Helen Frankenthaler, "Mountains and Sea", 1952, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
APUSH Documentary List - Historical order by topic
13th
Legacy of the 13th Amendment
2016
NR 16+ Archival footage of violence, strong language
50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Kraus
The story of a Jewish couple saved Jewish children in Vienna from the Holocaust by finding them new homes in the USA.
2013
PG
Five Came Back
Five acclaimed contemporary directors tell the story of five legendary Hollywood filmmakers who enlisted in the armed forces to document World War II.
2017
TV-MA
White Light/Black Rain: Destruction of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
An examination of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, using extensive interviews with survivors and archival footage.
2007
NR Archival footage of violence
Mercury 13
After rigorous testing in 1961, a small group of skilled female pilots is asked to step aside when only men are selected for spaceflight.
2018
Age 10+
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
A deeper look into the real story behind the “Negro Motorist Green Book”.
2019
TV-PG
The Loving Story
The story behind the landmark supreme court case regarding interracial marriage.
2011
TV-14 Archival footage of strong language
Last Days in Vietnam
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, American servicemen & others begin the difficult mission of evacuating as many friends, family members & South Vietnamese collaborators as possible before Saigon falls.
2014
NR Archival footage of war, violence
I Am Not Your Negro
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race the modern Civil Rights movement in the United States.
2016
Age 13+ Archival footage of violence, strong language
RBG
A biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2018
Age 10+
Legacy of the 13th Amendment
2016
NR 16+ Archival footage of violence, strong language
50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Kraus
The story of a Jewish couple saved Jewish children in Vienna from the Holocaust by finding them new homes in the USA.
2013
PG
Five Came Back
Five acclaimed contemporary directors tell the story of five legendary Hollywood filmmakers who enlisted in the armed forces to document World War II.
2017
TV-MA
White Light/Black Rain: Destruction of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
An examination of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, using extensive interviews with survivors and archival footage.
2007
NR Archival footage of violence
Mercury 13
After rigorous testing in 1961, a small group of skilled female pilots is asked to step aside when only men are selected for spaceflight.
2018
Age 10+
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
A deeper look into the real story behind the “Negro Motorist Green Book”.
2019
TV-PG
The Loving Story
The story behind the landmark supreme court case regarding interracial marriage.
2011
TV-14 Archival footage of strong language
Last Days in Vietnam
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, American servicemen & others begin the difficult mission of evacuating as many friends, family members & South Vietnamese collaborators as possible before Saigon falls.
2014
NR Archival footage of war, violence
I Am Not Your Negro
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race the modern Civil Rights movement in the United States.
2016
Age 13+ Archival footage of violence, strong language
RBG
A biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2018
Age 10+
APUSH Movie & TV List - Disclaimer: some of these are more historically accurate, while some are only loosely based on historical events.
Seabiscuit 2003 – PG-13
Based on a best-selling non-fiction book, the story of an undersized Depression-era racehorse who became a national sensation.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks
Period 2: 1607-1754
The Crucible 1996 – PG-13
A story of the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder
The New World 2005 - PG-13
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, the changing world, and loves of Pocahontas.
Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Period 3: 1754-1800
John Adams (TV – HBO) 2008 - TV 14
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett
The Last of the Mohicans 1992 – R
Three trappers protect a British Colonel's daughters in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means
The Patriot 2000 – R
A peaceful farmer is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution.
Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson
Turn (TV – AMC) 2014 – TV
The story of a Connecticut farmer who forms a group of spies with friends, turning the tide in America's fight for independence.
Daniel Henshall, Jamie Bell, Seth Numrich
Period 4: 1800-1848
Amistad 1997 – R
In 1839, the revolt of captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the captives are slaves or legally free.
Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins
The Alamo 2004 - PG-13
Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texans and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Santa Anna’s forces at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.
Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thorton, Jason Patric
12 Years a Slave (2013) 2013 – R
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender
Period 5: 1844-1877
Free State of Jones 2016 – R
A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters, runaway slaves, and women in an uprising against the local Confederate government.
Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali
Glory 1989 – R
The story of the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both their own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes
Harriet 2019 – PG-13
The story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slaver and went on to become one of America’s greatest heroes, freeing hundreds of slaves
Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr.
Lincoln 2012 – PG- 13
As the Civil War continues to rage, Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn
Little Women 2019 - PG
The story of four sisters living in New England during the Civil War, based on the experiences of author Louisa May Alcott.
Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh
Period 6: 1865-1898
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2007 – R
Robert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO) 2007- TV-14
A historic chronicle, based on the book by Dee Brown, that explains how Native Americans were displaced as the United States expanded west.
Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg
Dances with Wolves 1990 – PG-13
Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military.
Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
Far and Away 1992 – PG-13
A young man leaves Ireland with his landlord's daughter after some trouble with her father, and they dream of owning land at the big give-away in Oklahoma ca. 1893.
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson
Hell on Wheels (TV – AMC) 2011-2016 – TV-14
Cullen Bohannon, a former soldier and slaveholder, follows the track of a band of Union soldiers, the killers of his wife. This brings him to the middle of one of the biggest projects in US history, the building of the transcontinental railroad. After the war years in the 1860s, this undertaking connected the prospering east with the still wild west.
Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Robin McLeavy
Tombstone 1993 - R
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona, are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating. The story of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday.
Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot
Period 7: 1890-1945
Band of Brothers (TV – HBO) 2001 – TV-MA
The story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.
Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston
Boardwalk Empire (TV – HBO) 2010-2014 – TV-MA
An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law, conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon
Bugsy 1991 – R
The story of how Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas.
Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel
The Butler 2013 – PG-13
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack
Cinderella Man 2005 – PG-13
The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko
The Color Purple 1985 – PG-13
A black Southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over four decades.
Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey
Fat Man and Little Boy 1989 – PG-13
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia
Iron Jawed Angels 2013 - PG-13
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Hilary Swank, Margo Martindale, Anjelica Huston
Legends of the Fall 1994 - R
In the 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war. A multi-generational story that covers world war, prohibition, westward expansion, & politics.
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
Marshall 2017 - PG-13
The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Chadwick Boseman, Sterling K. Brown, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad
Midway 2019 - PG-13
The story of the Battle of Midway, told through the experiences of US aviators and sailors on June 4, 1942.
Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Woody Harrelson
Saving Private Ryan 1998 – R
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers goes behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
Seabiscuit 2003 – PG-13
Based on a best-selling non-fiction book, the story of an undersized Depression-era racehorse who became a national sensation.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks
The Untouchables 1987 - R
Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team.
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro
Period 8: 1945-1980
42 2013 – PG-13
The story of Jackie Robinson and his journey to becoming a Brooklyn Dodger.
Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford
All the President’s Men 1976 – PG
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden
Apollo 13 1995 – PG
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon
Born on the 4th of July 1989 – R
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam War, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava
Bridge of Spies 2015 – PG-13
During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda
Dr. Strangelove 1964 – PG-13
An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Far from Heaven 2002 - PG-13
In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.
Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert
Flags of our Fathers 2006 - R
The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwi Jima, a turning point in World War II.
Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Joseph Cross
Forrest Gump 1994 – PG-13
While not intelligent, Forrest Gump has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him.
Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
Good Morning Vietnam 1987 – R
In 1965, an unorthodox DJ named Adrian Cronauer shakes things up when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran
Good Night, and Good Luck 2005 - PG
Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.
David Strathairn, George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson
Hacksaw Ridge 2016 – R
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey
The Help 2011 – PG-13
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer
Hidden Figures 2016 – PG
The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe
LBJ 2016 - R
Lyndon Baines Johnson aligns himself with Jack Kennedy, rises to the presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Loving 2016 – PG-13
The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.
Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton
Malcolm X 1993 – PG-13
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.
Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo
Milk 2008 – R
The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.
Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch
Mudbound 2017 - R
Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige
Nixon 1995 – R
A biographical story of former U.S. president Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency, which ended in shame.
Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe
October Sky 1999 – PG
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern
Pleasantville 1998 - PG-13
Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves in a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen
The Post 2017- PG-13
A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join in an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.
Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson
Remember the Titans 2000 - PG
The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.
Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris
The Right Stuff 1983 – PG
The story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.
Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris
Selma 2014 – PG-13
A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth
Thirteen Days 2000 - PG-13
A dramatization of the Kennedy administration's struggle to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll
Walk the Line 2005 – PG-13
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life.
Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
Period 9: 1980 – Present
Argo 2012 – R
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.
Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
The Big Short 2015 – R
Four denizens in the world of high finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
Black Hawk Down 2001 - R
160 elite U.S. soldiers drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.
Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore
Charlie Wilson’s War 2007 – R
A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Spotlight 2015 – R
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams
Zero Dark Thirty 2012 – R
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt
Based on a best-selling non-fiction book, the story of an undersized Depression-era racehorse who became a national sensation.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks
Period 2: 1607-1754
The Crucible 1996 – PG-13
A story of the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder
The New World 2005 - PG-13
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, the changing world, and loves of Pocahontas.
Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Period 3: 1754-1800
John Adams (TV – HBO) 2008 - TV 14
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett
The Last of the Mohicans 1992 – R
Three trappers protect a British Colonel's daughters in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means
The Patriot 2000 – R
A peaceful farmer is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution.
Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson
Turn (TV – AMC) 2014 – TV
The story of a Connecticut farmer who forms a group of spies with friends, turning the tide in America's fight for independence.
Daniel Henshall, Jamie Bell, Seth Numrich
Period 4: 1800-1848
Amistad 1997 – R
In 1839, the revolt of captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the captives are slaves or legally free.
Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins
The Alamo 2004 - PG-13
Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texans and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Santa Anna’s forces at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX.
Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thorton, Jason Patric
12 Years a Slave (2013) 2013 – R
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender
Period 5: 1844-1877
Free State of Jones 2016 – R
A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters, runaway slaves, and women in an uprising against the local Confederate government.
Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali
Glory 1989 – R
The story of the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both their own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes
Harriet 2019 – PG-13
The story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slaver and went on to become one of America’s greatest heroes, freeing hundreds of slaves
Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr.
Lincoln 2012 – PG- 13
As the Civil War continues to rage, Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn
Little Women 2019 - PG
The story of four sisters living in New England during the Civil War, based on the experiences of author Louisa May Alcott.
Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh
Period 6: 1865-1898
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2007 – R
Robert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO) 2007- TV-14
A historic chronicle, based on the book by Dee Brown, that explains how Native Americans were displaced as the United States expanded west.
Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg
Dances with Wolves 1990 – PG-13
Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military.
Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
Far and Away 1992 – PG-13
A young man leaves Ireland with his landlord's daughter after some trouble with her father, and they dream of owning land at the big give-away in Oklahoma ca. 1893.
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson
Hell on Wheels (TV – AMC) 2011-2016 – TV-14
Cullen Bohannon, a former soldier and slaveholder, follows the track of a band of Union soldiers, the killers of his wife. This brings him to the middle of one of the biggest projects in US history, the building of the transcontinental railroad. After the war years in the 1860s, this undertaking connected the prospering east with the still wild west.
Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Robin McLeavy
Tombstone 1993 - R
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona, are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating. The story of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday.
Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot
Period 7: 1890-1945
Band of Brothers (TV – HBO) 2001 – TV-MA
The story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.
Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston
Boardwalk Empire (TV – HBO) 2010-2014 – TV-MA
An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law, conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon
Bugsy 1991 – R
The story of how Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas.
Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel
The Butler 2013 – PG-13
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack
Cinderella Man 2005 – PG-13
The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko
The Color Purple 1985 – PG-13
A black Southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over four decades.
Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey
Fat Man and Little Boy 1989 – PG-13
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia
Iron Jawed Angels 2013 - PG-13
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Hilary Swank, Margo Martindale, Anjelica Huston
Legends of the Fall 1994 - R
In the 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war. A multi-generational story that covers world war, prohibition, westward expansion, & politics.
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
Marshall 2017 - PG-13
The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Chadwick Boseman, Sterling K. Brown, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad
Midway 2019 - PG-13
The story of the Battle of Midway, told through the experiences of US aviators and sailors on June 4, 1942.
Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Woody Harrelson
Saving Private Ryan 1998 – R
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers goes behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
Seabiscuit 2003 – PG-13
Based on a best-selling non-fiction book, the story of an undersized Depression-era racehorse who became a national sensation.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks
The Untouchables 1987 - R
Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team.
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro
Period 8: 1945-1980
42 2013 – PG-13
The story of Jackie Robinson and his journey to becoming a Brooklyn Dodger.
Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford
All the President’s Men 1976 – PG
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden
Apollo 13 1995 – PG
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon
Born on the 4th of July 1989 – R
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam War, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava
Bridge of Spies 2015 – PG-13
During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda
Dr. Strangelove 1964 – PG-13
An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Far from Heaven 2002 - PG-13
In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.
Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert
Flags of our Fathers 2006 - R
The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwi Jima, a turning point in World War II.
Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Joseph Cross
Forrest Gump 1994 – PG-13
While not intelligent, Forrest Gump has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him.
Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
Good Morning Vietnam 1987 – R
In 1965, an unorthodox DJ named Adrian Cronauer shakes things up when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran
Good Night, and Good Luck 2005 - PG
Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.
David Strathairn, George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson
Hacksaw Ridge 2016 – R
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey
The Help 2011 – PG-13
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer
Hidden Figures 2016 – PG
The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe
LBJ 2016 - R
Lyndon Baines Johnson aligns himself with Jack Kennedy, rises to the presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Loving 2016 – PG-13
The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.
Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton
Malcolm X 1993 – PG-13
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.
Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo
Milk 2008 – R
The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.
Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch
Mudbound 2017 - R
Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige
Nixon 1995 – R
A biographical story of former U.S. president Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency, which ended in shame.
Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe
October Sky 1999 – PG
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern
Pleasantville 1998 - PG-13
Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves in a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.
Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen
The Post 2017- PG-13
A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join in an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.
Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson
Remember the Titans 2000 - PG
The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.
Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris
The Right Stuff 1983 – PG
The story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.
Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris
Selma 2014 – PG-13
A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth
Thirteen Days 2000 - PG-13
A dramatization of the Kennedy administration's struggle to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll
Walk the Line 2005 – PG-13
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life.
Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
Period 9: 1980 – Present
Argo 2012 – R
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.
Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
The Big Short 2015 – R
Four denizens in the world of high finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
Black Hawk Down 2001 - R
160 elite U.S. soldiers drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.
Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore
Charlie Wilson’s War 2007 – R
A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Spotlight 2015 – R
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams
Zero Dark Thirty 2012 – R
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt