Best Non-Fiction Movies about American History

[super6]

A friend of mine is taking a film class and is majoring in American History. She has to come up with 10 films on a given subject (she choose the subject she intends to teach with the hopes of showing them in class one day) and then write about how they're related.
She needs help coming up with movies based on true events in American History where a person choose to change history, ie; La Amistad. Any recommendations?

[heyseuss]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&ei=KACESeHsLanYqAPQvqH2Cg&q=america+freedom+to+fascism&hl=en

[owlboy]

Glory

[cucumberboy]

Well The Patriot is pretty bad. John Adams was great but that's a mini-series so perhaps that doesn't cut it. I quite enjoyed Cold Mountain, and Gone With the Wind is a classic. A lot of westerns are more-or less grounded in history and there are also a few movies about life in the United States during WW2, like Come See the Paradise which is about the japanese-american internment camps. Forrest Gump has a lot of American history. At the moment I can't think of one about the colonisation of north america, but I'm sure there are plenty. The Color Purple is also brilliant. Hope that helps.

[esophagus]

Ever Since The World Ended (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283337/)
:cool:

[damnedeyez]

I rather liked Day One...but I'm not sure that'd count as a person choosing to change history.

Not sure if that counts as American History or World History, either.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097159/

Edit: ok, so it's on DVD now...nevermind.

[tokenuser]

Ever Since The World Ended (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283337/)
:cool:If yo are going the fiction route, then you could also add CSA (http://www.csathemovie.com/) - the "what if the south won the civil war" movie.

[crassius]

Inherit the Wind
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
All the President's Men

[rabidbadger]

when I think "non-fiction movie" I think "documentary" But it seems you mean "movies based on real events"

So with that definition my favorites are
Little Big Man. (The eradication of Native Americans, Custer/Little Big Horn. I cry everytime I hear the fifes start up in that movie.

Bonnie and Clyde. The Characters are a bit "hollywood" but it really captures the desperation of the Depression.

Paper Moon also captures the thirties well, but it's not historical.

The Grapes of Wrath is a classic about that era, too.

Glory is my fave Civil War movie.

[masherscf]

I recommend, "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara

[murphy1d]

Apollo 13
although this says otherwise. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112384/goofs)

[tokenuser]

Glory - seconded. Great movie. I'd also add in the "North and South" Miniseries from the 80's, and if we ARE including miniseries, add in Roots.
Gangs of New York - loosely based in historical fact, but it tells the story of the time beautifully.
Malcolm X - obvious.
Citizen Kane - just remember that it was a fictionalized account of the life of William Randolph Hearst, and the story takes on a much greater meaning.
The Aviator - Howard Hughes might have been a recluse for much of his life, but he was a great industrialist.

And lets not forget Big Trouble in Little China and Ghostbusters/Ghostbuster II ... what? You thought they were works of fiction?? Thats what the government wants you to think. Without the efforts of Jack Burton on the west coast, and Drs. Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, and Peter Venkman on the east coast there would be an epidemic of paranormal phenomena that would make Sunnydale look like a remake of High School Musical.

[rabidbadger]

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071175/) (TV movie)

[royterp]

If I had to pick ten good historical films off the top of my head (and with a little help from teh interwebz), they would be:


Glory
The Grapes of Wrath
The Longest Day
Patton
Gandhi
Platoon
All the President's Men
The Diary of Anne Frank
Judgment at Nuremberg
A Man for All Seasons


Two of my all-time favorite movies are Braveheart and Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, and I would include them if actual history is less of a concern ;)

[royterp]

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071175/) (TV movie)

Oh, good call. And as long as we're including TV movies, might I suggest Gore Vidal's Lincoln with Sam Waterston and Mary Tyler Moore.

[masherscf]

I recommend, "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara

Sorry, I guess the name of the movie is "Gettysburg." My bad.

[yssman]

Hmmm, in terms of historical things, I'm normally a book kind of guy...

The John Adams miniseries was supposed to be pretty good this past year, capturing the colonial and revolutionary years.

I personally think Band of Brothers is in some ways the best semi-non-fiction piece of American history, obviously focusing mostly on WWII.

===

But, overall, I'm a Ken Burns fan when it comes to historical things. His latest project, "The War" was amazing.