Best Austrian history movies

The Woods Are Still Green (2014)

A story about a group of Austria-Hungarian soldiers in the 1st World War. They hold an artillery post in the mountains on the southern front to Italy. The group is cut off from their own troops and under heavy artillery fire from the Italian. When the post receives a fatal direct hit from a shell, killing the comrades, private Jacob Lindner and the seriously injured captain Jan Kopetzky are the only survivors of the post. Jakob has to suffer the madness of this hellish war in all its human atrocities. Without care, help from the command, food and water, to survive becomes an existential challenge. The young soldier tries desperately with humanity and dignity to save his and the injured captains life.

Luft-Räume (1990)

Air raid bunkers represent the architecturally intact remains of World War II. The film looks into their ideological as well as their material texture and puts them into the context of the urban infrastructure of the nineties.

Death of a Schoolboy (1990)

On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot to death in Sarajewo. His assassination caused a chain of events that brought about World War I and the downfall of old Europe. Who is the assassin? Who is GAVRE PRINCIP, a man that fate brought into the center of world attention. The subject of the film is not the historical background but rather the psychological makeup of PRINCIP at the age of seventeen.

Der Attentäter (1969)

Espionage (1955)

Oberst Alfred Redl heads the military intelligence department of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Frequent letters from the Russian Empire, however, make him suspect of sharing his knowledge with unauthorized authorities.

The Crown Prince (2006)

A great Empire, once famous for its enlightened traditions, is taken over by a ruthless political establishment. Religious fundamentalists and national separatists are tearing at the fabric of its liberal society. Under the influence of his conservative advisors, the Emperor fails to initiate the reforms that could save the Empire from annihilation. One man alone can avert the cataclysm to come. The year is 1888 and the 600-year-old Empire of Austria-Hungary is at a cross-road of history. Crown-Prince Rudolf, son of fabled Empress Sisi, the most beautiful woman of her time, is the man with the vision and the ability to lead his Empire into the 20th century. Yet his enemies, the all-powerful Prime Minister first and foremost, scheme to isolate Rudolf from his father and from access to power. Against the backdrop of one of the most dangerous, exciting and colorful periods in history, at the dawn of the modern age...

Sisi (2009)

The Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph falls in love with the young Elisabeth. It's love at first sight but Franz Joseph's mother Sophie doesn't approve this love.

Anna and the Prince (2009)

Archduke Johann falls in love with Anna Plochl, the postmaster's daughter. Johann and his royal arranged bride both decline a dynastic alliance advised by minister Metternich in favor of their loves.

A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990)

A chance meeting between British nobleman and lovely young Mistral foils a plot by her manipulating Aunt Emilie to avenge the death of her sister, Mistral's mother, who died in childbirth. But when an unscrupulous blackmailer and a rapacious Rajah enter the plot, the growing attraction between Lord and convent girl becomes yet more fraught with Danger.

Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe (1956)

Erzherzog Johanns große Liebe (1951)

Whom the Gods Love (1942)

Biographical film about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Elisabeth (1999)

Recording of a Dutch performance of the musical Elisabeth. It portrays the life and death of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as "Sisi", the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I, from her engagement and marriage in 1854 to her murder in 1898 at the hands of the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni; it focuses on her growing obsession with death, as her marriage and the empire crumble around her just before the turn of the 20th century.

Maria Theresia (1980)

Burning Souls (2014)

A story about of one of the darkest periods in German history, an era in which the belief in occult forces was widespread. In Bamberg, witch hunts were fostered by a greedy and delusional Bishop Prince and reached their peak around 1630. This Bamberg ruler used the witch trials to purge his political enemies and enrich himself with their goods. Almost 1000 innocent men, women and children became his victims. BURNING SOULS deals with the era seen through the eyes of Johanna Wolff, a pharmacist's daughter, and the young physician Cornelius Weinmann. To save the innocent, he and a few courageous men revolt against the Bishop Prince.

The Grüninger File (2014)

1938. Austria has been annexed by Nazi Germany, and Switzerland has closed its borders for Jewish refugees - a death sentence for thousands. But not all Swiss officials observe this inhuman order.

The Little Death (2020)

The anarchist Luigi Lucheni plans to assassinate the Austrian empress Elisabeth. Upon meeting her, he senses their emotional connection. His determination starts to falter. Grateful for their encounter, Elisabeth encourages him in his actions.

May the Lord Be With Us (2018)

The Defenestration of Prague, which took place on May 23, 1618, was the decisive historical moment that unleashed the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) between several Catholic and Protestant states and changed the course of European history forever. (Additionally released as a heavely edited historical documentary entitled The Defenestration of Prague, 85 min.)

Der Bockerer II - Österreich ist frei (1996)

Vienna, 1947. Bockerer and his wife Binerl have survived the war, though his butcher's shop was destroyed by bombs. Karl Bockerer opens up a new establishment in the center of the city. Post-war Vienna is divided into four zones in which the Allies run things and ensure that law and order prevails. This is the story of two lovers: Gustl, just returned form a POW camp, and the Russian interpreter Elena. Bockerer becomes the patron of their love. Elena's father was executed by Stalin, and the only way she can escape a similar fate is to marry an Austrian. Bockerer "buys" a husband for Elena and, full of tricks as ever, he succeeds in pulling the wool over the Russian occupier's eyes.

Wolves (2015)

A family displaced by war is ambushed by highwaymen. The encounter takes a turn when one of the robbers recognizes the father as his old brother in arms.

Der Aufstieg der Habsburger. Die Schlacht am Marchfeld (2022)

Aufstand im Bordell - Frauenhandel um 1900 (2024)

Der Bockerer IV - Prager Frühling (2003)

In the year 1968, the “Bockerer” has decided, after many attempts, to marry his long-time widowed housekeeper, Anna. Gustl, whom he as taken in like a son after the war, will open a butchery in the Czech small town Kostelec and invites the Bockerers to spend their wedding journey with him and his Elena. The “Prague Spring”, of which everywhere is talked so much about, promises a nice honeymoon, and their friend Hatzinger is taken along on the journey as well. Soon after their arrival, the Bockerer has to realize that “Communism with a human face” is still an idle wish.

Stalin's James Bond (2017)

An account of the troubled life of Richard Sorge (1895-1944), a Soviet spy of German origin who played a decisive role in the outcome of World War II.

Victims of the Vikings (2020)

Adventurers, explorers and conquerors: the Vikings are considered the greatest heroes of the Middle Ages. Is this interpretation justified? In fact, they left a far darker and lesser-known mark on history: they were ruthless slavers, human traffickers and hostage-takers. „Victims of the Vikings“ is the first TV documentary to investigate this infamous and often horrifying aspect of the Nordic warriors.

Deckname Holec (2016)

Young director Honza David films the Russian invasion in in Prague in August 1968. With Eva the love of his life he tries to get out of the country. He wants to bring the explosive material to Vienna, to the director of the Austrian Television Helmut Zilk. He knows Eva very well but the Czech Secret Service even better ...

Vals (2014)

Rosa, a young and self-confident woman, used to live a happy life in a small valley in the Alps, but after the second world war broke out, everything changed.

Mystery of the Celtic Tomb (2019)

Explore the origins of the Celts, uncovering their culture through preserved salt mines, ancient artifacts, and the mystery of a 2,400-year-old tomb.

So Much for Justice! (2010)

Concerning the Mátyás era in Hungarian history, during the reign of Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), the film focuses on three eras of the king's life: the young Mátyás fights for the throne, the older Mátyás as king, and the fate of the royal crown and the royal heir after his death.

Die Verführerin Adele Spitzeder (2012)

Adele Spitzeder, an actress of medium talent, finds the role of her life as a dazzling financial genius, but in truth the operator of a gigantic pyramid scheme. With a brilliant appearance and empty promises, she serves the hopes and greed of her fellow human beings with virtuosity. With the help of a never-ending stream of money, she buys her way out of situations that would have landed others in prison long ago. Her enemies are just waiting for the pyramid to collapse and bury Adele - and countless small investors with her.