List of Historical Drama Films - Films Set in The Later 20th Century

Films Set in The Later 20th Century

Sortable table
Title Release date Time period Notes on setting
The Good Shepherd 2006 1938–1961 rise of Central Intelligence Agency Counter-intelligence leading up to the Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Right Stuff 1983 1947–1963 the Project Mercury space launches
American Hot Wax 1978 1950s disc jockey Alan Freed's involvement in rock and roll
Good Night, and Good Luck 2005 1953 the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The Quiet American 2002 1954 early American covert involvement in Vietnam
The Battle of Algiers 1966 1954–1960 during the Algerian War of Independence
Lumumba 2000 1955–1961 Path of the first Prime Minister of the Belgian Congo Patrice Lumumba and his killing
Che 2008 1955–1967 Che Guevara
The Motorcycle Diaries 2004 1955–1967 Che Guevara
Nasser 56 1996 1956 the Suez Crisis from the Egyptian point of view
Great Balls of Fire! 1989 1956–1958 rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis
Quiz Show 1994 1956–1958 Twenty-One Quiz show scandals
Scandal 1989 1959–1963 Christine Keeler, Stephen Ward and the Profumo Affair
JFK 1991 1961–1966 the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and subsequent investigation
Thirteen Days 2000 October 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis
Z 1969 1963 the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis
Ghosts of Mississippi 1996 1963-1990s events surrounding the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers
Mississippi Burning 1988 1964 the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into the Mississippi civil rights workers murders
The Doors 1991 1964–1971 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison
Born on the Fourth of July 1989 1965–1968 Ron Kovic's experiences in the Vietnam War
The Year of Living Dangerously 1982 1965 set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno
We Were Soldiers 2002 November 1965 the Battle of Ia Drang in the Vietnam War
W. 2008 1966–2003 The life and presidency of George W. Bush
Platoon 1985 1967–1968 Vietnam War
Bobby 2006 1968 the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Heaven & Earth 1993 1960s - 1980s Vietnam War
Full Metal Jacket 1987 1968 Battle of Hue in the Vietnam War
Coming Home 1978 1968 Vietnam War
The Damned United 2009 1968-1975 Brian Clough as manager of Derby County and Leeds United
The Deer Hunter 1978 1968–1975 Vietnam War
Hamburger Hill 1987 1969 Battle of Hamburger Hill in the Vietnam War
Nixon 1995 1969–1974 the political life of Richard M. Nixon
Zodiac 2007 1969–1975 the Zodiac murders in the United States
The Odd Angry Shot 1979 late 1960s experiences of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War
Apocalypse Now 1979 1970 Vietnam War
Milk 2008 1970–1978 gay rights activist Harvey Milk
The Last King of Scotland 2006 1971–1976 Ugandan President Idi Amin
Bloody Sunday 2002 January 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland
All the President's Men 1976 1972 the Nixon-era Watergate scandal
Alive 1993 1972 Crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Cry Freedom 1987 1972–1978 Steve Biko and Donald Woods in the apartheid era of South Africa
Munich 2005 1972–1979 Mossad efforts to avenge the murder of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics
Missing 1982 1973 the coup d'état in Chile and the murder of Charles Horman
The Killing Fields 1984 1973–1979 the Khmer Rouge's genocide
Balibo 2009 1975 the invasion of East Timor and the Balibo Five
Raid on Entebbe 1977 1976 the July 1976 rescue of passengers from a hijacked plane
Frost/Nixon 2008 1977 the Frost-Nixon interviews
Boogie Nights 1997 1977-1984 the rise & fall of porno's Dirk Diggler
Summer of Sam 1999 1977 the Son of Sam murders in New York City
Gracie 2007 1978 six years after the introduction of Title IX
54 1998 1979 the last year of Studio 54 in New York City.
Argo 2012 1979-1980 a reenactment of the Canadian Caper.
Miracle 2004 February 1980 the U.S. hockey team's gold medal victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Goodbye Bafana 2007 c. 1980-1990 Nelson Mandela's imprisonment
Wonderland 2003 1981 Wonderland murders
Hunger 2008 1981 1981 Irish hunger strike
An Ungentlemanly Act 1992 1982 the first days of the invasion of the Falkland Islands
Tumbledown 1988 1982 Falklands War
Paid in Full 2002 1985 during the Crack Epidemic of the 1980s
Catch a Fire 2006 1980–1994 set during the early 1980s concerning the plight of the ANC's military wing in the apartheid era of South Africa
Charlie Wilson's War 2007 1980–1989 CIA's covert involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War
Jarhead 2005 1989–1991 Persian Gulf War
Three Kings 1999 1991 1991 Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussein and aftermath of the Persian Gulf War
Snowtown 2011 1992–1999 Snowtown murders
Black Hawk Down 2001 1993 the Battle of Mogadishu, Somali Civil War
Hotel Rwanda 2004 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Shooting Dogs 2005 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Sometimes in April 2005 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Invictus 2009 1991–1995 Post-apartheid South Africa and the 1995 Rugby World Cup
The Special Relationship 2010 1994–2001 the UK–US Special Relationship between Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton
Savior 1998 c. 1995 during the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia
Behind Enemy Lines 2001 1995 the Mrkonjić Grad incident during the Bosnian War in former Yugoslavia
The Queen 2006 1997 a fictional account of the immediate events following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Open Water 2004 1998 Tom and Eileen Lonergan
Blood Diamond 2006 1999 during the Sierra Leone Civil War

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