Period Films and Costume Dramas
A list of period and costume films, miniseries, and TV shows, in no particular order. An ongoing list.
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- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsMaggie SmithRyan PhillippeMichael GambonSet in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.
- StarsDaniela Denby-AsheRichard ArmitageTim Pigott-SmithNorth and South is a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle-class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsMia WasikowskaMichael FassbenderJamie BellA mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJason SchwartzmanRip TornThe retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
- CreatorEileen AtkinsStarsGordon JacksonDavid LangtonJean MarshThe lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place play out against the social, political and historical backdrop of Edwardian London from 1903 to 1930.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
- DirectorCate ShortlandStarsSaskia RosendahlKai-Peter MalinaNele TrebsAs the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.
- DirectorStephen WhittakerStarsJohn DallimoreJames D'ArcySophia MylesA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsMaggie SmithHelena Bonham CarterDenholm ElliottLucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonVanessa RedgraveSet in the early 20th century, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationship between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsFrances O'ConnorJonny Lee MillerAlessandro NivolaFanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society.
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsEdward NortonJessica BielPaul GiamattiIn turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
- StarsMatthew MacfadyenClaire FoyTom CourtenayThe Dorrits are a family whose life revolves around the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison. Amy Dorrit's kind nature brings the family into contact with a wide swath of English society, from the poorest to the richest, and back again.WATCH THIS.
- StarsJodhi MayEdward FoxAmanda RootSet in Victorian London, Gwendolen Harleth is drawn to Daniel Deronda, a selfless and intelligent gentleman of unknown parentage, but her own desperate need for financial security may destroy her chance at happiness.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsRomola GaraiEddie RedmayneJuno TempleThe adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonJohn HaycraftA butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsAnne HathawayJames McAvoyJulie WaltersA biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsYves MontandGérard DepardieuDaniel AuteuilA greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsYves MontandEmmanuelle BéartDaniel AuteuilA beautiful but shy shepherdess plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier.
- StarsRuth WilsonToby StephensLorraine AshbourneA young governess falls in love with her brooding and complex master. However, his dark past may destroy their relationship forever.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsEmma ThompsonKate WinsletJames FleetRich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsKate MaberlyMaggie SmithHeydon ProwseA young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsDrew BarrymoreAnjelica HustonDougray ScottThe Brothers Grimm arrive at the home of a wealthy Grande Dame who speaks of the many legends surrounding the fable of the cinder girl before telling the "true" story of her ancestor.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghJulie ChristieDerek JacobiHamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- CreatorJohn HawkesworthStarsJeremy BrettDavid BurkeRosalie WilliamsSherlock Holmes and Dr Watson solve the mysteries of copper beeches, a Greek interpreter, the Norwood builder, a resident patient, the red-headed league, and one final problem.
- StarsJemima RooperMorven ChristieAlex KingstonAmanda, an ardent Jane Austen fan, lives in present day London with her boyfriend Michael, until she finds she's swapped places with Austen's fictional creation Elizabeth Bennet.
- StarsDouglas HodgeJuliet AubreyTrevyn McDowellMiddlemarch is a story of provincial life on the brink of momentous change and a deeply moving saga about a group of people striving to give meaning and value to their lives during the Industrial Revolution.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsGillian AndersonDan AykroydEleanor BronA woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsIoan GruffuddAlbert FinneyMichael GambonThe idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
- DirectorJon JonesStarsGeraldine JamesMichael JuddJulia DeardenA young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
- StarsJan GravesonChristine KavanaghBrendan CoyleSet in 1870s England, the story tells of Annabella Lagrange and the terrible secret her wealthy parents have kept from her. When she finally learns the truth, she runs away and eventually finds solace in the company of her family's former groom, a young Irishman with the very Spanish name of Manuel Mendoza. Together they travel the Northumbria countryside from job to job in his horse and caravan, Annabella trapped in limbo between her upper class upbringing which has rejected her, and the working class who are sometimes suspicious of her, only Manuel understanding her situation.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsWilliam HurtCharlotte GainsbourgAnna PaquinJane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to become a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside of the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.
- DirectorLaurent TirardStarsRomain DurisFabrice LuchiniLaura MoranteTo satisfy his creditors, a witty actor reinvents himself as a satirical playwright, with uproarious, yet bittersweet, results.
- StarsZelah ClarkeTimothy DaltonCarol GilliesA young governess falls in love with her mysterious employer, but a terrible secret puts their happiness at risk.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsGwyneth PaltrowJames CosmoGreta ScacchiWhile matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
- CreatorBill GallagherStarsOlivia HallinanSarah LancashireJulia SawalhaAn adaptation of Flora Thompson's autobiographical novel "Lark Rise To Candleford", set in 19 century Oxfordshire, in which a young girl moves to the local market town to begin an apprenticeship as a postmistress.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsJodie FosterChow Yun-FatBai LingThe story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
- StarsFrancesca AnnisJustine WaddellBill PatersonThe daughter of a country doctor copes with an unwanted stepmother, an impetuous stepsister, burdensome secrets, the town gossips, and the tug on her own heartstrings for a man who thinks of her only as a friend.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsAbbie CornishBen WhishawPaul SchneiderThe three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
- StarsSaskia ReevesOwen TealeJulia FordDuring the Second World War, a quiet channel island community is thrown into turmoil by the invasion forces of Nazi Germany.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsRupert EverettColin FirthFrances O'ConnorIn 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsDaniel WilliamsMatthew James ThomasBrock Everitt-ElwickBased on the story of a British royal Prince locked away because of epilepsy.
- StarsRobin EllisAngharad ReesClive FrancisIn 1783, Ross Poldark returns from the American wars to his native Cornwall to right wrongs and reunite with the love of his life.
- StarsRichard ArmitageJulian GloverWill Keen"Three hour mini-series tells the intimate history of a most illustrious brotherhood of Impressionist artists - Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Manet. Entirely based on documentary evidence, special effects transport the viewer inside some of the world's best-loved paintings, The Impressionists will recreate the illuminated landscapes, and haunting portraits of late 19th-century France."
- DirectorAlan TaylorStarsIan HolmIben HjejleTim McInnernyDuring Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, some loyalists hire a look-alike to swap places with the deposed Emperor. While the impostor lives in luxury on the island, the real Napoleon returns to Paris in order to retake the throne.
- CreatorSue BirtwistleSusie ConklinStarsJudi DenchImelda StauntonJulia McKenzieIn the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
- CreatorHeidi ThomasStarsVanessa RedgraveLaura MainJenny AgutterChronicles the lives of a group of midwives living in East London in the late 1950s to late 1960s.
- StarsNeil DudgeonGeorge AntonBoyd GainesStories of the men of the RAF Hornet Squadron during the early days of World War II.
- StarsMegan FollowsColleen DewhurstRichard FarnsworthAn orphan girl, sent to an elderly brother and sister by mistake, charms her new home and community with her fiery spirit and imagination.
- StarsMegan FollowsColleen DewhurstMarilyn LightstoneAnne Shirley accepts a teaching position at a girls boarding school in a town dominated by a rich and belligerant family determined to make her life miserable.
- StarsMegan FollowsJonathan CrombieSchuyler GrantThe continuing adventures of Anne Shirley in New York and in France during World War I.
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsStéphane AudranBodil KjerBirgitte FederspielDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
- StarsGemma ArtertonEddie RedmayneRuth JonesThe story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsGerard ButlerEmmy RossumPatrick WilsonA young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsSigourney WeaverWilliam HurtJoaquin PhoenixA series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsDaniel Day-LewisWinona RyderPaul ScofieldA Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
- StarsKeira KnightleyCharlotte AtkinsonAnna FrielSome places may look familiar. Some characters may ring a bell. But in this world, where time stands still, an adventure awaits like none you've ever seen before.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsDaniel Day-LewisMichelle PfeifferWinona RyderA tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsNigel HawthorneHelen MirrenRupert GravesWhen King George III goes mad, his Lieutenants try to adjust the rules to run the country without his participation.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.
- StarsDouglas BoothJack RothRay WinstoneThe orphan Pip becomes a gentleman when his life is transformed by a mystery benefactor.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsToby IrvineRalph FiennesJason FlemyngA series of events change the orphaned Pip's life forever as he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- StarsJoe CaffreyDearbhla MolloyIan EmbletonIn industrial Tyneside during World War I, life for the McQueen family is turned upside down when daughter Bridget comes home with a black husband.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsMeg RyanHugh JackmanLiev SchreiberAn English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.
- StarsToby StephensTara FitzgeraldRupert GravesAn adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel; a young widow takes her son and moves to Yorkshire.
- StarsRomola GaraiMichael GambonJonny Lee MillerEmma Woodhouse, a wealthy young woman living in the early 19th century, whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures, which leads her into deeper meanings of love and life
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- StarsAnton LesserSimon Russell BealeTom GeorgesonA mini-series of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.
- CreatorAnthony HorowitzStarsMichael KitchenHoneysuckle WeeksAnthony HowellAs WWII rages, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front; investigating crime on the south coast of England. Later series, see the retired detective working as an MI5 agent in the aftermath of the war.
- StarsAnna Maxwell MartinCarey MulliganDenis LawsonA suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.
- CreatorDeborah CookSuzanne van de VeldeStarsVictoria SmurfitClare WilkieTabitha WadyThree young women from very different backgrounds meet, become friends and share experiences when they all gain positions as nannies in the wealthy households of London's exclusive Berkeley Square.
- StarsBenedict CumberbatchRebecca HallRoger AllamRevolves around a love triangle between a conservative English aristocrat, his mean socialite wife and a young suffragette.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsEmily BluntRupert FriendPaul BettanyA dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsTakuya ShimadaBrian BlessedRichard CliffordA daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsRenée ZellwegerEwan McGregorEmily WatsonThe story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsCharlie HunnamJamie BellChristopher PlummerA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-heartedly grasping uncle.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsBrad PittTom CruiseAntonio BanderasA vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.
- StarsDamian LewisRupert GravesGina McKeeChronicles the lives of three generations of the upper-middle-class British family, the Forsytes, from the 1870s to 1920.
- DirectorDavid ThackerStarsJuliet StevensonTrevor EveGeraldine JamesYears ago, Nora Helmer committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald. Now she is being blackmailed, and lives in fear of her husband finding out.
- CreatorAndrew DaviesKate BrookeStarsRon CookJeremy PivenTom Goodman-HillCenters on the real-life story of the flamboyant and visionary American founder of Selfridge's, London's department store.
- CreatorBill GallagherSarah BartonSarah BrownStarsJoanna VanderhamEmun ElliottStephen WightThe story of a young woman who works in a department store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world.
- StarsRachael StirlingJulie GrahamSophie RundleIn 1952, four women who worked at the wartime code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, reunite to track down a serial killer.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsGary OldmanColin FirthTom HardyIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
- DirectorPaul FeigStarsBen TibberJim CaviezelJoan PlowrightA twelve-year-old boy escapes from a Bulgarian Communist concentration camp and sets out on a journey to reach Denmark.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsSophie NélisseGeoffrey RushEmily WatsonWhile subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being protected by her adoptive parents.
- DirectorMartin ProvostStarsYolande MoreauUlrich TukurAnne BennentIn 1912 German collector Wilhelm Uhde rents a flat in Senlis to write and take a break from Parisian life. He hires a 48-year old cleaning lady, Séraphine. Some time later, he notices a small painting on wood at a local notable home.