Period and Costume Dramas I
When I was doing the Kings and Queens list I thought of this and it looks like it will be a two parter --- Thanks for leaving a comment but I will not be joining Facebook so I do not know what message you left
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- 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.
- 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.
- CreatorHeidi ThomasStarsKeeley HawesEd StoppardAdrian ScarboroughA new family and their servants live at the London townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in 1936.
- 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.
- CreatorJulian FellowesStarsHugh BonnevillePhyllis LoganElizabeth McGovernA chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanAssumpta SernaBrian CoxIn the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.Or any of the other ones Sharpe's Company (1994)
Sharpe's Battle (1995)
Sharpe's Eagle (1993)
Sharpe's Enemy (1994)
Sharpe's Gold (1995)
Sharpe's Honour (1994)
Sharpe's Sword (1995)
Sharpe's Waterloo (1997)
Sharpe's Challenge (2006)
Sharpe's Peril (2008 - DirectorBrian PercivalStarsDerek JacobiToby JonesSophie VavasseurA kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.
- 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.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsNigel HawthorneHelen MirrenRupert GravesWhen King George III goes mad, his Lieutenants try to adjust the rules to run the country without his participation.
- 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.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsTim RothDougray ScottOlivia WilliamsA recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsBilly CrudupClaire DanesRupert EverettA female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desdemona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?
- DirectorDoug LeflerStarsColin FirthBen KingsleyAishwarya Rai BachchanAs the Roman empire crumbles, young Romulus Augustus flees the city and embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters.
- DirectorPat O'ConnorStarsColin FirthKenneth BranaghJohn AtkinsonTwo soldiers (Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh) recover from World War I while spending a summer in a Yorkshire village.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsColin FirthAnnette BeningMeg TillyFrance before 1789: When a widow hears that her lover is to marry her cousin's daughter, she asks the playboy Valmont to take the girl's virginity. But first she bets him, with her body as prize, to seduce a virtuous, young, married woman.
- DirectorLeslie MegaheyStarsColin FirthAmina AnnabiJim CarterIn 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 pushed to defend a pig, owned by the mysterious gypsy Samira. The pig has been arrested for the murder of a young boy.
- 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.
- DirectorBen BoltStarsCaroline PeggJodhi MayColin FirthA governess put in charge of two young children begins to see the ghost of her dead predecessor.
- 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.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsJames WilbyRupert GravesHugh GrantTwo English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up Maurice and marries. While staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice discovers romance in the arms of the gamekeeper Alec.
- DirectorGonzalo SuárezStarsHugh GrantLizzy McInnernyValentine PelkaLord Byron, poet Percy Shelley, his future wife, Mary Shelley (writing Frankenstein) and others spend the summer of 1816 together.Rowing with the Wind
- DirectorJames LapineStarsJudy DavisHugh GrantMandy PatinkinIn 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsRobert Downey Jr.Sam NeillDavid ThewlisThe exiled royal doctor to King Charles II devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman.
- 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.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsNicole KidmanJohn MalkovichBarbara HersheyAn American girl inherits a fortune and falls into a misguided relationship with a gentleman confidence artist whose true nature, including a barbed and covetous disposition, turns her life into a nightmare.
- DirectorHarry HookStarsJean-Marc BarrMiranda RichardsonRichard E. GrantIn 1813, Capitaine Jacques St. Ives, a Hussar in the Napoleonic wars, is captured and sent to a Scottish prison camp. He's a swashbuckler, so the prison's commander, Major Farquar Bolingbroke Chevening, asks for lessons in communicating with women. Both men have their eyes on the lovely Flora, who resides with her aunt, the iconoclastic and well-traveled Miss Susan Emily Gilcrist. By chance, living close to the camp is Jacques's grandfather and brother, whom Jacques believes died years before. Jacques decides to escape, find his relatives, and win the hand of Flora; Major Chevening and an unforeseen enemy stand in his way. Can Miss Gilcrist contrive to make everything work out?
- 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.
- DirectorAntoine de CaunesStarsPhilippe TorretonRichard E. GrantJay RodanHow could Napoleon, the man of war and pioneering military strategist, meekly accept being locked up on a storm-lashed rock in the middle of the Atlantic ocean? What system of defence, and thus of attack, can he dream up to loosen his jailers' grip? On Saint Helena, the far-flung island chosen by his enemies, Napoleon fights a mysterious battle, his last and most important, and one that history has kept secret all these years.
- DirectorPaul KafnoStarsFrances BarberChristopher HollisJulian GartsideA noblewoman disguises herself as a young man and falls for her employer, a lovesick count. Unfortunately, the count's beloved falls for the disguised noblewoman and a comedy of unrequited love and mistaken identities ensues.
- 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 IvoryStarsJames WilbyRupert GravesHugh GrantTwo English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up Maurice and marries. While staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice discovers romance in the arms of the gamekeeper Alec.
- DirectorCharles SturridgeStarsHelena Bonham CarterJudy DavisRupert GravesAfter a rich Edwardian widow impulsively marries a handsome but poor Tuscan dentist and dies in childbirth, her English in-laws try to gain custody of the baby.
- StarsToby StephensTara FitzgeraldRupert GravesAn adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel; a young widow takes her son and moves to Yorkshire.
- StarsRufus SewellRupert GravesCharlie Creed-MilesThe chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his ten-year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.The Last King: Charles II
- DirectorBrian GilbertStarsStephen FryJude LawVanessa RedgraveThe turmoil in poet/playwright Oscar Wilde's life after he discovers his homosexuality.
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDorian HealyHoratio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsIoan GruffuddJustine WaddellCharlotte RamplingA humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- StarsDamian LewisRupert GravesGina McKeeChronicles the lives of three generations of the upper-middle-class British family, the Forsytes, from the 1870s to 1920.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsClive OwenStephen DillaneKeira KnightleyA demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsIoan GruffuddAlbert FinneyMichael GambonThe idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsAmanda RootCiarán HindsSusan FleetwoodTheatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.
- StarsCiarán HindsSusan LynchVictoria SmurfitAfter returning from the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, Ivanhoe discovers that England is under the rule of the corrupt Prince John.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsRalph FiennesCate BlanchettCiarán HindsIn mid-1800s England, Oscar is a young Anglican priest, a misfit and an outcast, but with the soul of an angel. As a boy, even though from a strict Pentecostal family, he felt God told him through a sign to leave his father and his faith and join the Church of England. Lucinda is a teen-aged Australian heiress who has an almost desperate desire to liberate her sex from the confines of the male-dominated culture of the Australia of that time. She buys a glass factory and has a dream of building a church made almost entirely of glass, and then transporting it to Bellingen, a remote settlement on the north coast. Oscar and Lucinda meet on a ship going to Australia; once there, they are for different reasons ostracized from society, and as a result "join forces" together. Oscar and Lucinda are both passionate gamblers, and Lucinda bets Oscar her entire inheritance that he cannot transport the glass church to the Outback safely. Oscar accepts her wager, and this leads to the events that will change both their lives forever.
- DirectorDavid ThackerStarsCiarán HindsJuliet AubreyJodhi MayA drunken farm worker sells his wife and child at a market and begins a new life of wealth and respect as the Mayor of Casterbridge. However, his past returns to haunt him when he is reunited with his family, with unexpected consequences.
- DirectorChristopher MilesStarsNigel HawthorneJoan CollinsTimothy SpallA period movie, set around an English country house whose owners want to arrange a marriage of convenience between their elder daughter and an aristocratic heir of a hard-up noble family. The planned marriage suffers a last-minute upset when the would-be husband switches affections to the bride's sister.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorLaurence DunmoreStarsJohnny DeppSamantha MortonJohn MalkovichThe story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
- 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 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.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsMel GibsonAnthony HopkinsLaurence OlivierFed up with their Captain's harsh discipline, a sailing ship's crew decides to take action.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorChristopher HamptonStarsEmma ThompsonJonathan PryceSteven WaddingtonThe platonic relationship between artist Dora Carrington (Dame Emma Thompson) and writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce) in the early twentieth century.
- 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.
- DirectorPhil AglandStarsEmily WoofRufus SewellCal MacAninchThe story is set in late 19th century rural corner of South England. The daughter of timber merchant Melbury, Grace, returns to the town after finishing school. Her father now believes she can find a better husband than her childhood sweetheart, woodsman Giles. She marries handsome young doctor FitzPiers, but soon finds out he's not the man of her dreams and she still loves Giles.
- DirectorMarshall HerskovitzStarsCatherine McCormackRufus SewellOliver PlattA Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJames FrancoSophia MylesRufus SewellAn affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.
- 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.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterCary ElwesJohn WoodThe story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for only nine days.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsMel GibsonGlenn CloseAlan BatesHamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
- 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.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsRobert De NiroKenneth BranaghHelena Bonham CarterWhen the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsHelena Bonham CarterLinus RoacheAlex JenningsAn 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.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghDerek JacobiSimon ShepherdIn the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchBilly ConnollyGeoffrey PalmerWhen Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert dies, she finds solace in her trusted servant, Mr. John Brown, but their relationship also brings scandal and turmoil.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsRupert EverettColin FirthFrances O'ConnorIn 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.
- 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.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsRalph FiennesRosemary HarrisRachel WeiszThe fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.
- DirectorSantosh SivanStarsLinus RoacheRahul BoseNandita DasA English spice baron settles in South India during the waning years of the Raj.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsTakuya ShimadaBrian BlessedRichard CliffordA daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.
- 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
- DirectorRobert BiermanStarsGreg WiseKeeley HawesTerrence HardimanWhen the fabulous Moonstone diamond is stolen, all the suspects appear to have alibis. Even the young girl who owns the diamond won't say whom she saw took it. A dear family friend calls in the famous Sergeant Cuff to solve the case, but they'll have to untangle a skein of lies and retrieve lost memories before they'll find the path to the diamond.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
- DirectorNicholas LaughlandStarsKeeley HawesJames MurrayTerry MortimerIn this lighthearted romance from Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy, the beautiful new village school teacher is pursued by three suitors: a working-class man, a landowner, and the vicar.
- DirectorNicholas RentonStarsPaloma BaezaJonathan FirthNigel TerryA vain, pretty girl has recently taken over her uncle's farm. Her independent, naïve personality leaves her torn between the three men who wish to marry her.
- StarsNatasha LittleFrances GreyPhilip GlenisterAn adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic story of parvenue Becky Sharp's rise from obscure and humble origins to her subsequent ignominious fall from Society; set against the backdrop of Regency England and continental Europe during the Napoleonic War.
- DirectorJulian FarinoStarsStephen Campbell MooreOliver MilburnMichael ElwynFollowing the success of his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage", Byron becomes the toast of London.
- StarsSiân PhillipsAlun ArmstrongBen Daniels18th-century England and Ireland viewed through the eyes of four beautiful high-born sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, great-granddaughters of a king, daughters of a cabinet minister, and wives of politicians and peers.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsGillian AndersonDan AykroydEleanor BronA woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved.
- 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.
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsGabriel ByrneHelen MirrenChristian BaleAn old Norse legend of revenge, power and human spirit, that subsequently inspired William Shakespeare on his tragedy - Hamlet.
- StarsHelen MirrenToby JonesHugh DancyMini-series about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsLinus RoacheJohn HannahSamantha MortonFriendship and betrayal between two poets during the French Revolution.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsIsabelle AdjaniMaggie SmithAlan BatesFinding herself penniless after her art-dealer husband Stephan is convicted of theft, Marya Zelli accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who let her live in their home.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsJennifer Jason LeighAlbert FinneyMaggie SmithIn this adaptation of the Henry James novel set in 19th-century New York City, a wealthy spinster with an overbearing father is pursued by a handsome fortune hunter who may be only after her money.
- StarsDaniel RadcliffeTrevor EvePauline QuirkeA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsAnne HathawayJames McAvoyJulie WaltersA biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghEmma ThompsonKeanu ReevesYoung lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.
- DirectorTim FywellStarsTara FitzgeraldJustine WaddellAndrew LincolnThe gothic tale of a pair of half-sisters whose lives end up caught in a grand conspiracy revolving around a mentally ill woman dressed in white.
- StarsJeremy IronsDiana QuickRoger MilnerThe life, friendships and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder-including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsSophie MarceauSean BeanAlfred MolinaAnna (Marceau) is a wife and mother who has an affair with the handsome Count Vronsky (Bean). Based on the novel by Tolstoy.
- DirectorIan SharpStarsJustine WaddellJason FlemyngOliver MilburnA free-spirited yet naive country girl is caught between her wealthy, manipulative "cousin" Alec and the handsome, educated farmer Angel Clare in this Victorian tragedy from novelist Thomas Hardy.
- 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.