10 Great Alternative History Movies and TV Shows
Miscellaneous / / May 09, 2022
What if Hitler won the war and the victims of racism were white people? In these tapes there will be answers to such questions.
Alternative history films
1. The fate of the white man
White Man's Burden
- USA, France, 1995.
- Drama, thriller.
- Duration: 85 minutes.
- IMDb: 5.3.
The action takes place in an alternate reality where racial discrimination flourishes, but in relation to white people. Ordinary guy Louis Pinnock works in a factory run by black boss Tadeusz Thomas, a well-known racist.
One day, he unfairly fires a hero who had just had a chance to get the coveted position of foreman. Desperate, Luis decides to take extreme measures and takes the boss hostage in order to get a ransom for him.
"The fate of the white man" John Travolta (By the way, this is your chance to see the actor in a very unusual role) mirrors the issues of racial discrimination. But such a straightforward approach confused most critics and viewers.
2. Tales of the South
Southland Tales
- France, Germany, USA, 2006.
- Fantasy, thriller, drama, comedy, detective.
- Duration: 145 minutes.
- IMDb: 5.4.
In 2008, the world is in a military frenzy. America, having survived a nuclear catastrophe, is preparing for presidential elections. An already difficult situation is complicated by a new type of fuel called “liquid karma”: because of it, the planet slows down its rotation, and holes begin to form in time and space.
In these wild conditions, everyone, for various reasons, seeks to track down the movie actor Boxer Santaros, who lives with an adult film star and suffers from amnesia.
Behind Richard Kelly, author of the mystical thrillerDonnie Darko”, established a reputation as an extravagant director. His second film, the dark social satire Tales of the South, was not particularly successful: almost no one appreciated the intricate plot and strange humor. But over time, the tape was recognized, and it even had fans.
3. President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
- USA, Russia, 2012.
- Horror, fantasy, action.
- Duration: 105 minutes.
- IMDb: 5.9.
Planter Jack Barts killed Abraham Lincoln's mother when he was a child. And the hero waits many years after that for a chance to punish the villain. Once Abraham meets Henry Sturges and learns from him that the evil vampires under the guise of wealthy slave owners occupied the southern states of America. Under his leadership, Lincoln becomes a ghoul hunter: during the day he leads an ordinary life, and at night exterminates the undead.
The extravagant idea to combine the biography of the President of the United States with vampire mythology belongs to Seth Graham-Smith. He wrote the screenplay from his own book. Experiments in the mash-up genre, when one is made from several original works, are generally close to the author. So, he created the novel Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, which was also filmed in 2015.
Watch on iTunes →
4. Interview
The Interview
- USA, 2014.
- Comedy, action.
- Duration: 112 minutes.
- IMDb: 6.5.
Controversial talk show host David Skylark and his producer Aaron Rappoport find out that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un really likes their show. The heroes decide to interview him, to which Pyongyang immediately agrees.
The friends are soon approached by the CIA, who ask them to kill Kim with a poison-soaked band-aid. But after arriving at Korea there are problems with the task. The fact is that David makes friends with the dictator and is no longer sure that he wants his death.
Shameless, but generally harmless satirical comedy by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made a lot of noise: right before the release film, Sony Pictures Entertainment was attacked by hackers, after which the company changed its mind about releasing The Interview in cinemas. True, after a wave of criticism, the tape nevertheless returned to the rental schedule, and the scandals only served as additional advertising.
5. Guardians
Watchmen
- USA, 2009
- Fantasy, Action, Drama, Detective.
- Duration: 162 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.6.
1985 Richard Nixon is elected for a fifth term, the US and the USSR are on the verge of nuclear war. Meanwhile, in New York, an old mercenary Comedian is killed - one of the Guardians, superheroes who have protected ordinary Americans since the 1940s.
The only one who cares about the death of the Comedian is Rorschach - once also a member of the detachment, and now an anarchist and paranoid. He begins his own investigation and at the same time decides to warn his former teammates about the danger.
Action graphic novel Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons is set in an alternate reality where the United States, thanks to superheroes, won the Vietnam War. And in the hands of director Zack Snyder, with such source material, the result is a cult dystopian movie that shows what radical patriotism leads to.
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6. Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- USA, UK, China, 2019.
- Drama, comedy.
- Duration: 161 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.6.
Los Angeles, 1969 Once popular actor Rick Dalton is unsuccessfully trying to revive his career. His only friend and part-time double Cliff Booth also found himself on the sidelines of show business due to the fact that he committed a crime in the past.
Meanwhile, Dalton has a chance to restore his status: the most famous man moves into the house next door. in-demand Hollywood director Roman Polanski, along with his beautiful wife, aspiring actress Sharon Tate. Soon, another new face appears in the lives of the heroes - a hippie guy named Charles Manson.
For Quentin Tarantino movie "Once Upon a Time in… Hollywoodwas an attempt to save the old conservative Hollywood, at least in the movies. To do this, the director literally rewrites history and changes the outcome of one of the most notorious crimes of the second half of the 20th century. Therefore, if you have not heard about the Charles Manson Family case before, a significant layer of the film will pass you by.
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7. District No. 9
District 9
- South Africa, USA, New Zealand, Canada, 2009.
- Fantasy, thriller, action, drama.
- Duration: 112 minutes.
- IMDb: 7.9.
A disabled spaceship with many depleted aliens hangs over the Earth. The authorities organize a camp for them, but years later the territory turns into a criminal one. ghetto. As clashes between the aliens and the locals come to a head, the officials decide to forcibly relocate the creatures away from the city.
But everything is complicated by the fact that an unlucky employee of a specially created commission becomes infected with a virus, which gradually turns him into an alien.
The debut picture of Neil Blomkamp tells about an alternate reality where aliens find themselves disenfranchised slum dwellers, but any viewer familiar with the history of the 20th century will immediately discern an allusion to apartheid. In fact, the dark-skinned population of South Africa was in the same situation as the aliens in the film until relatively recently.
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8. Inglourious Basterds
Inglourious Basterds
- USA, Germany, 2009.
- Action, drama, comedy, war.
- Duration: 153 minutes.
- IMDb: 8.3.
In the midst of World War II, a German patrol led by SS Standartenführer Hans Landa arrives in a French village. After a conversation with the owner, the fighters shoot the Jewish family hiding in the underground.
Only the young Shoshanna manages to escape. Years later, the girl turns out to be the owner of a small cinema in Paris, where Joseph Goebbels plans to arrange an exclusive screening of the propaganda masterpiece "Pride of the Nation".
Meanwhile, a detachment of American saboteurs under the command of Lieutenant Aldo Reina is about to crank out an operation to eliminate the highest officials of the Third Reich, including Adolf Hitler himself, who arrived at movie premiere. Thus, the Nazis risk becoming the target of both the revenge of the Jewish girl and the sabotage of American scumbags.
Killing Hitler is probably the most popular fan fantasy alternative history. In reality, the Fuhrer committed suicide in the bunker. Tarantino, on the other hand, corrected this “injustice” and destroyed Hitler in the most spectacular way, and you will find out exactly how in the finale of Inglourious Bastards.
Watch on iTunes →
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Series in the genre of alternative history
1. The Man in the High Castle
The Man in the High Castle
- USA, UK, Canada, 2015-2019.
- Fantasy, thriller, drama.
- Duration: 4 seasons.
- IMDb: 8.0.
The action takes place in a world where Germany and Japan won World War II. The American people have to live under the yoke of fascism. But the few resistance continues to fight. In particular, it distributes a mysterious newsreel in which the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition won the Second World War, and the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan.
The series is based on the novel The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick - based on his books also removed films "Blade Runner", "Total Recall", "Minority Report" and many, many others. And if you're curious about what a world looks like in which Hitler won the war and the US is occupied and divided between Japan and Germany, this is exactly the spectacle for you.
2. Great
The Great
- United States, 2020–2021.
- Comedy, biography, history.
- Duration: 2 seasons.
- IMDb: 8.2.
In the middle of the 18th century, a well-educated European princess comes to Russia to become the wife of Emperor Peter III. Her expectations are the most optimistic, but, to her surprise, the Russian Empire turns out to be a wild country where everyone sleeps with anyone, rowdy and at the same time shout “Khuza!”. And her husband, in addition, behaves like a person with obvious mental disabilities.
But the girl does not lose hope to bring some benefit to the people. Learning that if the emperor dies without an heir, the throne will eventually pass to her, the heroine decides to win over the courtiers to her side and convince them to stage a palace coup.
Playwright Tony McNamara (The Favourite) interprets events from the life of Empress Catherine the Great very loosely. This was done on purpose, of course. The show can hardly be called biographical: one historical fact here accounts for a ton of fiction. And from the second season, the plot is generally developed in an alternative way that has nothing to do with the real story.
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