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Filmography - War Movies: Pre 20th Century

Films on DVD as of June 2011. Includes films with combat and/or wartime settings

War Movies Filmography - Pre 20th Century War/Military Conflicts excluding Civil War

Titles available on DVD as of June 2011. 

Includes films with combat and/or wartime settings.

This is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date holdings (including VHS tapes) please refer to the library ALADIN catalog (www.catalog.wrlc.org)

 

 

300. 2007. 2 videodiscs (116 min.). In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes lead a Army of well over 100,000 men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and other Slave soldiers. Xerxes waited many days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw. When the Greeks did not leave, Xerxes was left with no option and he moved forward. The battle lasted for about 3 days and after which all 300 Spartans were killed. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 2788

The Alamo. Screen epics: MGM/UA Home Video screen epics. 2000. 2 videocassettes (193 min.). Tells the story of the historic battle by 185 men against a 7,00-man Mexican army--a battle that ended in the smaller forces' defeat, but lasted long enough to insure the eventual independence of Texas. HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 6272

Alexander Nevsky. Eisenstein, the sound years: The Classic collection: The Criterion collection: Classic collection (Chicago, Ill.): Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2001. 1 videodisc (108 min.). Biographical story of Prince Alexander Nevsky and his successful resistance against an attempt by the Teutonic Knights to invade Russia in 1242. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 385

Alexander revisited: the final cut. 2007. 2 videodiscs (214 min.). The story of Alexander the Great, who in 4th century BC conquered ninety percent of the known world of the time by defeating Greece, Persia, Afghanistan, and India in just eight years. DVD 2512

Braveheart. 2007. 2 videodiscs (177 min.). William Wallace, a Scottish folk hero, leads his men to battle against the British oppression. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4787

Kagemusha: The shadow warrior. Criterion collection: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2005. 2 videodiscs (180 min.). Reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and the pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates a soaring historical epic about a peasant impersonating a nobleman in battle. Kagemusha is presented in its original 180 min. uncut Japanese version, not the shortened "international version" presented by 20th Century Fox. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 7274

The last of the Mohicans. 2001. 1 videodisc (117 min.). A love story set during the French and Indian War, between an American raised by the Mohican Indians and the daughter of a British officer. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6905

The patriot. 2000. 1 videodisc (165 min.). A hero of the French and Indian conflict, Benjamin Martin had renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. However, when British troops arrive at his South Carolina home and endanger his family, he takes up arms alongside his idealistic patriot son, Gabriel. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 347

Ran. The Criterion collection: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2005. 2 videodiscs (160 min.). An aging warlord decides to split his kingdom between his three sons, who will live in three separate castles. The two eldest sons are quite happy, but the youngest thinks his father has gone mad, and predicts that it won't be long until the two older brothers are fighting with each other. DVD 100

That Hamilton woman. The Criterion collection: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2009. 1 videodisc (125 min.). Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars of the late eighteenth century. Emma Hart is a beautiful dance hall girl who is sent by her latest lover to stay with his uncle Sir William Hamilton, the British ambassador to Naples. Sir William considers Emma a rare piece of art he must possess. Sir William introduces Emma to Naples' elite society and she soon marries him. Later, Horatio Nelson, a famous English Naval office arrives. Soon, a scandalous, adulterous affair between the British Royal Navy officer and the renowned beauty, Emma begins. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6892

The Trojan women. 2004. 1 videodisc (105 min.). An indictment of the horror and futility of war. Set at the end of the Trojan War, all the Trojan warriors and princes are dead and the women and children are left to be divided among the conquerors. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5767

Troy. 2005. 2 videodiscs (163 min.). In 1193 B.C., Prince Paris, the son of the King of Troy falls in love with Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, and convinces her to follow him away from her husband, Menelaus. The result is an epic war in which the Greeks sail to Troy and lay siege. Achilles, the greatest warrior in all the world, is called in to fight against Troy and give Greece the upper hand. Hector, the eldest son of Priam, King of Troy, and the greatest Trojan warrior, embodies the hopes of the people of his city. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6200

Walker. Criterion collection: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2007. 1 videodisc (94 min.). The story of the real-life American soldier of fortune who declared himself president of Nicaragua in 1855 and ruled that country for two years. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5915

War and peace. 2003. 5 videodiscs (431 min.). Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece, it was shot entirely in the Soviet Union.  It took more than five years and $100 million to create. Winner of Best Foreign Film at the 1969 Academy Awards. This version is the longest version available. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 603

The war game; Culloden. The cinema of Peter Watkins. 2006. 1 videodisc (121 min.). Culloden: In 1746 Scots fighting for Bonnie Prince Charlie lose to English forces in Scotland at the brutal battle of Culloden. War game: A dramatization of the possible effects of nuclear warfare on Great Britain. Explores the physical damage effects, the psychological effects on the survivors, the societal logic for the existence of nuclear arms, and the attempts to understand how the balance of power keeps atomic weapons in check. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 799