From the lives of great monarchs to the events that changed the course of World War II, discover the productions available on the platform that make history classes even more interesting.
Miami, FL., October 6th, 2021 - Have you ever thought about experiencing the beginning of the French Revolution? Or seeing the invention of light up close? Or going behind the scenes of World War II? There are films and series on HBO Max that allow us to travel through time and revisit important moments in Western history.
THE AMERICAN GUEST is one of those examples. The four-episode miniseries, directed by Bruno Barreto, reconstructs the expedition to Brazil by the former US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1914, alongside Cândido Rondon. In addition to this, there are other titles curated by HBO Max that invite us to immerse ourselves in history. Here are some of them:
THE CURRENT WAR
It could be the name of an armed conflict, but “The Current War” is the name of the film that refers to a 19th cebtury intellectual war between inventor Thomas Edison (played by actor Benedict Cumberbatch) and engineer George Westinghouse (played by actor Michael Shannon). What did they dispute? Nothing other than the distribution of electricity. That's it! In Alfonso Gómez-Rejón's film, we follow the behind-the-scenes struggle of these historical figures for something that is so routine for us today: electricity.
MARIE ANTOINETTE
How about a visit to the Palace of Versailles? This was the location for Sofia Coppola's film where she depicts the arrival of Austrian Princess Marie Antoinette (played by Kirsten Dunst) to France, who married Prince Louis XVI as part of an agreement between the countries. Involved in disputes and gossip regarding the royal family, the princess decides to create a separate universe within that court with grandiose balls. What she never imagined is that this would be one of the reasons for the start of the French Revolution and for her title as last queen of France.
THE KING’S SPEECH
The King’s Speech is directed by Tom Hooper and stars Colin Firth, both who won Oscars for this title. The film follows the trajectory of King George VI, who was forced to assume the English throne at the beginning of World War II. He had a severe stutter to the point that he was unable to speak in public. Everything begins to change with the arrival of a speech therapist named Lionel, who befriends the king, and helps turn the moment when the king must give his first speech, into one of the most emotional moments of the film.
THE GATHERING STORM
Also instrumental in World War II was Winston Churchill, who is the main character in this biopic co-produced by BBC and HBO about the life of the British statesman. Starring Albert Finney, who won many awards for his performance, this feature film shows how Churchill resisted warning the world of an attempted coup in Europe by an emerging Austrian politician named Adolf Hitler.
The third episode of THE AMERICAN GUEST premieres next Sunday, October 10th, on HBO Max and HBO.
