Historical dramas have carved out a giant space in Hollywood. When they’re done correctly, by directors like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg, they allow audiences to travel through time and take in the sights, sounds, and feelings of a different generation. This past year alone, we’ve seen some incredibly well done movies like Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-nominated Hamnet and Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee that have fully transported us through incredible costuming and script writing into a world much different — yet similar — to our own.
Looking back on the years behind us, the decade of the 1990s was an incredibly giving one when it comes to the genre. From Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves to Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans and Ronald F. Maxwell’s incredible epic, Gettysburg, audiences were happy to jump all over the timeline and learn about characters — both real and fictional — and the lives they lived. Also tucked into the decade was Braveheart, the sophomore feature-length project to hail from Mel Gibson during his early years as a director. Packed with history, colorful costumes, and career-defining performances, the movie is an absolute must-see for anyone who loves a cinematic connection to history.
The good news is that right now, audiences can stream Braveheart on Netflix, where it’s currently available alongside the streamer’s sprawling lineup of content. The bad news is that time is running out to check out the nearly three-hour epic, as it will bow out on March 1. In addition to helming, Gibson also stars in the production as Scottish warrior Sir William Wallace during the harrowing and bloody events that unfolded during the First War of Scottish Independence. Joining Gibson for one of history’s most brutal and infamous wars is a call sheet that includes Angus Macfadyen, Sophie Marceau, Catherine McCormack, and Patrick McGoohan.
What’s Next for Mel Gibson?
After taking nearly a decade off from filmmaking, Gibson returned to his work behind the camera with 2025’s Flight Risk. He’ll next set out in hopes of capturing the same kind of success that he saw more than two decades ago by bringing audiences The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One and Part Two. Both movies are slated to arrive in cinemas next year and, should it be a repeat of 2002’s The Passion of the Christ, the director and Lionsgate stand to make a substantial amount of money at the global box office.
Head over to Netflix before March 1 to stream Braveheart.
