Period Drama - 19th Century
Films and series set in the 19th century.
Historical context/background - most relevant events/aspects that may be found:
Victorian Era, the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.
Industrial Revolutions
The American Civil War, which took place from 1861-1865.
1865–1877, Reconstruction in the United States; Slavery is banned in the United States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi launches the Expedition of the Thousand.
Napoleonic Era and Napoleonic Wars
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Historical context/background - most relevant events/aspects that may be found:
Victorian Era, the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.
Industrial Revolutions
The American Civil War, which took place from 1861-1865.
1865–1877, Reconstruction in the United States; Slavery is banned in the United States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi launches the Expedition of the Thousand.
Napoleonic Era and Napoleonic Wars
(List description not complete yet)
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23 titles
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJude LawAaron Taylor-JohnsonIn late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.Based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsVivien LeighRalph RichardsonKieron MooreA married woman's affair with a dashing young officer has tragic results.Based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsCarey MulliganMatthias SchoenaertsMichael SheenIn Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.Based on Thomas Hardy's novel of the same name.
Dorset, England 1870. 200 miles outside London.
I really liked the picture, the music and everything else. - CreatorSally WainwrightStarsSuranne JonesSophie RundleGemma WhelanA dramatization of the life of lesbian trailblazer, voracious learner, and cryptic diarist Anne Lister.Halifax, West Yorkshire, England 1832.
A funny, smart, well-crafted account of Anne Lister's life's events, based on her diaries, depicting also her lesbian relationships, in particular, the one with Ann Walker, who was her life companion from 1834 till 1840, the year of Anne Lister's death.
I really like this series. Acting, picture, music...everything is great! - StarsDaniela Denby-AsheRichard ArmitageTim Pigott-SmithNorth and South is a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle-class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.Based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel of the same name.
Fictional town of Milton (modelled on Manchester), Darkshire, in the north of England. Set in the Victorian Era, in the years surrounding the Great Exhibition of 1851 and during the second industrial revolution.
One of the most relevant themes of the story, as the title suggests, is the contrast between the North (future and modernity) and the South (past and tradition). And also the contrast between employers and workers in the north: the chance to see and comment on the different perspectives of mill owners and workers is given through the eyes of a young southerner woman, Margaret Hale, who is forced to move to the north to the industrial town of Milton, due to family reasons. There, after a turbulent first encounter with John Thornton, a nouveau riche cotton-mill owner, she sees the different, harsh reality shaped by the Industrial Revolution.
I think it's a good adaptation. I liked the actors and the main music theme. - DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Based on Margaret Mitchell's novel (1936).
Georgia, 1861–1877, during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. - DirectorDonatella MaiorcaStarsValeria SolarinoIsabella RagoneseEnnio FantastichiniNothing - not her father, not the church - can stop unruly Angela from being with her childhood best friend and great love, Sara in a 19th century Italian village.Based on Giacomo Pilati's novel "Minchia di re", based on a true story.
The title refers to the Sicilian name, Viola di Mare (Minchia di re for male form), of the protogynous fish Coris julis (Donzella di mare), which is born female and turns male as it grows older.
An italian gem. A unique, beautiful story of two female friends, Angela and Sara, who love each other and simply want to be together, without fear, in the harsh ambience of 19th-century Sicily (circa 1860, during the Expedition of the Thousand).
The ending is sad, but the story is well told and worth watching. The picture capturing the beautiful natural landscape is great and the two actresses acted out well this dramatic love story. - DirectorBille AugustStarsLiam NeesonGeoffrey RushUma ThurmanValjean, a former criminal, has atoned for his past and now finds himself in the midst of the French Revolution, avoiding a law-obsessed policeman hell-bent on capturing him.Based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same name.
France. Beginning in 1815 in Digne and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris.
There are some differences from the novel with some parts of the plot being eliminated, but I think this is a great film nevertheless, in terms of cast, music and picture. After all, it's a film of 2h 14min...I think one can't expect to condense such a story in that lenght, without making cuts. Anyway, the film still manages to convey the story's essence in a well-crafted way. - DirectorTom HooperStarsHugh JackmanRussell CroweAnne HathawayIn 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.Based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same name.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsBurt LancasterAlain DelonClaudia CardinaleThe Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.Sicily, Italy 1860 (Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand).
- DirectorJames KentStarsMaxine PeakeAnna MadeleySusan LynchA look at the life of 19th-century Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister (1791-1840), who lived openly as a lesbian and kept diaries chronicling the details of her daily life.Halifax, West Yorkshire, England 1821.
I must say that I prefer the portrayal of Anne Lister offered by the more recent series, based on her diaries, "Gentleman Jack", which I find entertaining and I prefer in terms of cast and everything else. Having said that, this is a good film per se.
I actually watched it after the series, but it's better to watch it first, not just because it's an older adaptation, but because it begins telling prior events that aren't told in Gentleman Jack, which begins in 1832. - DirectorAndy TennantStarsJodie FosterChow Yun-FatBai LingThe story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
- StarsElaine CassidySally HawkinsImelda StauntonIn Victorian England, Sue, a young thief, participates in a scam to defraud a rich heiress by becoming her maid. Things take an unexpected turn and Sue's plan goes horribly wrong.Based on Sarah Waters' novel of the same name.
London and the sorrounding country, Victorian England, 1862.
The South Korean film "The Handmaiden" (2016), which I loved, is inspired by the same novel. But it's set in the Japanese-occupied Korea of the 1930s. - DirectorSusanna WhiteStarsJessica ChastainLouisa KrauseBoots SoutherlandCatherine Weldon, a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn, travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull and becomes embroiled in the Lakota peoples' struggle over the rights to their land.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
- StarsPaul DanoJames NortonLily JamesAs the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsMichael PittKeira KnightleyKoji YakushoThe story of a married silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler in 19th century France traveling to Japan for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out their African supply. During his stay in Japan, he becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local baron.Based on Alessandro Baricco's novel of the same name (Seta).
France, 1862. Travels to Japan.
Great cinematography, well-crafted visuals and soundtracks. A calm, meditative film nice for the eyes and ears. On the other hand, for the story itself...well, I don't know, I didn't like it much... - DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonJodie FosterJames GarnerBret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief.
- DirectorRichard LaxtonStarsDakota FanningGreg WiseTom SturridgeA look at the scandalous love triangle between Victorian art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise), his teenage bride Euphemia "Effie" Gray (Dakota Fanning), and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge).
- DirectorFrancis LeeStarsKate WinsletSaoirse RonanGemma Jones1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.
- CreatorChris Van DusenStarsNicola CoughlanClaudia JessieLuke NewtonThe eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society.
- StarsRachael StirlingKeeley HawesJodhi MayThe story of Nan Astley who falls in love with three different women on her journey to stardom and happiness in 1887 Victorian England.