Movies Based on Historical Novels and Nonfiction Books
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The Agony and the Ecstasy. Not rated. 1965. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Agony and the Ecstasy: a Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone. 1961.

Amelia. PG. 2009. DVD Drama and Blu-ray Drama

Based on the books East To The Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler (1997) and The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Mary S. Lovell (1989).

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. R. 2007. DVD Western

Based on the book The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen. 1983.

Atonement. R. 2007. DVD Drama

Based on the book Atonement by Ian McEwan. 2001.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Not rated. 1974. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines. 1971.

Beloved. R. 1998. DVD Drama

Based on the book Beloved by Toni Morrison. 1987.

Ben-Hur. G. 1959. DVD Drama and VHS Drama

Based on the book Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace. 1880.

Beulah Land. Not rated. 1980.  VHS Drama

Based on the books Beulah Land (1973) and Look Away, Beulah Land (1977) by Lonnie Coleman.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. PG-13. 2008. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas : A Fable by John Boyd. 2006.

Brideshead Revisited. Not rated. 1981. DVD 791.4572 BRI TV

Based on the book Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. 1945.

Bright Star. PG. 2009. DVD Drama

Based on the book Keats by Andrew Motion. 1997.

Brush with Fate. Not rated. 2003. DVD 791.4572 BRU TV

Based on the book Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. 1999.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin. R. 2001. DVD Drama

Based on the book Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres. 1994.

Captains and the Kings. Not rated. 1976. DVD 791.4572 CAP TV

Based on the book Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell. 1972.

Charlie Wilson's War. R. 2007. DVD Drama

Based on the book Charlie Wilson's War: the Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile. 2003.

Cimarron. Not rated. 1930. DVD Western

Based on the book Cimarron by Edna Ferber. 1930.

Cold Mountain. R. 2003. DVD Drama

Based on the book Cold Mountain by Ian Frazier. 1997.

The Color Purple. PG-13. 1985. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker. 1982.

The Count of Monte Cristo. Not rated. 1998. DVD 791.4572 COU TV

Based on the book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. 1844.

The Counterfeiters. R. 2007. DVD World (German)

Based on the book The Devil’s Workshop: a Memoir of the Nazi Counterfeiting Operation by Adolf Burger. 2009.

Dances with Wolves. PG-13. 1990. DVD Drama

Based on the book Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake. 1988.

Dangerous Beauty. R. 1998. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Honest Courtesan by Margaret F. Rosenthal. 1992.

Defiance. R. 2008. DVD Drama

Based on the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec. 1993.

Doctor Zhivago. PG-13. 1965. DVD Drama

Based on the book Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. 1957.

The Duchess. PG-13. 2008. DVD Drama

Based on the book Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. 1998.

The English Patient. R. 1996. DVD Drama

Based on the book The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. 1992.

The Far Pavilions. Not rated. 1984. DVD 791.4572 FAR TV

Based on the book The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye. 1978.

Flags of our Fathers. R. 2006. DVD Drama

Based on the book Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley. 2000.

Frenchman’s Creek. Not rated. 1998. DVD 791.4572 FRE TV

Based on the book Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier. 1942.

The Gathering Storm. Not rated. 2002. DVD 791.4572 GAT TV

Based on the book The Second World War, Vol. 1, Gathering Storm by Winston S. Churchill. 1985.

Gettysburg. PG. 1993. DVD Drama and VHS Drama

Based on the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. 1974.

Girl with a Pearl Earring. PG-13. 2003. DVD Drama

Based on the book Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. 1999.

Gone With the Wind. G. 1939. DVD Drama and VHS Drama

Based on the book Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. 1936.

The Good Earth. Not rated. 1937. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck. 1931.

Hawaii. Not rated. 1966. DVD Drama

Based on the book Hawaii by James A Michener. 1959.

The Horseman on the Roof. R. 1995. DVD World (French)

Based on the book The Horseman on the Roof by Jean Giono. 1951.

How Green Was My Valley. Not rated. 1941. DVD Drama

Based on the book How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. 1940.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. PG. 1956.  DVD Drama

Based on the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. 1830.

I, Claudius. Not rated. 1976. DVD 791.4572 I TV

Based on the book I, Claudius by Robert Graves. 1934.

In the Time of the Butterflies. PG-13. 2001. DVD Drama

Based on the book In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. 1994.

Ivanhoe. Not rated. 1952. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. 1819.

The Jewel in the Crown. Not rated. 1984. DVD 791.4572 JEW TV

Based on the book The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott. 1976.

The Joy Luck Club. R. 1993. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. 1989.

The Last King of Scotland. R. 2006. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden. 1998.

The Last of the Mohicans. R. 1992. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. 1826.

The Last Station. R. 2009. DVD Drama and Blu-ray Drama

Based on the book The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year by Jay Parini. 1990.

Letters from Iwo Jima. R. 2006.  DVD World (Japanese)

Based on the book Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi. 2006.

Little Big Man. PG-13. 1970.  DVD Drama

Based on the book Little Big Man by Thomas Berger. 1964.

Lonesome Dove. Not rated. 1989. DVD 791.4572 LON TV

Based on the book Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. 1985.

Lorna Doone. Not rated. 2000. DVD 791.4572 LOR TV

Based on the book Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore. 1943.

Lust for Life. Not rated. 1956. DVD Drama

Based on the book Lust for Life, the Novel of Vincent Van Gogh by Irving Stone. 1934.

Marie Antoinette. PG-13. 2006. DVD Drama

Based on the book Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser. 2001.

Mary Reilly. R. 1996. DVD Horror

Based on the book Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin. 1990.

Master and Commander. PG-13. 2003. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the books Master and Commander (1970) and The Far Side of the World (1984) by Patrick O'Brien.

Memoirs of a Geisha. PG-13. 2005. DVD Drama

Based on the book Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. 1997.

A Mighty Heart. R. 2007. DVD Drama

Based on the book A Mighty Heart: the Brave Life and Death of my Husband Danny Pearl by Mariane Pearl. 2002.

Miracle at St. Anna. R. 2008. DVD Drama

Based on the book Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride. 2002.

Les Misérables. PG-13. 1998. DVD Drama

Based on the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. 1862.

Munich. R. 2005. DVD Drama

Based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas. 1984.

Mutiny on the Bounty. Not rated. 1935. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff. 1932.

The Name of the Rose. R. 1986. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. 1983.

Northwest Passage. Not rated. 1940.  VHS Action/Adventure

Based on the book Northwest Passage by Kenneth Lewis Roberts. 1937.

Oscar and Lucinda. R. 1997. DVD Drama

Based on the book Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey. 1988.

The Other Boleyn Girl. PG-13. 2007. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. 2001.

The Ox-Bow Incident. Not rated. 1943. DVD Western

Based on the book The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. 1940.

The Painted Veil. PG-13. 2006. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. 1934.

Patton. PG. 1970. DVD Drama

Based on the books A Soldier’s Story (1951) by Omar Bradley and Patton: Ordeal and Triumph (1963) by Ladislas Farago.

Quo Vadis. Not rated. 1951. DVD Religious

Based on the book Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. 1896.

Ragtime. PG. 1981. DVD Drama

Based on the book Ragtime by E. L.Doctorow. 1975.

Raise the Red Lantern. PG. 1991. DVD World (Chinese)

Based on the book Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas by Tong Su. 1990.

The Reader. R. 2008. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. 1997.

Red Sorghum. Not rated. 1987. DVD World (Chinese)

Based on the book Red Sorghum: A Novel of China by Yan Mo. 1993.

Restoration. R. 1995. DVD Drama

Based on the book Restoration by Rose Tremain. 1989.

Rob Roy. R. 1995. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott. 1817.

The Robe. Not rated. 1953. DVD Drama

Based on the book The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. 1942.

The Scarlet Pimpernel. Not rated. 1935. VHS Action/Adventure
The Scarlet Pimpernel. Not rated. 1999. DVD 791.4572 SCA TV

Based on the book The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. 1905.

The Scarlet and the Black. Not rated. 1983. DVD 791.4572 SCA TV

Based on the book The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican by J.P. Gallagher. 1967.

Schindler's List. R. 1993. DVD Drama

Based on the book Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally. 1982.

Shogun. Not rated. 1980. DVD 791.4572 SHO TV

Based on the book Shogun: A Novel of Japan by James Clavell. 1975.

Silk. R. 2007. DVD Drama

Based on the book Silk by Alessandro Baricco. 1997.

The Song of Bernadette. Not rated. 1943. DVD Religious

Based on the book The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel. 1942.

A Tale of Two Cities. Not rated. 1935. DVD Drama

Based on the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. 1859.

The 13th Warrior. R. 1999. DVD Drama

Based on the book Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. 1976.

300. R. 2006. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book 300 by Frank Miller. 1999.

The Three Musketeers. Not rated. 1948. DVD Action/Adventure
The Three Musketeers. PG. 1973. DVD Action/Adventure
The Three Musketeers. PG. 1993. DVD Action/Adventure

Based on the book The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. 1844.