Best 26 History Movies Popular from 2009

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s. Details on Public Enemies / IMDB / YouTube

The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official. Get info on Milk / IMDB / YouTube

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, 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. More about Invictus / IMDB / YouTube

Jewish brothers in German-occupied Eastern Europe escape into a Belorussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters, and endeavor to build a village, in order to protect themselves and about one thousand Jewish non-combatants. Look into Defiance / IMDB / YouTube

A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon. Learn about Frost/Nixon / IMDB / YouTube

A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria. Get info on Agora / IMDB / YouTube

Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health. More about The Cove / IMDB / YouTube

The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.). More about Red Cliff / IMDB / YouTube

In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista. Find out about Che: Part One / IMDB / YouTube

The story of the controversial Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of the English football club Leeds United. See more about The Damned United / IMDB / YouTube

The life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm. Look into Notorious / IMDB / YouTube

An examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good. Read about Capitalism: A Love Story / IMDB / YouTube

The story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. See more about Coco Before Chanel / IMDB / YouTube

In 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America. More about Che: Part Two / IMDB / YouTube

A man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969. Read about Taking Woodstock / IMDB / YouTube

Desmond Miles is trained to become a modern-day Assassin through the resurrected memories of ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who uncovers a massive Templar conspiracy in Renaissance Italy leading to the new Pope. Explore Assassin's Creed II / IMDB / YouTube

Second and final part of epic tale about a legendary battle that changed the course of China history. More about Red Cliff II / IMDB / YouTube

A dramatization of the 1989 Montréal Massacre, during which several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist. Check out Polytechnique / IMDB / YouTube

True story of Mary Griffith, gay rights crusader, whose teenage son committed suicide due to her religious intolerance. Based on the book of the same title by Leroy Aarons. Find out about Prayers for Bobby / IMDB / YouTube

A swordsman from a strange land is caught in a struggle between morality, righteousness, and devotion as he reluctantly agrees to take a raggedy boy and his dog to a remote, Buddhist temple. More about Sword of the Stranger / IMDB / YouTube

Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan. Check out Taxi to the Dark Side / IMDB / YouTube

Torn between faith and science, and suffering hallucinations, English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to complete 'On the Origin of Species' and maintain his relationship with his wife. Explore Creation / IMDB / YouTube

Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to find the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. Info on Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 / IMDB / YouTube

A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world. Look into Amelia / IMDB / YouTube

In 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar, directed by a young Orson Welles. Read about Me and Orson Welles / IMDB / YouTube

The lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith, aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. See more about Grey Gardens / IMDB / YouTube