We dissect the provocative 2025 film Eddington, written and directed by Ari Aster — the auteur behind Hereditary and Midsommar. Set in a fictional New Mexico town in May 2020, during the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic and national unrest, the movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as Sheriff Joe Cross and Pedro Pascal as Mayor Ted Garcia. The standoff between them becomes a micro-cosm of America’s deep divisions.

We (try to) explain what Eddington is all about, look at the contemporary history behind this misunderstood film and ask whether Aster bit off more than he could chew for this movie.

Plus: is this movie’s subject material too soon to appreciate, what is SolidGoldMagikarp and will this movie be regarded as a true classic in years to come?

Got your own theories to the meaning of Eddington? Drop us a line at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or find us at @hmpodcast.bsky.social

The Cold War comes to life in Thirteen Days (2000), directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Kevin Costner as advisor Kenneth O’Donnell during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

We dive into the historical accuracy of Thirteen Days, how much Kenneth O’Donnell was actually responsible for ending the crisis (not much), the Excomm Tapes and the real players in JFK’s inner circle.

We also look at how close the world truly came to nuclear disaster in 1962 and how this film doesn’t cover it.

Plus: Why this movie wasn’t a hit, Kennedy family myth-making, and where is the nuclear bunker rom-com?

☢️ Think you can do a better Boston accent than Kevin Costner? Drop us a line at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or find us on @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

Emily (2022), written and directed by Frances O’Connor and starring Emma Mackey, imagines the inner life of Emily Brontë — the fiercely private author of Wuthering Heights. But how much of this windswept Gothic romance is real history, and how much is invention?

And the big question: does Emily fail as a biopic by bending the facts — or does it succeed by capturing the Gothic spirit, emotional intensity and defiance that define Brontë’s work? Can a film be historically inaccurate and artistically truthful at the same time?

We explore the true story of the Brontë family: life in Haworth Parsonage, sibling rivalry and collaboration, the real William Weightman and the possibility of a passionate love affair.

We also dive into Wuthering Heights: why it shocked Victorian readers, how it tore apart conventions of romance and morality, and why its violent emotional landscape felt so revolutionary in 1847. Was Emily Brontë deliberately breaking literary rules — or did she simply not care what the rules were?

Plus: gloomy moors as a personality trait, the scandal of publishing under a male pseudonym, tuberculosis as the uninvited Victorian houseguest, and whether being “misunderstood” is a prerequisite for literary immortality.

📩 Team Heathcliff or Team Everyone Needs Therapy? Think Emily takes too many liberties — or not enough? Email us at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or find us on @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

Based on Homer’s Odyssey, The Return (2024) reimagines the legend of Odysseus’ journey through a modern, gritty lens. Directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, the film explores loyalty, trauma, and the toll of long wars.

We discuss the mythological and historical roots behind The Return, Homer’s Odyssey, why this is such a refreshing retelling of a classic tale and how it might provide the antidote to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026).

Plus: Ralph Fiennes’ Liverpool theatre experience, revenge done right and loincloths!

📩 Share your favourite ancient epic or modern retelling at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

The Last Samurai (2003), directed by Edward Zwick, dramatises Japan’s Meiji Restoration and the end of the samurai era.

We break down the historical accuracy of The Last Samurai, the real-life inspiration behind Katsumoto and the Satsuma Rebellion, and how this movie gets the history of both sides of the conflict completely wrong.

Plus: Tom Cruise’s widow-maker leg-over technique, samurai vs. Gatling guns, and whether this movie is Legends of the Fall in dressing gowns.

🎌 Also perplexed at why Tom Cruise didn’t die at the end of this film? Write to historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or find us on @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek star in the 2017 remake of Papillon, based on Henri Charrière’s memoir of imprisonment and escape from Devil’s Island.

We explore the real history behind the real Papillon, from the notorious French penal colonies in Guiana, why they existed, to how much of Charrière’s incredible story is actually true.

Plus: gym bros in prison, why this movie is like a cheap perfume ad, comparing it to the 1973 Steve McQueen original, and how this gritty film actually sanitised the original book!

📩 Got a bee in your bonnet or a ‘charger’ up your bum about this movie? Email us at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or message @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

Jack El-Hai, author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, joins us for this episode of the Historical Movies Podcast for an in-depth conversation about the true story behind Nuremberg (2025) — the new film based on his acclaimed nonfiction book.

The Nazi and the Psychiatrist tells the remarkable real-life story of Dr. Douglas Kelley, the American psychiatrist tasked with evaluating Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg Trials. Drawing on newly uncovered interviews and psychological records, El-Hai explores how some of history’s most notorious figures understood themselves — and how ordinary human traits can coexist with extraordinary evil.

Jack's website: www.el-hai.com

In this interview, we discuss:

The real history behind The Nazi and the Psychiatrist

How Jack El-Hai studied the incredible Dr Kelly archive

The psychology of Nazi leadership before the Nuremberg Trials

What the book reveals that the film Nuremberg (2025) expands upon

Why this story remains relevant today

And what Bryce's barber Andy thinks of it all

📘 Book: The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai

🎬 Film: Nuremberg (2025)

Find us on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/hmpodcast.bsky.social

Brian Clough vs. Leeds United — one of football’s greatest stories gets the cinematic treatment in The Damned United (2009), directed by Tom Hooper and starring Michael Sheen.

We talk through the true story behind The Damned United, Clough’s chaotic 44 days at Leeds, and whether the film’s portrayal of Don Revie was fair play or foul.

Plus: the real Peter Taylor bromance, managerial meltdowns, and why Brian Clough might have been England’s greatest “what if.”

📩 Fancy a Cloughism of your own young man? Email us at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or @hmpodcast.bsky.social.