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Teaching with Movies (A-L)

Teaching with Movies

  • 300 - A story about ancient Greece when 300 Spartans made their last stand - at the "Hot Gates" of Thermopylae - against Xerxes and his invading Immortals.


  • A Beautiful Mind - The true story of Nobel-Prize-winner John Nash and his battle with Paranoid-Schizophrenia.


  • Alamo, (The) - The beginnings of the Republic of Texas.


  • Alex and Emma - The real story behind this movie is how the Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky, met his wife and dictated to her his novel, The Gambler, within thirty days.


  • Amazing Grace - A story of the African-slave trade and how the driving passion of William Wilberforce, and his colleagues, finally brought it to an end.


  • Antwone Fisher - An angry young black man, abandoned by his mother, finds himself - and his own way - in the United States Navy.


  • Aviator - The early years of Howard Hughes, including the source of his family's wealth and events which propelled him into the disparate worlds of film and aviation.


  • Beowulf - How did a Scandinavian story become Britain's national epic? Take a trip back in time to find out.


  • Black Hawk Down - The story of the 1993 Battle at Mogadishu.


  • Bobby - The story of Robert Francis Kennedy.


  • Braveheart - The story of William Wallace and Scotland's fight for independence.


  • Brotherhood of the Wolf - The true story behind the mid-18th century terror in France.


  • Captain Corelli's Mandolin - A fictionalized tale but based on a true story of Italian soldiers who were massacred on the Greek island of Cephalonia during World War II.


  • Catch Me If You Can - The true story of con-man-turned-government-crime-catcher, Frank Abagnale.


  • Charlotte's Web - The story behind the movie.


  • Chicago - Early 20th Life in America's Second City.


  • Cinderella Man - A story about overcoming economic difficulties set in Depression-era America.


  • Cold Mountain - The Civil War "Battle of the Crater" at Petersburg.


  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age - With the help of unseasonable weather, Britain did not succumb to the Spanish Armada.  Thereafter, the reign of Elizabeth I was known as "The Golden Age."


  • Enemy at the Gates - The likely true story of Soviet and German snipers at odds in the battle of Stalingrad.


  • Erin Brockovich - How one woman brought a California utility company to justice.


  • Evelyn - The true story of Desmond Doyle's 1955 legal battle with the Irish government to maintain custody of his children.


  • Finding Neverland - The story of J.M. Barrie and the creation of Peter Pan.


  • Flags of Our Fathers - The story of the battle for Iwo Jima and the famous flag-raising photograph.


  • Fly Boys - The story of the Lafayette Escadrille and the first military pilots in France.


  • Four Feathers - Fictional story set against the real background of a vicious 19th-century battle in the Sudan.


  • Gangs of New York - New-York-City turmoil during the American Civil War.


  • Gladiator - The award-winning film depicting Roman gladiators in the arena.


  • Gods and Generals - Early Confederate victories in the American War Between the States.


  • Great Raid, (The) - The rescue of 512 emaciated prisoners who had earlier survived the Bataan Death March.


  • Hours, (The) - A story of the famous author, Virginia Woolf.


  • I am David - A child's life in, and escape from, the Soviet Gulag.


  • Jesse James (Assassination of) - The story of Jesse James and his death at the hands of Bob Ford.


  • Jurassic Park - A closer look at dinosaurs (with lots of video clips and a virtual visit to "Sue" at Chicago's Field Museum).


  • K-19 - The first Soviet nuclear submarine developed a serious nuclear problem during its maiden voyage, but the story was suppressed until 1991.


  • King Kong - A story of gorillas - including many videos of gorillas in their natural habitat - against the backdrop of the Great Depression


  • Kingdom of Heaven - Balien of Ibelin, Saladin, Baldwin the Leper King, Guy de Lusignan, and Sibylla were all historical characters. Learn their stories, and "visit" the battle scenes, in this account (which includes quotes from contemporary Crusader and Muslim chroniclers).


  • Knight's Tale - Life in the Middle Ages.


  • Legend of Bagger Vance - Background of the Hindu epic and scriptural poem (Bhagavad-Gita) which inspired the book and the movie.


  • Lion (The), The Witch and The Wardrobe - Provides background of the London Blitz, including audio and video clips of school children fleeing into the countryside.