# War movies about lesser known conflicts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528 "2016-07-10T03:45:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/21 "2016-07-10T07:02:57Z")
Speaking of Charlton Heston, the Cid biopic. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/22 "2016-07-10T07:04:22Z")
[The Buccaneer,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buccaneer_(1938_film)) about the pirate Jean Lafitte, is about the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. _War and Peace_ and _The Duelists_ are set during the Napoleonic Wars. The various versions of _Joan of Arc_ are set during the Hundred Years War. _El Cid_ is about the reconquest of Spain from the Moors. _The Charge of the Light Brigade_ is set during the Crimean War. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/23 "2016-07-10T07:05:26Z")
Dammit birdie, stop following me! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/24 "2016-07-10T07:14:08Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Yeah, but it’s not _about_ the Crusades - _Kingdom of Heaven_ is. [The Crusades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crusades_(film)) (1932), directed by Cecil B. DeMille.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/25 "2016-07-10T07:21:02Z")
_Battleship Potemkin_, _Dr. Zhivago_, and _Reds_ are set during the Russian Revolution. _Michael Collins_ and _Ryan’s Daughter_ are set during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War. _Exodus_ is set during the first Arab-Israeli War. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/26 "2016-07-10T07:46:15Z")
> **[Category:Crusades films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Crusades_films)** > > Films about the Crusades (1095-1291). > This category has only the following subcategory. > The following 20 pages are in this category, out of 20 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. A Arn – The Kingdom at Road’s End Arn – The Knight Templar B Brancaleone at the Crusades (an Italian comedy) C The Crusaders (2001 film) The Crusades (film) (the one Colibri mentioned) K King Richard and the Crusaders (1958 film based on a Walter Scott story “The Talisman”) Kingdom of Heaven (film) (the Ridley Scott film) L Lionheart (1987 film) (supposedly based on the Children’s Crusade) M The Mighty Crusaders (film) (another Italian film) O The Order (2001 film) (really a Jean Claude van Damme flick, but with the Templars as the backstory) R Robin Hood: Men in Tights Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Rytsarskiy roman (a Russian film based on the Walter Scott story “Robert, the Count of Paris”) S Saladin the Victorious (a 1963 Egyptian film) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/27 "2016-07-10T07:46:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > While we’re on **Caine** , try _Cromwell_. English Civil war and all that. Alec Guinness is excellent as Charles 1. Surely you mean **Richard Harris**? :dubious: > **[Cromwell (1970) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065593/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast)** > > Cromwell (1970) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/28 "2016-07-10T07:55:13Z")
No one’s mentioned the Soviet version of _ **War and Peace** _, set during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia? :dubious: I highly recommend this one, though be prepared to invest seven hours of your life watching it. If you can understand Russian, watch the original rather than the dubbed version. * * * Waterloo\*\*\*, by the same director (but in English), tells the story of Napoleon’s final defeat. Stars Christopher Plummer as Wellington and Rod Steiger as Bonaparte. Superb! **EDIT:** Apologies to Colibri for _ **War and Peace** _. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/29 "2016-07-10T08:03:18Z")
_ **Roger’s Rangers** _, set during the French and Indian (Seven Years’) War. Stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Young. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/30 "2016-07-10T08:20:01Z")
Has there never been a feature film about Wolfe and Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham? I’ve seen lots of documentaries, but know of no dramatized version. If you read the accounts of the full campaign (in, e.g., Keegan’s book _ **Fields of Battle: The Wars for North America** _), you can see it would make a fantastic movie! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/31 "2016-07-10T09:20:09Z")
A couple of weird ones: _1812_, also known as _The Chronicle of 1812_, also known as _The King’s Regiment_, a TV movie about the War of 1812, from the Canadian point of view. > **[1812 (1984)](https://letterboxd.com/film/1812-1984/)** > > The Chronicle of 1812 > **[The Chronicle of 1812 (TV Movie 1984) ⭐ 3.0 | History](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207283/)** > > The Chronicle of 1812: Directed by Allan Levine. With Craig Williams, Geoff Smither, Kevin May, Peter Hurley. A ragtag group of British Grenadiers stationed in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 are recruited to escort a Spanish dignitary to safety... My favorite review: > [@](#): > > God bless Emmeritus for attempting to realize an historical epic on a local car dealership commercial’s budget. Really cool music, actually. The 1936 version of _The Charge of the Light Brigade_, starring Errol Flynn. Flynn’s character is complete fiction. His regiment, the “27th Lancers”, did not exist in the 19th Century. The first half of the movie is a fairly good (for Hollywood, anyway) depiction of the Siege of Cawnpore in the Sepoy Rebellion in India. However, when someone pointed out that the Cawnpore massacre actually took place 3 years after the Crimean War, the filmmakers quickly changed the name of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/32 "2016-07-10T09:37:49Z")
[No Man’s Land](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Land_(2001_film)) (2001) is set in the Bosnian war. Good film, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/33 "2016-07-10T09:56:09Z")
_ **King of the Khyber Rifles** _, starring Tyrone Power, is set during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/34 "2016-07-10T10:16:11Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **King of the Khyber Rifles** _, starring Tyrone Power, is set during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. I’ll have to check that one out! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/35 "2016-07-10T11:39:10Z")
**Khartoum** is about the Mahdist Revolt in 1883. _3 Kings_ is set in the Gulf War. Though it’s well-known to us now, in fifty years, the war will be as almost as overlooked as the film is today. _Black and White in Color_ is set in West Africa in WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/36 "2016-07-10T11:57:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Roger’s Rangers** _, set during the French and Indian (Seven Years’) War. Stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Young. The film is also known as “Northwest Passage” since it is based on a Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name. The sequel for the second half, which has them goes off to try to find the Northwest Passage (final scene in the movie) was never made. Not really a war but the “Heaven’s Gate” fiasco was based on something known as the Johnson County War in Wyoming between 1889 and 1893 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/37 "2016-07-10T12:03:09Z")
“Spartacus” set in the Third Servile War. There was a TNT miniseries in 2003 “Julius Caesar” that includes Caesar’s victory at Alesia during his conquest of Gaul ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/38 "2016-07-10T12:32:40Z")
_ **Dark of the Sun** _ (aka _ **The Mercenaries** _) is set during the Simba Rebellion in the Congo, 1964–65. Stars Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/39 "2016-07-10T12:38:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > _Michael Collins_ and _Ryan’s Daughter_ are set during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War. So is _ **Shake Hands with the Devil** _, starring Jimmy Cagney. This is the film that really got me interested in modern (as opposed to ancient or mediaeval) Irish history. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528/40 "2016-07-10T12:42:19Z")
_Under Fire_ (1983) is set during the '79 Nicaraguan revolution. _The Beast of War_ (1988) takes place during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-movies-about-lesser-known-conflicts/759528.md?page=3)