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): Dyke, W. S. Van
Year of Publication: 1938
Major Wars:
Abstract:

The life of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) from betrothal and marriage in 1770 to her beheading. At first, she's a Hapsburg teenager isolated in France, living a virgin's life in the household of the Dauphin, a shy solitary man who would like to be...

Director(s): Coppola, Sofia
Year of Publication: 2006
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Abstract:

The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

Director(s): David Grubin
Year of Publication: 2006
Major Wars:
Abstract:

An account of the lives and deaths of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI focusing primarily on Marie. It is an account of their lives from birth to death and the circumstances leading to the downfall of the French monarchy. It is done with actors and...

Director(s): Surjik, Stephen
Year of Publication: 1994
Abstract:

In this historically accurate social history, a New England woman experiences the American Revolution as a series of civil wars that divided her local community and household. Mary Silliman sees the war as an intensely local matter while her...

Director(s): Weir, Peter
Year of Publication: 2003
Major Wars:
Abstract:

This epic adventure movie is telling the story of the H.M.S. Surprise, a British frigate, under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey. In April 1805, his and the Surprise's orders are to track and capture or destroy a French privateer named Acheron...

Director(s): Ovalles, Caupolican
Year of Publication: 2011
Major Wars:
Abstract:

At a time when war, chaos and death reign over every last inch of Venezuela, a soldier and a brave young woman manage to make a space for love, despite their apparently conflicting ideals. After several years of a harsh and bloody war, Braulio, a...

Director(s): Lamata, Luis Alberto
Year of Publication: 2007
Major Wars:
Abstract:

From his jail cell in Cádiz, Francisco de Miranda recounts his rise to power and push for Venezuelan independence to an inquiring journalist. Influenced by revolutionary thought, especially in the new United States, Miranda led the Venezuela ...

Director(s): de Caunes, Antoine
Year of Publication: 2003
Major Wars:
Abstract:

The film Monseur N., directed by Antoine de Caunes, explores the mysterious circumstances surrounding Napoleon’s death in 1821. It deals with the last days of Napoleon on St. Helena through the eyes of a British officer assigned to be...

Director(s): Gance, Abel
Year of Publication: 1927
Major Wars:
Abstract:

A massive six-hour biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), tracing his career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign), his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (1789–99) (where a real storm...

Director(s): Sacha Guitry
Year of Publication: 1955
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Abstract:

This film, directed by Sacha Guitry, explores Napoléon Bonaparte's (1769–1821) life, loves, and exceptional destiny as seen through the eyes of Talleyrand, the cynical politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs under the emperor....

Director(s): David Grubin
Year of Publication: 2000
Major Wars:
Abstract:

The documentary on Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) follows him through his military victories in Italy and his crowning as Emperor in 1804. Napoleon experienced major military and political victories which gave him control over Europe on the...

Director(s): Yves Simoneau
Year of Publication: 2002
Major Wars:
Abstract:

This historical miniseries in four parts explores the life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821). It covers Napoleon's military successes and failures, including the Battles of Austerlitz (1805) and Eylau (1807), the retreat from Russia (1812–13),...

Director(s): Doug Shultz
Year of Publication: 2006
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Abstract:

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815 near Brussels. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: an army consisting of units from the United...

Director(s): Monjardim, Jayme
Year of Publication: 2013
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Abstract:

In this epic story based on the acclaimed novel by Erico Verissimo, two families are transformed over a 150-year period in Brazil. The Terra Cambará and Amaral families rise from the lower ranks of colonial Brazil to become economically and...

Director(s): Griffith, D.W.
Year of Publication: 1921
Major Wars:
Abstract:

Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith, based on the 1874 French play Les Deux Orphelines by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon, and set in late-18th-century France, before and during the ...

Director(s): Andrzej Wajda
Year of Publication: 1999
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Abstract:

This movie by director Andrzej Wajda tells the story of Poles who fight for the liberation of their divided and occupied homeland in the era of the Napoleonic Wars. It is based on the eponymous epic poem by Polish poet, writer and philosopher...

Director(s): Ipiña, Leandro
Year of Publication: 2010
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Abstract:

A hagiographic biopic of José de San Martín, military and political leader of revolutionary Argentina commissioned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of independence. The story follows a 15-year-old Manuel Corvalán, who decides to leave his upper...

Director(s): Hudson, Hugh
Year of Publication: 1985
Abstract:

Revolution is a 1985 British historical drama film directed by Hugh Hudson. The film stars Al Pacino as the New York trapper Tom Dobb, who becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution (1775-1783) after his son Ned is...

Director(s): Clegg, Tom
Year of Publication: 1993
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Abstract:

The British television series Sharpe, directed by Tom Clegg, follows an English officer during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Sergeant Richard Sharpe, played by Sean Bean, receives a promotion to lieutenant and oversees the Chosen Men...

Director(s): Blasetti, Alessandro
Year of Publication: 1969
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Abstract:

A biographical film of Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), hailed as El Libertador (The Liberator) of Spanish colonies in South America. The film focuses on Bolívar's military campaigns and unification of rebels across race, class, and birth in Gran...

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