Movies with historical settings - Chronological
by BrutusOfTroy | created - 13 Jul 2017 | updated - 03 Feb 2021 | PublicAll genres, focus on Medieval, Roman, Dark Ages
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1. Knights of the Round Table (1953)
Approved | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
King Arthur's rule is threatened by the adulterous love between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, a relationship the king's enemies hope to exploit.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Anne Crawford
Votes: 4,074
2. Excalibur (1981)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Merlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi
Votes: 67,206 | Gross: $34.97M
3. The Sword in the Stone (1963)
G | 79 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.
Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand | Stars: Rickie Sorensen, Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews
Votes: 106,527 | Gross: $22.18M
4. The War Lord (1965)
Approved | 123 min | Drama, History, Romance
In 11th century Normandy, a Norman duke sends one of his knights to build a defensive fortress in order to guard the borders against Frisian raiders.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth, Maurice Evans
Votes: 3,685
5. 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: 34,230 | Gross: $22.28M
6. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Horror
A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston
Votes: 16,242
7. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,665 | Gross: $10.16M
8. Richard III (1955)
Not Rated | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History
Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.
Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Ralph Richardson
Votes: 5,229
9. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, Luana Anders
Votes: 16,406 | Gross: $4.36M
10. The Name of the Rose (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin
Votes: 117,322 | Gross: $7.15M
11. Flesh+Blood (1985)
R | 126 min | Adventure, Drama
In medieval Europe, a young girl from a noble family is obsessed with her captors - commoners.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson, Jack Thompson
Votes: 20,020 | Gross: $0.10M
12. Mark of the Devil (1970)
R | 90 min | Drama, History, Horror
In 1700s Austria, a witch-hunter's apprentice has doubts about the righteousness of witch-hunting when he witnesses the brutality, the injustice, the falsehood, the torture and the arbitrary killing that go with the job.
Directors: Michael Armstrong, Adrian Hoven | Stars: Herbert Lom, Udo Kier, Olivera Katarina, Reggie Nalder
Votes: 3,916
13. Ironclad (2011)
R | 121 min | Action, Drama, History
In thirteenth-century England, a Knights Templar and a few of the Barons men fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.
Director: Jonathan English | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng, Brian Cox, James Purefoy
Votes: 43,663
14. King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)
Approved | 114 min | Adventure, Family, History
While leading the Third Crusade, King Richard the Lionheart (George Sanders) battles treachery in his own camp as well as the Saracens and their charismatic leader Emir Hderim Sultan Saladin (Sir Rex Harrison).
Director: David Butler | Stars: Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders, Laurence Harvey
Votes: 916 | Gross: $2.10M
15. The Eagle (2011)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, István Göz
Votes: 74,082 | Gross: $19.49M
16. The Green Knight (2021)
R | 130 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A fantasy retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Director: David Lowery | Stars: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury
Votes: 118,115
17. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,278 | Gross: $4.14M
18. Quest for Fire (1981)
R | 100 min | Adventure, Drama
This story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Rae Dawn Chong
Votes: 24,137 | Gross: $20.96M
19. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,376
20. The Advocate (1993)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In medieval France, young lawyer Richard Courtois leaves Paris for the simpler life in the country. However, he is soon drawn into amorous and political intrigues. At the same time, he is ... See full summary »
Director: Leslie Megahey | Stars: Colin Firth, Amina Annabi, Jim Carter, Donald Pleasence
Votes: 2,197 | Gross: $0.67M
21. The Reckoning (2003)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A priest on the lam takes up with a traveling band of actors, who then discover a murder has occurred and try to solve it by recreating the crime in a play.
Director: Paul McGuigan | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, Marián Aguilera, Trevor Steedman
Votes: 6,399 | Gross: $0.26M
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