My Favourite Period Movies & Series

It’s no secret that I love me a good period drama. As long as it’s set in a gone-by time and features beautiful costumes, I’ll happily take even a completely fictional story with a bit of fantasy thrown in there. I don’t mind a little historical inaccuracy either, as long as it’s not too much (I’m looking at you, Reign). Today I thought I’d share some of my favourite period films and shows with you. Please do feel free to leave any suggestions that you have as well, I’m always looking for new things to watch!

The Duchess

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

Let’s start off with a bang. Keira Knightley, the queen of period drama, the wonderful opulence of the 18th century, and a little Voldemort for good measure. I’ve seen this film several times already and I don’t often re-watch anything, so that means something. I love the costumes, the story, the cast… It’s just really good.

Peaky Blinders

A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

In my humble opinion, this is one of the best shows ever made. It has a great pace, an amazing cast, and a storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I feel like there aren’t many movies and shows about this interbellum period, so it’s really interesting to take a look at what some of the consequences of WWI have been to people’s personal lives. I absolutely love this show and am super excited there are more seasons coming. Be warned though, the show can get a bit violent at times.

Taboo

Adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London during the War of 1812 to rebuild his late father’s shipping empire. However, both the government and his biggest competitor want his inheritance at any cost – even murder.

Now this one is definitely not for the faint of heart: very, very bloody and violent. In my opinion, totally worth it though. I’m a big fan of Tom Hardy, and I loved playing “find the Game Of Thrones actor” with this show. It’s produced by the same people that make Peaky Blinders, and I think they did another great job. I found the story captivating, but mostly just loved the aesthetics. Definitely worth a watch!

Anna Karenina

In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.

I feel like this is a movie you either love or hate. I personally really like it, mostly because of the strange cinematography. The movie is made to look like a theater play and I really like that twist, especially on a story that has been done so many times before. Plus, I’ll pretty much take anything that features Keira Knightley in a corseted dress, haha!

Black Sails

Follows Captain Flint and his pirates twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel “Treasure Island.”

I have to admit, it took a while for me to get into this show. I only started to really like it at the beginning of season three, but after that I wanted to binge watch all the rest at once. This show is made as a kind of prequel to Treasure Island and features some of the characters from the book, but they interlaced it with real life historical characters (actual pirates) and events. I think that mix is brilliant and it really makes the show, giving the fictional tale a great historical context.

Pirates Of The Caribbean

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.

While we’re on the topic of pirates, I have to mention this gem, although I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t seen this by now. Pirates of the Caribbean one through three are up there with my all time favourite films!

Sherlock Holmes

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Another love it or hate it. I feel like that’s often the case with adaptations of popular classics. I, for one, really like the Hollywoody sauce they’ve poured on Sherlock Holmes in this rendition. It’s high-paced, it has explosions, slow motion, a famous cast… And yes, great costumes.

Memoirs Of A Geisha

Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.

This is another film I’ve seen many times, and one of my all time favourites. The imagery is stunning, as are the costumes, and the story takes you to a whole other world that I knew nothing about before I saw this film. Memoirs of a Geisha is an absolute must see.

Penny Dreadful

Explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, scientist Victor Frankenstein, and medium Vanessa Ives unite to combat supernatural threats in Victorian London.

This show is proper creepy, but not unbearably so. I honestly don’t remember the show being nearly as scary as this trailer is, haha! Throughout the show, the leads meet several characters from literary classics, which is a touch I absolutely love. Penny Dreadful features some amazing looks (hair and outfit) on Eva Green as Vanessa Yves, but what I love most about this show are honestly the dialogues between Vanessa and Dorian Gray. They are incredible, and the show as a whole is very poetic. Do recommend!

Marie Antoinette

The retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

I have a love/hate relationship with this film. It’s bursting with historical inaccuracies (too many, I’d say), but I do love the aesthetic and I kind of like the Princess Diaries vibe as well, haha!

Murder On The Orient Express

When a murder occurs on the train he’s travelling on, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.

Ending with a very recent one: Murder on the Orient Express. I saw this in the theatre last year when it came out and I loved it! Wonderful cinematography, the whole thing is gorgeously filmed. Well worth a watch!

To Watch

Now as I have a liking for historical settings, my Netflix homepage has recently been blessing me with lots of recommendations of this type. I’ve added a few to my “to watch” list and I’m curious to hear whether any of you have seen any of these! What did you think?

The Frankenstein Chronicles

Inspector John Marlott investigates a series of crimes in 19th Century London, which may have been committed by a scientist intent on re-animating the dead.

Very curious about this one. Although I have to say, Sean Bean as the lead has me a bit worried, hahaha!

Alias Grace

In 19th-century Canada, a psychiatrist weighs whether a murderess should be pardoned due to insanity.

I have no idea how much realism vs. fantasy to expect from this show, but I’m quite eager to find out.

Frontier

Follows Declan Harp, a part-Irish, part-Native American outlaw who is campaigning to breach the Hudson’s Bay Company’s monopoly on the fur trade in Canada.

From the trailer I think this looks pretty similar to Taboo in both visuals and storyline. Has anyone seen this? Is it any good?

Godless

Frank Griffin, an outlaw terrorizing the 1880s American West, hunts down Roy Goode, his partner turned enemy. Roy hides out at a ranch as Frank’s chase leads him to La Belle, New Mexico – a town mysteriously made up almost entirely of women.

I haven’t seen much of the Western genre yet, but this I do think I’d like to watch!

Now two more shows I’d like to watch at some point are Poldark and Downton Abbey, but neither of those are on Netflix NL at the moment so I’ll have to figure out a different way to watch them. I have enought to keep my going for a while, in any case.

What’s your favourite period/costume film or show?