AllMovie

A genre of film that deals with a major historical event and the actual historical figures involved in it. Often great liberties are taken with the facts to facilitate a 2-hour running time or a particular political agenda. These films pay a great deal of attention to re-creating events that live mostly in our memories or in textbooks. Earlier historical films tended to concentrate on eras and political figures who were far from the present and put little emphasis on undermining the accepted mythologies of history. When the production becomes expensive and sumptuous, the cast of characters, and the narrative sweeping and panoramic, this becomes what is called an epic film. The films that deal with totally fictional characters in historical settings would be better described as costume films or period films (costume dramas, costume adventures, swashbucklers, etc.). Some other films dealing with historical past would fall into some other genres and types: westerns, musicals, fantasy, war dramas, biographies, etc.