75 Period Dramas You Probably Haven't Seen
A list of movies, television mini-series and short films that are costume dramas and period films that you may not know about, are sleepers, foreign, older or obscure. From Willow and Thatch, lover of period films, creator of The Period Films List on the Willow and Thatch website.
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- DirectorChristina YaoStarsAaron KwokTielin ZhangLei HaoIn 1899, a care-free young man must prepare to take over his family's Chinese banking empire.
- DirectorRichard PearceStarsRip TornConchata FerrellBarry PrimusA widow with a young daughter travels to a ranch in Wyoming to manage the household of a rancher. After a while the man and woman develop a relationship that leads to a marriage. But life in the harsh place takes its toll.
- DirectorAriel ZeitounStarsNora ArnezederGérard LanvinTomer SisleyIn France, prior to Louis XIV ascending the throne, a young baroness is forced to marry against her will and is caught up in a web of treachery and murder, threatening her and her husband, whom she has come to love deeply.
- DirectorAnn TurnerStarsCharlotte RamplingRussell CroweAlexander OuthredSet in 1910 in Australia, the film follows the story of a 14 year old motherless youth, stricken with Polio and entering the forbidding world of adults.
- StarsScott McGregorScott BurgessSigrid ThorntonTwo young men from the country join the army and leave for World War I.
- CreatorCaleb RansonStarsIain De CaesteckerAmy MansonBen Lloyd-HughesThe university days of the vet, James Herriot, set in 1933 Glasgow, Scotland.
- StarsLesley Ann WarrenMichael SarrazinEddie AlbertMiniseries detailing the lives of two Civil War families.
- CreatorLavinia WarnerStarsAnn BellStephanie ColeClaire ObermanAfter the Japanese invasion of Singapore in February 1942, a group of British, Dutch and Australian women are held in a Japanese internment camp on a Japanese-occupied island between Singapore and Australia.
- DirectorEric BurdettStarsLana EsslingerMark EsslingerElizabeth LackeyThe true story of a little girl, who in 1860, wrote to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln suggesting he grow whiskers.
- StarsDavid RintoulAnnette CrosbieIan BannenFollowing his service in World War II, Dr. Finlay returns to the practice at Arden House, at a time when the National Health Service is about to be instituted.
- DirectorJirí MenzelStarsMagda VásáryováJirí SchmitzerJaromír HanzlíkAn evocation of the childhood memories of Bohumil Hrabal in his provincial town of Nymburk, dominated by the local brewery.Set in the Czech republic, at the beginning of the 20th century (maybe right after WWI).
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsOlivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonA naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
- StarsMark StrongGeorge CostiganNeil ConrichThe lives of characters who live, love, and suffer through their association with the charismatic charms of gangster Harry Starks.
- StarsPatrick BachMatthias HabichAndreas MannkopffJack Holborn is 13-year-old orphan in the 1700's that wants to get a job on a sailing ship to avoid foster homes. Jack was found on the steps of the Holborn catholic church in London, when he was a baby. He was wearing a leather arm band with the name "Jack" on it. His aim is to set sail with Captain Sharingham. At the sight of Jack's arm band, the captain reveals that the band looks familiar, but he won't tell Jack what he knows. Jack is desperately seeking answers, and is not about to let the Captain off the hook. The Captain also has a twin brother who works as a judge. The two brothers hate each other, mostly because of the captain's piracy side business. Jack sneaks onboard the Captain's ship "Charming Molly", and the journey begins. A journey that consists of piracy, traveling through swamps, and slavery in Bombay. Jack will find his answers, but the road there is long.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordWill GeerDelle BoltonA mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
- StarsBenedict CumberbatchJared HarrisJamie SivesIn 1812, young British aristocrat Edmund Talbot travels by ship to Australia, and learns more about himself and about life than he had ever bargained for.
- DirectorVéra BelmontStarsSophie MarceauBernard GiraudeauLambert WilsonThe rise and fall of a beauteous actress. She rises from an impoverished background to become a favorite of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
- CreatorSandy RingerStarsHarold HopkinsAnne Scott-PendleburyAnne CharlestonPeriod drama following different years in the life of a Jewish family living in Australia.Each episode of this tv mini-series covered one year in the family from the mid 1950s into the 1970s.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsDustin HoffmanFaye DunawayChief Dan GeorgeJack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
- DirectorKari SkoglandStarsVanessa WilliamsGil BellowsKaren WilliamsIn 19th century New Orleans creole Henriette must choose between love and devotion to the church. Neither choice is going to be easy, as there is great opposition to her ideas of breaking traditions.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiBaotian LiXiaoxiao WangA provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsSophie MarceauPhilippe NoiretClaude RichFrance, 1654: D'Artagnan's girl grows up in a convent. When the mother superior is murdered, Eloïse suspects a plan to murder the king and hopes to prevent this and revenge the murder by finding her father and the 3 musketeers.
- DirectorPhilippe de BrocaStarsPhilippe NoiretVincent SchmittRaoul BillereyIn 1793 when terror is widespread in France, peasants known as Chouans fight the revolutionaries in attempt to restore the monarchy.
- DirectorElmo NüganenStarsKaspar VelbergKristjan ÜkskülaMaiken PiusIn 1944 Estonia, a fratricide war ensues when Estonians of the retreating German forces fight against Estonians conscripted into the advancing Soviet Red Army.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsKarisma KapoorRekhaManoj BajpayeeZubeidaa, an aspiring Muslim actress, marries a Sikh prince to become his second wife. Her tumultuous relationship with her husband, and her inner demons lead her to a decision which has fatal consequences for them all.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
- StarsBrian DennehyAlbert FinneyColin FirthIn an unstable South American country, capable Nostromo, a person of trust and a legend among his shipmates, is ordered to secure a shipment of silver and stop any revolutionaries who might try to take it. But even the bravest can be foolish.With Colin Firth
- DirectorMiloslav LutherStarsKristýna BokováSlávka DaubnerováMiroslav DonutilA period drama about a young physician who was forced to carry out execution during the war.Is he a hero or a murder?A Step into the Dark is based on a book by Slovak writer Alfonz Bednár and follows Martin Dubovský, a doctor haunted by his bloody past as a guerrilla commander during World War II, as he also tries to come to terms with it through a stormy extra-marital affair at the beginning of the communist era.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHenry FondaGeorge BrentIn 1850s Louisiana, a free-spirited Southern belle loses her fiancé due to her stubborn vanity and pride, and vows to win him back.The story takes place in New Orleans in the 1850's.
- DirectorMelody GeorgeStarsChris AckermanAnders FillmanJosie GammellWhile exploring the woods near Walden Pond, two children stumble across a mysterious abandoned cabin. They quickly discover the cabin is in fact occupied by none other than the 19th century genius, Henry David Thoreau. What will the children discover as they cross the threshold into Thoreau's whimsical world?
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsRichard HarrisJudith AndersonJean GasconIn 1825, an English aristocrat is captured by Native Americans. He lives with them and begins to understand their way of life. Eventually, he is accepted as part of the tribe and aspires to become their leader.
- DirectorFernando TruebaStarsFernando TielveAida FolchAriadna GilBarcelona, 1948: An old man living with 14 y.o. Dani and his mom, arranges for Dani to draw the cute 15 y.o. Susana, bedridden with TB. Her dad's friend visits Susana and her sexy mom and tells about her dad and Shanghai.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsMervyn JohnsMary MerrallGordon JacksonA drunken, abusive tavern-keeper's adulterous wife uses the backward son of a rigid, puritanical pharmacist who makes his entire family miserable.Takes place in Victorian Brighton.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonEdmund GouldingJohn M. StahlStarsBetty GrableDick HaymesAnne RevereIn the late 1800s, Miss Pilgrim, a young typist, becomes the first female employee at a Boston shipping office. Although the men object to her at first, she soon charms them all, especially the handsome young head of the company. Their romance gets sidetracked when she becomes involved in the women's suffrage movement.
- DirectorKatie MitchellStarsZoë WanamakerStephen DillaneShane FoxMrs. Holroyd is married to a loutish miner. When a gentlemanly neighbour makes romantic advances to her, she wishes her husband dead. Sooner than she hoped, her wish comes true.
- DirectorMark DuffieldStarsClare LangfordAndrew MullanGabrielle CurtisDemon is the bloodiest love story of all. Set in Victorian London it tells the tale of Lorcan a young handsome man cursed by love that transforms him into a blood thirsty demon.
- StarsDavid HuffmanMackenzie PhillipsLilia SkalaThe story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, from early youth to his election as President of the United States, as told from Eleanor's point of view.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonLiv UllmannKari SylwanWhen a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsKatharine HepburnJohn BealAlan HaleIn rural 1840s Scotland, Gavin Dishart arrives to become the new "little minister" of Thrums' Auld Licht church. He meets a mysterious young gypsy girl in the dens and to his horror Babbie draws him into her escape from the soldiers after she incites a Luddite riot. But unknown to Gavin, Babbie is more than she seems, and they must overcome her secret, the villagers' fears of her, and worst of all, Gavin's devotion to his mother's sensibilities, before they can openly declare their love.
- DirectorChip HacklerStarsPhillip DeVonaJacquelyn ZookJack LandryBlindsided by the success of his comedy, 'It Happened One Night,' which swept the 1935 Oscars, director Frank Capra became crippled with fear. Convinced his next film would fail, he deteriorated to the brink of death--until the day a mysterious stranger showed up, changing Capra's life, and films, forever.
- DirectorRenata Green-GaberStarsLorin ShapiroJames LockeJonas FischA 17th century Englishwoman awakes in America from a fevered state mysteriously drawn to a handsome colonial she believes saved her life, not knowing she was saved in fact by the 'kiss' of an English vampire.
- 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.
- DirectorMatthew MishoryStarsSam GarfieldJeremiah DupreKevin CollinsDelphinium is a stylized and lyrical portrait of artist Derek Jarman's childhood awakening in 1950s England. Acquired for preservation by the British Film Institute's National Archive, Matthew Mishory's film includes an original score by Arban and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees and a special appearance by Jarman's muse, Keith Collins.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsCharlie CoxClaire DanesSienna MillerIn a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.
- DirectorJohn FordLeslie GoodwinsStarsKatharine HepburnFredric MarchFlorence EldridgeThe recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsBette DavisGeorge BrentHumphrey BogartA young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and must decide whether or not she'll meet her final days with dignity.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsStewart GrangerWalter PidgeonDavid NivenRetired British general Brunswick reminisces about the days when he was a colonel in charge of a British Army battalion fighting against native rebels in colonial India during the late 1800s.
- DirectorNils GaupStarsJames CaanChristopher LambertCatherine McCormackSet during the Alaskan gold rush of the late 1800s. In his efforts to gain control of a small mining town, Sean McLennon is buying up every mining claim that becomes available, usually after the deaths of the previous owners at the hands of McLennon's "assistants". One of the miners targeted by McLennon, a half-Indian hunter named "Hudson Saanteek", manages to escape his hired thugs, and comes back into town looking to re-establish his claim and get revenge. McLennon and his men have the advantange of numbers and weapons, but Saanteek has his survival skills, and knowledge of the Alaskan wilderness.Received poor reviews but maybe worth watching for Catherine McCormack?
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHerbert MarshallJames StephensonThe wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsKatharine HepburnFred MacMurrayFred StoneA working-class girl is thwarted and embarrassed in her attempts to move up socially by her gauche family and unstable father.
- DirectorElmo NüganenStarsPriit VõigemastIndrek SammulHele KõrveThis movie is about the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920), specifically the students fighting on the nationalist side, but also shown the conflict between two ideologies (Estonian nationalism and communism).
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PriceHazel CourtJane AsherA European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsKatharine HepburnHerbert MarshallElizabeth AllanPamela, a woman in late-1800s England, wishes to be her own person and has no intention to ever marry. After she has a great deal of difficulty finding a job, she finally lands a position at a "woman's" magazine that covers topics like sewing and cooking. When the editor takes sick, Pamela moves the magazine into discussing issues like gender equality, child labor, medical care, and job searches. She is then surprised to find herself the leader of a movement. After an unexpected event, she is also faced with raising a child without a father, something people of that time thought was scandalous.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsRichard HarrisJohn HustonHenry WilcoxonLeft for dead after a bear attack, a fur-trapper recuperates and pursues his former companions through dangerous Indian territory.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsRobert MitchumAva GardnerMelvyn DouglasBarbara Beaurevel lives with her aunt and cousin in New Orleans in the late 1800s. In love with Mark Lucas, a research doctor at Tulane University, her plans to marry him are thwarted. Barbara's family is of the high society stratum, but her late grandmother was not, and the connection with her is something Barbara's aunt is most anxious to conceal. After Barbara inherits a fortune from her grandmother's side of the family, she uses it to try to win back Mark.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsVictor McLaglenHeather AngelPreston FosterIn 1922, an Irish rebel informs on his friend, then feels doom closing in.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsEdwige FeuillèreJohn LodgeAimé ClariondIn the late 1800's, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, falls for Sophie Chotek, a Czech countess. He's already a problem to the Crown because of his political ideas; this love affair with someone not of royal blood breeches protocol. The Crown allows the union only after the couple agrees to a morganatic marriage. The emperor further neutralizes Franz by making him inspector general of the army, sending him afield for months at a time. In June of 1914, fearing for his safety, Sophie seeks permission to accompany Franz to Sarajevo; protocol dictates that no army troops attend Franz while she is present. An assassin strikes. Their deaths spark World War I.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsKatharine HepburnFranchot ToneEric BloreIn the 1810s, an old maid poses as her own niece in order to teach her onetime beau a lesson.
- DirectorDimis DadirasStarsAliki VougiouklakiThanos KotsopoulosEleni HatziargyriA precious golden cross and a regretful incident lead to a bitter conflict between a wealthy chief-shepherd and an impoverished young herder, who is about to lose his one true love forever. Will this mark the end of an ardent romance?
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantBrian AherneWhen her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.
- DirectorXavier KollerStarsHanspeter MüllerNils AlthausCarla JuriIt is love at first sight between Kari and Annemarie but their love is not without complications. They come from opposite sides of the society and Annemaries father have other, more wealthy and handsome, husbands in plan for her.Set in the late 1800's in Bern, Switzerland.
- StarsStu TurnerPeter DunlopRichard CoyleGreenstone is an 8-part miniseries set in the beautiful South Pacific. It's a majestic tale of drama, love, mystery and the clashing of cultures. From a native perspective, it focuses on a beautiful Maori princess and her desire for prosperity in an ever-changing world. The country is New Zealand, it's the early 1800's. English colonies were settling in the South Pacific. Trade routes were being set up and the South Seas were being charted. Australia had been firmly established and they were making their mark. But to the British Colony, the jewel in the crown was New Zealand. In their eyes, it was a new frontier full of unlimited riches. "Greenstone" follows the story of Marama and her love for an English Lord who abandons her for the sake of his status as she leaves to return to New Zealand with her father. Her struggles for self follow her country struggles for it's own identity. Marama had been promised at birth to another chief, but falls in love with Sir Geoffrey. She tells her betrothed that she will be with him, but that her heart belongs to someone else. He rejects her. As allegiances change, her father, Chief Te Manahau, betroths her to Sam Markham, a pakeha (white) gun seller, in hopes of securing the allegiance of Sam and keep him from supplying guns to Manahau's enemies. This is the story of their lives as the struggle between Maori and pakeha plays out in New Zealand's lush landscape.
- StarsPeter McEneryJanet SuzmanThelma WhiteleyA coming-of-age story set in the 19th century England about Edwin Clayhanger, a young man who wants to be an architect, but it is expected of him to continue the family's printing business which he accepts for the time being.
- StarsAlwyn KurtsGreg StroudDarius PerkinsComing of age drama set in 1929 Melbourne
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsMary PickfordLeslie HowardC. Aubrey SmithA New England society girl braves the West to help her husband build his fortune.
- DirectorMichael J. FernsStarsAmiera DarwishCallum FullerMark HarveyAtop Doon hill, in Aberfoyle, Scotland, stands such a tree, where history tells us that in 1692, the Reverend Robert Kirk, the seventh son of a seventh son, a scholar and minister of religion, predicted his own fate.Set in the 17th Century, and filmed in the beautiful locations of Loch Lomond, Ardyll Woods Cashel Forest Rowardennan, and Culross conservation village in Fife.
- StarsEwen SolonBrendon LunneyDiane CraigBetween 1910 and 1916 an old man teaches a boy many things about life after rescuing him.
- StarsLewis Fitz-GeraldTony BarryJulie HamiltonWe follow the life of Alan Marshall who was struck down by Polio as a child and it shows how he overcame the crippling effects of the disease. It traces his life from childhood into early adulthood. Based upon his trilogy of autobiographical books "I can Jump Puddles", "This is the Grass" and "In Mine Own Heart".Takes place in the first half of the 20th century.
- DirectorArvo KruusementStarsArno LiiverRiina HeinAare LaanemetsSemi-autobiographical story by Oskar Luts about friendship, love and life in a small Estonian country boarding school in the late 1800s.
- DirectorMichael Owen MorrisStarsAnn BellStephanie ColeVeronica RobertsIn 1950, five years after their release from internment, the women return to Singapore for a reunion, unaware of the intrigue that is to involve them in treachery and murder.
- DirectorMichael DutfieldStarsMichael DutfieldNiamh CusackRaymond JohnsonIn 1945, when such things were not even dreamt of, a white woman dares to marry a black African.
- StarsSteve BisleyDamon HerrimanMonica MaughanIn the 1930s a boy idolises his father but gradually comes to change his mind.
- StarsLeonard SachsDudley StevensJenny WrenA re-creation of the Music Hall variety shows that were popular in the late Victorian and the Edwardian periods (late 1800s and early 1900s). Entertainers performed musical, comedy, magic and recitation acts on stage in Edwardian costume, in some cases appearing as famous Edwardian music hall performers such as Vesta Tilley. Even the audience was dressed in authentic 1900s costumes. The show always ended with the entire cast and the audience singing a rousing rendition of "Down at the Old Bull and Bush".
- 1994–19951h 34mPG-137.1 (84)TV EpisodeDirectorRené ManzorStarsLukas HaasAlain LalanneJimmy HermanRod befriends Wabi at a boarding school when the other students harass him because he is an Indian. But Rod drops out to work when his family can't afford the tuition. When Wabi returns to the Yukon, he offers Rob a job as a fur trapper. But rumours of gold in the mountains distract Rob.
- DirectorLuis Armando RocheStarsRoy DupuisChristian VadimCarlos CruzIn the early 1800s, Prussian geographer Alexander Von Humboldt and French botanist Aimé Bonpland launch an expedition to explore the Amazon region, including the Orinoco River, from Venezuela to the border of Portuguese Brazil.
- StarsMichael AndeJacques DacqmineGeorges RiquierAs a young boy finds an old map of a treasure island in the mid 1700s, he joins a sailing crew on an adventure to find the treasure island. He does not realize however that bloodthirsty pirates are amongst the crew, desperately wanting to claim the treasure for themselves and are secretly planning a mutiny... Beautifully created adaption of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Treasure Island', created for German/French television in 1966.