# List of historical films set in Near Eastern and Western civilization

The historical drama or period drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous people. Some historical dramas are docudramas, which attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography to the degree the available historical research will allow. Other historical dramas are fictionalized tales that are based on an actual person and their deeds, such as Braveheart, which is loosely based on the 13th-century knight William Wallace's fight for Scotland's independence.
Due to the sheer volume of films included in this genre and the interest in continuity, this list is primarily focused on films about the history of Near Eastern and Western civilization.
Please also refer to the List of historical films set in Asia for films about the history of East Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia.

## Films set in the Stone Age (before 3300 BC)

| Title | Release date | Time Era | Time Period | Notes on setting |
| Missing Link | 1988 | Lower Paleolithic | 1 Mya | The struggle of the last of the Australopithecine against the rising Homo. |
| Quest for Fire | 1981 | Middle Paleolithic | 80,000 BC | The story is set in Paleolithic Europe, with its plot surrounding the control of fire by archaic humans. |
| Out of Darkness | 2022 | Upper Paleolithic | 43,000 BC | Humans and Neanderthals in Paleolithic Europe. |
| The Clan of the Cave Bear | 1986 | Upper Paleolithic | 40,000 – 35,000 BC | Set around the time of Neanderthal extinction. |
| Ao: The Last Hunter | 2010 | Upper Paleolithic | 28,000 BC | Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals in Paleolithic Asia and Europe. |
| Alpha | 2018 | Upper Paleolithic | 20,000 BC | Dog domestication. |
| Creatures the World Forgot | 1971 | Paleolithic | not specified | The daily struggle to survive of a tribe of prehistoric humans. |
| Year One | 2009 | Neolithic | | Comedy about two hunter-gatherers who after being banished from their tribe encounter Biblical characters and eventually wind up in the city of Sodom. |
| Conan the Barbarian | 1982 | Neolithic | 32,000 – 10,000 BC | Occurs in the pseudo-historical "Hyborian Age", set after the destruction of Atlantis and before the rise of any known ancient civilization. |
| Conan the Destroyer | 1984 | Neolithic | 32,000 – 10,000 BC | |
| 10,000 BC | 2008 | Neolithic | 10,000 BC | Set in the prehistoric era (12,000 years ago) and depicts the journeys of a prehistoric tribe of mammoth hunters. |
| Ice Age | 2002 | Neolithic | 10,000 BC | Fictional story about now-extinct animals: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a sloth. |
| Iceman | 2017 | Neolithic | 3,300 BC | Fictional story about the life of Ötzi, a natural mummy of a man found in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps. |

## Films set in the Bronze Age (3300–1200 BC)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Gods of Egypt | 2016 | 3200 BC | A fantasy action film based on the ancient Egyptian deities and the story of the god Horus (Horus may be shown as a falcon on the Narmer Palette, dating from about 3300–3200 BC). |
| The Scorpion King | 2002 | 3200–3000 BC | A fantasy action film based on the historical king of the Protodynastic Period of Egypt, King Scorpion. |
| The Pharaohs' Woman | 1960 | 3100 BC | A beautiful girl and a young physician fall in love amid a family and power struggle between rival princes of Upper and Lower Egypt. Set shortly after the unification of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt by the First Dynasty of Egypt. |
| Land of the Pharaohs | 1956 | 2589–2566 BC | Based on the reign of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), a member of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| Cleopatra's Daughter | 1960 | 2589–2566 BC | Based on the reign of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), a member of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| Sudan | 1945 | 2558–2532 BC | Set during the reign of the pharaoh Khafre (Chephren), a member of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior | 2008 | 2334–2284 BC/ 1792 – c. 1750 BC | This is a fictional story about Mathayus, who aims to avenge his father's death at the hands of Sargon, now king of Akkad. In this movie, a fictional version of the king Hammurabi of Babylon appears. |
| The Bible: In the Beginning... | 1966 | approx. 3761 BC – 1644 BC (according to the Hebrew Calendar) | It recounts the first 22 chapters of the biblical Book of Genesis, covering the stories from Adam and Eve to the binding of Isaac. |
| Sodom and Gomorrah | 1962 | 2100 BC | An epic film which is loosely based on the tale of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis. |
| The Eloquent Peasant | 1970 | 2160–2025 BC | Egyptian short film based on the tale of The Eloquent Peasant from the Middle Kingdom period |
| Abraham | 1993 | 2100–2000 BC | A television film based on the life of the patriarch Abraham. |
| The Bible | 2013 | 2100 BC – 67 AD | Television miniseries based on the Bible, starting with Abraham. |
| Mohenjo Daro | 2016 | 2016 BC | Film set in 2016 BC, in the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro. The historical city was one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major cities. |
| Jacob | 1994 | 2000 BC (according to the Hebrew calendar) | A German/Italian/American television film based on the novel Giacobbe by Francesco Maria Nappi. The novel is, in turn, based on the depiction of the patriarch Jacob in the Book of Genesis. |
| Slave of Dreams | 1995 | 1901–1850 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt and based on the story of Joseph, a Vizier depicted in the Book of Genesis. The era of the film's setting corresponds to the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| Joseph | 1995 | 1901–1850 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt and based on the story of Joseph, a Vizier depicted in the Book of Genesis. The era of the film's setting corresponds to the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| The Red Tent | 2014 | 1700–1750 BC | Miniseries set in The Holy Land during the time of the Old Testament patriarchs of the Book of Genesis. Dinah, the only daughter of Leah and Jacob, chronicles her story from youth through adulthood. |
| Atlantis: End of a World, Birth of a Legend | 2011 | 1600 BC | Docudrama which depicts a re-enactment of the events surrounding the Minoan eruption, a major catastrophic volcanic eruption in the island of Thera (modern Santorini). The historical eruption devastated the island and communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and Crete. The event is thought to be connected to a decline and eventual downfall of the Minoan civilization, an incident believed to have inspired the legend of Atlantis. |
| Atlantis | 2013–2015 | 1600 BC | Far from home, Jason washes up on the shores of the ancient and mysterious city of Atlantis. |
| Queen of the Nile | 1961 | 1370–1330 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt; loosely based on the life of Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were members of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt and were ruling figures of the Amarna Period. |
| The Egyptian | 1954 | 1350 BC | Based on the novel The Egyptian by Mika Waltari, who adapted the Story of Sinuhe. The film mentions the pharaoh Akhenaten, the Hittite Empire, and iron technology. |
| Tut | 2015 | 1332–1323 BC | The three-part miniseries is based on the life of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, a member of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. |
| Jason and the Argonauts | 1963 | 1300 BC | The story of Jason and Argonauts, a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. |
| The Giants of Thessaly | 1960 | 1300 BC | loosely based on the epic poem Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius. |
| The Ten Commandments | 1956 | 1290–1213 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ramesses II, a member of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The film is based on the founding narrative of the Exodus, as depicted in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. |
| Exodus: Gods and Kings | 2014 | 1290–1213 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ramesses II, a member of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The film is based on the founding narrative of the Exodus, as depicted in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. |
| The Prince of Egypt | 1998 | 1290–1213 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ramesses II, a member of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The film is based on the founding narrative of the Exodus, as depicted in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. |
| Immortals | 2011 | 1228 BC | Loosely based on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Titanomachy. |
| Iphigenia | 1977 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in the port town of Aulis, Greece immediately before the Greek expeditionary force set sails to attack Troy. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, king Agamemnon of Mycenae offers his daughter Iphigenia as a human sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. The film is based on the theatrical play Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides. |
| Helen of Troy | 1956 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in western Anatolia during the Trojan War, largely based on the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey by Homer. |
| Helen of Troy | 2003 | 1200–1150 BC | TV miniseries set in western Anatolia during the Trojan War, loosely based on the epic poem Iliad by Homer. |
| Troy | 2004 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in western Anatolia during the Trojan War, loosely based on the epic poem Iliad by Homer. |
| Troy: Fall of a City | 2018 | 1200–1150 BC | Miniseries that tells the story of the 10-year siege of Troy. |
| The Fury of Achilles | 1962 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in western Anatolia in the 9th year of the Trojan War, based on the epic poem Iliad by Homer. King Agamemnon of Mycenae has lost his slave concubine Chryseis, and demands Briseis as a replacement concubine. Briseis is the slave concubine of Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidons, and Achilles feels insulted due to having to give her up to his superior. In retaliation, Achilles refuses to fight or lead his troops alongside the other Greek forces. The Trojans temporarily start gaining an advantage in the ongoing war. |
| The Trojan Horse | 1961 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in western Anatolia in the 10th and final year of the Trojan War. |
| The Trojan Women | 1971 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in the immediate aftermath of the Trojan War, based on the theatrical play The Trojan Women by Euripides. The city of Troy has been sacked and the victors of the war are taking decisions on the fates of surviving captives. The film focuses on the fates of female captives Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra, and Helen of Sparta. Meanwhile, Astyanax, the underage heir to the Trojan throne and relative of all four women, is scheduled for execution. |
| Ulysses | 1954 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, based on the epic poem Odyssey by Homer. It depicts the ten-year struggle of war veteran Odysseus to return home to the island of Ithaca following the war. |
| The Odyssey | 1968 | 1200–1150 BC | Based on the epic poem Odyssey by Homer. |
| The Odyssey | 1997 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, based on the epic poem Odyssey by Homer. It depicts the ten-year struggle of war veteran Odysseus to return home to the island of Ithaca following the war. |
| Electra | 1962 | 1200–1150 BC | Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War in Mycenae, based on the theatrical play Electra by Euripides and the traditional accounts of conflicts within the family of the Atreidai. Agamemnon, King of Mycenae returned victorious from the Trojan War, but was assassinated by his own wife Clytemnestra and by his first cousin Aegisthus (who served as Clytemnestra's lover and a rival claimant to the throne). Years, later Electra (the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra) seeks revenge for her father's murder, by plotting the assassinations of both her mother and her stepfather. |
| The Lion of Thebes | 1964 | 1200–1150 BC | Alternate tale where Helen of Troy end up in the Egyptian city of Thebes |
| The Avenger | 1962 | 1200–1150 BC | Aeneas struggles to establish a new home-land in the Italian Peninsula for his fellow survivors of the Trojan War. The film is based on the epic poem Aeneid by Virgil, which depicts Aeneas and his Trojan colonists as ancestor of the Romans. |

## Films set in the Iron Age (1200 BC–500 BC)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Samson and Delilah | 1949 | 1118–1078 BC | A romantic biblical drama film which depicts the story of Samson, a strongman whose secret lies in his uncut hair, and his love for Delilah, the woman who seduces him. Samson and Delilah are characters in the Book of Judges, where Samson is depicted as the last of the Biblical judges in its narrative, and Delilah as a woman of Nahal Sorek who was bribed by the lords of the Philistines to learn his secrets. |
| Samson | 2018 | 1118–1078 BC | Samson is a 2018 Biblical drama film directed by Bruce Macdonald and inspired by the story of Samson in the Book of Judges. |
| Pharaoh | 1966 | 1069 BC | Set in Ancient Egypt during the reign of a fictitious king "Ramses XIII" (there were only 11 kings by that name). The film is based on the novel Pharaoh by Bolesław Prus, and depicts the final years of the historical Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. Ramses XIII rises to the throne when still in his 20s, following the deaths of his father, and the incapacitating illnesses and (one suicide) of a number of older brothers. Egypt is in decline due to a combination of internal and external threats, and Ramses is pushing for necessary reforms but his efforts are resisted by the powerful, bureaucratic priesthood. Ramses dies young, before accomplishing his goals. His political rival "Herhor" (the historical Herihor) succeeds him on the throne and attempts some of the same reforms, but still fails to rescue Egypt from its decline. |
| King David | 1985 | 1040–970 BC | Set in Late Canaan, it depicts the life and reign of David, Kings of Israel. Based on the Books of Samuel. David is the supposed founder of the House of David (Davidic line). |
| A Story of David | 1960 | 1040–970 BC | Set in Late Canaan, it depicts the complex relationship between Saul, Kings of Israel and his son-in-law and eventual successor David. Based on the Books of Samuel, where Saul is depicted as the founder of the Kingdom of Israel. |
| David and Goliath | 1960 | 1040–970 BC | Set in the Canaan, focused on the conflict between rival kings Saul and Asrod, and their representatives in champion warfare: David and Goliath of Gath. Based on the Books of Samuel, which depict Achish as a king of Gath who was in conflict with Saul and recruited David to serve in his army. |
| David and Bathsheba | 1951 | 1040–970 BC | Set in Late Canaan, during the reign of David, Kings of Israel. David is married to Michal, daughter of his predecessor Saul. David has an extramarital affair with Bathsheba, wife of the soldier Uriah the Hittite. Uriah is one of David's Mighty Warriors (a group of soldiers personally loyal to David), but David arranges for Uriah to be killed in battle and then claims Bathsheba as his new wife. Based on the Books of Samuel. |
| The Queen of Sheba | 1952 | 1011–931 BC | Set in the Kingdom of Israel, during the reign of Solomon. |
| Solomon and Sheba | 1959 | 1011–931 BC | Set in the Kingdom of Israel, during the reign of Solomon, Kings of Israel. Solomon forms a political alliance with the Queen of Sheba, becomes a lover of his new ally, and introduces pagan rituals in his kingdom. His exiled half-brother Adonijah offers his military services to Ancient Egypt and leads an Egyptian army in an invasion of Kingdom of Israel. The events of the film are loosely based on narratives from the Books of Kings and the Books of Chronicles. The Books of Kings depict Adonijah and Solomon as sons of David and rival claimants to the throne of Israel, but do not feature Adonijah as loyal to Egypt. Instead, Solomon himself is traditionally depicted as an ally of Egypt and as husband of a Pharaoh's daughter. |
| Sins of Jezebel | 1953 | 874–853 BC | Set in the Kingdom of Northern Israel in Samaria, during the reign of Ahab, Kings of Israel. The film depicts the reign of the Omrides, based on Books of Kings and the Books of Chronicles. Jezebel, Ahab's queen consort, is depicted as having an extramarital affair with the military commander Jehu. This contradicts the traditional narrative, where Jezebel never has extramarital affairs and where she is assassinated by Jehu during the coup d'état which elevated him to the throne. |
| I Am Semiramis | 1963 | 810 BC | Set in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, during the reign of semi-legendary queen Semiramis. The legends are in part based on the historical Shammuramat, queen consort of Shamshi-Adad V and regent for her son Adad-nirari III. |
| King Lear (many adaptations) | 1905– | 800 BC | Celtic Britain |
| Romulus | 2020–2022 | 800 BC | Set in the 8th century BC, narrates the events preceding the founding of Rome. |
| Duel of the Titans | 1961 | 753 BC | Based on the story of Romulus and Remus, and the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom. |
| The First King: Birth of an Empire | 2019 | 753 BC | Set in the 8th century BC, it is about the shepherd brothers Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome. |
| Romulus and the Sabines | 1961 | 750 BC | Based on the Rape of the Sabine Women, an origin myth for the Roman Kingdom. Shortly after the founding of the kingdom and the start of the reign of Romulus, Rome still lacks a female population and its residents can not reproduce. Romulus organizes bride kidnappings from neighboring people, primarily targeting the Sabines. This leads to a war between the Roman and Sabines, and the eventual assimilation of the Sabines by the Romans. |
| The Rape of the Sabine Women | 1962 | 750 BC | Adaptation of the Roman foundation myth about the abduction of Sabine women by the Romans shortly after the foundation of the city of Rome. |
| Head of a Tyrant | 1959 | 668-627 BC | Set in the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the rule of Ashurbanipal. Based on the Book of Judith |
| Duel of Champions | 1961 | 650 BC | Based on the Roman legend of the Horatii, set in the reign of Tullus Hostilius. The Roman Kingdom is at war with the city of Alba Longa and the outcome will by decided by champion warfare. Rome sends three brothers from gens Horatia and Alba Longa sends three brothers from gens Curiatia gens. Publius Horatius emerges as the sole survivor of the combat, and Alba Longa is annexed by the Roman Kingdom. |
| War Gods of Babylon | 1962 | 627 BC | Set in the Neo-Assyrian Empire; focusing largely on Sardanapalus (probably the Greek name for Ashurbanipal, but anachronistically including Zoroaster (11th–10th century BC) and Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC). |
| The Book of Daniel | 2013 | 605 BC | In 605 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians and many of their best young men were taken into captivity, including Daniel. |
| The Queen of Babylon | 1954 | 600 BC | Set in the Neo-Babylonian Empire, depicts Semiramis as a Babylonian queen. |
| The Warrior Empress | 1960 | 600 BC | Features a loose portrayal of the Archaic Greek poet Sappho |
| Tomyris | 2019 | 600 – 530 BC | The film is based on the story of Herodotus about the death of the Persian King Cyrus the Great during the war with Massagetae, which was commanded by the queen Tomiris. |
| The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules | 1963 | 539 BC | A fictionalized account of the downfall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and its conquest by the Achaemenid Empire under the Cyrus the Great. The cruel Balthazar (Belshazzar) has usurped the Babylonian throne and rules through state terrorism. He systematically offers young women as human sacrifice to his gods. Nippur, a descendant of former king Sargon II, fails to stop the usurper on his own. His life is saved by Zairus (Cyrus the Great) and he agrees to help the Persian king in his campaign to conquer Babylon. The historical Belshazzar was a son of king Nabonidus and served as a regent in his father's absence, but never became a king in his own right. During Cyrus' conquest, Nabonidus was captured and his life apparently spared, but Belshazzar may have died during the fall of the city. |
| Hero of Rome | 1964 | 509 BC | The story combines the Roman legends of Gaius Mucius Scaevola and the expulsion of king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. In the film, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus has already been deposed, and the Roman Kingdom has been replaced by a Roman Republic. Lars Porsena, King of Clusium wages war against the Republic in an attempt to restore his ally Tarquinius to the throne. The Roman Senate offers the military leadership to Gaius Mucius Scaevola, a recently released prisoner of war whose right hand is permanently disabled. Scaevola trains himself to fight with his left hand, and leads his troops to victory against Lars Porsena. |
| Coriolanus: Hero without a Country | 1964 | 493 BC | The Roman legend of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. Coriolanus is a Roman general who distinguishes himself in a war between the Roman Republic and the Volsci. When the aristocratic Coriolanus proposes political reforms which will severely reduce the rights of the plebs, most of the Romans turn against him and he is exiled. The vengeful Coriolanus offers his military services to the Volsci, and leads an invasion army against Rome. Coriolanus refuses requests for a peaceful resolution by his former countrymen, but changes his mind when the Romans send his own mother and his wife as their representatives. |

## Films set in the Classical Era (500 BC – 600 AD)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| The Giant of Marathon | 1959 | 490 BC | Greece: Battle of Marathon |
| Esther and the King | 1960 | 486–482 BC | the biblical story of Esther set in the Achaemenid Empire |
| One Night with the King | 2006 | 486–482 BC | the biblical story of Esther set in the Achaemenid Empire |
| The 300 Spartans | 1961 | 480 BC | Greece: Battle of Thermopylae |
| 300 | 2007 | 480 BC | Greece: Battle of Thermopylae |
| 300: Rise of an Empire | 2014 | 480 BC | Greece: Battle of Salamis |
| Amazons of Rome | 1961 | 476 BC | Based on the legend of Cloelia |
| Damon and Pythias | 1962 | 400 BC | Syracuse, Sicily |
| Socrates | 1971 | 399 BC | A false accusation leads the philosopher Socrates to trial and condemnation in 5th century BC Athens. |
| Brennus, Enemy of Rome | 1963 | 387 BC | the Gallic sack of Rome |
| Hercules | 2014 | 358 BC | An American action fantasy adventure film based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, which presents a realistic and more human version of Hercules. |
| Alexander the Great | 1956 | 356–323 BC | Ancient kingdom of Macedonia and Persia |
| Alexander | 2004 | 356–323 BC | Ancient kingdom of Macedonia and Persia |
| The Goddess of Love | 1957 | 339–338 BC | Athens during the campaigns of Philip II |
| The Cleopatras | 1983 | 305–30 BC | Egypt – The entire Ptolemaic dynasty |
| The Colossus of Rhodes | 1961 | 280 BC | Fictional account of the island of Rhodes during its Classical period in the late third century before coming under Roman control |
| Gladiators Seven | 1964 | 280 BC | Sparta during the Achaean League |
| The Loves of Salammbo | 1960 | 241–237 BC | loosely based on the novel Salammbô by Gustave Flaubert. |
| Revak the Rebel | 1960 | 218 BC | Iberian Peninsula immediately before the Second Punic War |
| Cabiria | 1914 (silent) | 218–202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
| Jupiter's Darling | 1955 | 218–202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
| Hannibal | 1959 | 218–202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
| Hannibal – Rome's Worst Nightmare | 2006 | 218–202 BC | during the Second Punic War |
| Siege of Syracuse | 1960 | 214–212 BC | the Roman Siege of Syracuse during the Second Punic War |
| Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal | 1937 | 202 BC | Battle of Zama which ended the Second Punic War |
| Scipio the African | 1971 | 185 BC | About the later life of Scipio. |
| The Old Testament | 1962 | 167–141 BC | based on the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire |
| Carthage in Flames | 1960 | 149–146 BC | Depicts the last of the Punic Wars between the Roman Republic and Carthage. |
| The Centurion | 1961 | 146 BC | Battle of Corinth between Rome and the Achaean League |
| Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire | 2006 | 146 BC–410 AD | From Tiberius Gracchus to the Sack of Rome (410). BBC Docu-drama. |
| Julius Caesar | 2002 | 100–44 BC | a bio-pic of Julius Caesar, not the Shakespeare play about his death and the aftermath |
| Burebista | 1980 | 82–44 BC | The reign of King Burebista of Dacia (modern day Romania) |
| Julius Caesar Against the Pirates | 1962 | 75 BC | loosely based on actual events from the early life of Julius Caesar. |
| Sins of Rome | 1953 | 73–71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
| Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators | 1964 | 73–71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
| Spartacus | 1960 | 73–71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
| Spartacus | 2004 | 73–71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
| Spartacus | 2010–2013 | 73–71 BC | the Third Servile War in Rome |
| The Revenge of Spartacus | 1965 | 70 BC | set shortly after the death of Spartacus |
| Caesar the Conqueror | 1962 | 58–50 BC | Julius Caesar leads the Roman army to battle against rebels in Gaul. |
| Slave of Rome | 1961 | 58–50 BC | Set in Gaul during the Gallic Wars |
| Druids | 2001 | 58–51 BC | the struggle between Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix in the Gallic Wars |
| Giants of Rome | 1964 | 52 BC | The film involves a group of soldiers infiltrating the enemy's stronghold to locate and destroy a secret weapon prior to the Battle of Alesia. |
| Rome | 2005–2007 | 52–30 BC | from the end of the Gallic Wars to the death of Mark Antony and the beginning of the Principate |
| Imperium: Augustus | 2003 | 49 BC–14 AD | Rome – the life of Augustus, the first emperor |
| Revolt of the Barbarians | 1964 | 49 BC | Rome – shortly after the Gallic Wars |
| The Slave | 1962 | 48 BC | Unofficial sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film Spartacus |
| A Queen for Caesar | 1962 | 48 BC | Egypt leading up to the arrival of Julius Caesar |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | 1945 | 48–47 BC | Egypt during the stay of Julius Caesar |
| Cleopatra | 1917 | 48–30 BC | Egypt and Rome – follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
| Cleopatra | 1934 | 48–30 BC | Egypt and Rome – follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
| Cleopatra | 1963 | 48–30 BC | Egypt and Rome – follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
| Cleopatra | 1999 | 48–30 BC | Egypt and Rome – follows her relationships first with Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony |
| Julius Caesar (many adaptations) | 1908– | 44–42 BC | Shakespeare's play about the death and aftermath of this famous dictator |
| Antony and Cleopatra (many adaptations) | 1908– | 44–30 BC | Shakespeare's play about the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony |
| Legions of the Nile | 1959 | 44–30 BC | Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra and Mark Antony |
| Two Nights with Cleopatra | 1954 | 44–30 BC | Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra and Mark Antony |
| Serpent of the Nile | 1953 | 44–30 BC | Tells the story of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and her relationship with the Roman general Mark Anthony from just after the assassination of Julius Caesar. |
| Empire | 2005 | 44 BC | Covers the struggle of a young Octavius to become the first emperor of Rome. |
| Domina | 2021–2023 | 43–22 BC | The life and rise of Livia Drusilla, the powerful wife of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. |
| Herod the Great | 1959 | 37–4 BC | Herodian Kingdom of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great |
| The Cantabrians | 1980 | 29 BC | About the Cantabrian Wars during the final stage of the two-century long Roman conquest of Hispania. |
| The Caesars | 1967 | 27 BC–68 AD | Rome – the Julio-Claudian dynasty |
| Mary (2024 film) | 2024 | 18 - 4 BC | A 2 epic biblical film that follows Mary, mother of Jesus, from her childhood in Nazareth to the birth of Jesus, during the reign of Herod the Great. |
| I, Claudius | 1976 | 12 BC–54 AD | Rome – the reigns and family life of the Julio-Claudians |
| The Nativity Story | 2006 | 4 BC | Province of Judaea – The Biblical account of the nativity of Jesus, following the story of Mary and Joseph until the birth of Jesus occurs. |
| Desert Desperadoes | 1959 | 4 BC | Province of Judaea – during the reign of Herod the Great |
| King of Kings | 1961 | 4 BC to 30–33 AD | Province of Judaea – Dramatization of the story of Jesus of Nazareth from his birth and ministry to his crucifixion and resurrection. |
| Jesus of Nazareth | 1977 | 4 BC to 30–33 AD | Province of Judaea – the life of Jesus Christ |
| The Sword and the Cross | 1958 | 4 BC to 30–33 AD | Province of Judaea – the relationship between Maria Magdalene and Jesus Christ |
| Salome | 1953 | 4 BC to 30–33 AD | Province of Judaea – during the reign of Herod II (son of Herod the Great) and princess Herodias |
| Monty Python's Life of Brian | 1979 | 6-4 BC to 30 AD | Province of Judaea - Comedy parodying the life of Jesus Christ, through a man who lived his life parallel to Jesus. |
| Massacre in the Black Forest | 1967 | 9 AD | Germany – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where the Cherusci ambushed and annihilated three Roman legions. |
| Barbarians | 2020-2022 | 9 AD | Series is a fictional account of events during the Roman Empire's occupation of Germania, and the resulting rebellion of the Germanic tribes led by Arminius. |
| Ben-Hur | 1959 | 26–30 AD | Based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace |
| Ben-Hur | 2016 | 26–30 AD | Based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace |
| The Last Temptation of Christ | 1988 | 27–30 AD | Province of Judaea – the life of Jesus Christ |
| The Robe | 1953 | 30–36 | Rome – ending reign of Tiberius, the beginning of Caligula |
| Pontius Pilate | 1962 | 33 AD | Province of Judaea – The events surrounding the Passion of Jesus Christ focusing on Pontius Pilate. |
| The Passion of the Christ | 2004 | 33 AD | Province of Judaea – The final 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life |
| Risen | 2016 | 33 AD | Province of Judaea – Immediately after Jesus' crucifixion |
| Barabbas | 1961 | 33–64 | Rome – ending reign of Tiberius, the reign of Nero |
| Imperium: Saint Peter | 2005 | 33–67 | Saint Peter |
| A.D. The Bible Continues | 2015 | 33–41 | Beginning with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and continues with the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts. |
| The Inquiry | 2006 | 37 | Province of Judaea - shortly after the death of Jesus |
| Caligula | 1979 | 37–41 | Rome – the reign of the third emperor |
| Caligula... The Untold Story | 1982 | 41 | Rome – the end of Caligula's reign |
| Demetrius and the Gladiators | 1954 | 41 | Ancient Rome – the end of Caligula's reign |
| Messalina | 1951 | 41–48 | Rome – about the reign of Messalina and Claudius |
| Messalina | 1960 | 41–48 | Rome – about the reign of Messalina and Claudius |
| Nero | 2004 | 41–68 | Rome – spanning the reigns of Claudius and Nero |
| Britannia | 2018–2021 | 43 | Set in AD 43, the series follows the Roman conquest of Britain |
| St. Thomas | 1975 | 52–72 | Rome – low budget Indian film on the missionary work of Thomas the Apostle in India. |
| Quo Vadis | 1951 | 54–68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Quo Vadis | 1985 | 54–68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Quo Vadis | 2001 | 54–68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Nero and the Burning of Rome | 1953 | 54–68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Nero's Mistress | 1956 | 55 | depicts a visit by the Roman Emperor Nero and his entourage to a coastal villa. |
| The Viking Queen | 1967 | 60 | Britain – loosely based on the revolt of Boudica |
| Boudica | 2003 | 60 | Britain – a rebellion shortly after the area had been conquered by Rome |
| Boudica | 2023 | 60 | Britain – a rebellion shortly after the area had been conquered by Rome |
| Pompeii | 2014 | 62–79 | Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius |
| The Sign of the Cross | 1932 | 64 | Persecution of the Christians immediately after the Great Fire of Rome |
| Fire Over Rome | 1965 | 65 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Alone Against Rome | 1962 | 66 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| The Ten Gladiators | 1963 | 68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| Challenge of the Gladiator | 1965 | 68 | Rome during the reign of Nero |
| The Dovekeepers | 2015 | 70 | In 79 AD, Rome is under the leadership of the elderly Emperor Vespasian, along with his sons, Titus and Domitianus. They are working on building the Colosseum |
| Masada | 1981 | 72–73 | Roman province of Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War |
| Those About to Die | 2024 | 79 | Rome during the reign of Vespasian |
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1950 | 79 | Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius |
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1959 | 79 | Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius |
| 79 A.D. | 1962 | 79 | Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius |
| Pompeii: The Last Day | 2003 | 79 | Docu-drama that tells of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August 79 AD |
| Dacii | 1967 | 86–87 | Dacia (modern Romania) – Domitian's Dacian War |
| The Apocalypse | 2002 | 90–96 | Rome – Ephesus |
| Revolt of the Praetorians | 1964 | 96 | Rome – the assassination of Domitian |
| Gold for the Caesars | 1963 | 96 | Rome – During the reign of Domitian |
| The Column | 1968 | 105–106 | the Roman emperor Trajan conquering Dacia |
| Centurion | 2010 | 117 | Roman Britain – the supposed fate of the Ninth Legion |
| Le schiave di Cartagine | 1956 | 120 | Set in Tarsus, in the Roman province of Cilicia |
| The Eagle | 2011 | 140 | Roman Britain – a young Roman man attempts to find out what happened to his father and the Ninth Legion |
| Androcles and the Lion | 1952 | 161 | Rome – Based on the 1912 George Bernard Shaw play of the same name. |
| The Two Gladiators | 1964 | 180–192 | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
| The Rebel Gladiators | 1962 | 180–192 | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
| The Fall of the Roman Empire | 1964 | 180–192 | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
| Gladiator | 2000 | 180–192 | Rome – spanning the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus |
| Sword of the Empire | 1964 | 190 | Rome during the reign of Commodus |
| Gladiator II | 2024 | 200 | Rome during the joint reign of Carcarella and Geta which later becomes the brief reign of Macrinus. |
| Three Swords for Rome | 1964 | 222 | Rome during the reign of Elagabalus |
| The Magnificent Gladiator | 1964 | 260–268 | Rome during the reign of Gallienus |
| Sheba and the Gladiator | 1959 | 260–273 | Rome and the Palmyrene Empire during the reigns of Aurelian and Zenobia |
| Santa Barbara | 2012 | 273–306 | Rome the story of Saint Barbara, a Christian martyr |
| Sebastiane | 1976 | 288 | Rome Low-budget homo-erotic film about Saint Sebastian |
| Constantine and the Cross | 1962 | 306–312 | Rome's first Christian emperor from the death of Constantius Chlorus to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge |
| Katherine of Alexandria | 2012 | 307 | Roman province of Egypt shortly before the legalization of Christianity |
| Fabiola | 1949 | 312 | Rome early in the reign of Constantine I |
| The Revolt of the Slaves | 1960 | 312 | Rome early in the reign of Constantine I |
| The Fall of Rome | 1963 | 337 | Rome based on the persecution of Christians after the death of Emperor Constantine |
| Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire | 2010 | 354–430 | Roman province of Africa – focusing on the life of Augustine of Hippo, and including the Vandal conquest of Carthage |
| Agora | 2009 | 360–415 | Life and death of scientist/philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and the destruction of the Library. |
| St. Patrick: The Irish Legend | 2000 | 387–493 | Ireland and Roman Britain during the life of Saint Patrick |
| Roar | 1997 | 400 | Ireland – Celtic warriors attempt to repel a fictitious Roman invasion |
| Hagbard and Signe | 1967 | 5th century | Scandinavia during the Germanic Heroic Age |
| Arthur of the Britons | 1972–1973 | 5th century | Britain after the Roman withdrawal |
| Sign of the Pagan | 1954 | 406–453 | Rome – the Huns conquests and the downfall of the Roman Empire |
| Attila | 1954 | 406–453 | Rome – the Hunnic leader up to his retreat from the Po river |
| Attila | 2001 | 406–453 | Rome – the life and death of the famous Hunnic leader |
| Revenge of the Barbarians | 1960 | 410 | the Visigothic sack of Rome |
| The Voyage Home | 2004 | 415 | Rome – loosely based on the 5th-century poem De reditu suo by Rutilius Claudius Namatianus |
| Die Nibelungen | 1924 | 450 | about the Germanic hero Siegfried, his murder, and his widow's vengeance |
| Die Nibelungen | 1966–1967 | 450 | about the Germanic hero Siegfried, his murder, and his widow's vengeance |
| Ring of the Nibelungs | 2004 | 450 | about the Germanic hero Siegfried |
| King Arthur | 2004 | 452–467 | the Roman withdrawal from Britain and the Battle of Mount Badon |
| Revenge of The Gladiators | 1964 | 454 | the Vandal sack of Rome |
| Tharus Son of Attila | 1962 | 454 | Set shortly after the reign of Attila |
| The Last Legion | 2007 | 476–490 | connecting (in heavily fictionalized fashion) the deposition of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustus by Odoacer with the Battle of Mount Badon |
| The Mists of Avalon | 2001 | late 5th – early 6th centuries | heavily fictionalized story of King Arthur |
| Lovespell | 1981 | 6th century | Britain and Ireland – adaptation of the Brythonic legend of Tristan and Iseult |
| Fire and Sword | 1982 | 6th century | Britain and Ireland – adaptation of the Brythonic legend of Tristan and Iseult |
| Tristan & Isolde | 2006 | 6th century | Britain and Ireland – adaptation of the Brythonic legend of Tristan and Iseult |
| Grendel Grendel Grendel | 1981 | 6th century | animated film based on the 1971 novel Grendel, retelling the Anglo-Saxon poem from the monster's perspective |
| Beowulf & Grendel | 2005 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
| Grendel | 2007 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – very loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
| Beowulf | 2007 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – loose adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf |
| Hamlet | 1948 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – adaptation of the Shakespeare play based on the Danish legend of Amleth |
| Hamlet | 1964 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – this is a Russian adaptation of the Shakespeare play based on the Danish legend of Amleth |
| Ophelia | 2018 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective |
| Prince of Jutland | 1994 | 6th century | Denmark in the Germanic Heroic Age – legend of Amleth from the Danish Gesta Danorum |
| Teodora | 1921 | 500–548 | Byzantine empress Theodora |
| Theodora, Slave Empress | 1954 | 500–548 | Byzantine empress Theodora |
| The Last Roman | 1968/1969 | 526–553 | the Ostrogoths' struggle against the Byzantine emperor Justinian I and his generals Belisarius and Narses – adaption of a novel by Felix Dahn |
| Sword of the Conqueror | 1961 | 567–572 | Alboin and the Lombard invasion of Italy |
| Goliath and the Barbarians | 1959 | 568 | the Lombard invasion of Italy |
| The Message | 1976 | 570–632 | Arabian Peninsula – the life of Muhammad |
| The Messenger of God | 2015 | 570–632 | Arabian Peninsula – the life of Muhammad |
| Omar | 2012 | 595–644 | the life of Omar ibn Al-Khattab, one of the companions of Muhammad |

## Films set in the medieval era (600–1500)
### Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| The Lady of Heaven | 2021 | 605–632 | Arabia | Biopic about Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad |
| 681 AD: The Glory of Khan | 1981 | 632–681 | Bulgaria | Epic about the fall of Old Great Bulgaria and the creation of First Bulgarian Empire; focuses on Kanasubigi Asparuh's life |
| Al Qadisiyya | 1981 | 636 | Sasanian Empire | Depicts the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah |
| Redbad | 2018 | c.680–719 | Frisia | A Dutch drama film based on the life of Redbad, King of the Frisians, who is often considered the last independent ruler of Frisia before Frankish domination |
| Outlander | 2008 | 709 | Scandinavia | Loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, adapted to a science-fiction backstory involving a spaceship crashing in Iron Age Norway |
| Charlemagne, le prince à cheval | 1993 | 768–800 | France | Charlemagne's reign up to his coronation as emperor in 800 |
| Roland the Mighty | 1956 | 778 | France | Roland, a knight of Charlemagne's court who was killed at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass |
| Erik the Conqueror | 1961 | 786–806 | England | Two estranged brothers confront each other as rivals when war breaks out between Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Vikings. |
| Vikings | 2013–2020 | 793–825 | Western Europe | Series inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France. |
| An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God | 2003 | 800 | Poland | The death of Popiel and the rise of Piast the Wheelwright |
| The Gaelic King | 2017 | 800 | Scotland | Tells the story of warrior-king Alpin. When his young brother is captured, Alpin must hunt the kidnappers though a dark forest that hides an ancient evil. |
| Attack of the Normans | 1962 | early 9th century | England | Set in England during the Viking Age ("Normans" in the title being used in its original continental sense, meaning "Vikings"). |
| Útlaginn | 1981 | 9th century | Iceland | Adaptation of the saga of Gisli Sursson |
| Pope Joan | 1972 | 9th–11th century | France, Italy | Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of Pope in the Middle Ages. |
| Pope Joan | 2009 | 814–855 | France, Italy | Fictitious medieval legend of a woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to the status of Pope in the Middle Ages. |
| The Vikings | 1958 | 860s | England | Highly fictionalized account of the death of Ragnar Lodbrok and the subsequent invasion of Northumbria by two of his sons |
| The Last Kingdom | 2015–2022 | 866–920 | England | Viking Age |
| Alfred the Great | 1969 | 870–899 | England | Alfred the Great, king of Wessex repels the army of Guthrum and begins the unification of England |
| A Viking Saga | 2008 | 870s | Russia | The Rus prince Oleg of Novgorod defeats Askold and Dir |
| The Northman | 2022 | 895 | Scandinavia | Set in the Viking Age |
| The Conquest | 1996 | 896 | Hungary | About the Magyar settlement in Hungary |
| When the Raven Flies | 1984 | 897 | Iceland | Set in the Viking Age |
| Pathfinder | 1987 | 900 | Finnmark | Based on a Sami legend |
| In the Shadow of the Raven | 1988 | 900 | Iceland | Set in the Viking Age |
| The 13th Warrior | 1999 | 922 | Kievan Rus' | Blends elements of the historical account of the travels of Ahmad ibn Fadlan (AD 922), the legend of Beowulf (6th century), and the Kurosawa film Seven Samurai. |
| The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die | 2023 | 924–937 | England | Set in the Viking Age |
| The Legend of Princess Olga | 1983 | 950–1015 | Kievan Rus' | Olga of Kiev, the princess of Kievan Rus in the middle of the 10th century, the first of the Russian rulers to adopt Christianity. |
| Vikings: Valhalla | 2022–2023 | 950–1066 | Western Europe | Set one hundred years after the events of Vikings, the series chronicles the beginning of the end of the Viking Age, marked by the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. |
| The Castilian | 1963 | 930–970 | Spain | Ferdinand Gonzalez: an early hero of the Spanish Reconquista |
| Viking | 2016 | 976–1016 | Kievan Rus' | Biopic of Vladimir I of Kiev, the ruler of the Kievan Rus', depicting his year in exile after his father's death and his subsequent rise to power |
| Gniazdo | 1974 | 972 | Poland | About Mieszko I of Poland |
| The Ceremony of Innocence | 1970 | 978–1016 | England | A fictionalized version of the reign of Æthelred the Unready |
| Prince Vladimir | 2006 | 980–1015 | Kievan Rus | Vladimir I of Kiev |
| The Long Ships | 1964 | 982–990 | Scandinavia, Africa | A vagabond Viking adventurer and a Moor both compete to find "The Mother of All Voices", a legendary golden bell near the Pillars of Hercules. |
| White Viking | 1991 | 995–1000 | Iceland and Norway | Set in the Viking Age during the reign of Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and his project to Christianize Norway and Iceland. |
| The Viking Sagas | 1995 | late 10th, early 11th centuries | Iceland | Borrows elements from several Icelandic sagas, most notably Laxdœla saga and Njáls saga |

### Films set in the 11th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| The Viking | 1928 | 1000 | Norway, North America | Leif Ericson and the expedition to North America |
| Severed Ways | 2009 | 1007 | America | Two Scandinavians left behind in North America after the settlements made by Leif Ericson were abandoned |
| The Physician | 2013 | 1021–1041 | Anglo Saxon England - Kakuyid Persia | In 11th-century England, a travelling barber surgeon attempted to supply medical care to the ordinary population decided to meet the famous doctor Ibn Sina in Isfahan, the most important school for aspiring practitioners in the world at that time. |
| William the Conqueror | 2015 | 1034–1066 | France | the life of William of Normandy prior to the Norman conquest |
| William the Conqueror | 1982 | 1035–1066 | France, England | William the Conqueror from his recognition as Duke of Normandy to his coronation as King of England |
| El Cid | 1961 | 1040–1099 | Spain / Kingdom of Castile | Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, an 11th-century Spanish warrior known as El Cid |
| El Cid | 2020–2021 | 1040–1099 | Spain / Kingdom of Castile | Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, an 11th-century Spanish warrior known as El Cid |
| Macbeth | 1908 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1909 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1909 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1911 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1913 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1915 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| The Real Thing at Last | 1916 | 1050s | Scotland | Satirical silent movie based on the play Macbeth |
| Macbeth | 1916 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1922 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1948 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1954 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Throne of Blood | 1957 | 1050s | Japan (Scotland) | Transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan |
| Macbeth | 1960 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1960 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1961 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1971 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1979 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1981 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1982 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 1987 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 2004 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 2006 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 2010 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Macbeth | 2015 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| The Tragedy of Macbeth | 2021 | 1050s | Scotland | Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích |
| Lady Godiva of Coventry | 1955 | 1050s | England | an English noble woman who allegedly rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest of unfair taxation |
| The War Lord | 1965 | 1060 | Normandy | A Norman duke sends one of his knights to build a defensive fortress in order to guard the borders against Frisian raiders. |
| 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth | 2009 | 1066 | England | The Norman Conquest of England through the eye of ordinary people in the village of Crowhurst |
| Valhalla Rising | 2009 | 1069 | Scandinavian Scotland, North America | Follows a Norse warrior named One-Eye and a boy as they travel with a band of Christian Crusaders by ship in the hopes of finding the Holy Land. |
| The Crusaders | 1911 | 1096–1099 | Jerusalem | Depicts the Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade |
| The Mighty Crusaders | 1958 | 1096–1099 | Jerusalem | Depicts the Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade |
| Rytsarskiy roman | 2000 | 1096–1099 | Byzantine Empire | First Crusade |
| The Crusaders | 2001 | 1096–1099 | Italy and the Levant | First Crusade |

### Films set in the 12th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| Vision | 2009 | 1098–1179 | Holy Roman Empire | The life of Benedictine nun and Medieval German Roman Catholic Saint Hildegard von Bingen |
| Stealing Heaven | 1988 | 1120 | France | Peter Abelard and Héloïse |
| The Pillars of the Earth | 2010 | 1120–1170 | England | during the civil wars between King Stephen and his cousin Maud |
| Didgori: Land of Sacrificed Knights | 2009 | 1121 | Kingdom of Georgia | Battle of Didgori, in which Georgia's king David IV defeated the Seljuks |
| Destiny | 1997 | 1126–1198 | Spain | about Averroes, the 12th-century philosopher from Muslim-controlled Andalusia in Spain whose commentaries would become a staple for subsequent generations of students of Aristotle in Europe |
| The Devil's Crown | 1978 | 1154–1216 | England | During the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John |
| Becket | 1964 | 1155–1170 | England | archbishop Thomas Becket, once a close personal friend of Henry II |
| The Flame and the Arrow | 1950 | 1155–1190 | Northern Italy | Dardo, a Robin Hood-like figure, and his loyal followers use a Roman ruin in Medieval Lombardy as their headquarters as they conduct an insurgency against their Hessian conquerors. |
| Nemanjić Dynasty: The Birth of the Kingdom | 2018 | 1165–1227 | Serbia | Serbian historical drama television series about the Serbian medieval dynasty Nemanjići |
| Murder in the Cathedral | 1951 | 1170 | England | Fictionalized account of the last moment of Archbishop Thomas Becket immediately before his murder in the Canterbury Cathedral |
| Richard the Lionheart | 2013 | 1173 | England | King Henry II decides to evaluate the courage of his son Richard the Lionheart, his possible successor. |
| Barbarossa | 2009 | 1176 | Northern Italy | Battle of Legnano |
| Arn – The Knight Templar | 2007 | 1179–1187 | Kingdom of Jerusalem | a Swedish knight is sent to Jerusalem as penance while his lover languishes in a convent |
| The Flowers of St. Francis | 1950 | 1181–1226 | Italy | Francis of Assisi |
| Francis of Assisi | 1961 | 1181–1226 | Italy | Francis of Assisi |
| Brother Sun, Sister Moon | 1972 | 1181–1226 | Italy | Francis of Assisi |
| Francesco | 1989 | 1181–1226 | Italy | Francis of Assisi |
| The Lion in Winter | 1968 | 1183 | Chinon, Angevin Empire (France) | Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons |
| The Lion in Winter | 2003 | 1183 | Chinon, Angevin Empire (France) | Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons |
| Kingdom of Heaven | 2005 | 1183–1190 | Kingdom of Jerusalem | events which led to the Third Crusade (the Battle of Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem) |
| Soldier of God | 2005 | 1187 | Kingdom of Jerusalem | a Templar who has survived the Battle of Hattin |
| Saladin | 1963 | 1187–1192 | Levant | events leading up to and including the Third Crusade |
| Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End | 2008 | 1187–1205 | The Levant and Sweden | following the Battle of Hattin, the knight returns home to Sweden and participates in the civil wars |
| Richard the Lion-Hearted | 1992 | 1189 | Levant | based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman and set in the Third Crusade |
| The Crusades | 1935 | 1190–1192 | Levant | About the Third Crusade |
| Richard the Lion-Hearted | 1923 | 1190 | Levant | based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman and set in the Third Crusade |
| Robin Hood | 1912 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin Hood | 1922 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| The Adventures of Robin Hood | 1938 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart after his release from captivity in 1194 |
| The Story of Robin Hood | 1952 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| The Arrows of Robin Hood | 1975 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin of Sherwood | 1984 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin Hood | 1991 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | 1991 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart after his release from captivity in 1194 |
| Robin Hood: Men in Tights | 1993 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin Hood - fourth arrow | 1997 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| The New Adventures of Robin Hood | 1997 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| Robin Hood | 2006 | 1190s | England | During the life of Richard the Lionheart |
| King Richard and the Crusaders | 1954 | 1191 | Levant | While leading the Third Crusade, King Richard Lionheart battles treachery in his own camp as well as the Saracens and their charismatic leader Saladin. |
| Ivanhoe | 1913 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1913 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1952 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1958 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| The Revenge of Ivanhoe | 1965 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1970 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1982 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe | 1983 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Young Ivanhoe | 1995 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Ivanhoe | 1997 | 1192 | England | adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered |
| Robin Hood | 2010 | 1199 | England | from the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John |
| Robin and Marian | 1976 | 1199–1201 | England | from the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John |

### Films set in the 13th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| Valley of the Bees | 1968 | 13th century | Kingdom of Bohemia | The film follows a young man who's sent to join Teutonic order by his father. |
| Diriliş: Ertuğrul | 2014 | early-to-late 13th century | Anatolia | 13th century Turkish warrior Ertuğrul agrees to fight the enemies of Seljuk Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I in exchange for land when a good deed endangers his clan. It centres around the life of Ertuğrul, the father of Osman I, who was the founder of the Ottoman Empire |
| The Last King | 2016 | 1204 | Norway | Set during the civil war era in Norway during the 13th-century, centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant, Haakon Haakonsson, the heir to the Norwegian throne after the death of his father, King Haakon Sverresson. |
| Gates to Paradise | 1968 | 1212 | France | the ill-fated Children's Crusade |
| Ironclad | 2011 | 1215 | England | the siege of Rochester Castle during the First Baron's War |
| Eye of the Eagle | 1997 | 1218 | Denmark | Adventure film about the prince of Denmark stopping a conspiracy to seize the crown |
| Ironclad: Battle for Blood | 2014 | 1221 | England | A survivor of the Great Siege of Rochester Castle fights to save his clan from Celtic raiders. A sequel to the 2011 film, Ironclad. |
| The Tartars | 1962 | 1236–1242 | Kievan Rus' | Mongol invasion of Russia |
| Prince Daniil Galitsky | 1987 | 1238–1253 | Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia | King Daniel of Galicia, the first King of Rus'. |
| King Danylo – Kingdom Of Swords | 2018 | 1238–1253 | Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia | King Daniel of Galicia, the first King of Rus'. |
| The Mongols | 1961 | 1240-1241 | Kingdom of Poland | Mongol invasion of Poland |
| Alexander Nevsky | 1938 | 1241 | North-eastern Europe | Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Battle of the Ice |
| The Adventures of Marco Polo | 1938 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco Polo | 1962 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco the Magnificent | 1965 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco | 1973 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco Polo | 1975 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco Polo | 1982 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco Polo | 2007 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Marco Polo | 2014–2016 | 1254–1325 | China | the Italian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan |
| Northern Crusades | 1972 | 1260–1273 | Prussia | the Great Prussian Uprising against the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades |
| King Mindaugas (Valdžia) | 1992 | 1263 | Lithuania | Two-part psychological costume drama about the life of Lithuanian king Mindaugas based on a play by Latvian playwright Mārtiņš Zīverts, aired by Lithuania's national broadcaster. |
| Knights of the Quest | 2001 | 1271 | Europe | French knights journey to Greece to retrieve the Shroud of Turin |
| Les Rois maudits | 1972 | 1285–1328 | France | the later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307 |
| Les Rois maudits | 2005 | 1285–1328 | France | the later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307 |
| Knightfall | 2017–2019 | 1291–1307 | France | recounts the success, fall, persecution, and suppression of the Knights Templar |
| Braveheart | 1995 | 1296–1305 | Kingdom of Scotland | William Wallace, a Scotsman who fought for Scotland's independence in the 1290s |
| The Virgin Spring | 1960 | late 13th century | Sweden | adaptation of the 13th century Swedish ballad, Töres döttrar i Wänge |

### Films set in the 14th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| Kristin Lavransdatter | 1995 | early-to-mid-14th century | Norway | About a noblewoman with an arranged marriage who falls in love with someone else. |
| Kings of the Sun | 1963 | 1300s | Mexico | On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the Native American tribe of chief Black Eagle clashes with the Mayan tribe of King Balam |
| Outlaw King | 2018 | 1304–1307 | Scotland | Robert the Bruce rebels against Edward I's rule over Scotland, thus becoming an "outlaw", depicts the Battle of Loudoun Hill |
| The Bruce | 1996 | 1305–1314 | Scotland | Robert the Bruce, who took over the rebellion against Edward "Longshanks" following the death of William Wallace in 1305 |
| Robert the Bruce | 2019 | 1306–1314 | Scotland | The story follows Robert the Bruce during the First War of Scottish Independence |
| Tower of Lust | 1955 | 1314 | France | Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France |
| Cathedral of the Sea | 2018 | 1320–1370 | Spain – Barcelona | The action takes place in 14th century Barcelona at the height of the city's trade and military power in the Mediterranean, during the construction of Santa Maria del Mar serving as background to the story. |
| Anchoress | 1993 | 1329 | England | Christina Carpenter, an anchoress from Shere, in southern England |
| Journey to Mecca | 2009 | 1325 | Middle-East | A dramatised documentary film charting the first real-life journey made by the Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta from his native Morocco to Mecca for the Hajj |
| The Name of the Rose | 1986 | 1327 | Italy | set in an Italian monastery |
| The Name of the Rose | 2019 | 1327 | Italy | Miniseries set in an Italian monastery. A dispute over the evangelical counsels of poverty between representatives of the Franciscan Order and the Avignon Papacy |
| World Without End | 2012 | 1327–1361 | England | A sequel to the 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, set in England at the outset of the Hundred Years War |
| Kazimierz Wielki | 1976 | 1333–1370 | Poland | Casimir III the Great of Poland |
| The Decameron | 1971 | 1348 | Italy | based on the novel Il Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. |
| Black Death | 2010 | 1348 | England | During the initial outbreak of the plague |
| The Seventh Seal | 1957 | 1351 | Sweden | During the initial outbreak of the plague |
| Du Guesclin | 1948 | 1354–1380 | France | Bertrand du Guesclin, a Constable of France in the Hundred Years' War |
| A Knight's Tale | 2001 | 1356 | England | loose adaptation of The Knight's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, this tale is partially inspired by the exploits of William Marshall, but set in the 1350s (with mention made of Edward, the Black Prince and the Battle of Poitiers (1356)) |
| A Walk with Love and Death | 1969 | 1358 | France near Paris and Meaux | Anjelica Huston in the turmoil of the Jacquerie |
| The Dark Avenger | 1955 | 1359 | England | Edward, the Black Prince |
| Andrei Rublev | 1966 | 1360–1430 | Russia | about the life of Andrei Rublev, who was considered to be the greatest medieval Russian painter of icons and frescoes |
| John Wycliffe: The Morning Star | 1984 | 1378–1384 | England | the life and teachings of John Wycliffe, the 14th-century English theologian who is often seen as a fore-runner of the Protestant Reformation |
| The Reckoning | 2003 | 1380 | England | A priest on the lam takes up with a traveling band of actors, who then discover a murder has occurred and try to solve it by recreating the crime in a play. |
| The Last Duel | 2021 | 1386 | France | Based on the book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. |
| Mircea | 1989 | 1386–1418 | Wallachia | Mircea the Elder, who repelled the Ottoman Empire during his reign |
| Boj na Kosovu | 1989 | 1389 | Serbia, Montenegro | a battle between Medieval Serbia and the Ottoman Empire |
| Banović Strahinja | 1983 | 1389 | Serbia | a battle between Medieval Serbia and the Ottoman Empire |
| Knights of the Teutonic Order | 1960 | 1390s-1410 | Poland | Set in the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War |
| An Age of Kings | 1960 | 1398–1485 | England | TV series based on Shakespeare's plays depicting the lives of Richard II of England, Henry IV of England, Henry V of England, Henry VI of England, and Richard III of England |
| The Hollow Crown | 2012–2016 | 1398–1485 | England | series of films based on Shakespeare's plays depicting the lives of Richard II of England, Henry IV of England, Henry V of England, Henry VI of England, and Richard III of England |
| The Canterbury Tales | 1972 | late 14th century | England | Based on the medieval narrative poem The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. |

### Films set in the 15th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Setting | Notes |
| Tirante el Blanco | 2006 | 15th century | France and Constantinople | Adaptation of the 1490 romance, Tirant lo Blanc, about a French knight in the service of the Byzantine emperor in campaigns against the Ottoman Turks. |
| Chimes at Midnight (Falstaff) | 1966 | 1400–1413 | England | William Shakespeare's recurring character Sir John Falstaff and the father-son relationship he has with Prince Hal |
| John Hus | 1977 | 1400–1415 | Kingdom of Bohemia | Biography of church reformer Jan Hus. |
| 12 Paces Without a Head | 2009 | 1401 | Baltic Sea | medieval German folk-hero Klaus Störtebeker, a pirate captain in the Baltic Sea who was said to have walked 12 paces after being decapitated by officials of the Hanseatic League |
| Margrete: Queen of the North | 2021 | 1402 | Scandinavia | The film is a fictionalised account of the Man from Graudenz, an impostor who in 1402 claimed to be the deceased King Olaf II/Olav IV of Denmark-Norway, son of the Margrete I of Denmark. |
| Jan Hus | 2015 | 1402–1415 | Kingdom of Bohemia | Biography of church reformer Jan Hus |
| Medieval | 2022 | 1402–1419 | Kingdom of Bohemia | fictionalised account of Czech military commander Jan Žižka prior to the Hussite Wars |
| The King | 2019 | 1403–1420 | England and northern France | Henry V of England, depicts the Siege of Harfleur and the Battle of Agincourt |
| Krzyzacy | 1960 | 1406–1410 | Central Europe | the Battle of Grunwald |
| Medici | 2016–2019 | 1409–1492 | Republic of Florence | The series follows the Medici family, bankers of the Pope, during Renaissance Florence. |
| Jan Hus | 1954 | 1412–1415 | Kingdom of Bohemia | Biography of church reformer Jan Hus. |
| Joan of Arc | 1999 | 1412–1431 | France | Miniseries about Joan of Arc from her birth in 1412 until her execution in 1431 |
| Henry V | 1944 | 1413–1422 | England and northern France | Henry V of England's wars in France |
| Henry V | 1989 | 1413–1422 | England and northern France | Henry V of England's wars in France |
| Jan Žižka | 1955 | 1419–1420 | Kingdom of Bohemia | Biopic about Hussite reformer Jan Želivský. |
| Against All | 1956 | 1420 | Kingdom of Bohemia | Hussite reformation. |
| Joan of Arc | 1948 | 1426–1431 | France | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
| Saint Joan | 1957 | 1429–1456 | France | The story of Joan of Arc, told from the perspective of Charles VII, from the time she first met him at court until 25 years after he executed her. |
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | 1999 | 1429–1431 | France | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War |
| Joan the Maiden, Part 1: The Battles, Part 2: The Prisons | 1994 | 1429–1431 | France | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War, from her first encounter with Charles VII until her execution |
| The Silence of Joan | 2011 | 1430–1431 | France | Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War, from her capture in late 1430 until her execution in 1431 |
| The Passion of Joan of Arc | 1928 | 1431 | England | The trial and execution of Joan of Arc |
| Vlad Tepes | 1979 | 1439–1476 | Wallachia | about prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, who fought to repel the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire throughout his reign |
| Dracula Untold | 2014 | 1439–1476 | Wallachia | Origin story of Dracula, alter ego of prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia |
| Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula | 2000 | 1439–1476 | Wallachia | about prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, who fought to repel the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire throughout his reign |
| Rise of Empires: Ottoman | 2020 | 1444–1453 | Constantinople | the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed the Conqueror, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ending the Byzantine Empire |
| The Hour of the Pig | 1993 | 1452 | France | A public defender in a remote, rural province finds himself expected to defend a pig in a murder trial |
| Richard III | 1912 | 1452–1485 | England | Richard III of England |
| Richard III | 1955 | 1452–1485 | England | Richard III of England |
| Looking for Richard | 1996 | 1452–1485 | England | Documentary film about William Shakespeare's Richard III |
| The Life of Leonardo da Vinci | 1971 | 1452–1519 | Italy, France | The life of the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). |
| Io, Leonardo | 2019 | 1452–1519 | Italy, France | A journey in Leonardo da Vinci's mind. |
| Leonardo | 2021 | 1452–1519 | Italy | Leonardo da Vinci accused of the murder of a fictional Caterina da Cremona. |
| The Conquest of Constantinople | 1951 | 1453 | Constantinople | the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed the Conqueror, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ending the Byzantine Empire |
| Fetih 1453 | 2012 | 1453 | Constantinople | the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed the Conqueror, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ending the Byzantine Empire |
| The Black Arrow | 1948 | 1455–1485 | England | adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel about the Lancastrian hero in the Wars of the Roses |
| Black Arrow | 1985 | 1455–1485 | England | adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel about the Lancastrian hero in the Wars of the Roses |
| The Conclave | 2006 | 1458 | Papal States | Depicting a tense, politically charged Papal conclave |
| Isabel | 2012–2014 | 1460–1504 | Spain | Biography about the Queen of Castile, Isabella the Catholic. |
| Tower of London | 1939 | 1462–1483 | England | during the reign of Edward IV of England |
| The White Queen | 2013 | 1464 | England | the House of York and the House of Lancaster, are in violent conflict over the throne |
| Stephen the Great - Vaslui 1475 | 1975 | 1475 | Moldavia | Battle of Vaslui |
| Leonardo | 2011–2012 | 1475–1490 | Italy | Set in 15th-century Florence, the show follows the adventures of a teenage Leonardo da Vinci |
| Da Vinci's Demons | 2013–2015 | 1475–1490 | Italy | Historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life |
| Maximilian and Marie De Bourgogne | 2017 | 1477–1507 | Austria | Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy |
| The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (many adaptations) | 1905– | 1482 | France | Victor Hugo's novel, set in Paris. |
| Tower of London | 1962 | 1483–1485 | England | during the reign of Richard III of England |
| The Shadow of the Tower | 1972 | 1485–1509 | England | during the reign of Henry VII of England |
| The White Princess | 2017 | 1485 | England | Elizabeth of York's marriage to Henry VII, as well as his early reign |
| Princes in the Tower | 2005 | 1490s | England | the trial of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be prince Richard, rightful heir to the throne before his untimely death in the Tower as a child |
| Christopher Columbus | 1949 | 1492 | New World | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
| Christopher Columbus | 1985 | 1492 | New World | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
| Christopher Columbus: The Discovery | 1992 | 1492 | New World | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
| 1492: Conquest of Paradise | 1992 | 1492–1506 | New World | the discovery and conquest of the New World by Christopher Columbus |
| The Borgias | 1981 | 1492–1503 | Italy | the family life and papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, widely considered to be the epitome of papal corruption of the era |
| Los Borgia | 2006 | 1492–1503 | Italy | the family life and papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, widely considered to be the epitome of papal corruption of the era |
| Borgia | 2011 | 1492–1503 | Italy | the family life and papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, widely considered to be the epitome of papal corruption of the era |
| The Borgias | 2011 | 1492–1503 | Italy | the family life and papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, widely considered to be the epitome of papal corruption of the era |
| Muhteşem Yüzyıl | 2011–2014 | 1494–1566 | Ottoman Empire | Based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent |
| Lucrèce Borgia | 1953 | 1497–1501 | Italy | Lucrezia Borgia from the annulment of her first marriage to Giovanni Sforza until her final marriage to Alfonso d'Este |

## Renaissance era (1500–1700)
### Films set in the 16th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Viy | 1967 | 16th century | Soviet horror film set in 16th century Ukraine, based on the story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol. |
| Ever After | 1998 | early 1500s | A modern interpretation of the Cinderella story, involving several historical figures like Francis I, King Henry (later Henry II of France) and Leonardo da Vinci |
| The Man Who Laughs | 1966 | 1500–1502 | Set during the war between the Borgia family and Astorre Manfredi, prince of Faenza. |
| Prince of Foxes | 1949 | 1500–1507 | About fictional Andrea Orsini, a captain in the service of Cesare Borgia. |
| The Black Duke | 1963 | 1500–1510 | The domain of Cesare Borgia is opposed by Caterina Sforza. |
| Conspiracy of the Borgias | 1959 | 1500–1510 | Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia chasing a conspiracy document. |
| Don Juan | 1926 | 1500–1510 | Fictional Don Juan famous as a lover and pursued by many women, including the powerful Lucrezia Borgia. |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1912 | 1500–1510 | Silent film about Lucrezia Borgia. |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1922 | 1500–1510 | Silent film about Lucrezia Borgia. |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1935 | 1500–1510 | French film about Lucrezia Borgia. |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1947 | 1500–1510 | Argentine film about Lucrezia Borgia. |
| Meriota the Dancer | 1922 | 1500–1510 | Love affair between Cesare Borgia and the dancer Meriota. |
| A Season of Giants | 1990 | 1500–1550 | Depicts real life events of Michelangelo. |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1940 | 1501 | Lucrezia Borgia's marriage to Alfonso d'Este |
| Bride of Vengeance | 1949 | 1501 | Lucrezia Borgia's brother Cesare Borgia has her second husband Prince Bisceglie killed in order to marry her to Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. |
| The Spanish Princess | 2019 | 1501–1509 | Catherine of Aragon |
| Apocalypto | 2006 | 1502 | Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, the declining period of the Maya civilization. |
| La corona partida | 2016 | 1504–1516 | After the death of Queen Isabella I of Castile, both Ferdinand II of Aragon and Felipe el Hermoso fight to succeed her. |
| The Mandrake | 1965 | 1504 | Set in Florence in 1504, based on Niccolò Machiavelli's play. |
| Luther | 2003 | 1505–1530 | Martin Luther, from the time he became a friar until his trial before the Diet of Augsburg. |
| The Agony and the Ecstasy | 1965 | 1508–1512 | The painting of the Sistine Chapel. |
| A Princess of Destiny | 1929 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
| Henry VIII and His Six Wives | 1972 | 1509–1547 | Henry VIII of England |
| Henry the Ache | 1934 | 1509–1547 | Short film burlesque of the 1933 film The Private Life of Henry VIII |
| Condottieri | 1937 | 1510–1520 | Depicts the life of Giovanni delle Bande Nere, a famous 16th century Condottiero. |
| Nostradamus | 1994 | 1510–1566 | The life story of Nostradamus. |
| Sin | 2019 | 1513 | The life of the famous sculptor and painter of the Renaissance, Michelangelo Buonarroti of Florence, set immediately after the death of Pope Julius II. |
| Judgement | 1970 | 1514 | Rebellion of György Dózsa, Hungary. |
| When Knighthood Was in Flower | 1922 | 1514–1515 | The story of Mary Tudor, and her marriages to Louis XII and Charles Brandon. |
| The Sword and the Rose | 1953 | 1514–1515 | The story of Mary Tudor, and her marriages to Louis XII and Charles Brandon. |
| Emperor | 2018 | 1516–1558 | In the 16th century, a young woman asked Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to help her in her revenge. |
| Henry VIII | 1911 | 1520–1530 | British silent historical film based on William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's play Henry VIII |
| The Other Boleyn Girl | 2003 | 1520–1536 | Anne and Mary Boleyn |
| The Other Boleyn Girl | 2008 | 1520–1536 | Anne and Mary Boleyn |
| The Other Conquest | 1998 | 1521 | Mexico, depicting the secret adherence to traditional religious beliefs of the converted Aztec survivors. |
| Diane | 1956 | 1523–1559 | Based on the relationship between Diane de Poitiers and Henry II of France. |
| Diane de Poitiers | 2022 | 1523–1559 | The story of Diane de Poitiers and her destiny as the favorite of King Henry II of France. |
| Anna Boleyn | 1920 | 1524–1536 | Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. |
| Anne of the Thousand Days | 1969 | 1524–1536 | Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. |
| God's Outlaw | 1986 | 1525 | Depicts the historical figure of William Tyndale and his struggles with the authorities in the time of Henry VIII for translating the Bible into English. |
| The Headsman | 2005 | 1525 | An executioner in Tyrol (part of the Holy Roman Empire). |
| A Man for All Seasons | 1966 | 1525–1535 | Thomas More |
| A Man for All Seasons | 1988 | 1525–1535 | Thomas More |
| The Profession of Arms | 2001 | 1526 | Ludovico de' Medici and the War of the League of Cognac. |
| The Royal Hunt of the Sun | 1969 | 1532 | Francisco Pizarro's capture of Atahualpa, Sapa Inca. |
| Wara Wara | 1930 | 1535 | Romance set at the time of the Spanish conquest of Bolivia. |
| Carry On Henry | 1971 | 1536–1540 | Fictionalised story involving Henry VIII, ends with his marriage to Catherine Howard |
| The Private Life of Henry VIII | 1933 | 1536–1543 | Henry VIII of England, from immediately after the execution of Anne Boleyn until his marriage to Catherine Parr. |
| Young Bess | 1953 | 1536–1558 | From the death of Anne Boleyn to the coronation of Elizabeth I of England. |
| The Return of Martin Guerre | 1982 | 1542–1560 | Imposture of French peasant Martin Guerre in Artigat, France. |
| Jodhaa Akbar | 2008 | 1542–1605 | The love story of Mughal emperor Akbar the Great and Rajput princess "Jodhaa" i.e. Empress Mariam uz-Zamani. |
| Gunpowder, Treason & Plot | 2004 | 1542–1605 | The reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and her son James I of England. |
| Firebrand | 2023 | 1544–1547 | Catherine Parr, from her time as regent until the death of her husband Henry VIII. |
| Monarch | 2000 | 1547 | The final days of Henry VIII of England |
| Ivan the Terrible | 1944, 1958 | 1547–1569 | Two-part film about Ivan IV of Russia, beginning with his coronation as Tsar of Russia and ending with the death of Vladimir of Staritsa. |
| The Prince and the Pauper (many adaptations) | 1909– | 1547 | Mark Twain's novel, featuring a fictional portrayal of Edward VI of England. |
| The Return of Martin Guerre | 1982 | 1548–1588 | The case of Martin Guerre in France – a true case of identity theft. |
| Stars of Eger | 1968 | 1552 | During the Ottoman–Hungarian wars, after the Ottomans have taken Buda, the Hungarian Capital (in 1541), the siege of Eger (1552). |
| Tudor Rose (Nine Days a Queen) | 1936 | 1553 | About Lady Jane Grey, Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days. |
| Lady Jane | 1986 | 1553 | About Lady Jane Grey, Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of England for nine days. |
| Elizabeth | 1998 | 1554–1563 | The early reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| Mughal-e-Azam | 1960 | 1556–1605 | The Story of Akbar the Great, Mughal emperor and his son Jahangir. Jahangir's relationship with slave girl Anarkali is featured. |
| Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth | 1912 | 1558–1603 | Love affair between Elizabeth I of England and the Earl of Essex. |
| The Virgin Queen | 1923 | 1558–1603 | The reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| The Virgin Queen | 1928 | 1558–1603 | The reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| The Virgin Queen | 1955 | 1558–1603 | It focuses on the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Sir Walter Raleigh. |
| Elizabeth R | 1971 | 1558–1603 | The reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| The Virgin Queen | 2005 | 1558–1603 | The reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| Aguirre, the Wrath of God | 1972 | 1560 | Lope de Aguirre's ill-fated expedition down the Amazon in search of El Dorado. |
| Mary, Queen of Scots | 1971 | 1560–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Queens: The Virgin and the Martyr | 2017 | 1561 | The rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I of England |
| Mary of Scotland | 1936 | 1561–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Das Herz der Königin | 1940 | 1561–1587 | Selective use of the life story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her execution by Queen Elizabeth I for anti-English and pro-Scottish propaganda. |
| The crown is made of gold | 1979 | 1561–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Mary Queen of Scots | 2013 | 1561–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Mary, Queen of Scots | 2018 | 1561–1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| Dangerous Beauty | 1998 | 1562–1583 | The film is about Veronica Franco, a courtesan in 16th-century Venice who becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft. |
| The Mill and the Cross | 2011 | 1564 | Life in Flanders under Spanish Habsburg rule as depicted in Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 1564 painting The Procession to Calvary. |
| Tsar | 2009 | 1566–1569 | Film about Ivan IV of Russia during the Oprichnina and the Livonian War |
| El Greco | 2007 | 1567–1600 | Greek biographical film about the life of the Greek painter of the Spanish Renaissance, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco. |
| Otello | 1906 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Othello | 1922 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Othello | 1951 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Othello | 1955 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Othello | 1965 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Otello | 1979 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Otello | 1986 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Othello | 1995 | 1570–1573 | During the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyprus |
| Anonymous | 2011 | 1570–1604 | Life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, poet and patron of the arts, suggested as the actual author of William Shakespeare's plays. |
| Countess Dracula | 1971 | 1570–1614 | Based on the legends surrounding the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Báthory. |
| Bathory | 2008 | 1570–1614 | Based on the story of Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian countess in the 16th and 17th centuries. |
| The Countess | 2009 | 1570–1614 | Based on the story of Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian countess in the 16th and 17th centuries. |
| La Reine Margot | 1954 | 1572 | France during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The massacre was part of the French Wars of Religion. |
| La Reine Margot | 1994 | 1572 | France during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The massacre was part of the French Wars of Religion. |
| The Princess of Montpensier | 2010 | 1572 | France during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The massacre was part of the French Wars of Religion. |
| Beatrice Cenci | 1909 | 1577–1599 | About the life events of Beatrice Cenci. |
| Beatrice Cenci | 1926 | 1577–1599 | About the life events of Beatrice Cenci. |
| Beatrice Cenci | 1941 | 1577–1599 | About the life events of Beatrice Cenci. |
| Beatrice Cenci | 1956 | 1577–1599 | About the life events of Beatrice Cenci. |
| Beatrice Cenci | 1969 | 1577–1599 | It depicts real life events of Francesco and Beatrice Cenci. |
| Elizabeth I | 2005 | 1578–1603 | The last 25 years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England. |
| Ermak | 1996 | 1580–1690 | Yermak Timofeyevich and the Russian conquest of Siberia. |
| Elizabeth: The Golden Age | 2007 | 1585–1590 | The reign of Elizabeth I of England and the Spanish Armada. |
| The Testament of Aga Koppanyi | 1967 | 1586 | Hungarian adventure film based on the eponymous novel by István Fekete. It talks about the adventourous life of the Hungarian soldiers in the Ottoman Hungary, during the Ottoman–Hungarian wars. |
| The Execution of Mary Stuart | 1895 | 1587 | The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. |
| Fire Over England | 1937 | 1588 | The Spanish Armada during the Anglo-Spanish War. |
| The Sea Hawk | 1940 | 1588 | The Spanish Armada during the Anglo-Spanish War. |
| Will (TV series) | 2017 | 1589 | The young upstart actor/playwright William Shakespeare, a Catholic from the small town of Stratford, arrives in wild and turbulent Elizabethan era' London during a time of religious turmoil looking for fame and fortune. |
| Goltzius and the Pelican Company | 2012 | 1590 | Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius |
| Bill | 2015 | 1593–1598 | Set during Shakespeare's "lost years" —the crucial period, long a mystery to scholars, covering his rise from obscurity in Stratford-upon-Avon to fame as a playwright in Elizabethan era' London. When hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his family and home to follow his dream. It's a tale of murderous kings, spies, lost loves, and a plot to blow up Queen Elizabeth I. |
| Shakespeare in Love | 1998 | 1593 | Fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. |
| Mihai Viteazul | 1970 | 1593–1601 | Michael the Brave, prince of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. |
| The Merchant of Venice | 2004 | 1596 | Set in the Republic of Venice. The film focuses on the Venetian Ghetto. |
| Nova Zembla | 2011 | 1596–1597 | About the last journey of Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerk, when they and their crew attempted sail to the Indies via Northeast Passage over Russia. They were stranded on the island of Nova Zembla. |
| The Favourite of the Queen | 1922 | 1596–1601 | Elizabeth I of England |
| The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | 1939 | 1596–1601 | Elizabeth I of England and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. |
| Elizabeth the Queen | 1968 | 1596–1601 | Elizabeth I of England and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. |
| Galileo | 1968 | 1597–1642 | Depicts the life of Galileo Galilei and particularly his clash with the Catholic Church. |

### Films set in the 17th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Shōgun | 1980 | 1600– | Miniseries adaptation of the novel by James Clavell, which is loosely based on the adventures of English navigator William Adams, who journeyed to Japan in 1600 and rose to high rank in the service of the shōgun. |
| Mary & George | 2024 | 1600–1628 | British television miniseries based on Benjamin Woolley's non-fiction book The King's Assassin (2017) about the affair between James VI and I and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. |
| Hamlet A.D.D. | 2014 | 1602–future | Re-imagines Hamlet Shakespeare's play as a bizarre and comical tour through the ages. The story begins in 1602 and leaps chronologically through time to the present, then into the distant future. |
| Gunpowder | 2017 | 1603–1605 | English Catholic Robert Catesby and the Gunpowder Plot |
| Orlando | 1992 | 1603– | Set in the Elizabethan era, loosely based on Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography |
| Rembrandt | 1936 | 1606–1669 | Life of Dutch painter Rembrandt |
| Captain John Smith and Pocahontas | 1953 | 1607–1609 | Relationship between Captain John Smith and Pocahontas in Jamestown, Virginia |
| The New World | 2005 | 1607–1617 | The colonization of Jamestown, Virginia |
| Galileo | 1975 | 1609–1633 | Biopic about the life of Galileo Galilei, focusing on his conflict with the Catholic church |
| 1612 | 2007 | 1612 | The Tsardom of Russia during the Time of Troubles |
| All Is True | 2018 | 1613–1616 | later years in the life of William Shakespeare |
| The Last Valley | 1970 | 1618–1648 | Set in the Kingdom of Germany, Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. |
| Jamestown | 2017–2019 | 1619–1622 | The colonization of Jamestown, Virginia |
| Benedetta | 2021 | 1619-1661 | About the life of Italian nun Benedetta Carlini |
| Squanto: A Warrior's Tale | 1994 | 1620 | The life of Patuxet man Squanto and arrival of the Mayflower |
| Molière | 1978 | 1622–1673 | The French playwright Molière |
| Royal Affairs in Versailles | 1954 | 1623 | A historical film showing Palace of Versailles from its beginnings to the present day |
| Day of Wrath | 1943 | 1624 | Loosely based on the case of alleged witch Anne Pedersdotter, and using a fictitious witchcraft trial as a metaphor for the then-current Nazi persecution of Jews. |
| The Three Musketeers | Several adaptations (1903–2014) | 1625–1673 | Based on the novels (The Three Musketeers and its sequels) by Alexandre Dumas. The protagonists are loosely based on historical figures Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, Armand d'Athos, Isaac de Porthau, and Henri d'Aramitz. |
| Cardinal Richelieu | 1935 | 1626–1642 | The life of the great 17th-century French statesman Cardinal Richelieu and his dealings with Louis XIII of France |
| Silence | 2016 | 1630s–1638 | Jesuit priests from Portugal attempt to spread Catholic Christianity in Edo-era Japan |
| Queen Christina | 1933 | 1632–1654 | Christina, Queen of Sweden |
| Le Roi danse | 2000 | 1632–1687 | Jean-Baptiste Lully, an Italian immigrant to France and noted composer of Baroque music. |
| Black Robe | 1991 | 1634 | Jesuit missionary among the Hurons. |
| The Devils | 1971 | 1634 | The life and trial of Urbain Grandier, who was convicted of witchcraft and burned. He was blamed for the Loudun possessions. |
| The Devil's Whore | 2008 | 1638–1660 | The English Civil War and the reign of Oliver Cromwell |
| Witchfinder General | 1968 | 1640s | Set during the English Civil War. A fictionalized depiction of Matthew Hopkins, a witch-hunter. |
| Admiral | 2015 | 1640s–1650s | The life of Michiel de Ruyter and the Dutch civil war |
| A Field in England | 2013 | 1640s | During the English Civil War |
| Barbara | 1997 | 1640 | Set in Faroe Islands. About a love triangle between the pastor for the parish of Vágar, his unfaithful wife, and her foppish lover. |
| Cromwell | 1970 | 1640–1653 | The English Civil War and the dissolution of the Rump Parliament |
| Cyrano | 2021 | 1640–1655 | The life of Cyrano de Bergerac in early 17th century Paris |
| Alatriste | 2006 | 1643 | Life of a Spanish soldier (Capitaine Alatriste) until the Battle of Rocroi. Based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte |
| Molière | 2007 | 1645 | The French playwright Molière |
| The Libertine | 2004 | 1647–1680 | Life of the poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester |
| With Fire and Sword | 1999 | 1648–1654 | The Khmelnytsky uprising in Ukraine against the control of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It led to the period of the Commonwealth known as the Deluge. |
| To Kill a King | 2003 | 1648–1658 | The reign of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector. |
| Charles II: The Power and The Passion | 2003 | 1649–1685 | The reign of Charles II of England |
| Restoration | 1995 | 1649–1685 | Set during the reign of Charles II of England |
| The First Churchills | 1969 | 1650–1722 | A BBC serial about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough |
| The Deluge | 1974 | 1655–1660 | The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Second Northern War |
| The Man in the Iron Mask | 1977 | 1660–1667 | Loosely based on the existence of the Man in the Iron Mask. Set in France in the reign of Louis XIV |
| The Great Fire | 2014 | 1666 | Set during the Great Fire of London in England in 1666 |
| Versailles | 2015 | 1660s | Fictionalized drama about the reign of King Louis XIV of France and the building of Versailles |
| Cutthroat Island | 1995 | 1668 | A female pirate and her companion race against their rivals to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure. |
| Colonel Wolodyjowski | 1968 | 1668 | The Ottoman invasion of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, part of the Polish–Ottoman Wars. |
| Time of Violence | 1988 | 1668 | Bulgarian Christian region is selected by the Ottoman rulers to serve as an example of conversion to Islam |
| England, My England | 1995 | 1670–1695 | Depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell |
| Vatel | 2000 | 1671 | France during the life of master chef François Vatel |
| The Prince of Homburg | 1997 | 1675 | Adaptation of the Heinrich von Kleist play fictionalizing the deeds of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg in the Battle of Fehrbellin against Sweden. The Battle was part of the Scanian War. |
| Witchhammer | 1970 | 1678–1696 | Northern Moravia witch trials |
| The Red Violin | 1998 | 1681 | One section of the film is set in 1681 in Cremona |
| A Little Chaos | 2014 | 1682 | King Louis XIV of France and the design and construction of the Gardens of Versailles |
| Peter the Great | 1984 | 1682–1725 | The reign of Peter I of Russia |
| The Day of the Siege: September Eleven 1683 | 2012 | 1683 | Second Ottoman siege of Vienna. |
| The Cantor of St Thomas's | 1984 | 1685–1750 | German composer Johann Sebastian Bach |
| The Crucible | 1957 | 1692–1693 | Dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| The Crucible | 1996 | 1692–1693 | Dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Salem | 2014 | 1692–1693 | Loosely inspired by the real Salem witch trials in the 17th century |
| The Draughtsman's Contract | 1982 | 1694 | Set during the reign of William III and Mary II in England. |
| Robinson Crusoe | 1997 | 1694–early 18th century | Robinson Crusoe flees Britain on a ship after killing his friend over love for the same woman. A fierce ocean storm wrecks his ship and leaves him stranded by himself on an uncharted island where he must fight for survival. |
| Tous les matins du monde | 1991 | late 17th century | French composer Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe. |

## Films set in the industrial era (1700–1900)
### Films set in the 18th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Rákóczi hadnagya | 1954 | 1708 | Adventure movie in Hungary during Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11). |
| The Sovereign's Servant | 2007 | 1709 | The Battle of Poltava during the Great Northern War. |
| A Glass of Water | 1960 | 1710 | Set in London during the War of Spanish Succession |
| The Favourite | 2018 | 1711 | A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. |
| Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue | 1953 | 1713 | Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor |
| Rob Roy | 1995 | 1713 | Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor |
| Black Sails | 2014–2017 | 1715–1726 | Set roughly two decades before the events of Treasure Island and during the Golden Age of Piracy |
| Farinelli | 1994 | 1715–1740 | Depicts the life of Farinelli, one of the most famous castrati |
| Our Flag Means Death | 2022-2023 | 1717 | Television series depicting the relationship between pirates Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard (Edward Teach) during the Golden Age of Piracy |
| Blackbeard, the Pirate | 1952 | 1718 | British Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard aboard pirate Blackbeard's ship. |
| Blackbeard | 2006 | 1718 | the infamous pirate Edward Teach |
| Maria Theresia | 2017 | 1723–1741 | Depicts the life of the young Maria Theresa |
| King of the Wind | 1990 | 1727 | Depicts the life of the Godolphin Arabian, an Arabian colt in 18th-century Kingdom of Great Britain during the reign of George II of Great Britain. |
| Of Love and Other Demons | 2009 | 1730s | Depicts the daily life in the colonial port-city of Cartagena de Indias, at the Viceroyalty of New Granada at a time of extreme religious intolerance (thanks to the Holy Inquisition) and slavery. |
| The Great King | 1942 | 1740–1786 | It depicts the life of Frederick the Great |
| Maria Theresa | 1951 | 1740–1780 | Depicts the life of Maria Theresa |
| Joseph Andrews | 1977 | 1742 | An adaption of the novel Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding. |
| Outlander (TV series) | 2014 | 1743–ongoing | Depicts events leading up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| George Washington | 1984 | 1743–1783 | George Washington's life up to the American Revolutionary War |
| The Scarlet Empress | 1934 | 1744–1762 | Catherine II of Russia |
| The Rise of Catherine the Great | 1934 | 1744–1762 | Catherine II of Russia |
| Young Catherine | 1991 | 1744 | Catherine II of Russia |
| Catherine the Great | 1995 | 1744–1762 | Catherine II of Russia |
| Ekaterina | 2014–2019 | 1744–1782 | Catherine II of Russia |
| Catherine the Great | 2015 | 1744–1782 | Catherine II of Russia |
| The Master of Ballantrae | 1953 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| Culloden | 1964 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| The Master of Ballantrae | 1984 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| The Great | 2020 | 1745 | Loosely based on the rise to power of Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia |
| Chasing the Deer | 1994 | 1745–1746 | Jacobite Rising of 1745 |
| Mein Name ist Bach | 2003 | 1747 | Depicts Johann Sebastian Bach's visit to Frederick the Great in Potsdam, Prussia, when The Musical Offering was composed. |
| Horseman | 2003 | 1747 | Set in the borders between the regions of Bosnia and Dalmatia, the crossroads of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. It deals with issues relating to the region's native Croats as they struggle to live between two empires and two faiths: Catholicism and Islam. Also covers the possibility of a love affair between a Christian soldier and a Muslim noblewoman. |
| The Amazing Grace | 2006 | 1748 | Tells the story of John Newton's transformation from slave trader to Anglican priest; story is set in Calabar, Nigeria. |
| Plunkett & Macleane | 1999 | 1748 | Loosely based on The Gentlemen Highwaymen William Plunkett and Captain James MacLaine. They were highwaymen noted for their restrained and courteous behavior towards their victims. |
| Treasure Island | 1934 | 1750 | Adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Treasure Island | 1950 | 1750 | Adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Treasure Island | 1972 | 1750 | Adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Treasure Island | 1990 | 1750 | Adaptation of the famous pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Casanova | 2005 | 1753–1757 | Giacomo Casanova |
| Lady Oscar | 1979 | 1755–1789 | The woman Oscar François de Jarjayes is raised as a man by her father, later gaining a career as a guard for Marie Antoinette. |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1911 | 1755–1792 | England and France prior and during the French Revolution. |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1935 | 1755–1792 | England and France prior and during the French Revolution. |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1958 | 1755–1792 | England and France prior and during the French Revolution. |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1980 | 1755–1792 | England and France prior and during the French Revolution. |
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1980 | 1755–1792 | England and France prior and during the French Revolution. |
| Amadeus | 1984 | 1756–1791 | Austria composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| Barry Lyndon | 1975 | 1756–1789 | The Seven Years' War, etc. |
| The Last of the Mohicans | 1936 | 1757 | French and Indian War |
| The Last of the Mohicans | 1992 | 1757 | French and Indian War |
| Northwest Passage | 1940 | 1757 | French and Indian War and the ranger campaign of Robert Rogers |
| Clive of India | 1935 | 1757 | Robert Clive, Commander-in-Chief, India and the Battle of Plassey. The Battle was part of the Carnatic Wars. |
| John Paul Jones | 1959 | 1759–1792 | Biographical adventure film about American Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones. |
| The Mission | 1986 | 1760–1763 | Jesuit missionaries in South America |
| Belle | 2013 | 1761–1804 | The true history of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed–race daughter of British Naval officer John Lindsay and an African woman. She was taken to England by her father to be raised by his uncle, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, as an aristocratic Lady, as befits her blood line. This forces Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, to confront his own views on race, society and the antiquated laws of the time. |
| Mozart's Sister | 2010 | 1763 | The early life of Maria Anna Mozart, older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. |
| Unconquered | 1947 | 1763 | Pontiac's War focusing on the Siege of Fort Pitt. |
| Brotherhood of the Wolf | 2001 | 1764–1767 | Based on a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and on the famous legend of the Beast of Gévaudan |
| Catherine the Great | 2019 | 1764–1796 | Catherine II of Russia |
| Sons of Liberty | 2015 | 1765–1776 | A story about the Founding Fathers of the United States and the American Revolution. |
| A Royal Affair | 2012 | 1766–1783 | Set at the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, and focuses on the romance between his wife, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, and the royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. |
| Napoléon | 1955 | 1769–1821 | French historical epic film that depicts major events in the life of Napoleon. |
| John Adams | 2008 | 1770–1826 | The story about the American Founding Father John Adams from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to his death in 1826. |
| Louis van Beethoven | 2020 | 1770s–1827 | Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, called Louis in family |
| The Duchess | 2008 | 1774–1806 | The life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire |
| Marie Antoinette | 1938 | 1774–1792 | Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of France |
| Marie Antoinette Queen of France | 1956 | 1774–1792 | Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of France |
| Marie Antoinette | 2006 | 1774–1792 | Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of France |
| Marie Antoinette | 2022 | 1774–1792 | Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of France |
| Drums Along the Mohawk | 1939 | 1776 | Settlers during the American Revolution. They are raided by a combined force of British, Loyalist, and Indian raiders. |
| 1776 | 1972 | 1776 | A musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence. |
| The Crossing | 2000 | 1776 | George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton |
| Revolution | 1985 | 1776–1777 | Fictionalized story of the American Revolution in New York |
| La Fayette | 1961 | 1776–1781 | The film depicts the life of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, in particular his role in the American War of Independence. |
| The Patriot | 2000 | 1776–1781 | Based on the life of Francis Marion, an officer of the Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War. |
| Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor | 2003 | 1776–1782 | Depicting Benedict Arnold, both an early hero of the American Revolution and a notorious defector. |
| Turn: Washington's Spies | 2014–2017 | 1776–1814 | American Revolutionary War |
| The Queen's Necklace | 1946 | 1780s | Based on the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. Jeanne of Valois-Saint-Rémy, a descendant of the House of Valois and courtesan takes revenge by scamming Marie Antoinette, Cardinal de Rohan, and others. The scandal kindling the flames of the French Revolution. |
| Admiral Ushakov | 1953 | 1780–1792 | Portrays the career of Feodor Ushakov, a celebrated naval officer and contemporary of Horatio Nelson |
| The Affair of the Necklace | 2001 | 1780s | Based on the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. Jeanne of Valois-Saint-Rémy, a descendant of the House of Valois and courtesan takes revenge by scamming Marie Antoinette, Cardinal de Rohan, and others. The scandal kindling the flames of the French Revolution. |
| Poldark | 1975–1977 | 1781–1799 | Adaptation of Winston Graham's novels set in Cornwall in the late 18th century |
| Poldark | 2015–2019 | 1781–1801 | Adaptation of Winston Graham's novels set in Cornwall in the late 18th century |
| Les Liaisons dangereuses | 1959 | 1782 | Adaptation of 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, originally set in pre-Revolution Paris. This adaptation is set in present-day France. |
| Dangerous Liaisons | 1988 | 1782 | Adaptation of 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, set in pre-Revolution Paris |
| Valmont | 1989 | 1782 | Adaptation of 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, set in pre-Revolution Paris |
| Dangerous Liaisons | 2022 | 1782 | Prequel of 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, set in pre-Revolution Paris |
| Ridicule | 1996 | 1783–1794 | On the brink of the French Revolution. A minor baron and engineer from Lyon tries to gain audience with King Louis XVI of France to fund drainage of the mosquito-infested swamps bringing sickness and death to his region. |
| The Liberator | 2013 | 1783–1830 | Life of Simon Bolivar |
| Jefferson in Paris | 1995 | 1784–1788 | A semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France before his presidency and of his alleged relationships with British artist Maria Cosway and his slave, Sally Hemings. |
| Botany Bay | 1953 | 1787 | Fictional story about the First Fleet sailing to Botany Bay, New South Wales |
| The Madness of King George | 1994 | 1788 | The deteriorating mental health of George III of the United Kingdom, King of Great Britain and Ireland |
| George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation | 1986 | 1788–1797 | George Washington's life during his time as President of the United States. |
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1935 | 1789 | the Mutiny on the Bounty |
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1962 | 1789 | the Mutiny on the Bounty |
| The Bounty | 1984 | 1789 | The Mutiny on the Bounty |
| Farewell, My Queen | 2012 | 1789 | Marie Antoinette, Queen consort of France |
| La Révolution française | 1989 | 1789–1794 | French Revolution |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1934 | 1792 | French Revolution |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1982 | 1792 | French Revolution |
| Madame Sans-Gêne | 1961 | 1792–1811 | Historical comedy drama during the reign of Napoleon |
| Charlotte Corday | 2008 | 1793 | Trial and execution of Charlotte Corday after her murder of Jean-Paul Marat. Marat was a Jacobin journalist and politician. |
| Napoleon | 2023 | 1793–1821 | Historical epic film that depicts major events in the life of Napoleon. |
| Danton | 1983 | 1794 | Conflict between Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. |
| La Pola | 2010 | 1795–1822 | Historical series which explored the life and the times of Policarpa Salavarrieta, also known as La Pola, Icon of Colombia, a Neogranadine seamstress who spied for the Revolutionary Forces during the Spanish Reconquista of the Viceroyalty of New Granada a woman who became one of the most important figures during the tumultuous years of the Colombian Declaration of Independence for preferring death instead of submission. |
| Napoléon (miniseries) | 2002 | 1795–1821 | Historical miniseries which explored the life of Napoleon Bonaparte |
| Beau Brummell | 1954 | 1795 | Beau Brummell, a 19th-century arbiter of fashion in England who popularized the man's suit and necktie |
| Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna | 1967 | 1798–1831 | Films are about Sangolli Rayanna, a prominent general from Karnataka, who fought against the East India Company until he was captured and executed in 1831. |
| Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna | 2012 | 1798–1831 | Films are about Sangolli Rayanna, a prominent general from Karnataka, who fought against the East India Company until he was captured and executed in 1831. |
| Attack from the Sea | 1953 | 1798–1811 | Russian naval commander Fyodor Ushakov during the Mediterranean campaign |
| Northanger Abbey | 1986 | late 18th century (1798) | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel set during the time Miss Austen wrote the novel. |
| Sleepy Hollow | 1999 | 1799 | Set in the years after the American Revolution, when a Headless Horseman haunted a little town, Sleepy Hollow, New York. |
| The Remains of Nothing | 2004 | 1799 | Eleonora Fonseca Pimentel |
| Désirée | 1954 | 1799–1815 | The love story between Désirée Clary and Napoleon I |
| Napoléon | 1927 | 1799–1815 | Napoléon I of France |

### Films set in the 19th century

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Sense and Sensibility | 1971 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Sense and Sensibility | 1981 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Sense and Sensibility | 1995 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Sense and Sensibility | 2008 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Pride and Prejudice | 1940 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Pride and Prejudice | 1980 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Pride and Prejudice | 1995 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Pride and Prejudice | 2005 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Mansfield Park | 1983 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1814 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Mansfield Park | 1999 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1814 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Mansfield Park | 2007 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1814 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Emma | 1972 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Emma | 1996 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Emma | 1996 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Emma | 2009 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Emma | 2020 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Persuasion | 1971 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Persuasion | 1995 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Persuasion | 2007 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Northanger Abbey | 2007 | early 19th century | adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel set during the Regency era in Great Britain |
| Centennial | 1979 | 19th century | miniseries based on the James A. Michener novel chronicling the history of the American frontier in a fictional town in Colorado |
| The Divine Lady | 1929 | 1803–1815 | Tells the story of the love affair between Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton |
| That Hamilton Woman | 1941 | 1803–1815 | Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the film tells the story of the rise and fall of Emma Hamilton, dance-hall girl and courtesan, who married Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples. |
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | 2003 | 1803–1805 | During the Napoleonic Wars |
| Vanity Fair | 2004 | 1803–1814 | The Napoleonic era |
| War and Peace | 1956 | 1803–1815 | The Russian Empire during the Napoleonic era |
| Eroica | 2003 | 1804 | first performance of Beethoven's third symphony |
| The Duellists | 1977 | 1804–1814 | The Napoleonic Wars |
| Tripoli | 1950 | 1805 | Battle of Derne |
| Austerlitz | 1960 | 1805 | Portrays Napoleon in this film about his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz |
| War & Peace | 2016 | 1805–1812 | The Russian Empire during the Napoleonic era |
| Conquest | 1937 | 1806–1816 | The love story between Marie Walewska and Napoleon I |
| Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. | 1951 | 1807 | The Napoleonic Wars |
| The Pride and the Passion | 1957 | 1807–1814 | The Napoleonic Wars, the Peninsular War in Spain |
| Lady Caroline Lamb | 1972 | 1810–1828 | Lady Caroline Lamb, the British aristocrat, novelist and Lord Byron's lover |
| Mary Shelley | 2017 | 1813–1821 | Depicts the affair between poets Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley |
| Napoleon and Me | 2006 | 1814 | Principality of Elba during the Napoleonic Wars |
| Waterloo | 1970 | 1815 | Battle of Waterloo during the Napoleonic Wars. |
| Les Misérables | 1934 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| Les Misérables | 1935 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| Les Misérables | 1995 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| Les Misérables | 1998 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| Les Misérables | 2012 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| Les Misérables | 2018 | 1815–1832 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1934 | 1815–1838 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1975 | 1815–1838 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy) |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 2002 | 1815–1831 | France after Napoleon I (Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy); Unlike the first two films, this version states 1814 at the start. Dantes' plan happens over a three-year period, having been imprisoned for thirteen years, as is stated during the film. The ending is set shortly after Albert's sixteenth birthday, having been born in 1815. |
| Bright Star | 2009 | 1818–1821 | The last three years of poet John Keats's life |
| Peterloo | 2018 | 1819 | based on the Peterloo massacre of 1819 |
| In the Heart of the Sea | 2015 | 1820–1850 | the story of the whaleship Essex which inspired the writing of Moby-Dick |
| The Greatest Showman | 2017 | 1820–1860 | Based on the story and life of P.T. Barnum, a famous showman and entertainer, and his creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus |
| The White Slave | 2016 | 1821 | In the newly formed Great Colombia, a Spanish plantation burns down and only the baby of some planters is saved. She is sent to Kingdom of Spain, but as an adult, she hatches a plan to return home and become an abolitionist. |
| El Santo de la Espada | 1970 | 1821–1822 | José de San Martín and the Spanish American wars of independence |
| Bouboulina | 1959 | 1821–1829 | Laskarina Bouboulina, heroine of the Greek War of Independence |
| The Revenant | 2015 | 1823 | American frontiersman Hugh Glass fights for survival in the unincorporated Dakotas |
| Copying Beethoven | 2006 | 1824 | final years of Ludwig van Beethoven |
| The Deceivers | 1988 | 1825 | British officer in India investigates the Thugee cult |
| Mr. Turner | 2014 | 1826–1851 | Based on the last 25 years of the life of artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) |
| Immortal Beloved | 1994 | 1827 | aftermath of the death of Beethoven |
| The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser | 1974 | 1828–1833 | The story of foundling Kaspar Hauser in the German Confederation. |
| Bleak House | 2005 | 1830s | Based on Charles Dickens' 1852–1853 novel |
| The Devil's Violinist | 2013 | 1830s | Based on the life story of the 19th-century Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini |
| A Song to Remember | 1945 | 1830–1849 | Based on the life story of the Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin |
| La Note bleue | 1991 | 1830–1849 | Based on the life story of the Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin |
| Impromptu | 1991 | 1830–1849 | Based on the life story of the Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin |
| Chopin: Desire for Love | 2002 | 1830–1849 | Based on the life story of the Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin |
| Disraeli | 1916 | 1830–1880 | It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Disraeli | 1921 | 1830–1880 | It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Disraeli | 1929 | 1830–1880 | It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| The Prime Minister | 1941 | 1830–1880 | It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Disraeli | 1978 | 1830–1880 | It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| The Horseman on the Roof | 1995 | 1832 | Second cholera pandemic in July Monarchy France |
| Young Mr. Lincoln | 1939 | 1832–1837 | Early career of future president Abraham Lincoln |
| Miss Marx | 2020 | 1833–1898 | Story of the daughter of Karl Marx, Eleanor Marx |
| The Alamo | 1960 | 1836 | Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. |
| Victoria in Dover | 1936 | 1836 | Young Queen Victoria meets her future husband Prince Albert |
| Victoria in Dover | 1954 | 1836 | Young Queen Victoria meets her future husband Prince Albert |
| Victoria the Great | 1937 | 1836–1861 | Life of Queen Victoria |
| The Young Victoria | 2009 | 1836–1840 | Early reign of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and her marriage to Albert, Prince Consort |
| Sixty Years a Queen | 1913 | 1837–1901 | Life of Queen Victoria |
| Victoria Regina | 1961 | 1837–1897 | Life of Queen Victoria |
| Victoria | 2016–2019 | 1837–1850s | Life of Queen Victoria |
| Amistad | 1997 | 1839–1841 | Mutiny aboard La Amistad, a ship containing slaves from Africa. The ship had left Havana and was bound for Camagüey, both ports being in Spanish Cuba. The film follows the ship's entry into United States custody and the subsequent trial. The case was resolved by the trial United States v. The Amistad. |
| How the West Was Won | 1962 | 1839–1889 | United States expansion into and settlement of the West. |
| Belgravia | 2020 | 1840 | British society during the early Victorian era |
| The Emigrants | 1971 | 1840s | The Swedish immigrants in Minnesota |
| Ammonite | 2020 | 1840s | The romance between British paleontologist Mary Anning and Charlotte Murchison |
| Livingstone | 1925 | 1840–1871 | Depicts the life of the African missionary David Livingstone |
| David Livingstone | 1936 | 1840–1871 | Portrays the expedition of the British explorer David Livingstone to Africa |
| Song of Love | 1947 | 1840–1856 | The marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann and their close friendship with Johannes Brahms. All three were notable composers. |
| 12 Years a Slave | 2013 | 1841–1853 | The story of free African American Solomon Northup after he was abducted and sold into slavery. Based on the autobiography of the same name |
| Edward the Seventh | 1975 | 1841–1910 | The life of Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. |
| Alias Grace | 2017 | 1843 | The story of Grace Marks, a maid who allegedly murder her employer and his wife in 1843 |
| The Young Karl Marx | 2017 | 1844–1848 | Karl Marx |
| To Walk Invisible | 2016 | 1845–1848 | Based on the later lives of the Brontës as they wrote and published their written works. |
| Angelique's Isle | 2018 | 1845 | Based on the story of Angelique Mott, an Anishnaabe woman and her voyageur husband Charlie Mott who were stranded on Isle Royal in Lake Superior during the Ontario copper rush |
| Harriet | 2019 | 1840s–1863 | biographical film about Harriet Tubman |
| Gangs of New York | 2002 | 1846–1863 | New York City prior and during the American Civil War. The events occur in the crime- infested neighborhood of Five Points, Manhattan. The film opens in 1846 with a conflict between a Nativist gang and the Dead Rabbits. The action then moves forward to the 1860s with the Nativists still active and involved with William M. Tweed, "boss" of Tammany Hall. The action culminates in the New York City draft riots of 1863. |
| 80 Hussars | 1978 | 1848 | Hungarian movie about the 1848–49 Revolution and War of Freedom in Hungary. Under the leadership of Farkas Paál a small Hussar troupe escapes from Poland to Hungary to join the Independence war against the Habsburgs. Their adventurous journey is full of thousands of dangers. |
| The Sea Has Risen | 1953 | 1848–49 | Epic Hungarian movie in Communist style about the 1848–49 Revolution and War of Freedom in Hungary, and about the great Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi. Known with the title: Föltámadott a tenger |
| Men and Banners | 1965 | 1848–49 | Epic Hungarian movie about the 1848–49 Revolution and War of Freedom in Hungary. Known with the title A kőszívű ember fiai |
| Flowers of Reverie | 1984 | 1849 | Hungarian movie which talks about the time after the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Surrender at Világos |
| Dead or Alive | 1980 | 1851 | Hungarian movie which talks about the failed assassination by Gáspár Noszlopy on Franz Joseph I of Austria |
| The Sisters Brothers | 2018 | 1851 | Takes place during the California Gold Rush |
| The Empress | 2022 | 1853 | Historical drama series on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. |
| Eureka Stockade | 1949 | 1854 | Peter Lalor and the Eureka Rebellion, a gold miners' rebellion at the Eureka Stockade (Ballarat, Australia). |
| Mountains of the Moon | 1990 | 1854–1864 | Journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to Central Africa and the rivalry that followed |
| The Charge of the Light Brigade | 1968 | 1854 | The disaster of the Crimean War known as the Charge of the Light Brigade. It took place within the Battle of Balaclava. |
| Sissi | 1955 | 1854 | It is the first installment in the trilogy of films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sissi. |
| Sisi | 2021 | 1854–1860 | TV series about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sissi. |
| Sisi & I | 2023 | 1854–1860 | Fictionalised story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray. |
| Sissi – The Young Empress | 1956 | 1855–1856 | Sissi adapts to life as Empress of Austria. |
| Dickinson | 2019 | 1856–1862 | A TV series on the early life of American poet Emily Dickinson, taking place in part during the American Civil War |
| Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress | 1957 | 1857–1860 | Last film in the Sissi trilogy. |
| Quanto è bello lu murire acciso | 1976 | 1857 | Failed rising organized by Carlo Pisacane in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies |
| Garibaldi | 1961 | 1860 | Giuseppe Garibaldi leads a military campaign known as the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860 |
| The Leopard | 1963 | 1860 | The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the Risorgimento |
| Sixty Glorious Years | 1938 | 1861–1901 | Life of Queen Victoria, sequel to the 1937 film Victoria the Great |
| Ride with the Devil | 1999 | 1861–1864 | depicts the activities of pro-Confederate Bushwhackers, guerrilla fighters, in Missouri during the American Civil War |
| Cold Mountain | 2003 | 1861–1864 | A couple in North Carolina is separated during the American Civil War and try to find each other again. |
| Gone with the Wind | 1939 | 1861–1877 | Georgia during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. |
| Mrs Brown | 1997 | 1861–1883 | The relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and her personal servant John Brown. |
| Gods and Generals | 2003 | 1861–1863 | The American Civil War from the outset of the war to the Battle of Chancellorsville |
| Glory | 1989 | 1862–1863 | The American Civil War from the Battle of Antietam to the Second Battle of Fort Wagner |
| Copperhead | 2013 | 1862 | based on novel by Harold Frederic, set in upstate New York during the American Civil War |
| The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | 1966 | 1862 | Two bounty hunters in an uneasy alliance against a third attempt to find a stash of hidden Confederate gold in New Mexico in the middle of the chaos of the American Civil War |
| Gettysburg | 1993 | 1863 | The Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War |
| Lillie | 1978 | 1863–1929 | British television about Lillie Langtry |
| Wyatt Earp | 1994 | 1863–1884 | Events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
| Dances with Wolves | 1990 | 1863–1870 | Fictional story set during the American Civil War and its aftermath in the American West, interaction with the Lakota Sioux |
| Ludwig | 1973 | 1864–1886 | Life and death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. |
| Lincoln | 2012 | Early 1865 | Events chronicling the last few months of the life of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. |
| The Conspirator | 2011 | April 1865 | Based on the events of the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. |
| Hell on Wheels | 2011–2016 | 1865–1867 | based on the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. |
| Senso | 1954 | 1866 | An Italian countess as an affair with an Austrian soldier in Venice during the Third Italian War of Independence |
| Tommy's Honour | 2016 | 1866–1876 | The complex and bittersweet relationship between the pioneering and legendary Scottish golfing champions Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris. |
| Riel | 1979 | 1869–1885 | The activities of Louis Riel, a Métis in both the Red River Rebellion of Manitoba and the North-West Rebellion in the District of Saskatchewan. |
| The Lone Ranger | 2013 | 1869 | The Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto bring justice to the wild west. |
| Stanley and Livingstone | 1939 | 1870–1871 | Welsh reporter Sir Henry M. Stanley's quest to find Dr. David Livingstone |
| Lust for Life | 1956 | 1870–1890 | The life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh |
| Vincent & Theo | 1990 | 1870–1890 | About the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo |
| News of the World | 2020 | 1870 | based on the 2016 American Western novel |
| Lonesome Dove | 1989 | 1870s | the closing years of the Old West |
| Daniel Deronda | 2002 | 1870s | based on George Eliot's 1876 novel |
| Citizen Kane | 1941 | 1871–1940 | Chronicles the life of fictional yellow journalist Charles Foster Kane. |
| Young Winston | 1972 | 1874–1902 | The biography Winston Churchill before he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. |
| Quigley Down Under | 1990 | 1874 | A Sharpshooter from Wyoming is hired by an Australian rancher paying a very high price. But when Quigley arrives Down Under, all is not as it seems. |
| Cannibal! The Musical | 1993 | 1873–1883 | Comedic musical retelling the story of cannibal Alferd Packer. |
| Centennial Summer | 1946 | 1876 | Set in Philadelphia at the time of the Centennial Exposition |
| Wild Bill | 1995 | 1876 | The last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok |
| The Last Samurai | 2003 | 1876–1877 | Events in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in the Empire of Japan, 1876–1877 |
| Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | 2007 | 1876–1895 | Events leading to the Wounded Knee massacre |
| Corsage | 2022 | 1877 | Empress Elisabeth of Austria nearing her 40th birthday |
| Ned Kelly | 1970 | 1878–1880 | British-Australian biographical film of 19th-century Australian bushranger Ned Kelly |
| Ned Kelly | 2003 | 1878–1879 | Biographical film of Ned Kelly based on the historical novel Our Sunshine |
| Warrior | 2019– | 1878 | set during the Tong Wars in San Francisco |
| Zulu Dawn | 1979 | 1879 | The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War |
| Zulu | 1964 | 1879 | The Battle of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War |
| The English Game | 2020 | 1879–1883 | early association football in Great Britain |
| The Great McGonagall | 1974 | 1880s | Humorous biopic of the Scottish poet William McGonagall |
| The Current War | 2017 | 1880–1893 | the 19th-century competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the United States (often referred to as the "war of the currents"). |
| Thousand Pieces of Gold | 1991 | 1880s | Chinese immigrant woman in the American Old West. |
| Thariode: The Lost City | TBA | 1880s | Based on the 2019 documentary film "Thariode" by Nirmal Baby Varghese. History of gold mining in Thariode, one of the most ancient cities of Malabar region, British India on 19th century. |
| Canadian Pacific | 1949 | 1880s | Follows surveyors for the Canadian Pacific Railroad |
| The Miracle Worker | 1962 | 1880–1887 | The early childhood of Helen Keller, her infancy contraction of blindness and deafness and Anne Sullivan's arrival |
| Unforgiven | 1992 | 1881 | set in the American Old West |
| Tombstone | 1993 | 1881–1884 | Events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
| The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | 2007 | 1881–1892 | The end of Jesse James' career as a criminal and the man who eventually kills him, Robert Ford in 1882 |
| The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | 2021 | 1881–1930 | The life of English artist Louis Wain |
| The Gilded Age | 2022 | 1882 | society in New York City during the Gilded Age |
| The Four Feathers | 1939 | 1882–1888 | During the British Army's Nile Expedition |
| The Four Feathers | 2002 | 1882–1888 | During the British Army's Nile Expedition |
| Wilde | 1997 | 1882–1897 | Oscar Wilde |
| Khartoum | 1966 | 1884 | Charles George Gordon defense of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the army of Muhammad Ahmad during the Siege of Khartoum. Muhammad Ahmad had proclaimed himself to be the Mahdi. |
| Tesla | 2020 | 1884–1900 | Biographical drama film about Nikola Tesla |
| Houdini | 2014 | 1884–1926 | Miniseries about the life of the legendary illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini from poverty to worldwide fame. |
| The Mudlark | 1950 | 1885 | A fictional account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert. |
| Arms and the Man | 1958 | 1885 | Takes place during the Serbo-Bulgarian War |
| Melba | 1953 | 1886–1900 | Musical biopic drama film of the life of Australian-born soprano Nellie Melba |
| Geronimo: An American Legend | 1993 | 1886 | Events leading up to the capture of Geronimo, a prominent Apache leader during the Apache Wars. |
| Freud | 2020 | 1886 | Depicts early career of Sigmund Freud, centred around a fictional criminal case in Vienna |
| Princess Kaiulani | 2009 | 1887–1898 | based on the life of Princess Kaʻiulani of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi |
| Victoria & Abdul | 2017 | 1887–1901 | About the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim |
| From Hell | 2001 | 1888 | based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper murders. |
| Mayerling | 1968 | 1888–1889 | Based on the Mayerling Incident, a series of events leading to the apparent murder–suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera. |
| At Eternity's Gate | 2018 | 1888–1890 | the final years of painter Vincent van Gogh's life |
| The Illusionist | 2006 | 1889 | tells the story of a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna |
| Man of God | 2021 | 1889 | brings to life the incredible true story of Saint Nectarios of Aegina, Greece. |
| Ripper Street | 2012 | 1889- 1897 | a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. |
| Van Gogh | 1991 | 1890 | Set in 1890, the film follows the last 67 days of Vincent van Gogh's life |
| Woman Walks Ahead | 2017 | 1890 | the story of Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter who travels from New York to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull |
| The English | 2022 | 1890 | an Englishwoman travels to the American West |
| The Prestige | 2006 | 1890s | rival stage magicians in Victorian London |
| Colette | 2018 | 1890s | Based upon the life of the French novelist Colette |
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 | 1890s–1908 | Covers the activities of Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh, prominent members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. The Wild Bunch was a loosely organized outlaw gang from Wyoming. |
| Loving Vincent | 2017 | 1890–1891 | The circumstances of Vincent van Gogh's death and aftermath |
| Heaven's Gate | 1980 | 1892 | Covers the Johnson County War |
| Hostiles | 2017 | 1892 | A U.S. Cavalry officer who must escort a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their home in Montana |
| Lizzie | 2018 | 1892 | The Lizzie Border murders |
| Gandhi | 1982 | 1893–1947 | Biopic about the life and activism of Mahatma Gandhi |
| Mao Zedong | 2013 | 1893–1949 | Television series about Mao Zedong, from his childhood to the foundation of the People's Republic of China |
| Radioactive | 2019 | 1893–1934 | Biopic about the life and scientific discoveries of Marie Curie |
| An Officer and a Spy | 2019 | 1894 | Depicts the events of the Dreyfus Affair |
| The Last Czars | 2019 | 1894–1918 | Docudrama miniseries about the reign of Tsar Nicholas II from his coronation until his assassination |
| El Presidente | 2012 | 1896–1964 | Philippine Revolution and the final years and death of President Emilio Aguinaldo |
| Entente cordiale | 1939 | 1898–1904 | Depicts events between the Fashoda crisis in 1898 and the 1904 signing of the Entente Cordiale creating an alliance between Britain and France and ending their historic rivalry |
| Rough Riders | 1997 | 1898 | Depicts The Battle of San Juan Hill, part of the Spanish–American War |
| A merénylet (The assassination) | 2018 | 1898 | Depicts the tragic assassination of Empress Elisabeth of Austria |
| Heneral Luna | 2015 | 1898–1899 | The Second Phase of the Philippine Revolution and the heroism of General Antonio Luna |
| Trotsky | 2017 | 1898–1918 | Biographical television miniseries about Leon Trotsky |
| There Will Be Blood | 2007 | 1898–1927 | Epic drama set during the Southern California Oil Boom, loosely based on the book Oil! |
| Ohm Krüger | 1941 | 1899 | The film depicts the life of the South African politician Paul Kruger and his eventual defeat by the British during the Boer War |
| Gold | 2013 | 1899 | the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territory |
| Newsies | 1992 | 1899 | Based on the Newsboys' strike of 1899 in New York City |

## Films set in the modern era (1900–1949)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| The Knick | 2014 | 1900 | Doctors, Nurses, and others work at The Knickerbocker hospital |
| 55 Days at Peking | 1963 | 1900 | Depicts the Battle of Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. |
| Breaker Morant | 1980 | 1901 | An Australian Lieutenant, Harry "Breaker" Morant, who ordered the summary execution of several prisoners during the Second Boer War |
| The Godfather Part II | 1974 | 1901–1958 | Second installment in The Godfather trilogy, the film serves as both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather |
| The Battle of Port Arthur | 1980 | 1904–1905 | The film depicts the fiercest battles in Siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905. |
| Nicholas and Alexandra | 1971 | 1904–1918 | Covers the last 14 years of the life and reign of Nicholas II of Russia, last Emperor of Russia. Includes the events of World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War and the shooting of the Romanov family. |
| A Dangerous Method | 2011 | 1904–1912 | Covers personal and professional relationships between Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein |
| Rosa Luxemburg | 1986 | 1904–1919 | Biography of Marxist and anti-war activist Rosa Luxemburg and her assassination in 1919. |
| Battleship Potemkin | 1925 | 1905 | The Russian battleship Potemkin uprising, part of the Revolution of 1905 in the Russian Empire. |
| The Real Glory | 1939 | 1906 | Moro Rebellion |
| The Passion of Marie | 2012 | 1910 | Biopic about Marie, the wife of Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer |
| Tolkien | 2019 | 1890s–1930s | Biopic about the life of J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Titanic | 1943 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| Titanic | 1953 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| A Night to Remember | 1958 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| S.O.S. Titanic | 1979 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| Titanic | 1997 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| Titanic | 2012 | 1912 | The Titanic disaster |
| War Horse | 2011 | 1912–1918 | journey of a horse raised by a British teenager during World War I |
| Reds | 1981 | 1912–1920 | Russian Revolution |
| Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | 1912–1923 | World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War |
| Iron Jawed Angels | 2004 | 1913–1920 | American women's suffrage movement during the 1910s |
| Gallipoli | 1981 | 1914–1915 | Gallipoli Campaign of World War I |
| Flyboys | 2006 | 1914–1917 | Focusing on the Lafayette Escadrille, a unit of American volunteer combat pilots in service for the Allies of World War I. |
| Admiral | 2008 | 1914–1917, 1964 | Covers the last three years of the naval career of Alexander Kolchak, a vice-admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and leader of the anti-communist White Movement during the Russian Civil War. The film also depicts the love triangle between the Admiral, his wife, and the poet Anna Timiryova. |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 1930 | 1914–1918 | Western Front of World War I |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 1979 | 1914–1918 | Western Front of World War I |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 2022 | 1914–1918 | Western Front of World War I |
| A Very Long Engagement | 2004 | 1914–1920s | Western Front of World War I |
| La Masseria Delle Allodole | 2007 | 1915 | Set during World War I in the Ottoman Empire, depicting the Armenian genocide. |
| Ararat | 2002 | 1915 | Based on the Defense of Van in 1915, an Armenian insurgence in the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian genocide. |
| The Promise | 2017 | 1915 | The Armenian genocide |
| Renoir | 2012 | 1915–1919 | Biopic about French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir focusing on the last four years of his life |
| Shimon Haber | 2008 | 1915–1919 | Development and usage of Chemical weapons in World War I |
| Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea | 2007 | 1915 | The sinking of the RMS Lusitania |
| Rebellion | 2016 | 1916 | Miniseries dramatization of the Easter Rebellion in Dublin |
| Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | 1916–1918 | T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt in the Ottoman Empire. |
| Michael Collins | 1996 | 1916–1922 | Later life of Irish resistance leader Michael Collins and his participation in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. |
| 1917 | 2019 | 1917 | European theatre of World War I |
| The Lighthorsemen | 1987 | 1917 | Battle of Beersheba in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. |
| Stalin | 1992 | 1917–1953 | Brutal Career and Corruption of Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin |
| Erna i krig | 2020 | 1918 | A woman disguises herself as a man to join the army in order to protect her educationally subnormal son who has been called up to fight in World War I |
| The Wind Rises | 2013 | 1918–1945 | The life of Jiro Horikoshi |
| The Lost Battalion | 1919 | 1918 | Covers the fate of the Lost Battalion, units of the 77th Infantry Division. The units under the command of Major Charles White Whittlesey penetrated deep into the Forest of Argonne in France during World War I. They were trapped and surrounded by the German Army. |
| The Lost Battalion | 2001 | 1918 | Covers the fate of the Lost Battalion, units of the 77th Infantry Division. The units under the command of Major Charles White Whittlesey penetrated deep into the Forest of Argonne in France during World War I. They were trapped and surrounded by the German Army. |
| 1918 | 1985 | 1918 | Written by Horton Foote, depicts life in Texas and the devastating effect of the great flu epidemic of 1918. |
| La Vie en Rose | 2007 | 1918–1963 | Biopic of French singer Édith Piaf |
| Chariots of Fire | 1981 | 1919–1924 | British runners face prejudice and compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics. The runners are Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Liddell was a Scottish man and Abrahams was A British Jew. |
| Killers of the Flower Moon | 2023 | 1919–1926 | the Osage Indian murders in Oklahoma |
| Al Capone | 1959 | 1919–1929 | Biopic of American gangster Al Capone from the beginning of his career in 1919 until his arrest in 1929 |
| Rebel in the Rye | 2017 | 1919–1951 | Biopic of American author J.D. Salinger, from his childhood until the publication of his debut novel Catcher in the Rye in 1959 |
| Evita | 1996 | 1919–1952 | Biopic of Eva Perón, First Lady of Argentina. |
| J. Edgar | 2011 | 1919–1972 | Life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1935 to 1972. |
| The Wind that Shakes the Barley | 2006 | 1920–1923 | War film set during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War |
| Maria Cano | 1990 | 1920s | Life of Maria Cano a Colombian poet and writer who was the country's first female political leader. Called the "Flor del trabajo" (Labor flower), Cano led the struggle for basic civil rights and for the rights of salaried workers. She was the leader of several workers' strikes |
| Anastasia | 1956 | 1920s | Based upon theories on the survival of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the activities of Anna Anderson. Anderson was the most famous of the Romanov impostors. |
| Vita & Virginia | 2018 | 1920s | Depicts the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West |
| A Real Vermeer | 2015 | 1920s | Biopic about Dutch art forger Han van Meegeren |
| Legionnaire | 1998 | 1920–1926 | Rif War |
| The First of the Few | 1942 | 1922–1936 | Aerospace engineer R.J. Mitchell designs the Spitfire despite his failing health. |
| Little Ashes | 2008 | 1922–1938 | Depicts the love affair between artist Salvador Dalí and poet Federico García Lorca |
| Frida | 2002 | 1922–1953 | A biography of artist Frida Kahlo |
| Rosewood | 1997 | 1923 | Depicts the Rosewood massacre |
| Bertie and Elizabeth | 2002 | 1923–1952 | Explores the relationship between King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth from their first meeting to the King's death in the winter of 1952. |
| The King's Speech | 2010 | 1924–1939 | The quest of George VI, King of the United Kingdom to overcome his stammer. |
| Togo | 2019 | 1925 | the story of Togo, a lead dog during the 1925 serum run to Nome |
| Inherit the Wind | 1960 | 1925 | Fictionalized account of the Scopes Trial in Tennessee |
| The Ogre | 1996 | 1925–1945 | The account of a simple Frenchman caught up in the events of World War II. He involuntarily serves in the French Army, spends time as a prisoner of war in East Prussia, and gets hired to take care of the animals in the local estate of Hermann Göring. When fired, the Frenchman finds a new job at nearby Kaltenborn Castle, a Nazi Germany military academy for boys. He gets tasked with recruiting children to serve the cause. Continuing service while Nazi Germany deteriorates and East Prussia faces a Soviet invasion. |
| Death Defying Acts | 2007 | 1926 | An episode in the life of Hungarian-American escapologist Harry Houdini at the height of his career in the 1920s. |
| Murderous Maids | 2000 | 1926–1933 | Set in Le Mans, France, tells the story of two French maids, Christine and Léa Papin who murdered their employer in 1933. |
| Hacksaw Ridge | 2016 | 1926–1945 | Early life and World War II experiences of Desmond Doss |
| Downton Abbey | 2019 | 1927 | film sequel to the television series of the same name |
| Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | 2020 | 1927 | A fictional story about real blues singer Ma Rainey, taking place during a single recording session. |
| The Aviator | 2004 | 1927–1947 | Biopic about Howard Hughes, an aviation pioneer, director, and successful film producer. |
| Changeling | 2008 | 1928 | Based on the Wineville Chicken Coop murders |
| Downton Abbey: A New Era | 2022 | 1928 | film sequel to the television series of the same name |
| Phar Lap | 1983 | 1928–1932 | Biography about the New Zealand-born Australian racehorse Phar Lap |
| The Imitation Game | 2014 | 1928–1950 | British cryptanalyst Alan Turing, who decrypted German intelligence messages for the British government during the Second World War |
| Lion of the Desert | 1981 | 1929–1931 | About the struggle of Libyan rebels under Omar Mukhtar against the Italian Royal Army in the years leading up to World War II. |
| Joe MacBeth | 1955 | 1930s | Modern retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in a 1930s American criminal underworld. |
| Mildred Pierce | 2011 | 1930s | based on the 1941 novel, set during the Great Depression |
| Richard III | 1995 | 1930s | Adapts Richard III story and characters to a setting based on 1930s Britain, with Richard depicted as a fascist plotting to usurp the thron |
| Mank | 2020 | 1930–1940 | Biopic about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and the development of the screenplay for Citizen Kane |
| Henry & June | 1990 | 1931 | Biopic about two writers Henry Miller and Anais Nin |
| Hugo | 2011 | 1931 | A young boy discovers the history of early filmmaking |
| Rabbit-Proof Fence | 2002 | 1931 | Australia's Stolen Generations |
| The Legend of Bagger Vance | 2000 | 1931 | Set in Savannah, Georgia, during the Great Depression; loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita. The story starts by setting a background. A noteworthy golf player went off to fight in World War I. He returned a decorated veteran but traumatized by the deaths of his unit in battle. He then sank into a life of habitual alcohol intoxication. In 1931, there is to be an exhibition match between famous golfers Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. The veteran is asked to participate and compete against them. A mysterious man volunteers to be his caddie, helping the veteran to come to grips with his personal demons and play golf again. |
| Road to Perdition | 2002 | winter 1931 | A film set in Illinois during the Great Depression, and featuring Prohibition Era-organized crime figures. The protagonist is a mob enforcer for an Irish mob boss. The son of the boss wants to kill him, however, and manages to kill his wife and one of his sons. The protagonist and his remaining son escape to Chicago, attempting to find new work under Al Capone and his Chicago Outfit. Underboss Frank Nitti rejects the offers of the protagonist to join them. Nitti also contacts the Irish mob boss and they agree to have the protagonist killed. Starting an escalating conflict. |
| Perry Mason | 2020 | 1931–1932 | a fictional detective in Depression-era Los Angeles, based on the award-winning series of the same name broadcast from 1957 to 1966 |
| Christopher and His Kind | 2011 | 1931–1952 | Biopic about playwright and novelist Christopher Isherwood, focusing on his years in Berlin before the Second World War |
| Bonnie and Clyde | 1967 | 1931–1934 | About the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, American outlaws and robbers during the Great Depression. |
| Frances | 1982 | 1931–1958 | Life of actress Frances Farmer |
| Last Man Standing | 1996 | 1932 | During Prohibition in the United States, gun-wielding mercenary John Smith, arrives at the small town Jericho, Texas, close to the Mexico–United States border. He plays on both sides in a gang war between the Irish Mob and the American Mafia, while scheming to eliminate both gangs. The film is a loose remake of Yojimbo (1961), which was set in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate. The original film was a loose adaptation of the novels Red Harvest (1929) and The Glass Key (1931) by Dashiell Hammett. |
| Gosford Park | 2001 | 1932 | murder mystery set at an English country house during the Interwar period |
| The Grand Budapest Hotel | 2014 | 1932 (1968, 1985) | Two men team up to try and make a fortune |
| King Kong | 2005 | 1933 | A greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island. |
| Public Enemies | 2009 | 1933–1934 | Set during the Great Depression, it chronicles the final years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger. |
| Race | 2016 | 1933–1936 | The life of Jesse Owens who won four gold medals during Athletics. |
| The First Lady | 2022 | 1933–2017 | It portrays life and family events of three first ladies of the United States: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. |
| Murder on the Orient Express | 2017 | 1934 | murder mystery set aboard the Orient Express train traveling from Istanbul to London |
| The Highwaymen | 2019 | 1934 | Film about two Texas Rangers tasked with apprehending Bonnie and Clyde |
| The National Anthem | 1999 | 1934–1935 | Set in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and the resulting conflict. |
| A Pearl in the Forest | 2008 | 1934–1938 | Set during the Great Purge initiated by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. The film focuses on the spillover effects of the Purge on the Mongolian People's Republic, a satellite state of the Soviet Union. |
| The Gathering Storm | 2002 | 1934–1939 | Biopic about British prime minister Winston Churchill in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War 2 |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 1984 | 1935 | In 1935, Indiana Jones arrives in India, still part of the British Empire, and is asked to find a mystical stone. |
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | 1935 | biographical sports film about American boxer James J. Braddock |
| Atonement | 2007 | 1935–1940 | A romantic suspense war film. Opening in the interwar period of the United Kingdom, during the late 1930s, and continuing to the early days of World War II. The film opens in 1935 with the interactions between the girls of the wealthy Tallis family and their cousin Lola on one side, and a lower class-man by the name of Robbie Turner on the other. When Lola gets raped, Robbie gets blamed for the act, arrested, and imprisoned. Four years later, Robbie is released on condition of serving in the British Army as part of the British Expeditionary Force on the areas of the French Third Republic. |
| Olga | 2004 | 1935–1942 | The relationship between German-Brazilian communist militant Olga Benário and Luís Carlos Prestes, one of the main leaders of the opposition against Brazilian dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. |
| Elvis | 2022 | 1935–1956 | Biopic about the early life and career of Elvis Presley |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | 1936 | In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant. |
| Unbroken | 2014 | 1936–1998 | The life of Louis Zamperini. |
| The Hindenburg | 1975 | 1937 | The Hindenburg disaster at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey. |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | 1937 | set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression. Its story is a modern satire loosely based on Homer's epic poem The Odyssey that incorporates mythology from the American South |
| Seabiscuit | 2003 | 1937 | Race horse Seabiscuit |
| I Saw the Light | 2015 | 1937–1953 | Biopic about country singer Hank Williams |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | 1938 | An art collector appeals to Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. |
| The Good Shepherd | 2006 | 1938–1961 | Rise of Central Intelligence Agency's counterintelligence, leading up to the Bay of Pigs Invasion |
| Voyage of the Damned | 1976 | 1939 | Based on the events of the MS St. Louis |
| The Dig | 2021 | 1939 | The 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo |
| Hyde Park on Hudson | 2012 | 1939 | The 1939 visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Roosevelt's country estate. |
| The Last Bastion | 1984 | 1939–1945 | Australia during World War II |
| Schindler's List | 1993 | 1939–1945 | German industrialist Oskar Schindler's efforts to keep Jewish people from being interred in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. |
| The Pianist | 2002 | 1939–1945 | World War II experiences of Polish-Jewish pianist/composer and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman |
| Max Manus: Man of War | 2008 | 1939–1945 | Norway during World War II and Winter War |
| The Zookeeper's Wife | 2017 | 1939–1945 | the story of Antonina Żabińska and Jan Żabiński, who saved the lives of 300 Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto following the German invasion of Poland during World War II |
| Battle of Britain | 1969 | 1940 | The Battle of Britain |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2005 | 1940 | Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia |
| April 9th | 2015 | 1940 | 9 April, German invasion of Denmark. A group of Danish bicycle infantry is sent as a vanguard to slow down the German advance until reinforcements can arrive. |
| The Exception | 2016 | 1940 | Deposed Kaiser Wilhelm II living in exile in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. |
| Kongens nei (The King's Choice) | 2016 | 1940 | The film focuses on King Haakon VII and the Norwegian Royal family in the days before and immediately after the German invasion of Norway in April 1940. |
| Darkest Hour | 2017 | 1940 | May–June 1940. Winston Churchill's early days as Prime Minister, as Hitler closes in on Britain during World War II. |
| Dunkirk | 2017 | 1940 | The Dunkirk evacuation of World War II |
| Hurricane | 2018 | 1940 | The Battle of Britain |
| Malèna | 2000 | 1940–1944 | Italy during World War II |
| Un village français | 2009 | 1940–2000 | German military forces invade the fictional French village of Villeneuve, near the French-Swiss border. |
| Life Is Beautiful | 1997 | early 1940s | A Jewish-Italian man and his son during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp |
| The Way Back | 2010 | 1941 | Escape from a Siberian Gulag |
| The Good Traitor | 2020 | 1941 | Henrik Kauffmann and the signing of the Greenland treaty with the United States |
| Sink the Bismarck! | 1960 | May 1941 | Depicts German battleship Bismarck and its last battle. |
| Defiance | 2008 | August 1941 | Story of three Jewish brothers of the Bielski partisans who saved and recruited Jews during the Nazi occupation of Belarus. |
| Das Boot | 1981 | October 1941 | Battle of the Atlantic |
| Tora! Tora! Tora! | 1970 | 7 December 1941 | The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor |
| Hong Kong 1941 | 1984 | December 1941 | The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, and the story of local resistance against Japanese forces. |
| Pearl Harbor | 2001 | December 1941 – April 1942 | The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent American retaliation in the Doolittle Raid. |
| The Gallant Hours | 1960 | 1942 | U.S. Navy admiral William Halsey in the crucial early weeks of his command of American forces in the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. |
| U-571 | 2000 | 1942 | Battle of the Atlantic |
| The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep | 2007 | 1942 | A boy named Angus MacMorrow lives in the manor house of Lord Killin on Loch Ness with his mother Anne MacMorrow and his sister, Kirstie. |
| The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | 2008 | 1942 | Set during the Holocaust |
| Allied | 2016 | 1942 | a Canadian intelligence officer and a French Resistance fighter pose as a married couple during a mission in Casablanca |
| Das Boot | 2018 | 1942 | Battle of the Atlantic, sequel to Das Boot (1981) |
| Greyhound | 2020 | 1942 | Battle of the Atlantic |
| Midway | 1976 | June 1942 | The Battle of Midway |
| Midway | 2019 | June 1942 | The Battle of Midway |
| Kokoda | 2006 | August 1942 | Australia's 39th Battalion during the early days of the Kokoda Track campaign |
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | 1942–1943 | Construction of the Burma Railway by forced labour, mainly British prisoners of war, during the Burma Campaign of World War II. |
| Captain America: The First Avenger | 2011 | 1942–1945 | Steve Rogers, a rejected military soldier, transforms into Captain America |
| Stalingrad | 1993 | August 1942 – February 1943 | The Battle of Stalingrad from a German perspective. |
| The Thin Red Line | 1998 | August 1942 – February 1943 | The Guadalcanal Campaign |
| Band of Brothers | 2001 | August 1942 – May 1945 | Miniseries portraying the soldiers in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from training in boot camp to action in the European Theatre of World War II. |
| The Pacific | 2010 | August 1942 – August 1945 | Miniseries portraying the Pacific Theater of World War II |
| Enemy at the Gates | 2001 | winter 1942–1943 | The activities of Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev in the Battle of Stalingrad |
| Masters of the Air | 2024 | spring 1943–1945 | Miniseries portraying the story of the 100th Bomb Group during World War II and follows bomber crews on dangerous missions to destroy targets inside German-occupied Europe |
| Patton | 1970 | 1943–1945 | The exploits of United States Army General George S. Patton during World War II |
| Sophie Scholl – The Final Days | 2005 | February 1943 | The ultimate days of Sophie Scholl, a White Rose revolutionary. She actively opposing Nazi Germany until her execution and death. |
| Cross of Iron | 1977 | spring 1943 | Eastern Front |
| Hvidsten Gruppen (This Life) | 2012 | 1943 | the story about the Danish resistance movement Hvidsten Gruppen. |
| The Dam Busters | 1955 | May 1943 | Development of the Upkeep bouncing bomb and its use in Operation Chastise |
| Memphis Belle | 1990 | May 1943 | About the 25th and last mission of the Memphis Belle, an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber flying over Nazi Germany as part Strategic bombing operations. |
| Eye of the Needle | 1981 | 1944 | a German spy in England who discovers vital information about the upcoming D-Day invasion |
| Black Book | 2006 | 1944 | a Dutch-Jewish singer becomes a spy for the resistance in German-occupied Netherlands |
| Flame & Citron | 2008 | 1944 | the story of two Danish resistance movement fighters nicknamed Flame and Citron, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark |
| Red Tails | 2012 | 1944 | Tuskegee Airmen during World War II |
| The Longest Day | 1962 | 6 June 1944 | The Normandy landings, the first stage of the Invasion of Normandy |
| Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | June 1944 | The Normandy landings and their aftermath |
| Windtalkers | 2002 | June–July 1944 | Focuses on Navajo code talkers during the Battle of Saipan |
| Valkyrie | 2008 | July 1944 | Set in Nazi Germany during World War II. It depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. |
| A Bridge Too Far | 1977 | September 1944 | Operation Market Garden |
| Kanal | 1956 | September 1944 | Warsaw uprising |
| When Trumpets Fade | 1998 | September 1944 | The Battle of Hürtgen Forest |
| Saints and Soldiers | 2003 | December 1944 – January 1945 | The Malmedy massacre and its aftermath during the Battle of the Bulge. |
| Battle of the Bulge | 1965 | December 1944 – January 1945 | The Battle of the Bulge. Based on the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of the war in Europe. |
| The Great Raid | 2005 | January 1945 | Liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the island of Luzon, Philippines. The camp was set up during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. |
| Flags of Our Fathers | 2006 | February–March 1945 | the Battle of Iwo Jima from an American perspective. |
| Letters from Iwo Jima | 2006 | February–March 1945 | The Battle of Iwo Jima from a Japanese perspective. |
| The Shadow In My Eye | 2021 | 21 March 1945 | Operation Carthage |
| Grave of the Fireflies | 1988 | March–September 1945 | Japanese sibling struggle to survive toward the end of World War II during the firebombing of Kobe and its aftermath. |
| Fury | 2014 | April 1945 | 2nd Armored Division Tank crewmen during the Western Allied invasion of Germany |
| The Captain | 2017 | April 1945 | German war Criminal Willi Herold assumes command after finding a Nazi uniform. |
| Downfall | 2004 | April–May 1945 | Depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's reign over Nazi Germany and their immediate aftermath. Events take place during the Battle of Berlin. |
| Ashes and Diamonds | 1958 | May 1945 | Polish Home Army soldiers assigned to assassinate a Communist commissar |
| A Royal Night Out | 2015 | May 1945 | The teenaged Princess Elizabeth, with younger sister Princess Margaret, ventures out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the VE Day celebrations. |
| USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage | 2016 | July 1945 | The sinking of the USS Indianapolis. |
| The Good German | 2006 | July–August 1945 | During the Potsdam Conference |
| Nuremberg | 2000 | November 1945 – October 1946 | The first of the Nuremberg trials |
| 42 | 2013 | 1945–47 | Jackie Robinson biopic of MLB playing career |
| The Godfather | 1972 | 1945–1955 | Vito Corleone, the aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty, transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son Michael Corleone. The film is set primarily in New York City, and is based on the novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo. The novel and film fictionalize actual people and events connected to the Five Families. Vito Corleone himself was a composite of real-life organized crime bosses Frank Costello and Carlo Gambino. |
| Judgment at Nuremberg | 1961 | 1947 | The Judges' Trial |
| Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 1988 | 1947 | A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder. |
| The Black Dahlia | 2006 | 1947 | The murder of Elizabeth Short and subsequent investigation. |
| Exodus | 1960 | 1947–1948 | Foundation of Israel |
| Cast a Giant Shadow | 1966 | 1948 | United States Army colonel Mickey Marcus's involvement in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War |
| Roa | 2013 | 1948 | The final days in the life of Juan Roa Sierra, the man who was blamed for the 1948 assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the charismatic liberal candidate for president of the Republic of Colombia his murder provoked the Bogotazo rioting and the imminent beginning of the bloody La Violencia |
| The Pact | 2021 | 1948 | The intense friendship between Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel Out of Africa, and Thorkild Bjørnvig, a young and promising poet. |

## Films set in the atomic era (1950–1999)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | 2013 | 1925–1995 | Nelson Mandela |
| Walk the Line | 2005 | 1944–1968 | Johnny Cash |
| The Notorious Bettie Page | 2005 | 1949–1959 | Bettie Page |
| The Right Stuff | 1983 | 1947–1963 | History of the space race |
| The Shawshank Redemption | 1994 | 1947–1987 | takes place in a state penitentiary set in mid-century New England |
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | 1947–1994 | based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics |
| The Crown | 2016 | 1947–2005 | Follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. |
| American Hot Wax | 1978 | 1950 | Disc jockey Alan Freed's involvement in the emergence of rock and roll |
| Snow Falling on Cedars | 1999 | 1950 | A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael. |
| 71: Into the Fire | 2010 | 1950 | The story of student-soldiers trying to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War |
| Taegukgi | 2004 | 1950–1953 | A drama about the fate of brothers forced to fight in the Korean War |
| Sayonara | 1957 | 1950–1953 | the story of an American Air Force pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer |
| A Funny Man | 2011 | 1950s–1980 | Dirch Passer |
| Rocketman | 2019 | 1950s–1982 | Elton John |
| Hail, Caesar! | 2016 | 1951 | A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line |
| The Queen's Sister | 2005 | 1952–1975 | A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, from 1952 until the mid-1970s |
| The Finest Hours | 2016 | 1952 | The SS Pendleton Coast Guard rescue mission attempt |
| The Motorcycle Diaries | 2004 | 1952–1967 | The life of Che Guevara |
| The Kennedys | 2011 | 1952–1968 | The triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family |
| Good Night, and Good Luck | 2005 | 1953 | The conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations |
| The Front Line | 2011 | 1953 | A drama centered on the Korean War's final battle which will determine the border between North Korea and South Korea |
| The Death of Stalin | 2017 | 1953 | The events that transpired after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 |
| Being the Ricardos | 2021 | 1953 | Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz deal with accusations that Lucille is a communist in Cold War America while preparing to film an episode of I Love Lucy |
| Elvis | 1979 | 1953–1972 | The story follows the life and career of rock and roll icon Elvis Presley |
| The People vs. Larry Flynt | 1996 | 1953–1988 | Biopic about Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine |
| The Quiet American | 2002 | 1954 | The film covers early American covert involvement in Vietnam during the last days of the First Indochina War. It set the stage for the subsequent Vietnam War. |
| Shutter Island | 2010 | 1954 | In Massachusetts, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels investigates the disappearance of murderer Rachel Solando, who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane. The film is set in Boston Harbor, and is based on the novel Shutter Island (2003) by Dennis Lehane. The hospital is loosely based on the Chronic Disease Hospital of Long Island. |
| The Founder | 2016 | 1954 | The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned the innovative fast food eatery of Richard and Maurice McDonald, McDonald's, into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world. Th film depicts Kroc using a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness. |
| The Battle of Algiers | 1966 | 1954–1960 | During the Algerian War |
| Forrest Gump | 1994 | 1954–1981 | The remarkable life story of a kind and brave Alabama man with an IQ of 75. |
| Lumumba | 2000 | 1955–1961 | Path of the first Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo Patrice Lumumba and his killing. The Republic itself was the former Belgian Congo following its independence. |
| Che | 2008 | 1955–1967 | The life and death of Che Guevara |
| Goodfellas | 1990 | 1955–1980 | Biopic about mobster Henry Hill. Hill was an associate of the Lucchese crime family, who later became an informant of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |
| Blow | 2001 | 1955–1994 | Biopic about drug trafficker George Jung |
| The Club | 2021 | 1950–1955 | Multiple depictions that show an anti-Greek sentiment in Turkey, Varlık Vergisi and in the last episode the Istanbul pogrom is depicted. |
| Pains of Autumn | 2009 | September 1955 | Istanbul pogrom against Greek minority. |
| Nasser 56 | 1996 | 1956 | The Suez Crisis from the Egyptian point of view |
| Children of Glory | 2006 | 1956 | Hungarian Revolution of 1956 |
| Great Balls of Fire! | 1989 | 1956–1958 | The early career of Rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Quiz Show | 1994 | 1956–1958 | Twenty-One Quiz show scandals |
| My Week with Marilyn | 2011 | 1956 | The film focuses on the week during the shooting of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl. Marilyn Monroe was escorted around London by Colin Clark, after her husband Arthur Miller had returned to the United States. |
| The Iron Giant | 1999 | 1957 | Animated film; A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy. |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 2008 | 1957 | In 1957, archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. is called back into action. |
| Motherless Brooklyn | 2019 | 1957 | A private investigator struggling with Tourette syndrome works to solve the mystery of his mentor's demise during the 1950s in New York City |
| Bridge of Spies | 2015 | 1957–1961 | 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. |
| The Butler | 2013 | 1957–1986 | Based on the life of White House butler Eugene Allen |
| Loving | 2016 | 1958–1967 | Based on the lives of Mildred and Richard Loving and the events surrounding the landmark court case of Loving v. Virginia. |
| In Cold Blood | 1967 | 1959 | Based on Truman Capote's nonfiction book of the same name about the murdered Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. |
| Black and White | 2002 | 1959 | Biographical film about the Max Stuart case where an Indigenous Australia man was found guilty of murder and the legal fight to have his death sentence commuted. |
| Hollywoodland | 2006 | 1959 | a private detective investigates the circumstances surrounding the death of actor George Reeves |
| Scandal | 1989 | 1959–1963 | Christine Keeler, Stephen Ward and the Profumo affair |
| Respect | 2021 | 1959–1972 | Follows the career of African American singer Aretha Franklin |
| Heaven & Earth | 1993 | 1960–1980 | Vietnam War |
| The Courier | 2020 | 1960–1966 | Greville Wynne |
| The Odd Angry Shot | 1979 | 1960s | Experiences of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. |
| Ruby Bridges | 1998 | 1960 | A young black girl attends a white only school. |
| The German Doctor | 2013 | 1960 | The life of Josef Mengele in Argentina. He was a former Nazi wanted for War crimes. He was a target for Nazi hunters. |
| Gagarin: First in Space | 2013 | 1960–1961 | The Vostok 1 mission, making the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin the first human to cross into outer space. It was the first human spaceflight. |
| City of God | 2002 | 1960–1980 | The growth of organized crime in Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro. |
| Selena | 1997 | 1961; 1981–1995 | Biographic of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. |
| The Eichmann Show | 2015 | 1961 | The behind the scenes of the television broadcast of the Eichmann Trial |
| Experimenter | 2015 | 1961 | Milgram experiment |
| The Siege of Jadotville | 2016 | 1961 | Irish forces battle French and Belgian forces in the Congo |
| Hidden Figures | 2016 | 1961 | The black female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race |
| K-19: The Widowmaker | 2002 | 1961, 1989 | Soviet submarine K-19 nuclear disaster |
| Saving Mr. Banks | 2013 | 1961–1964 | Events surrounding the development of the film Mary Poppins |
| JFK | 1991 | 1961–1966 | The assassination of President of the United States John F. Kennedy and subsequent investigation |
| First Man | 2018 | 1961–1969 | About the life of Neil Armstrong and the decade leading up to the Apollo 11 lunar mission |
| The Sandlot | 1993 | 1962 | Boys playing baseball in Los Angeles fearing a big dog |
| Thirteen Days | 2000 | 1962 | The Cuban Missile Crisis |
| Green Book | 2018 | 1962 | a tour of the Deep South by African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard |
| Dear Comrades! | 2020 | 1962 | Novocherkassk massacre |
| Z | 1969 | 1963 | The assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis |
| A Perfect World | 1993 | 1963 | A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search is headed up by an honorable Texas Ranger. |
| The Help | 2011 | 1963 | Race relations in the Deep South during the Civil Rights Movement |
| Parkland | 2013 | 1963 | Immediate aftermath of the JFK assassination |
| Jackie | 2016 | 1963 | Jacqueline Kennedy in the immediate aftermath of the JFK assassination |
| All the Way | 2016 | 1963–1965 | Lyndon Baines Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. He spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. |
| LBJ | 2016 | 1963–1969 | The story of President of the United States Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House. |
| Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | 1963–1974 | The life of Frank Abagnale, a con artist and famous check forger. |
| Ghosts of Mississippi | 1996 | 1963–1990 | Events surrounding the murder of NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers during the civil rights movement in Mississippi |
| The Kennedys: After Camelot | 2017 | 1963–1994 | Follow-up to the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family. |
| The Theory of Everything | 2014 | 1963–1998 | The life of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. |
| 1965 | 2014 | 1963–1966 | Singapore in Malaysia, 1964 race riots in Singapore (Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation) and National Day of 1965 |
| Mississippi Burning | 1988 | 1964 | The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner |
| The Doors | 1991 | 1964–1971 | Biopic about the 1960s–1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison |
| The Year of Living Dangerously | 1982 | 1965 | Set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno |
| Selma, Lord, Selma | 1999 | 1965 | Bloody Sunday |
| We Were Soldiers | 2002 | 1965 | The Battle of Ia Drang in the Vietnam War |
| An American Crime | 2007 | 1965 | The film tells the story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Indianapolis housewife Gertrude Baniszewski. |
| Selma | 2014 | 1965 | Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama during the civil rights movement |
| Born on the Fourth of July | 1989 | 1965–1968 | Ron Kovic's experiences in the Vietnam War |
| Rescue Dawn | 2006 | 1966 | Story of pilot Dieter Dengler being a POW serving in the Vietnam War. |
| Coming Home | 2014 | 1966–1976 | Cultural Revolution in China. |
| Ultraman Mebius | 2006 | 1966–1981 | Mirai Hinbino, a rejected member of The rookie team Crew GUYS, and transforms into a giant hero Ultraman Mebius |
| Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers | 2006 | 1966–1981 | Mirai Hinbino, a rejected member of the rookie team Crew GUYS, and transforms into a giant hero Ultraman Mebius |
| W. | 2008 | 1966–2003 | The life and presidency of President of the United States George W. Bush |
| Platoon | 1985 | 1967–1968 | Vietnam War |
| Half of a Yellow Sun | 2013 | 1967–1970 | the Nigerian Civil War |
| Detroit | 2017 | 1967 | The 12th Street Riot in Detroit, Michigan |
| Coming Home | 1978 | 1968 | Vietnam War |
| Full Metal Jacket | 1987 | 1968 | Battle of Huế in the Vietnam War |
| Bobby | 2006 | 1968 | The assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy |
| Judy | 2019 | 1968 | American actress and singer Judy Garland performs a series of concerts in London in the last year of her life |
| Rose Island | 2020 | 1968 | Establishment of the Republic of Rose Island off the coast of Rimini |
| The Trial of the Chicago 7 | 2020 | 1968 | Follows the story of the Chicago Seven |
| The Deer Hunter | 1978 | 1968–1975 | Vietnam War |
| The Damned United | 2009 | 1968–1975 | Brian Clough as manager of Derby County and Leeds United |
| American Gangster | 2007 | 1968–1976 | Frank Lucas and his heroin drug trade. |
| Hamburger Hill | 1987 | 1969 | Battle of Hamburger Hill in the Vietnam War |
| Apocalypse Now | 1979 | 1969 | Vietnam War |
| Four Days in September | 1997 | 1969 | Kidnapping of the United States Ambassador to Brazil, Charles Burke Elbrick, by members of 8th October Revolutionary Movement and Ação Libertadora Nacional |
| Chappaquiddick | 2017 | 1969 | Chronicles the untold story of Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident during July 1969. |
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | 2019 | 1969 | follows an actor and his stunt double as they navigate the changing film industry in Los Angeles, set during the time of the Manson murders |
| Judas and the Black Messiah | 2021 | 1969 | The betrayal and assassination of Chicago based Black Panther Fred Hampton |
| Belfast | 2021 | 1969 | A young boy's childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles |
| Secretariat | 2010 | 1969–1973 | Race horse Secretariat. |
| Nixon | 1995 | 1969–1974 | The political life of President of the United States Richard M. Nixon |
| Zodiac | 2007 | 1969–1975 | The Zodiac murders in Northern California |
| Apollo 13 | 1995 | 1970 | Apollo 13 lunar mission |
| Dekada '70 (The 70s) | 2002 | 1970 | Based on the novel of the same name by Lualhati Bautista. The setting is the period of martial law in the Philippines, under the control of President Ferdinand Marcos. |
| We Are Marshall | 2006 | 1970 | It depicts the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people: 37 players of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters, and the airplane crew of five. |
| Inherent Vice | 2014 | 1970 | Based on the novel following detective Doc Sportello. |
| Elvis & Nixon | 2016 | 1970 | The untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of rock and roll, and President Richard Nixon. |
| Misbehaviour | 2020 | 1970 | The disruption of the 1970 Miss World competition in London by the women's liberation movement |
| Roma | 2018 | 1970–1971 | The story of a Mixteco maid living in Mexico City during the Corpus Christi Massacre |
| Milk | 2008 | 1970–1978 | Gay rights activist Harvey Milk |
| Bohemian Rhapsody | 2018 | 1970–1985 | Follows the band Queen from their formation all the way to the Live Aid concert. |
| Diana: Her True Story | 1993 | 1970–1992 | The story of Diana, Princess of Wales, based on the publication of the same name by Andrew Morton. |
| Remember the Titans | 2000 | 1971 | Follows a desegregated high school's football team in 1970s Alexandria, Virginia |
| '71 | 2014 | 1971 | Northern Ireland during The Troubles |
| The Post | 2017 | 1971–1972 | Journalists from The Washington Post and The New York Times who published the Pentagon Papers, regarding the United States' covert political and military involvement during the Vietnam War. |
| The Last King of Scotland | 2006 | 1971–1976 | President of Uganda Idi Amin |
| Whatever Love Means | 2005 | 1971–1981 | About Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Charles, Prince of Wales |
| Pirates of Silicon Valley | 1999 | 1971–1997 | Follows the growth of the personal computer industry through the lives of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs |
| Bloody Sunday | 2002 | 1972 | Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland |
| All the President's Men | 1976 | 1972 | The Nixon-era Watergate scandal |
| Alive | 1993 | 1972 | Crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 |
| Cry Freedom | 1987 | 1972–1978 | Steve Biko and Donald Woods in the apartheid era of South Africa |
| Munich | 2005 | 1972–1979 | Mossad efforts to avenge the Munich massacre, the murder of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics |
| Missing | 1982 | 1973 | The 1973 Chilean coup d'état and the murder of Charles Horman |
| Colonia | 2015 | 1973 | The 1973 Chilean coup d'etat and the Colonia Dignidad |
| Vinyl | 2016 | 1973 | The musical industry in 1973. |
| All the Money in the World | 2017 | 1973 | The kidnapping of John Paul Getty III in July 1973. |
| The Killing Fields | 1984 | 1973–1979 | The Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot |
| Jobs | 2013 | 1974–2001 | Biopic about the career of Steve Jobs |
| West Beirut | 1998 | 1975 | High school students living in Beirut during the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War |
| The Amityville Horror | 2005 | 1975 | A year after the murders of the DeFeo family in Amity, New York another family moves into the house where the murders took place. Soon, it becomes clear that the house is haunted. The film was based on the novel The Amityville Horror (1977) by Jay Anson. The novel was inspired by real-life reports of a haunted house in Amity, and by the house's connection to six murders performed by former resident Ronald DeFeo Jr. in 1974. |
| Balibo | 2009 | 1975 | the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and the Balibo Five |
| Raid on Entebbe | 1977 | 1976 | The July 1976 rescue of passengers from a hijacked plane in Uganda by the IDF |
| Dazed and Confused | 1993 | 1976 | Based on Richard Linklater's life experiences. |
| Invincible | 2006 | 1976–1978 | story of Vince Papale, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976 to 1978 |
| Summer of Sam | 1999 | 1977 | The Son of Sam murders in New York City |
| Frost/Nixon | 2008 | 1977 | the Frost-Nixon interviews |
| Romero | 1989 | 1977–1980 | The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero at the height of the Salvadorian Civil War |
| Boogie Nights | 1997 | 1977–1984 | Golden Age of Porn: The rise and fall of fictional pornographic film actor Dirk Diggler |
| Detroit Rock City | 1999 | 1978 | Four teenagers embark on a roadtrip from Columbus, Ohio, to Detroit, Michigan, to attend a concert by KISS, their favourite band. The film is named after the song Detroit Rock City (1976) and depicts a concert within Cobo Center. |
| Gracie | 2007 | 1978 | Six years after the introduction of Title IX |
| American Hustle | 2013 | 1978 | Abscam operation |
| The Godfather: Part III | 1990 | 1979 | Aging Mafia Don Michael Corleone seeks to avow for his sins, while taking his nephew Vincent Mancini under his wing. The film is loosely based on the sudden death of Pope John Paul I (1978), whose entire term lasted 33 days, and the Banco Ambrosiano scandal (1981–1982). |
| 54 | 1998 | 1979 | The last year of Studio 54 in New York City. |
| Super 8 | 2011 | 1979 | Kids filming a horror movie film something out of this world instead. |
| Escape from Pretoria | 2020 | 1979 | The prison escape of three white South Africans, Tim Jenkins, Stephen Lee and Dennis Goldberg who were imprisoned for anti-Apartheid activism |
| Argo | 2012 | 1979–1980 | A portrayal of the CIA's role in the Canadian Caper. |
| The 9th Company | 2005 | 1979–1989 | Young Soviet Army recruits are stuck in the bloody War in Afghanistan, that was started by politicians. |
| The Iron Lady | 2011 | 1979–1990 | An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband Denis Thatcher, as she struggles to come to terms with his death. Scenes from her past life, from girlhood to her terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, intervene. |
| House of Saddam | 2008 | 1979–2006 | A mini-series that explores the inner workings of President of Iraq Saddam Hussein's family and his relationship with his closest advisers. |
| Walesa: Man of Hope | 2013 | 1980–1989 | Portrayal of Polish labor leader Lech Wałęsa and the Solidarity movement. |
| Miracle | 2004 | 1980 | The United States men's national ice hockey team's gold medal victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics |
| No Country For Old Men | 2007 | 1980 | While hunting in West Texas, Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon several dead men and dogs, and a suitcase full of cash. This makes him the target for psychotic hitman Anton Chigurh, who hunts him down to retrieve the stolen money. The film is based on the novel No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and dramatizes the illegal drug trade across the Mexico–United States border. The character Llewelyn Moss is depicted as a veteran of the Vietnam War. |
| The Falklands Play | 2002 | 1980–1982 | Diplomacy leading up to and during the Falklands War |
| The Reagans | 2003 | 1980–1989 | Legacy and career of Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy Reagan. |
| Charlie Wilson's War | 2007 | 1980–1989 | CIA's covert involvement in the Soviet–Afghan War |
| Oranges and Sunshine | 2010 | 1980s | Based on the book Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys about her investigations in British Home Children. |
| Goodbye Bafana | 2007 | 1980–1990 | Nelson Mandela's imprisonment |
| Scarface | 1983 | 1980–1983 | Ruthless Cuban criminal Tony Montana arrives in Miami, Florida as part of the Mariel boatlift (1980) and builds a drug empire. The film was a remake of Scarface (1932), and dramatizes the war on drugs and the illegal drug trade. |
| Catch a Fire | 2006 | 1980–1994 | Set during the early 1980s concerning the plight of the ANC's military wing in the apartheid-era of South Africa |
| Wonderland | 2003 | 1981 | Wonderland murders |
| Hunger | 2008 | 1981 | 1981 Irish hunger strike (Part of the Cold War and The Troubles) |
| Joker | 2019 | 1981 | Backstory of the character Joker. |
| The Americans | 2013–2018 | 1981–1987 | Spy thriller series detailing the lives of KGB agents posing as Americans during the Cold War. |
| Barry | 2016 | 1981–2009 | A look into the early life of President of the United States Barack Obama. |
| An Ungentlemanly Act | 1992 | 1982 | The first days of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands |
| Tumbledown | 1988 | 1982 | Falklands War (Part of the Cold War and The Troubles) |
| Heartbreak Ridge | 1986 | 1983 | United States invasion of Grenada: A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife, as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude. |
| Halt and Catch Fire | 2014–2017 | 1983–1995 | Set in the years from 1983 to 1995, the series depicts a fictionalized insider's view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. |
| The Hunt for Red October | 1990 | 1984 | Soviet submarine during the late Cold War era |
| White Boy Rick | 2018 | 1984–1987 | Loosely based on the story of Richard Wershe Jr., who in the 1980s became the youngest FBI informant ever at the age of 14. |
| Steve Jobs | 2015 | 1984–1998 | Covers fourteen years of Steve Jobs' computing career |
| The Lives of Others | 2006 | 1984–1993 | In East Berlin, a Stasi agent is assigned to wire-tap a playwright and his lover, who are suspected to be disloyal to the GDR. However, the agent finds himself increasingly absorbed by their lives. |
| Paid in Full | 2002 | 1985 | During the Crack epidemic of the 1980s |
| Climber's High | 2008 | 1985 | Historical drama about Japan Air Lines Flight 123 |
| Shizumanu Taiyō | 2009 | 1985 | Historical drama about Japan Air Lines Flight 123 |
| Dallas Buyers Club | 2013 | 1986 | The story of Ron Woodroof who was diagnosed with AIDS during the AIDS epidemic |
| Chernobyl | 2019 | 1986–1987 | Mini-series depicting the Chernobyl disaster. |
| Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie | 2016 | 1986–2016 | A satirical rendition of Donald Trump's 1987 best selling business book, The Art of the Deal. |
| Foxcatcher | 2014 | 1986–1996 | Wrestling coach John Eleuthère du Pont and Wrestlers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz and the events of Foxcatcher farm in the lead up to, and following, the 1988 Summer Olympics. |
| Straight Outta Compton | 2015 | 1986–1996 | The story behind hip-hop group, N.W.A |
| Hamlet Goes Business | 1987 | 1987 | Based on William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, but the events are housed in a modern Finnish wood processing family business. |
| Endgame | 2009 | 1987–1990 | final days of apartheid in South Africa |
| Polytechnique | 2009 | 1989 | École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal |
| Narcos | 2015 | 1989 | Pablo Escobar rules the Medellín Cartel. |
| Atomic Blonde | 2017 | 1989 | Spy thriller set in the days before, during and after the Fall of the Wall |
| Good Bye, Lenin! | 2003 | 1989–1990 | Fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification |
| Jarhead | 2005 | 1989–1991 | Gulf War |
| The Big Lebowski | 1998 | early 1990s | Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski needs a new rug after being mistaken for another Lebowski |
| Beans | 2020 | 1990 | A young Mohawk girl lives through the Oka Crisis in Quebec |
| Tick, Tick... Boom! | 2021 | 1990 | Adaptation of musical by the same name as well as biopic of its creator Jonathan Larson |
| Joy | 2015 | 1990–1995 | Joy Mangano and the invention of the Miracle Mop |
| Three Kings | 1999 | 1991 | 1991 Iraqi uprisings against Saddam Hussein and aftermath of the Gulf War and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union |
| The Perfect Storm | 2000 | 1991 | 1991 Perfect Storm |
| Spencer | 2021 | 1991 | Princess Diana spends a Christmas with the British royal family at the Queen's Sandringham House |
| Invictus | 2009 | 1991–1995 | Post-apartheid South Africa and the 1995 Rugby World Cup |
| Welcome to Sarajevo | 1997 | 1992 | Bosnian War |
| No Man's Land | 2001 | 1992 | Bosnian War |
| As If I Am Not There | 2010 | 1992 | Bosnian War |
| In the Land of Blood and Honey | 2011 | 1992 | Bosnian War |
| Snowtown | 2011 | 1992–1999 | Snowtown murders |
| Black Hawk Down | 2001 | 1993 | The Battle of Mogadishu, Somali Civil War |
| The Fighter | 2010 | 1993 | About boxer Micky Ward and his family |
| Hotel Rwanda | 2004 | 1994 | Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira and Rwandan genocide |
| Shooting Dogs | 2005 | 1994 | Rwandan genocide |
| Sometimes in April | 2005 | 1994 | Rwandan genocide |
| Shake Hands with the Devil | 2007 | 1994 | Rwandan genocide |
| The Special Relationship | 2010 | 1994–2001 | The United Kingdom–United States Special Relationship between Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton |
| Savior | 1998 | 1995 | During the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia |
| Behind Enemy Lines | 2001 | 1995 | the Mrkonjić Grad incident during the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia |
| Pain & Gain | 2013 | 1995 | Based on the criminal activities of the short-lived Sun Gym gang (1994–1995) of Miami Lakes, Florida, which consisted mostly of bodybuilders. In the film, a trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong. |
| Captain Marvel | 2019 | 1995 | A woman by the name Veers tries to find her identity |
| Diana | 2013 | 1995–1997 | Depicts the last two years of Princess Diana of Wales's life, from her divorce from Prince Charles to her death in 1997 |
| Bernie | 2011 | 1996 | Murder of Marjorie Nugent by Bernie Tiede |
| Everest | 2015 | 1996 | Based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster |
| The Queen | 2006 | 1997 | A fictional account of the immediate events following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales |
| Diana: Last Days of a Princess | 2007 | 1997 | A fairly accurate (albeit semi-fictionalized) account of the last two months in the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, leading up to her death on 31 August 1997. |
| Open Water | 2003 | 1998 | Tom and Eileen Lonergan |
| I'm Not Ashamed | 2016 | 1998–1999 | Based on the writings of Rachel Scott |
| American Sniper | 2014 | 1998–2011 | Based on the 2012 memoir of former US Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle |
| Coach Carter | 2005 | 1999 | Story of high school basketball coach Ken Carter who suspended his team due to poor academic results |
| The Rookie | 2002 | 1999–2000 | The story of Jim Morris, an American baseball player who reached the major leagues at the age of 35 |
| Blood Diamond | 2006 | 1999–2000 | During the Sierra Leone Civil War |
| Alpha Dog | 2006 | 1999–2000 | Based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000 |

## Films set in the information era (after 2000)

| Title | Release date | Time period | Notes on setting |
| Holy Spider | 2022 | 2000–2002 | Iranian serial killer Saeed Hanaei |
| Mary: The Making of a Princess | 2015 | 2000-2004 | the relationship between Mary Donaldson and Prince Frederik |
| World Trade Center | 2006 | 2001 | September 11 attacks |
| United 93 | 2006 | 2001 | September 11 attacks |
| Flight 93 | 2006 | 2001 | September 11 attacks |
| William & Kate: The Movie | 2011 | 2001 | the relationship between Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton (now The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) |
| Diaz - Don't Clean Up This Blood | 2012 | 2001 | The 2001 G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy and the storming of the Armando Diaz school by police |
| Spotlight | 2015 | 2001 | The Boston Globe's investigative story on the Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston and the September 11 attacks |
| Zero Dark Thirty | 2012 | 2001–2012 | The finding and assassination of Osama Bin Laden |
| Moneyball | 2011 | 2002 | Based on Michael Lewis's 2003 nonfiction book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. |
| The Dropout | 2022 | 2002–2017 | Disgraced biotechnology company Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes |
| The Social Network | 2010 | 2003–2007 | The founding of the social networking service-website Facebook |
| 127 Hours | 2010 | April 2003 | The true story about Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who had his arm trapped by a boulder while climbing in an isolated slot canyon in Utah. |
| The Hurt Locker | 2008 | 2004 | the Iraq War, just before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami |
| The Impossible | 2012 | 2004 | The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, from the viewpoint of a tourist family in Thailand |
| Lone Survivor | 2013 | 2005 | Based on the 2007 non-fiction book of the same name about Operation Red Wings by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson |
| The Big Short | 2015 | 2005–2008 | Based on the 2010 book of the same name, about numerous financial experts who predict and proceed to take advantage of the 2008 financial crisis |
| The Fifth Estate | 2013 | 2007–2010 | About Julian Assange and the foundation of his news-leaking site WikiLeaks |
| Too Big to Fail | 2011 | 2008 | The 2008 financial crisis |
| Million Dollar Arm | 2014 | 2008 | the story of Indian baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel |
| Captain Phillips | 2013 | 2009 | Kidnapping of merchant mariner Richard Phillips by Somalian pirates |
| Sully | 2016 | 2009 | the story of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and the aftermath of US Airways Flight 1549 |
| Deepwater Horizon | 2016 | 2010 | Deepwater Horizon explosion |
| 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi | 2016 | 2012 | 2012 Benghazi attack: During an attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos. |
| Uncut Gems | 2019 | 2012 | Kevin Garnett's performance in the 2012 NBA Eastern Conference Semi-finals |
| Patriots Day | 2016 | 2013 | The Boston Marathon bombing. |
| Daniel | 2019 | 2013–2014 | the experiences of Daniel Rye who was held hostage by ISIS for 13 months |
| The Correspondent | 2024 | 2014–2015 | The detainment of Al Jazeera journalists in Cairo, Egypt and the efforts to extradite Australian Peter Greste |
| Operation Red Sea | 2018 | 2015 | The People's Liberation Army Navy entered the Yemeni Civil War and the International military intervention against ISIL. |
| Zola | 2021 | 2015 | Based on a viral Twitter thread about a part-time stripper who is convinced to travel to Tampa by her new friend for a gig. |
| Brexit: The Uncivil War | 2019 | 2015–2016 | The lead up to the 2016 Brexit referendum from the perspective of strategists in the Vote Leave campaign |