Last updated March 2024
Jonesing to watch sensationally awesome Best History Movies 2008 ASAP? Dive right into our handpicked collection of 30 marvelous, universally adored Best History Movies 2008 available for instant streaming. Hailed as extraordinarily spectacular by revered IMDB critics and our own legion of savvy users, these world-class Best History Movies 2008 simply can't be matched. Lend a hand to fellow viewers by voting up the titles you consider keepers. We appreciate your stellar contributions highlighting elite titles!
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Plot Summary:
Much awarded animated documentary, in which director and Israeli army veteran Ari Folman interviews friends and former soldiers about their memories of the 1982 Lebanon war and especially the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. The usage on animation enabled Folman to illustrate their personal memories and dreams
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Documentary, Animation, Biography, Drama, History, Mystery, War
Country: Israel, France, Germany, USA, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia
Plot tags: war, politics, military, soldier, memory loss, nightmare, haunted by the past, guilt, mass murder, catastrophe, memory, israeli, tragic event, life is a bitch, introspection, atrocity, military life, enemy, against humanity, wartime, conflict, visceral, revolution, trippy, mission
Changeling (2008)
Plot Summary:
Christine Collins is overjoyed when her kidnapped son is brought back home. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, the police captain has her committed to an asylum
Duration: 141 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 263000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: kidnapping, serial killer, investigation, missing child, fighting the system, missing person, twists and turns, uncover truth, police corruption, disorder, life is a bitch, trial, kidnapped child, corruption, insanity, disappearance, court, society, courtroom, dishonesty, tragedy, child abduction, child murder, brutality, manipulation
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Plot Summary:
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 time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted
Duration: 122 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 112000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, USA
Plot tags: journalism, politics, president, reporter, journalist, loneliness, biopic, american politics, conspiracy, corruption, power struggle, scandal, politician, mind game, uncover truth, lie, character study, u.s. president, american history, secret, political corruption, life is a bitch, rivalry, media, state affairs
Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal Emperor, Akbar and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa
Duration: 213 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: India
Plot tags: emperor, true love, royal family, culture clash, dishonesty, love and romance, ruler, royal court, politics, arranged marriage, historical character, sword fight, win over, indian history, princess, betrayal, romantic rivalry, royalty, heroes, happy ending, love story, initially antagonists, indians, wedding, ancient
Milk (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, who became an outspoken agent for change, seeking equal rights and opportunities for all. His great love for the city and its people brought him backing from young and old, straight and gay, alike – at a time when prejudice and violence against gays was openly accepted as the norm
Duration: 128 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 178000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: gay, politics, homosexuality, protest, homosexual, murder, gays and lesbians, discrimination, politician, male homosexuality, biopic, gender, civil rights, human rights, glbt, election, homosexual history, gay relationship, lgbt, lgbtq, gay slur, lgbtqi, brutality, character study, gay love
North Face (2008)
Plot Summary:
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
Duration: 126 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Sport
Country: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Plot tags: climbing, mountain climbing, mountain, mountaineer, survival, disaster, adventurer, wehrmacht, man versus nature, rivalry, mountaineering, forces of nature, ambition, heroic mission, journalist, male female relationship, world war two, nature, escapades, danger, contests and competitions, buddies, nazi germany, frostbite, wilderness
Red Cliff (2008)
Plot Summary:
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 south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance
Duration: 145 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, USA
Plot tags: war, martial arts, battles, strategy, kung fu, historical event, chinese emperor, ancient history, horse, medieval, revenge, ethnic conflict, assassination, visceral, idealism, wuxia, war hero, siblings relations, state affairs, ancient, heroes, danger, tragic hero, heroic mission, antiquity
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Plot Summary:
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex depicts the political turmoil in the period from 1967 to the bloody "Deutschen Herbst" in 1977. The movie approaches the events based on Stefan Aust's standard work on Die Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF). The story centers on the leadership of the self named anti-fascist resistance to state violence: Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin
Duration: 150 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Germany, France, Czech Republic
Plot tags: terrorism, politics, anti war, revolution, protest, revolutionary, journalist, prison, idealism, capitalism, terrorist attack, assassination, rebellion, bomb, anarchy, rebel, german history, fighting the system, robbery, police brutality, judge, trial, suicide, banker, political unrest
Max Manus: Man of War (2008)
Plot Summary:
Max Manus is a Norwegian 2008 biographic war film based on the real events of the life of resistance fighter Max Manus (1914–96), after his contribution in the Winter War against the Soviet Union. The story follows Manus through the outbreak of World War II in Norway until peacetime in 1945
Duration: 118 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Norway, Denmark, Germany
Plot tags: world war two, resistance, nazi, nazism, war, wartime, military, escape, nazi occupation, gestapo, courage, manhunt, terrorism, depression, soldier, loss of friend, world war, storytelling, life is a bitch, terrorist, rage, spy, fascism, idealism, leader
Recount (2008)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida
Duration: 116 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: political conspiracy, president, politics, election, campaign, presidential election, political corruption, democrat, justice, republican, dishonesty, state affairs, legal action, media, historical character, dialogue, politician, fighting the system, presidential campaign, court, american politics, economics, corporation, intrigue, usa history
Che: Part One (2008)
Plot Summary:
The Argentine, begins as Che and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956. Within two years, they mobilized popular support and an army and toppled the U.S.-friendly regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista
Duration: 134 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France, Spain, USA
Plot tags: revolution, cuban revolution, dictatorship, communism, violence, military, biopic, freedom, rebel, idealism, civil war, cold war, politics, execution, fighting the system, leadership, political unrest, state affairs, exile, rise to the top, society, cultural icon, renegade, hopes, health situation
Flame & Citron (2008)
Plot Summary:
During Nazi occupation, red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid ("Flame") and Jørgen Haagen Schmith ("Citron"), assassins in the Danish resistance, take orders from Winther, who's in direct contact with Allied leaders. One shoots, the other drives. Until 1944, they kill only Danes; then Winther gives orders to kill Germans. When a target tells Bent that Winther's using them to settle private scores, doubt sets in, complicated by Bent's relationship with the mysterious Kitty Selmer, who may be a double agent. Also, someone in their circle is a traitor. Can Bent and Jørgen kill an über-target, evade capture, and survive the war? And is this heroism, naiveté, or mere hatred?
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: Denmark, Germany, Norway, France, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic
Plot tags: war, world war two, gestapo, wartime, betrayal, spy, nazi, dishonesty, nazism, world war, double agent, resistance, organized crime, greed, ethnic conflict, partner, political unrest, wartime life, chaos, assassination attempt, danger, mistrust, state affairs, plan gone awry, espionage
Valkyrie (2008)
Plot Summary:
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer
Duration: 121 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 256000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Japan, UK
Plot tags: world war two, nazi, nazism, war, nazi germany, hitler, conspiracy, resistance, german soldier, politics, wehrmacht, espionage, betrayal, german officer, courage, gestapo, colonel, surveillance, holocaust, military, world war, double agent, ss, wartime, plan gone awry
Defiance (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland
Duration: 137 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Plot tags: world war two, holocaust, war, survival, nazi, judaism, genocide, partisan, rebellion, military, revenge, prejudice, resistance, world war, nazism, hopes, danger, rebelliousness, wartime life, escapades, red army, winter, politics, fascism, wartime
Winter in Wartime (2008)
Plot Summary:
During World War II in the freezing Netherlands winter of 1944/1945 the western Netherlands are in the grip of a famine. Many people move east to provide for their families. Fourteen year old Michiel can't wait to join the Dutch resistance, to the dismay of his father, who, as mayor, works to prevent escalations in the village
Duration: 103 min
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Plot tags: world war two, coming of age, children in wartime, resistance movement, resistance, nazi, wartime life, war, winter, occupation, execution, nazism, nazi occupation, world war, boyhood, military, life is a bitch, danger, young heroes, youth, family relations, lgbt, holocaust, international relations, wartime
The Duchess (2008)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, Italy, France, USA
Plot tags: royalty, love story, duchess, love triangle, love affair, aristocracy, duke, infidelity, adultery, high society, marriage, nobility, marital rape, destiny, marital infidelity, mother daughter relationship, heir, family problems, love, women, life philosophy, lovers, estate, mistress, love and romance
Che: Part Two (2008)
Plot Summary:
After the Cuban Revolution, Che is at the height of his fame and power. Then he disappears, re-emerging incognito in Bolivia, where he organizes a small group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits to start the great Latin American Revolution. Through this story, we come to understand how Che remains a symbol of idealism and heroism that lives in the hearts of people around the world
Duration: 135 min
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Spain, France, USA, Germany
Plot tags: revolution, communism, dictatorship, rebel, idealism, leadership, biopic, hopes, heroes, life is a bitch, historical character, political unrest, folk hero, downfall, state affairs, military, dictator, revolutionary, rebellion, war, civil war, cold war, resistance, protest, struggle
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII
Duration: 115 min
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: queen, love triangle, royal family, intrigue, british history, royalty, royal court, king, medieval, politics, family relations, betrayal, ambition, siblings relations, kingdom, tudors, seduction, aristocracy, marriage, sister sister relationship, sisters, jealousy, rivalry, sex, mistress
Little Ashes (2008)
Plot Summary:
About the young life and loves of artist Salvador Dalí, filmmaker Luis Buñuel and writer Federico García Lorca
Duration: 112 min
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, Spain
Plot tags: poet, friendship, artist, gay, painter, gay relationship, political unrest, lgbt, friends, closeted homosexual, art, spanish civil war, writers, homosexual, student, lgbtq, lifestyle, coming of age, writer's life, forbidden love, art history, buddies, artists and showbiz, state affairs, gay interest
W. (2008)
Plot Summary:
Whether you love him or hate him, there is no question that George W. Bush is one of the most controversial public figures in recent memory. W takes viewers through Bush’s eventful life -- his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to Bush’s decision to invade Iraq
Duration: 129 min
IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History
Country: USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, China
Plot tags: president, politics, election, oil, ambition, patriotism, rise to the top, u.s. president, iraq war, parents and children, leadership, american history, society, head of state, doubts and hesitations, usa president, propaganda, father son relationship, drinking, 9/11, war on terror, george w. bush, biopic, husband wife relationship, religious conversion
10,000 BC (2008)
Plot Summary:
A prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe
Duration: 109 min
IMDB Rating: 5.1/10
IMDB Votes: 135000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History
Country: USA, South Africa
Plot tags: survival, daring rescue, caveman, cave, animal attack, giant bird, mammoth, dinosaur, danger, jungle, natural disaster, mythology, ancient history, desert, lone hero, wilderness, cave woman, sorcery, redemption, monster, disaster, destiny, heroic mission, ancient, prison