Period Dramas Sorted by Historical Era

Looking for a period drama to watch?
Here are over 1100 films, sorted by era...

Ancient Period Dramas (4000 B.C - 500)
(such as: Jesus of Nazareth, Ben Hur, Troy,
The Ten Commandments, The Nativity Story and Cleopatra)

Medieval Period Dramas (500-1500)
(such as: Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Tristan and Isolde,
The Princess Bride, A Knight's Tale and Robin Hood)

Renaissance Period Dramas (1400-1600)
(such as: Ever After, Shakespeare in Love, 1492, Elizabeth and The Other Boleyn Girl)


Baroque Period Dramas (1600-1750)
(such as: Pirates of the Caribbean, Le Roi Soleil, The Three Musketeers,
Vatel, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost in La Mancha)


Georgian Period Dramas (1714-1830)
(such as: The Aristocrats, Amazing Grace, Marie Antoinette,
John Adams, The Duchess and The Scarlet Pimpernel)
[Note: Jane Austen adaptations listed specifically in Regency era below]


Regency Period Dramas (1811-1820)
(such as: Pride and Prejudice, Bright Star, Persuasion,
Emma, and Sense and Sensibility)


Victorian Period Dramas (1837-1901)
(such as: The Young Victoria, Daniel Deronda, Little Women, Little House on the Prairie,
The Buccaneers, North and South, The Inheritance and Mrs. Brown)
[Considering that Queen Victoria's reign was so long,
this is the largest group of films sorted by era including almost 300 period dramas!]


Edwardian Period Dramas (1901-1914)

(such as: Downton Abbey, The Lost Prince, The Importance of Being Earnest,
Titanic, My Fair Lady, Anne of Green Gables)


Post-Edwardian Period Dramas (1915-1960s)
(such as: The Ladies in Lavender, The Remains of the Day, The Magic of Ordinary Days,
The Sound of Music, The Painted Veil, Foyle's War)

The above is solely a visual list of movies from each era.
The Film Index lists those period films which have been featured in greater detail.

Please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list. I have included mainly those that I've seen myself and/or those that are suitable for most audiences. I know that plenty of you have favourite dramas that might be missing from this list (sorry!) but I've tried to include a good selection of the quantity of period films available out there!
(Many are available to watch online.)

Buddenbrooks (2008)

"BUDDENBROOKS - THE DECLINE OF A FAMILY is the gripping cinematic adaptation of Thomas Mann’s Nobel Prize-Winning novel of 1900. Touching upon the fate of three generations (years of 1835-1877), we witness the rise and fall of a merchant family in Northern Germany. In a society that is poised to change, family values seem doomed to change with it. Personal longings that were supposed to be sacrificed for the greater good of the family business now threaten to break apart a dynasty that was characterized by diligence and hard work and by faith and respect.

While Thomas (Mark Waschke) is willing to fill the void of their father, Consul Jean (Armin Mueller-Stahl), and to steer the firm through the times of modernization and rising competition, his brother Christian (August Diehl) is trying to break away from any responsibility. We find him in dubious company, marrying a woman from a vaudeville show, rebelling against everything their father stood up for. It is left to their sister, Tony (Jessica Schwarz), who sacrifices her true love for the sake of the family’s fortune, to hold the family ties together. But when their competitor Hagenström proves to have the better instinct for the changing needs of the market, even her influence seems to vanish…"
[synopsis from Bavaria Film International]

Buddenbrooks was earlier adapted in 1979 and shown on PBS as a miniseries

View trailer with English subtitles on official site

Photos: Stefan Falke, Bavaria Film

Victorian Films - Gallery 3 of 3

This third group of Victorian-era dramas includes adaptations of works by such authors as: Anne Bronte, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Hardy, Catherine Cookson, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Rudyard Kipling, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, Michael Crichton, Arthur Conan Doyle, John Galsworthy and William Shakespeare!

And we can also find some biopics on: Monet, Degas, Johann Strauss, Gilbert & Sullivan, Isabella Beeton, Helen Keller, St. Bernadette and of course, her majesty Queen Victoria, the namesake for this era!

Here is Part 3 of 3

Original source list: Eras of Elegance

See also: Victorian Films (Part 1 of 3) (Part 2 of 3)

The First Great Train Robbery (1979)
The Forsyte Saga (1967)
The Forsyte Saga (2002)
The Four Feathers (2002)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
The Girl (1996)
The Glass Virgin (1995)
The Governess (1998)
The Hanging Gale (1995)
The Heiress (1949)
The Hunley (1999)
The Illusionist (2006)
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Impressionists (2006)
The Inheritance (1997)
The Jungle Book (1994)
The King and I (1956)
The Last Samurai (2003)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
The Legend of Zorro (2005)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001)
The Love Letter (1998)
The Mallens (1978)
The Man from Snowy River (1982)
The Man Who Would be King (1975)
The Manions of America (1981)
The Mill on the Floss (1997)
The Miracle Worker (1962, 1979, 2000)
The Missing (2003)
The Moonstone (1997)
The Moth (1997)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993)
The Old Curiosity Shop (1975, 1994)
The Pallisers
The Phantom of the Opera (1983)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
The Piano (1993)
The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
The Prestige (2006)
The Rag Nymph (1997)
The Red Violin (1998)
The Return of the Native (1994)
The Royal Scandal (2001)
The Ruby in the Smoke
The Scarlet Tunic (1998)
The Secret (2000)
The Secret Garden (1987,1993)
The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton (2006)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
The Song of the Lark (2000)
The Strauss Family (1972)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
The Way We Live Now (2001)
The Woman in White (1997)
The Wyvern Mystery (2000)
The Yearling (1946)
The Young Victoria
The Young Visiters (2003)
Tide of Life (1996)
Tilly Trotter (1999)
To the Ends of the Earth (2005)
Tombstone (1993)
Topsy Turvy (1999)
True Grit (1969)
True Women (1997)
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Twelfth Night (1996)
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)
Unforgiven (1992)
Victoria and Albert (2001)
Washington Square (1997)
Without a Clue (1988)
Wives and Daughters (1999)
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Yentl (1983)
Young Guns (1988)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Golden Door (2006)