The most fabulous period dramas
I love period drama, strong female leads and costumes! I appreciate movies showing stories never told before and especially within the historic genre. This list contains film interpretations of classical books such as Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, as well as fabulous stories, hidden through out history, that are hard to find within the movie industry such as Albert Nobbs and Belle.
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- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsGreer GarsonLaurence OlivierMary BolandThe arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.
- DirectorRodrigo GarcíaStarsGlenn CloseMia WasikowskaAaron Taylor-JohnsonAlbert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th-century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most elegant hotel, Albert meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsOrson WellesJoan FontaineMargaret O'BrienAfter a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house, to care for his young daughter.
- 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?
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorSophie BarthesStarsMia WasikowskaRhys IfansEzra MillerBored in her marriage to a country doctor and stifled by life in a small town, the restless Emma Bovary pursues her dreams of passion and excitement, whatever they may cost.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsGwyneth PaltrowJames CosmoGreta ScacchiWhile matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJude LawAaron Taylor-JohnsonIn late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
- DirectorSaul DibbStarsKeira KnightleyRalph FiennesDominic CooperA chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsRyan O'NealMarisa BerensonPatrick MageeAn Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsMia WasikowskaMichael FassbenderJamie BellA mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsJude LawNicole KidmanRenée ZellwegerIn the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.
- 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.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsBradley CooperJennifer LawrenceRhys IfansIn Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton's timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.
- 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.
- DirectorIain B. MacDonaldStarsJulia JoyceDouglas HodgeMaggie O'NeillThe classic tale by Jane Austen of family scandal, social graces, and the unrequited love between cousins.
- 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.
- DirectorJon JonesStarsGeraldine JamesMichael JuddJulia DeardenA young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsCarey MulliganMatthias SchoenaertsMichael SheenIn Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsAmanda RootCiarán HindsSusan FleetwoodTheatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.
- DirectorAdrian ShergoldStarsSally HawkinsAlice KrigeAnthony HeadAnne was in love with Frederick, who was rejected by her snobby parents 8 years ago. They've now hit hard times and rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law. He returns a Royal Navy captain. Will he remember Anne?
- 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.
- 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?
- DirectorNikolaj ArcelStarsAlicia VikanderMads MikkelsenMikkel Boe FølsgaardA 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.
- DirectorAmma AsanteStarsGugu Mbatha-RawMatthew GoodeEmily WatsonThe biracial daughter, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) is raised by aristocratic Great-uncle Lord William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in 18th century England.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorDominik GrafStarsHannah HerzsprungFlorian StetterHenriette ConfuriusThe 18th century literary genius Friedrich Schiller falls in love with the sisters Charlotte and Caroline von Lengefeld. After a passionate summer together in a menage a trois, jealousy and rivalry endanger their union.
- 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.
- DirectorDavid SwiftStarsJane WymanHayley MillsRichard EganA young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
- 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.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDanny GloverWhoopi GoldbergOprah WinfreyA tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHerbert MarshallTeresa WrightThe ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsRupert EverettColin FirthFrances O'ConnorIn 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.
- 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.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsChristopher EcclestonKate WinsletLiam CunninghamIn late 1800s England, Jude plans to go to the city and attend university but marries early and becomes a stonemason. When his wife leaves, he moves to the city, where he befriends his liberal cousin Sue.
- DirectorSarah GavronStarsCarey MulliganAnne-Marie DuffHelena Bonham CarterIn 1912 London, a young working mother is galvanized into radical political activism supporting the right for women to vote, and is willing to meet violence with violence to achieve this end.
- DirectorAlfonso ArauStarsMarco LeonardiLumi CavazosRegina TornéWhen tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.
- DirectorTanya WexlerStarsMaggie GyllenhaalHugh DancyJonathan PryceThe truth of how Mortimer Granville devised the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.
- DirectorBurr SteersStarsLily JamesSam RileyJack HustonFive sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsEddie RedmayneAlicia VikanderAmber HeardA fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
- 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.