The Best Movies Based On History Novels

Updated January 11, 2021 1.2k votes 109 voters 5.7k views60 items

List RulesVote up your favorite movies based on or inspired by historical literature.

From the Trojan War to the Civil Rights Movement, film adaptations of historical novels combine fact and fiction. The best movies based on history books feature real life events. Many films based on historical novels feature political figures while other good history movies that are books feature fictional characters living in historic times. Some of the best history films based off books have even won Academy Awards.

What historic novels adapted into movies will you find on this list. Forrest Gump has to be near the top. Based on Winston Groom's book of the same name, Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks as the title character who finds himself at several historic events. The March on the Pentagon, The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, and the Vietnam War are just a few of the noteworthy events featured in the film. Dances with Wolves is another good movie based on a historical novel.

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas star in The English Patient, based on Michael Ondaatje's novel. Other good movies based on historical books include Enemy at the Gates, Spartacus, The Scarlet Letter, and Troy.

Which movie based on a historical novel is the best? Give your favorites a vote and and please add any great new films we may have missed.

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Forrest Gump
Tom Hanks, Sally Field
Released: 1994
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
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Gone with the Wind
Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh
Released: 1939
Directed by: Sam Wood, George Cukor, Victor Fleming
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Schindler's List
Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
Released: 1993
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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The Help
Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain
Released: 2011
Directed by: Tate Taylor
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Spartacus
Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier
Released: 1960
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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The Godfather
Al Pacino, Marlon Brando
Released: 1972
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
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Dances with Wolves
Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell
Released: 1990
Directed by: Kevin Costner
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The Last of the Mohicans
Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe
Released: 1992
Directed by: Michael Mann
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The Sound of Music
Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Released: 1965
Directed by: Robert Wise
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Hidden Figures
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer
Released: 2016
Directed by: Theodore Melfi
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Glory
Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington
Released: 1989
Directed by: Edward Zwick
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Demi Moore, Kevin Kline
Released: 1996
Directed by: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
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The Three Musketeers
Charlie Sheen, Tim Curry
Released: 1993
Directed by: Stephen Herek
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The Pianist
Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann
Released: 2002
Directed by: Roman Polanski
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Troy
Brad Pitt, Eric Bana
Released: 2004
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
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True Grit
Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon
Released: 2010
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
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Shutter Island
Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Williams
Released: 2010
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
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Downfall
Alexandra Lara, Bruno Ganz
Released: 2004
Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel
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Enemy at the Gates
Rachel Weisz, Jude Law
Released: 2001
Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
Released: 2003
Directed by: Peter Weir
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The Grapes of Wrath
Henry Fonda, John Carradine
Released: 1940
Directed by: John Ford
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The Physician
Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgård
Released: 2013
Directed by: Philipp Stölzl
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Cold Mountain
Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman
Released: 2003
Directed by: Anthony Minghella
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The English Patient
Willem Dafoe, Ralph Fiennes
Released: 1996
Directed by: Anthony Minghella
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L.A. Confidential
Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe
Released: 1997
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
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