Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "courtesan"
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1. The Handmaid's Tale (2017– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle
Votes: 258,305
2. Jeanne du Barry (2023)
117 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of Jeanne Bécu, who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress.
Director: Maïwenn | Stars: Stanislas Stanic, Maïwenn, Johnny Depp, Benjamin Lavernhe
Votes: 10,962
3. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,585
4. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 299,544 | Gross: $57.39M
5. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, Romance
The heartwarming tale of Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who transcended from her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Suzuka Ohgo
Votes: 160,953 | Gross: $57.49M
6. Inland Empire (2006)
R | 180 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
As an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Laura Dern
Votes: 62,468 | Gross: $0.75M
7. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz
Votes: 75,192 | Gross: $34.70M
8. Devdas (I) (2002)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
After his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in love with, Devdas Mukherjee's life spirals further and further out of control as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain.
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jackie Shroff
Votes: 46,996 | Gross: $3.50M
9. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
R | 171 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Gong Li, You Ge
Votes: 33,199 | Gross: $5.22M
10. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,299 | Gross: $11.05M
11. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, History
Two female friends become sexual rivals at maturity.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Naveen Andrews, Sarita Choudhury, Indira Varma, Ramon Tikaram
Votes: 11,369 | Gross: $4.11M
12. Gigi (1958)
G | 115 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters | Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold
Votes: 24,518
13. Dangerous Beauty (1998)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
Director: Marshall Herskovitz | Stars: Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Oliver Platt, Fred Ward
Votes: 19,651 | Gross: $4.53M
14. Children of Paradise (1945)
Not Rated | 189 min | Drama, Romance
The theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan in 1830s Paris and the four men who love her.
Director: Marcel Carné | Stars: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir
Votes: 21,184
15. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,757 | Gross: $0.01M
16. The Grandmaster (2013)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ziyi Zhang, Jin Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 36,804 | Gross: $6.59M
17. A Bay of Blood (1971)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Anna Maria Rosati
Votes: 12,733
18. Nana (1983)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
A beautiful and willful prostitute puts her appearance and body to use to become the toast of the town.
Director: Dan Wolman | Stars: Katya Berger, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Yehuda Efroni, Mandy Rice-Davies
Votes: 716
19. Chéri (2009)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates, Frances Tomelty
Votes: 11,685 | Gross: $2.71M
20. Shanghai Express (1932)
Approved | 82 min | Adventure, Drama, Film-Noir
A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland
Votes: 10,348
21. The Last Mistress (2007)
Unrated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.
Director: Catherine Breillat | Stars: Asia Argento, Fu'ad Aït Aattou, Roxane Mesquida, Claude Sarraute
Votes: 3,792 | Gross: $0.79M
22. Swann in Love (1984)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
In Belle Époque Paris, a 19th century Parisian aristocrat (Jeremy Irons) falls in love with a lower-class prostitute (Ornella Muti) who seduces him but never loves him.
Director: Volker Schlöndorff | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Ornella Muti, Alain Delon, Fanny Ardant
Votes: 2,176
23. Camille (1936)
Passed | 109 min | Drama, Romance
A Parisian courtesan must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan
Votes: 8,752 | Gross: $1.15M
24. Richard III (1955)
Not Rated | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History
Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.
Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Ralph Richardson
Votes: 5,234
25. Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama
In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 18,247
26. The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
R | 118 min | Drama, History, Romance
In pre-Revolutionary France, a young aristocratic woman left penniless by the political unrest in the country must avenge her family's fall from grace by scheming to steal a priceless necklace.
Director: Charles Shyer | Stars: Hilary Swank, Simon Baker, Jonathan Pryce, Adrien Brody
Votes: 5,595 | Gross: $0.43M
27. Kalank (2019)
Not Rated | 166 min | Drama, Romance
The lives of six enigmatic characters become entangled whilst in search of love, but separated by the dichotomy between the two worlds of Husnabad, a town in North India.
Director: Abhishek Varman | Stars: Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani
Votes: 16,977 | Gross: $2.73M
28. The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
Not Rated | 128 min | Fantasy, Music, Musical
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville, Ludmilla Tchérina, Ann Ayars
Votes: 3,952 | Gross: $0.09M
29. Battle Queen 2020 (2001)
R | 95 min | Action, Sci-Fi
After a civilization is all but wiped out by a comet, evil forces take advantage of the weak. A powerful woman fights back for the sake of the vulnerable.
Director: Daniel D'Or | Stars: Julie Strain, Jeff Wincott, Zerha Leverman, Brian Frank
Votes: 984
30. Vatel (2000)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama, History
Vatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favor. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty come into conflict.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Julian Glover
Votes: 8,257 | Gross: $0.05M
31. Three Times (2005)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Three stories set in three times, 1911, 1966 and 2005. Two actors play the two main characters in each story.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Fang Mei, Shu-Chen Liao
Votes: 6,156 | Gross: $0.15M
32. Mangal Pandey (2005)
Not Rated | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.
Director: Ketan Mehta | Stars: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Toby Stephens, Coral Beed
Votes: 10,515 | Gross: $0.87M
33. Sakuran (2006)
111 min | Drama, History
A young girl is sold into a red-light district brothel and tries to adapt to life as an oiran (courtesan).
Director: Mika Ninagawa | Stars: Anna Tsuchiya, Kippei Shîna, Yoshino Kimura, Hiroki Narimiya
Votes: 2,145
34. The Life of Oharu (1952)
Not Rated | 133 min | Drama
Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirô Sugai, Toshirô Mifune
Votes: 7,649
35. Cousin Bette (1998)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When her sister dies in 1846, Bette moves from the château to Paris to work as a theater seamstress. She helps a handsome, starving artist. When her niece lures him away from her, she plans a devious revenge.
Director: Des McAnuff | Stars: Jessica Lange, Elisabeth Shue, Bob Hoskins, Geraldine Chaplin
Votes: 2,838 | Gross: $1.20M
36. Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
Not Rated | 197 min | Drama, Romance, War
A 16th century prince falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor father.
Director: K. Asif | Stars: Prithviraj Kapoor, Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Durga Khote
Votes: 8,837 | Gross: $0.16M
37. Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Unrated | 113 min | Drama
In the "flower houses" (upscale brothels) of Shanghai, various interweaving stories of love, loyalty, and deceit play out subtly.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Michelle Reis, Carina Lau
Votes: 4,081
38. Umrao Jaan (2006)
188 min | Drama, Romance
J.P. Dutta's adaption of the Urdu novel "Umrao Jan Ada" by Mirza Haadi Ruswa (1905).
Director: J.P. Dutta | Stars: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan
Votes: 2,051
39. Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)
Not Rated | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
From legendary action director Tsui Hark and the creators of international smash hit Detective Dee - Mystery Of The Phantom Flame comes the captivating tale of Dee Renjie's beginnings in ... See full summary »
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Carina Lau, Chien Sheng, Mark You-Ting Chao, Angelababy
Votes: 5,193 | Gross: $0.09M
40. Lady of the Camelias (1981)
115 min | Drama, Romance
A young girl from the provinces, comes to Paris with one goal: to become a part of the rich bourgeoisie. To achieve this she will use her unique beauty and charm.
Director: Mauro Bolognini | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Gian Maria Volontè, Bruno Ganz, Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Votes: 721
41. A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990 TV Movie)
91 min | Drama, Romance
Weary of her very public life in Paris, an aging courtesan takes her orphaned niece from her convent home and relocates to Monte Carlo to begin a new life. Determined to bury the past, the ... See full summary »
Director: John Hough | Stars: Sarah Miles, Oliver Reed, Christopher Plummer, Samantha Eggar
Votes: 776
42. Kundo: Age of the Rampant (2014)
Not Rated | 137 min | Action, Drama
A period action film centered on a militia group who turn against an unjust nobility.
Director: Yoon Jong-bin | Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Gang Dong-won, Lee Sung-min, Cho Jin-woong
Votes: 3,879 | Gross: $0.28M
43. Devdas (1955)
159 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
The scion of a wealthy landowner family turns to alcohol and self-pity and slowly self-destructs after class differences force him to break off his relationship with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Bimal Roy | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Vyjayanthimala, Motilal
Votes: 2,030
44. Double Suicide (1969)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
A doomed love between a paper merchant and a courtesan.
Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, Shizue Kawarazaki, Tokie Hidari
Votes: 2,607
45. Camille (1984 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama, Romance
Camille is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying ... See full summary »
Director: Desmond Davis | Stars: Greta Scacchi, Colin Firth, John Gielgud, Billie Whitelaw
Votes: 593
46. Lola Montès (1955)
Not Rated | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
When she is reduced to appearing in a circus, a notorious beauty thinks back on her past loves.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol
Votes: 6,056 | Gross: $0.11M
47. The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
Not Rated | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A group of warriors protect the world from a monster invasion.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Da Peng, Ni Ni, Aarif Lee, Dongyu Zhou
Votes: 1,423 | Gross: $0.12M
48. Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
Not Rated | 152 min | Drama, Musical
A lowly servant, Bhootnath gets close to the wife of his employer and narrates her story through his eyes and perspective.
Director: Abrar Alvi | Stars: Meena Kumari, Guru Dutt, Rehman Khan, Waheeda Rehman
Votes: 1,853
49. Utsav (1984)
145 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Based on the circa 2nd century BCE to 2nd Century CE, Sanskrit play "Daridra-Charudatta" by the famous Indian playwright Bhasa, "Utsav" faithfully follows Bhasa's story-line. Vasantasena, a... See full summary »
Director: Girish Karnad | Stars: Rekha, Amjad Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shankar Nag
Votes: 428
50. Pakeezah (1972)
147 min | Musical, Romance, Drama
In Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.
Director: Kamal Amrohi | Stars: Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Veena
Votes: 1,810