Top Ranked History and Bio Films on the Net

Biopics
Film biographies that either tell the person’s entire life, such as The Last Emperor, or the most important years, like Lawrence of Arabia, Raging Bull, and Reds.

1. Raging Bull [Scorsese, Martin, 1980] #24 - US
2. Goodfellas [Scorsese, Martin, 1990] #31 - US
3. Lawrence of Arabia [Lean, David, 1962] #50 - UK
4. Spartacus [Kubrick, Stanley, 1960] #178 - US
5. Elephant Man, The [Lynch, David, 1980] #194 - US
6. Pianist, The [Polanski, Roman, 2002] #200 - Fr-Gy-UK-Poland
7. Patton [Shaffner, Frank, 1970] #203 - US
8. Napoléon [Gance, Abel, 1927] #232 - France
9. Gandhi [Attenborough, Richard, 1982] #286 - UK
10. Alexander Nevsky [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1938] #374 - USSR
11. Reds [Beatty, Warren, 1981] #429 - US
12. Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The [Schnabel, Julian, 2008] #443 - France-US
13. Downfall [Hirschbiegel, Oliver, 2004] #484 - Germany
14. Braveheart [Gibson, Mel, 1995] #508 - US
15. Shine [Hicks, Scott, 1996] #574 - Australia
16. Crumb [Zwigoff, Terry, 1994] #610 - US
17. Topsy-Turvy [Leigh, Mike, 1999] #662 - UK
18. Man on Wire [Marsh, James, 2008] #712 - UK-US
19. A Man for All Seasons [Zinnemann, Fred, 1966] #715 - UK
20. Ed Wood [Burton, Tim, 1994] #724 - US
21. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino, 1972] #750 - France-Germany-Italy
22. Hôtel Terminus [Ophüls, Marcel, 1988] #760 - US
23. Puppetmaster, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1993] #818 - Taiwan
24. Seraphine [Provost, Martin, 2008] #896 - France-Belg
25. Before Night Falls [Schnabel, Julian, 2000] #949 - US
26. The Last Emperor [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1987] #1056 - UK-Italy-China-France
27. 24 Hour Party People [Winterbottom, Michael, 2002] #1063 - US
28. Life of Emile Zola [Dieterle, William, 1937] #1096 - US
29. Childhood of Maxim Gorky, The [Donskoi, Mark, 1938] #1123 - Russia
30. The Killing Fields [Joffé, Roland, 1984] #1141 - US
31. Wings of Eagles, The [Ford, John, 1957] #1174 - US
32. My Apprenticeship (Gorky Trilogy II) [Donskoi, Mark, 1939] #1176 - USSR
33. Sheltering Sky, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1990] #1265 - UK-Italy
34. Testament of Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean, 1960] #1277 - France

History
Films about a historical event, such as Battleship Potemkin, era, or culture, such as Barry Lyndon. This includes biopics of people important in history, such as T.E. Lawrence, or George S. Patton. We also included films about events that were based on eyewitness accounts so they are believed to be accurate, like A Man Escaped and United 93.

1. Lawrence of Arabia [Lean, David, 1962] #50 - UK
2. Passion of Joan of Arc, The [Dreyer, Carl Theodor, 1928] #51 - France
3. Intolerance [Griffith, D.W., 1916] #64 - US
4. Battleship Potemkin [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1925] #100 - France
5. Barry Lyndon [Kubrick, Stanley, 1975] #101 - UK
6. The Battle of Algiers [Pontecorvo, Gillo, 1966] #132 - Italy-Algiers
7. A Man Escaped [Bresson, Robert, 1956] #151 - France
8. Spartacus [Kubrick, Stanley, 1960] #178 - US
9. The Pianist [Polanski, Roman, 2002] #200 - Fr-Gy-UK-Poland
10. Patton [Shaffner, Frank, 1970] #203 - US 11. October [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1927] #222 - USSR
12. Napoléon [Gance, Abel, 1927] #232 - France
13. Andrei Rublev [Tarkovsky, Andrei, 1966] #282 - Russia
14. Gandhi [Attenborough, Richard, 1982] #286 - UK
15. Letters from Iwo Jima [Eastwood, Clint, 2006] #339 - US
16. Ivan the Terrible, Part One [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1944] #357 - Russia
17. Alexander Nevsky [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1938] #374 - USSR
18. Tree of Wooden Clogs, The [Olmi, Ermanno, 1978] #404 - Italy
19. Henry V [Olivier, Laurence, 1944] #409 - UK
20. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two [Eisenstein, Sergei, 1946] #416 - USSR
21. All the President's Men [Pakula, Alan J., 1972] #432 - US
22. Downfall [Hirschbiegel, Oliver, 2004] #484 - Germany
23. Salvatore Giuliano [Rosi, Francesco, 1961] #495 - Italy
24. Scarlet Empress, The [von Sternberg, Josef, 1934] #504 - US
25. A City of Sadness [Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1989] #510 - Taiwan
26. Don't Look Back [Pennebaker, D.A., 1967] #545 - US
27. The Right Stuff [Kaufman, Philip, 1983] #549 - US
28. Judgment at Nuremberg [Kramer, Stanley, 1961] #582 - US
29. Young Mr. Lincoln [Ford, John, 1939] #653 - US
30. Bloody Sunday [Greengrass, Paul, 2002] #658 - US
31. United 93 [Greengrass, Paul, 2006] #687 - US
32. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou, 2004] #711 - China
33. A Man for All Seasons [Zinnemann, Fred, 1966] #715 - UK
34. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino, 1972] #750 - France-Germany-Italy
35. Storm Over Asia [Pudovkin, Vsevolod, 1928] #754 - Russia
36. Overlord [Cooper, Stuart, 1975] #764 - UK
37. Glory [Zwick, Edward, 1989] #788 - US
38. Heimat (Homeland) [Reitz, Edgar, 1984] #824 - Germany
39. Princess Yang Kwei Fei (Yokihi) [Mizoguchi, Kenji, 1955] #829 - Japan-Hong Kong
40. Mother (Mat) [Pudovkin, Vsevolod, 1926] #856 - USSR
41. Seraphine [Provost, Martin, 2008] #896 - France-Belg
42. Z [Costa-Gavras, Constantin, 1969] #903 - France
43. Carnival in Flanders [Feyder, Jacques, 1935] #970 - France
44. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The [Butler, George, 2000] #971 - Sw-UK-Gy-US
45. Festival Express [Smeaton & Cvitanovich, 2003] #987 - UK-Neth
46. The Last Emperor [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1987] #1056 - UK-Italy-China-France
47. Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience [Howard, Ron, 1995] #1057 - US
48. The Marquise of O [Rohmer, Eric, 1976] #1085 - France
49. In the Shadow of the Moon [Sington, David, 2007] #1094 - US
50. Mutiny on the Bounty [Lloyd, Frank, 1935] #1116 - US
51. The Killing Fields [Joffé, Roland, 1984] #1141 - US
52. Samson and Delilah [DeMille, Cecil B., 1949] #1210 - US
53. Simon of the Desert [Buñuel, Luis, 1965] #1217 - Mexico
54. Good Night, and Good Luck. [Clooney, George, 2005] #1231 - US
55. Woodstock [Wadleigh, Michael, 1970] #1233 - US
56. Cyrano de Bergerac [Rappeneau, Jean-Paul, 1990] #1242 - France
57. Queen Christina [Mamoulian, Rouben, 1933] #1269 - US

Docudrama
True events were the basis for a drama, which may or may not have remained accurate, such as French Connection or Scarface, or which we know to have been a fiction based real events, such as Amadeus or The Queen, or even based on theory (JFK, Missing).

1. Amadeus [Forman, Milos, 1984] #63 - US
2. Dog Day Afternoon [Lumet, Sidney, 1975] #175 - US
3. Close-Up [Kiarostami, Abbas, 1990] #190 - Iran
4. Million Dollar Baby [Eastwood, Clint, 2004] #265 - US
5. Badlands [Malick, Terrence, 1973] #271 - US
6. Rise to Power of Louis XIV, The [Rossellini, Roberto, 1966] #279 - France
7. Scarface [Hawks, Howard, 1932] #440 - US
8. The French Connection [Friedkin, William, 1971] #441 - US
9. Queen, The [Frears, Stephen, 2006] #481 - UK-Fr-Italy
10. Braveheart [Gibson, Mel, 1995] #508 - US
11. Hotel Rwanda [George, Terry, 2004] #514 - US
12. The Right Stuff [Kaufman, Philip, 1983] #549 - US
13. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser [Herzog, Werner, 1974] #572 - West Germany
14. Into the Wild [Penn, Sean, 2007] #588 - US
15. Class, The [Cantet, Laurent, 2008] #597 - France
16. Waltz with Bashir [Folman, Ari, 2008] #633 - Israel
17. Devils, The (of Loudun) [Russell, Ken, 1971] #685 - UK
18. JFK [Stone, Oliver, 1991] #690 - US
19. Changeling [Eastwood, Clint, 2008] #739 - US
20. Capote [Miller, Bennett, 2005] #761 - Canada-Us
21. Quiz Show [Redford, Robert, 1994] #811 - US
22. Boys Don't Cry [Pierce, Kimberly, 1999] #877 - US
23. Chariots of Fire [Hudson, Hugh, 1981] #928 - UK
24. Thin Blue Line, The [Morris, Errol, 1988] #979 - US
25. Forbidden Lie$ [Broinowski, Anna, 2007] #1031 - Australia
26. My Winnipeg [Maddin, Guy, 2007] #1098 - Canada
27. Missing [Costa-Gavras, Constantin, 1982] #1099 - US
28. Insider [Mann, Michael, 1999] #1104 - US
29. Louisiana Story [Flaherty, Robert, 1948] #1230 - US