Entertainment
The Best American Revolution Movies
List Rules
Vote up your favorite movies that take place during the American Revolution.
Here is a list of the best movies ever made about the American Revolution. These films all depict the events of the Revolutionary War, or events surrounding it. (For example, "Drums Along the Mohawk" is set during Revolutionary times, but focuses on the adventures of one family experiencing these events. "The Patriot" takes a similar tack, but eventually features more of the actual Revolutionary War battles.) Some of these Revolutionary war movies are based on classic literature about the Revolution, such as "Johnny Tremain" and contain imagery familiar from classic American Revolution paintings.
Because this is an open list, you can add any American Revolution films that may be missing. (But, please, only the best Revolutionay war movies!) The order of the films is also determined by Ranker Community votes, so be sure to pick your favorites! And if you want a more thorough collection of films, see Ranker's complete guide to Movies Involving the American Revolution.Â
What are the best Revolutionary War movies? There are some great movies made about the American Revolution so take a look and decide for yourself what's the best.
Ranked by
- 1Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Tom Hooper
Founding father guides America. - 2Jeff Daniels, Roger Rees, Sebastian Roché
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Robert Harmon
The Crossing is a 2000 historical TV film about George Washington crossing the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton, directed by Robert Harmon. Based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast, ...more - 3Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Mel Gibson portrays Benjamin Martin, an unassuming man who is forced to join the American Revolution when the British threaten to take his farm away from him. Together with his patriotic son, ...more - 4Hal Stalmaster, Luana Patten, Jeff York
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: Robert Stevenson
An apprentice silversmith (Hal Stalmaster) is there at the Boston Tea Party and other highpoints of the Revolution. - 5Claude Rains, Gale Sondergaard
- Released: 1939
- Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Sons of Liberty is a 1939 American short drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, which tells the story of Haym Solomon. It won an Academy Award in 1940 for Best Short Subject. - 6Barry Bostwick, Patty Duke, Jaclyn Smith
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Buzz Kulik
George Washington is a 1984 television miniseries directed by Buzz Kulik. The miniseries, released in three parts, chronicles the life of George Washington, the 1st President of the United States, ...more - 7Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, John Carradine
- Released: 1939
- Directed by: John Ford
The year is 1776, and newlyweds Gilbert (Henry Fonda) and Lana Martin (Claudette Colbert) have decided to take up a rural lifestyle. However, following the onset of the American Revolutionary War, ...more - 8Richard Basehart, Harry Andrews, Simon Ward
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Fielder Cook
Winter at Valley Forge, Pa., is proving brutal for George Washington (Richard Basehart) and his beleaguered, starving troops. Even worse, the American economy is at a standstill owing to the war, and ...more - 9William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
- Released: 1972
- Directed by: Peter H. Hunt
The nation's fathers harmonize their way through the founding of America in this musical adapted from a popular Broadway show. Colonial representatives gather in Philadelphia with the aim of ...more - 10Marcia Cross, Daniel Davis
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: William A. Graham
George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation is a 1986 film directed by William A. Graham. - 11Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Urich, Chad Lowe
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Delbert Mann
This adaptation of the classic novel by Howard Feast takes place at the dawn of the American Revolution. Superstitious teenager Adam Cooper (Chad Lowe) struggles to gain the approval of his ...more - 12Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Peter Cushing
- Released: 1959
- Directed by: John Farrow
John Paul Jones is a Technicolor 1959 biographical epic film about John Paul Jones. The film was made by Samuel Bronston Productions and released by Warner Bros. It was directed by John Farrow and ...more - 13Andrew Cheney, John Rhys-Davies, Kara Killmer
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Chad Burns
Beyond the Mask is a 2015 American historical action-adventure film directed by Chad Burns. An ex-mercenary during the American Revolution attempts to redeem himself from a life of murder by becoming ...more - 14Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Cedric Hardwicke
- Released: 1940
- Directed by: Frank Lloyd
When his impoverished past is uncovered, Matt Howard (Cary Grant) is promptly fired by the Peytons, a wealthy family in Williamsburg during the Revolutionary War era. Undeterred, Matt returns to ...more - 15Shailene Woodley, John Schneider, Marcia Gay Harden
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Nadia Tass
Young, assertive Felicity Merriman (Shailene Woodley) lives with her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) and father (John Schneider) in colonial Virginia, where the movement toward breaking away from British ...more - 16Craig Wasson, Roderick Cook, Richard Dutcher
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Peter N. Johnson
A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation is a 1989 American feature film dramatizing the events of the Constitutional Convention. The film was produced by Brigham Young University to ...more - 17Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, Anne Francis
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: John Sturges
During the Revolutionary War, American General Benedict Arnold (Robert Douglas) conspires to abandon his defenses at West Point to the British for a large cash payout. Maj. John Boulton (Cornel ...more - 18Al Pacino, Annie Lennox, Donald Sutherland
- Released: 1985
- Directed by: Hugh Hudson
Revolution is a 1985 British historical drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Robert Dillon, and starring Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, and Nastassja Kinski. The film stars Pacino as a New ...more - 19Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins, Pascale Audret
- Released: 1961
- Directed by: Jean Dréville
La Fayette is a 1961 French-Italian biographical film directed by Jean Dréville and starring Pascale Audret, Jack Hawkins and Orson Welles. The film depicts the life of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de ...more - 20Robert Hy Gorman, Bettina Beard, Richard Bryant
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Chris Weatherhead
All for Liberty is a 2009 war drama film directed by Chris Weatherhead. A Swiss-German colonist in the British colony of South Carolina is urged by his new patriot governor to write Articles of ...more - 21Francis Lederer, Joan Bennett, Charlie Ruggles
- Released: 1934
- Directed by: Alexander Hall
Max (Francis Lederer) is a German violinist who is drafted to fight as a Hessian alongside the British during the American Revolution. But once he is in America, Max becomes impressed with the ...more - 22Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom
- Released: 2020
- Directed by: Thomas Kail
The original Broadway production of the award-winning musical that tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, blending hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway styles, filmed from ...more
