The American Revolution in Film and Television
This is a list of films and television shows, both fictional and non-fictional, about the American Revolution.
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- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsOwen MooreLinda ArvidsonKate BruceDuring the American Revolution, a young soldier carrying a crucial message to General Washington is spotted and pursued by a group of enemy soldiers. He takes refuge with a civilian family, but is soon detected. The family and their neighbors must then make plans to see that the important message gets through after all.This 10 minute short silent film is fully titled as "1776, or the Hessian Renegades."
- DirectorPeter H. HuntStarsWilliam DanielsHoward Da SilvaKen HowardA musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence.The musical about the founding of the nation.
- DirectorLynwood KingStarsSid CaesarWally CoxNanette Fabray
- DirectorJohn G. AdolfiStarsGeorge ArlissDoris KenyonDudley DiggesWith the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, General George Washington took Colonel Hamilton with him into the newly formed government. While the main disagreements in the early days was over paying the soldiers who had fought in the War, Hamilton also dedicated his energies towards a national bank so that the United States would be able to trade with other countries. He fought eight long years for his Assumption Bill while considering the new Residence Bill. While he is engaged in running a clean treasury, his arch rival, Senator Roberts, takes every opportunity to slander and cast Alexander as a dishonorable man.
- DirectorChris WeatherheadStarsBettina BeardDelfloria BrownHalle BrownIt is 1775. Henry Felder, a Swiss-German colonist, lives with his family in the British colony of South Carolina. After many years of struggling with corrupt British rulers, Felder is urged by the new patriot governor to write Articles of Separation from the English King. Felder's old Indian fighting comrade forms a Tory militia to assist the Crown as the fight heats up.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsNeil HamiltonCarol DempsterErville AldersonThe story of a family caught up in the American Revolutionary War.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsTommy Lee JonesSusan BlakelyChad LoweOn the morning of April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began with the "shot heard 'round the world".
- DirectorHamilton LuskeClyde GeronimiWilfred JacksonStarsSterling HollowayHans ConriedStan FrebergA mouse tells the story of how he guided Benjamin Franklin to success and prominence.
- DirectorMikael SalomonStarsJane BrennanLaura BrennanAnthony BrophyOn the glorious battlefields of the American Revolution, two great generals distinguished themselves; George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Washington is remembered as America's founding father, Arnold as America's most notorious traitor. Benedict Arnold rose from humble origins to become the most respected and feared of America's generals. He won brilliant military victories against the English colonists and was Washington's favorite soldier. But two conflicting forces battled inside Arnold's heart; a deep concern for his country and his passionate love for an enchanting and manipulative Philadelphia woman, Peggy Shippen. Blinded by desire, Arnold defected to the English army, orchestrating an attempt to assassinate his own mentor, George Washington.
- DirectorChris StearnsStarsMartin SheenPeter O'MearaDavid BunceHis name is synonymous with treason, but this cinematic documentary shows that Benedict Arnold's heroic contributions to American Independence far outweigh his later change of allegiance.
- DirectorChad BurnsStarsAndrew CheneyJohn Rhys-DaviesKara KillmerA British East India Trading Company assassin seeks to redeem his past by thwarting a plot against a young nation's hope for freedom.
- DirectorJohn W. NobleStarsWilliam Collier Jr.Betty CarpenterThomas CummingsMichael Cardigan is an American patriot in the months before the American Revolution. He fights to broker a peace deal between settlers and the Cayuga tribe and almost loses his life in the process. Despite the fact that he loves Silver Heels, the ward of the British governor, Michael joins with the famed Minute Men to plot revolution and, he hopes, a free American nation.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsClaudette ColbertHenry FondaEdna May OliverNewlyweds Gil and Lana Martin try to establish a farm in the Mohawk Valley but are menaced by Indians and Tories as the Revolutionary War begins.
- StarsPaul GiamattiLaura LinneyJohn DossettThe life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRobert StackMarisa PavanCharles CoburnThe career of Revolutionary War naval hero from his youth in Scotland through his service to Catherine the Great of Russia.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsHal StalmasterLuana PattenJeff YorkJohnny Tremain is drawn into the Revolutionary War, and becomes a patriot fighting to free the colonies from England. Along the way he learns about life and about himself.
- DirectorJean DrévilleStarsPascale AudretJack HawkinsMichel Le RoyerDuring the American War of Independence, French officer and nobleman La Fayette comes to America's aid with men, money and weapons and becomes a Major-General under George Washington's command.
- CreatorMichael MalianiKevin O'DonnellAndy HeywardStarsWalter CronkiteKathleen BarrReo JonesThe American Revolutionary War is seen through the eyes of an American teenaged lad, a young English lady, and a French boy, all three of whom work as reporters for Benjamin Franklin.
- DirectorStephen SurjikStarsNancy PalkRichard DonatDiane D'AquilaMary Silliman's War is a unique, award-winning film on the American Revolution.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsAl PacinoDonald SutherlandNastassja KinskiA trapper and his young son get pulled into the American revolution early as unwilling participants and remain involved through to the end.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsClaude RainsGale SondergaardDonald CrispSet during the American Revolution, this colorful 2 reel short tells the story of Haym Salomon, American patriot and financier of the American Revolution.
- StarsBen BarnesMarton CsokasHenry ThomasThe story of a group of very different men fighting in the American Colonies for freedom, and how they will shape the future for the United States of America. Based on true stories.
- DirectorRobert HarmonStarsJeff DanielsRoger ReesSebastian RochéA dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierThe black sheep of a family and the local minister discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsElizabeth SpriggsCheryl MaikerGraham TurnerThe black sheep of a family (Dick Dudgeon) and the local minister (Anthony Anderson) discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsCary GrantMartha ScottCedric HardwickeJust prior to the American War of Independence, aristocratic Virginian Jane Peyton marries unsophisticated rustic farmer and surveyor Matt Howard who takes her to his Shenandoah Valley plantation and later goes to war.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsMel GibsonHeath LedgerJoely RichardsonPeaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsFrancis LedererJoan BennettCharles RugglesLederer is a Hessian soldier who defects to the Americans during the Revolutionary War.He falls in love with a Yankee girl, but a thuggish local militiaman jealously makes things hard for him while he's a prisoner of war.
- StarsAndrew StevensDon JohnsonWilliam ConradPhilip Kent takes part in the American Revolution and the newly formed Congress.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsCornel WildeMichael WildingGeorge SandersDuring the Revolutionary War, American Major John Boulton feigns desertion in order to uncover a British plot to seize the stronghold of West Point.
- DirectorGeorge SiegmannStarsAdda GleasonHoward GayeGeorge ChesebroCatherine Montour (Adda Gleason), a striking half-breed Indian princess, and mistress of King George III (Jack Cosgrove) aspires to become the first Queen of America when the revolution breaks out.
- DirectorLucas ReinerStarsMark MothersbaughGerald CasaleCarl ReinerIn 2176, a magnetic storm erases all recorded history, including the U.S. Constitution, so, three time travelers are sent back to July 4, 1776, to retrieve the heritage, but end up in 1976's Bicentennial, while being perceived as aliens.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloMarjorie ReynoldsA psychiatrist stays in a mansion haunted by prankish ghosts from the Revolutionary War.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsJamie BellHeather LindSamuel RoukinA Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.
- CreatorMatthew GinsburgStarsJeff DanielsJoanne FreemanAlan TaylorThe life story of George Washington, the first President of the United States.
- DirectorGregory RatoffGeorge SeatonStarsFred MacMurrayJoan LeslieJune HaverBill wants to join the Army, but he's 4F so he asks a wizard to help him, but the wizard has slight problems with his history knowlege, so he sends Bill everywhere in history, but not to WWII.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancSam Von Schamm The Hessian and Bugs Bunny fight it out in the little known American Revolutionary War Battle of Bagle Heights.
- CreatorJohn WilderStarsAndrew StevensOlivia HusseyBarry SullivanWhen Phillipe Charboneau, the illegitimate son of an English duke, travels from France to England to claim his inheritance, he incurs the wrath of his father's family and is forced to flee to America, where he becomes involved in the events leading to the American Revolution.
- DirectorNadia TassStarsShailene WoodleyKevin ZegersDavid GardnerIn Colonial America, shortly before the American Revolution, a young girl tries to rescue a horse from an abusive owner.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancTedd PierceJohn DeeringPorky balks at learning the Pledge of Allegiance until Uncle Sam appears to him in a dream and gives him a lesson in American history.
- DirectorFielder CookStarsRichard BasehartBarry SniderHarry AndrewsGeorge Washington struggles to hold his army together at a critical point during the Revolutionary War.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancBea BenaderetBugs lectures his nephew Clyde about early America, inserting himself into events wherever possible.
- StarsBarry BostwickPatty DukeDavid DukesThe early life and career of the American General and President through his participation in the Revolutionary War.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsBarry BostwickPatty DukeJeffrey JonesThe life of George Washington as the first President of the United States of America and his 8 years running his country. The trials he faces dealing with mobs and riots while keeping the country together.
- StarsJody MatzerJohn BeachJohn KoopmanThis compelling new series chronicles the rise of the rebellion, failures and setbacks of the colonial mission, and the ultimate comeback that resulted in the birth of a nation. Through expert interviews, re-enactments and cutting-edge animations, the series brings more than a dozen indispensable players to the front lines, like John Glover, who helped row Washington's forces across the Delaware to secure victory at Trenton. Also featured is Salem Poor, who was born into slavery but served heroically under Washington at the Battle of White Plains and Bunker Hill. Many women also answered the call, like Nancy Hart, a patriot spy who disguised herself as a man and wandered through British encampments to gather intelligence.
- StarsBryan StefancykLarry A. MaxwellJohn W. HallThe history of the United States of America. From colonies under British rule to the inauguration of the first president of the United States of America.
- In no period of American history was romance in its most imaginative form outdone as in the days of the Revolution, and of all the heroes of that epoch, the name of none stands out in bolder relief than does that of General Francis Marion. The very mention of his name made the stoutest hearts quake and sent consternation into many a camp and bivouac of the British. In a wonderfully realistic manner, some of his many striking performances are reproduced in this most remarkable story of "Marion's Men." The "Swamp Fox," as the cruel and crafty Tarleton dubbed him, is portrayed with a rare fidelity to historical truth. Some of the incidents of his career, graphically depicted, are here interwoven with his startling feats at the fall of Fort Watson, in April 1781, and the great victory won at Eutaw Springs, which was fought in the same year. The companions of this wonderful genius were akin to him in many respects. Here, for instance, his right bower in his dare-deviltries was a bishop of the church, who on occasion donned the purple robes of office to minister its functions, and then doffed them again for "the belted sword and the cocked hat." Then the woman, the loyal, true-hearted women of that period of trial and suffering, are here shown in all their fortitude.
- StarsGwyneth PaltrowSam WaterstonMichael PottsA biographical film about The United States' influential and profoundly enigmatic Founding Father.
- StarsRichard EastonDylan BakerColm FeoreThe story of the renowned American polymath.
- StarsStephen LangDonna MurphyEdward HerrmannSix-hour documentary on the American Revolution, from the passage of the Stamp Act (1765) through the ratification of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1789). In addition to narration and interviews with historians, the series uses re-enactments of military engagements and excerpts from letters, diaries and other documents of the period, spoken by actors.
- DirectorLee B. GrobergStarsDean MalissaRandall RobinsonDocumentary about why the freedom of conscience was codified by the founders of the US constitution.
- StarsBurt ReynoldsJames WoodsEdward HerrmannWitness the birth of the American republic.
- DirectorOren JacobyStarsBrigitte BardotPatrick BauchauJohn CullumNo one in recorded history has suffered a fate quite like Lafayette. Once, the most famous man in the world; today, few people know who he was or what he accomplished. It is time to re-evaluate his crucial role in America's independence.
- DirectorPaul Tait RobertsStarsKevin McGranahanMike WellsSteve HawkinsTo avoid interference from the royal governor of the colony and his marines, the Second Virginia Convention met in Richmond, Virginia on March 20, 1775 to discuss recent proceedings at the First Continental Congress. The meeting turned into a debate over whether or not to arm the colony to resist British forces whose numbers were steadily increasing in North America. Many members preferred to adopt conciliatory measures, but Patrick Henry delivered an impassioned speech, arguing Virginia needed a "well-regulated militia." It was imperative, he declared, that the colony be prepared to oppose King George III. He ended his oration with the phrase: "Give me liberty or give me death!" This documentary, filmed at site of the original convention, provides the historical context for the debates and recreates the most important speeches delivered during the meeting, concluding with Henry's famous address.
- StarsRichard HolmesGarrick HagonRobert ShepherdA history of the American War of Independence.
- DirectorKevin R. HershbergerStarsNeal HurstMatthew KeagleBryan KennedyIt's all live-action, in full-color, shot and created digitally, detailing the creation and drill of the Revolutionary War American soldier from the defeats as a militia rabble in 1776 to success after Valley Forge in 1779-1781. It details all of the movements in Baron Von Steuben's "Blue Book" drill manual, as well as detailing the various uniforms, equipment, weapons, camps, marching, soldier life in camp, food and battles of the Continental Soldier. This is a first-of-its kind documentary, using actors and reenactors in authentic uniforms and settings to tell the story of the men of this army. This is the first in a planned 35 DVD "American Soldier Series" detailing the lives times and world of the American fighting men (and women) through history.
- StarsRobert KerbeckCharles KuraltRobert E. BurkeDocumentary chronicling the history of the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain that began in 1776.
- StarsWilliam DanielsCharles DurningKelsey GrammerThorough documentary of how the American Colonies rebelled against England and the personalities involved in the creation of a new nation.
- DirectorRobert M. WiseStarsStacy KeachJackson BoltAlexander EmmertInadequately prepared for the responsibilities George Washington accepts first as a British officer and later as the commander of the Colonial Army, his mistakes lead to battlefield and political failures and and disgrace. But Washington learns from each round of failures and through devotion to his duty recovers his reputation and eventually gains the adulation of the new United States.
- DirectorJennifer Cardon KleinTom CaulfieldBert KleinAfter the Boston Tea-Bone Party, the Pups of Liberty continue to assert themselves against Catland. The Royal TomCat refuses their requests for representation in the government and makes life miserable in the 13 Ameri-canine colonies. Be there as Thomas Jefferhound writes the Dog-claration of Independence, starting the Revolutionary War, and putting America on the path to freedom.
- DirectorKim RobinsonStarsMicah MorganRobert CopelandJosiah RizzoHistorically known as the "female Paul Revere," Sybil is a shining example of courage and faith, standing courageously and boldly with her father.
- DirectorAmy TiehelStarsChris James BoylanChase Jennings GrayShay GuthrieThree British soldiers pillage the home of a woman, her daughter and two grandchildren during the Revolutionary War and get more than they bargained for in this dramatic short with a twist.
- StarsJohn NesbittMary GordonJohn HubbardThis short dramatizes how three disparate events in history contributed to the adoption of three of the amendments in the United States Bill of Rights.
- DirectorJ. Christian IngvordsenStarsDan HaggertyRyan WashburnJacqueline KonxJoin in one boy's heroic adventure as he fights in the struggle for freedom on the American frontier. James Todd is a young boy growing up in the hostile American wilderness-a rugged and dangerous land also inhabited by the American Indians. His peaceful life is shattered when the treacherous British troops suddenly storm through the countryside in an attempt to crush the American Revolution. During the battle for freedom, James is ruthlessly captured and held prisoner in the enemy fort by the brutal Major Smythe. But his bravery seems without limits as an unlikely and legendary alliance is forged with the neighboring Indians in a bold and fearless rescue effort. It is a rugged and wondrous adventure which culminates as the fortress is infiltrated and James narrowly escapes to lead the spirited fight against the British Red Coats.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsWilliam AthertonJohn FavoritePat HingleThis short was made during the US Bicentennial celebration to give a background on the development, writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the men who were involved in it.
- DirectorMax LiebmanStarsAnne JeffreysRobert SterlingCyril RitchardBased on the Broadway show "Dearest Enemy" from 1925. This musical tv special is based on an incident of the American Revolution, at the home of Mrs. Robert Murray , and the British landing nearby and arriving at the Murray home.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsEric SchweigWes StudiBuffy Sainte-MarieThe story of two Iroquis brothers caught in the midst of the Revolutionary War.
- DirectorArthur MaudeStarsFrancis X. BushmanEnid BennettJohnnie WalkerGeorge Washington, commander of revolutionary American forces, ends a squabble among the colonies as to under which flag the Americans will fight the British by recommending a new flag for all the colonies. He asks Betsy Ross to design and create the first flag. Meanwhile, British officer Brandon has crossed enemy lines in order to secretly visit his wife, who boards in the same house as Betsy Ross. Ross helps Mrs. Brandon hide her husband, but then Washington himself discovers the hidden enemy and must decide whether love or the rules of war shall prevail.
- DirectorGeorge CowlTravers ValeStarsAlice BradyJohn BowersLillian CookRevolutionary War heroine Betsy Ross finds herself in competition with her sister for the affections of a British soldier.
- DirectorAlexandra PelosiStarsLamar AlexanderKevin BaconTammy BaldwinA reading of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
- DirectorB. Reeves EasonStarsJohn LitelNedda HarriganCarlyle Moore Jr.Patrick Henry's rousing speech before the Virginia legislature argues for colonial independence.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsClaire TrevorJohn WayneGeorge SandersIn 1759, in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Valley, local settlers and Indian fighters try to persuade the British authorities to ban the trading of alcohol and arms with the marauding Indians.
- DirectorPeter N. JohnsonStarsCraig WassonMichael McGuireMorgan WhiteIt showed the process it took to write the Constitution of the United States.