British Period Films

 

 

And a Nightingale Sang     1997 VHS    Tom Watt and Joan Plowright

A bittersweet comedy/drama set WWII England.

 

All the Kings Men    2000 VHS  Maggie Smith and David Jason

Amateur soldiers from the King’s Norfolk estate vanish after marching against the Turks in 1915.

 

Bramwell   1996 (4)VHS   Jemma Redgrave and David Calver

1895 lady doctor struggles to make her mark in the medical world.

 

Brideshead Revisited   1988 (6)VHS   Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Laurence Olivier, Calire Bloom, and Sir John Gielgood

Young man’s haunting relationship with the aristocracy spans three decades.

 

A Dark Adapted Eye   1996 VHS   Helena Bonham-Carter, Sophie Ward

1950’s dark and murderous sibling rivalry.

 

David Copperfield   2000 (2)VHS  Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins

Based on the book by Charles Dickens.

 

Disraeli   1998 (4)VHS   Ian McShane and Mary Peach

Marriage, political conflict, and relationship in Queen Victoria’s England.

 

Emma   1996 (2)VHS   Doran Godwin and John Carson

Jane Austen adaptation- young woman confuses good intentions with self gratification.

 

The Englishman   1995 VHS & DVD  Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald

Young man offends town by calling prized local mountain a hill.

 

Falling for a Dancer    1998 (4)VHS   Elisabeth Dermott_Walsh, Colin Farrell   Pregnant young woman forced to marry violent widower.

 

The Grand   2000 (4)VHS   Susan Hampshire and Julie St.John

Manchester 1920 young couple has trouble running a magnificent hotel.

 

Great Expectations   1999 (2)VHS  Iaon Gruffudo and Justine Waddell

 Based on the Dickens’ novel- a young boy’s encounter with an escaped convict leads tragedy and wealth.

 

Golden Bowl   1999 (3)VHS   Cyril Cusack and Barry Morse

Based on the Henry James novel- young lovers marry a father and daughter for their wealth.

 

Henry V   1989 VHS & DVD   Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Derek Jacobi   Young King Henry of England asserts a hereditary claim to the throne of France.

 

The House of Eliot   1994 (6)VHS   1920’s London, wealthy, young sisters left penniless- establish a fashion house.

 

An Ideal Husband   1999 VHS & DVD   Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, and Minnie Driver.  Based on the Oscar Wilde novel- witty comedy/romance full of decadence and scandal.

 

The Importance of Being Ernest   2002 VHS & DVD   Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, and Judi Dench.  English aristocracy find and lose love, repeatedly.

 

Howard’s End   1993 VHS & DVD  Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham-Carter.  Idealistic, independent, and highly educated Schlegal sisters and their tangled relationships with a rich businessman and his family.

 

The Merry War   1997  VHS   Helena Bonham-Carter, Richard E. Grant

Romantic copywriter believes himself poet until poverty intrudes.

 

Middlemarch   1995  (3)VHS   Rufus Sewell, Julie Aubrey

George Eliot’s novel describing life in provincial town on eve of the Industrial Revolution.

 

Moll Flanders   1997  (2)VHS & DVD  Alex Kingston, Daniel Craig

Sexually charged adaptation of the Daniel Defoe classic.

 

Nicholas Nickelby   1994  (9)VHS  

Adaptation of the Dickens’ classic.

 

Persuasion   1971  (2)VHS   Ann Furbank, Daniel Craig

Adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

 

Pride and Prejudice   1995   (6)VHS & DVD   Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle

Adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

 

Remains of the Day   1994  VHS & DVD   Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson   Blind devotion and repressed love between fanatically perfect butler and high-spirited, young housekeeper.

 

Room with a View   1992  VHS   Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Helena Bonham-Carter  Adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel.

 

Sense and Sensibility   1995 DVD   Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet   Adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

 

Tea with Mousalini   1998  VHS& DVD    Cher, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, and Lily Tomlin

A group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit in 1935 Italy.

 

Tess of the d’Ubervilles   1998  (2)VHS   Justin Waddell, Jason Fleming

Young woman is victim of circumstances and rigid Victorian society.

 

Tom Jones   1997   (6)VHS   Max Beesley, Samantha Morton

An adaptation of the Henry Fielding novel.

 

Turn of the Screw   2000 VHS   Johdi May, Colin Firth

19^th century tale of dark desire and supernatural Gothic horror from the Henry James novel.

 

Victoria and Albert   2001  (4)VHS & DVD   David Suchet, Diana Rigg

Two lovers create an intimate world amidst pomp and politics of St. James’ court.

 

Where Angels Fear to Tread   1992  VHS   Helena Bonham-Carter, Judy Davis   Adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel.

 

The Wings of the Dove   1997  VHS & DVD   Helen Bonham-Carter, Linis Roache   Based on the Henry James novel.

 

Honorable Mentions: if you like this genre, you should enjoy these also.

 

 

Four Weddings, and a Funeral   1993   VHS & DVD   Hugh Grant, Andi MacDowell  Charlie loves Carrie, but it takes four weddings and a funeral to get her.

 

 Somewhere in Time   1991  VHS & DVD   Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour   A young writer sacrifices his life in the present to find love in the past.

 

Waking Ned Devine   1999  VHS & DVD   Ian Bannen, Fionnula Flanagan   The shock of winning the lottery kills Ned Devine, but the town schemes to keep his winnings.