Films about the Age of the Revolutionary Wars

This collection provides information on selected movies, TV productions and documentaries on the themes of gender, military and war in the period covered by the Oxford Handbook.

The most important wars included for this period are:

  • American Revolutionary Wars (1775–83)
  • French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars War (1792–15)
  • Latin American Wars of Independence (1810–30)

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Director(s): Peter Jones
Year of Publication: 2007
Abstract:

Relying on the correspondence between the second U.S. president, John Adams (1735–1826), and his wife Abigail Adams (1744–1818), this biographic documentary, directed by Peter Jones, sheds light on the characters of two remarkable people, their...

Director(s): Hooper, Tom
Year of Publication: 2008
Abstract:

This acclaimed biopic covers the political career of John Adams, second President of the United States. From the 1770 Boston Massacre and the American Revolution to his post-presidency, Adams is presented as independent, ardent defender of...

Director(s): Farrow, John
Year of Publication: 1959
Abstract:

This film is a biographical movie of John Paul Jones (1747–1792), a naval hero of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Jones was born and raised in Scotland, became a sailor, and served as commander of several merchantmen. After having...

Director(s): Stevenson, Robert
Year of Publication: 1957
Abstract:

Based on the 1944 children's novel of the same name by Esther Forbes, this Walt Disney production highlights the working-class origins of the American Revolution (1775–1783). Johnny Tremain, a silversmith apprentice in Boston, Massachusetts,...

Director(s): Rohmer, Eric
Year of Publication: 2001
Major Wars:
Abstract:

A British lady and French aristocrat spar over their political differences while surviving the French Revolution. Grace Elliot maintains her loyalty to monarchy and stands in defiance of citizen search committees while her former lover Philippe,...

Director(s): Jean Dréville
Year of Publication: 1962
Abstract:

During the American War of Independence, French officer and nobleman the Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) comes to America's aid with men, money and weapons and becomes a Major-General under George Washington's command.

Director(s): Renoir, Jean
Year of Publication: 1938
Major Wars:
Abstract:

Jean Renoir's epic account of the French Revolution (1789–99) juxtaposes the opulent life of King Louis XVI (1754–93) with the poverty of the commoners who rose up to overthrow the monarchy in 1789. The film's title comes from the rallying song...

Director(s): Scola, Ettore
Year of Publication: 1982
Major Wars:
Abstract:

That Night in Varennes, directed by Ettore Scola, is a 1982 French-Italian drama, based on the 1982 novel La Nuit de Varennes ou l'Impossible n'est pas français (That Night in Varennes or the Impossible is not French) ...

Director(s): Charlone, César
Year of Publication: 2011
Major Wars:
Abstract:

When commissioned to paint a portrait of General José Artigas, the revolutionary leader of Uruguay, decades after his death, Juan Manuel Blanes researches his subject's life and stumbles upon old secrets from the Spanish Wars of Independence. A ...

Director(s): Yves Angelo
Year of Publication: 1994
Major Wars:
Abstract:

The movie Le Colonel Chabert, directed by Yves Angelo, is based on the 1832 novella by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). It is included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine (The Human...

Director(s): Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe
Year of Publication: 1997
Major Wars:
Abstract:

The two-part television series Le Rouge et le noir is based on the historical novel by Henri Beyle Stendhal (1783–1842), published in 1830. The two films, directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe, chronicle the attempts of Julian Sorel, a young...

Director(s): Jacquot, Benoît
Year of Publication: 2012
Major Wars:
Abstract:

A young servant girl at Versailles witnesses the French Revolution. Sidonie is devoted to Marie Antoinette, staying with her when other servants and aristocrats flee. She agrees to help the Queen's friend escape. 

Director(s): Bille August
Year of Publication: 1998
Major Wars:
Abstract:

This 1998 version of the movie Les Misérables, directed by Bille August, is based on the French historical novel by Victor Hugo (1802–65), first published in 1862. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes...

Director(s): Arvelo, Alberto
Year of Publication: 2013
Major Wars:
Abstract:

Bookended by a foiled attempt on Bolívar's life in Bogota in 1828, this film charts the story of the revolutionary leader's impassioned fight for independence from Spain and creation of a united South American nation, the great stories of love...

Director(s): Hovde, Ellen
Year of Publication: 1997
Abstract:

This six-part documentary series from Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), directed by Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, covers the American Revolution from the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 through the ratification of the United States Constitution...

Director(s): Valeria Sarmiento
Year of Publication: 2012
Major Wars:
Abstract:

This movie, directed by Valeria Sarmiento, tells a story from the Peninsular campaign during the Napoleonic Wars. On September 27, 1810, the French troops commanded by Marshal Massena, were defeated in the Serra do Buçaco by the Anglo-Portuguese...

Director(s): Allen, Woody
Year of Publication: 1975
Major Wars:
Abstract:

Love and Death is a 1975 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a satire on Russian literature starring Allen and Diane Keaton as Boris and Sonja, Russians living during the Napoleonic Era who engage in mock-...

Director(s): Glenn Andreiev
Year of Publication: 1998
Abstract:

As the American Revolutionary War ends, British Col. Thompson seeks to capture The Mad Wolf, a mysterious saboteur. His Fort Golgotha, built atop a burial ground, is Mad Wolf's next target. The Mad Wolf, clad in a frightening disguise, is Deborah...

Director(s): Rísquez, Diego
Year of Publication: 2000
Major Wars:
Abstract:

Similar to contemporary scholarship, this film reassesses the role of Manuela Sáenz (1797–1856) in the Gran Columbia campaign during the Latin American War of Independence. Her story is told via old letters written to Simón Bolívar that she reads...

Director(s): Brook, Peter
Year of Publication: 1967
Major Wars:
Abstract:

This film is an adaptation of Peter Weiss' 1963 play titled The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, usually shortened to ...

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