Do you have NETFLIX Instant but find that it can be difficult to discover new period dramas to stream online? To help, a list of over 100 of the best costume and historical period dramas that are currently available TO STREAM on NETFLIX in the United States is below.
Just follow the text links to watch the period dramas online at NETFLIX. For those of you without NETFLIX, and because titles do get removed from the service, AMAZON and DVD links to the film / movie / TV miniseries are also included.
The titles are listed alphabetically, by era. Regions outside America, including Canada, may have some of these period dramas available to stream, but not all.
This list aims to be fairly comprehensive for full episodes of period films that are currently available to watch online on NETFLIX in the United States, but because things change so quickly you should also visit the homepage to see Willow and Thatch’s posts highlighting period dramas that have been newly added in the recent months.
Some of the movies below made the Best Period Dramas List, others not – but there is enough here that you should discover something you like, that you can stream right now. There are romantic period dramas, British costume dramas, BBC films, family-friendly movies, and television mini-series that were shown on PBS Masterpiece.
This list is in the process of being updated. For a more recent list, please see 75 Period Dramas Available to Download on Netflix.
Titles released in 2017 will be added as they become available, and ones that are no longer streaming on Netflix will be struck-through like this: Streaming on NETFLIX. The Amazon links links for that title will still be active, and the title may also be available on Netflix DVD: Thanks!
The movies and television mini-series in the list below are sorted by era: Medieval (Dark or Middle Ages), Tudor and Stuart Eras, Georgian and Regency Eras, Victorian Era, Edwardian Era, Interwar Era, Second World War Era, and the Postwar Era.
Follow the Amazon links to view trailers.
If you were happy to find this list, please consider linking to it. It took a very long time to research and put together; thank you kindly for your help with this <3
MIDDLE AGES ON NETFLIX: “In European history, the Middle Ages or Medieval period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. “Starting around the 14th century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back and celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Accordingly, they dismissed the period after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even “Dark” age.“ – HISTORY
Tells the story of the legendary Scottish hero named William Wallace (Mel Gibson). Wallace rallies the Scottish against the English monarch and Edward I (Peter Hanly) after he suffers a personal tragedy by English soldiers. Wallace gathers a group of amateur warriors that is stronger than any English army.
Starring mel Gibson, James Robinson, Sean Lawlor, Sandy Nelson, James Cosmo, Sean McGinley, Alan Tall, Andrew Weir, Gerda Stevenson, Ralph Riach, Mhairi Calvey, Brian Cox, Patrick McGoohan, Peter Hanly, Sophie Marceau, Stephen Billington, Barry McGovern, Angus Macfadyen, John Kavanagh, Alun Armstrong.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
King Arthur (2004): Set around 450 AD in England.
Arthur, a Russian knight with a tenuous allegiance to Rome and his loyal band of knights, joins the Britons to defeat a blood thirsty Saxon conqueror.
Starring Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd, Stellan Skarsg-rd, Stephen Dillane.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Marco Polo (2014): Set in the 13th century in the Far East.
Season 2 coming July 1, 2016.
In a world of greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue, and rivalry, “Marco Polo” is based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s court. Re-creating the legendary explorer’s 13th century exploits in the Far East, this historical drama chronicles the intrigues, duplicity and greed running rampant in the court of the Mongolian ruler Khan.
Starring Benedict Wong, Olivia Cheng, Joan Chen, Zhu Zhu.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes (2015): Set in the 13th century in the Far East.
Before he lost his sight. Before he pledged his service to Kublai Khan. Hundred Eyessaw what made him into the deadly assassin who trains Marco Polo. This is a 30 -minute NETFLIX Original short.
Starring Tom Wu, Lorenzo Richelmy, Olivia Cheng.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
Rated TV-MA.
Merlin (2012) BBC: Set around the 5th century in England.
This family-oriented retelling of the popular King Arthur legend finds Merlin arriving in Camelot, where magic is banned. In this action-packed fantasy-drama, we revisit the saga of King Arthur and his wizard, Merlin, by focusing on the two characters when they were ambitious young men struggling to understand their destinies. In this telling, Prince Arthur is known to be the heir to the throne (no sword from the stone here). And he is acquainted with all those who will one day form the legend of Camelot, including Lancelot, Guinevere, and Morgana. Merlin is also forced to deal with King Uther’s Great Purge, which bans all use of magic.
Starring John Hurt, Bradley James, Colin Morgan.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
Robin Hood (2006) BBC: Set around the 14th century in England.
The popular retelling of the Robin Hood legend is back with a hot young cast, and breathtaking archery, incredible swordplay, energy, humor, brute force, and the raw determination to right wrongs. Robin of Locksley returns from serving King Richard in the Crusades to find his home under the oppression of the sadistic Sheriff of Nottingham, and the Sheriff’s right hand man Guy of Gisborne has his eye on Robin’s childhood sweetheart Marian. Will Robin be able to save his people? Or will in justice overcome everything he stands for?
Starring Jonas Armstrong, Richard Armitage, Lucy Griffiths, Keith Allen, Sam Troughton.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
Many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Danes, leaving the great kingdom of Wessex standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred. Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred. Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is captured by the Danes and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he? Saxon or Dane? On a quest to reclaim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands.
Starring Alexander Dreymon, Rutger Hauer, David Dawson, Matthew Macfadyen, Ian Hart.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Steaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The Physician (2013): Set in 11th century England and Persia.
Based on the best selling novel by Noah Gordon, THE PHYSICIAN tells the story of Rob Cole, a boy who is left a penniless orphan in an 11th-century English mining town when his mother dies of a mysterious illness. The young man discovers his gift of foretelling death, and while growing up with a barber (Skarsgaard) who suppressed his talent, as an adult he travels to Persia to find the doctor of doctors in the city of Isfahan, who can help him develop his special powers. As word of his talent spreads throughout the city during times of a looming war, the young apprentice becomes a target of persecution, in this sweeping epic of biblical proportions portraying battles of good and evil, faith and superstition.
Starring Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgaard, Olivier Martinez, Emma Rigby, Tom Payne.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
World Without End (2012): Set in 14th century England.
England is on the brink of a devastating war with France that will last over a hundred years. A terrible plague which will wipe out a third of Europe’s population before it is done is spreading. Caris, a visionary young woman, struggles to rise above the suffering and oppression in order to lead her people out of the Dark Ages. With her lover Merthin, she builds a community in Kingsbridge that stands up to the church and the crown. Together, they unearth a dangerous secret and must fight to save their town from ruin, ultimately ushering in a new era of freedom, innovation and enlightenment. Ken Follett’s worldwide bestseller, World Without End, comes to life as a monumental eight-hour event series.
Starring Cynthia Nixon, Miranda Richardson, Ben Chaplin, Peter Firth.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
You may also like the following classic movie:
Richard Burton, Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor star in one of the greatest screen spectacles ever made – the story of the Queen of the Nile and her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The film is distinguished by superb performances from Burton and Harrison (nominated for an Oscar), but at its center is Elizabeth Taylor in one of the most glamorous roles of her career. Astounding in scope and grandeur, the picture won Oscars for cinematography, sets and special effects. It’s famous moments include moviedom’s most flamboyant entrance – Cleopatra’s dazzling arrival in Rome. Bolstered by a talented supporting cast and utterly stunning backdrops, here is a truly epic portrayal of the woman who conquered two of Rome’s greatest soldiers, affected the course of history, and became synonymous with beguiling beauty – Cleopatra.
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated G.
You may also be interested in Period Dramas 2016: Dark and Middle Ages, featuring the new costume dramas and period films to be released in 2016.
TUDOR (1485 – 1603) and STUART (1603 – 1714) ERAS ON NETFLIX: Includes the Elizabethan, Jacobean, Caroline, (Interregnum) and Restoration periods. Covers the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I (The Virgin Queen), King Henry VII who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to found the highly successful Tudor house, King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I. The Stuarts were the first kings of the United Kingdom. King James I of England who began the period was also King James VI of Scotland, thus combining the two thrones for the first time. Also includes the era of King Charles I, King Charles II, King James II, Queen Mary II, King William III, Queen Anne.
“The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-known figures in Royal history. During this period, England developed into one of the leading European colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter Raleigh taking part in the conquest of the New World. Nearer to home, campaigns in Ireland brought the country under strict English control. Culturally and socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor court played a prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in Europe, nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser and Cardinal Wolsey. The Stuart dynasty in England and Scotland was a period which saw a flourishing Court culture but also much upheaval and instability, of plague, fire and war.”– The British Monarchy
Set in the 17th Century, the film tells the story of Dutch naval hero Michiel de Ruyter and his battles against the English and other forces at a time when the Netherlands was on the verge of civil war.
Starring Frank Lammers, Charles Dance, Rutger Hauer.
In Dutch, French and English with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON.
Rated TV-MA on Netflix and TV-PG on Amazon.
Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013): Set in 16th century France.
An epic tale of revenge set in feudalistic 16th century France, Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas stars Mads Mikkelsen as a devout and prosperous horse merchant who assembles an army to seek justice after being wronged by a callous baron.
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Denis Lavant, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot.
In French with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Borgia (2011): Set around the turn of the 16th century in Italy.
It was the age of Da Vinci and Michelangelo, of enlightened creativity and unparalleled intellectual achievement. But it was also the age of Machiavelli, or rampant lawlessness, incessant war and unspeakable depravity. At the heart of the world order was the Vatican, and at the center of the Vatican was Rodrigo Borgia, a man whose quest for power would propel him to seek the ultimate prize, the Chair of Saint Peter. His name would become synonymous with ruthlessness, and his reign as pope would be remembered as the most infamous chapter in the history of the Catholic Church.
Starring John Doman, Mark Ryder, Stanley Weber, Isolda Dychauk, Marta Gastini, Diarmuid Noyes.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Elizabeth Tudor (Cate Blanchett) becomes queen of a divided and dangerous England in 1558. She is roundly perceived as weak by threats from within and abroad, and she is strongly advised to marry by counsel William Cecil (Richard Attenborough). But she will be married only to her country. Intelligent and cautious, she must choose where to place her trust: with her shrewd secretary Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), a master of espionage, or her secret lover, Sir Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes).
Starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, John Gielgud.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Queen Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) faces threats to her rule from abroad and at home. Determined to restore England to Roman Catholicism, Spain’s King Philip II dispatches his armada. Sworn to her country body and soul, Elizabeth must resist her love for charismatic seafarer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) and watch as he and her handmaiden grow closer. Finally, trusted adviser Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush) uncovers a plot involving her cousin Mary Stuart.
Starring Jordi Mollà, Aimee King, Cate Blanchett, Laurence Fox, John Shrapnel, Geoffrey Rush, Susan Lynch, Elise McCave, Samantha Morton, Abbie Cornish, Penelope McGhie, Rhys Ifans, Eddie Redmayne, Stuart McLoughlin, Clive Owen, Adrian Scarborough, Robert Styles, William Houston, Coral Beed, Rosalind Halstead.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
With true grit, venomous dialogue, and buckets of conflict, writer Jimmy McGovern’s presents his beautiful and brutal telling of the turbulent reigns of mother-and-son Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and King James VI of Scotland, who would go on to become King James I of England.
Starring Vulpe Adrian, Carmen Ungureanu, Clémence Poésy, Tadeusz Pasternak, Maria Popistasu.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Queen Margot (1994): Set in 1500s France.
France, 1572. During an uneasy break in the wars of religion, Catholic King Charles IX (Jean-Hugues Anglade) concludes a marriage of state between his sister, Margot (Isabelle Adjani), and the Protestant Huguenot King Henry of Navarre (Daniel Auteuil), by ramming forward a reluctant Margots head in lieu of a Oui . But Margots skull-faced Queen Mother (Virna Lisi) is already plotting the attack on the Huguenots that would come to be known as the St. Bartholomew s Day Massacre, and Margot is in the throes of a throbbingly romantic affair with the Protestant La Môle (Vincent Perez).
The late Patrice Chéreau’s high octane adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas novel begins in fth gear and never lets up, plunging in hip-deep in history and into a dizzying array of characters, with assionate performances and a riveting, horric staging of the Massacre.
In French with English subtitles.
Starring Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Vincent Perez.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Reign (2013): The first season takes place in 1557 in France.
Ever since Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, was a little girl, the English have wanted her country and her crown. As a teenager, Mary is sent to France to wed its next king to save herself and her people. Waiting at the French Court is the gorgeous Prince Francis, his illegitimate half-brother Sebastian, a king on the brink of madness, a scheming queen, and the seer Nostradamus with a devastating prophecy. While royal conspiracies, sexual intrigue and mysterious dark forces lurk around every castle corner, Mary struggles to rule her heart’s conflicting passions and make the right decisions as she prepares to become queen. Politics, passion and duty make for thrilling drama in the powerful series, Reign!
Starring Theda Bara, Edward Roseman, Louis Dean, Emil De Varney, John Webb Dillon, Glen White, Mary Martin.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Restoration (1995): Set during 17th century England, around the court of Charles II.
In order to keep one of his mistresses, Celia, at arm’s length, King Charles II asks the royal physician, Robert Merivel, to marry her under the proviso that they never become intimate. Merivel agrees, only to discover he can’t resist Celia, and soon finds himself out of the king’s favor. Destitute, he devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman, Katherine. Based on the novel of the same name by Rose Tremain.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Meg Ryan, David Thewlis, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Robinson Crusoe (1997): Set in the 1650s – 80s.
On the run from Britain after killing another man in a duel, Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked on a small island and forced to fend for himself. Crusoe struggles with isolation and memories of his beloved Mary.
He eventually enlists the help of Friday, a native tribesman he has saved from being killed as a sacrifice. As Crusoe and his new companion forge a bond, they must fight for survival against the elements and also Friday’s dangerous tribe.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, William Takaku, Polly Walker.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Salem (2014): Set around 1692 – 93 in Massachusetts
Salem is set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts and explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history.
Starring Jane Montgomery, Shane West, Seth Gabel, Tazmin Merchant, Ashely Madekwe.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Shakespeare in Love (1998): Set in 1593 London, England.
When Will Shakespeare needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer’s block, a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola starts the words flowing like never before! There are just two things he’ll have to learn about his new love: not only is she promised to marry someone else, but she’s successfully impersonating a man in order to play the lead in Will’s latest production! A truly can’t-miss motion picture event with outstanding critical acclaim to match its impressive collection of major awards — everyone will love this funny behind-the-scenes look at the writing of the greatest love story ever told!
Starring Geoffrey Rush, Gwyneth Paltrow, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Joseph Fiennes.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The story of Korean history’s most astonishing military victory by its greatly revered strategist, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who lures over 300 Japanese ships into a deadly trap where they meet their fate against only 13 battle ships.
Starring Min-sik-Choi, Seung-ryong Ryu.
In Korean with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The Borgias (2011): Set around the turn of the 16th century in Italy.
The Borgias is a complex, unvarnished portrait of one of history’s most intriguing families. Oscar®-winner Jeremy Irons stars as Rodrigo Borgia, the cunning, manipulative patriarch of the Borgia family who ascends to the highest circles of power within Renaissance-era Italy. The series begins as Rodrigo (Irons), becomes Pope Alexander VI, propelling him, his two Machiavellian sons Cesare and Juan, and his scandalously beautiful daughter, Lucrezia, to become the most powerful and influential family of the Italian Renaissance. Three seasons.
Starring David Oakes, Luke Pasqualino, Ronan Vibert, Jeremy Irons.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
The Crucible (1996): Set around 1692 – 93 in Massachusetts.
A teenage girl’s accusation that she was bewitched wrecks havoc and hysteria in a small town in 17th-century New England; based on the celebrated Arthur Miller play.
A group of teenage girls meet in the woods at midnight for a secret love-conjuring ceremony. While the other girls attempt to cast love spells, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) wishes for the death of her former lover’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) wife. When their ceremony is witnessed by the town minister, the girls suddenly find themselves accused of witchcraft. Soon the entire village is consumed by cries of witchcraft, and as the hysteria grows, blameless victims are torn from their homes, leading to a devastating climax.
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, Jeffrey Jones.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
THE GIRL KING is the captivating new feature by Finland-born filmmaker Mika Kaurismäki (MAMA AFRICA, ROAD NORTH), one of world cinema s most versatile and acclaimed talents. The English-language film is a depiction of several years in the life of the 17th century Queen Kristina of Sweden, the Girl King. Born in 1626 and queen by the age of six, Kristina was the most famous woman in the world during her lifetime and remains a controversial figure in Sweden to this day and one of the most influential and fascinating figures to have graced European history.
Starring Malin Buska, Sarah Gadon, Michael Nyqvist, Lucas Bryant, Laura Birn.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The Tudors (2007): Set during the reign of Henry VIII (roughly the first half of 1500s) in England.
THE TUDORS presents the rarely dramatized, tumultuous early years of King Henry VIII’s nearly 40-year, omnipotent reign (1509-1547) of England. In addition to his famous female consorts and 20+ year marriage to Catherine of Aragon and the infamous dalliance with Anne Boleyn, the series delves into Henry’s most notable political relationship and the deconstruction of the Roman Catholic Church in England. Four seasons.
Starring James Frain, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Henry Cavill, Nick Dunning.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Vatel (2000): Set in 1671 in France.
Vatel is based on the true story of an ordinary man, a decadent king and the woman caught between them. King Louis XIV rules at Versailles. In the North of France, Prince de Conde has come up with a plan to get his province out of debt: he’ll invite the King to his country chateau for a weekend of spectacle and merriment. If he can get back in the King’s good graces, his region can avoid economic disaster.
Starring Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Timothy Spall, Julian Glover.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
You may also be interested in Period Dramas 2016: Tudor and Stuart Eras, featuring the new costume dramas and period films to be released in 2016.
GEORGIAN (1714 – 1837) and REGENCY (1811 – 1820) ERAS ON NETFLIX: “This was a period of great change, as cities grew, trade expanded and consumerism and popular culture blossomed. The Georgians witnessed the birth of industrialisation; radicalism and repression; and extreme luxury alongside extreme poverty.” – Georgian Britain, British Library
Amadeus (1984): Set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century.
Based on a Viennese urban legend and hit Broadway play, recounts the downfall of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Gripping human drama. Sumptuous period epic. Glorious celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A marvelous winner of eight Academy Awards.
Starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Though Jane Austen’s (Anne Hathaway) financially strapped parents (James Cromwell, Julie Walters) expect her to marry the nephew of wealthy Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith), the young woman knows that such a union will destroy her creativity and sense of self-worth. Instead, she becomes involved with Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), a charming but penniless apprentice lawyer who gives her the knowledge of the heart she needs for her future career as a novelist.
Starring Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith, Anna Maxwell Martin, Lucy Cohu, Laurence Fox, Ian Richardson, Joe Anderson, Leo Bill, Jessica Ashworth.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) PBS: Set in 1803 England, six years after the events in Pride and Prejudice.
It is the eve of the Darcys’ annual ball at their magnificent Pemberley estate. Darcy and Elizabeth, now six years married, are relaxing with their guests after supper when the festivities are brought to an abrupt halt. A scream calls them to the window and a hysterical Lydia Wickham tumbles out of a carriage shrieking, “Murder!” What follows is the somber discovery of a dead man in Pemberley woods, a brother accused of murder, and the beginning of a nightmare that will threaten to engulf Pemberley and all the Darcys hold dear. Adapted from P.D. James clever whodunit, Masterpiece Mystery!: Death Comes to Pemberley is a delicious homage to Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy never knew marriage would be like this!
Starring Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Rhys, Matthew Goode, Jenna Coleman.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
This adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel about misguided matchmaking takes a comic look at the romantic meddling of Emma Woodhouse. Emma spends her time arranging friends’ romances, never noticing that her own true love is right beneath her nose.
Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo, Greta Scacchi, Alan Cumming, Denys Hawthorne, Sophie Thompson, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, Kathleen Byron, Ewan McGregor, Angela Down.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG
Empresses in the Palace (2011): Set in 1722 during the last imperial dynasty of China.
Set during the Qing Dynasty, sweeping drama EMPRESSES IN THE PALACE is an epic tale of love, betrayal and scandal told from inside the Imperial Harem – the story of one emperor and his countless women. In a world filled with treachery and corruption, who will truly win the Emperor’s heart and reign supreme?
In Mandarin with English subtitles.
Starring Li Sun, Jianbin Chen.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
From Time to Time (2009): Set in 1805 and the 1940s in Britain.
From Julian Fellowes, the writer and creator of Downton Abbey, From Time To Time is a haunting ghost story spanning two world, two centuries apart. With World War II finally coming to an end and his Father still missing in action, Tolly is sent to stay with his estranged Grandmother in their ancestral home. There he discovers he can mysteriously travel between the two worlds and begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations. He must solve these mysteries to safeguard their future and reunite the family once again.
Adapted from Lucy M. Boston’s children’s novel The Chimneys of Green Knowe (1958). The film was shot in Athelhampton Hall, Dorset.
Starring Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Carice van Houten, Alex Etel, Eliza Bennett, Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh, Dominic West, Hugh Bonneville, Kwayedza Kureya, and Pauline Collins.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Great Expectations (2012) BBC: Set in 19th century England. Pip is born in the early 1800s, and it is probable that Pip encounters Magwitch around 1809 and again around 1825. Our narrator is telling his story in 1860, so the story also takes place in the Victorian era.
Young orphan Pip is given a chance to rise from his humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his new found position to pursue the beautiful Estella; a spoilt heiress he’s loved since childhood. Yet the shocking truth behind his great fortune will have devastating consequences for everything he holds dear.
Starring Toby Irvine, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
The period drama is adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel about a young woman who is forced to live with her aunt and uncle following the death of her mother.
Orphaned by her mother’s death, Mary Yellan (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey) travels to Cornwall to join her aunt, Patience (Joanne Whalley, Wolf Hall). Arriving at the isolated Jamaica Inn, Mary is met by a brutish, menacing man- her uncle, Joss (Sean Harris, The Borgias). She soon learns that no guests stay at the inn, and Joss is part of a savage gang of smugglers. Meanwhile, she’s drawn to the handsome, mysterious Jem Merlyn (Matthew McNulty, The Paradise), Joss’s younger brother.
Set in 1821 against a backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, this dark tale of “sex and skulduggery in Du Maurier country” (The Times, UK) has been lavishly directed by BAFTA winner Phillipa Lowthorpe (Call the Midwife) and adapted by Emma Frost (The White Queen). Also starring Ben Daniels and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’s Diary), the “moodily atmospheric” (Daily Mail, UK) drama follows a spirited young woman whose sense of morality is challenged by circumstance and love.
Starring Jessica Brown Findlay, Mathew McNulty, Sean Harris.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
This lavish, star-studded epic set during The Napoleonic Wars of 1810 chronicles a multitude of characters – soldiers and civilians, men, women and children, young and old – as their everyday lives are torn apart by war. Dragged through hills and valleys, between ruined villages, and across charred forests and devastated crops, none can escape the chaos of the times, no matter their station. The idealistic young lieutenant Pedro de Alencar; Clarissa Warren, the malicious little English girl; the shady dealer Penabranca; the vindictive Sergeant Francisco Xavier; and the lusty prostitute Martírio will all follow different paths to the lines of Torres, where the final battle will decide each of their fates.
“This epic historical pageant ‘conceived by’ the late director Raoul Ruiz won’t win the top prize in Venice, but it’s full of life.” – The Guardian
In Portuguese and French with English subtitles.
Starring John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Mansfield Park (1999) BBC: Set in the early 1800s in England.
Fanny (Frances O’Connor), born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas (Harold Pinter), his wife (Lindsay Duncan) and their four children, where she’ll be brought up for a proper introduction to society. She is treated unfavorably by her relatives, except for her cousin Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller), whom she grows fond of. However, Fanny’s life is thrown into disarray with the arrival of worldly Mary Crawford (Embeth Davidtz) and her brother Henry (Alessandro Nivola).
Mansfield Park is a 1999 British romantic comedy-drama film based on Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, written and directed by Patricia Rozema. The film departs from the original novel in several respects. For example, the life of Jane Austen is incorporated into the film, as well as the issues of slavery and plantation life. The majority of the film was made at Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire.
Starring Frances O’Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Hannah Taylor Gordon, Talya Gordon.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Quills (2000): Set in the 1790s in France.
QUILLS imagines the final days of the Marquis de Sade as a blistering black comedy thriller, a battle between lust and love – and between the brutality of censorship and the consequences of free expression. A fictional work that reconstructs the unknown fate of the Marquis de Sade, the writer and sexual deviant who was imprisoned in an insane asylum for the last 10 years of his life. The Marquis de Sade befriends the director of the asylum and shares affections with the asylum laundress. When a doctor is sent in to cure the Marquis of his supposed madness, the Marquis’s rebellious character only grows stronger.
Starring Geoffrey Rush, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Kate Winslet.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
At a villa overlooking Lake Geneva in the idyllic summer of 1816, Percy Shelley, his mistress Mary, and her stepsister Claire visit Lord Byron. Byron challenges each to write a horror story, and Mary begins her novel, Frankenstein. She imagines the monster becoming real, and for the next six years, as tragedy befalls those around her, she believes the personification of her imagination is the cause. Against this backdrop, Claire has Byron’s baby then is estranged from him and barred from her daughter. Byron and Percy continue their friendship, the one self-centered and decadent, the other wildly idealistic.
Starring Hugh Grant, Lizzy McInnerny, Valentine Pelka, Elizabeth Hurley, José Luis Gómez.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Scarlet and Black (1993) BBC: Set in the post Napoleonic-era.
The story of an ambitious but impoverished young man who seduces women of social class in order to improve his own prospects. This television drama series first aired in 1993 by the BBC. The miniseries is a faithful adaptation of the Classic novel Le Rouge et le Noir and is condensed into four episodes, each 50 minutes in length. A notable addition to the plot is the figure of Napoleon, which the protagonist, Julien Sorel, envisages during the main turning points of the story. Napoleon represents Julien’s ambition in the serial, he compares himself with the French hero, seeing himself as an extraordinary individual.
Starring Ewan McGregor, Alice Krige and Rachel Weisz.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
A handsome, womanizing much-envied French Hussar (Jean-Marc Barr) is held prisoner in the Scottish Highlands during the Napoleonic wars falls in love with a local girl (Anna Friel). Based on St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England, by Robert Louis Stevenson, the irreverent tale revolves around the exploits of Captain Jacques St. Ives. ST. IVES is a “witty, romantic comedy in the spirited style of EMMA and AN IDEAL HUSBAND.” The story is an exploration of the recurring theme of the polarity of human nature.
Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Miranda Richardson, Richard E. Grant, Anna Friel, Michael Gough.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Journey of August King (1995): Set in 1815 in North Carolina, United States.
August King is a young man whose life is changed forever when he risks everything to help a beautiful woman on a courageous — and very dangerous — search for a new life. Desperate yet determined, the two set out on a harrowing journey towards freedom and find in each other the strength to overcome incredible odds. This passionate, uplifting celebration of the human spirit received outstanding acclaim from critics coast-to-coast.
Starring Jason Patric, Eric Mabius, Larry Drake, Thandie Newton.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
A writer (Dafoe) is invited to the house of a noblewoman (Olin) who adores free-thinkers. He attempts to seduce her but she insists that he tell her of his past love exploits. While doing so, he takes her through his time in prison where he was unknowingly incarcerated in the cell beside hers. You may want to watch it for the costumes, if nothing else.
Starring Ivan Bacciocchi, Jean-Claude Carrière, Axelle Cummings, Willem Dafoe, Clifford De Spenser.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Nun (2013): Set in 18th century France around the 1760s.
Suzanne is a beautiful young girl with a natural talent for music, enjoying a quietly privileged life. Inexplicably sent off to a convent, she resists structure at every turn until she discovers that she is an illegitimate child. Left with no other option, she pronounces her vows and suffers the consequences of the sins of her mother. Still uncertain of her path and oppressed by aggressive and inappropriate Mother Superiors, Suzanne continues to resist imposed religious values and the dehumanizing effect of cloistered life. Based on the classic novel by Diderot.
“It’s an affecting and frank take on the loneliness of faith as well as faithlessness, whose horrors come in odd contrast to the plush production values. The linen alone is lovely enough to make you weep.” – The Guardian
In French with English subtitles.
Starring Isabelle Hupper, Pauline Etienne.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Turn: Washington Spies (2014): Set in 1778. in the United States.
Based on Alexander Rose’s book Washington’s Spies, AMC’s TURN tells the untold story of America’s first spy ring. A historical thriller set during the Revolutionary War, TURN centers on Abe Woodhull, a farmer living in British-occupied Long Island who bands together with his childhood friends to form The Culper Ring — an unlikely team of secret agents who not only went on to help George Washington turn the tide of the war but also gave birth to modern spycraft.
Starring Jamie Bell, Seth Numrich, Daniel Henshall, Heather Lind, Meegan Warner, Kevin McNally, Burn Gorman, Angus Macfadyen.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Born to poor parents, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) has always aspired to be a member of England’s upper classes. Leaving her boarding school and best friend, Amelia (Romola Garai), behind, Becky associates herself with the Crawleys, eventually falling in love with their son, Rawdon (James Purefoy). The marriage is happy at first, but deteriorates when Rawdon’s fortune dwindles. Becky is then supported by the lecherous Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne), whose motives are less than pure.
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
You may also like Clueless (1995)
Clueless is an American coming-of-age comedy film, loosely based on Jane Austen’s Regency period novel Emma. Cher’s tidy world starts to unravel with the sudden appearance of two total Baldwins (hunks): a sexy and stylish new classmate, and Cher’s square but cute “ex-stepbrother”. Now Cher is about to learn that when it comes to love, she’s …well, Clueless.
Starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Justin Walker.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
A clash of cultures in the spirit of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this modern musical retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice is a hilariously entertaining tale of one girl’s unlikely search for love! Sparks immediately fly as a love/hate relationship ignites between a small-town beauty.
Starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Martin Henderson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
The moment young Finn sets eyes on Estella, she becomes his inspiration and his obsession. Despite being warned, “she’ll only break your heart,” he vowed to win her love. Years later, thanks to a mysterious benefactor, aspiring artist Finn is off to New York, where he is reunited with the icy and beautiful Estella. When she agrees to model for him, Finn’s dearest hopes may at last be realized-along with his darkest fears!
Loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “Great Expectations” is a sensual tale of a young man’s unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, “Great Expectations” takes a unique and contemporary look at life’s great coincidences.
Starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
While civil war rages on her island, a girl immerses herself in an imaginary world which fuses the Victorian London of Charles Dickens’ classic Great Expectations with the environment and people she knows. Based on Lloyd Jones’ novel Mister Pip.
Starring Hugh Laurie, Eka Darville, Kerry Fox.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Starring Jason Momoa, Jessica Matten, Landon Liboiron, Alun Armstrong, Allan Hawco, Zoe Boyle.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
You may also be interested in Period Dramas 2016: Georgian and Regency Eras, featuring the new costume dramas and period films to be released in 2016.
VICTORIAN ERA (1837 – 1901) ON NETFLIX: “The Victorian age was not one, not single, simple, or unified, only in part because Victoria’s reign lasted so long that it comprised several periods. Above all, it was an age of paradox and power. The Victorian Age was characterised by rapid change and developments in nearly every sphere – from advances in medical, scientific and technological knowledge to changes in population growth and location. Over time, this rapid transformation deeply affected the country’s mood: an age that began with a confidence and optimism leading to economic boom and prosperity eventually gave way to uncertainty and doubt regarding Britain’s place in the world.” – Victorian England
An Ideal Husband (1999): Adapted from the play which is set over a period of 24 hours in 1895 in London, England.
Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) is a respected government official and a loving husband. His friend, Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett), is a notorious womanizer who lives a life of casual lounging, meaningless flirtations and multiple illicit affairs. But when old acquaintance Laura Cheveley (Julianne Moore) arrives in London to stir up trouble, the lives of the two men become increasingly complicated and intertwined, and their true natures are revealed. Paper Magazine called it a “witty comedy”. It received a positive review from Roger Ebert. Entertainment Weekly called it “delightful”. The New York Observer said it was “immensely entertaining”.
Based on the 1895 play by Oscar Wilde, “a must-read for Wilde fans, students of English literature, and anyone delighted by wit, urbanity, and timeless sophistication.”
Starring Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Jeremy Northam.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Anna and the King (1999): Set in Siam (currently Thailand) in the 1860s.
Anna (Jodie Foster) has been employed to educate the king’s (Chow Yun-Fat) 58 children. She knows very little of King Mongkut, apart from the fact that his people revere him as a god. She brings with her an East vs. West prejudice against the king, considering him to be uncivilized. She soon realizes that her views are more than matched by the rulers own preconceptions about the West and particularly this impertinent English woman.
Based on Anna’s account of her time in Siam as the royal governess and the book Anna and the King of Siam: “Anna Leonowens, a proper Englishwoman, was an unlikley candidate to change the course of Siamese (Thai) history. A young widow and mother, her services were engaged in the 1860’s by King Mongkut of Siam to help him communicate with foreign governments and be the tutor to his children and favored concubines. Stepping off the steamer from London, Anna found herself in an exotic land she could have only dreamed of lush landscape of mystic faiths and curious people, and king’s palace bustling with royal pageantry, ancient custom, and harems. One of her pupils, the young prince Chulalongkorn, was particularly influenced by Leonowens and her Western ideals. He learned about Abraham Lincoln and the tenets of democracy from her, and years later he would become Siam’s most progressive king. He guided the country’s transformation from a feudal state to a modern society, abolshing slavery and making many other radical reforms.”
Starring Jodie Foster, Yun-Fat Chow, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Syed Alwi.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Anna Karenina (2012): Set in Russia with brief interludes in Germany and Italy in the 1870s.
In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
Keira Knightley and Jude Law dazzle in director Joe Wright’s (Pride & Prejudice) visually enchanting new vision of Leo Tolstoy’s epic love story. At the twilight of an empire, Anna Karenina (Knightley), the beautiful high-ranking wife of one of imperial Russia’s most esteemed men (Law), has it all. But when she meets the dashing cavalry officer Vronsky, there is a mutual spark of instant attraction that cannot be ignored. She’s immediately swept up in a passionate affair that will shock a nation and change the lives of everyone around her. From acclaimed director Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice) and Academy Award-winning writer Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) comes this visually enchanting masterpiece hailed by critics as “ecstatic” (Time), “rapturous” (MSN Movies) and “a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed!” (The Huffington Post)
Starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
This reimagining of the classic book and film is a coming-of-age story about a young orphan who is seeking love, acceptance and her place in the world. Amybeth McNulty stars as Anne, a 13-year-old who has endured an abusive childhood in orphanages and the homes of strangers. Anne is mistakenly sent to live with aging siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who live on Prince Edward Island. Anne, who proves to be uniquely spirited, imaginative and smart, transforms the lives of Marilla, Matthew and everyone else in their small town.
Starring Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R.H. Thomson, Dalila Bela, Corrine Koslo, Aymeric Jett Montaz.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
Rated TV-PG
Blackthorn (2011): Set in Bolivia and the United States around 1928 with flashbacks to the early 1900s in the Edwardian period.
It’s been said that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In the Western BLACKTHORN, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the U.S. and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. But when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal (Eduardo Noriega) derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn’t experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid.
Starring Sam Shepard, Stephen Rea, Daniel Aguirre, Luis Bredow.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Cinco De Mayo (2013): Set in Mexico in 1862.
On May 5th, 1862, a few thousand Mexican soldiers put their lives on the line against the world’s largest and most powerful army in one legendary battle for freedom and for Mexico. This film chronicles the story of Mexico’s Battle of Puebla, the most important battle in Mexico’s history. When the unbeatable French army invades Mexico to set up a monarchy, General Ignacio Zaragoza played by Kuno Becker (From Prada to Nada), must defend the city of Puebla, commanding a poorly armed and outnumbered troop of men. Meanwhile, two young Mexican lovers manage to find love amidst the chaos of war. Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla chronicles the bravery of a people pushed to the limit, fighting for their nation, their families and their pride.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Starring Christian Vazquez, Liz Gallardo, Pablo Abitia, Kuno Becker.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Copper (2012) BBC: Set in the 1860s in NYC, United States.
In a time when disorder and mayhem were the law of the land, Kevin Corcoran was New York City’s finest. Copper is a gripping drama, filled with intrigue, corruption, mystery and murder. Follow Detective Kevin Corcoran – a rugged Irish immigrant cop – as he seeks justice for the powerless in the notorious immigrant neighborhood of Five Points.
The 10-part drama from BBC America centers on Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones, MI-5), an intense, rugged Irish-American cop working the city’s notorious Five Points neighborhood. Corcoran is struggling to maintain his moral compass in a turbulent world, while on an emotional and relentless quest to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter. His friendship with two Civil War compatriots – the wayward son of a wealthy industrialist and an African American physician who secretly assists Corcoran with his detective work – takes him to the contrasting worlds of elegant Fifth Avenue and an emerging African-American community in rural northern Manhattan. The three men share a secret from their experience on the battlefield that inextricably links their lives forever.
Starring Wayne Curnew, Tom Weston-Jones, Kyle Schmid, Anastasia Griffith, Ato Essandoh, Kevin Ryan, Dylan Tayler, Tessa Thompson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
In this satire, based on the writings of Honoré de Balzac, a spinster cousin, Bette, steps in to help “take care” of her family, which is rapidly losing its fortune due to the spending habits of Bette’s cousin Hector.
Lovelorn Bette falls for an artist, Count Wenceslas Steinbach, but is enraged when the sculptor instead decides to pursue Bette’s rival, Hortense Hulot. Hortense’s good fortune cements Bette’s hatred of the Hulots, her wealthy in-laws, so she decides to ruin the family. Bette persuades beautiful prostitute Jenny Cadine to seduce Wenceslas in the hope it will harm Hortense, but the plan has unforeseen results.
Starring Jessica Lange, Hugh Laurie, Aden Young, Elisabeth Shue, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Macdonald.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R
Ethan Frome (1993): The story spans about 25 years, probably beginning in the late 1890s or early 1900s, so it can also be classified as Victorian as well as Edwardian.
Oscar-nominated Liam Neeson stars as Ethan Frome in the adaptation of the classic Edith Wharton 1911 novel. Torn between his joyless marriage to one woman and his lustful desire for another, his actions soon lead to a forbidden love triangle between one love that is, and one that will never be.
Starring Liam Neeson, Gil Rood, Tate Donovan, Stephen Mendillo, Phil Garran, Virginia Smith, Annie Nessen, Katharine Houghton, Marcie Vaughan, Burt Porter.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Field of Lost Shoes (2014): Set in 1864 in Virginia in the United States.
Based on a true story of the American Civil War, culminating at the Battle of New Market, May 1864. A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley. Leaving behind their youth, these cadets must decide what they are fighting for.
Starring Jason Issac, David Arquette, Lauren Holly, Luke Benward, Tom Skerritt.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Hatfields & McCoys (2012): Set in the post Civil-War era in the United States.
Bonded by their oath to the same flag, two confederate soldiers, “Devil” Anse Hatfield (Kevin Costner) and Randall McCoy (Bill Paxton), return home seeking peace after tireless months of battle. Their expectations are quickly shattered when a murder based on misunderstandings and an illicit love affair trigger warfare between former comrades and their clans. This historic feud teeters on the brink of an all out civil war as friends and neighbors join opposing sides in a rivalry that would ultimately shape American History.
“The legendary 19th-century battle between two West Virginia clans that came to define the term feud gets a lengthy and frequently dramatic retelling in Hatfields & McCoys, a six-hour miniseries driven by leads Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton as the warring family patriarchs. A major ratings hit and multiple Emmy nominee for The History Channel, which made its dramatic project debut with the miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys is a compelling historical drama for both Western fans and non-genre followers alike.”
Starring Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Herb Nanas, Darrell Fetty, Powers Boothe, Joe Absolom, Noel Fisher, Boyd Holbrook, Matt Barr.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Hell on Wheels (2011): Set in the post Civil-War era in the United States.
The Civil War is in the past, but former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon can’t put it behind him. Fresh are the horrific memories of the death of his wife, killed at the hands of the Union soldiers, an act that sets Bohannon on a course of revenge. This contemporary Western tells the story of his journey, a story that rides on Union Pacific’s construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Bohannon’s westward travels take him to a lawless melting pot of a town called “Hell on Wheels,” which moves with the construction of the railroad. Hell on Wheels looks at the institutionalized greed and corruption behind the building of the Transcontinental Railroad as the race between the Central Pacific and Union Pacific intensifies. The AMC television show is 5 Seasons long.
Starring Anson Mount, Common, Colm Meaney, Wes Studi.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997): Set in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, around 1863.
Rugged Scotsman John Brown is a lowly servant who looks after Queen Victoria’s horses. Yet when circumstances bring them together, the result is a passionate friendship that scandalizes a nation.
After the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) withdraws from public life, so the court appoints a former servant of the prince, John Brown (Billy Connolly), to help her recover from her grief. Brown’s unorthodox ways and disdain for protocol draw the queen out of her shell, and the brash Scot becomes her sole confidant. However, their growing closeness causes a stir, as scandalous rumors begin circulating about the exact nature of their relationship. Acclaimed as a must-see film, Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown is a riveting, true-life story about “two strong-willed people who find exhilaration in testing each other.” (Roger Ebert)
The film was produced by the BBC and Ecosse Films with the intention of being shown on BBC One and on WGBH’s Masterpiece Theatre. However, it was acquired by Miramax.
Starring Billy Connolly, Judi Dench, Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Jane Eyre (1996): Set in the early decades of the nineteenth century in northern England.
An orphaned young girl, Jane Eyre, suffers humiliation and abuse at the hands of her aunt and is subsequently banished to a strict boarding school for several years. Upon her release, the adult Jane becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, caring for the child of Mr. Rochester and his ailing wife. Jane and the enigmatic Rochester begin an intense relationship overshadowed by doubt and madness. Based on the classic gothic romance novel by Charlotte Bronte.
“What I liked about this version is that Zeffirelli is true to the characters. This is a romance between two troubled, wounded people, and by playing it that way Zeffirelli makes it touching.” – Roger Ebert
Starring Anna Paquin, William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Maria Schneider, Joan Plowright, Anna Paquin, Elle MacPherson, Fiona Shaw.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Jane Eyre (2011): Set in the early decades of the nineteenth century in northern England.
As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers.
“The classic “Jane Eyre” is the 1944 version with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles. Fontaine was 27, Welles was 29. Mia Wasikowska is 21 and Michael Fassbender is 34. In the novel, Jane is scarily 20 and Rochester is … older. Whether in any version he is old enough to accomplish what he has done in life is a good question, but this film is correct in making their age difference obvious; Jane in every sense must be intimidated by her fierce employer.” – Roger Ebert
Based on the classic gothic romance novel by Charlotte Bronte. The film was produced by Alison Owen’s company Ruby Films, with financial support from BBC Films, Focus Features and Lipsynch Productions.
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Su Elliot, Holliday Grainger, Tamzin Merchant, Amelia Clarkson, Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Lizzie Hopley, Jayne Wisener, Freya Wilson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (2014): Set in 1892 in New England, United States.
A sweltering hot day in Massachusetts, 1892, is pierced by the brutal double murder of Mr. and Mrs. Borden that would stun the nation. LIzzie (Christina Ricci), a wholesome Sunday school teacher and Mr. Borden’s youngest daughter, quickly becomes the prime suspect. Now, as her lawyer Andrew Jennings (Billy Campbell) proclaims her innocence, the original good-girl-gone-bad will stand trial in one of the most gripping, gruesome mysteries of all time. Her name will forever live in infamy and the eerie children’s rhyme will continue to haunt those that know the story, but the truth is anything but clear.
Starring Andrea Runge, Stephen McHattie, Christina Ricci, Billy Campbell, Clea Duvall.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Madame Bovary (2014): Set in the middle of the nineteenth century in southern, rural France.
Trapped in a loveless marriage and desperate for excitement, a doctor’s wife (Mia Wasikowska) seeks love and fulfillment outside the bonds of matrimony. Based on the classic novel by Gustave Flaubert.
“Madame Bovary is never less than lovely to look at. Cinematographer Andrij Parekh’s melancholy images seamlessly combine muck and luxury, sometimes within the same image, in a way that’s reminiscent of Joe Wright’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Thomas Vinterberg’s “Far From the Madding Crowd” earlier this year. And the clothes are gorgeous (the work of costume designers Christian Gasc and Valerie Ranchoux) as Emma’s tastes become more expensive and extravagant. Fastidiously tailored and flouncy, her ornate gowns in a wide array of jewel tones vividly reflect her transformation from pious convent girl to brazen adulteress.” – Roger Ebert
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Paul Giamatti, Laura Carmichael, Erza Miller, Henry Lloyd Hughes.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Mandie and the Forgotten Christmas (2011): Set in 1900 in the United States.
This one is for kids. December, 1900, Miss Heathwood’s School for Girls. Thrust into the chaotic and unfamiliar world of a boarding school at Christmas, Mandie finds herself hounded by new rules and regulations at every turn. Unable to grasp the finer points of high society, she constantly falls into trouble with Miss Heathwood, the headmistress. While visiting the school’s forbidden attic, Mandie stumbles upon a mystery from which she is warned to flee. Seeking the truth will require Mandie to lie, but it just might proivde they key that unlocks the memories of a long forgotten Christmas. Based on the “Mandie” books by Lois Gladys Leppard.
Starring Kelly Lynn Washington, Amanda Waters, Joanna Daniel, Glennellen Anderson, Dave Blamy.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated G.
Marie’s Story (2014): Set in 1897 in France.
At the turn of the 19th century, a humble artisan and his wife send Marie, their deaf and blind fourteen-year-old daughter, to the Larnay Institute in central France where an order of Catholic nuns manage a school for deaf girls. There, the idealistic Sister Marguerite sees in Marie a unique potential, and vows to bring the wild young thing out of the darkness. Based on true events, Marie’s Story recounts the courageous journey of a young nun and the lives she would change forever.
[The film] is lovely and sweet, sad and uplifting…. it satisfies them nicely with vivid performances, beautiful imagery, and compassionate direction. –Seattle Weekly
In French with English subtitles.
Starring Isabelle Carré, Ariana Rivoire.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
In the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, a wagon train of three families hires mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a shortcut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert. Over the coming days, lost in the heat, the settlers face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in each person’s instincts for survival.
To set aside its many other accomplishments, “Meek’s Cutoff” is the first film I’ve seen that evokes what must have been the reality of wagon trains to the West. They were grueling, dirty, thirsty, burning and freezing ordeals. Attacks by Indians were not the greatest danger; accidents and disease were. “Meek’s Cutoff” is more an experience than a story. – Roger Ebert
Starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Miss Julie (2014:) Set in the late 1880s in Ireland.
Miss Julie depicts a fierce battle between a man and a woman, a struggle for power and dominance enacted through a cruel and compulsive game of seduction and repulsion. A country estate in Ireland in 1880s. Over the course of one midsummer night, in an atmosphere of wild revelry and loosened social constraints, Miss Julie and John, her father’s valet, dance and drink, charm and manipulate each other. She, all hauteur longing for abasement; he, polished but coarse – both united in mutual loathing and attraction. By turns seductive and bullying, savage and tender, their intimacy leads to desperate plans and vision of a life together… Unsure if the morning brings hope or hopelessness, Julie and John find their escape in a final act as sublime and horrific as anything in Greek tragedy.
“The story is based on Miss Julie (Swedish: Fröken Julie), a play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer’s Eve on the estate of a Count in Sweden. The young woman of the title is drawn to a senior servant, a valet named Jean, who is particularly well-traveled, well-mannered and well-read. On this night the relationship between Miss Julie and Jean escalates rapidly to feelings of love and is subsequently consummated. Over the course of the play Miss Julie and Jean battle until Jean convinces her that the only way to escape her predicament is to take her life. The major theme of the play is Darwinism, with Miss Julie and Jean vying against each other in an evolutionary “life and death” battle for a survival of the fittest. The character, Miss Julie, represents the last of an old aristocratic breed about to die out. Whereas Jean represents one who is clambering upwards, and who is more fit to thrive because he is better able to adapt in terms of the “life roles” he can take on. The play contains a variety of themes, partly because Miss Julie’s actions are motivated by a range of factors and influences: her class, her desires and impulsive nature, her father, and the dynamic traumas of her family histories.”
Starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Nora McMenamy.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Murdoch Mysteries (2008): Set in the late Victorian era circa 1895 Toronto, Canada.
Based on novels by Maureen Jennings, “Murdoch Mysteries” follows young detective William Murdoch. In a series of stories taking place in Toronto during the 1890s, several challenging murder cases arise. Murdoch uses up-and-coming forensics techniques and an unconventional approach, which often elicit skepticism from his fellow officers and his boss. Coroner Julia Ogden becomes Murdoch’s number one ally, and they make a top-notch team, but he must struggle against tradition and prejudice to solve some of the city’s most-gruesome murders. Eight seasons.
Starring Yannick Bisson, Helene Joy, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Tamara Hope, Patrick Garrow, Alan C. Peterson, David Huband.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
North & South (2004) BBC: Set in England in the 1850s.
As the daughter of a middle-class parson, Margaret Hale has enjoyed a privileged upbringing in rural southern England. When her father uproots the family to take work in the northern mill town of Milton, Margaret is shocked by the dirt, the noise and the gruffness of the people, but she reserves her highest contempt for the charismatic mill-owner John Thornton.
However, Margaret gradually begins to settle in Milton. Her social conscience awakens and she befriends some of the local mill workers, learning about their poverty and workplace struggles. As events conspire to throw Margaret and Thornton together, the two spirited characters have to overcome their repressed physical attraction for one another and conquer prejudices of class and circumstance.
Set against the backdrop of Victorian England’s industrial north, it follows the fortunes of Margaret Hale, one of 19th century literature’s most original heroines. Margaret takes instant offence to the town and its people. She becomes terribly lonely and hates the dirt, noise and lack of civilisation, blaming their new way of life for her mother’s ailing health. Her distaste for the town and its people extends to handsome and charismatic cotton mill owner John Thornton, (Richard Armitage), whom she believes epitomises everything she dislikes about the North.
Adapted from the 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, North & South was filmed at a variety of locations in Scotland, Lancashire, Yorkshire and the south of England.
Starring Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Sinead Cusack, Tim Pigott-Smith, Pauline Quirke, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Manville.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Ripper Street (2102) BBC: Set in and after 1888 in England.
BBC America’s compelling crime drama Ripper Street set in the seething backstreets of Victorian London: Haunted by the failure to catch London’s most evil killer, Jack the Ripper, Inspector Edmund Reid now heads up the notorious H Division – the toughest police district in the East End. Charged with keeping order in the blood-stained streets of Whitechapel, Reid and his men find themselves fighting to uphold justice and the rule of law; but always in the background lurks the fear of the Ripper – is he back for another reign of terror? Rich episodic storylines meld with the intrigue of a criminal underworld festering on the hard streets of Victorian London, following the battle of the men whose job it is to bring the law to the lawless. By Season 3, the time is 1894.
Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, Lydia Wilson, David Wilmot, Clive Russell, David Dawson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Savannah (2013): Set in the post Civil-War era in the United States.
Narrated by a 95-year-old Christmas Moultrie (Ejiofor) as he recalls his friendship long ago with Ward Allen (Caviezel) in Savannah, Georgia back in the early 20th century. This is the true story of the charismatic Ward Allen, who in the early 1900s leaves behind a life of privilege in Savannah to live off the land with his hunting buddy Christmas Moultrie and must choose between his newfound freedom and the love a the society woman who captures his heart. Based on the true story and the book Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter by John Eugene Cay Jr.
Note: Despite the strong cast, the “plush production values” and powerful cinematography had more impact on critics and viewers than the telling of the story.
Starring James Caviezel, Jaimie Alexander, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jack McBrayer, Bradley Whitford, Sam Shepard, Hal Holbrook.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) return as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the acclaimed modern retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories. But now, our heroes find themselves in Victorian England in 1890s London. Beloved characters Mary Morstan, Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson also turn up at 221b Baker Street. A television special which also had a theatrical release.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs.
Streaming on NETFLIX (Look for the episode in Series 3). Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Stonehearst Asylum (2014): Set in 1899 in England.
When young doctor Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) arrives at Stonehearst Asylum in search of an apprenticeship, he is warmly welcomed by superintendent Dr. Lamb (Ben Kingsley) and a mesmerizing woman by the name of Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale). Edward is intrigued by Lamb s modern methods of treating the insane until a series of unusual events leads him to make a horrifying discovery, exposing Lamb s utopia and pushing Edward to the limits of his conscience. Inspired by a short story from Edgar Allan Poe, Stonehearst Asylum is a tale in which nobody is who or what they appear to be.
“The time and place is the same penny dreadful setting as all of those juicy wet-cobblestone and fog-creeping-in-off-the-Thames epics from the end of the 19th century, including the ones about Jack the Ripper, Jekyll and Hyde, Sweeney Todd, the Elephant Man, Dorian Gray and other assorted grave robbers and body snatchers of Victorian England. Elegantly costumed and photographed, stealthily directed with a maximum of suspense and solidly acted, this is the best madhouse movie since Bedlam.” – Observer
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Brendan Gleeson.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
The Buccaneers (1995) BBC: Set in 1870s England.
Deemed nouveau riche and shunned by elitist New York society, sisters Nan and Virginia St. George, along with their friends Lizzy Elmsworth and Conchita Closson (Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino), try their luck in London. The girls’ New World spontaneity and impertinence constitute nothing less than a social invasion of Old World society and they soon find themselves courted by a coterie of fascinated admirers. But as the old and new worlds come to clash, something has to give.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece.
As four young American women find their way through the labyrinthine social world of 1870s England, their fortunes rise–and sometimes, with brutal abruptness, fall. Based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel, The Buccaneers, this lavish BBC production follows Nan and Virginia St. George (Carla Gugino, Spy Kids, and Alison Elliott, The Spitfire Grill), two American sisters who follow their friend Conchita Closson (Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite), a Brazilian bad girl who marries a dissolute British lord, to England in search of aristocratic husbands–partly due to the influence of their canny governess, Laura Testvalley (Cherie Lunghi, Excalibur).
The Buccaneers has a good dose of the delicious satirical wit to be found in many BBC dramas, but tempered by the presence of the naive American girls, who find themselves trapped by the very things they thought they wanted. Though mocked by some critics for its heaving bosoms and towering hairdos, the five-part series stealthily paints a sometimes devastating portrait of women’s lives. When Idina Hatton (Jenny Agutter, Logan’s Run), the older lover of the aimless Lord Seadown (Mark Tandy, Shackleton), learns that Seadown is going to marry the young and lovely Virginia, it’s a heartbreaking moment, yet one that isn’t overdone. The Buccaneers is full of such gracefulness–Wharton observes the fickle turns of life in society with a judicious eye, empathizing with the pain but never losing sight of the hard realities of money and marriage. In a strong cast, Gugino particularly shines; with her round, rosy cheeks and expressive eyes, she makes a smart yet vulnerable heroine. –Bret Fetzer
Starring Mira Sorvino, Carla Gugino, Alison Elliott, Rya Kihlstedt, Cherie Lunghi.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones), to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) head east, where a waiting minister and his wife (Meryl Streep) have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.
“The Homesman,” despite the title, is about women. Women are the center of the action, women drive the action forward, women are not only damsels in distress but heroic figures of grit and courage (sometimes in the same moment). – Sheila O’Malley
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter, Jo Harvey Allen, Barry Corbin, David Dencik, William Fichtner, Evan Jones, Caroline Lagerfelt, John Lithgow, Tim Blake Nelson, Jesse Plemons, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld, Meryl Streep, Karen Jones, Martin Palmer, Jerry Vahn Knight.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002): Set in 1890s London, England.
Two young gents have taken to bending the truth in order to put some excitement into their lives. Worthing (Colin Firth) has invented a brother, Earnest, whom he uses as an excuse to leave his dull life behind to visit Gwendolyn (Frances O’Connor). Montcrieff (Rupert Everett) decides to take the name Earnest when visiting Worthing’s young and beautiful ward, Cecily (Reese Witherspoon). Things start to go awry when they end up together in the country and their deceptions are discovered.
Based on the play by Oscar Wilde, the costume drama comedy is “breezy entertainment.”
Starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O’Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Two Southern sisters (Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld) and a slave (Muna Otaru) must defend themselves against two Union Army soldiers.
In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, Southerner Augusta encounters two renegade, drunken soldiers who are on a mission of pillage and violence. After escaping an attempted assault, Augusta races back to the isolated farmhouse that she shares with her sister Louise and their female slave Mad. When the pair of soldiers track Augusta down intent on exacting revenge, the trio of women are forced to take up arms to fend off their assailants, finding ways to resourcefully defend their home and themselves as the escalating attacks become more unpredictable and relentless.
Based on Julia Hart s revered 2012 Black List screenplay, and directed by Academy Award® Nominated Daniel Barber (Harry Brown), The Keeping Room is a tense and uncompromising tale of survival that also shatters both gender and genre conventions.
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Brit Marling.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Missing (2003): Set in the late 19th century circa 1885 in New Mexico, United States.
When frontier woman, rancher and single mother of two Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett) sees her teenage daughter, Lily (Evan Rachel Wood), kidnapped by Apache rebels, she reluctantly accepts the help of her estranged father, Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones), in tracking down the kidnappers. Along the way, the two must learn to reconcile the past and work together if they are going to have any hope of getting Lily back.
Starring Evan Wood, Aaron Eckhart, Cate Blanchett, Tommy Jones, Jenna Boyd.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Paradise (2012) BBC: Set in England in the 1870s.
An intoxicating rags-to-riches love story set in England’s first department store. What does it take to climb to the dizzy heights of power in The Paradise, Britain’s first department store? Smart and beautiful shop girl Denise Lovett follows her heart and her ambition from the ladies wear department to the luxurious office of John Moray, the store’s dashing and ruthless owner. Irresistibly drawn to each other, they risk losing everything if Katherine Glendenning has her way. The pampered daughter of Moray’s financier wants Moray for herself or if she can’t have him rich revenge. Brace yourself for passion, high fashion, rivalry and greed in this story, inspired by Emile Zola’s novel Au Bonheur des Dames.
Created by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise to Candleford), Variety called it “impeccably cast, extremely handsome…another first-rate costume drama.” Shown on PBS Masterpiece, The Paradise aired for just two seasons, much to the dismay of its many fans.
Starring Joanna Vanderham, Emun Elliot, Sarah Lancashire.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
The Warlords (2007): Set in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty in China.
THE WARLORDS stars Jet Li as General Pang, who barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and then joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu and Wu Yang. After fighting back attackers for a defenseless village, the three men take an oath to become “blood brothers,” pledging loyalty to one another until death. However, their lives quickly derail as they become embroiled in a web of political deceit and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan.
“Epic in scope but intimate in theme, “The Warlords” heaves with spectacular battles and the relentless sway of self-interest over conscience. Political context is provided in the form of a clutch of scheming overlords, but their peripheral powwows never distract from the movie’s soapy pleasures.” – New York Times
Starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu, Bao-ming Gu.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Woodlanders (1997): Set in the late 19th century rural Wessex, England.
This award-winning motion picture is a must-see adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1886 timeless tale. After being away at school, Grace feels she’s outgrown her rural hometown and childhood sweetheart, a simple woodsman named Giles. She longs to travel abroad with the rich widow Mrs. Charmond (Polly Walker from Emma and Enchanted April) and marries a handsome young doctor. But Grace soon learns that culture is no substitute for true love. Honored with awards at numerous international film festivals, the first-rate cast of The Woodlanders brings this treasured tale to life! Filmed in southern England; mostly Dorset, Wiltshire.
“Illumined by a star-making turn from young actress Emily Woof, and suffused with a deep feeling for the landscape and characters of Thomas Hardy’s ensemble novel, “The Woodlanders” is a classy and emotionally involving costumer.” – Variety
Starring Emily Woof, Rufus Sewell, Polly Walker, Jodhi May, Tony Haygarth, Cal MacaNinch.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.
Eastwood gives Unforgiven a tragic stature that puts his own filmmaking past in critical and moral perspective. In three decades of climbing into the saddle, Eastwood has never ridden so tall. – Rolling Stone
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
When Calls the Heart (2014): Set in the late 1800s Victorian era and early 1900s Edwardian era in the Canadian West.
Adapted from the book by celebrated author Janette Oke (The Love Comes Softly series) comes a rigorous and romantic adventure as epic as the wide frontier. When Calls The Heart is “a beautiful story with roots in relationships, self-empowerment, and the enduring power of love” (Common Sense Media). Living in a 19th century coal town, Elizabeth will have to learn the ways of the frontier if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own. The historical Christian romance is directed by Michael Landon, Jr.
Elizabeth Thatcher (Krakow) is a strong-willed teacher who has foregone the life of the big city and found a job, a home – and a bit of unexpected romance with a handsome Mountie named Jack – in the small frontier town of Hope Valley. But life on the frontier can hand you many tough turns, and so it is for Jack and Elizabeth as they face their very different upbringings, the pressures put upon them by family, rival suitors and even various criminal counterfeiters and kidnappers in their quest to find their place in this remote and rugged land.
In Season 3 of this television miniseries from the Hallmark Channel, Elizabeth and Jack’s romance in Hope Valley continues to develop as we follow the adventures of other townspeople. In particular, two newcomers arrive, changing the lives of both Frank and Abigail and challenging their relationship; Lee and Rosemary’s bond deepens as they reconcile their strong personalities; and Bill Avery’s future remains uncertain.
Starring Erin Krakow, Daniel Lissing, Jack Wagner, Lori Loughlin.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-G.
You may also like Kate & Leopold (2001) Set in NYC in the 21st century, with a visitor from 1876.
Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman come together as star-crossed lovers who discover that passion and chivalry never go out of style. When a rip in time brings together a charming 19th-century bachelor and a 21st-century woman, the potential for an old-fashioned modern romance ignites.
Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
You may also be interested in Period Dramas 2016: Victorian Era, featuring the new costume dramas and period films to be released in 2016, as well as Victorian Period Dramas In-Development 2016.
EDWARDIAN ERA (1901 – 1914) ON NETFLIX: “The Edwardian Era in its strictest form, lasted from 1901 to 1910, during which Edward VII (1841-1910) reigned as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions and Emperor of India. However, in its broader interpretation, the spirit of the Edwardians—-which was indelibly inspired by Edward VII during his tenure as Prince of Wales—-stretched from 1880 until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. In the Western world, this time period was both one of great social change and of a solidifying the power and luxury of the ruling elite. With their elegant and perceptive turns of phrase, the French characterized the years between 1880 and 1914 as La Belle Epoque (the beautiful epoch) and Fin de siècle (a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning), and certainly no other time has witnessed such decadence and pessimism, and optimism and hope. In America this time period was known as the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.” – Edwardian Promenade
In the early 20th century, a love triangle forms between an ailing factory owner, his young bride and his protege.
Germany, 1912. Friedrich (Richard Madden, Cinderella), a graduate of humble origins, takes up a clerical post in a steel factory, soon becoming the elderly owner Karl s (Alan Rickman, Harry Potter) private secretary and boarder. There he meets Lotte (Rebecca Hall, Iron Man 3), Karl’s reserved and beautiful young wife. Starting an illicit romance, the two young lovers dreams are dashed when Karl announces he s sending his secretary to oversee his mines in Mexico. But Lotte makes a promise to Friedrich: when he returns in two years, she will be his no matter what. With the later outbreak of World War I prohibiting his return to Germany, Friedrich must wait eight long years before returning to Europe and finding out if the woman he pines for has kept her promise during that brutal passage of time. With lush period detail, director Patrice Leconte s A PROMISE is a sumptuous testament to the enduring power of love.
Starring Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman, Richard Madden.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
A Room with a View (1985): Set in Italy and England at the beginning of the 20th century.
Merchant Ivory Productions, led by director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant (Howards End), became a household name with A Room with a View, the first of their extraordinary adaptations of E. M. Forster novels. A cherubic nineteen-year-old Helena Bonham Carter plays Lucy Honeychurch, a young, independent-minded, upper-class Edwardian woman who is trying to sort out her burgeoning romantic feelings, divided between an enigmatic free spirit (Leaving Las Vegas’s Julian Sands) she meets on vacation in Florence and the priggish bookworm (Lincoln’s Daniel Day-Lewis) to whom she becomes engaged back in the more corseted Surrey. Funny, sexy, and sophisticated, this gargantuan art-house hit remains a touchstone of intelligent romantic cinema.
Starring Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Denholm Elliott.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Cheri (2009): Set in 1900s Belle Epoque Paris, France.
A seductive and provocative drama about a scandalous love affair, set during the opulent decadence of pre-World War I Paris. The ravishing Lea (Pfeiffer), famed courtesan to the rich and famous, is contemplating her retirement, when her archrival (Bates) asks her to teach her spoiled nineteen-year-old son Cheri about women. It’s an adventure that becomes a heated and passionate affair that results in power struggles over sex, money, age, and society- and unexpectedly, love itself- as a boy who refuses to grow up collides with a woman who realizes she cannot stay young forever. Based on Colette’s novel of the same name.
Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Frances Tomelty, Tom Burke, Rupert Friend, Hubert Tellegen, Joe Sheridan, Kathy Bates, Toby Kebbell, Felicity Jones.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Finding Neverland (2004): Set in London, England in 1904.
This charming account of a period in the life of author J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) reveals the real relationships and events that served as the basis for the author’s most iconic work, “Peter Pan.” After Barrie develops a platonic relationship with the widowed Sylvia (Kate Winslet) and her four sons, he is inspired to write a play about a group of children who don’t want to grow up. The work proves a hit and winds up bringing Barrie and the children together in a way he had never expected.
The film was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Johnny Depp’s portrayal of J. M. Barrie, and won the 2004 Academy Award for Jan A. P. Kaczmarek’s musical score. Winner of Best Picture by the National Board of Review Awards 2004.
Starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Dustin Hoffman.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Golden Door / Nuovomondo (2006): Set at the dawn of the 20th century in Italy and the United States.
In 1904, Sicilian peasant Salvatore yearns for a better life, one he believes exists only in the fabled land known as America where carrots grow taller than men, rivers flow with milk and golden coins rain from the trees. He sells everything he owns to make the trans-Atlantic passage with his two sons and elderly mother. On the perilous steamship crossing, Salvatore meets a mysterious, worldly Englishwoman, Lucy (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and an unexpected romance unfolds. But neither Salvatore nor Lucy is prepared for the arrival at Ellis Island, where families are inspected, interrogated and split apart. They will have to bravely face their personal and collective dilemmas in order to become part of the American dream.
In Italian and English with English subtitles.
Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Filippo Pucillo, Ernesto Mahieux, Ilaria Giorgino, Isabella Ragonese, Natale Russo.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Filmed at the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander, the series is set in an early 20th century aristocratic hotel during the reign of King Alfonso XIII and is centered on the mysteries that involve the owner family and the hotel servants.
Gran Hotel follows the mysterious happenings within the elegant hotel halls and gardens after the disappearance of one of the maids, Cristina Olmedo. The story spotlights Cristina’s brother, Julio Olmedo, secret lover and close friend to the owner’s daughter, Alicia Alarcon. A second protagonist, Alicia’s younger brother, Javier Alarcon, is shown as alcoholic, irresponsible, immature, and philandering. Next, we have Alicia’s sister, Sofia Alarcon, who plays their mother’s game of secrets to protect the hotel’s reputation and keep the family wealthy and of good name. Diego Murquia, fiancé to Alicia, as well as hotel manager, partners up with the Gran Hotel’s owner, la Senora Alarcon, to cover up the attempted murder of Cristina and keep a vital letter hidden. In this letter, information is contained that would mean losing possession of the hotel for the Alarcon family, the letter having been left by the late Senor Alarcon to his wife and discovered by Cristina…
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Starring Yon González, Paula Prendes, Llorenç Gonzalez, Amaia Salamanca and Pedro Alonso.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
Houdini (2014): Tells the life story of Houdini (1874-1926), so some time before and after the Edwardian era is included.
The two-part television series from the History Channel follows the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era. The drama will chronicle the life of a man who can defy death through his stunts, his visions and his mastery of illusion. His ability to escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, and water tanks is legendary breaking the shackles of his past proved more challenging.
Starring Adrien Brody, Kristen Connolly, Evan Jones.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Like Water for Chocolate (1992): Set in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910 – 17) with scenes as early as 1895.
Tita and Pedro want to get married; but Tita has to take care of her aging mother & is not allowed to marry. Pedro marries Tita’s sister; but lets Tita know he only married her sister to be closer to her. When Tita is forced to make the wedding cake the situation creates much tension in the family, and Tita’s powerful emotions begin to surface in fantastical ways through her cooking. As the years pass, unusual circumstances test the enduring love of Pedro and Tita.
Like Water for Chocolate is in the style of magical realism based on the popular novel by first-time Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel and was the highest grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the United States at the time.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Starring Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné, Mario Iván Martínez, Ada Carrasco.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The characters of Tagore’s stories spring into life through the imagination and vision of acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Basu in ‘Tagore Stories’. Tagore Stories share with us the intricately etched characters created by the master himself and brought to the small screen by the visionary director of ‘Barfi’ and ‘Life in a Metro.’ Set in a politically volatile period, the stories are constantly shifting in the social world of the early twentieth century in undivided Bengal.
The hub of new India, Calcutta is the melting pot where our protagonists are pouring in from their rural, social and cultural spaces to encourage this upcoming new world. Tagore, the most articulate feminist of his times, saw his women as intelligent, adventurous, chance takers and almost always resisting the family and the social establishment. Unlike ordinary characters, these personalities pack a rebellious punch. They break the traditional paths and root themselves into our hopeful hearts. We fight alongside them as they break out from their socio-religious confines.
Tagore’s words and Basu’s vision have amalgamated into a show that transports you back in time to a world as complicated as this one but with far more appeal and beauty.
Starring Radhika Apte, Zachary Coffin, Amrita Puri.
In Hindi with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
Rated TV-14.
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple is a richly-textured, powerful film set in America’s rural south. Whoopi Goldberg, winner of the Best Actress Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination, makes a triumphant screen debut as the radiant, indomitable Celie, the story’s central character. Her impressive portrayal is complimented by a distinguished cast that includes Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong and Akosua Busia. The Color Purple marks a new, more mature color in Spielberg’s artistic palette. It is an exquisitely crafted, landmark film that will be treasured and talked about for years to come.
Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
The House of the Spirits (1993): Set in Chile, spanning 50 years, probably between 1910 and 1973.
Based on Isabel Allende’s best-selling novel, The House of the Spirits is a hauntingly romantic epic tale spanning three generations of the Trueba family. At its core is the stormy yet passionate relationship between the supernaturally gifted Clara and her controlling husband Esteban, who resists change both politically and personally.
Starring Maria Conchita Alonso, António Assunção, Glenn Close, Julie Balloo, Frank Baker, Antonio Banderas, João Cabral, Carlos César, Sarita Choudhury.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Making of a Lady (2012) PBS: Set in England at the turn of the century around the late Victorian and early Edwardian era.
Based on the 1901 novel by celebrated writer Frances Hodgson Burnett, this is the story of the educated but penniless Emily. During her duties as a lady’s companion for Lady Maria she meets her employer’s wealthy widower nephew, Lord James Walderhurst. Accepting his practical if unromantic marriage proposal, Emily finds solace in the company of Walderhurst’s nephew Alec Osborn and his glamorous wife, Hester, after Lord James leaves to rejoin his regiment. Emily, alone with the Osborns, increasingly comes under their control. She begins to fear for her life.
Starring Lydia Wilson, Joanna Lumley, Linus Roache, James D’Arcy, Maggie Fox, Hasina Haque.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
The Wings of the Dove (1997): Set in 1910 in England and Italy.
An impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist lover, befriends an American heiress. When she discovers the heiress is attracted to her own lover and is dying, she sees a chance to have both the privileged life she cannot give up and the lover she cannot live without.
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate’s deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth. Based on the 1902 novel of the same name by Henry James.
“The Wings of the Dove was filmed in a wide variety of English locations, from Kensington Gardens to the Old Royal Naval College, as well as the Shepperton Studios and most stunningly in the crowded canals, cobbled roadways, and matchless buildings of Venice, filmed by Eduardo Serra with an unsentimental intelligence that suits the subject to perfection. Amini manages to condense 500 pages of nuanced Jamesian prose into less than two hours of well-crafted dialogue and articulate actions, rarely hitting a false or artificial note, although it’s unclear why he and Softley updated the story to around 1910, some years after the period laid out in the novel. Perhaps they felt the approach of World War I would lend subliminal resonance to the psychology of the tale; or perhaps they simply wanted to start the movie on a London subway train, a likely place for Kate and Merton to make mischievous eyes at each other in full view of uncomprehending strangers.” – TCM
Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alex Jennings, Charlotte Rampling, Ben Miles, Philip Wright, Michael Gambon, Alexander John, Alison Elliott, Elizabeth McGovern.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Victory is an intense story of a man accused of murder and his struggle to keep himself and the woman he loves alive! In a remote Dutch East Indies seaport, Axel Heyst (Dafoe) lives in a prominent hotel. Al all-women orchestra plays in the hotel each night and the orchestra owner agrees to “sell” one of the girls, Alma, to the sinister owner of the hotel. When Alma begs Heyst to save her from a life of prostitiution, they escape to a tropic island…but not before Heyst is accused of murder! Also starring Rufus Sewell (A Knights Tale) – the suspense intensifies as the hotel owner points a bloodthirsty gang of bandits to the island, telling them their lost furtune lies hidden there!
Starring Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Irene Jacob, Rufus Sewell.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
You may also be interested in the First World War era film:
While war rages in the Ottoman Empire, Hussein raises his younger brother Theeb in a traditional Bedouin community that is isolated by the vast, unforgiving desert. The brothers quiet existence is suddenly interrupted when a British Army officer and his guide ask Hussein to escort them to a water well located along the old pilgrimage route to Mecca. So as not to dishonor his recently deceased father, Hussein agrees to lead them on the long and treacherous journey. The young, mischievous Theeb secretly chases after his brother, but the group soon find themselves trapped amidst threatening terrain riddled with Ottoman mercenaries, Arab revolutionaries, and outcast Bedouin raiders. Naji Abu Nowar’s powerful and assured directorial debut, set in the land of Lawrence of Arabia, is a wondrous ‘Bedouin Western’ about a boy who, in order to survive, must become a man and live up to the name his father gave him.
Nominated for a 2016 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In Arabic with English subtitles.
Starring Jacir Eid, Hassan Mutlag, Hussein Salameh, Marji Audeh, Jack Fox.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
You may also be interested in Period Dramas 2016: Edwardian Era, featuring the new costume dramas and period films to be released in 2016.
INTERWAR ERA (1918 – 1939) ON NETFLIX: In the context of the history of the 20th century, the interwar period or “interbellum” was the period between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II, the period beginning with the Armistice with Germany that concluded World War I in 1918 and the following Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and ending in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II.
A literary legend became a TV phenomenon when David Suchet took on the role of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s most famous sleuth. Suchet’s Poirot became the most-watched detective in the history of the PBS Mystery! series and a hit all over again on A&E.
Fan favorite David Suchet stars as the dapper sleuth who solves the thorniest of cases with his formidable intellect. Also starring Hugh Fraser (Sharpe) as the affable Captain Hastings, Philip Jackson (Robin of Sherwood) as Chief Inspector Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece.
Starring David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
A Month By the Lake (1995): Set in 1937.
Enjoy the fun of this sexy comedy winner! At a luxurious lakeside resort, an attractive red-headed guest (Vanessa Redgrave-The Pledge; Girl, Interrupted) has her eye on a handsome, well-to-do bachelor.
“A Month by the Lake” is a sly romantic comedy about a collision of sex, ego, will and pride, all peeping out from beneath great thick layers of British reticence. Its delights are wrapped in a lavish production in a beautiful time and place – Italy’s Lake Como, in the spring of 1937; it’s another one of those movies, like “Enchanted April” and “Only You,” about perfect places for a holiday. – Roger Ebert
Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, Uma Thurman, Alida Valli, Carlo Cartier.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Atonement (2007): Set in 1935 and after.
From the award-winning director of Pride and Prejudice comes a stunning, critically acclaimed epic story of love. When a young girl catches her sister in a passionate embrace with a childhood friend, her jealousy drives her to tell a lie that will irrevocably change the course of all their lives forever. Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley and James McAvoy lead an all-star cast in the film critics are hailing “the year’s best picture” (Thelma Adams, US Weekly).
Director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) gives Ian McEwan’s bestselling novel a sumptuous treatment for the screen that should come to be regarded as one of the defining films of the epic romantic drama. Indeed, everything about this film stems from those three words: there is little here that is not epic, romantic, and dramatic, and Atonement is a film that masterfully expresses the overarching sense of adventure and emotion that such stories are meant to convey. In this instance, the story centers around the love story of highborn Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and housekeeper’s son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy, in a star-making turn), in England shortly before World War II. Despite their class differences, they are powerfully attracted to each other, and just as their relationship begins Robbie is tragically forced away due to false accusations from Cecilia’s younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan). She has a crush on Robbie, too, and after reading a private letter he sent to Cecilia, and then witnessing the first expression of their mutual love but mistaking it for mistreatment, her resentment grows until it leads to her telling the lie that will send Robbie away. Soon World War II breaks out; Robbie enlists and is posted to France, Cecilia is a nurse in London, and Briony, now age 18 and aware of what she has done, tries to atone for her actions–but none of them will be able to get back what they have lost. Knightley and McAvoy are perfectly cast as the young star crossed lovers, and the young Ronan is particularly impressive, but it’s clear that the real star of this film is the director. Wright allows Atonement to revel in every moment of its story and each scene is compelling in its own way, but that now famous extended shot with Robbie on the beach at Dunkirk–filmed in one take and sure to be considered one of the great long tracking shots in film history–is the most memorable moment in this remarkable film. Atonement is an excellent example of what can happen when a great book meets great filmmaking. This is one that is not to be missed. —Daniel Vancini
Starring James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the ‘missing’ begin to show themselves.
From BBC Films.
Starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R
Country Life (1994): Set in 1919 and in the 1920s.
Aging Australian rancher Uncle Jack (John Hargreaves) and his faithful niece, Sally (Kerry Fox), have their quiet lives disrupted by the sudden reappearance of Alexander (Michael Blakemore), Sally’s father and Jack’s former brother-in-law, who left the ranch to become a London theater critic some decades before. The self-important Alexander is married to the gorgeous Deborah (Greta Scacchi), whose charms soon enrapture both Uncle Jack and local doctor Max (Sam Neill), for whom Sally pines.
Starring Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Two proper Englishwomen, determined to get away from their drab lives and innatentive husbands, find paradise in the serene countryside of the Italian Riviera in this enchanting adventure starring Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson. When the pair rent a magnificent villa for a month, they share expenses with two unlikely companions- an austere widow and a bored socialite. At first, personalities clash, but the hideaway holds a special magic that soon sparks friendships and reminds the women of ways to live and love that have long eluded them. Stellar performances and breathtaking scenery make the Academy Award nominated Enchanted April a captivating delight for everyone who’s ever dreamed of taking the perfect holiday!
Starring Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Polly Walker, Joan Plowright, Alfred Molina.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
In this epic gangster tale, inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant’s family in his novel “The Wettest County In The World,” the loyalty of three brothers is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation’s most notorious crime wave.
The Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Va., run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business, bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest (Tom Hardy) is the brain of the operation; older Howard (Jason Clarke) is the brawn, and younger Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman (Guy Pearce) from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.
Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
On the Greek island of Andros, known as Little England, the Saltafero sisters fall in love with the same man, a secret that leads to a an epic web of treachery and deceit that spans two decades.
A lavish period piece, nominated for 12 Hellenic Film Academy Awards (Greece’s Oscars) and winner of 6 (including Best Film).
“A woman’s picture in the most positive sense of the word… Handsomely mounted and impeccably acted.” — Hollywood Reporter
Starring Penelope Tsilika, Sofia Kokkali, Anneza Papadopoulou, Maximos Moumouris, Andreas Konstantinou.
In Greek with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
In 1920s Melbourne, the Honorable Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis, Girl with a Pearl Earring) is a thoroughly modern woman operating in a mostly male world. The glamorous “lady detective” goes about her work with a pistol close at hand—and, more often than not, a male admirer even closer.
To the dismay of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page, The Secret Life of Us), Phryne’s investigations take her through back alleys, jazz clubs, and shady neighborhoods. Ignoring the dangers all around her, she glides through life determined to enjoy every moment. But beneath her devil-may-care attitude, Phryne hides ghosts from the past that continue to haunt her.
Gorgeously costumed and evocatively shot, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries also stars Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Cloudstreet), Ashleigh Cummings (Tomorrow, When the War Began), Miriam Margolyes (Little Dorrit), and Nicholas Bell (Shine). Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings) guest stars.
Starring Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummins, Richard Bligh.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Academy Award nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand star in this charming comedy about finding a new life and a new love, all in one day.
Based on a 1938 Winifred Watson novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a colorful story about lives stalled in middle age but kick-started again by the follies of youthful lovers all around. Frances McDormand stars as Miss Pettigrew, whose inability to hold a job in London as a governess compromises her well-being shortly before England’s entry in World War II. Finessing her way into a position as social secretary to a young, American golddigger and singer named Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), the starving Miss Pettigrew finds herself at the center of a whirlwind that is her new employer’s life. Hemmed in by lovers and suitors–including a young, theatrical producer (Tom Payne) looking to cast one of his pleasing girlfriends in a plum role; a creepy nightclub owner (Mark Strong) in whose flat Delysia lives; and a pianist (Lee Pace) who genuinely loves her–Delysia needs a map to figure out how to navigate through life. Miss Pettigrew, who suffered a loss during WWI that she does not speak of, nudges the naïve songstress toward wise decisions. But she is at the mercy of Delysia’s formidable friend (Shirley Henderson), who knows the truth about her impoverished state and is engaged to a much older man (Ciarán Hinds). The latter, a fellow of substance who seems to be meandering through life, falls instantly for the soulful Miss Pettigrew. Full of Art Deco trappings and paced with a vintage, screwball comedy energy, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is like watching a contemporary version of a Hollywood classic. —Tom Keogh
Starring Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson, Tim Potter.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Colin Firth, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Malcolm McDowell star in this delightfully charming comedy about the fun and awkwardness of growing up! Young Fraser Pettigrew has always been an adventurous child. But with the arrival of his sexy French aunt Heloise, Fraser enters a truly eye-opening summer of discovery as he learns some delicious truths about adulthood and the comic eccentricities of his loving family! Also featuring Rosemary Harris, the great ensemble cast lights up the screen. Come join the Pettigrews as their lives are forever changed in one unforgettable season!
If pretty pictures and sweet intentions were enough to generate a classic family film, My Life So Far would rival How Green Was My Valley and George Cukor’s Little Women. But those movies have strength and an acute sense of loss along with the sweetness and light, while–despite a death or two and the teasing prospect of adultery–My Life So Far doesn’t really engage anything that would disrupt its rosy childhood memoir.First-person narrator Fraser Pettigrew (Robert Norman) is age 10 in 1920, a moment when it seems that the charmed life of Kiloran, the rambling Scottish estate he shares with several generations of his relentlessly quaint family, will go on forever. Even a stray shellshock casualty from the Great War–a sub-Dickensian bogeyman who haunts the grounds–is treated as a picturesque bit of local color. The family is what counts: would-be inventor Colin Firth, eccentric paterfamilias and sphagnum moss farmer; his wife Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who traded an opera career for multiple maternity; crusty uncle Malcolm McDowell, who hopes to inherit Kiloran from matriarch Rosemary Harris and evict everybody; and Irène Jacob, the beauteous young Frenchwoman to whom the uncle is engaged and over whom everyone else goes gaga. Not to mention a gaggle of precocious siblings, colorful servants, and oddball interlopers.
This is all very slight, but amiable–sort of a Miramax dry run for The Cider House Rules without the darkness or the novelistic vision. The lakes, skies, and knobby hills around Argyll, Scotland, are unexceptionably gorgeous. –Richard T. Jameson
Starring Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Irène Jacob, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Malcolm McDowell.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
A gangster drama located in the streets of post-war Birmingham on the verge of the 1920s. Peaky Blinders follows the notorious gang, who got their name from sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, a man dead set on moving up in the world, no matter the cost.
Starring Joe Cole, Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-MA.
Picture Bride (1994): Set in 1918.
She left Japan for a man she had never met, in a new world she couldn’t imagine…America Inspired by the true stories of Hawaii’s picture brides, this unforgettable story is set amidst the breathtaking scenery of a tropical paradise.
After the father of Riyo (Youki Kudoh) dies, she becomes the arranged wife of Matsuji (Akira Takayama), a migrant worker in Hawaii. Riyo travels from Japan to the United States, but finds it difficult adapting to the hard life working on a sugar plantation and living with Matsuji. Riyo becomes friends with another woman, Kana (Tamlyn Tomita), who came over as a bride as well. Riyo begins saving money to return to Japan, but tragic events make her evaluate where she belongs.
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
In 1936, Mary Lavelle (Polly Walker) leaves Ireland for Spain to become a governess for a year before marrying. Her employer, Dr. Vincente Areavaga (Franco Nero), is a former poet who sympathizes with the forces fighting against Fascist dictator Franco. His son, Francisco (Vincent Perez), has been fired from his government job for associating with the rebels. Despite his being married, Mary finds herself drawn to the charismatic Francisco and his cause.
Starring Franco Nero, Vincent Perez, Frances McDormand, Penelope Cruz.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Based on the hit novel by Angeles Mastreta, the film portrays the story of a woman who dared to break the mold of her time. Catalina (Ana Claudia Talancon) is a woman from Puebla who marries Andr’s Ascencio (Daniel Gimenez Cacho), a sympathetic and powerful, as a way out of her little world and expecting to live great experiences. She soon discovers that her life have been chained to Andr’s, and she lost her freedom. Catalina will rediscover love with Carlos Vives (Jos’ Mar-a de Tavira), a young man who is the antithesis of Andr’s.
Starring Ana Claudia Talancón, Daniel Giménez Cacho, José María de Tavira, Mariana Peñalva, Irene Azuela.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
As the most opulent hotel in Manchester, England, during the decadent Roaring ’20s, The Grand is more than a building. It’s a nexus for schemes, scandals, romance, and intrigue. For owner John Bannerman, The Grand symbolizes a tradition of luxury and elegance begun by his father. For Marcus Bannerman, it becomes a risky investment and a way to entice his brother’s wife into bed. And for the maids and porters employed there, it represents a possible escape from their hardscrabble past–and an endless source of backstairs gossip.
Written by Russell T Davies (Casanova, Touching Evil) and featuring three-time Emmy®-winner Susan Hampshire, this is addictive period drama in the tradition of Upstairs, Downstairs and The Duchess of Duke Street. Divided by class and circumstance or tied together by love and loyalty, the myriad characters who populate The Grand prove unforgettable.
Starring Paul Warriner, Rebecca Callard, Susan Hampshire, Tim Healy, Mark McGann.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The Immigrant (2013): Set in 1921.
Ewa Cybulski and her sister sail to New York from their native Poland in search of a new start and the American dream. When they reach Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda is ill, and the two women are separated. Ewa is released onto the mean streets of Manhattan while her sister is quarantined. Alone, with nowhere to turn and desperate to reunite with Magda, Ewa quickly falls prey to Bruno, a charming but wicked man who takes her in and forces her into prostitution. The arrival of Orlando – a dashing stage magician who is also Bruno’s cousin – restores her self-belief and hopes for a brighter future, becoming her only chance to escape the nightmare in which she finds herself.
Starring Marion Cotillard, Angela Sarafyan, Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Phoenix.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
Caught in an affair with another man (Liev Schreiber), a scientist’s callow wife (Naomi Watts) accompanies her husband (Edward Norton) to mainland China in the 1920s to fight a cholera epidemic. There, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads to an unexpected chance at redemption.
Starring Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
This 17 episode television mini-series tells the story of a dressmaker in love with a man, in the turmoil of Madrid prior to the Civil War at Tangier.
“When World War II begins, Sira returns to her native Spain to sew haute couture clothing for the wives of Nazi operatives – and in the process, becomes an undercover spy for the British Secret Service. A delicious spy drama chock-full of intrigue, sex, betrayal and politics set against the exotic backdrop of Spain and northern Africa.” – Entertainment Weekly
Starring Emilio Rivera, Cesar Garcia, Sal Lopez.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
Rated TV-14.
Walt Before Mickey (2015): Set between 1919 and 1929.
The true story of a boy whose dreams built a kingdom. The legendary Walt Disney had a tumultuous childhood, yet he was determined to overcome obstacles in his path, before the creation of his first iconic character: Mickey Mouse.
Starring Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jodie Sweetin, Jon Heder, Ayla Jell, David Henrie.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
Where the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own red-bone hound hunting dogs. Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with “Old Dan” and “Little Ann.” The movie follows the inseparable trio as they romp relentlessly through the Ozarks, trying to tree the elusive “Ghost” raccoon. Their efforts prove victorious as they win the coveted gold cup in the annual coon-hunt contest, capture wily ghost coons and bravely fight a mountain lion. Through these adventures Billy realizes the meaning of true friendship, loyalty, integrity and heroics, in this timeless and poignant coming of age story.
Starring James Whitmore, Beverly Garland, Jack Ging.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated G.
During the days of World War I, a small Welsh town relies on its local mountain as a source of pride. When two English cartographers, Reginald Anson (Hugh Grant) and George Garrad (Ian McNeice), arrive to measure the mountain, they discover the landmark is 16 feet short of achieving the official “mountain” classification. Disheartened that their mountain has been deemed a hill, the townsfolk devise a plan to make up those 16 feet. Meanwhile, Anson falls for a local woman (Tara Fitzgerald).
Starring Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney, Ian McNeice, Ian Hart.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
SECOND WORLD WAR ERA (1939 – 1945) ON NETFLIX: “World War II was the central event of the twentieth century. It involved all six major continents, all three of the great oceans on the planet, scores of countries, and billions of people. It caused 57 million deaths and unimaginable human suffering. It brought about the redrawing of national boundaries in Europe and Asia, forced the relocation of many ethnic groups, made millions of families homeless, and led to the virtual annihilation of the Jewish population of Europe. By the time it was over in 1945, Tokyo, Berlin, Hamburg, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Warsaw, Hiroshima, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Nagasaki, Osaka, Manila, Cologne, and dozens of other great cities had been obliterated. And population centers that had mostly avoided the worst of the death and destruction continued to see poverty and hunger linger for years after the surrender documents had been signed. Meanwhile, the prisoners and the wounded, making their way back to wives, sweethearts, parents, and children, often after an absence of many years, would carry the cost of the conflict with them for the rest of their lives.” – Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Bomb Girls tells the remarkable stories of the women who risked their lives in a munitions factory building bombs for the Allied forces fighting on the European front. The series delves into the lives of these exceptional women from all walks of life peers, friends and rivals who find themselves thrust into new worlds and changed profoundly as they are liberated from their home and social restrictions.
Starring Meg Tilly, Jodi Balfour, Charlotte Hegele, Ali Liebert, Anastasia Phillips.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
Edges of the Lord (2001): Set during the Second World War.
To escape an unthinkable fate, a young Jewish boy’s (Osment) parents send him to the countryside. Spirited away from the Nazi-occupied city in a gunnysack, he’s taken in by a kind village farmer, masquerades as the farmer’s nephew and is coached in Catholicism by the parish priest (Dafoe). Featuring outstanding performances and a brilliant screenplay, this triumphant film is sure to capture your heart.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Haley Joel Osment.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
As World War II rages on, criminals try to take advantage of the resulting chaos. In Hastings, they aren’t having much luck, thanks to Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle. As Foyle’s son Andrew, a fighter pilot in the RAF, fights the enemy at war, Foyle battles the black market, profiteering and murder on the home front. He is dogged in his pursuit of justice, honest to a fault and frequently underestimated by his opponents. Together with his sergeant and his driver, Foyle wages his own war on crime.
Foyle’s War has been described by The Wall Street Journalas “a triumph from start to finish.”
Shown on PBS Masterpiece.
Starring Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, David Horovitch, Elizabeth Bell, Robert Pickavance, Neil Conrich, Andrew Powell, Paul Putner.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
Land Girls (2009) BBC: Set beginning in 1941.
Period drama following four girls who have joined the Women’s Land Army. Commissioned by the BBC to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War; a popular and critical success, it was renewed for two more series. The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls.
Starring Summer Strallen, Christine Bottomley, Jo Woodcock, Becci Gemmell, Mark Benton, Liam Boyle, Susan Cookson, Sophie Ward, Nathaniel Parker, Danny Webb.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-PG.
In a heartwarming tale of faith, hope and love, a little boy tries with all his might to achieve the impossible: bring his father home from war.
When auto mechanic James Busbee (Michael Rapaport) is sent to fight the Japanese during World War II, he leaves behind his wife (Emily Watson) and two sons, London (David Henrie) and Pepper (Jakob Salvati). Pepper feels his father’s absence most keenly, and can’t wait for him to return home. An encounter with a magician (Ben Chaplin) and advice from a priest (Tom Wilkinson) convince Pepper that the power to bring his dad back safely may be within himself and his actions.
Starring Jakob Salvati, Emily Watson, Michael Rapaport.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Srulik, an 8-year-old boy, flees from the Warsaw ghetto and tries to survive in the forest. He poses as a Christian orphan, but his Jewish identity is endangered.
A superlative saga of courage and compassion, RUN BOY RUN tells the extraordinary true story of a Polish boy who seeks the kindness of others in his solitary struggle to outlast the Nazi occupation and keep alive his Jewish faith. An unforgettable cinematic experience featuring exceptional performances, arresting cinematography and transcendent musical score, RUN BOY RUN is directed by Academy Award-winner Pepe Danquart and based on the bestselling novel by author Uri Orlev.
In German, Polish, Yiddish with English subtitles.
Starring Andrzej Tkacz, Kamil Tkacz.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2015): Set during WWII.
8-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield) and his family leave Berlin to take up residence near the concentration camp where his father (David Thewlis) has just become commandant. Unhappy and lonely, he wanders out behind his house one day and finds Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish boy of his age. Though the barbed-wire fence of the camp separates them, the boys begin a forbidden friendship, oblivious to the real nature of their surroundings.
Starring Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O’Brien, Domonkos Németh.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
A compassionate young man, raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there, decides to leave to see the world.
The film follows the life of Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), a precocious orphan who leaves his lifelong home and his loving tutor, Dr. Larch (Michael Caine) to explore the world. While Homer struggles to make a life for himself on his own, he must make monumental decisions that will change the course of his future and deeply affect the lives of those around him.
Starring Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
For Jewish teenager Anne Frank (Ellie Kendrick), her diary is her one true friend and confidant. In it, she records the thoughts of a typical teen — only set against a backdrop of encroaching evil in Amsterdam during World War II. Stowed away behind a bookcase in a secret annex with her family and others to flee the Nazis, Anne experiences her time in hiding as an adventure. And, amidst closed quarters and random bomb blasts, Anne faces friction with family, a desire for independence and the first stirrings of young love. As Anne’s identity solidifies, so does her resolve to be a writer — her diary a tangible and remarkable record of a young woman’s first-hand observations of the Holocaust, and the innate goodness she still sees in people.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.
Starring Iain Glen, Ellie Kendrick, Tamsin Greig.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
The English Patient (1996): Set at the close of WWII.
The sweeping expanses of the Sahara are the setting for a passionate love affair in this adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel. A badly burned man, Laszlo de Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), is tended to by a nurse, Hana (Juliette Binoche), in an Italian monastery near the end of World War II. His past is revealed through flashbacks involving a married Englishwoman (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his work mapping the African landscape. Hana learns to heal her own scars as she helps the dying man.
Backward into memory, forward into loss and desire, “The English Patient” searches for answers that will answer nothing. This poetic, evocative film version of the famous novel by Michael Ondaatje circles down through layers of mystery until all of the puzzles in the story have been solved, and only the great wound of a doomed love remains. It is the kind of movie you can see twice–first for the questions, the second time for the answers. – Roger Ebert
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas, Naveen Andrews.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated R.
The Jewel in the Crown (1984): Set beginning in 1942.
Stunning, award-winning drama set in India during the Second World War and the independence riots.
Paul Scott’s epic four novels, known collectively as “The Raj Quartet”, tell the extraordinary story of Daphne and Hari, of Ronald Merrick and Barbie Batchelor, the Layton family and Guy Perron, against the tumultuous background of the last years of British rule in India. It begins in 1942. The Japanese, having conquered Burma, are threatening to invade and Gandhi is calling on the British to ‘Quit India’. In Mayapore, a young man, Hari Kumar, is arrested and, across the river that divides the city, Daphne Manners has arrived from England. It is the start of a chain of events binding English and Indians in a web of love, tragedy, and death. And at the center is Ronald Merrick, District Superintendent of Police, a guardian of the British Empire of which India is ‘The Jewel in the Crown’.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.
Starring Peggy Ashcroft, Charles Dance, Art Malik.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Not rated.
For a WWI historical romance, see the post 7 Reasons to Watch Kurt Seyit and Sura on Netflix
Bletchley Circle (2012): Set in 1952.
Four women who worked as codebreakers at Bletchley Park have taken up civilian lives. Susan, has collated data about a series of murders. She tries to convince the police she knows where another body is, but they are unable to locate it and dismiss her. She turns to her three friends and they work out where the next victim will be taken, find the body, then decide they are the only ones who can track down the killer.
After her days cracking Nazi codes at Bletchley Park during World War II, Susan Gray (Anna Maxwell Martin) finds life as a housewife lacking. When she perceives patterns in a series of killings, she approaches the police, only to be rebuffed. Horrified by the prospect of more women being murdered, Susan gathers three of her Bletchley cohorts–outspoken, independent Millie (Rachael Stirling, Tipping the Velvet); Jean (Julie Graham), an administrator at Bletchley who still has connections in the British bureaucracy; and Lucy (Sophie Rundle), whose eidetic memory makes her a living computer. Their complementary skills allow them to deconstruct these grisly crimes, predicting where the killer may strike next and gradually unraveling where he came from… which brings them closer to the murderer than they ever expected. The Bletchley Circle: Cracking a Killer’s Code cunningly mixes a gripping mystery with understated commentary on women’s roles in society (or lack thereof). The social critique actually compounds the tension; the patronizing and dismissive attitude of the police and other men makes the serial killer’s actions seem less like a derangement and more like the logical extreme of sexism. The writing, performances, and production are all top-notch; this is a smart, multilayered thriller. —Bret Fetzer
Starring Hattie Morahan, Rachael Stirling, Sophie Rundle, Julie Graham Anna Maxwell Martin.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Adapted by Heidi Thomas from the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, this drama series is a moving, funny, colorful look at midwifery and family in 1950s East End London. It follows newly qualified midwife Jenny, who joins an eccentric, lovable community of nuns who are nurses at Nonnatus House. Jenny is surprised to find herself at a convent — she thought she was being sent to a small private hospital — and is initially daunted by her surroundings, most notably the formidable Sister Evangelina and the unconventional Sister Monica Joan. But Jenny gradually begins to find her way and develops incredible friendships among the nurses, as they are drawn into the lives and homes of the women and families they treat.
Starring Jessica Raine, Stephen McGann, Miranda Hart, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated TV-14.
Chocolat (2000): Set in 1959.
A free-thinking single mother and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a morally rigid French village during Lent. She further becomes the target of the mayor’s ire by embracing a group of gypsy boat travelers who arrive in the town. Meanwhile, her chocolates have magical effects on the town’s residents. The period drama end at Easter.
Vianne Rocher, an expert chocolatier, drifts across Europe with her daughter Anouk, following the north wind. In the beginning of the Lenten season, “fifteen years after the War,” they travel to a quiet French village that closely adheres to tradition, as led by the village mayor, the Comte de Reynaud. Just as the villagers begin observing the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter, Vianne opens a chocolate shop, much to Reynaud’s displeasure.
Starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Judi Dench with a cameo by Leslie Caron.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG-13.
Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso’s projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.
One of the most delightful and affecting of all movie endings. – Daily Mail
Starring Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullotta.
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
MOTHER TERESA, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of modern times. Her selfless commitment changed hearts, lives and inspired millions throughout the world. THE LETTERS, as told through personal letters she wrote over the last 40 years of her life, reveal a troubled and vulnerable woman who grew to feel an isolation and an abandonment by God. The story is told from the point of view of a Vatican priest charged with the task of investigating acts and events following her death. He recounts her life’s work, her political oppression, her religious zeal and her unbreakable spirit.
Starring Juliet Stevenson, Rutger Hauer, Max Von Sydow,
Streaming on NETFLIX. Streaming on AMAZON. Available on DVD.
Rated PG.
The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.
The Crown, the most expensive drama ever made by the U.S. streaming company and its first to be made in the UK, will trace the life of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from her wedding in 1947 to the present day. It is expected to span 60 episodes over six seasons with Claire Foy, last seen as Anne Boleyn in BBC’s Wolf Hall, playing the Queen in the early part of her reign.
Starring Claire Foy, Matt Smith, John Lithgow, Jared Harris, Vanessa Kirby, Greg Wise.
Streaming on NETFLIX.
Short descriptions of the films are either the official synopses, and/or are from Amazon or IMDB.
Did Willow and Thatch miss any costume period historical dramas from the Medieval (Dark or Middle Ages), Tudor and Stuart Eras, Georgian and Regency Eras, Victorian Era, Edwardian Era, Interwar Era, Second World War Era and Postwar Era that are on NETFLIX and are available to stream right now? If any of the above are no longer available to stream, please leave a comment below. And for those of you with Hulu, you’ll want to see 100 Period Dramas on Hulu.
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll want to wander over to the Period Films List for the best costume dramas, documentaries, period dramas, romances, historical reality series and period inspired movies, all sorted by era and theme. You’ll discover the best and top new heritage films, television mini-series, PBS, BBC, Masterpiece Theatre productions, historical dramas, and Jane Austen literary adaptations. There is a Family-friendly list, a Christmas Classics list, and more!
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