The Last Duel is a 2021 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. The film is a period drama set in 14th century France.
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The Nevers is a steampunk fantasy period drama created by Joss Whedon. Entitled “Touched”, the pilot episode of The Nevers – also written and directed by Whedon – introduces the basic premise and characters of the story, which is set during the Victorian era.
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The Wanderers is a 1979, American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Philip Kaufman and is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Price. Set in the Bronx in 1963, the film follows a gang of Italian-American teenagers known as the Wanderers and their ongoing power struggles with rival gangs such as the Baldies and the Wongs. The movie stars Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen and Toni Kalem.
Harriet is a 2019 American biographical cum historical film drama directed by Kasi Lemmons, who also wrote the screenplay with Gregory Allen Howard. It stars Cynthia Erivo as abolitionist Harriet Tubman, with Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, and Janelle Monáe in supporting roles.
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One Night in Miami is a 2020 American historical drama film directed by Regina King in her feature film directorial debut with a screenplay by Kemp Powers based on his stage play of the same name. The film is about a meeting of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a room at the Hampton House in February 1964, celebrating Ali’s surprise title win over Sonny Liston. It stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr. in the lead roles.
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The Reader is a 2008 historical drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by David Hare, based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. The movie starred Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes and was nominated for several other major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. However, the story does not really stand up to scrutiny as we will endeavour to explain in our following analysis.
The Great is a 10-episode historical drama cum black comedy series loosely based on the life of Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia from 1762 until 1796. And when we say ‘loosely based’ it’s probably more accurate to state that apart from the names of the characters The Great does not depict any true historical events whatsoever, except superficially.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a 1981 British romantic drama film directed by Karel Reisz and based on the 1969 novel of the same name by John Fowles. The original novel is best known for its metafictional approach of featuring multiple endings. While no such approach exists in this film adaptation, there are other metafictional elements that we will discuss below.
Shadow in the Cloud is an action thriller directed by Roseanne Liang from a screenplay co-written by Max (Chronicle) Landis and Liang. Shadow in the Cloud had its world premiere on September 12, 2020 at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award for Midnight Madness. The movie is now available digitally worldwide.
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Crimson Peak is a 2015 gothic romance horror drama directed by Guillermo Del Toro. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain in the lead roles with Charlie Hunnam and Jim Beaver as support.
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Bridgerton is a British historical streaming TV drama produced by Shonda Rhimes and created by Chris Van Dusen. The series is based on the multi-book novels written by Julia Quinn. The series is set in early 19th century Regency England during the reign of King George III, well known as the era of romance writers Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.
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Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 historical drama film directed by Peter Webber. The film is an adaptation of the 1999 novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. Chevalier’s inspiration for the novel was a poster of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” painting.
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Belle is a historical drama set in late 18th century England. The movie is directed by Amma Asante and stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the title role. The character of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay is based on a real life person but most of the plot in Belle is fictionalised. In fact, the screenplay – written by Misan Sagay – was primarily based on a painting which portrayed the real life Lindsay and her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray (Sarah Gadon).
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Ammonite is a historical romance drama written and directed by Francis Lee. Ammonite stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan in the lead romantic roles. The movie concerns itself with real-life 19th century British palaeontologist Mary Anning (Winslet) and a fictionalised romantic relationship between Anning and Charlotte Murchison (Ronan).
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Black Narcissus is a 3-part psychological drama mini-series based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden and the 1947 film adaptation of the same name. This FX series is essentially a remake of the 1947 film.
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The Alienist is a period drama TV series set in New York of the late 19th century. Based on the novel of the same name by Caleb Carr, The Alienist debuted in mid-2018 to mixed critical responses. The Alienist Season 2 was released in July 2020 and based on Carr’s sequel novel, The Angel of Darkness.
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Immortal Beloved is a 1994 historical drama depicting the final years of classical music composer Ludwig van Beethoven (played by Gary Oldham). The story revolves around a quest by Beethoven’s secretary and biographer Anton Schindler (Jeroen Krabbé) to find out the true identity of the “Unsterbliche Geliebte” (“Immortal Beloved”) addressed in three letters found in Beethoven’s private papers.
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The Duellists is a 1977 British historical drama and the first movie helmed by the renowned director Ridley Scott. The movie is an adaptation of a Joseph Conrad novel entitled The Duel and stars Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel in the lead roles.
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Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma has been adapted numerous times in film, TV and on stage. First time director Autumn de Wilde has done a fabulous job in presenting the latest version of this timeless story. An integral part of Emma’s success is the spot-on casting of the delightful Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role.
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The Haunting of Bly Manor is a nine-part limited series on the Netflix streaming platform. The series is produced by the same creative team (headed by writer-director Mike Flanagan) that made the popular Haunting of Hill House. The two narratives are not connected whatsoever.
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Korean monster movie Monstrum is a competent genre flick with an interesting plot somewhat spoiled by its own premise.
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Wolf Hall is a British television serial first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2015. The six-part miniseries is an adaptation of two of Hilary Mantel’s novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, a fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More, followed by Cromwell’s success in freeing the king of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Our review follows…
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The Theory of Everything is a beautiful film. Beautifully shot, beautifully scored but ultimately, it is a story about two beautiful people who had to reinvent themselves and their relationship constantly in the face of challenging life circumstances.
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