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US History Movie List - Help me rate and add to my list please.


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http://www.thelearningtrunk.com/us-history-movie-list/

 

I started a list of films that are appropriate in most for high-school level, but I am slowly adding grammar/logic films.  While most films I have not watched in years, I am starting to browse and research others so that I can add the notation.  I would like to add to this list as well.

 

:)  Let me know.

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What was the mini-series on HBO about NASA?

 

 

ETA: 

Don't forget to tell me if there is sex, nudity, violence, etc.  I don't remember anything other than language in Apollo 13.

 

I might let my second grader watch Shenandoah, but still edit a little due to the violence - no way for North and South though.

 

:-/

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Thank you.  I will double check the era.  I am trying to keep them chronologically as you can tell.  I really want our weekends to be in order of our studies through American History.  It is silly, but we love movies - and it should be of some purpose.  LOL

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Chrissy,

I would go to the IMDB page for the movie. Go down to the MPAA rating and it has a link for all certifications. This will give you a list of all language, sex, nudity, violence & gore, drug use, etc. I could tell you what scenes bother me, but it's better for each parent to make that decision.

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John Adams miniseries

 

America, the Story of Us documentary

 

Seabiscuit

 

Little House on the Prairie

 

Tucker

 

A Time to Kill

 

Forrest Gump

 

The Miracle Worker

 

Driving Miss Daisy

 

The Right Stuff

 

Remember the Titans

 

Cold Mountain

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I have found that when studying the World Wars, it really helped to tie directly to events and people in other countries and although the below are not the best movies regarding quality of acting, etc. I found they did have value and the kids watched them without complaint.  The last movie listed is LOOOONG.  We broke it up over 2 days.

 

WW1

Fly Boys (American fliers fighting over seas before the U.S. officially joined the war).  No nudity but some sexual references we fast forwarded through - great for understanding the flight capability during that war and the more personal nature of the battles, even among those in airplanes, since they flew very slowly compared to today and could see the other pilots, etc.)

 

The Desert Fox (Technically this is not about U.S. History but it gives an interesting perspective on one of the German Officers that impacted the war.  It is about Erwin Rommel who my son found profoundly interesting to study since he repeatedly stood up to Hitler in protecting prisoners of war under his care).

 

Nicolas and Alexandra (last czar of Russia) which again is not U.S. history but the kids found lots of references that tied directly to other things they had studied from the American WW1 perspective and it helped them to make sense of those references from a more global perspective.  (They are careful not to be too graphic when the family is killed - you will recognize many up and coming actors in this older movie).  

 

 

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http://www.thelearningtrunk.com/us-history-movie-list/

 

I started a list of films that are appropriate in most for high-school level, but I am slowly adding grammar/logic films. While most films I have not watched in years, I am starting to browse and research others so that I can add the notation. I would like to add to this list as well.

 

:) Let me know.

The Best Years Of Our Lives is a great movie for life in the states post ww2.

What about The Harvey Girls and Stagedoor Canteen?

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George Washington miniseries

John Adams miniseries

The Patriot

Gettysburg

Gods and Generals

Blue and the Gray

Glory

Amistad

Gone with the Wind

Red Badge of Courage

Meet Me in St. Louis

Huckleberry Finn

Little Women

Davy Crockett

The Alamo

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Spirit of St. Louis

Titanic

Bonnie and Clyde

The Hindenburg

The Rocketeer

The Aviator

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Grapes of Wrath

Patton

Maverick and other fun westerns

Annie Get Your Gun

Wyatt Earp

Father Goose

Schindler's List

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Casablanca

Pearl Harbor

Flags of Our Fathers

Letters from Iwo Jima

Bridge over the River Kwai

Tucker

The Majestic

Thirteen Days

October Sky

We Are Marshall

Frost/Nixon

Nixon

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Miracle

Saving Private Ryan

We Were Soldiers

A Bridge Too Far

Argo

Black Hawk Down

United 93

 

Please review Imdb for content as some may be more appropriate for middle school or high school.  I included everything, including rated R films. 

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Some lists and ideas from previous similar threads:

 

elementary ages

I'm looking for movies to supplement Sonlight Core D (movies to go with US History)

Videos/DVDs/movies for Early Modern Times? (age appropriate for 7yo -- US & World)

Historical movies and documentaries to supplement Story of the World vol. 1 (ancient history)

 

middle/high school ages

Favorite American History DVDs? (for ages 10-14)

Movies for Modern History (Vietnam - Present) for Logic students (US and World)

Movies/documentaries on Native Americans (US History)

Documentaries/movies and biographies for 20th Century World History (US and World)

Movie suggestions for 1890-1913 time period (US and World)

 

high school ages

The most accurate, well-done US history films? (documentaries and feature films)
Movies/documentaries for US History (feature films)
American History movies (see post #6 for Eliana's list; mostly feature films)
20th century American history for 9th grade (documentaries and feature films)
Good movie about modern U.S.? (movies to go with contemporary (post 2000) US History)

Movies for Modern History

Movies instead of Literature to go with History study?

Still working on my modern history through books and films

History through Movies question (Cold War films)

 

website lists

Drive Through History: Holy Land; Ancients; American Hisory (family friendly educational videos -- check the library)

Schlessinger Media videos (US and World History; educational videos for different grade levels -- check the library)

Guest Hollow (elementary through high school -- books & movies to go with History)

Funda Funda (high school -- books & movies to go with US history)

Modern History in the Movies (high school/adult)

World History Movies (many family-friendly titles)

Historical Movies (the granddaddy of all history movie lists -- most are adult or older teen level)

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All Quiet on the Western Front -- a very old B&W but good.

 

Just my opinion - controversial - but I wouldn't consider JFK historic. Well, the events in the book did happen and speak about the the existence of conspiracy theories but I don't think the movie portrays much of what actually happened.

 

How about Ghosts of Mississippi? I don't recall language & sex, although the protagonist did divorce and end up married to someone else. But it is a good movie re: Medgar Evers and how a MS lawyer comes to realize that he needs to bring a close to a murder that was allowed to slide during the Civil Rights era.

 

Also -- this is regarding the list of the OP -- I am curious as to how you are connecting Inherit the Wind with McCarthyism? They don't seem connected to me and are 2 or 3 decades apart.

 

Also, note that while To Kill a Mockingbird was written in early 60's, it was set in the 20's or 30's. Still, such a story would have never sold during that period and so, while it was set in that era it was the later Civil Rights movement that made it popular and relevant. So, you could place it in either category, depending upon what you wanted to emphasize.

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Ken Burns Films

 

The West

The Civil War

The War (WWII)

 

HBO Series

 

Band of Brothers (explicit sex in one episode) *Note: It's useful to play the first episode where Easy Company is dropped behind enemy lines the night before D-Day and then watch Saving Private Ryan, then watching the rest of the episodes.

 

 

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Chrissy:

You've received a lot of great ideas from other posters, but PLEASE be aware that MANY are NOT for grammar/logic stage ages!

 

For example, All Quiet on the Western Front was made in 1932, so I thought it would be fine for our then 10yo and 11yo DSs who weren't squeamish, due to the movie codes that were coming in not long after that time. Yikes! VERY psychologically upsetting to them -- it's a quick shot but you DO see it: a soldier grabbing barbed wire as he runs across No Man's Land to attack the enemy, a bomb goes off, and the hands are all that is left, hanging onto the wire. In another scene, a soldier fatally wounds an enemy soldier in realistic face-to-face / hand-to-hand combat that lasts a long time. The wounded man then writhes in pain for hours before finally dying while the other soldier has to watch, as both are trapped in a bomb crater with bombs continually going off around them.

 

It was my one big "mommy-oopsie" movie-wise, because I did NOT preview it or research it in advance. :( It is a very well-done film, and really captures the book -- but both book AND movie (even though an older movie) are really for older teens. JMO!

 

I'd hate for anyone else to have my forehead-smacking moment of "What what I THINKING letting my child watch this!!" Most well-known American-made movies created from about 1935 to 1960 are pretty tame and most can be handled by children 6-8yo and up, but every so often, there is one that slips in there… If you have sensitive children, you esp. have to be careful with films made from about 1985-onward, as they are pretty realistic and graphic -- language, n*dity, violence…things like Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan are well-done, but R-rated for a very good reason!

 

So PLEASE preview or read reviews on films before okaying them for younger ages!! You can check IMDB (Internet Movie Database) website for year, rating, brief synopsis and sometimes some comments. Common Sense Media gives age-ratings and comments on many more recent movies, books, and games.

 

Thanks again for all the great suggestions everyone! :) Perhaps we could add the ratings or in some way indicate appropriateness, since the OP was asking for films for younger ages?  :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

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Chrissy:

You've received a lot of great ideas from other posters, but PLEASE be aware that MANY are NOT for grammar/logic stage ages!

 

For example, All Quiet on the Western Front was made in 1932, so I thought it would be fine for our then 10yo and 11yo DSs who weren't squeamish, due to the movie codes that were coming in not long after that time. Yikes! VERY psychologically upsetting to them -- it's a quick shot but you DO see it: a soldier grabbing barbed wire as he runs across No Man's Land to attack the enemy, a bomb goes off, and the hands are all that is left, hanging onto the wire. In another scene, a soldier fatally wounds an enemy soldier in realistic face-to-face / hand-to-hand combat that lasts a long time. The wounded man then writhes in pain for hours before finally dying while the other soldier has to watch, as both are trapped in a bomb crater with bombs continually going off around them.

 

It was my one big "mommy-oopsie" movie-wise, because I did NOT preview it or research it in advance. :( It is a very well-done film, and really captures the book -- but both book AND movie (even though an older movie) are really for older teens. JMO!

 

I'd hate for anyone else to have my forehead-smacking moment of "What what I THINKING letting my child watch this!!" Most well-known American-made movies created from about 1935 to 1960 are pretty tame and most can be handled by children 6-8yo and up, but every so often, there is one that slips in there… If you have sensitive children, you esp. have to be careful with films made from about 1985-onward, as they are pretty realistic and graphic -- language, n*dity, violence…things like Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan are well-done, but R-rated for a very good reason!

 

So PLEASE preview or read reviews on films before okaying them for younger ages!! You can check IMDB (Internet Movie Database) website for year, rating, brief synopsis and sometimes some comments. Common Sense Media gives age-ratings and comments on many more recent movies, books, and games.

 

Thanks again for all the great suggestions everyone! :) Perhaps we could add the ratings or in some way indicate appropriateness, since the OP was asking for films for younger ages?  :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

I am working on a logic/rhetoric stage list (ninth grade'ish) that is for entertainment, but also gives a little toward supporting subject matter.  There are so many resources and lists for grammar stage already.  I did not find "big girl" movie lists for our Saturday Sofa Time, as we call it.  This is the day that the littlest goes outside to play, and my other dc and I sit and watch movies.  So, I was looking for good quality movie-types that were, even if rather loosely, coinciding with our studies in American History (Stobaugh).  I have no problem with something that is era related but purely fictional too.  Some of the movies my little can watch, but some she certainly cannot, which is why I am double checking all content - of course, with your help too!  I am a pro at shouting "close your eyes" and pressing the fast forward button!

 

I have some great movies above ... I will be updating the list today and going to the movie site a poster above mentioned.  I believe we have some real gems for historic value and some that will provide good era feeling even with the fictional foundations.

 

I am trying to keep away from many of the documentaries because this is a "family" thing that we do, and I want to pop popcorn in my whirlybird, snuggle up, and be entertained.  It is a dual-purpose list.

 

(Thanks to everyone for all of your time ... it has helped me lots to plan our movie schedule. I appreciate the help.)

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BTW ... love Disney.  We watched Nemo last weekend for the umpteenth time.   :D

 

Johnny Tremaine is an excellent grammar stage film. It was made by Disney, so nothing terribly graphic or inappropriate.

 

 

 

That's one for my 7yo.  Thanks!

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…  I was looking for good quality movie-types that were, even if rather loosely, coinciding with our studies in American History (Stobaugh).  I have no problem with something that is era related but purely fictional too...

 

...I am trying to keep away from many of the documentaries because this is a "family" thing that we do, and I want to pop popcorn in my whirlybird, snuggle up, and be entertained...

 

Great! That's what most of the film titles are in those threads I linked above -- feature films set in specific time periods. Enjoy! Warmest regards, Lori D.

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Friendly Persuasion - About a Quaker family during the Civil War and how they cope with following their faith as the war moves closer and threatens their safety. 

 

April Morning - Revolutionary war, Battle of Lexington.

 

We just watched these two movies in my family and found them suitable for age 8+.

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subbing.

Don't know yet if I have any to suggest that are not yet mentioned, except maybe South of the Border, Untold History of the United States, and W.   by Oliver Stone??? I've never even seen the latter myself, so don't know age group appropriateness or anything.  Take Back Your Power, Gasland and Gasland 2?

 

We got Netflix (wish I had had it earlier) and often when I find one thing of interest, others will come up as similar that I did not know existed, which can be helpful.

 

For example, on your first list, I saw Food Inc.--we saw that and a whole bunch of other food related films came up.

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subbing.

Don't know yet if I have any to suggest that are not yet mentioned, except maybe South of the Border, Untold History of the United States, and W.   by Oliver Stone??? I've never even seen the latter myself, so don't know age group appropriateness or anything.  Take Back Your Power, Gasland and Gasland 2?

 

We got Netflix (wish I had had it earlier) and often when I find one thing of interest, others will come up as similar that I did not know existed, which can be helpful.

 

For example, on your first list, I saw Food Inc.--we saw that and a whole bunch of other food related films came up.

 

I added this one because the extreme popularity of it and controversy.  

 

 

I just thought of an old mini-series ... Norma Rae (Sally Fields) - early unions.  Oh my ... what about the Dollmaker? (Jane Fonda)

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