Period Drama
by laura-dronne | created - 21 Dec 2012 | updated - 15 Aug 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Atonement (2007)
R | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Thirteen-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Saoirse Ronan
Votes: 299,743 | Gross: $50.93M
2. Bright Star (2009)
PG | 119 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox
Votes: 28,691 | Gross: $4.44M
3. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
Votes: 224,821
4. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998)
TV-G | 60 min | Drama, Family, Western
The trials and adventures of a female doctor in a small Wild West town.
Stars: Jane Seymour, Joe Lando, Shawn Toovey, Chad Allen
Votes: 13,715
5. Emma (1996 TV Movie)
TV-G | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Faithful, enchanting adaptation of Jane Austen's nineteenth-century tale of Emma Woodhouse--a clever young woman whose mischievous matchmaking schemes nearly end up jeopardizing her own shot at romance.
Director: Diarmuid Lawrence | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Bernard Hepton, Mark Strong, Samantha Bond
Votes: 6,081
6. Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)
PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, Romance
The 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.
Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Patrick Godfrey
Votes: 81,707 | Gross: $65.71M
7. Finding Neverland (2004)
PG | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell
Votes: 212,014 | Gross: $51.68M
8. Anne of Green Gables (1985)
TV-G | 100 min | Drama, Family
An orphan girl, sent to an elderly brother and sister by mistake, charms her new home and community with her fiery spirit and imagination.
Stars: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Patricia Hamilton
Votes: 22,645
9. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 707,824 | Gross: $138.80M
10. Mansfield Park (1999)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Fanny, 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.
Director: Patricia Rozema | Stars: Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Hannah Taylor Gordon
Votes: 25,837 | Gross: $4.76M
11. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,845 | Gross: $15.96M
12. Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
PG | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-heartedly grasping uncle.
Director: Douglas McGrath | Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Christopher Plummer, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 13,662 | Gross: $1.59M
13. Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
PG-13 | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A 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.
Director: Peter Webber | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 82,648 | Gross: $11.63M
14. Great Expectations (1999 TV Movie)
168 min | Drama
A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Director: Julian Jarrold | Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Waddell, Charlotte Rampling, Laura Aikman
Votes: 1,918
15. The Help (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Drama
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 492,653 | Gross: $169.71M
16. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Jim Sturgess
Votes: 119,949 | Gross: $26.81M
17. The Prestige (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine
Votes: 1,440,676 | Gross: $53.09M
18. 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: 330,559 | Gross: $38.41M
19. 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: 92,262
20. 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: 115,973 | Gross: $56.44M
21. Cold Mountain (2003)
R | 154 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Eileen Atkins
Votes: 156,045 | Gross: $95.64M
22. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
PG | 136 min | Drama, Romance
Rich 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.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, James Fleet, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 125,682 | Gross: $43.18M
23. Seraphine (2008)
Unrated | 125 min | Biography, Drama
In 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.
Director: Martin Provost | Stars: Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent, Geneviève Mnich
Votes: 6,544 | Gross: $0.88M
24. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 234,290 | Gross: $100.32M
25. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Hans Matheson
Votes: 6,620
26. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,279,933 | Gross: $659.33M
27. 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: 66,373 | Gross: $11.00M
28. 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: 81,169
29. Mad Men (2007–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama
A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones
Votes: 260,433
30. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz
Votes: 75,121 | Gross: $34.70M
31. A Dangerous Method (2011)
R | 99 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel
Votes: 108,331 | Gross: $5.70M
32. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 1,583,336 | Gross: $120.54M
33. An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Set right after World War II, a naive teenage girl joins a shabby theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of Peter Pan, the play quickly turns into a dark metaphor for youth... See full summary »
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Georgina Cates, Alun Armstrong
Votes: 3,023 | Gross: $0.26M
34. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Robin Hood decides to fight back as an outlaw when faced with the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Director: Kevin Reynolds | Stars: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater
Votes: 208,327 | Gross: $165.50M
35. Angel (2007)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Romance
The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Romola Garai, Sam Neill, Lucy Russell, Michael Fassbender
Votes: 5,636
36. The Artist (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell
Votes: 248,577 | Gross: $44.67M
37. David Copperfield (1999–2000)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama
A gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Trevor Eve, Pauline Quirke, Laura Harling
Votes: 5,034
38. The Iron Lady (2011)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama
An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd | Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Susan Brown
Votes: 113,609 | Gross: $30.02M
39. The Great Gatsby (1974)
PG | 144 min | Drama, Romance
A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his nouveau riche neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.
Director: Jack Clayton | Stars: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black
Votes: 26,856 | Gross: $6.74M
40. Les Misérables (2012)
PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Votes: 345,957 | Gross: $148.81M
41. The Boat That Rocked (2009)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Michael Hadley
Votes: 116,056 | Gross: $7.99M
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