Fed up with the the insufferably cruel behavior of Louis XIV (Richard Chamberlain), a group of musketeers plot to replace the king with his twin brother, Philippe (also Chamberlain). They kidnap Phillipe and temporarily lock him in the Bastille, where he is inevitably recognized as a dead ringer for Louis. Word gets back to the king and, fearing for his safety, he decides to have his brother locked in an iron mask and subsequently imprisoned for life.
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History
Richard III (1955) Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Biography, Drama, History, War
Richard’s military skills have helped to put his older brother Edward on the throne of England. But jealousy and resentment cause Richard to seek the crown for himself, and he conceives a lengthy and carefully calculated plan using deception, manipulation, and outright murder to achieve his goal. His plotting soon has tumultuous consequences, both for himself and for England.
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The Return of Frank James (1940) Fritz Lang, Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper
Frank James, the brother of Jesse James, has been laying low, living as a farmer and taking care of Clem Read More »
Let Joy Reign Supreme / Que la fête commence… (1975) Bertrand Tavernier, Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Drama, History, War
France, 1719. Louis 14th died four years ago, Philippe d’Orleans is the regent. He is a liberal and a libertine. His right-hand man, Dubois, an atheistic and cupid priest, as libertine as Philippe, tries to take advantage of a little rebellion lead by a Breton squire (Pontallec) and of the famine to become archbishop… Description of the life of the court in this period of transition where the French Revolution smoulders.
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La Patagonia rebelde / Rebellion in Patagonia (1974) Héctor Olivera, Pedro Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Luis Brandoni, Drama, History
In 1920, workmen of Patagonia (Argentina), grouped into anarchist and socialist societies, decide to strike demanding better working conditions. Among the workers there are numerous European immigrants acting as ideological ferment of their peers. The situation is unsustainable and Yrigoyen government sent from Buenos Aires, Lieutenant Colonel Zavala to impose order …
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Caligula II: The Untold Story (1982) Joe D’Amato, David Brandon, Laura Gemser, Luciano Bartoli, Adult, Drama, History, Erotic
The deranged Roman emperor Gainus ‘Caligula’ (Little Boots) Caesar (12-41 A.D.) rules Rome with an iron fist and has anyone tortured and exectued for even the slightest insubordination. Mostly set during his last year of his reign, as Caligula loses support due to his brutal and crazed excess, a young Moor woman, named Miriam, becomes his lover while ploting to kill him to avenge the murder of a friend which Caligula was responsible for. But Miriam is torn between her personal vandeda against Caligula and her own personal feelings towards him despite his madness and debauched lifestyle of orgies and bloody torture murders.
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Zulu (1964) Cy Endfield, Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, Drama, History, War
Two Lieutenants, Chard of Engineers and Bromhead find that their 140 man contingent in Natal has been isolated by the destruction of the main British Army column and that 4,000 Zulu warriors will descend on them in hours. Each has a different military background in tactics and they are immediatly in conflict on how to prepare for the attack. Nearly a third of the men are in the infirmary, as the welsh company tries to somehow survive with no help in sight. Based on a true story.
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Oda az igazság / So Much for Justice! (2010) Miklós Jancsó, Daniel Olbrychski, Kornél Mundruczó, György Cserhalmi, History
Concerning the Mátyás era in Hungarian history, during the reign of Matthias Corvinus, the film focuses on three eras of the king’s life: the young Mátyás fights for the throne, the older Mátyás as king, and the fate of the royal crown and the royal heir after his death.
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Helen of Troy (1956) Robert Wise, Stanley Baker, Rossana Podestà, Brigitte Bardot, Adventure, Drama, History
Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by the royal Greeks, he must flee…but fate and their mutual passions lead him to take Helen along. This gives the Greeks just the excuse they need for much-desired war.
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Il Messia / The Messiah (1975) Roberto Rossellini, Pier Maria Rossi, Mita Ungaro, Carlos de Carvalho, Biography, History
Rossellini’s final film relates the story of Christ in the director’s unsentimental, realistic style.
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