Inherit the Wind (1960)

Inherit the Wind (1960)

[9] Conscientious director Stanley Kramer (Judgment at Nuremberg, The Defiant Ones) tackles America's clashing beliefs in evolution and creationism in Inherit the Wind, a stage play adaptation inspired by the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey Trial'. Names and locations are changed and…
Under Fire (1983)

Under Fire (1983)

[6] Nick Nolte and Joanna Cassidy star as journalists in Nicaragua in the late 1970s when the Sandinista Liberation Front overthrew the brutal Somoza dictatorship. They cover both sides of the civil war, interviewing and photographing both the sitting president…
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

[7] Director Ron Howard tackles the (more or less) true story that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Chris Hemsworth stars as the determined first mate of the New England whaling ship Essex, which is destroyed by a mammoth…
Apollo 13 (1995)

Apollo 13 (1995)

[9] Ed Harris, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton star as the astronauts of 1970's ill-fated Apollo 13 mission to the moon, one in which their vessel suffered an exploding oxygen tank that threatened to leave them stranded in space forever.…
Tombstone (1993)

Tombstone (1993)

[7] Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer lead an all-star ensemble in this true story of 1881's infamous showdown between reluctant lawmen and a gang of criminal cowboys previously depicted in 1957's Gunfight at the OK Corral and told again in…
Platoon (1986)

Platoon (1986)

[8] Oliver Stone's Platoon was one of the first major motion pictures to deal with the Vietnam war. Charlie Sheen stars as an infantry volunteer who finds himself in a moral quandry, torn between two sergeants of differing philosophies. Tom…
Creation (2009)

Creation (2009)

[7] Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) stars as English naturalist and evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin in this dramatic biopic from director Jon Amiel (Copycat, Sommersby). Creation focuses on the time during which Darwin struggled to complete his controversial book, The…
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

[8] Russell Crowe stars as a British naval captain pushing his ship's crew to the breaking point in pursuit of the Acheron, a stealthy French vessel he's been ordered to track and destroy. The plot of Master and Commander isn't…
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

[7] Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter William Monahan take us back to the Crusades, during a time of fragile peace between Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) stars as Balian, a French blacksmith and…
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

[5] Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma & Louise) takes his shot with the story of Moses, casting Christian Bale in the lead opposite Joel Edgerton as Pharaoh Ramses II. Scott's version skips the preamble of Moses' life story, opening with…