Best 2000s History Movies

Looking for the best 2000s History movies? These are the 48 highest-rated 2000s History titles in our catalogue, led by The Best of Youth, Prayers for Bobby and Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War. The list is ranked by audience score; open any title for its cast, trailer and legal places to watch.

1. The Best of Youth (2003)

★ 8.1/10

After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian history in the following…
2. Prayers for Bobby (2009)

★ 8.1/10

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much…
3. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)

★ 8.0/10

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
4. The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith (2009)

★ 8.0/10

The Book of Ruth, is a triumphant love story in the face of adversity. This selfless journey of love and devotion is seen through the eyes of a young widow. Choosing to leave her homeland of Moab, she follows her…
5. Downfall (2004)

★ 7.9/10

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler…
6. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

★ 7.8/10

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware…
7. One Hundred Steps (2000)

★ 7.8/10

Peppino Impastato is a quick-witted lad growing up in 1970s Sicily. Despite hailing from a family with Mafia ties and living just one hundred steps from the house of local boss Tano Badalamenti, Peppino decides to…
8. Ip Man (2008)

★ 7.8/10

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to…
9. The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

★ 7.7/10

The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
10. The Fog of War (2003)

★ 7.7/10

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor…
11. Hotel Rwanda (2004)

★ 7.7/10

Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses…
12. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

★ 7.7/10

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
13. Cinderella Man (2005)

★ 7.6/10

The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.
14. Coach Carter (2005)

★ 7.6/10

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
15. Apocalypto (2006)

★ 7.6/10

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits…
16. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

★ 7.6/10

The true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently…
17. Sword of the Stranger (2007)

★ 7.6/10

Pursued by formidable Chinese assassins, young Kotaro and his dog run into No Name, a mysterious stranger who gets pulled into the chase. The unlikely companions form a bond over saving the dog from a poison attack…
18. Hero (2002)

★ 7.5/10

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
19. Joyeux Noel (2005)

★ 7.4/10

France, 1914, during World War I. On Christmas Eve, an extraordinary event takes place in the bloody no man's land that the French and the Scots dispute with the Germans…
20. Black Hawk Down (2001)

★ 7.4/10

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from…
21. Enemy at the Gates (2001)

★ 7.4/10

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.
22. Glory Road (2006)

★ 7.4/10

In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
23. City of Life and Death (2009)

★ 7.4/10

In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of…
24. Gangs of New York (2002)

★ 7.3/10

In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He…
25. Frost/Nixon (2008)

★ 7.3/10

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his…
26. Red Cliff II (2009)

★ 7.3/10

The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
27. Bloody Sunday (2002)

★ 7.3/10

The dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a massacre by British troops.
28. Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

★ 7.3/10

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.
29. The Time That Remains (2009)

★ 7.3/10

An examination of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day. A semi-biographic film, in four chapters, about a family spanning from 1948 until recent times. Combined with intimate memories…
30. Troy (2004)

★ 7.2/10

In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After…
31. The Patriot (2000)

★ 7.2/10

After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army…
32. Milk (2008)

★ 7.2/10

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for…
33. Invictus (2009)

★ 7.2/10

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela…
34. Silent Wedding (2008)

★ 7.2/10

In a small village of Communist-era Romania a young couple wish to marry, but Joseph Stalin dies the night prior to their wedding ceremony forcing the bride and groom to marry in silence.
35. The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)

★ 7.2/10

Born in British India, Bhagat Singh witnesses numerous atrocities during his childhood and grows up to become one of the most fearless freedom fighters in the country.
36. The Young Victoria (2009)

★ 7.2/10

As the only legitimate heir of England's King William, teenage Victoria gets caught up in the political machinations of her own family. Victoria's mother wants her to sign a regency order, while her Belgian uncle…
37. The Damned United (2009)

★ 7.2/10

Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his…
38. North Face (2008)

★ 7.2/10

North Face tells the story of two German climbers Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser and their attempt to scale the deadly North Face of the Eiger.
39. Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)

★ 7.2/10

Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gross ignorance…
40. We Were Soldiers (2002)

★ 7.1/10

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.
41. United 93 (2006)

★ 7.1/10

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
42. Munich (2005)

★ 7.1/10

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of…
43. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

★ 7.1/10

The story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.
44. Red Cliff (2008)

★ 7.1/10

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the…
45. Rang De Basanti (2006)

★ 7.1/10

After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. Although the group…
46. Cazuza: Time Doesn't Stop (2004)

★ 7.1/10

Inspired by the moving book “Só as Mães São Felizes”, by Lucinha Araújo, Cazuza's mother, the film covers a little more than 10 years of the singer’s crazy and brief life – from the beginning of his career in the Circo…
47. Olga (2004)

★ 7.1/10

Based upon the true story of Olga Benário, the German-born wife of Brazilian communist leader Luís Carlos Prestes. During the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945) she was arrested and sent to Nazi Germany, where…
48. Seabiscuit (2003)

★ 7.1/10

True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.