1. "Gettysburg" (1993)
So you think the Civil War is all muskets and beards? Think again! "Gettysburg" delves deep into the three-day battle that changed America. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain are front and center.
The film's longest sequence is Pickett's Charge, where Confederate soldiers make a desperate, and ultimately failed, frontal attack. Four hours long but packed with human drama—worth every minute.
2. "Ride with the Devil" (1999)
Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich play buddies who join a group of Southern bushwhackers to fight Union Jayhawkers in this Civil War drama. They face ambushes, betrayals, and harsh winters. Ulrich falls in love, Maguire befriends a freed slave, and together they navigate the messy reality of war.
3. "The Madness of King George" (1994)
British history alert! King George III, brilliantly played by Nigel Hawthorne, is going bonkers. Is it porphyria? Is it mental illness? Who knows? What's sure is the guy's losing it, and it shakes the whole court. His son, the Prince of Wales, wants to usurp him. The king's equanimity only returns when he accepts the treatment of an unconventional doctor.
4. "Before the Rain" (1994)
Let's talk about a region not usually highlighted: the Balkans. In a time of ethnic strife, a young monk hides an Albanian girl in his cell to protect her from an avenging mob. In another storyline, a London photo editor rekindles an old love affair with a Macedonian. All of it culminates in violence that seems tragically inevitable.
A sobering take on the Yugoslav Wars and the human cost behind the headlines.
5. "Michael Collins" (1996)
If you dig Irish history, this is your jam. Michael Collins, played by Liam Neeson, is the strategist behind the Irish resistance against British rule. Using guerrilla warfare and savvy public relations, he's like the 1920s version of a viral sensation. Tragically, his own friend Éamon de Valera betrays him, leading to Collins' assassination.
6. "Topsy-Turvy" (1999)
Anyone else feel like musical theater and historical drama is a match made in heaven? No? Just me?
Either way, "Topsy-Turvy" focuses on the creation of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "The Mikado." Gilbert and Sullivan hit a creative dry spell and struggle to come up with a hit. Sullivan even wants to quit! It's only when Gilbert's wife drags him to a Japanese exhibition that he gets inspired to pen what becomes a major hit.
7. "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993)
Wes Studi plays Geronimo, the Apache leader who resists American forces trying to take Apache lands. Jason Patric and Robert Duvall are the army scouts tasked with capturing him.
There are chases through deserts and betrayals by other Native American scouts. In the end, Geronimo surrenders but remains an indomitable spirit.
8. "La Cérémonie" (1995)
Alright, time to take a trip to France—but not to the glitz and glamor of Paris. Nope, this is a small town where Sophie, a maid, forms an unlikely friendship with Jeanne, a postal worker. Sophie is illiterate and hides it, while Jeanne despises the bourgeoisie family Sophie works for. Their friendship culminates in a violent act against the employers.
9. "The Crucible" (1996)
Yeah, yeah, we all read it in high school. But have you seen the movie? Daniel Day-Lewis plays John Proctor, the doomed protagonist. Winona Ryder is the vengeful Abigail Williams.
This film adaptation of Arthur Miller's play takes us to 1690s Salem where witchcraft accusations spiral out of control. Proctor, in an effort to save his wife from execution, admits to adultery, but refuses to tarnish his name by confessing to witchcraft. Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well for him.
10. "Shadowlands" (1993)
Ever wonder about the guy who wrote "Narnia"? This film explores the emotional life of C.S. Lewis, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. Lewis is an Oxford academic who's all brains and no heart, until he meets American poet Joy Gresham (Debra Winger). She's dying of cancer, and they marry so she can stay in England.
Initially a marriage of convenience, Lewis actually falls deeply in love just as Joy's health deteriorates.