Historical Drama
by PoeticSolomon | created - 06 Dec 2021 | updated - 11 Jul 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Titanic (1953)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, History, Romance
An unhappily married couple struggle to deal with their problems while on board the luxurious, ill-fated RMS Titanic.
Director: Jean Negulesco | Stars: Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton
Votes: 7,666 | Gross: $4.91M
2. A Night to Remember (1958)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, History
On her maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman
Votes: 17,176
3. The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Approved | 180 min | Biography, Drama, Family
During World War II, a teenage Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters, Joseph Schildkraut, Richard Beymer
Votes: 13,698 | Gross: $5.01M
4. Victoria (2016–2019)
TV-PG | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
The early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.
Stars: Jenna Coleman, Adrian Schiller, Tommy Knight, Jordan Waller
Votes: 30,917
5. The Gilded Age (2022– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama
The series follows the conflicts surrounding the new money Russell family and their old money neighbors, the van Rhijn family, in 1880s New York City high society.
Stars: Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton
Votes: 38,267
6. The Young Victoria (2009)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 66,431 | Gross: $11.00M
7. The Duchess (2008)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 87,319 | Gross: $13.82M
8. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
TV-PG | 55 min | Drama, Romance
While the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
Stars: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 92,384
9. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
PG | 129 min | Drama, Romance
Sparks 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?
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland
Votes: 331,066 | Gross: $38.41M
10. The Virgin Queen (2005–2006)
59 min | Biography, Drama, History
From teenage princess to accomplished queen, torn between duty and personal longing, the reign of Elizabeth I is exposed in this lavish drama filmed against a backdrop of some of Great Britain's most beautiful houses and landscapes.
Stars: Anne-Marie Duff, Sienna Guillory, Ian Hart, Tom Hardy
Votes: 3,279
11. Elizabeth I (2005)
TV-MA | 112 min | Biography, Drama, History
Mini-series about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.
Stars: Helen Mirren, Toby Jones, Hugh Dancy, Patrick Malahide
Votes: 7,034
12. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Jordi Mollà
Votes: 75,091 | Gross: $16.29M
13. Elizabeth (1998)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama, History
The early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Liz Giles, Rod Culbertson, Paul Fox
Votes: 105,177 | Gross: $30.08M
14. The Queen (2006)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama
After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings
Votes: 116,020 | Gross: $56.44M
15. Elizabeth I (2017)
Not Rated | 180 min | Drama, History
Docu-drama starring Lily Cole as a young Elizabeth I, featuring dramatic reconstructions of key moments in her life. Presented by historians Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones.
Stars: Lily Cole, Vincent Kerschbaum, Suzannah Lipscomb, Dan Jones
Votes: 264
16. The Six Queens of Henry VIII (2016– )
Not Rated | 60 min | History
A series about Henry VIII and his wives, chronicling the ups and downs in his marriages and how they shaped his reign as King and ultimately the face of Britain.
Stars: Suzannah Lipscomb, Dan Jones, Charlie Clements, Toby Osmond
Votes: 257
17. Britain's Bloody Crown (2016– )
Not Rated | Drama, History
Using a combination of documentary and drama, historian Dan Jones tells the story of the War of the Roses - the 30 year civil war between the House of York and House of Lancaster that saw the crown change hands seven times.
Stars: Dan Jones, James Oliver Wheatley, Steffan Boje, Tom Durant Pritchard
Votes: 368
18. 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009)
150 min | Action, History, War
Despite earlier promises to pass his crown to one of his Flemish, Viking, or Norman relatives, English King Edward the Confessor dies in 1066, leaving his crown to Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson, causing a bloody succession war.
Stars: Ian Holm, Mike Bailey, Francis Magee, Tim Plester
Votes: 873
19. The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.
Stars: Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell
Votes: 33,131
20. The Tudors (2007–2010)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
A dramatic series about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Anthony Brophy, James Frain
Votes: 81,267
21. The White Queen (2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
Three different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th-century England.
Stars: Aneurin Barnard, Rebecca Ferguson, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay
Votes: 31,426
22. Versailles (2015–2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.
Stars: George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Tygh Runyan, Stuart Bowman
Votes: 18,726
23. Medici (2016–2019)
TV-14 | 1,314 min | Biography, Drama, History
A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.
Stars: Daniel Sharman, Alessandra Mastronardi, Synnove Karlsen, Sebastian De Souza
Votes: 22,331
24. Wolf Hall (2015)
TV-14 | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger.
Stars: Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Claire Foy, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Votes: 13,102
25. War & Peace (2016)
TV-14 | 63 min | Drama, History, Romance
As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
Stars: Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James, Adrian Edmondson
Votes: 26,656
26. The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (2013 TV Movie)
59 min | Documentary, History
A dramatization of the last days of the queen. It starts on the 2nd of May 1536 when a unit of the kings guard arrives with a warrant for the arrest of the Queen of England, because of incest, adultery and for conspiring against the king.
Director: Rob Coldstream | Stars: Robert Glenister, Tara Breathnach, Daniel Flynn, Brian Shelley
Votes: 172
27. Lady Jane (1986)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for only nine days.
Director: Trevor Nunn | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes, John Wood, Michael Hordern
Votes: 7,087 | Gross: $0.28M
28. The Devil's Mistress (2008)
47 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Drama charts the progress of the English Civil War through the story of a young woman, the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and her three husbands.
Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Dominic West, Tom Goodman-Hill, John Simm
Votes: 2,732
29. Dickensian (2015–2016)
TV-PG | 60 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
Drama set within the fictional realms of Charles Dickens critically acclaimed novels, bringing together some of his most iconic characters as their lives intertwine in 19th century London.
Stars: Tuppence Middleton, Sophie Rundle, Alexandra Moen, Joseph Quinn
Votes: 4,056
30. North and South, Book I (1985)
TV-PG | 94 min | Drama, History, Romance
Two friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.
Stars: Kirstie Alley, Georg Stanford Brown, David Carradine, Philip Casnoff
Votes: 11,904
31. Mercy Street (2016–2017)
TV-14 | 53 min | Drama, History
Follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War - New England abolitionist Mary Phinney and Confederate supporter Emma Green.
Stars: McKinley Belcher III, Suzanne Bertish, Norbert Leo Butz, Gary Cole
Votes: 2,952
32. The Last Kingdom (2015–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, History
As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred--born a Saxon but raised by Vikings--seeks to claim his ancestral birthright.
Stars: Alexander Dreymon, Eliza Butterworth, Arnas Fedaravicius, Mark Rowley
Votes: 165,927
33. A Royal Affair (2012)
R | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.
Director: Nikolaj Arcel | Stars: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Trine Dyrholm
Votes: 50,914 | Gross: $1.55M
34. The Hollow Crown (2012–2016)
TV-14 | 150 min | Drama, History, War
A mini-series of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.
Stars: Anton Lesser, Simon Russell Beale, Tom Georgeson, John Mackay
Votes: 7,319
35. Henry VIII (2003 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 193 min | Biography, Drama, History
Two part mini-series documenting the stormy thirty-eight-year reign of King Henry VIII.
Director: Pete Travis | Stars: Ray Winstone, Joss Ackland, Sid Mitchell, Charles Dance
Votes: 2,489
36. Les Miserables (1978 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama, History
Jean Valjean (Richard Jordan), convicted of stealing bread, is hounded for several decades by the relentless and cruel Policeman Javert (Anthony Perkins).
Director: Glenn Jordan | Stars: Richard Jordan, Anthony Perkins, Cyril Cusack, Claude Dauphin
Votes: 1,931
37. Les Misérables (1998)
PG-13 | 134 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Valjean, a former criminal, has atoned for his past and now finds himself in the midst of the French Revolution, avoiding a law-obsessed policeman hell-bent on capturing him.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Christopher Adamson
Votes: 43,204 | Gross: $14.10M
38. Les misérables (2000)
400 min | Drama, History
The scene is set during the French Restoration at the beginning of the 19th century. Jean Valjean, a galley slave who was sent to prison for stealing food, is now released after serving ... See full summary »
Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, John Malkovich, Virginie Ledoyen
Votes: 4,571
39. Michael Collins (1996)
R | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
Neil Jordan's historical biopic of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, the man who led a guerrilla war against the UK, helped negotiate the creation of the Irish Free State, and led the National Army during the Irish Civil War.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, Ian Hart
Votes: 33,777 | Gross: $11.09M
40. Les Misérables (2018–2019)
TV-14 | 372 min | Drama, Romance
Television adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel, which follows Jean Valjean as he evades capture by the unyielding Inspector Javert. Set against a backdrop of post-Napoleonic France as unrest begins to grip the city of Paris once more.
Stars: Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Adeel Akhtar, David Bradley
Votes: 9,300
41. Great Expectations (1989)
303 min | Drama
A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Stars: John Rhys-Davies, Anthony Calf, Jean Simmons, Kim Thomson
Votes: 469
42. The Lion in Winter (1968)
PG | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
Director: Anthony Harvey | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, John Castle
Votes: 34,232 | Gross: $22.28M
43. The Lion in Winter (2003 TV Movie)
167 min | Drama, History, Romance
King Henry II meets with Eleanor of Aquitaine at Christmastide 1183 to choose one of his sons as his successor.
Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy | Stars: Glenn Close, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Andrew Howard
Votes: 2,392
44. The Merchant of Venice (2004)
R | 131 min | Drama, Romance
In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons
Votes: 38,273 | Gross: $3.77M
45. The Crucible (1996)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, History
A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen
Votes: 40,201 | Gross: $7.34M
46. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
Votes: 741,678 | Gross: $56.67M
47. The Book Thief (2013)
PG-13 | 131 min | Drama, War
While 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.
Director: Brian Percival | Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer
Votes: 142,370 | Gross: $21.49M
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