RECOMMENDED HISTORY FILMS
Ben Hur - 1960, starring Charlton Heston. One of the greatest films ever. Powerful depiction of the clash of the humanist state with the Christian Faith in the 1st century AD.
The Fall of the Roman Empire - 1964, starring Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinnes, James Mason and Christopher Plummer on the disastrous events which led to the collapse of Rome.
Becket - 1964, starring Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole on the clash between church and state in the 12th century.
The Agony and the Ecstasy - 1965, starring Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison on Michelangelo's conflict with pope Julius II over the painting of the Sistine Chapel in the early 16th Century.
Joan of Arc - 1948, starring Ingrid Bergman, as the inspiring French heroine who changed history, by inspiring her people to resist foreign occupation (Early 15th century).
Martin Luther - 1953, starring Niall MacGinnis. An excellent 1950’s Black and White award winning film which has Theological depth and historic accuracy (16th century).
Luther - 2003, starring Joseph Fiennes. A fast moving big budget (US$100 million) epic on the Great Reformer. An inspiring introduction to the Reformer but shallow and filled with anachronism and takes a lot of liberties with the facts of history.
God’s Outlaw - The Story of William Tyndale - 1986, starring Roger Rees. A drama on the English Bible Translator, Reformer and Martyr who gave his life that we could have the Bible in English (16th century). (93 min).
Cromwell - 1970, starring Richard Harris and Alec Guinness, a tremendous epic on the English Civil War and Puritan general Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England. Invaluable insights to 17th century England.
A Tale of Two Cities - 1935, starring Ronald Colman and Donald Woods. Based on Charles Dickins’ 1859 classic historic novel. A powerful contrast between English Christianity and French Revolution Humanism.
Amazing Grace - 2006, starring Ioan Gruffudd. A big budget epic on William Wilberforce’s parliamentary battles to end the slave trade (End of the 18th century).
Waterloo - 1970, starring Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. One of the greatest war films ever made of one of the most important battles ever fought (1815).
Amistad - 1997, starring Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman on the 19th century slave trade.
Florence Nightingale – 1985, starring Claire Bloom and Timothy Dalton. Inspiring introduction to the Lady with the Lamp who launched modern nursing during the Crimean War (1854 - 1856).
God and Generals - 2003, starring Jeff Daniels and Robert Duvall on the American War between the States (1861 - 1863). Honest and historically accurate.
Zulu Dawn - 1978, starring Peter O’Toole and Burt Lancaster provides invaluable insights to the Anglo Zulu War of 1879 and the battle of Isandlwana.
War and Peace – 1956, Leo Tolstoy's literary masterpiece faithfully brought to the big screen depicting Russia during the Napoleonic Wars and the invasion by Napoleon in 1812. Starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer.
Nicholas and Alexandra - 1971, starring Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman on the Bolshevik Revolution and the last Czar of Russia (1904 - 1918).. Mostly true to history. Some disturbing scenes. Parental guidance advised.
Joyeux Noel - 2005 war drama depicts the Christmas Truce of 1914 during the First World War.
Bitter Harvest - 2017, starring Max Irons in a romantic action drama highlighting the Holodomor famine that killed millions of Ukrainians under Stalin’s communist land reform Dekulakisation campaign in the 1930s. Essential viewing to understand communism. Parental Guidance advised.
A Bridge Too Far – 1977, epic war film on Operation Market Garden – the largest airborne operation in history. 35,000 Allied airborne troops parachuted into the Netherlands led to some of the most fierce battles of the Western Front in 1944. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Hardy Kruger, Maximillian Schell and Laurence Olivier. One of the most authentic war films ever produced.
The Great Raid – 2005 war drama about the military raid in 1945 by US Rangers to free Prisoners of War in the Philippines. One of the very few war films which depicts the reality of what both prisoners and soldiers actually faced in that conflict. Starring Joseph Fiennes and James Franco.
Africa Addio – 1966, an unflinching book at the savage lawlessness that accompanied decolonisation in Africa, including the Mau Mau of Kenya and the Simbas in the Congo. Not for the sensitive viewer, this film documents the massacres and brutality of revolutionaries in Africa.
“How Should We Then Live?” - 1977, by Francis Schaeffer, monumentally important Worldview overview from the time of the Romans through to our present time.
Dr. Peter Hammond
Reformation Society
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
www.ReformationSA.org
www.hmsschoolofchristianjournalism.org
Some of these are available from Christian Liberty Books, PO Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, Tel: 021-689-7478, Fax: 086-551-7490, Email: admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za and Website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za.