Selected Documentaries & Movies on the American Revolutionary War

Documentaries and Movies

 

It is the task of every student and teacher to analyze the listed documentaries, movies, and television series critically. Especially – but not only – some of the older productions in the chronologically organized overview are, according to contemporary standards, not politically correct, biased, and sometimes overtly racist and sexist.

We nevertheless included these films to foster important discussions in the classroom about the historical change in the construction and perception of war in film and its intersection with notions of class, race and gender. Therefore, all films need to be seen and studied critically as a reflection of the time of their production, including more recent movies. A good introduction into the study of the history of movies and critical film analysis is:

 

Especially interesting films for the subject of gender and war are marked with an *.

 

Documentaries

 

(United States, PBS, 1997) (6 episodes a 1h)
Directors: Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer

This six-part documentary series by 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 and Bill of Rights in 1789. In addition to narration and interviews with historians, the series includes re-enactments of military engagements and excerpts from letters, diaries, and other documents of the period, all voiced by professional actors.
Trailer
Netflix
IMDb

 

(United States, American Lives Film Project, 1997) (2 episodes a 1h 30m)
Director: Ken Burns

This two-part documentary by Ken Burns focuses on Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and one of the so-called “Founding Fathers” of the United States. Jefferson also served as the third president of the United States, from 1801 to 1809, as well as the country’s second vice president from 1797 to 1801. Between 1784 and 1789, he represented the young United States in France. Upon his return, he  strived to preserve the fragile new U.S. government and helped to create the first political party. The Louisiana Purchase with France in 1800, which he negotiated, doubled the size of the United States, and he spent the last years of his life helping to found the University of Virginia.
YouTube
IMDb
American Lives Film Project

 

(United States, PBS / WNET, 2005) (Four 1-hour episodes)
Directors: Dante James, Gail Pellett, Chana Gazit, Leslie D. Farrell

This four-part series by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) chronicles American slavery by uncovering the horrors of slavery during the Civil War, emphasizing slavery’s economic importance to the American antebellum economy, and examining how slaves from various cultures dealt with their environments. With narration by Morgan Freeman, the program features interviews with  scholars who offer fresh perspectives into the period, as well as  dramatic re-creations depicting the true stories of individual slaves. The video offers a sharply nuanced look at American slavery, from the first Africans brought to British colonies in the early seventeenth century to the end of Reconstruction  (1863–1877). Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship, it looks at slavery as an integral part of a developing nation, challenging the long-held notion that slavery was exclusively a Southern enterprise.
Netflix
IMDb
WNET Website

 

(United States, History Channel, 2006) (Thirteen 1-hour episodes)
Directors: Alexander Emmert and Peter Schnall

This 13-part documentary chronicles the 26-year-long effort of the 13 American colonies to achieve independence from Great Britain. Written by the miniseries' primary director, Peter Schanll, in cooperation with Alexander Emmert and Stephen Stept, The Revolution uses a blend of live-action re-enactments, illustrations, and documents from the period, animated battle maps, talking-head commentary by historians and military experts, and dramatic voice-overs to tell the complex and fascinating story of the birth of the United States.
IMDb
History Channel

 

(United States, PBS, 2007) (2h)
Director: Peter Jones

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 relationship, and the tumultuous times through which they lived. The film provides an intimate look inside a marriage of companions, for whom life included the great events of history, but also laughter, affection and family tragedy.
IMDb
PBS Website

 

(United States, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007) (57m)
Director: Abigail Schumann

Beginning with the American Revolution, this program explores the U.S. law of 1807 that abolished the transatlantic slave trade. Meet the people who were involved in or influenced by this pivotal legislation: the slaves, plantation owners, slave ship captains, common seamen, government officials, Navy officers, and antislavery activists.
IMDb

 

Movies
 

(United States, 1939) (1h 43m)
Director: John Ford

This adventure film, directed by Jon Ford and based on the 1936 novel, Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmond, focuses on Gilbert and Lana Martin, a young couple trying to make a home in New York State's Mohawk Valley, Repeated attacks by Native Americans drive them, along with other settlers in the valley, into a nearby fort, where they watch helplessly as the natives lay waste to their farms and cabins. A local woman with a large farm comes to their rescue when she hires Gilbert to work as a field hand and gives the Martins a place to stay. The rugged life of the farm and frontier doesn't always sit well with Lana, who was raised in wealthy and comfortable circumstances. In time, she develops a thick skin and learns to love her new life in the Mohawk Valley, especially after giving birth to the couple’s first son. Gilbert joins the militia and returns wounded; as he recuperates, a healthy crop rises in the fields, but the family’s satisfaction is short-lived when “the Indians” once again hit the warpath.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(United Kingdom, 1985) (2h 4m)
Director: Hugh Hudson

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 after his son Ned is drafted into the Revolutionary Army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy, played by Donald Sutherland. Tom eventually becomes convinced that he must take a stand and fight for the freedom of the colonies alongside the aristocratic rebel, Daisy McConnahay, played by Nastassja Kinski.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(United States, Canada, 1994) (1h 33m)
Director: Stephen Surjik

This autobiographic film is based on the Revolutionary War diaries of Mary Silliman (1736–1818). The story reveals the bitterness between those fighting for independence and those who remained loyal to the King and colonial authorities. Shot on location in Nova Scotia, the film relates the true story of a remarkable woman whose husband, a patriot leader, was kidnapped from their home by a band of Tories, Americans loyal to the King of England. Left to fend for herself and their children as she sought her husband's release, Mary Silliman's story presents the War for Independence in a way that is fresh and engaging to a modern audience.
Trailer
IMDb

 

(United States, 2000) (1h 29m)
Director: Robert Harmon

Directed by Robert Harmon, this historical film dramatizes General George Washington's (1732–99) perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton in 1776. His Continental Army was on the brink of utter defeat. Low on men, cannons and supplies, Washington decided to risk everything on one last desperately daring attack on the town of Trenton in New Jersey, where over 1,000 of the feared Hessian mercenaries that fought for the British army were garrisoned. However, to do that, the army must cross the Delaware to a seemingly hopeless battle.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(United States, 2000) (1h 45m)
Director: Roland Emmerich

This historical drama, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Mel Gibson, depicts the story of an American colonist, nominally loyal to the British Crown, who is reluctantly swept into the American Revolutionary War. After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War (1753–63), Benjamin Martin, played by Gibson, wants nothing more to do with war, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son, now serving under his command, from British tyranny. The film is notorious for its historical inaccuracies and romanticizing white patriotism. It obscures the question of Martin's potential loyalist leanings, which characterized planters in York County. Slaves are absent, with free blacks working Martin's plantation.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(United States, 2003) (1h 58m)
Director: Mikael Salomon

This historical television film, produced by the A&E Television Networks, focuses on Benedict Arnold (1740–1801), an American-born senior officer of the American Army, who commanded the American Legion in the later part of the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). Arnold, who first fought together with George Washington (1732–1799) and then changed sides, was after the conflict remembered as America's most notorious traitor. Arnold rose from humble origins to become one of the most respected and feared of America's generals. He won brilliant military victories against the English army and was Washington's favorite officer. But two conflicting forces battled inside Arnold's heart: a deep concern for his country, and his passionate love for an enchanting and manipulative Philadelphia woman, Peggy Shippen. Blinded by desire, Arnold defected to the English army and helped orchestrate an attempt to assassinate his own mentor, George Washington.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(UK, Germany, USA, 2006) (1h, 58m)
Director: Michael Apted

Michael Apted directed this film which focuses on William Wilberforce’s (1759-1833) long campaign to end the British slave trade. Played by Ioan Gruffudd, Wilberforce was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British Parliament. The film  recounts the experiences of John Newton as a crewman on a slave ship and his subsequent religious conversion, which inspired his writing of the poem later used in the hymn for which the film is named. Newton is portrayed as a major influence on Wilberforce and the abolition movement.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia

 

(United States, 2015) (1h 43m)
Director: Chad Burns

This Christian historical adventure film, directed by Chad Burns, tells the story of a British East India Trading Company assassin, who seeks to redeem his past by thwarting a plot against a young nation's hope for freedom. The film follows William Reynolds, played by Andrew Cheney, a former assassin for the British East India Company. He attempts to “retire” from the East India Company and as a result, his boss tries to have him killed to prevent him from revealing incriminating evidence of the company’s dealings. Will flees, taking the name and job of a vicar who died saving his life. Will then attempts to settle into the quiet life of a vicar, but runs up against a few surprising challenges.
Trailer
IMDb
Wikipedia