Historical FIims

[loveme4whoiam]

Basically within the Uni we are forming a Historical Society because the history students are apathetic and lazy. As part of that I'm going to run a film night once a week - show a film that raises an issue, and discuss. Or failing that, just put on a decent film and make-out with your girlfriend.

So what I'm hoping for is any films that you guys would recommend with that kind of thing in mind (not the making-out, chick-flicks are barred from being shown). I can think of the obvious stuff like Michael Moore's films, but really anything that could begin a discussion - even something like The Patriot (obviously, the US Civil War) or King Arthur (how Hollywood can totally fucking ignore historical evidence - Sarmatian knight my left testicle).

Would be cool if you guys can come up with stuff that is not just on wars, I have a fair few of those already down :) Not that I'll turn them away, but a killfest isn't going to stimulate much brain activity.

Many thanks in advance, you guys will help me a lot :D

[SanPatricio'sSoul]

Umm....Off the top of my head I could think of Battle of Algiers, which isn't so much a war movie but a movie about anti-colonialism. Um....If you also want to show a historical movie that ignores a bunch of facts you could show Amadeus I guess. I don't know if you'd consider Favela Rising a historical movie, and i've never seen it personally, but the rise of Afro-Reggae seems like a very interesting movie for this type of endevor. Sorry thats all I can think of

[chimx]

Please get Battle of Algiers before anything else. It is an extremely important film.

Libertarias is a nice little dramatization of the Spanish Civil War.

Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson made a move about John Reed called Reds--deals a lot with the Bolshevik revolution.

[loveme4whoiam]

If I can find Batte of Algiers I think it's one of the first films I'll show - I haven't seen it but as chimx says I gather its an extremely important film. Haven't heard of the other ones (apart from Amadeus but didn't know if it was a normal bio-pic or not).

Cheers for the responeses guys, keep them coming :D

[EwokUtopia]

Barry Lyndon.....Stanley Kubrick directed it so its of course great.

Beowulf and Grendel, if you dont mind the modern interperetation of the Saga's that completely misses the point.

Downfall- Hitler was a scary scary man

Any periods in Particular?

practically every other film is a historical film.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Are we talking about historical films or films dealing with historical events?

I assume you mean the latter: Nuit Noir, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Amu, April Captains

If you give a fuck about Brazil or know where you can get Brazilian movies... The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a new movie directed by a guy called Cao (pronounced "cow") Hamburger. I'm not kidding at all. It's a good movie, though.

[loveme4whoiam]

Actually I'm after the latter (probably should have made that clearer) as I want the film to lead into a discussion about the historical event in question. Cheers for your contributions guys :D

[The Grey Blur]

Land & Freedom

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

Soy Cuba

Stuff like that any use?

[loveme4whoiam]

Land and Freedom is certainly being added to the list of films - I knew there was a film on that subject but couldn't remember the name, ta very much :D

Soy Cuba if I can get the rest of the History Society to agree to it.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Originally posted by [email protected] 09, 2006 07:02 pm
Actually I'm after the latter (probably should have made that clearer) as I want the film to lead into a discussion about the historical event in question. Cheers for your contributions guys :D
Yes, that's what I meant. The movies I suggested are all recent movies dealing with historical events. Sorry for the confusion.

[loveme4whoiam]

Ah ^_^ Cheers. Amu sounds interesting, I may well look into that one.

[Invader Zim]

Land and Freedom
Schindlers List,
The Pianist,
Nuit et brouillard (if you can find a subtitled copy)
Hearts and Minds

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

State of Siege
this shouldn't be too hard to find because it's by Costa-Gavras
it's an excelent movie about the events leading up to the military coup of '73 in Uruguay

Nuit Noir, April Captains, and the Wind that Shakes the barley are fuckin good
see those
particularly the first two because the Wind that Shakes the Barley probably everyone will see anyway

[black magick hustla]

La Commune

an avant garde very long film about the commune and the political issues it raised.

good for discussion

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

The Italian classic A Special Day
with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni
deals with a middles class housewife in Italy during Mussolini's fascist regime
It's a "special day" because Hitler meets with Mussolini. But also because she meets an anti-fascist homosexual who questions everything she ever believed. Hilarious movie. More a comedy/romance than historical, but a must see anyways.

Not leftist in the least, but probably one of the first and best of those really long "historical epics": Cabiria
even better than Ben Hur or The Ten Comandments because it's not about the Bible and isn't as Hollywoodian

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Originally posted by [email protected] 07, 2006 06:05 am
If I can find Batte of Algiers I think it's one of the first films I'll show - I haven't seen it but as chimx says I gather its an extremely important film. Haven't heard of the other ones (apart from Amadeus but didn't know if it was a normal bio-pic or not).

Cheers for the responeses guys, keep them coming :D
amedeus may not be a great historical biography, but it's a great movie

[SanPatricio'sSoul]

Two must see movies for your historical society that I completely forgot to mention.

Malcolm X (I personally think that this movie left out far too many details about the man, but its still amazing)

A Huey P Newton Story (Probably one of the most compelling movies i've ever seen).

[gilhyle]

Surely you gotta do one of the Vietnam War films

Lawrence of Arabia

Try F.I.S.T if you get desperate - you can start a discussion on trade unions and mafia.

There is a film called 'Danton' - french revolution.

Whats that film about the sniper at Stalingrad. and - better though there is no historical event in it - the one about the Russian Civil War general in retirement : Blinded by the Sun, or something like that.

Zulu

The Year of Living Dangerously

The Assassination of Trotsky is a bad film.

[ComradeOm]

Originally posted by [email protected] 15, 2006 07:32 pm
Whats that film about the sniper at Stalingrad
Enemy at the Gates.

Personally I'm a fan of Oktyabr but then I recognise that silent films aren't for everybody. Michel Collins is the Hollywood treatment of the Irish War of Independence. Its pure fluff historically but is a good watch all the same.

[celtopunk]

Bloody Sunday
Biko

Many of the previously mentioned movies are excellent too.