The Best Historical Movies and Shows I Watched in the Last Year (2025-26)
Hello friends! Yes, I know my last two posts on this blog were movie reviews, but I just had to get this post in before I switch gears and share some more stories from history! It’s become an annual tradition for me to write a post in the summer (yes, I’m a bit late this year!) of the best historical movies and shows I watched in the last year. I look forward to it and think about it all year long, and there were some really good ones this year!
There were so many good ones, and it was so hard to decide which ones I liked best that I decided not to list them in order of how much I liked them, but rather to just list them in chronological order of when the story took place. So, without further ado, here are the best historical movies and shows I watched in the last year!
Movies
A Great Awakening
Before watching this movie, I did not know that George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin worked so closely together, and I didn’t realize that the Great Awakening had such a big impact on the American Revolution!
I learned a lot, enjoyed it immensely, and came away freshly reminded of the power of Jesus to change lives!
It was very well-done, and completely family-friendly, too.
Young Washington
When I first learned about this movie, I wondered why they were releasing a movie that covered the French and Indian War, rather than the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, as we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of that this year. But after watching the movie, I understood why. When most of us think of George Washington, we probably think of him as the first President of the United States or the general who led the Continental Army to victory against the British. But he didn’t start out as a president or a general, but as an ordinary boy. I loved how this movie showed that his experiences when he was young prepared him for the historic roles he would play later in his life. It showed how he learned from his mistakes and failures and how his character was forged.
The Christian themes in this movie were subtle, but well-done and fitting. The main theme, and what I loved most about this movie, is that of providence. By providence, I mean how God is working things for our good, even when things are going badly, and we don’t understand why, how God uses our experiences to prepare us, and how He numbers our days. I’m not an expert on the French and Indian War, but from what I’ve read, this movie is mostly historically accurate, and my favorite part is how God providentially protected George Washington in the movie’s final battle.
There was some moderate war violence, but it wasn’t nearly as bloody as some other PG-13 war movies I’ve seen. There were just a few mild curse words, some characters smoke and drink, and there’s just a little bit of romance (including a kiss between George Washington and a young woman who ends up marrying someone else at her father’s wishes for social reasons), but the movie steers clear of inappropriate content and was one my entire family enjoyed watching together.
I thought the entire movie was excellently done, and I came away freshly reminded that America is worth celebrating! You can read my full review of it here.
The Patriot
Even though this movie was made a while ago, I just watched it for the first time this year. This movie gave an interesting perspective as it focuses on a father who believes in the cause of American liberty, but doesn’t want to fight, not because he is a coward, but because he knows from his past how ugly war is. But when the war comes quite literally to his doorstep and harms his family, the sleeping warrior in him awakens, and he becomes quite the formidable foe to the British.
I think this movie serves as a good reminder that freedom can be very costly and not to be too quick to make assumptions about others.
This is one of only two R-rated war movies to make this list, and fair warning, it was violent, but to be honest, it wasn’t as brutal as I was expecting, even though some utterly horrible things happen (for one thing, the British burn down a church with people inside it). They do show plenty of bloody fighting and death in this movie, but they didn’t show as much as they could have.
April 9th
And here is the first of several World War II movies on this list! This one covers the German invasion of Denmark on April 9th, 1940, and the valiant, but futile, efforts of a small band of Danish soldiers on bicycles to defend their homeland.
This movie is unique in that it is entirely in Danish (and a little German). We watched it with English subtitles, though, and I hardly even noticed that the audio wasn’t in English. In fact, my sister and I talked later about how we remembered different scenes of the movie, and in our memory of it, the characters were speaking English, even though we knew they weren’t! My siblings and I inherited the trait of being extremely visual from our mother, and most of us depend very heavily on the closed captioning in movies. (I love going to see movies in the theater, but if it’s a movie I like, I’m always looking forward to when I can watch it at home with captions!)
I liked the themes of defending your home, fighting for freedom, and looking out for one another.
There was some war violence, and one scene where there are a bunch of civilians out on the street as the Germans attack the town, and a little boy gets shot. For the most part, though, it wasn’t too gory. No other content warnings that I can remember!
Darkest Hour
This was a very interesting movie about Winston Churchill. He had his flaws, to be sure, but there’s no doubt that he was just the kind of leader England needed in her darkest hour when she was facing the threat of Nazi Germany alone and the danger of an invasion was very real. I love to see real events in history come to life on the screen, and it often is so much easier to understand the politics of a situation when I see the story play out in a movie versus just reading about it.
Even though it’s a war movie, it’s focused on the politics at home in England, so there is very little violence, just one very brief scene showing the aftermath of a bombing in France. There’s also a bit of crude language and British-style swearing, and Churchill certainly likes to smoke and drink.
Truth & Treason
Truth & Treason is based on the true story of a teenage boy in Nazi Germany who dared to write the truth–and paid the ultimate price for it.
Some movies you watch and you enjoy them, but then you forget about them. This is not one of those movies. This is a movie that will leave you with a lot to think about, which is just the kind of story I love most. It’s not all fun and enjoyable to watch, but it’s impactful.
It tells the story of Helmuth Hübener, a sixteen-year-old boy living in Hamburg, Germany, in 1941. After his Jewish friend is taken away, Helmuth begins listening to the real news on illegal radio broadcasts from England–and starts writing the truth. But telling the truth in Nazi Germany comes at a very high cost. And for Helmuth Hübener, it would cost his life.
It won’t be for everyone to watch. It’s rated PG-13, mainly for violence, which there is a fair amount of. There are several scenes where people are beaten up, sometimes pretty badly. We see Helmuth and other prisoners being brutally interrogated. And the movie ends with Helmuth’s execution by beheading. Thankfully, the camera goes dark before the blade comes down, but we see the preparations being made. It’s disturbing, and I think it should be. There’s no foul language other than one use of “bloody.” There is a little romance; Helmuth goes on a date with a girl he works with, and they kiss a couple of times (if I were directing the movie, I’d have left out the kisses, of course😀). Also, Helmuth was part of the Mormon church (also called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS), and I do believe that the Mormon church teaches some unbiblical doctrines.
While it’s overall a very serious movie, there were parts that made me smile and even laugh, too. And the acting, the costumes, every aspect of the cinematography! It was excellently done.
As a writer, I loved the theme of “fighting with words” in this movie and the reminder that words are powerful. Our greatest weapon against evil, darkness, and lies is the truth. Read my full review here.
Greyhound
This movie is a fictional story but inspired by what it was really like for American and other Allied ships to cross the Atlantic during WWII, facing the constant threat of German U-boats. It focuses on the ship Greyhound and her captain.
I’ve always loved stories about ships and the sea, so I loved that aspect of the movie. I also liked the captain’s strong Christian faith, and how he was willing to fight to defend others, yet he didn’t take pleasure in killing Germans and was saddened at the souls lost when they had to sink a U-boat.
Even though this is a war movie, there was hardly any violence and gore. The only content caution is a wee bit of language, including one f-word said by a sailor, but it’s clear the captain doesn’t approve of his language, and he immediately apologizes.
Against the Sun
Ever since I read the story of Louis Zamperini, I’ve found the Pacific front during World War II quite interesting, and this movie, based on a true story of three Americans who are stranded on a life raft in the vast Pacific ocean, was quite interesting. I was very impressed with how they were able to make a movie where almost the entire runtime is one setting (the life raft in the ocean) and only three actors, yet it was gripping, suspenseful, inspiring, hopeful, and included some humorous bits, too.
As far as content warnings, there was just a little bit of mild language, and plenty of danger and peril from sharks and the Japanese.
Hacksaw Ridge
This is just the sort of movie I like–a World War II movie about a real hero, Desmond Doss, an army medic and the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Even if you don’t agree with his conviction to not carry a weapon, his commitment to his beliefs despite fierce opposition is admirable. I loved how the movie also shows us glimpses of his childhood, how he met his wife, and what led him to the convictions he had.
It is rated R for violence, so it’s definitely not a movie for everyone. We also watched it through VidAngel and filtered a bit of crude language and vulgarity.
Overall, I thought it was an excellent movie about a real hero who was self-sacrificing , committed to his faith and principles, and wanted to save life, not take it, and shows us that courage can be demonstrated in many ways.
Pressure
I think this movie gets the distinction of being the only one on this list that actually made me cry. “I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob!” (That’s a line from an old VeggieTales movie, in case you didn’t know!).
Truly, though, I loved it! It’s about D-Day and the planning leading up to it, focusing on the Scottish meteorologist tasked with giving General Eisenhower the weather forecast for the planned invasion day. Overall, it’s a serious movie, but there were a few parts that made me laugh!
And I don’t often cry in movies, but I cried during the part when the American soldiers are storming the beaches of Normandy and getting cut down by German machine-gun fire. 😭
Whether intentional on the part of the movie makers or not, I also loved the aspect of God’s providence in the weather, and I truly believe that He was working in the events of the war, and it was His providence that finally gave the Allies victory.
It’s rated PG-13 for some war violence, but those parts aren’t extremely long. And there is a bit of language. Though it doesn’t excuse it, these people were dealing with some extreme, well, pressure (hence the name of the movie).
A Bridge Too Far
This movie is definitely the oldest one on this list! I actually prefer watching newer movies, because the film quality is just so much better and feels more realistic, but this was an old movie I enjoyed! It’s about Operation Market Garden (when the Americans and British tried to seize several strategic bridges in and around Arnhem in the Netherlands) and after a writer friend said that my book Trains and Tulips reminded her of this movie, I wanted to watch it.
There was a bit of language that could have been left out, in my humble opinion (we used the Enjoy Movies Your Way filter), but other than that, I liked it.
Unbroken
I’m not sure why it took me so long to watch this movie, because I’ve loved the story of Louis (or Louie) Zamperini ever since I first read it back in 2014 or ‘15. It’s such an incredible example of overcoming the odds, survival, and finally, redemption.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Louie Zamperini was a troublemaking kid who got into running and even ran in the 1936 Olympics, then became a bombardier during World War II, crashed over the ocean, survived 47 days on an ill-equipped life raft, and was then captured by the Japanese and taken to a POW camp where he endured brutal treatment, but was determined to survive.
This movie ends with the end of the war, but there is another movie (Unbroken: Path to Redemption), which is also excellent, that tells about his life after the war and how he finally found redemption in Christ.
Obviously, this movie covers Louie’s imprisonment in a Japanese POW camp and the abuse he endured there, so there are some parts that won’t be for everyone to watch, and there is a little bit of language, too. (Again, the Enjoy Movies Your Way and VidAngel apps are ones we regularly use for watching war movies that are full of great history and are excellent stories, but would be better with the language cleaned up!)
Nuremberg
While there are parts in this movie that aren’t easy to watch, overall, I loved it.
The movie covers the Nuremberg trials, hence the name. For anyone who doesn’t know, the Nuremberg trials were an international war crimes court formed after World War II to try some of the leading Nazis and Nazi organizations.
I thought the movie was excellently written, naturally sharing the historical information in a way that’s easy to understand and remember.
It clearly shows how evil the Nazis were, but also how very good some of them were at manipulation and pretending to be innocent of any wrongdoing.
During the trials, actual footage is shown from the concentration camps, and it is some of the most disturbing images I’ve ever seen. I don’t think young children should see it, but I do think that everyone, once they’re old enough, should know about the Holocaust and just how tragic it really was. One of the main themes of the movie is that the atrocities of the Nazis needed to be brought to light, so that we don’t let it happen again.
But even though this movie deals with some very serious topics, there is some humor interspersed, which I loved!
In addition to the concentration camp footage, there are a few other content warnings to be aware of: a bit of language (a few misuses of God’s name and a handful of other crude words), two Nazis commit suicide in prison, we see the execution by hanging of one Nazi, and at the end of the movie, we’re told that one of the main characters, the American psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Kelly committed suicide after a long battle of depression, which was terribly sad.
In summary, while I do want to give a few cautions, I thought this was an excellent movie, packed full of real history with an important message we need to remember. Read my full review here.
Operation Finale
This was a very interesting movie about the Israeli operatives who went to Argentina in 1960 to capture the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and bring him back to Israel to face trial and be brought to justice.
Like Nuremberg, this movie also showed how even someone who was responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of innocent Jewish men, women, and children, could act innocent, normal, even nice. But eventually, his true colors came out, and he did face justice.
After all the WWII movies, it’s nice to also watch some post-WWII ones that show the Nazis finally being brought to justice! And this one gave a unique perspective in that the ones who brought him to justice were Jewish–people whose families had actually been killed at Adolf Eichmann’s orders. While it would have been very easy for them to seek personal revenge, we see them still treating him with decency as a human being (while taking precautions to make sure he did not escape!), despite their very understandable feelings toward him.
As far as content warnings, there were a few flashback scenes showing the Nazis murdering Jews, a bit of other violence, and some language.
Reagan
President Ronal Reagan certainly wasn’t perfect, but I do think he was a very good president, and I learned a lot from watching this movie about him. I especially liked how it portrayed his faith and his stalwart opposition to communism.
And I loved how the movie ended with hope–hope for America. I get awfully tired of hearing doomsday predictions for our country, and I, for one, have so much hope for the future of this beautiful country!
There was a bit of mild language, and a few scenes in Hollywood, hinting at some of the immorality that was going on without actually showing anything inappropriate, but no other content warnings that I recall!
Sound of Freedom
And we have one more movie on this list! This one is set in much more recent times, and is one that is not pleasant or enjoyable to watch, but is one that I think is so important. It brings to light the horrors of child sex trafficking through the story of one American man, working for the Department of Homeland security, and his determination to bring one girl home, and also rescue as many others as he can.
Like I said, it’s not an easy movie to watch, but I think the modern day slave trade is something that people need to know about. And for those of us who do already know, it’s good to be reminded every so often. It’s so easy to get busy and forget about “the least of these,” forget that God calls us to do what we can to rescue the orphan and the slave and the oppressed.
I’m not going to go into detail on the content warnings here, but if you want a detailed breakdown of the movie before watching it, you can check out the PluggedIn review.
Shows
House of David
I was skeptical about this show at first, but when I learned it was created by Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn, I was interested in giving it a try because I’d really liked some of their movies (Jesus Revolution, The Case for Christ, etc.), and wow, did this show exceed my expectations! I loved it.
In two seasons, this show introduces us to David and follows his rise from simple shepherd boy to being secretly anointed king, to giant-slayer, to a prominent place in King Saul’s army and court. We also follow King Saul and his family and a few of David’s brothers on their journeys.
Like any adaptation of a biblical account for the screen, there were creative liberties taken. Much of it is what you’d call historical fiction, not historical fact. But I was pleased to see that it followed the biblical narrative much more closely than most biblical movies I’ve seen. There were a number of times where the dialogue was taken straight from Scripture.
One of my favorite parts of the show is the prophet Samuel. He was awesome. He came across almost as rather a Gandalf-like character–bluntly speaking the truth and rather funny, too–but what was so great about him was his unflinching commitment to God and doing whatever God told him to do, no matter the risk.
I came away reminded that God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect plans and with a fresh yearning to hear His voice and follow His leading.
There was some moderate violence and very tastefully handled depictions of immorality, but overall, it was a very pure and wholesome show that my whole family very much enjoyed.
All Creatures Great & Small
This is another show that is on my favorites list! It was simply lovely. Inspired by the adventures of the real James Herriot, this show follows a young Scottish veterinarian working in the English countryside in the 1930s and ‘40s. The scenery and costumes and all the animals made it a delight to watch for me! And the humor! I loved all the character interactions and humor (most of it comes from the slightly eccentric vet whom James begins working for, Siegfried Farnon, and his prodigal younger brother, Tristan).
We get to see the characters develop and grow throughout the series, and I liked how, while it feels like a pleasant and fun watch overall, it also dives into some deeper themes, especially in the later seasons during and immediately following WWII, where we deal with PTSD and guilt and other war-related themes. The overall focus of the show, though, is on the good old-fashioned values of loyalty, honesty, hard work, looking out for your neighbor, being a good friend, and loving your family, which I love.
The main characters are Catholic, but it doesn’t get too deep into any theological themes. There is talk of going to church, praying for loved ones, and that sort of thing, but the focus is more on character rather than beliefs.
It certainly wasn’t perfect; there were a few things I would have done differently, and I did like some episodes better than others, but overall, I loved it!
For the most part, it was family-friendly, pure, and wholesome, but there is a swear word here and there, some episodes have more romance than others, and some characters really like going to the pub (but it shows how foolish getting drunk makes you look). Also, if you’re squeamish, be aware that there is a fair amount of veterinary procedures, tending injured and sick animals, and that sort of thing.
Well, that sums it up! I think I set a record for the longest “best movies” post I’ve done yet!
Have you watched any of these movies or shows? What are some of the best historical movies and shows you watched in the last year? Leave a comment below!
Always remember, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it,” (1 Thess. 5:24).
All for Him,
Savannah Jane
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