19 Movies Based On Historical Events You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

When Free State of Jones was released in 2016, some people might have believed it was just another historical-fiction film about what could have happened during the US Civil War if some Southerners had risen up against the Confederacy. As Matthew McConaughey rounds up his neighbors, both white and Black, to join him in overthrowing the Confederates who are slowly taking their crops and land, we cheer them on because it's a nice story. However, this story is based on real-life events. There really was a poor white farmer, Newton Knight, who decided to stand up to the Confederacy. Knight, who lived in southern Mississippi, deep in Confederate territory, was a compassionate leader who quickly got nearby families to agree they'd had enough of the Confederates. So the militia staged a rebellion in Jones County, MS, in 1864 - and successfully overthrew the Confederates. They even flew the United States flag over the courthouse, making it one of few places in the South to acknowledge the North as the true United States at the time.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) tells the story of the Osage murders, and the subsequent investigation by the newly formed FBI. The Osage murders centered on Osage tribal members in the 1920s. The Osage people had been forced West by white settlers, and eventually settled on a plot of land in northern Oklahoma, now called Osage County. Unbeknownst to the tribe, massive oil deposits were underneath their reservation - some of the largest in the country. When these were discovered in the early 1900s, the tribal members became some of the richest people in the country. The Osage murders were part of a plot to take the tribal members' shares of the oil, specifically the Kyle family's shares. A wealthy cattle rancher, William K. Hale (played by Robert De Niro in the film), convinced his nephew, Ernest Burkhart (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), to marry a member of the Kyle family, Mollie (played by Lily Gladstone). Hale then systematically killed off members of Mollie's family so Burkhart would eventually inherit all of the family's oil shares. With so many deaths occurring, the Osage people desperately looked for help, not finding much aid from local officials. The federal government finally stepped in - and the Osage murders marked one of the first investigations by the FBI.

In 14th century France, women generally didn't report unwanted sexual advances or assaults. If they were wealthy, and could take a man to court, they had to convince those in power they were telling the truth. If they didn't succeed, they could face punishment or even death for “sullying” the man's name. In 1386, noblemen Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris were best friends. However, after Carrougess' wife, Marguerite, accused Le Gris of raping her, Carrouges challenged Le Gris to a duel. If Carrouges lost, Marguerite would be burned at the stake for bearing false witness. Ridley Scott's 2021 film The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Jodie Comer, tells the story from the perspective of all three main characters, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions about what happened before revealing the truth.

In the 1930s, there were no computers to spit out the answers to complicated equations. Complex mathematical problems required a lot of handwritten calculations. And these equations could take hours - days even - to solve. To assist its engineers and scientists, NASA (then called NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), brought in a new crew of workers: “human computers" - women who could quickly and precisely work out computations NASA needed. Over three decades, there were likely hundreds, if not thousands, of human computers who worked for NASA. Although only a small percentage of these computers were Black women, they were integral to some of the most important missions of their time. The 2016 drama Hidden Figures dives into the stories of three real Black mathematicians who worked at NASA: Katherine Goble Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe).

Sometimes a historical film revolves around a famous incident we all know well, but shows a different aspect of it, which was the case for 2000's The Dish. The Australian-produced comedic drama is about the four-man team in charge of “The Dish,” one of the most powerful receiving antennae in the world. However, The Dish was not located in a large city or high-tech hub - it was in a sheep field in rural Australia. This remote radio telescope was the primary receiver for the moon walk of the Apollo 11 astronauts in July 1969. Without The Dish, it's possible that Neil Armstrong's one small step might not have been viewed by anyone.

In the early 20th century, the Australian government decided it didn't want “half-caste” children - those with one white parent and one Aboriginal parent - to be raised in Aboriginal culture, a notion held by much of the Australian public, including the Perth Sunday Times, which said: Central Australia’s half-caste problem must be tackled boldly and immediately. The greatest danger, experts agree, is that three races will develop in Australia - white, black, and the pathetic, sinister third race which is neither. So from the early 1900s until the 1960s, children were forcibly removed from their homes and put in half-caste homes and settlements. More than 30,000 children might have been taken away from their families during this time. The 2002 drama Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the real story of three young girls who escaped from one of these institutions and followed the famous rabbit-proof, 2,000-mile-long fence back to their homes. The journey takes nine weeks because the children cover almost 1,500 miles.

Dueling was a common practice in the 19th century, and some men prided themselves on becoming master “duellists.” At the time, dueling was often done with a sword, though pistols could also be used. In the world of dueling, two French officers had a rivalry that is almost unmatched: François Louis Fournier and Pierre Dupont. Over a 20-year span, Fournier and Dupont engaged in 17 duels, even as both fought for Napoleon. The Duellists, Ridley Scott's 1977 directorial debut, follows this decades-long feud, exploring how the men (played by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel) progress in their personal lives and careers between matches.

In 1614, a new decree was passed in Japan: All missionaries had to leave the newly united country, and practicing Christianity was not legal. However, many Jesuit priests stayed, in hiding, to support their Christian followers. The Japanese government started rooting out these priests and tormenting them until they denounced their faith publicly. One of these priests was Cristóvão Ferreira, portrayed by Liam Neeson in Martin Scorcese's 2016 drama Silence. The film follows two younger priests (played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver), mentees of Ferreira, as they travel to Japan to try to locate their former teacher.

Many events led to the declaration of the American Civil War in 1861, which sought to give all enslaved people freedom in America. One of these was the decision in United States v. The Amistad. In 1839, 53 kidnapped Africans were aboard The Amistad, which was sailing to Cuba, where the passengers were to be sold into enslavement. However, the Africans revolted, gaining control of the ship. When the ship was found in distress off the New England coast, American officials took the Africans into custody, which started a court case that gained international attention. The Spanish wanted their “property” back, while abolitionists argued for the Africans' freedom. After several trials, the case was eventually brought before the Supreme Court. The court ruled for the Africans, agreeing that the captured Africans didn't belong to Spain because they were illegally kidnapped in Africa, where they were free people. The 1997 Steven Spielberg-directed film Amistad follows this series of events. The film received widespread praise and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

During war, the focus is often on preserving soldiers' and civilians' lives, along with buildings, supplies, and ammunition. Easily overlooked in the heat of conflict is saving art. However, an international group of special soldiers during WWII known as the Monuments Men were determined not to let that happen. These soldiers were a part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, which included both men and women who identified and preserved works of art that had been taken or damaged by German soldiers in WWII. This program served as the inspiration for the 2014 war film The Monuments Men, written, directed by, and starring George Clooney. It's estimated that the team of Monuments Men recovered over 5 million works of art, including works by Michelangelo and Da Vinci.

Hypatia, a renowned philosopher and astronomer who lived in fourth century Greece, taught future leaders during a time of conflict between Christians and pagans. Later in life, as Hypatia grew to be an influential member of Greek society, Christian leaders in the midst of a campaign to destroy anyone who didn't agree with them saw her as a threat. So they pulled Hypatia from her chariot, flayed her skin, pulled her limbs from her body, and paraded her through the streets of Alexandria. Hypatia's life and death are portrayed in the 2009 film Agora, starring Rachel Weisz as Hypatia.

The 1937 Nanjing Massacre, often referred to as the “Rape of Nanjing,” is one of the worst atrocities that took place in 20th century. In 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army descended upon the Chinese city of Nanjing. Chinese government leaders were afraid of losing their forces, so they pulled all their troops out of the city just before the Japanese arrived, leaving the citizens defenseless. Over the next six weeks, the people of Nanjing were tortured and slain. According to estimates, from 20,000 to 80,000 women (including the elderly and children) were raped, while more than 300,000 people were likely slaughtered. The Flowers of War (2011) follows an American man (Christian Bale) who poses as a priest to try to protect a number of women and children in Nanjing who are seeking refuge in a church during the assault.

Released in 1989, Glory is a US Civil War drama that follows Col. Robert Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick) as he leads the Union's first all-Black company, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, including its final assault on the Confederate base of Fort Wagner. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, with Denzel Washington winning for best supporting actor. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was indeed a real company made up of Black men who faced many objections to their right to fight, including from other Union soldiers. However, the Fort Wagner assault played a roll in turning the public opinion of Black men serving for the US Army. One argument was that Black soldiers were not as brave or skilled as white soldiers. But the Fort Wagner fight showed not only that these men could fight well, but also that they would not give up, or back down, even when they were outnumbered. Though the Union soldiers lost the Fort Wagner fight, they earned the respect of many of their comrades, allowing other Black soldiers to continue in their footsteps.

Most people are familiar with the genocide against the Jewish people during WWII, but fewer might know about the similarly horrific planned extermination that took place against the Armenian people during WWI. Although Armenians had lived in the Ottoman Empire for centuries, during the late 19th century, they were targeted for mass murders. A new government, called the Young Turks, came into power and continued breeding distrust in the Armenian people. Then, after WWI began, members of the Ottoman government were looking for scapegoats for the country's poor performance in battle against Britain, France, and Russia. They chose the Armenian people as their target. In 1915, Armenian troops (along with other non-Muslim troops) were discharged from their posts, and systematically executed. At the same time, Armenian men, women, and children were rounded up from their homes and sent to concentration camps in the desert, where many were murdered. It's believed that from 600,000 to more than 1 million innocent Armenians were slain during this genocide, which lasted until 1916. The 2016 film The Promise follows an Armenian man, played by Oscar Isaac, who attempts to save his family from the killings, all while finding himself in a love triangle with a Paris-raised Armenian woman (Charlotte Le Bon) and an American journalist (Christian Bale).

In 1994, tensions escalated in Rwanda between the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, and the minority ethnic group, the Tutsis. After the president of Rwanda was slain when his plane was Taken down, Hutu extremists then started targeting all Tutsis, slaying any they spotted. Word spread of the mass slaying of Tutsis, and Hutus in all towns across the country joined in on the slaughter. In just three months, more than 800,000 people had been slain. This cruel act is the backdrop for the 2004 drama Hotel Rwanda. The film explores the real story of Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle), a hotel manager who housed, and ultimately saved, over 1,000 Tutsi refugees during the mass slaying.

After King Henry VIII perished, his son, Edward VI, took over as king of England. However, before long, Edward became ill. Edward was a devout Protestant, like his father, but if he were to perish, the crown would be passed to his half sister, Mary, a devout Catholic. Edward decreed that his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth were illegitimate heirs to the throne, which meant the next heir was his cousin, the Protestant Jane Grey. When Edward passed, Jane ascended the throne at just 16 years old. The people of England didn't take kindly to Edward's plan, however, and revolts led to Jane's ouster and slaying. Her story is portrayed in the 1986 romance Lady Jane, starring a young Helena Bonham Carter.

The 2009 Israeli-produced film Lebanon takes place almost entirely within the steel walls of a tank. The main characters are the four Israeli tank crew members, and we see the outside world mostly through the scope of their tank. The film takes place during the 1982 Lebanon War, which involved Israel and Lebanon. The conflict emerged after several assassination attempts and bombings and led to long-standing distrust on both sides. The war was also portrayed in an animated film released just a year before Lebanon called Waltz with Bashir, which dives more into one man's memories from fighting in the war, most of which he had mentally blocked out. The film was the first animated movie to be nominated for the best foreign language film Academy Award.

Although the Korean War might be a subject of the past for today's audiences, when Pork Chop Hill was released in 1959, the conflict was still very much a current event. Starring Gregory Peck, the film depicts the Battle of Pork Chop Hill in 1953, which lasted three months. The fight consisted mainly of Americans and Chinese troops trying to secure a North Korean site called Hill 255, also known as Pork Chop Hill because its topography apparently resembled a pork chop. Even though UN and North Korean officials tried to negotiate peace during this time, troops on the ground still fought, and perished, for what seemed like an unnecessary piece of land, according to many American onlookers, so the engagement was controversial.