History of the World in 30 Days

List creator: dwhudson Created on: May 8, 2002 - 5:05 AM PDT Description: An absurd but fun exercise. Rules: No docs. No "period pieces", i.e., must be at least sorta based on true events.

show images/hide images

	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
Would like to begin with Quest for Fire. But it's not on DVD. So we leap way ahead to China the 3rd century BC.
	I, Claudius (Disc 1 of 5) (1975)
And we're already in AD terrority. By 40 years or so.
	The Lion in Winter (1968)
Race ahead to the mid-1100s! Such a wonderful movie.
	Alexander Nevsky (1938)			Not Rated
Gotta get that chapter on 13th century Russia in.
	The Passion of Joan of Arc (Criterion Collection) (1928)			Not Rated
A gorgeous black and white window onto the early 1400s.
	Cabeza De Vaca (1991)			Not Rated
100 years later, the Americas are getting their first taste of European hegemony.
	The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)
Back to France. The most famous trial of 1560.
	Elizabeth R (Disc 1 of 4) (1971)
Glenda Jackson became my first screen crush when I bathed in this series way back when. Magnificent.
	Farinelli (1994)
Wonderful to look at, wonderful to listen to.
	Quills (2000)
French Revolution? Nah, the first sexual revolution.
	Amistad (1997)
Underestimated, IMHO. 1838. The crime America would never redeem itself of.
	Cobra Verde (1988)			Not Rated
Meanwhile, down south...
	Breaker Morant (1980)
Our first venture onto the African continent. The Boer Wars.
	Gallipoli (1981)
We linger longest in the years surrounding WWI.
	Michael Collins (1996)
Gotta get 'the troubles' in.
	All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)			Not Rated
The WWI classic.
	Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Would've preferred Reds. But it's not out on DVD.
	Lawrence of Arabia (Limited Edition) (Disc 1 of 2) (1962)
Those WWI years: We were busy all over!
	The Last Emperor (1987)			Not Rated
Meanwhile, back in China.
	Gandhi (1982)
Whew, got India in, too.
	Aimee & Jaguar (1999)
Foreshadowing the Holocaust.
	The Longest Day (1962)
I settled on this one for the WWII movie. I dunno...
	Black Rain (1989)
The nightmare that ended WWII.
	The Right Stuff (1983)
No wonder we started thinking about getting off the planet.
	The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
1965. And our only Indonesia film.
	The Killing Fields (1984)
We kind of sneak Vietnam in through the back door here, while also covering the second most hideous genocide in modern history.
	Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Criterion) (1985)
One way of catching up with Japan.
	All the President's Men (1976)
And there are still a few bugs in the system.
	Cry Freedom (1987)
Late into the 20th century, and many are still fighting for self-rule.
	Salvador (1986)
Ok, I'm cheating a bit here. But the story's true enough in an Oliver Stone kind of way. And brings us to our current geopolitical balance.