30 Period Drama Movies That’ll Sweep You Off Your Feet

It’s a universally acknowledged reality that everybody who has learn a few of Jane Austen‘s hottest works could be very doubtless acquainted with Joe Wright‘s beautiful interval piece, Pride & Prejudice. However what makes The Handmaiden, a very totally different interval piece, simply pretty much as good and arguably the most effective interval motion pictures on the market?

Apart from the unimaginable eventualities, top-notch costume designs, and emotional background music, interval dramas — notably these labeled as romances — are well-known for his or her protagonists’ intense longing stares and phrases of affection. The right utilization of those parts, amongst others, helps to make a number of interval drama motion pictures stand out greater than others. From Marie Antoinette to Portrait of a Girl on Fireplace, these are essentially the most spell-binding movies of the style, ranked from least to most bewitching.

30 ‘Wuthering Heights’ (2011)

Directed by Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, primarily based on Emily Brontë‘s iconic 1847 traditional novel of the identical identify, sees a poor boy (performed by James Howson and Solomon Glave) rescued from poverty and brought in by the Earnshaw household. There, he develops an intense relationship along with his younger foster sister, Cathy (Kaya Scodelario and Shannon Beer).

That includes lovely pure landscapes and intense close-ups, Wuthering Heights absolutely immerses audiences in its narrative, which in the end makes it an much more epic and interesting viewing. Nevertheless, the wonderful appearing performances are undoubtedly a stand-out, because the lead actors absolutely embody their characters and assist completely deliver the story to life. Though a flawed interval movie, Arnold’s image is an entertaining, visually lovely movie assured to maintain boredom at bay. A Wuthering Heights remake starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie is within the works.

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29 ‘Persuasion’ (2007)

Directed by Adrian Shergold

This BBC adaptation by Roger Michell is a must-see for Jane Austen lovers because it stays true to the novel’s tone and brings its premise to life vividly. The movie follows Anne Elliot (Sally Hawkins), who’s “previous prime” for marriage after being rejected by Frederick’s snobby dad and mom 8 years in the past. Though each have seemingly moved on, they meet once more in Tub after his return as a Royal Navy captain. The query is: will emotions come up?

Persuasion advantages vastly from its beautiful pictures and musical scores, receiving optimistic suggestions from critics and audiences alike (in contrast to the newer adaptation starring Dakota Johnson). Persuasion primarily highlights the facility of affection and the way it endures over time and the implications of selections made up to now. Moreover, this compelling image additionally precisely examines the restraints of social class at such a interval and pays nice consideration to element in costumes and settings.

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28 ‘Girl Macbeth’ (2016)

Directed by William Oldroyd

Starring Florence Pugh in her breakout lead role and primarily based on the novella Girl Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov — impressed by William Shakespeare’s Macbeth — this 2016 darkish romance set in Nineteenth-century rural England follows a younger bride who has been offered into marriages as she discovers a want inside herself after beginning an affair with a employee (Cosmo Jarvis).

Though quiet, William Oldroyd’s Girl Macbeth is intense, combining historic element with visible class, absolutely drawing audiences into its world. Pugh’s efficiency is essential to the story and undoubtedly unimaginable as anticipated, however the visuals are arguably the strongest facet, as every shot is meticulously composed, inviting viewers into Katherine’s world. The way in which Girl Macbeth challenges conventional narratives in relation to female-centric interval dramas can also be price noting.

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27 ‘Belle’ (2013)

Directed by Amma Asante

Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked brings the biracial daughter of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) to life on this partaking Amma Asante interval drama. Dido Elizabeth Belle is raised by aristocratic Nice-uncle Lord William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in 18th century England.

Exploring themes of race, justice, love, and identification, Belle affords audiences a sneak peek contained in the refined, restrictive world of British society within the 18th century whereas telling the true story of the mixed-race daughter of an enslaved girl and a British officer. Anchored by its fascinating cinematography serving to add dimension to the story and a powerful central feminine protagonist, it makes for an ideal choose for anybody who enjoys interval items with underlying messages of resilience and social justice.

26 ‘Downton Abbey’ (2019)

Directed by Michael Engler

Based mostly on the beloved TV sequence of the identical identify, the 2019 spin-off Downtown Abbey has understandably captured the eye of many. Within the film, the Crawleys and their servants put together to host King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) at Downtown Abbey.

Though not as nice because the supply materials, Downtown Abbey’s nostalgic worth is sufficient to get followers of the sequence to look at it. By way of its lovely visible type, the present captures the magnificence of the Downtown Abbey property, increasing the present’s worldbuilding and absolutely immersing audiences in its interval period. All in all, the Michael Engler movie manages to seize and keep the present’s essence, resonating with followers of the sequence and fascinating new audiences alike.

25 ‘Girl Chatterley’s Lover’ (2022)

Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre‘s Girl Chatterley’s Lover is a romantic drama film that tells the story of an aristocrat (Emma Corrin) who’s sad together with her marriage. Finally, she begins a passionate relationship with the gamekeeper (Jack O’Connell) of her husband’s nation property.

An enthralling watch by and thru, this 2022 movie supplies audiences with a great quantity of craving and longing, like many different movies within the style. Depicting the fascinating relationship between the 2 leads (who share unimaginable chemistry), Girl Chatterley’s Lover is an intense love story assured to linger within the viewers’s heads even after the credit roll even when hardly a masterpiece.

24 ‘Colette’ (2018)

Directed by Wash Westmoreland

Telling the true story of the real-life French creator, performed by the interval drama queen herself (Keira Knightley), Colette sheds light on how the writer was pushed by her husband to write down novels beneath his identify. Upon their success, she challenges gender norms and engages in a battle to make her abilities identified.

Audiences who’re passionate about fairly interval drama settings are more likely to take pleasure in Colette, as it intriguingly captures the luxurious and great thing about the turn-of-the-century Parisian literary and social scenes. Not solely are the plush costumes and superbly designed interiors capable of transport the viewers to the interval, but it surely additionally entertains them all through, particularly because it touches on problems with gender, identification, and creative freedom in such altering occasions.

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23 ‘Emily’ (2022)

Directed by Frances O’Connor

Crammed with pleasure and inspiration, Emma Mackey-led drama introduces audiences to the lifetime of the enduring English author Emily Brontë, who died quickly, at age 30. The movie presents a brand new imaginative and prescient of the creator’s life, showcasing the misfit’s outstanding journey from being a woman to reworking right into a assured girl.

Emily, which serves as a love letter to the late author, isn’t a flawless interval piece. Nevertheless, it’s assuredly a bewitching one. The wonderful appearing from Mackey, who delivers a tour de drive efficiency because the lead protagonist, in addition to the nice costumes, are additionally huge standouts on this Frances O’Connor movie.

22 ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ (2015)

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Based mostly on Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel, Far From the Madding Crowd is, too, an ideal addition to this record principally for its beautiful pictures and the way trustworthy it’s to the supply materials. The story focuses on an impartial girl performed by Carey Mulligan who inherits her uncle’s farm and attracts totally different suitors. Within the meantime, she embarks on an intriguing journey of self-discovery.

Shedding gentle on independence versus relationship, the dynamics of social class, and love amongst different themes, Far From the Madding Crowd is assured to supply viewers with a memorable time in entrance of the display — particularly for individuals who can relate with its protagonist in a technique or one other. Mulligan’s performance is certainly a huge standout, although all of the technicalities within the movie deserve their flowers.

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21 ‘Shiny Star’ (2009)

Directed by Jane Campion

Directed by the proficient and Academy Award-winning director Jane Campion, the absorbing and emotionally highly effective Shiny Star is predicated on the final three years of the lifetime of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), chronicling his romance with Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Its title is predicated on the poem Shiny star, would I had been stedfast as thou artwork.

Shiny Star is total a wonderful choose in relation to the interval drama style, offering viewers with a surprising portrayal of the Nineteenth century and an absorbing narrative that can actually attraction to followers of each interval movies and traditional literature. Not solely does Shiny Star present correct perception into the lifetime of the late poet, but it surely additionally encompasses an enthralling and shifting central love story.

20 ‘Anna Karenina’ (2012)

Directed by Joe Wright

Starring Knightley in one in all her most memorable roles, Joe Wright‘s tackle Anna Karenina is predicated on the nice and unique traditional by Leo Tolstoy, which follows the extramarital affair between the titular character Anna and dashing cavalry officer Depend Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, performed by Aaron Taylor Johnson, that scandalized the Russian excessive society.

Many features make this romantic interval drama stand out for the bunch, and the exquisiteness of its supply materials actually helps its case. Elevated by a convincing central efficiency by the proficient interval queen Knightley, Anna Karenina is passionate, enchanting, and superbly filmed with beautiful visuals offered all through; some would even rank it as one in all Joe Wright’s most memorable movies (although not essentially his finest), even when the movie is arguably not as nice because the novel.

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19 ‘Maurice’ (1987)

Directed by James Ivory

James Ivory‘s Maurice follows a younger man (Hugh Grant) who, after being rejected by his love, finds himself trapped by Edwardian society’s oppressiveness and makes an attempt to return to phrases along with his identification and sexuality. Finally, two English faculty pals then discover themselves falling for one another in Cambridge.

Maurice is a beautiful ’80s period film with excellent music, in the end leading to a pleasant manufacturing of a compelling and courageous novel. On prime of that, the film’s stress-free ambiance and environment are contrasted by the strain between the characters, making viewers’ hearts soften. Absolutely, Maurice is an underrated movie that is simply as poignant at this time, which is why it’s actually well worth the whereas, even when typically neglected.

18 ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (1995)

Directed by Ang Lee

A Jane Austen novel that was tailored to movie, Sense and Sensibility explores the story of the three daughters Elinor (Dame Emma Thompson), Marianne (Kate Winslet), and Margaret (Emilie François), who’re left in straitened circumstances after the demise of their father, Mr. Dashwood (Tom Wilkison). The 2 are polar opposites, which permits them to maintain one another in line and assist each other by demise, love, and friendship.

The 1995 characteristic is certainly a romantic tackle the novel, making for a refreshing one whereas analyzing sisterhood and love. Fantastically written by the proficient Emma Thompson, the movie’s screenplay (which stays truthful to the unique novel) and the appearing performances it options complement one another very effectively. In fact, this might solely lead to an enchanting adaptation of Sense and Sensibility that manages to seize everybody’s hearts.

17 ‘Emma.’ (2020)

Directed by Autumn De Wilde

Emma Woodhouse, performed to perfection by Anya Taylor-Pleasure, is a seemingly egocentric, wealthy, and fairly younger girl who, although well-intentioned, cannot assist meddle in her pals’ love lives. Set in Highbury, England, in the course of the early Nineteenth century, the movie facilities on clever Emma’s life and her matchmaking talents.

With a dashing imaginative and prescient and magnificence, Emma. is considered one of many best period piece movies and makes for a really well-executed interval movie with a wonderful framework, delighting the viewers with its comical storytelling and even with the little twist of a much less likable Austen feminine protagonist. On that word, Austen herself famously said, “I will take a heroine whom nobody however myself will very like.” Emma.‘s fascinating love story (good for friends-to-lovers trope lovers) revolves across the protagonist’s bond with George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), who helps the character flourish into the most effective model of herself.

16 ‘Jane Eyre’ (2011)

Directed by Cary Fukunaga

Mia Wasikowska completely brings the titular traditional literature character to life on this Cary Joji Fukunaga film tailored from Charlotte Brontë‘s 1847 novel of the identical identify. Additionally starring Michael Fassbender because the abrupt Mr. Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre illustrates the younger governess’s story after she was employed by the mysterious man. Completely satisfied together with her new place at Thornfield Corridor, Jane finds herself falling for the chilly Rochester. However is his horrible secret a menace to their relationship?

Gloomy, barely eerie, and ever charming, Jane Eyre is a film interval drama lovers undoubtedly don’t need to miss; it’s the good choose for these into romantic tales with out all of the clichés, anchored by two fantastic performances that assist deliver its memorable narrative to life. Even when not on the prime of its recreation, Cary Joji Fukunaga‘s film is important.

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15 ‘Marie Antoinette’ (2006)

Directed by Sofia Coppola

Directed by Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette is a visually beautiful masterpiece. Starring Kirsten Dunst within the lead position, the 2006 movie seamlessly blends historic accuracy with fictional parts and tells the doomed story of the younger and ill-fated titular Queen of France.

Its pastel-colored aesthetic is certain to captivate audiences and supply a feast for the eyes. On prime of all of the technical features that make the aesthetically pleasing movie an entertaining one, this extravagant interval piece additionally delivers a strong and intriguing premise because it analyzes how lonely it might generally be to be a teenage lady in an grownup world, one thing that Coppola manages to do splendidly. Whereas Marie Antoinette will not be everybody’s cup of tea resulting from its fictionalized parts, it’s undoubtedly price checking for its visuals alone.

14 ‘Chilly Warfare’ (2018)

Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski

Set within the Nineteen Fifties and gorgeously shot in black-and-white, Cold War sees two individuals of two totally different backgrounds develop an intimate relationship in opposition to the backdrop of communist Poland. On the movie’s heart is a music director, performed by Tomasz Kot, who falls in love with a singer named Zula (Joanna Kulig) and makes an attempt to steer her to flee to France.

Loosely impressed by the lives of director Pawlikowski‘s dad and mom, this worldwide film undoubtedly deserves a spot on this record for its wonderful strategy to themes of nationalism whereas offering audiences with an truthfully lovely love story that is aware of no borders. Kulig and Kot are impeccable of their roles, and the movie has earned a number of accolades, together with three Oscar nominations for Greatest Overseas Language Movie, Greatest Director and Greatest Cinematography.

13 ‘Moulin Rouge!’ (2001)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann is understood for lush cinematography in motion pictures and Moulin Rouge! doesn’t disappoint within the slightest. With a singular visible type and a fascinating premise, the musical drama is ready in 1899 Paris and facilities round a younger poet, performed by Ewan McGregor, who falls for a cabaret actress on the Moulin Rouge, performed by Nicole Kidman.

Coping with themes of affection, sacrifice, and the facility of creative expression, Luhrmann’s lavish movie is a landmark within the director’s filmography for a number of causes. Its vibrant storytelling won’t depart anybody detached — notably those that take pleasure in well-executed musicals which are additionally interval dramas. Moreover, Moulin Rouge! options sturdy performances from these concerned, including emotional depth to its three-dimensional characters.

12 ‘Carol’ (2015)

Directed by Todd Haynes

Starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in two of their most memorable roles, the fascinating romantic drama Carol, which is ready within the Nineteen Fifties, facilities on the spellbinding relationship and forbidden affair between an aspiring feminine photographer and an older, rich girl.

Based mostly on Patricia Highsmith‘s touching 1952 romance novel The Value of Salt, Todd Haynes‘ memorable characteristic is an unimaginable character research that options extraordinary appearing, alluring cinematography, and a fascinating narrative, even when fairly heartbreaking at occasions. Carol completely handles the mature themes of affection and identification, in addition to friendship and sad marriages. Whereas the acclaimed movie will not be to everybody’s style resulting from its devastating narrative, it’s actually price checking, particularly if one is into incredibly heartbreaking romance movies.

11 ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)

Directed by Robert Clever

It is not for no motive that The Sound of Music endures a beloved traditional today and ranks fortieth place within the American Film Institute’s best movies of all time. The story facilities round a younger lady despatched by her convent to change into a governess to the seven kids of a widowed naval officer.

Enduring a timeless image in spite of everything these years, the Greatest Image winner The Sound of Music has rightfully earned the eye of many — particularly musical-obsessed moviegoers — and cemented itself as the most effective interval dramas of all time. Along with its memorable dance sequences and soundtrack, The Sound of Music options one in all Julie Andrews’ best acting performances and earned her an Academy Award.