Period Pieces on Netflix
Last updated October 31, 2024
Little Women
1994 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsLouisa May Alcott's beloved novel comes to life in this sensitive, soulful adaptation. Four sisters and their mother battle life's vicissitudes in Civil War-era America after their father leaves to join the conflict.
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Confucius
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis sweeping epic revisits China's Spring and Autumn periods through the dramatic biography of Confucius, the legendary Eastern philosopher who, in spite of his mastery of the Six Arts, has difficulty instituting his political philosophies.
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Mansfield Park
1999 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this period drama loosely based on Jane Austen's most autobiographical novel, penniless heroine Fanny Price is sent to live with wealthy relatives in 1800s England, where her wit and writing talent find the room -- and circumstance -- to grow.
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Jane Eyre
1996 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsJane Eyre is an orphan forced to endure life at a harsh boarding school. As Jane grows into an independent, strong-willed woman, she takes a governess job at Thornton Hall and falls in love with the estate's brooding owner, Mr. Rochester.
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The Agony and the Ecstasy
1965 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCharlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo, who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison) in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the novel covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the film focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and eventually commands) him to paint the famed chapel.
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Shakespeare in Love
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsYoung Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman (Gwyneth Paltrow) auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy. This bittersweet romance won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress.
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The Ghost and the Darkness
1996 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhile working for a railroad baron in colonial Uganda, engineer John Patterson finds his construction efforts stymied by a series of lion attacks. Grizzled hunter Charles Remington is called in to head the desperate effort to kill the animals.
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Ironclad
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsBacked by his "Magnificent Seven," a principled Knight Templar defends Rochester Castle from the ruthless King John and his advancing armies, who seek to rule England's free men by force -- no matter what the Magna Carta might say.
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The Four
2012 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDuring the Song dynasty, four constables with special powers must do battle with a rival law enforcement agency, spies, a sinister villain and the undead to thwart a counterfeit currency plot that threatens to bring down the empire.
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The Way We Live Now
2001 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDuring the 1870s railway boom, ordinary people are blinded by wealth in this miniseries adaptation of Anthony Trollope's satirical novel. When financier Augustus Melmotte moves his business and his family to London, rumors emerge about his past.
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The Way We Live Now
2001 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsBased on the 1875 novel by Anthony Trollope, this sharp-edged miniseries artfully satirizes the greed and hypocrisy of upper-class Victorian society. The main story revolves around Augustus Melmotte, a mysterious financier who settles in London.
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Nicholas Nickleby
2002 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsLife in 19th-century England deals Nicholas Nickleby a difficult hand when his father dies and Nicholas, his sister and his mother, now penniless, are forced to seek help from his twisted Uncle Ralph, who wants to tear the family apart.
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Under the Greenwood Tree
2005 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAdapted from Thomas Hardy's novel, this charming tale follows schoolteacher Fancy Day, who returns to the bucolic hamlet of Melstock to look after her ailing father. To no one's surprise, three disparate suitors are soon courting the young beauty.
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Elizabeth: The Golden Age
2007 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCate Blanchett reprises her role as the Virgin Queen in this lushly costumed but historically muddy sequel to 1998's Elizabeth which focuses on the queen's tempestuous relationship with the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.
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Masterpiece Classic: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCentering on a provincial choirmaster's fixation with a 17-year-old girl, this chilling adaptation of Charles Dickens's unfinished final novel spins a disturbing tale of obsession, addiction and the darkness that lurks in men.
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The Sword with No Name
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWhen the queen he secretly loves becomes caught up in a dangerous political battle that may prove fatal, the queen's bodyguard -- former bounty hunter Mu Myeong -- must take action to save her life.
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The Missing
2003 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWhen Maggie Gilkeson's oldest daughter is abducted by a witch doctor turned bandit, Maggie enlists her estranged father's help to find her. But they soon discover that other girls have gone missing -- and that time's running out.
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsNoted director Wayne Wang helms this adaptation of Lisa See's best-selling novel about two young girls in 19th-century China who are pledged as lifelong companions through an ancient ritual, although their friendship is sorely tested as they mature.
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Little Lord Fauntleroy
1995 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsBased on Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel, this inspiring story of redemption follows the good fortune of Cedric Errol (Michael Benz), who is rescued from poverty in 1870s New York City and becomes one of England's upper crust. With the help of his strict British grandfather (George Baker), Errol is eventually elevated to the title of Lord Fauntleroy, the future Earl of Dorincourt, and his life is forever changed.
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The Eagle
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsHaunted by the disappearance of his father, who vanished with the Roman Ninth Legion on an expedition into the north of Britain, centurion Marcus Aquila sets out to unravel the mystery and recover the legion's eagle standard.
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Masterpiece Classic: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCentering on a provincial choirmaster's fixation with a 17-year-old girl, this chilling adaptation of Charles Dickens's unfinished final novel spins a disturbing tale of obsession, addiction and the darkness that lurks in men.
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1776
1972 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsPeter Stone's Pultizer Prize-winning musical (starring much of the original Broadway cast) about the internecine congressional squabbling that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence makes a glorious transition to the big screen. William Daniels is John Adams, Ken Howard is a statuesque Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva is hilarious as wit-cracker Ben Franklin. A very funny -- and poignant -- history lesson with a great score.
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The Buccaneers
1995 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis top-notch adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel tells the story of sisters Nan and Virginia St. George (Carla Gugino and Alison Elliott) and their friends Lizzy Elmsworth (Rya Kihlstedt) and Conchita Closson (Mira Sorvino). Shunned as "new money" by elitist New York society, the foursome travels to London to look for husbands, where they soon find themselves courted by numerous suitors. But as old and new worlds clash, something has to give.
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The Assassins
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsIn 198 B.C., Cao Cao, prime minister of the Han Dynasty, ventures to the east and defeats China's greatest warrior, Lu Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, Cao crowns himself King of Wei.
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Quills
2000 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThe Marquis de Sade was a provocateur so addicted to words that he used his own blood to write salacious stories while locked away in an asylum. A doctor tries to prevent the Marquis from writing, but a worker is lured into taking his dictation.
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