role as the Prime Minister is so well-observed that it is as if the real Tony Blair is delivering his lines.

Katyń (2007)

Nominated by Roger Moorhouse | Directed by Andrzej Wajda

The massacre of more than 22,000 captured Polish officers by the Soviets in 1940 – known as the ‘Katyń Massacre’ – has long been painfully symbolic of Poland’s 20th-century fate, crushed between two murderous, mendacious totalitarian regimes.

Consequently, this treatment of the story by Poland’s foremost filmmaker was always going to be politically highly charged. Fortunately, it does not disappoint as cinema. Emotionally searing and visually stunning, it stands as a worthy testimony to one of the Soviets’ most egregious crimes.

The Duchess (2008)

Nominated by Mary-Ann Ochota | Directed by Saul Dibb

A compelling portrayal of the life of Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, wildly rich but trapped by the strictures of 18th-century class and gender roles.

You’re guaranteed lavish cinematography, and glorious costumes and locations. But the real power of the film is in Keira Knightley’s central performance, as she navigates her way through a gilded but emotionally brutal life.

The heartbreaking scene where Georgiana is forced to relinquish her child is a pivotal moment in the film, and one suspects, her life. It’s usually just a footnote.

Valkyrie (2008)

Nominated by Mark Stoyle | Directed by Bryan Singer

This dark thriller tells the story of ‘Operation Valkyrie’: the plot by a group of high-ranking German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944, which so narrowly missed its aim.

Tom Cruise stars as Claus von Stauffenberg, the man who succeeded in smuggling a bomb into Hitler’s East Prussian headquarters – the so-called ‘Wolf’s Lair’ – and detonating it just yards from the Führer. Had Hitler been killed, the war in Europe might well have come to an end almost a year before it eventually did, saving millions of lives.

Instead, with what has been well-termed ‘the luck of the Devil’, Hitler escaped, and as the film shows in grim detail, went on to wreak a terrible revenge.

Agora (2009)

Nominated by Paul Cartledge | Directed by Alejandro Amenábar

An intellectual ancient-world movie entirely based around an intellectual woman: such is the puzzlingly titled Agora (which meant, in ancient Greek, a place of assembly). It is set in Alexandria, the capital of Egypt founded originally by Alexander the Great.

The date is AD 391, some four centuries after the Roman conquest and just over a decade after the establishment of Christianity as the Roman empire’s official religion. Its heroine is Hypatia (Rachel Weisz, excellent), a mathematician and astronomer, daughter of a mathematician, and heir to the long tradition of Greek mathematics and rational argument. More importantly, she is a pagan, since the movie is all about her murder by a baying Christian mob egged on by the Catholic Orthodox Bishop of Alexandria, (Saint) Cyril.

The pathos of her execution/assassination is enhanced because she was at one time loved both by one of her high-class students (that’s historical) and by one of her father’s slaves (that’s invented). To call it a ‘toga movie’, however, is both culturally inappropriate and diminishing.

The Young Victoria (2009)

Nominated by Alice Loxton | Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

This beautiful, tender film, with spectacular locations, a mesmerising soundtrack and a stellar cast, explores the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, played by Emily Blunt.

Going behind palace doors, we follow the trepidations of a young woman navigating the corridors of power. Though largely faithful to historic fact, there are numerous embellishments to heighten drama. Prince Albert, for example, was never shot during an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, as the film portrays.

The King’s Speech (2010)

Nominated by Alice Loxton | Directed by Tom Hooper

Set in the late 1930s, The King’s Speech follows the surprisingly intimate relationship between the Duke of York – the future King George VI – and an Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. As they work to overcome the duke’s stammer, a succession of dramatic events unfold: an abdication crisis, a coronation and the onset of war.

Though scoring high on historic accuracy, The King’s Speech occasionally deviates. For example, Logue’s therapy work appears to last a matter of months. In reality, it began in October 1926, a decade before the abdication crisis.

Les Misérables (Tom Hooper, 2012)

Nominated by Zack White | Directed by Ron Howard

If we watch movies to be entertained and moved in equal measure, Les Misérables unquestionably deserves to be classed as a great movie.

Based on Victor Hugo’s epic novel of the same name, the story is entirely fictitious, but nonetheless plunges the watcher into the tumult of French politics and discontent in the first half of the 19th century. The visual spectacle fused with a stirring soundtrack creates an unconventional masterclass in encouraging the audience to reflect on history, highlighting the struggles of poverty, politics and prejudice in an age of growing social unrest ahead of the ‘Year of Revolutions’ in 1848.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Nominated by Estelle Paranque | Directed by Steve McQueen

A true story based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, 12 Years A Slave shrewdly explains the dangers that African Americans faced even when they lived in the northern states of the US in the mid-19th century.

Solomon was a violinist, living with his wife and two children, when he was kidnapped in Washington, DC and sold to an enslaver, James H Birch. His life is turned upside down, and the movie follows (as accurately as possible) Northup’s memoir, making it even more compelling and emotional to watch.

A Field in England (2013)

Nominated by Maddy Pelling | Directed by Ben Wheatley

A Field in England is, in many ways, Ben Wheatley’s cinematic descendant of MR James’s ghost story A View from the Hill. In both, the English countryside becomes an uncanny archive of bloody and violent deeds which, although fleeting, leave their trace in the land and the histories we tell.

In Wheatley’s field, the anxieties and chaos of the Civil War are conjured out of nothing but mud and grass as we follow a handful of lost soldiers on a psychedelic trip. It’s a brief vision of the mid-17th century, but one whose roots will bury deep within you.

The Invisible Woman (2013)

Nominated by Mark Stoyle | Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Charles Dickens was the most famous and successful author in Victorian Britain, a man who was constantly in the public eye. But, throughout the latter part of his life, he conducted a secret affair with a young actor named Ellen Ternan whose life remained cloaked in shadow until long after her death in 1914.

Claire Tomalin first told Ternan’s story in her brilliant biography The Invisible Woman, published in 1990, and Ralph Fiennes’s film of the same name does a fine job of bringing that story to the silver screen, in the process reminding us of how often remarkable women like Ternan – played here with great sensitivity by Felicity Jones – have been written out of history.

Fury (2014)

Nominated by Zack White | Directed by David Ayer

Sometimes films are great because they make us flinch and reflect on the horrors of human experience. Fury is a brutal film, which follows a fictious Sherman tank crew as it advances into Germany in April 1945.

Brad Pitt’s grizzled sergeant pulls no punches as the latest addition to his crew, mis-assigned clerk Logan Learman, recoils from the savagery of the fighting. In the process, the film offers a harshly accurate depiction of why men kept fighting despite the physical and psychological trauma.

Fury is a poignant reminder that there is no glory in war, but that camaraderie will drive people to continue to fight in horrendous circumstances.

Pride (2014)

Nominated by Mark Glancy | Directed by Matthew Warchus

It is rare to find a historical film as full of warmth, joy and humour as Pride. This is all the more remarkable given that the film does not look away from the grim circumstances at the centre of the story: the rampant homophobia and the destruction of the mining industry in 1980s Britain.

Yet this largely true story – of the meeting between the London political action group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners and a South Wales mining community – is an uplifting, heartfelt tale with a perfect cast, a high-energy 1980s soundtrack, and an ending sure to bring a tear even to the most jaded eye.

The Imitation Game (2014)

Nominated by Zack White | Directed by Morten Tyldum

Cracking the German ‘enigma’ code was one of the most important factors leading to Allied victory in the Second World War, and it is only fitting that its retelling on the big screen was a triumph of equal magnitude.

The film is laced with historical inaccuracies, which are a staple of Hollywood, but Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of mathematical visionary Alan Turing goes far beyond code-breaking to explore the challenges of a neurodivergent mind, and the stigmas that surround homosexuality in mid-20th century Britain.

Tackling espionage, the birth of computing, neurodivergence and homophobia, this is a film that everyone should see at least once.

Suffragette (2015)

Nominated by Mark Glancy | Directed by Sarah Gavron

It took more than 100 years to bring the story of the British suffragette movement to the big screen. Thankfully, screenwriter Abi Morgan and director Sarah Gavron did not make a biopic of Emmeline Pankhurst, even if Meryl Streep makes a brief appearance in that role.

Instead, this is a compelling drama of the ordinary women who risked everything in the fight for women’s suffrage. Carey Mulligan’s performance as the new convert to the cause is especially effective at demonstrating how much there was to gain and to lose in this struggle.

The Witch (2015)

Nominated by Maddy Pelling | Directed by Robert Eggers

Robert Egger’s 2015 directorial debut, set in 1630s New England, is a folk horror masterpiece. Combining a strong historical atmosphere (it was shot using natural light) with an experimental score, it captures a deep-seated unease in both the landscape and minds of a devout colonial family.

With its supernatural elements, exploration of sexuality, faith and sin, The Witch taps into an unnerving early modern mindset, even borrowing its typeface from Jacobean pamphlets on witchcraft.

Hidden Figures (2016)

Nominated by Marc Morris | Directed by Theodore Melfi

The story of the Space Race as told from the point of view of its unsung heroes – the African-American women who did much of the maths. That might make it sound dry, but it packs real emotional punch, not least thanks to the acclaimed performances of the three leads (Janelle Monáe, Octavia Spencer and Taraji P Henson).

Considerable liberties were taken with the historical source material – it is loosely based on a book of the same name – but it nevertheless succeeds in capturing something of the reality of racial and sexual politics of America in the 1960s.

Darkest Hour (2017)

Nominated by Estelle Paranque | Directed by Joe Wright

This is probably one of the best portrayals of Winston Churchill, despite his many (many!) bad qualities. Darkest Hour shows Churchill at a crossroads where he had to becomes the leader he is known as today.

Gary Oldman is majestic in the central role, portraying a man who knew that he had to make very difficult decisions that could lead to the destruction and invasion of a whole country. Its ultimate strength is a deep dive into the year 1940, when everything changed for Britain.

Dunkirk (2017)

Nominated by Emily Brand (also nominated by Estelle Paranque) | Directed by Christopher Nolan

This cinematic epic entwines numerous fictional narratives to portray the horror of the British evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940. It goes to unusual lengths to recreate a realistic atmosphere, eschewing CGI in favour of filming on location. Poignant moments like the ‘little ship’ rescues, aircraft crash landing on the beach and soldiers walking into the sea were inspired by historic record or eyewitness testimony.

The film evokes the lived experience rather than the intricacies of Operation Dynamo – a thought-provoking approach to someone with a great-grandfather rescued from those beaches. Like the best history films, it inspired me to learn more.

The Favourite (2018)

Nominated by Sarah Gristwood | Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

It’s been described as a satirical, even absurdist dark comedy – but The Favourite is more than that. It’s also a film that rewrote the rules for historical movies.

Directed with dazzling confidence by Yorgos Lanthimos, it dared rely solely on female stars: Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, Rachel Weisz as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Emma Stone as Abigail Masham, the cousin who schemes to replace Sarah in Anne’s affections. Yes, it takes a dizzyingly high hand with elements of the history – but arguably, that’s the best way to give us an insight into the fraught, fanged world of Anne’s court.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Nominated by Maddy Pelling | Directed by Céline Sciamma

Céline Sciamma’s tale of doomed love on the windswept French coast is a masterful exploration of art and desire. Centred around the creation of a single portrait, and the shifting relationship between artist and sitter, Portrait of a Lady on Fire evokes historical texts from the 18th-century tracts of philosopher Denis Diderot to Ovid’s Metamorphoses to explore the politics of looking, then and now.

The Northman (2022)

Nominated by Eleanor Barraclough | Directed by Robert Eggers

This is no cuddly, rehabilitated Viking Age: it is a brutal and bloody tale set in a brutal and bloody world. Like an old Norse saga come to life, I suspect this is the film that the Vikings themselves would have loved to have made about their history, their storytelling culture, their religious world view.

The attention to historical detail is extraordinary, from depictions of textile production to architecture and artwork. Just as wonderful is how the film draws on stories and motifs from pagan mythology and the Old Norse-Icelandic sagas (my favourite is a did-they-or-didn’t-they fight with a dead man in his burial mound).

This is the perfect setting for Robert Eggers' trademark blend of realism and fantasy, a world in which supernatural forces hover in the wings and occasionally take centre stage.

Firebrand (2023)

Nominated by Tracy Borman | Directed by Karim Aïnouz

Katherine Parr is known as the wife who survived Henry VIII. But, as this superb recent film makes terrifyingly clear, it was a close-run thing. Based on Elizabeth Fremantle’s bestselling novel, Queen’s Gambit, it tells the dramatic story of Henry’s sixth wife: a woman of fierce intellect and burning religious zeal who refused to conform to the Tudor patriarchy.

Alicia Vikander puts in a brilliant performance in the title role, but it is Jude Law’s Henry who steals the show – by far the most chilling depiction of this tyrannical king I have ever seen. There’s an extraordinary twist at the end which history purists might baulk at, but they will take comfort from the meticulously-researched costumes.

Napoleon (2023)

Nominated by Hannah Skoda | Directed by Ridley Scott

I can’t stand Napoleon, and this lengthy biopic gives a suitably complex picture of a man of overweening ambition, strategic genius, and weird insecurities.

Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role looks the part, and is terrifyingly single-minded and defiant, whilst also strangely piteous at times. And as one might expect from Ridley Scott, the battle scenes are absolutely incredible – they transport one to the terror of the battlefield, eschewing glossy glory in favour of gruesome brutality. The soundtrack, of delicate 18th-century piano and chamber music, reminds one of the absurdity of it all.

Who chose our best historical movies? Meet our expert historians

• Alex von Tunzelmann | Historian and screenwriter, and the author of books including Fallen Idols: Twelve Statues That Made History
• Alice Loxton | History broadcaster and the author of two books, UPROAR! and Eighteen
• Eleanor Barraclough | Historian, writer and broadcaster, whose books include Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age
• Emily Brand | Historian and author of The Fall of the House of Byron
• Estelle Paranque |Historian in queenship, royal and diplomatic studies, and the author of Blood, Fire and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici
• Hannah Skoda | Associate professor of medieval history at St John’s College, Oxford, and expert for our Late Medieval England Academy course
• James Holland | Historian, writer and broadcaster, whose books include Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment’s Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day
• Luke Pepera | Writer, broadcaster, historian, and anthropologist, whose next book is Motherland: A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity
• Madeleine Pelling | Historian, writer and podcast host, specialising in early modern Britain.
• Marc Morris | Medieval historian and the author of several bestselling books about the Middle Ages
• Mark Glancy | Professor of Film History at Queen Mary University of London and the author of Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend
• Mark Stoyle | Professor of early modern history at the University of Southampton; his latest book is A Murderous Midsummer: The Western Rising of 1549
• Mary-Ann Ochota | TV presenter and author specialising in archaeology and anthropology
• Nathen Amin | Historian and author specialising in the reign of Henry VII. His next book is Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor
• Paul Cartledge | AG Leventis Senior Research Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a historian of ancient Greek culture, and author of some 30 books
• Rana Mitter | Historian, teaches at Harvard and author of China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism
• Robert Bartlett | Professor Emeritus at the University of St Andrews and his books include The Middle Ages and the Movies
• Roger Moorhouse | Historian specialising in modern German and Central European history, especially Nazi Germany and Poland during WW2
• Sarah Gristwood | Best-selling biographer, historian, and broadcaster, and a regular media commentator on royal and historical affairs
• Tom Holland | Award-winning historian, biographer and broadcaster. He is the author of a series of books on ancient and early medieval history
• Tracy Borman OBE | Bestselling author, historian and broadcaster. She is also Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces
• Zack White | Leverhulme Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth, battlefield guide, and host of the Napoleonic Wars Podcast