Best of Romantic, Period, and Miniseries Dramas
by kevinmbarry | created - 24 Jul 2011 | updated - 13 Jan 2014 | PublicMovies for the Romantics amongst us... Some of these are books famously written and made into movies COUNTLESS times... Of those, I have selected the version/s worth watching...
In alphabetical order... this is a list in progress...
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1. Across the Universe (2007)
PG-13 | 133 min | Drama, Fantasy, History
The music of The Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs
Votes: 114,235 | Gross: $51.66M
2. Agora (2009)
R | 127 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom
Votes: 73,006 | Gross: $0.62M
3. An Affair to Remember (1957)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson
Votes: 33,040
4. A Walk to Remember (2002)
PG | 101 min | Drama, Romance
Two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is sentenced to perform community service.
Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 221,258 | Gross: $41.28M
5. Bleak House (2005)
TV-PG | 30 min | Crime, Drama
A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.
Stars: Anna Maxwell Martin, Carey Mulligan, Denis Lawson, Gillian Anderson
Votes: 10,610
6. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Approved | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen
Votes: 191,979
7. Bright Star (2009)
PG | 119 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox
Votes: 28,682 | Gross: $4.44M
8. Conversations with Other Women (2005)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a man and woman flirt with each other at a wedding reception, the sexual tension seems spontaneous. As they break from the party to a hotel room, the flirtation turns into a night filled with passion and remorse.
Director: Hans Canosa | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart, Yury Tsykun, Brian Geraghty
Votes: 13,106 | Gross: $0.37M
9. Cranford (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 469 min | Drama
In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
Stars: Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Deborah Findlay
Votes: 10,607
10. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
Votes: 224,619
11. Emma (2009)
TV-PG | 62 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy young woman living in the early 19th century, whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures, which leads her into deeper meanings of love and life
Stars: Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, Jonny Lee Miller, Jodhi May
Votes: 18,023
12. Fingersmith (2005)
Not Rated | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Stars: Elaine Cassidy, Sally Hawkins, Imelda Staunton, Rupert Evans
Votes: 9,608
13. He Knew He Was Right (2004)
240 min | Drama
Louis Trevelyan's refusal to trust his wife Emily destroys their marriage.
Stars: Oliver Dimsdale, Christina Cole, Laura Fraser, Nathan Heath
Votes: 1,714
14. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,643 | Gross: $2.73M
15. Jane Eyre (1983)
TV-PG | 28 min | Drama, Romance
A young governess falls in love with her mysterious employer, but a terrible secret puts their happiness at risk.
Stars: Zelah Clarke, Timothy Dalton, Carol Gillies, James Marcus
Votes: 3,685
16. Jane Eyre (2006)
TV-PG | 58 min | Drama, Romance
A young governess falls in love with her brooding and complex master. However, his dark past may destroy their relationship forever.
Stars: Ruth Wilson, Toby Stephens, Lorraine Ashbourne, Aidan McArdle
Votes: 22,353
17. Jane Eyre (2011)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Su Elliot
Votes: 92,974 | Gross: $11.24M
18. Last Chance Harvey (2008)
PG-13 | 93 min | Drama, Romance
In London for his daughter's wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life.
Director: Joel Hopkins | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, Eileen Atkins
Votes: 22,415 | Gross: $14.88M
19. Little Manhattan (2005)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
A 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl find love in New York City.
Director: Mark Levin | Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Charlotte Ray Rosenberg, Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon
Votes: 24,782 | Gross: $0.38M
20. Love in a Cold Climate (1980)
420 min | Drama
Two cousins come of age in the early twentieth century, but fate leads them down very different paths.
Stars: Judi Dench, Michael Aldridge, Michael Williams, Lucy Gutteridge
Votes: 188
21.
Masterpiece (1971– )
Episode:
Return to Cranford: Part 1
(2010)
Drama, History, Mystery
This episode is about August 1844. The description is under a duplicate listing aired in 2007. This listing was for Masterpiece Theatre's airing, but it is also listed separately as it is a... See full summary »
Votes: 86
22. Middlemarch (1994)
375 min | Drama, Romance
Middlemarch is a story of provincial life on the brink of momentous change and a deeply moving saga about a group of people striving to give meaning and value to their lives during the Industrial Revolution.
Stars: Douglas Hodge, Juliet Aubrey, Trevyn McDowell, Jonathan Firth
Votes: 2,751
23. North & South (2004)
TV-PG | 235 min | Drama, Romance
North 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.
Stars: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack
Votes: 34,913
24. Once (I) (2007)
R | 86 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
Director: John Carney | Stars: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh, Gerard Hendrick
Votes: 121,228 | Gross: $9.44M
25. Our Mutual Friend (1998)
350 min | Drama
Intertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
Stars: Paul McGann, Keeley Hawes, Dominic Mafham, David Bradley
Votes: 2,688
26.
Screen Two (1985–1998)
Episode:
Persuasion
(1995)
PG | 103 min | Drama
Theatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Amanda Root, Ciarán Hinds, Susan Fleetwood, Corin Redgrave
Votes: 11,396 | Gross: $5.46M
27. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
TV-PG | 55 min | Drama, Romance
While the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
Stars: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 92,187
28. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
PG | 129 min | Drama, Romance
Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland
Votes: 330,219 | Gross: $38.41M
29. Sense & Sensibility (2008)
TV-14 | 58 min | Drama, Romance
The sisters Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood try to find love and security in the 1800's. These two sisters coudn't be more different. Where Eleanor is calm and always acts proper Marianne is passionate and usally forgets herself.
Stars: Dominic Cooper, Charity Wakefield, Hattie Morahan, Janet McTeer
Votes: 12,964
30. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Hans Matheson
Votes: 6,619
31. The Buccaneers (1995)
TV-14 | 212 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Four American girls go to England to find husbands.
Stars: Carla Gugino, Alison Elliott, Mira Sorvino, Rya Kihlstedt
Votes: 2,611
32. The Duchess (2008)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 87,234 | Gross: $13.82M
33. The Duchess of Duke Street (1976–1977)
TV-PG | 50 min | Drama
Louisa Trotter works her way up from being a skivvy to being the queen of cooks, cook to the King, and owner of the Bentinck Hotel. Her life and happenings among the guests and staff of the hotel make up the 31 episodes.
Stars: Gemma Jones, Victoria Plucknett, John Welsh, John Cater
Votes: 1,539
34. The Glass Virgin (1995– )
180 min | Drama, Romance
Set in 1870s England, the story tells of Annabella Lagrange and the terrible secret her wealthy parents have kept from her. When she finally learns the truth, she runs away and eventually ... See full summary »
Stars: Jan Graveson, Christine Kavanagh, Brendan Coyle, Emily Mortimer
Votes: 772
35. The Illusionist (2006)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
Director: Neil Burger | Stars: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell
Votes: 389,484 | Gross: $39.87M
36. The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 98 min | Drama
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Director: Brent Shields | Stars: Keri Russell, Skeet Ulrich, Mare Winningham, Tania Gunadi
Votes: 6,067
37. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
53 min | Drama
An adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel; a young widow takes her son and moves to Yorkshire.
Stars: Toby Stephens, Tara Fitzgerald, Rupert Graves, Sarah Badel
Votes: 3,006
38. The Young Victoria (2009)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 66,336 | Gross: $11.00M
39. The Way We Live Now (2001)
TV-14 | 300 min | Drama, Romance
Augustus Melmotte is a European-born city financier whose background is as mysterious as his business. Only weeks after his arrival in London, he announced a new venture and promises instant fortune.
Stars: David Suchet, Matthew Macfadyen, Cillian Murphy, Paloma Baeza
Votes: 3,312
40. Two Lovers (2008)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Anne Joyce
Votes: 43,519 | Gross: $3.15M
41. Under the Greenwood Tree (2005 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 93 min | Drama, Romance
In this lighthearted romance from Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy, the beautiful new village school teacher is pursued by three suitors: a working-class man, a landowner, and the vicar.
Director: Nicholas Laughland | Stars: Keeley Hawes, James Murray, Terry Mortimer, Richard Leaf
Votes: 2,987
42. Water for Elephants (2011)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker in a traveling circus. There he meets Marlena, a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant Rosie leads to love, but Marlena's cruel husband stands in their way.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Paul Schneider
Votes: 120,371 | Gross: $58.71M
43. Wives and Daughters (1999)
TV-PG | 75 min | Drama
The daughter of a country doctor copes with an unwanted stepmother, an impetuous stepsister, burdensome secrets, the town gossips, and the tug on her own heartstrings for a man who thinks of her only as a friend.
Stars: Francesca Annis, Justine Waddell, Bill Paterson, Keeley Hawes
Votes: 7,315
44. Wuthering Heights (1939)
Passed | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson
Votes: 19,750 | Gross: $0.76M
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