Tora! Tora! Tora! (
1970) | IMDb:
7.5
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
Starring:
Martin Balsam
,
Sō Yamamura
,
Joseph Cotten
,
Tatsuya Mihashi
,
E.G. Marshall
,
James Whitmore
The Agony and the Ecstasy (
1965) | IMDb:
7.1
During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.
Starring:
Charlton Heston
,
Rex Harrison
,
Diane Cilento
,
Harry Andrews
,
Alberto Lupo
,
Adolfo Celi
Directed by:
Carol Reed
The Longest Day (
1962) | IMDb:
7.7
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Island in the Sun (
1957) | IMDb:
6.1
A scandalous tale of politics, social inequality, interracial romance, and murder set on a fictitious British-owned Caribbean island.
Starring:
James Mason
,
Joan Fontaine
,
Dorothy Dandridge
,
Joan Collins
,
Michael Rennie
,
Harry Belafonte
The King and I (
1956) | IMDb:
7.4
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.
The Egyptian (
1954) | IMDb:
6.5
In eighteenth-dynasty Egypt, Sinuhe, a poor orphan, becomes a brilliant physician and with his friend Horemheb is appointed to the service of the new Pharoah. Sinuhe's personal triumphs and tragedies are played against the larger canvas of the turbulent events of the 18th dynasty. As Sinuhe is drawn into court intrigues he learns the answers to the questions he has sought since his birth.
Starring:
Jean Simmons
,
Victor Mature
,
Gene Tierney
,
Peter Ustinov
,
Edmund Purdom
,
Michael Wilding
Directed by:
Michael Curtiz
David and Bathsheba (
1951) | IMDb:
6.1
King David enters into an adulterous affair with the beautiful Bathsheba, which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel.
Starring:
Gregory Peck
,
Susan Hayward
,
Kieron Moore
,
Raymond Massey
,
James Robertson Justice
,
Jayne Meadows
Directed by:
Henry King
Produced by:
Darryl F. Zanuck
Captain from Castile (
1947) | IMDb:
6.7
Spain, 1518: young caballero Pedro De Vargas offends his sadistic neighbor De Silva, who just happens to be an officer of the Inquisition. Forced to flee, Pedro, friend Juan Garcia, and adoring servant girl Catana join Cortez' first expedition to Mexico. Arriving in the rich new land, Cortez decides to switch from exploration to conquest...with only 500 men. Embroiled in continuous adventures and a romantic interlude, Pedro almost forgets he has a deadly enemy...
Gentleman's Agreement (
1947) | IMDb:
7.2
A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.
Directed by:
Elia Kazan
Produced by:
Darryl F. Zanuck
The Foxes of Harrow (
1947) | IMDb:
6.5
An Irish rascal and inveterate gambler uses his considerable skills at the gaming tables of New Orleans to become fabulously rich.
Starring:
Rex Harrison
,
Maureen O'Hara
,
Richard Haydn
,
Victor McLaglen
,
Patricia Medina
,
Vanessa Brown
Directed by:
John M. Stahl
Wilson (
1944) | IMDb:
6.4
The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2006.
Starring:
Alexander Knox
,
Geraldine Fitzgerald
,
Thomas Mitchell
,
Ruth Nelson
,
Cedric Hardwicke
,
Charles Coburn
Directed by:
Henry King
The Blue Bird (
1940) | IMDb:
6.2
Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
Starring:
Shirley Temple
,
Spring Byington
,
Nigel Bruce
,
Gale Sondergaard
,
Eddie Collins
,
Sybil Jason
Directed by:
Walter Lang
Produced by:
Darryl F. Zanuck
Hollywood Cavalcade (
1939) | IMDb:
6.5
Starting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marries an actor, so Connors fires them. She asks for him as director of her next film. Many silent stars shown making the transition to sound.
Produced by:
Darryl F. Zanuck
The Rains Came (
1939) | IMDb:
6.9
Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Tom Ransome get in the way, but everyone shapes up when faced by earthquake, flooding, and plague.
Directed by:
Clarence Brown
Produced by:
Darryl F. Zanuck
In Old Chicago (
1938) | IMDb:
6.7
The O'Leary brothers -- honest Jack and roguish Dion -- become powerful figures, and eventually rivals, in Chicago on the eve of its Great Fire.