The Best of Ancient History & Myth (Roughly chronological)
I am trying to build a list of the best films / TV shows that show history over time. The current list is focused on the Mediterranean and Greco-Roman World, but this is mainly due to availability. I would like to expand it to other parts of the world as well, always looking for advice on choices...
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- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.~80,000 BCE
- DirectorMichael ChapmanStarsDaryl HannahPamela ReedJames RemarA young Cro-Magnon woman is raised by Neanderthals.~40,000 BCE
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJack HawkinsJoan CollinsDewey MartinA captured architect designs an ingenious plan to ensure the impregnability of the tomb of a self-absorbed Pharaoh, obsessed with the security of his next life.~2,566 BCE
- DirectorChadi Abdel SalamStarsAhmad AnanAhmad HegaziAhmed MareiBased on one of the major literary texts survived from the Middle Kingdom, the classical period of Egyptian literature, The Eloquent Peasant is a combination of a morality/folk tale and a poem. The events are set between 2160 and 2025 BC. When the peasant Khun-anup and his donkey stumble upon the lands of the noble Rensi, the peasant's goods are confiscated and he's unjustly accused of theft. The peasant petitions Rensi who is so taken by the peasant's eloquence that he report his astonishing discovery to the king. The king realises the peasant has been wronged but delays judgement so as to he can hear more of his eloquence. The peasant makes a total of nine petitions until finally, his goods are returned.~2,200 BCE
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsLaurence OlivierHarry HamlinClaire BloomPerseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.~1,600 BCE
- DirectorDon ChaffeyStarsTodd ArmstrongNancy KovackGary RaymondThe legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece.~1,500 BCE
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsMaria CallasMassimo GirottiLaurent TerzieffAfter his quest to retrieve the fabled Golden Fleece, Jason returns to Greece with powerful sorceress Medea. However, when the king banishes her, it's only human that Medea plots her furious revenge. Can they escape her wrath?-1499 BCE
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJean SimmonsVictor MatureGene TierneyIn ancient Egypt, a poor orphan becomes a genial physician and is eventually appointed at the Pharaoh's court where he witnesses palace intrigues and learns dangerous royal secrets.~1400 BCE
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsDwayne JohnsonJohn HurtIan McShaneHaving endured his legendary twelve labors, Hercules, the Greek demigod, has his life as a sword-for-hire tested when the King of Thrace and his daughter seek his aid in defeating a tyrannical warlord.~1,350 BCE
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsChristian BaleJoel EdgertonBen KingsleyThe defiant leader Moses rises up against Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, setting six hundred thousand slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.~1,300 BCE
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsIrene PapasGiannis FertisAleka KatselliLiving in exile after the death of their father, the grown children of a murdered and usurped king converge to exact eye-for-an-eye revenge.~1,250 BCE
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsHenry CavillMickey RourkeJohn HurtTheseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.1,228 BCE
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando BloomAn adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.~1,200 BCE
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsKatharine HepburnVanessa RedgraveGeneviève BujoldThe women of Troy face enslavement after the fall of their city.~1,185 BCE
- StarsArmand AssanteGreta ScacchiIsabella RosselliniFollows Odysseus on his wanderings back to Ithaca following the Trojan War.~1,185 BCE
- DirectorFranco PiavoliStarsLuigi MezzanotteBranca de CamargoAlex CarozzoAt the end of the war, Odysseus, the wandering hero, with his companions begins his sail back home to the Mediterranean. The conclusion of his adventure is delayed by many natural obstacles and he takes an internal journey of fleeting memories of his childhood, his parents, love for a beautiful girl, nostalgia for the past, regret for what he did, and the deep silence that envelops everything. He confronts the most terrible loneliness following a shipwreck in which all the comrades perish.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsYou GeXueqi WangXiaoming HuangTo save the only child of the Zhao Family, whose entire clan was massacred at the hands of a nefarious minister, a doctor sacrifices his own son; after the Zhao child grows up, the doctor becomes intent on seeking his vengeance.~550 BCE
- DirectorMei HuStarsChow Yun-FatXun ZhouJianbin ChenThe life story of the highly-influential Chinese philosopher, Confucius.~525 BCE
- DirectorLekh TandonStarsVyjayanthimalaSunil DuttPremnath MalhotraA victory over neighboring state Vaishai has always eluded Magadh Samrat Ajaatshatru despite being winning and taking control over all neighboring states. He attacks Vaishali only get defeated again. Wounded, lost and on the run, Ajaatshatru dons the guise of a Vaishali soldier and takes shelter with a woman named Amrapali and they fall in love with each other. Ajaatshatru finds an ally in Senapati Balbadhra Singh and both start a plot to gain control of Vaishali. Vaishali Samrat comes to know about Ajaatshatru and Amrapali's liaison with him, he sentences her with a death penalty. Ajaatshatru is enraged at this, he gathers together his armies and storms the unsuspecting Vaishali and virtually burns the city down, killing almost everyone in it. This accomplished, he rushes to free his beloved from the dungeons. He does set her free but it is not the same Amrapali; this Amrapali is quite different. She is not at all thrilled to be in the presence of her conqueror lover. She teaches him what he won in the battle ground but what he lost in reality.~500 BCE
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. They face insurmountable odds when they are betrayed by a Spartan reject.480 BCE
- DirectorNoam MurroStarsSullivan StapletonEva GreenLena HeadeyGreek general Themistocles of Athens leads the naval charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.480 BCE
- DirectorMichael O. SajbelStarsTiffany DupontLuke GossJohn NobleIn Biblical times, a girl disguises her Jewish origins when the Persian king comes looking for a new bride among his subjects.465 BCE
- DirectorChi Leung 'Jacob' CheungStarsAndy LauAhn Sung-kiZhiwen WangStory centers on a battle during China's Warring States Period, a series of civil wars, which spanned from the 5th to the 3rd century B.C. Based on a popular Japanese manga, which was in turn based a Japanese novel inspired by Warring States history in China.370 BCE
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsColin FarrellAnthony HopkinsRosario DawsonAlexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.356 BCE
- DirectorSantosh SivanStarsShah Rukh KhanKareena KapoorDanny DenzongpaThe epic tale of King Asoka's life is recounted.304 BCE
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsJet LiTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungA defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.227 BCE
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.73 BCE
- CreatorSteven S. DeKnightStarsAndy WhitfieldLucy LawlessManu BennettThe life of Spartacus, the gladiator who lead a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, to the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.73 BCE
- CreatorBruno HellerWilliam J. MacDonaldJohn MiliusStarsKevin McKiddRay StevensonPolly WalkerA down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.52 BCE
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsPeter O'TooleCharlotte RamplingVittoria BelvedereCaesar Augustus tells of how he became the emperor to his reluctant daughter, Julia following the death of her husband Agrippa.49 BCE
- StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.12 BCE
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.0 CE
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsJim CaviezelMonica BellucciMaia MorgensternDepicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.33 CE
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.33 CE
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsAnthony QuinnSilvana ManganoArthur KennedyGovernor Pontius Pilate gave the populace a choice to spare either Barabbas, a criminal, or Jesus, condemned as a heretic, from crucifixion. The masses chose Barrabas, and he is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.33 CE
- DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.37 CE
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsKit HaringtonEmily BrowningKiefer SutherlandA slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him.62 CE
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsMichael FassbenderDominic WestOlga KurylenkoA splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.117 CE
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsChanning TatumJamie BellDonald SutherlandIn Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.140 CE
- CreatorMarberioniusStarsJianci TanXuan DongUvin WangAn alternative history version of one of the Three kingdoms era plots focusing on the rivalry between the last Han emperor and Cao family.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.180 CE
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTakeshi KaneshiroFengyi ZhangThe first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).208 CE
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTakeshi KaneshiroFengyi ZhangSecond and final part of epic tale about a legendary battle that changed the course of China history.220 CE
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsRachel WeiszMax MinghellaOscar IsaacA historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.360 CE
- DirectorDoug LeflerStarsColin FirthBen KingsleyAishwarya Rai BachchanAs the Roman empire crumbles, young Romulus Augustus flees the city and embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters.450 CE
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsNigel TerryHelen MirrenNicholas ClayMerlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.520 CE