List of films about the American Revolution

This is a list of films and TV films about the American Revolution.

A Canadian historian has evaluated twelve Hollywood films featuring the American Revolution from 1939–2002. She compares the fictional versus the scholarly components of popular entertainment as they impact the treatment of heroes and villains, Patriots and Loyalists, social structure and social conflicts. She compares cinematic understandings of the Revolution with the interpretations of historians to reveal thematic consistencies, variations, and conceptual gulfs between filmmakers and historians.[1]

• 1776, or The Hessian Renegades – 1909 film by D.W. Griffith
• 1776 – 1972 film starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden and John Cullum. Directed by Peter H. Hunt.
• Alexander Hamilton – 1931 film starring George Arliss and Directed by John G. Adolfi.
• America – 1924 film; epic directed by D.W. Griffith and starring Lionel Barrymore.[2]
• April Morning – 1987 starring Chad Lowe, Tommy Lee Jones, and Robert Urich.
• Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor – 2003 film starring: Aidan Quinn as Benedict Arnold and Kelsey Grammer as George Washington.[3]
• Beyond the Mask –2015 film
• Cardigan – 1922 film
• Drums Along the Mohawk – 1939 film starring: Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda; Directed by John Ford
• Independence – 1976 docudrama film directed by John Huston, narrated by E. G. Marshall and starring Eli Wallach, Pat Hingle, Ken Howard and Anne Jackson; shown continuously at Philadelphia's Independence Visitor Center.
• John Adams is a television miniseries that was aired on HBO in 2008. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper and starred Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail Adams. The miniseries takes place before, during, and after the American Revolution.[4]
• John Paul Jones – 1959 film directed by John Farrow, starring Robert Stack and Charles Coburn
• Johnny Tremain – 1957 film adaptation of the 1943 Esther Forbes novel starring Hal Stalmaster and, among others, Walter Coy. Directed by Robert Stevenson
• La Fayette – 1961 film
• Liberty's Kids – 2002–2004 PBS animated series.[5]
• Revolution – 1985 film starring Al Pacino. Directed by Hugh Hudson[6]
• Scouting for Washington – 1917 Edison Studios
• Sons of Liberty – 1939 film starring: Claude Rains, Gale Sondergaard; Director: Michael Curtiz.
• Sons of Liberty – 2015 miniseries starring Ben Barnes, Rafe Spall, Henry Thomas, Dean Norris and Jason O'Mara; Director: Kari Skogland; produced for broadcast by The History Channel[7]
• The Crossing – 2000 film starring: Jeff Daniels, Roger Rees, Director: Robert Harmon; screenwriter Howard Fast based on his novel; produced for broadcast by the Arts and Entertainment cable television network
• The Devil's Disciple – 1959 film adaptation of the play by George Bernard Shaw; starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Guy Hamilton
• The Devil's Disciple – 1987 TV film adaptation of the play by George Bernard Shaw; starring: Patrick Stewart, Director: David Jones
• The Howards of Virginia – 1940 Starring: Cary Grant, Director: Frank Lloyd
• The Patriot – 2000 film starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Director: Roland Emmerich[8][6]
• The Pursuit of Happiness - 1934 film
• The Rebels – 1979 TV miniseries based on the novel by John Jakes, starring Andrew Stevens
• The Scarlet Coat – 1955 film directed by John Sturges, focuses on Benedict Arnold
• The Spirit of '76 – 1917 film[6]
• The Time of Their Lives – 1946, Abbott and Costello Comedy. Directed by Charles Barton.
• Turn: Washington's Spies – 2014–17 AMC television series[9][10]
• Washington is a 6-hour television miniseries that was aired on The History Channel in 2020. The miniseries was directed by Matthew Ginsburg and starred Nicholas Rowe as George Washington and is narrated by Jeff Daniels. The series covers the life of George Washington from his birth to his passing at age 67.
• Where Do We Go from Here? – 1945, Comedy. Directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Fred MacMurray.
• Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot – 1957 film shown at Colonial Williamsburg continually since 1957. Directed by George Seaton, starring Jack Lord.

See also

• British Empire in fiction
• Commemoration of the American Revolution
• Historical drama

References

1. Nancy L. Rhoden, "Patriots, Villains, and the Quest for Liberty: How American Film has Depicted the American Revolution." Canadian Review of American Studies 37.2 (2007): 205-238.
2. Lawrence L. Murray, "History at the Movies during the Sesquicentennial: DW Griffith's America (1924)." Historian 41.3 (1979): 450-466. excerpt
3. Suzanne Broderick, "Review" Film & History 33#2 (2003) pp. 72-74 online
4. "John Adams". HBO.
5. Andrew M. Schocket, "Little Founders on the Small Screen: Interpreting a Multicultural American Revolution for Children's Television." Journal of American Studies 45.1 (2011): 145-163. online
6. Melvyn Stokes, American History Through Hollywood Film: From the Revolution to the 1960s (2013) ch 1.
7. "About Sons of Liberty – HISTORY".
8. Mark Glancy, "The war of independence in feature films: The Patriot (2000) and the 'special relationship' between Hollywood and Britain." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 25.4 (2005): 523-545.
9. See AMC website for "Turn"
10. Carolyn Eastman, "The Revolution Takes a Turn: AMC's Drama about Washington's Spies Aims for Moral Complexity" Perspectives on History (April 2014). online

Further reading

• Glancy, Mark. "The war of independence in feature films: The Patriot (2000) and the 'special relationship' between Hollywood and Britain." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 25.4 (2005): 523-545.
• Harrington. Hugh T. "Top 10 Revolutionary War Movies" Journal of the American Revolution (Jan. 25 2013) online
• Murray, Lawrence L. "Feature Films and the American Revolution: A Bicentennial Reappraisal." Film & History 5.3 (1975): 1-6.
• Rhoden, Nancy L. "Patriots, Villains, and the Quest for Liberty: How American Film has Depicted the American Revolution." Canadian Review of American Studies 37.2 (2007): 205-238.
• Schocket, Andrew M. "The American سكسي

Rebooted: Hamilton and Genre in Contemporary Culture." Journal of the Early Republic 37#2 (2017): 263-269.