U.S. History Movie Project
Dr. Lee
Directions:
Students will choose a movie from the list provided, watch the movie, and complete
a movie review using the questions I have provided. The rating and the year the
movie was made is included. Some titles have multiple movies from different years,
the year produced will help you choose the correct movie.
Note:
1. Please do not avoid certain movies because of their age. You would be missing
out on some excellent movies if you choose to stay away from older movies.
2. Please watch movies you have not seen before. This is supposed to be a learning
experience, not just review. Challenge yourself and watch movies that are new to
you, don’t watch Remember the Titans for the tenth time because it would be easy
to complete the assignment. Remember, you are in this class to learn and challenge
yourself.
Parental Notification:
A number of the films listed below are rated R. There are also a number of HBO
shows that are not rated but may be appropriate for more mature audiences. Your
student is not required to watch any of these movies, and there are more than
enough movies with age appropriate ratings to choose from. Furthermore, these
movies do not necessarily express my own opinion of history. Rather they are
intended to make your student think about the topic of study from a different
perspective.
Pre 1900 Movies
Dances with Wolves (PG-13, 1990)
Far and Away(PG-13, 1992)
Amistad (R, 1997)
Gangs of New York (R, 2002)
John Adams (TV-14, 2008)
Jeremiah Johnson (PG, 1972)
The Crucible (PG-13, 1996)
Wyatt Earp (PG-13, 1994)
Son of the Morning Star (PG-13, 1991)
Unforgiven (R, 1992)
Lonesome Dove (Unrated, 1989)
Lincoln (PG-13, 2012)
Gettysburg (PG, 1993)
The Last of the Mohicans (R, 1992)
The Patriot (R, 2000)
Little Big Man (PG-13, 1970)
The Alamo (PG-13, 2004)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Unrated, 2007)
Before the Movie:
1. What is the title of your movie?
2. Name the producer and director.
During the Movie:
3. Who are the most important characters in the film? Also list the names of the
actors playing these characters.
4. What is the setting of you movie? Location, time period, and circumstances.
5. What is this story about? (In essence, the movie review you have written is your
opinion of the movie. Keep this in mind, and while writing a review, do not get
tempted to reveal the complete story line. Your purpose is to give only the details
that can help the readers of your review to form an opinion about the movie, not to
retell the story of a movie.
6. What group of people would like this movie (demographics)?
After the Movie:
7. Did you like this movie? Why or why not? (Give a real critique, not a one word
answer)
8. All movies teach a lesson (theme/moral). What did you learn from this movie?
9. What rating would you give this movie? (Let the reader/viewer know a number
or stars out of a certain number. (Ex. - 4.5 out of 5 stars; 9 out of 10).