Danton, a French/Polish co-production directed by Andrzej Wajda. About the Reign of Terror (post-French-Revolution). Starring Gerard Depardieu in the title role.
Ivan the Terrible Parts I and II, by Sergei Eisenstein, about the Tsar who consolidated Russia into one central rule.
Napoleon, by Abel Gance. Silent (but great).
Elizabeth, by Shekhar Kapur. Starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes. About the coming to power of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Pianist, by Roman Polanski. About the Warsaw Ghetto before and during WWII.
Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean; starring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, and just about every other [male] actor you can think of. WWI; fall of the Ottoman Empire.
The Samurai Trilogy, three films by Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune as Musashi, the greatest samurai swordsman. Set in Japan, during the civil wars of the Seventeenth Century.
Boy, this is fun.