Five Historical Movies that Should be Made Today

We travel from 24th Century BC Akkad to the Napoleonic Era looking for good subjects worthy of portrayal.  Sargon, St. Louis and Nelson all make appearances. 

Transcript

Five Historical Movies That Should Be Made Today

July 2026

“Fix your whole heart upon God, and love Him with all your strength, for without this no one can be saved.”

Louis IX of France

“When pride and presumption walk before, shame and loss follow very closely.”

Louis XI of France

“It is warm work; and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment. But mark you! I would not be elsewhere for thousands.” 

Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen, not Trafalgar

“Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.”

The Great historian Barbara Tuchman 

Back in 2021, as the nation was recovering from COVID and the many policy failures therein, I did a list of top ten historical movies that should have been made, but were not.  You will note that this episode only contains five.  Whether it’s wanting to spend more time on each movie or a time-saving approach, this list is smaller than the 2021 version.  A few of the figures from five years ago included: Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Mansa Musa of the Malian Empire.  To listen to a full rendition of that episode, I have included a link in the show notes.  And one of those figures was Horatio Nelson.  I am going to cheat and again include him on THIS list.  

Today, in the wake of the Odyssey, which engendered some of the most passionate commentary I have seen about any movie, I think five years is plenty of time to do an updated, additive version of movies that should be made, but probably won’t.  

Also, a note to reiterate my position concerning casting of historical movies.  I start not with a hard-and-fast litmus test regarding accurate casting but rather a question: does the casting involve and engage the viewer, or does it distract and detract?  In the case of the Odyssey, no one, not even right-wing critics, seems to have an issue with casting American Matt Damon, who is of English, Scottish, and Swedish ancestry, as an ancient Greek, but many did with casting American Lupita Nyong’o, who is of Kenyan descent, as another ancient Greek.  This is not rocket science.  Northern and Southern Europeans are Caucasians, and Nyong’o’s ancestors were not.  So the contrast, and the distraction, is all the greater.  But these are fictional characters.  The movie also contained cyclops and 10-foot men in medieval-style iron armor-in the Bronze Age, so one may consider stretching their thinking.  

But I am not talking about fiction.  Rather, my focus is on movies that capture historical events, as much as possible.  So when a black actor portrays a Mercian nobleman in King and Conqueror, a series about William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson, it is a distraction.  So I will do my best to find actors as close to the historical figures as possible.   

What is the movie? Sargon of Akkad 

What was their life about?

Sargon (I love that name) was an ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned around 2334–2279 BC. We are not entirely sure of this timeline, but it is in that ballpark. He conquered all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran). He established the region’s first Semitic (language group) dynasty and was considered the founder of the Mesopotamian military tradition that spawned Assyrians, Babylonians, and their neo-successors.

His Akkadian Empire was the first multi-ethnic state in history, and I would like to provide a definition here. An empire is a large group of states or territories ruled by a single supreme authority, an emperor, or a governing power. It brings together many different groups of people and cultures under one control.  Though the United States is large, we are officially a Republic, yet when we controlled Cuba and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, those were in fact imperial possessions.  Egypt also ruled from the Nile Delta down to the first cataract, but since all of that land was technically part of the Pharaoh’s domain and ruled as such, it was a kingdom more than an empire.  Yet the New Kingdom of Egypt, with conquests ranging from Kush in the South to Syria in the North, was actually an empire.  People today like to say Empire this or that, as in a financial empire, which is not truly correct.  Yes, valued listener, pet peeve alert!  

In Mesopotamia before Sargon, the region was constituted of city-states all vying for power. On occasion, they might attack and occupy one another, but not permanently as Sargon did.  Also in an imperial style, the provinces existed to serve the capital city of Akkad.  

Sargon instituted – well, a lot of things

• The concept of divine kingship
• Standardized governmental administration
• Standardized weights & measures
• Standardized postal system
• Improved roads and the creation of new ones
• Advances in metallurgy (primarily for producing better Bronze weapons)
• Superior irrigation systems
• Improved cylinder seals with greater detail
• Professional army and fortified garrisons
• Use of a single language (Akkadian) for administration
• Use of bilingual texts (Akkadian and Sumerian) in commerce

All of this was to later imperialists’ empire 101, but for Sargon and his fellow Akkadians, this was as new to them as AI is to us.  

Why this movie?

Aside from cool Bronze Age battles and 24th-century depictions of cities, we have our hero (sort of) and our villain, the King of Uruk, Lugal-zagesi, who originally ruled Sumer. The names alone are cinematic gold. The movie can center around their conflict.  But we also have the historical moment when, after conquering Uruk, Sargon wants to extend beyond Sumer.  His advisors wonder at this level of conquest, but our protagonist, or anti-hero, moves ahead and creates something never seen on Earth before.  

Casting this is the most difficult of the five choices here.  Sargon lived nearly 3,000 years before the Arab invasion, so Arab actors could be used but wouldn’t be entirely accurate.  And yet Ramy Youssef is the right age and look (engagement) for the role. And though a comedian by trade, he has done drama, and Robin Williams was the greatest of comedians and a wonderful actor in drama.  

What is the movie or series: Louis IX of France 

What was Louis’ life about?  

Louis IX (1214-1270) was the only French King to be canonized, which took place on August 11, 1297. Louis was King from 1226 to 1270, and the most popular of the entire Capetian dynasty, which ruled from 987 to 1328. He led the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land in 1248–50 and died on another Crusade (the 8th) to Tunisia.

Louis initially saw great success in the 7th Crusade in Egypt, but later the tides of war ran against him.  After losing his own brother in one battle, the King had to issue orders for the agonizing retreat toward Damietta. Louis IX, stricken with disease, dragged himself along in the rear guard of his disintegrating force. The Egyptians harassed the fleeing army and finally captured it on April 7, 1250. He was taken prisoner but eventually freed after nearly half a decade.

Why this series? 

For a medieval king, Louis was one of the most just in Western Europe, arguably in history.  The King devoted attention to the arts and to literature. He directed the construction of several buildings in Paris, Vincennes, Saint-Germain, and Corbeil (to house relics of the “True Cross”). He encouraged Vincent of Beauvais, his chaplain, to write the first great encyclopaedia, Speculum majus. During his reign, foreign students and scholars flocked to the University of Paris.

Louis was the only monarch to participate in two crusades, though both failed. The Eighth Crusade was a military expedition launched in 1270 against Tunis, ending prematurely due to disease and the King’s death. It was organized to help Christian states in the East threatened by the Mamluks, but it never reached the Holy Land. 

Who should star? Michael Fassbender is the natural fit for Louis. This is audio only, but put an image of Louis next to Fassbender, you’ll see.  I get it, he’s German. Well, so were Clovis, Charles Martel, Pepin, and Charlemagne, and they lived in France as well.  

What is the Movie Louis XI (1423-1481) and Charles the Bold (1433 – 1477)

What were they about? 

The rivalry between Louis XI of France and Charles the Bold was one of the great political struggles of fifteenth-century Europe. Their conflict was more than a personal feud. It represented a contest between two competing visions of political power: Louis sought to strengthen the French monarchy, while Charles hoped to build an independent Burgundian state powerful enough to rival France itself.

Louis XI became King of France in 1461. He was not an imposing warrior-king. Instead, he relied on diplomacy, intelligence networks, negotiation, money, and political manipulation. His methods earned him the nickname “the Universal Spider,” reflecting his reputation for weaving complicated political webs around his opponents. Louis inherited a kingdom that had emerged from the Hundred Years’ War but still contained powerful nobles capable of challenging royal authority.

The most dangerous of these rivals was the Duke of Burgundy. The Burgundian territories were among the richest in Europe, stretching from the Duchy of Burgundy into the prosperous Low Countries. Charles the Bold, who became duke in 1467, dreamed of connecting these scattered possessions and creating a powerful kingdom between France and the Holy Roman Empire.

The personalities of the two men could hardly have been more different. Charles admired military glory and attempted to achieve his ambitions through warfare. Louis preferred patience and political maneuvering. Their rivalry became particularly dramatic in 1468, when Louis visited Charles at Péronne to negotiate. During the meeting, a rebellion erupted in Liège, apparently encouraged by French agents. Furious, Charles effectively detained the French King and forced him to accept humiliating concessions. Louis escaped a dangerous situation, but he did not abandon his campaign against Burgundy.

Over the following years, Louis increasingly allowed Charles’s own ambitions to work against him. Charles attempted to expand his power toward Switzerland and Lorraine, but his military campaigns proved disastrous. The Burgundians suffered major defeats against the Swiss at Grandson and Morat in 1476.

Charles’s ambitions finally collapsed at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477. His army was defeated, and Charles was killed. His death without a male heir transformed the political balance of Western Europe.

Louis immediately moved to seize the Duchy of Burgundy and other territories. Charles’s daughter, Mary of Burgundy, inherited much of his remaining domain and married Maximilian of Habsburg. That marriage ultimately transferred the Burgundian Netherlands into the Habsburg sphere, helping create the long rivalry between France and the Habsburg dynasty.

The contest between Louis XI and Charles the Bold therefore had consequences far beyond their personal rivalry. Charles attempted to create a new European power through military conquest but ultimately overextended himself. Louis survived through caution, diplomacy, and political calculation. By the time Louis died in 1483, the French monarchy was considerably stronger than it had been when he inherited the throne.

Why this movie?  

Their struggle also illustrates a broader transformation in European politics. Charles represented, in many respects, the great territorial princes of the late medieval world, while Louis anticipated the increasingly centralized monarchies of the early modern period. Charles appeared more magnificent on the battlefield, but Louis proved more successful in the long contest for power.  There would be lines in the movie about Charles living in the past, and Louis understanding the future: one medieval, the other modern.  

Top of Form

This is what they call in stage productions a two-hander.  Both men were born in opposite circumstances.  

Who plays them?

Jean Reno would have been perfect for Louis, but he is too old.  Barry Keoghan, who plays strange but brilliant characters, is Louis.  Miles Teller or Austin Butler would be good for Charles.  

What is the movie? Horatio Nelson, 1758 - 1805

What is this about?

Twenty years ago, at the height of his box office powers, Russell Crowe made Master and Commander, a movie based on the popular Patrick O’Brian series. It did not do well at the box office. So, I get it; this is not everyone’s cup of tea. But Nelson has so much more. Also known simply as Admiral Nelson, he was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought about several decisive British naval victories, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. Except for Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin (of whom the Koreans have made three movies), Nelson won more capital ship battles than any other admiral in history.  He was wounded in combat, losing sight in one eye in Corsica at the age of 35, and most of one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife when he was 38. 

Unlike his on-land contemporary, the Duke of Wellington, He was not a sprig of the nobility but a self-made man. He also had a tempestuous affair, so we can add a touch of Bridgerton to the script. Now, in 2005, there was a TV movie, but I couldn't even find a trailer on YouTube. I think Jude Law would be the best bet for the Admiral.  

Why this movie

The movie could center on Trafalgar. He was fatally shot in 1805 shortly before his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, which is often regarded as Britain’s most significant naval victory. Think about that: at the height of his most significant victory, the one that would ensure British supremacy on the seas for 100 years, he is killed. That scene alone could be the climax of the movie.  

Who should star? 

Jack Lowden is the right age and look for Nelson, but one big, or should we say, high issue.  Lowden is relatively tall at 6’1”, and Nelson? Well, he was around 5’5’” which was slightly below average for the time – but not by much.  The production could make a point of having decently heighted actors around the lead.  

What is the Movie:  The Zimmerman Telegram 

What was the telegram about? 

This telegram, written by German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann, is a coded message sent to Mexico, proposing a military alliance against the United States. The obvious threats to the United States contained in the telegram inflamed American public opinion against Germany and helped convince Congress to declare war against Germany in 1917.

British intelligence intercepted the telegram and handed it to the US in February 1917. To conceal that they were secretly wiretapping US transatlantic cables, the British and American governments crafted a cover story. They claimed the US retrieved the encrypted original from the Western Union office in Washington, D.C., and deciphered it themselves.

Between 1914 and the spring of 1917, the European nations engaged in a conflict that became known as World War I. While armies moved across the face of Europe, the United States remained neutral. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was reelected President for a second term, largely because of the slogan “He kept us out of war.” 

Events in early 1917 would change that hope. In frustration over the effective British naval blockade, Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare on February 1, 1917. In response to the breaking of the Sussex pledge, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany. Several weeks later, on February 24, the British presented the Zimmermann Telegram to the U.S. government in an effort to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies.

Why should this be a movie?  

The Zimmermann Telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, “No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences.” It is his opinion that “never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message.

The movie can depict the Germans deciding on U-boat activity, the US response, and then the sending of the telegram, with the British not only breaking the code but, by doing so, revealing they were spying on the US.  

Who should star?  Because this would be an ensemble cast, but assuming budget, you could cast Leonardo DiCaprio or Benedict Cumberbatch as Wilson.  And let’s just do a two-fer and have Michael Fassbender, an actual German, play Arthur Zimmerman. 

Show notes:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1048399/episodes/8738140