Popular History Movies on Kanopy

Ran

1985

Ran

1985
8.1
With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in scope, the film is Kurosawa's late-life masterpiece, a profound examination of the folly of war and the crumbling of one family under the weight of betrayal, greed, and the insatiable thirst for power.
The Round Up

2010

The Round Up

2010
7.5
A faithful retelling of the 1942 "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup" and the events surrounding it.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

2019

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

2019
8.1
On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.
Ferrari

2023

Ferrari

2023
6.4
Set during the summer of 1957. Ex-racecar driver, Enzo Ferrari, is in crisis. Bankruptcy stalks the company he and his wife, Laura, built from nothing ten years earlier. Their tempestuous marriage struggles with the mourning for one son and the acknowledgement of another.
Return of the Hero

2018

Return of the Hero

2018
6.3
France, 1809. Captain Neuville is called to the front, leaving his future bride heartbroken. Her sister decides to write letters on his behalf to cheer her up.
Diplomacy

2014

Diplomacy

2014
7
On the night of August 24, 1944, the fate of Paris rests with General von Choltitz, who plans to destroy the city on Hitler's orders. As the general prepares to detonate explosives throughout the capital, Swedish consul Raoul Nordling uses diplomacy in a desperate bid to convince him to defy the orders and save Paris.
Brotherhood of the Wolf

2001

Brotherhood of the Wolf

2001
6.7
In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his Native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.
Army of Crime

2009

Army of Crime

2009
6.5
This gripping historical drama recounts the story of Armenian-born Missak Manouchian, a woodworker and political activist who led an immigrant laborer division of the Parisian Resistance on 30 operations against the Nazis in 1943. The Nazis branded the group an Army of Crime, an anti-immigrant propaganda stunt that backfired as the team's members became martyrs for the Resistance.
Amen.

2002

Amen.

2002
7
Kurt Gerstein—a member of the Institute for Hygiene of the Waffen-SS—is horrified by what he sees in the death camps. he is then shocked to learn that the process he used to purify water for his troops by using Zyklon-B, is now used to kill people in gas chambers.
Mary Magdalene

2018

Mary Magdalene

2018
6.3
In the first century, free-spirited Mary Magdalene flees the marriage her family has arranged for her, finding refuge and a sense of purpose in a radical new movement led by the charismatic, rabble-rousing preacher named Jesus.
Denial

2016

Denial

2016
6.9
Acclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving, a renowned denier, sues her for libel.
Apocalypto

2006

Apocalypto

2006
7.6
Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.
The Professor and the Madman

2019

The Professor and the Madman

2019
7.1
Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.
LBJ

2017

LBJ

2017
6.4
The story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.
Loving Vincent

2017

Loving Vincent

2017
8
A young man arrives at the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist's final letter and ends up investigating his final days there.
Silence

2016

Silence

2016
7.1
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
The Innocents

2016

The Innocents

2016
7.1
Poland, 1945. Mathilde, a young French Red Cross doctor, is on a mission to help the war survivors. When a nun seeks for her help, she is brought to a convent where several pregnant sisters are hiding, unable to reconcile their faith with their pregnancy. Mathilde becomes their only hope.
The Last King

2016

The Last King

2016
5.7
Norway, 1204. A civil war between the birkebeiners —the king's men— and the baglers —supporters of the Norwegian aristocracy and the Church— ravages the country. Two men must protect a baby, the illegitimate son of King Håkon, who will be the future king and peacemaker, from those who want to kill him.
The People vs. Fritz Bauer

2015

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

2015
6.8
It is the late 1950s. Flourishing under the economic miracle, Germany grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer doggedly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, written by a man who is certain that his daughter is dating the son of Adolph Eichmann. Excited by the promising lead, and mistrustful of a corrupt judiciary system where Nazis still lurk, Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. To do so is treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
The Greatest Story Ever Told

1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told

1965
6.4
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.

Popular History Movies on Kanopy

1985

1985

2010

2010

2019

2019

2023

2023

2018

2018

2014

2014

2001

2001

2009

2009

2002

2002

2018

2018

2016

2016

2006

2006

2019

2019

2017

2017

2017

2017

2016

2016

2016

2016

2016

2016

2015

2015

1965

1965