Zero gave the world a lot of incredible things and events: social networks and Youtube appeared, Stephanie Mayer wrote the Twilight saga, the streets were filled with emo and goths, and Peter Jackson set new standards for fantasy in the movie with his trilogy The Lord of the Rings.
In addition to fantasy, there was a genre of historical cinema on the rise and a huge number of worthy works were released. Today we recall 10 of them, each of which is worth the time spent, even if you are not looking for the first time.
10. The power of the killers | 2010
This usya (the so-called genre of Chinese fighters, in which the main emphasis is on demonstrating martial arts) is demonstrated by China during the Ming Dynasty.
A group of bandits kidnaps the relics of Bodhidharma (the founder of Chan Buddhism), in which, according to legend, a huge force lurks.
During the robbery, they kill two people, but not everyone gets the trophy: a girl nicknamed Rime arranges accomplices and hides with prey. She changes her life, appearance (yes, in fantasy China 500 years ago there were some kind of plastic surgeons) and even gets married, but other gang members do not stop looking for her. As you might guess, they eventually succeed.
What is a movie good for? It demonstrates the stunning beauty of medieval China, although it does not shine with the realism of the plot.
9. The Last Samurai | 2003
The plot focuses on the American captain (played by Tom Cruise), training the army of the Chinese emperor in the 19th century.
Having received the task of finding and destroying a group of samurai, the hero gathers people and goes on a mission, but all his people are eventually dead, and he himself is captured by those whom he was supposed to kill.
Expecting terrible torture, he is very surprised at the justice and mercy of the enemy, closely communicating with the leader of the samurai. Gradually, the American realizes that he was initially fighting on the wrong side.
As for the entertainment of the film, everything is beautiful here: Tom Cruise of the 2003 model, incredible landscapes, costumes, staging fights and much more.
8. Pearl Harbor | 2001
Despite its name, which refers to the Japanese air raid on the US Army base, the film’s focus is not on war, but on the relationship between men and women. Yes, it’s men and women, because the picture is about a love triangle, the hostages of which are two soldiers and a nurse.
A romantic and sensual story unfolds against the background of a perfectly shot picture, for which it is worth saying thanks to Michael Bay, who by 2001 had already filled his hand with work on Armageddon.
7. Agora | 2009
The main character is Hypatia of Alexandria, the first known female scientist in history who lived in the VI-V centuries of our era.
These times were extremely eventful: in the Roman Empire Christianity took the dominant position, but skirmishes with Jews and Gentiles continued anyway.
Hypatia does not want to accept Christianity, but she doesn’t openly oppose it, so she manages to quietly research and educate students for some time, but religion, especially in the Roman Empire of the 5th century, is merciless, and a smart woman is ideally suited for the role of a “witch” .
A decent budget, Rachel Weisz in the title role, as well as the coordinated work of the film crew allowed to create, although not a masterpiece for all time, but an uniquely strong historical drama.
6. Enemy at the gate | 2001
The Western film about the Battle of Stalingrad, in which Jude Law plays the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev, is that rare case when Hollywood managed to do without obvious cranberries and stupidity.
From the point of view of historical authenticity, the picture is far from the standard, which is why many veterans in Russia, together with deputies, demanded to ban the rental of “Enemy at the Gates” with us, but their requirement was not met.
It is possible that the director Jean-Jacques Anno really belittled the merit of the defenders, and the Hollywood stars (besides Lowe, Rachel Weiss, Bob Hoskins, Ed Harris and Ron Perlman starred here) could not authentically depict Soviet people, but the message from the drama is good, the picture is even better, Therefore, viewing is required.
5. The Apocalypse | 2006
Mel Gibson's film, which is more correctly called Apocalypto, was released in 2006, 2 years after Gibson thundered the whole world with the drama “Passion of Christ”.
The plot tells about the Maya Indians who lived on the Yucatan in the 16th century (all the dialogues were shot in their native language). As in the case of the film about the last hours of Jesus' life, the director emphasized the realism shown on the screen, although he diminished it with “gesture”.
Nevertheless, everything looks so natural that what is happening wants to be believed, but it’s very difficult to take your eyes off the landscapes shown.
4. The gladiator | 2000
The story of General Maximus, shot by Ridley Scott, became one of the best films of 2000. Thanks to the Gladiator and his success in Hollywood, they realized that the public is interested in historical dramas and she is ready to go to them in the movies.
This gave rise to a whole scattering of paintings (many of those presented in the list appeared precisely due to the success of the Gladiator), among which there were many worthy works, but only a few managed to achieve the same success.
3. Alexander | 2004
Director Oliver Stone spent on the production of a film about Alexander the Great, $ 150 million, planning to rush into the rental loudly, but it turned out only to fail miserably.
The drama could not pay off and received devastating reviews, but since today we recall the most spectacular films, we are not interested in everything else. And with the visuals, “Alexander” has everything at the highest level: it is clear that, at least in this aspect, the budget was not in vain so large.
2. The kingdom of heaven | 2005
Again, Ridley Scott, the events are unfolding in Jerusalem, but now we are watching the adventures of a knight named Balian, who takes an oath to protect the city at all costs.
Given that the Templars actively oppressed Muslims in the 12th century, this oath does not bode well for him, but the viewer has more than 2 hours of great time.
1. Troy | 2004
The history of the Trojan War, filmed for $ 175 million and having a star cast (Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and others) is rightfully considered the main historical film of the zero along with Gladiator, even surpassing it in terms of entertainment.
The picture, taken 15 years ago, now looks much better than many modern blockbusters, and certainly surpasses them in terms of development.