Top 19 History Movies Must-See Released in 1985

In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him. Info on Ran / IMDB / YouTube

In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter. Info on Out of Africa / IMDB / YouTube

A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during Pol Pot's bloody Year Zero cleansing campaign. Learn about The Killing Fields / IMDB / YouTube

Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator. Read about A Passage to India / IMDB / YouTube

Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors. Info on Shoah / IMDB / YouTube

During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is. Read about The Official Story / IMDB / YouTube

A trapper and his young son get pulled into the American revolution early as unwilling participants and remain involved through to the end. Details on Revolution / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor. More about The Times of Harvey Milk / IMDB / YouTube

Set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl (Brandauer), an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception. See more about Colonel Redl / IMDB / YouTube

An Irish man seeks vengeance against the vikings who killed his parents. Find out about When the Raven Flies / IMDB / YouTube

The Biblical story of Israel's greatest King. Read about King David / IMDB / YouTube

Details the life of the Russian monk Rasputin. The film shows his rise to power and how it corrupted him. His sexual perversions and madness ultimatly leads to his gruesome assasination. Check out Rasputin / IMDB / YouTube

A mother's love for her children leads to a son's revenge for her death in this dramatic thriller that begins during the Greek civil war. Check out Eleni / IMDB / YouTube

While Europe stands on the brink of World War I in Autumn 1913, Sir Randolph Nettleby hosts a weekend of shooting on his estate for European aristocrats. Learn about The Shooting Party / IMDB / YouTube

In Victorian England, two grave robbers supply a wealthy doctor with bodies to research anatomy on, but greed causes them to look for a more simple way to get the job done. Based on the horrifying Burke and Hare case. Explore The Doctor and the Devils / IMDB / YouTube

Various scenes in the life of a tight-knit community in Czech village exploring the human spirit in the backdrop of the post-war political changes they experience. Details on All My Good Countrymen / IMDB / YouTube

The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. Check out Before Stonewall / IMDB / YouTube

A young couple fight for their love and freedom. More about Stone Years / IMDB / YouTube

The film follows a New York City gay man, in a monogamous relationship, becoming a buddy or volunteer bedside companion to another gay man dying of AIDS, and the friendship that develops. Restored in 2020. Look into Buddies / IMDB / YouTube