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Best History Movies

of the 2000s

The 20 highest-rated history movies released between 2000 and 2009, ranked by IMDb score.

1

The Best of Youth(2003)

8.5 IMDb94% RT89 Meta

After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian histor

2

Hotel Rwanda(2004)

8.1 IMDb91% RT79 Meta

Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Ru

3

The Fog of War(2003)

8.1 IMDb96% RT87 Meta

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to bein

4

Prayers for Bobby(2009)

8 IMDb73% RT

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no o

5

Ip Man(2008)

8 IMDb86% RT59 Meta

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan bet

6

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly(2007)

8 IMDb94% RT92 Meta

Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine, has a devastating stroke at age 43. The damage to his brain stem results in locked-in syndrome, with which he is almost com

7

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War(2004)

8 IMDb79% RT64 Meta

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

8

Hero(2002)

7.9 IMDb85 Meta

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

9

No Man's Land(2001)

7.9 IMDb93% RT84 Meta

Two soldiers from opposite sides get stuck between the front lines in the same trench. The UN is asked to free them and both sides agree on a ceasefire, but will they stick to it?

10

Apocalypto(2006)

7.8 IMDb65% RT68 Meta

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrow

11

The World's Fastest Indian(2005)

7.8 IMDb83% RT68 Meta

The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

12

Sword of the Stranger(2007)

7.7 IMDb

Pursued by formidable Chinese assassins, young Kotaro and his dog run into No Name, a mysterious stranger who gets pulled into the chase. The unlikely companions form a bond over saving the dog from a

13

The Count of Monte Cristo(2002)

7.7 IMDb74% RT61 Meta

Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a

14

The Magdalene Sisters(2002)

7.7 IMDb91% RT83 Meta

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

15

Black Hawk Down(2001)

7.7 IMDb77% RT74 Meta

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing inte

16

Joyeux Noel(2005)

7.6 IMDb74% RT70 Meta

France, 1914, during World War I. On Christmas Eve, an extraordinary event takes place in the bloody no man's land that the French and the Scots dispute with the Germans…

17

Enemy at the Gates(2001)

7.5 IMDb53% RT53 Meta

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

18

One Hundred Steps(2000)

7.5 IMDb

Peppino Impastato is a quick-witted lad growing up in 1970s Sicily. Despite hailing from a family with Mafia ties and living just one hundred steps from the house of local boss Tano Badalamenti, Peppi

19

Coach Carter(2005)

7.4 IMDb63% RT57 Meta

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

20

Memoirs of a Geisha(2005)

7.3 IMDb35% RT54 Meta

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

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