Buzzworthy Suggestions for Historical and Pseudo-Historical Films

Historical films include all films that cover a historical person, event, or recognizable era. Some historical film may cover the true story of an historical figure, like Lincoln (2012). Others may use historical figures in a fictionalized story, like Shakespeare in Love (1998). Some may cover a historically recognizable time and place, but with fictional characters in a fictionalized story, like Gone with the Wind (1939). Note: most Cosmo voters wouldn’t include films that depict a time that was more-or-less contemporaneous at the time of the film’s release. Casablanca, for example, was about World War II, and was released in 1942 – in the middle of World War II. It may seem historical now but wouldn’t have been to audiences in its initial theatrical run. We’re including some categories for “pseudo-historical” films to cover folklore, mythology, and fictionalize people in historically recognizable periods. Note: as War Films and Westerns are both considered two of the thirteen primary film genres, they are included in their own main section. That said, there’s no reason that war and western films can’t be included among your nominations in other appropriate historical categories.

Favorite Films About Historical Royalty

These can include any films that incorporate real historical royal figures in the story, even in an otherwise fictionalized tale.

Buzzworthy: The Abdication (1974) • Anna and the King (1999) • Anna and the King of Siam (1946) • Anna Boleyn (1920) • Anne of a Thousand Days (1969) • Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) • Becket (1964) • The Black Prince (2017) • Boadicea (1927) • Born a King (2019) • Carry On Henry (1971) • Cleopatra (1963) • Diana (2013) • The Dictator (1935) • Edward II (1991) • Elizabeth (1998) • Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) • Farewell, My Queen (2012) • The Favourite (2018) • Fetih 1453 (2012) • Fire Over England (1937) • The Girl King (2015) • Grace of Monaco (2014) • Henry V (1989) • Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972) • Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1958) • Kalapi (1966) • Kaloyan (1963) • The King (2019) • The King and I (1956) • King of the Sands (2013) • The King’s Speech (2010) • La Reine Margot (1994) • Lady Jane (1986) • The Last Emperor (1987) • The Last Princess (2016) • The Lion in Winter (1968) • The Madness of King George (1994) • A Man for All Seasons (1966) • The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) • Marie Antoinette (2006) • Mary of Scotland (1936) • Mary Queen of Scots (2018) • Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) • Mayerling (1968) • Mrs Brown (1997) • Mrs. Brown (1997) • Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) • Orlando (1992) • The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) • Outlaw King (2018) • The Outlaw King (2018) • The Prince and the Pauper (1937) • The Prince and the Pauper (1977) • The Prince and the Pauper (2000) • Princess Kaiulani (2009) • The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) • The Queen (2006) • Queen Christina (1933) • Richard III (1995) • Robin Hood (1922) • A Royal Affair (2012) • A Royal Night Out (2015) • The Sea Hawk (1940) • Shakespeare in Love (1998) • The Three Muskateers (1993) • To Kill a King (2003) • Tudor Rose (1936) • Victoria & Abdul (2017) • Victoria and Albert (2017) • Victoria in Dover (1936) • Victoria in Dover (1954) • Victoria the Great (1937) • The Virgin Queen (1955) • Young Bess (1953) • The Young Victoria (2009)

Favorite Films About Fictional Royalty

These films can (sometimes) have a historical “feel” to them, but the royals they depict are fictional. This can extend to royals from folklore, like King Arthur, contemporary accounts of fictional royalty like The Princess Diaries (2001), fantasy films like The Princess Bride (1987), and even science fiction like Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (1999).

Buzzworthy: Beauty and the Beast (2017) • Camelot (1967) • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) • Cinderella (1950) • Cinderella (2015) • A Cinderella Story (2004) • Coming to America (1988) • Dragonslayer (1981) • Ella Enchanted (2004) • Enchanted (2009) • Ever After (1998) • Excalibur (1981) • First Knight (1995) • Frozen (2013) • Hamlet (1996) • Happily Ever After (1990) • Into the Woods (2014) • Kate & Leopold (2001) • The Lion King (1994) • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) • Maleficent (2014) • Mirror Mirror (2012) • The Prince & Me (2004) • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) • The Princess and the Frog (2009) • The Princess Bride (1987) • The Princess Diaries (2001) • Roman Holiday (1953) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (1999) • Troy (2004)

Favorite Film Adaptations of Shakespeare’s Plays

These are intended to be actual cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, using dialog exclusively or primarily written by William Shakespeare himself, as opposed to films inspired by Shakespeare’s work. Don’t include West Side Story or Kiss Me Kate here – there’s a separate award for Shakespeare-inspired films.

Buzzworthy: Antony and Cleopatra (1972) • As You Like It (1936) • As You Like It (2006) • Chimes at Midnight (1966) • Coriolanus (2012) • Cymbeline (2014) • Hamlet (1948) • Hamlet (1964) • Hamlet (1969) • Hamlet (1990) • Hamlet (1996) • Hamlet (2000) • Henry V (1944) • Henry V (1989) • Julius Caesar (1950) • Julius Caesar (1953) • Julius Caesar (1970) • King Lear (1971) • King Lear (1999) • Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000) • Macbeth (1948) • Macbeth (2006) • Macbeth (2015) • “Measure For Measure (2019)” • The Merchant of Venice (1922) • The Merchant of Venice (2004) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) • Much Ado About Nothing (1993) • Much Ado About Nothing (2012) • Othello (1946) • Othello (1951) • Othello (1995) • Richard III (1912) • Richard III (1955) • Richard III (1995) • Richard III (2008) • Romeo + Juliet (1986) • Romeo and Juliet (1936) • Romeo and Juliet (1954) • Romeo and Juliet (1968) • Romeo and Juliet (2013) • The Taming of the Shrew (1929) • The Tempest (1979) • Tempest (1982) • The Tempest (2010) • Titus Andronicus (1999) • Twelfth Night (1986) • Twelfth Night (1996) • Twelfth Night (2013)

Favorite Films Inspired by Shakespeare

Intended for films explicitly inspired by the works of William Shakespeare, like West Side Story (“Romeo & Juliet), Kiss Me Kate (“The Taming of the Shrew”), or Shakespeare in Love (multiple works, but primarily “Romeo & Juliet”). To be sure, Shakespeare dealt with timeless themes like star-crossed lovers, jealousy, mistaken identity, and royals who were already “historical” in his day. We shouldn’t assume that every film about lovers from opposite sides of the track was “inspired by Romeo & Juliet,” or that every film about Richard III was inspired by Shakespeare’s play rather than the historical monarch. Voters should endeavor to only include films that acknowledge Shakespeare as an inspiration or even give him a writing credit, or where the inspiration is widely acknowledged by films critics (like The Lion King as an adaptation of Hamlet).

Buzzworthy: (multiple): Shakespeare in Love (1998). The Comedy of Errors: Big Business (1988) • The Boys from Syracuse (1940) • Do Dooni Char (1968). Hamlet: The Banquet (2006) • Blood for Blood (1935) • The Devil Wears Black (1999) • In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) • The Lion King (1994) • Ophelia (1963) • Renaissance Man (1994) • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) (1990) • Strange Brew (1983). Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V: The King (2019) • My Own Private Idaho (1991) King Lear: Ran (1985) • A Thousand Acres (1997). Macbeth: Joe MacBeth (1955) • Men of Respect (1990) • Rave Macbeth (2001) • Scotland, PA (2001) • Throne of Blood (1957). A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Get Over It (2001) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2017) • A Midsummer Night’s Rave (2002) • Strange Magic (2015) • Were the World Mine (2008). Othello: All Night Long (1962) • Catch My Soul (1974) • Chocolat (2016) • A Double Life (1947) • Iago (2009) • Jubal (1956) • O (2001). Richard III: Tower of London (1939). Romeo and Juliet: Fury of Johnny Kid (1967) • Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) • The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) • Love Is All There Is (1996) • Private Romeo (2011) • Rome & Jewel (2006) • Warm Bodies (2013) • West Side Story (1961). The Taming of the Shrew: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) • Deliver Us from Eva (2003) • Kiss Me Kate (1953) • You Made Me Love You (1933). The Tempest: Forbidden Planet (1956) • Prospero’s Books (1991) • Yellow Sky (1948). Twelfth Night: Just One of the Guys (1985) • She’s the Man (2006).

Favorite Films About Legends and Folklore

Were King Arthur and Robin Hood real people? Even if they were not, English history is steeped in tales about those legendary figures. We’d argue that the legendary figures have become historical even if it could be proven that they never existed. This award celebrates films depicting legendary and possibly apocryphal people and events like Paul Bunyan, Mulan, and the Trojan War.

Buzzworthy: Aeneas: The Avenger (1962) • Troy: The Resurrection of Aeneas (2018). Arthurian: The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949) • Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot (2020) • The Black Knight (1954) • Black Knight (2001) • Camelot (1967) • Camelot: The Legend (1998) • A Connecticut Yankee (1931) • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949) • DragonHeart (1996) • Excalibur (1981) • First Knight (1995) • Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) • The Green Knight (2021) • The Holy Grail (1999) • A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995) • The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) • King Arthur (2004) • King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (2017) • King Arthur, the Young Warlord (1975) • King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (2017) • King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) • Knights of the Round Table (1953) • Lancelot of the Lake (1974) • Lancelot: Guardian of Time (1997) • The Last Legion (2007) • The Legend of Mordred (2019) • Merlin: The Return (2000) • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) • Novye priklyucheniya yanki pri dvore korolya Artura (1989) • October 32nd (1993) • Perceval (1978) • Prince Valiant (1954) • Prince Valiant (1997) • Quest for Camelot (1998) • Siege of the Saxons (1963) • The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2001) • Stuck on You! (1982) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • Sword of Lancelot (1963) • Sword of the Valiant (1984) • Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979) • Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965) • A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1995). Bluebeard: Blue Beard (1901) • Bluebeard (1944) • Bluebeard (1951) • Bluebeard (1972) • Bluebeard (2009). Cú Chulainn: The Invincible Cuchulainn (2014). Mulan: Hua Mu Lan (1951) • Hua Mulan (1997) • Hua Mulan cong jun (1927) • Kung Fu Mulan (2020) • Lady General Hua Mu Lan (1964) • Maiden in Armour (1939) • Matchless Mulan (2020) • Mulan (1998) • Mulan (2020) • Mulan congjun (1928) • Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009) • Saga of Mulan (1994). Paul Bunyan: Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan (2013) • Bunyan and Babe (2017). Pecos Bill: Tall Tale (1995). Robin Hood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) • Ivanhoe (1913) • Ivanhoe (1952) • The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) • Mr. Magoo in Sherwood Forest (1964) • Robin and Marian (1976) • Robin Hood (1913) • Robin Hood (1922) • Robin Hood (1973) • Robin Hood (2010) • Robin Hood (2018) • Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) • Robin Hood: The Rebellion (2018) • Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) • The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) • Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960). Romulus and Remus: Duel of the Titans (1961) • The First King (2019). Trojan War: Fury of Achilles (1962) • Helen of Troy (1924) • Helen of Troy (1956) • Iphigenia (1977) • The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011) • The Lion of Thebes (1964) • The Trojan Horse (1961) • The Trojan Women (1971) • Troy (2004). William Tell: Jasper Tell (1945) • The Legend of William Tell (1958).

Favorite Films About Real Presidents and Vice Presidents

There are tons of films about fictional holders of nationwide offices, and they will be handled separately (along with awards for other political figures). This award celebrates the historical films about real life Presidents and Vice Presidents, or candidates for those offices, even those of recent history. As with other historical categories, voters can decide for themselves whether to consider films that place real historical presidents into otherwise fictional stories.

Buzzworthy: All the President’s Men (1976) • All the Way (2016) • Amistad (1997) • Dick (1999) • Forrest Gump (1994) • Frost/Nixon (2008) • Give ’em Hell Harry (1975) • Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) • Jackie (2016) • JFK (1991) • Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (2020) • Journeys with George (2002) • LBJ (2016) • Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) • Lincoln (2012) • Nixon (1995) • Recount (2008) • Secret Honor (1984) • Selma (2014) • Seven Days in May (1964) • Southside With You (2016) • The Post (2017) • The War Room (1993) • Thirteen Days (2000) • Truman (1995) • Vice (2018) • W. (2008)

Favorite Films About Fictional Presidents and Vice Presidents

In the spirit of “pseudo” historical, this is your chance to honor the films prominently depicting fictional presidents and vice presidents. Plenty of films may have a one-off scene or two with the president. Voters will have to decide whether that’s sufficient to qualify, or if the fictional president or vice president should have a more prominent role.

Buzzworthy: Absolute Power (1997) • Air Force One (1997) • The American President (1995) • The Best Man (1964) • Betty Boop for President (1932) • The Contender (2000) • Dave (1993) • Dr. Strangelove (1964) • Fail Safe (1964) • The Ides of March (2011) • Independence Day (1995) • London Has Fallen (2016) • Love Actually (2003) • Olympus Has Fallen (2013) • Primary Colors (1998) • State of the Union (1948) • Sudden Death (1995) • Superman II (1980) • Wag the Dog (1997) • Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

Favorite Films About Other Real Politicians

This is your chance to honor films about real politicians and political candidates other than Presidents and Vice Presidents: Senators, Representatives in the U.S. House, Governors, local officials, elected and appointed government officials – and the candidates for those offices. This award is not limited to politicians from the U.S.

Buzzworthy: Anytown, USA (2005) • Argo (2012) • Chappaquiddick (2017) • Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) • Darkest Hour (2017) • Gandhi (1982) • Gangs of New York (2002) • Good Night and Good Luck (2005) • Il Caimano (2006) • Il Divo (2008) • Invictus (2009) • Iron Jawed Angels (2004) • The King’s Speech (2010) • The Last King of Scotland (2006) • Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) • Marie (1985) • Marshall (2017) • Milk (2008) • On the Basis of Sex (2018) • The Queen (2006) • Street Fight (2005)

Favorite Films About Fictional Politicians

Here’s your chance to honor films about fictional politicians and political candidates (other than U.S. President and Vice President), from student government up to the most powerful non-presidential world leaders.

Buzzworthy: All the King’s Men (1949) • All the King’s Men (2006) • Bob Roberts (1992) • Bulworth (1998) • The Candidate (1972) • The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) • Election (1999) • A Face in the Crowd (1957) • Irresistible (2020) • Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (2003) • The Long Shot (2019) • The Manchurian Candidate (1962) • The Manchurian Candidate (2004) • Miss Sloane (2016) • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) • Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

Buzzworthy Suggestions for Other Awards

Tags:
You May Also Like

2023 Cosmo Nominations Annou ...

June 2, 2024

Nominations open for the 202 ...

March 24, 2024

Vote for the 2022 Cosmo Winn ...

May 28, 2023