• 1920s, Prohibition and Great Depression

    Movie Title

    Rating

    Date

    Summary**

    The Great Gatsby

    PG-13

    2013

    A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor.

    Boardwalk Empire (TV Series)

    TV-MA

    2010-2014

    An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law, conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.

    It’s a Wonderful Life

    PG

    1946

    An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.

    Chicago

    PG-13

    2002

    Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

    Seabiscuit

    PG-13

    2003

    True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.

    Cinderella Man

    PG-13

    2005

    The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.

    The Cotton Club

    R

    1984

    The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous.

    Of Mice and Men

    PG-13

    1992

    Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.

    The Grapes of Wrath

    Not Rated

    1940

    A poor Midwest family is forced off of their land. They travel to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.

    The Untouchables

    R

    1987

    Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team.

    The Immigrant

    R

    2013

    1921. An innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.






    WWII Movies

    Movie Title

    Rating

    Date

    Summary**

    Enemy at the Gates

    R

    2001

    A Russian sniper and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.

    Saving Private Ryan

    R

    1998

    Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action

    Band of Brothers

    (Watch 2 episodes)

    TV-MA

    2001

    The story of Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division and their mission in WWII Europe from Operation Overlord through V-J Day.

    The Pacific (Watch 2 episodes)

    TV-MA

    2010

    A 10-part mini-series from the creators of "Band of Brothers" telling the intertwined stories of three Marines during America's battle with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II.

    Flags of our Fathers

    R

    2006

    The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII.

    The Big Red One

    R

    1980

    . The story of a sergeant and the inner core members of his unit as they try to serve in and survive World War II.

    Schindler’s List

    R

    1993

    In Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.

    Life is Beautiful

    PG-13

    1997

    A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp.

    The Thin Red Line

    R

    1998

    Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.

    Tora! Tora! Tora!

    G

    1970

    A dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that allowed it to happen.

    Letters from Iwo Jima

    R

    2007

    The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

    Pearl Harbor

    PG-13

    2001

    Pearl Harbor follows the story of two best friends, Rafe and Danny, and their love lives as they go off to join the war.

    Midway

    PG

    1976

    A dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

    Das Boot

    R

    1981

    The claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat; boredom, filth, and sheer terror.

    Sands of Iwo Jima

    NR

    1949

    A dramatization of the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.

    Patton

    G

    1970

    The World War II phase of the career of the controversial American general, George S. Patton.

    Memphis Belle

    PG-13

    1990

    The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home.

     
    American Civil Rights Movement

    Movie Title

    Rating

    Date

    Summary**

    Selma

    PG-13

    2014

    A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965

    Remember the Titans

    PG

    2000

    The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

    Lee Daniels’ The Butler

    PG-13

    2013

    As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

    Malcolm X

    PG-13

    1992

    Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.

    Mississippi Burning

    R

    1988

    Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.

    The Help

    PG-13

    2011

    An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

    Ruby Bridges

     

    1998

    The true story of Ruby Bridges, an African-American girl who, in 1960 at age 6, helped to integrate the all-white schools of New Orleans. Although she was the only black girl to come to the school she was sent to, (and since all the white mothers pulled their children out of class, she was the only one there, period), and though she faced a crowd of angry white citizens every day, she emerged unscathed, physically or emotionally. Encouraged by her teacher, a white woman from the North named Barbara Henry, and her mother, Lucille, and with her own quiet strength, she eventually broke down a century-old barrier forever, a pivotal moment in the civil-rights movement.

    Separate But Equal

    PG

    1991

    A dramatization of the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation.


    Movies about Developing Nations

     

    Movie Title

    Rating

    Date

    Summary**

    Hotel Rwanda

    PG - 13

    2004

    The true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

    Blood Diamond

    R

    2006

    A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.

    Two episodes of Generation Kill

    TV-MA

    2008

    A Rolling Stone reporter, embedded with The 1st Recon Marines chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003.

    Invictus

    PG - 13

    2009

    Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

    Hurt Locker

    R

    2008

    During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

    Argo

    R

    2012

    Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

    Jarhead

    R

    2005

    Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait. (125 mins.)

     Blackhawk Down

    R

    2001

    123 elite U.S. soldiers drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.

    Restrepo

    R

    2010

    Documentary of a year with one platoon in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan.

    Taking Chance

    PG

    2009

    Based on real-life events, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming.

     
Last Modified on August 28, 2018