Initially, when we wrote this article back in 2015, our focus was purely on romantic period drama films. Today, we’ve decided to update it to include a wider range of period dramas beyond just romance. Period dramas have become wildly popular on Netflix, so we felt it was a good time to refresh this post for all the fans looking for something new—or old—to watch. This list is specifically for movies, so you can enjoy these period pieces on Netflix in one sitting.
The number of period films available on Netflix is quite extensive. To narrow it down, we’ve mainly included films that either feature a touch of romance, are influenced by Romanticism, or are just downright charming. Of course, there are many other fantastic period drama films not included here but worth checking out.
For this list, we focused primarily on films that aren’t excessively graphic. We made a few exceptions for particularly romantic ones, but we will give a content warning if a film is R-rated or has more explicit content.
We hope this list helps you find new period pieces to add to your Netflix queue. And if you’re looking for a binge-worthy show, check out our list of period drama miniseries and TV shows on Netflix.
Without further ado, here are the top period pieces on Netflix – movie edition.
Note: Availability on Netflix is for the U.S. and as of the publication date, but this can change at any time. This article was first published in 2015 and has been updated for September 2021.
50+ PERIOD PIECES ON NETFLIX TO WATCH – MOVIE EDITION (2021)
(In Alphabetical Order)
1. The African Doctor (2016)
A brilliant doctor from the Congo moves to a rural French village and tries to win over the skeptical locals.
2. Agatha Christie’s Crooked House (2017)
A detective investigates the death of his ex-lover’s grandfather and uncovers family secrets.
3. The Artist (2011)
A black-and-white silent film that explores the romance between a fading silent-era star and a rising actress.
4. The Beguiled (2017)
During the Civil War, a wounded Union soldier disrupts the calm in a girls’ boarding school.
5. Big Stone Gap (2014)
A middle-aged woman in a small Virginian town discovers a family secret that changes her life.
6. Bright Star (2009)
The passionate three-year romance between the poet John Keats and his muse.
7. The Butler (2013)
The life of a White House butler who served eight presidents during significant historical moments.
8. The Butterfly’s Dream (2013)
Two young poets working in a coal mine during WWII both fall for the same woman.
9. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
A young con man eludes capture by an FBI agent in a cat-and-mouse chase across numerous countries.
10. Crimson Peak (2015)
A young heiress discovers sinister secrets in her new husband’s ancestral home.
11. Cold Mountain (2003)
A wounded Civil War soldier makes a perilous journey home to his beloved while she struggles to survive.
12. Dances With Wolves (1990)
A Civil War soldier bonds with a Sioux tribe and adapts to their way of life on the frontier.
13. The Dig (2021)
A British widow hires an archaeologist to uncover ancient treasures on her property just before WWII.
14. Effie Gray (2014)
The young wife of a Victorian-era art critic finds herself falling for an artist and seeking freedom from a loveless marriage.
15. Enola Holmes (2020)
A teenage girl uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart her older brother Sherlock Holmes and help a runaway lord.
16. Fatima (2020)
Three children in 1917 Portugal experience visions of the Virgin Mary, challenging their family and authorities.
17. Get on Up (2014)
The rise of music legend James Brown from humble beginnings to superstardom.
18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
A London writer bonds with the residents of Guernsey as she learns about their book club formed during WWII.
19. Hail, Caesar! (2016)
A studio boss searches for a kidnapped major star while dealing with the chaos of Hollywood.
20. Howards End (1992)
The complexities of class relations in early 20th-century Britain are explored through family dynamics and romance.
21. Hugo (2011)
An orphan living in a Paris train station uncovers ties to a legendary filmmaker and his own destiny.
22. Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
A Mughal emperor and a Hindu princess form an alliance that blossoms into true love in 16th-century India.
23. Kartini: Princess of Java (2017)
A woman of nobility challenges patriarchal norms to enhance educational opportunities for women in early 1900s Indonesia.
24. Lady J (2018)
A wealthy widow plots revenge with the help of a younger woman after her romance with a marquis sours.
25. Lagaan (2001)
Residents of a village in 1890s India challenge British colonizers to a cricket match to avoid a harsh tax.
26. The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
A reporter uncovers a trove of love letters from 1965 and embarks on her own romantic journey.
27. Les Misérables (2012)
The film adaptation of the iconic musical about love, sacrifice, and redemption set against the backdrop of 19th-century France.
28. The Lion Woman (2016)
A girl with a rare condition that causes hair growth deals with societal challenges and learns self-love.
29. A Little Chaos (2014)
A woman hired to design a garden at Versailles becomes entangled in political and romantic intrigues.
30. The Lovely Bones (2009)
A young girl watches from the afterlife as her family mourns and searches for her killer.
31. Loving (2016)
The true story of an interracial couple whose marriage in 1958 led to a landmark Supreme Court case.
32. Marshall (2017)
Thurgood Marshall, later the first Black Supreme Court Justice, works on a sensational case as an NAACP lawyer.
33. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
A fisherman’s daughter becomes Kyoto’s most sought-after geisha but faces rivalries that threaten her destiny.
34. My Fair Lady (1964)
A Cockney flower girl takes elocution lessons from a professor who decides to transform her into a lady of high society, with life-changing results for both.
35. My Girl / My Girl 2 (1991, 1993)
A coming-of-age story about an 11-year-old girl navigating love and loss during a summer filled with significant changes.
36. Ophelia (2018)
A retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia’s perspective, focusing on her love with the Danish prince and her struggle against treachery.
37. The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017)
An American nurse travels to the Ottoman Empire on the brink of WWI and clashes with a dashing lieutenant.
38. The Professor and the Madman (2019)
A scholar working on the first Oxford English Dictionary gets thousands of entries from a doctor with a dark past.
39. Quigley Down Under (1990)
A sharpshooting cowboy travels to Australia for a job but becomes a target when he refuses an immoral task.
40. Radium Girls (2018)
Women working at a radium factory fight to expose the dangerous health risks and corporate cover-ups.
41. The Railway Man (2013)
A WWII soldier still haunted by his past falls in love and encounters a bizarre coincidence that brings back his trauma.
42. Rebecca (2020)
A young newlywed moves into her husband’s imposing estate and faces the sinister housekeeper and the legacy of his late wife.
43. Shadow (2018)
As kingdoms vie for control of a walled city, a figure with unique power weaves a web of intrigue.
44. Silver Skates (2020)
A petty thief on skates falls for an aristocrat’s daughter amidst obstacles in St. Petersburg.
45. A Single Man (2009)
A day in the life of a gay college professor mourning his lover’s death, portrayed in a stream-of-consciousness style.
46. Stardust (2007)
In a Victorian setting, a young man ventures into a magical realm to retrieve a fallen star and ends up embarking on an epic adventure.
47. Suffragette (2015)
A young idealistic woman takes radical steps in the early 20th century to fight for women’s right to vote.
48. The Theory of Everything (2014)
The story of Stephen Hawking’s rise in the world of physics while battling ALS, supported by his devoted wife, Jane.
49. Velvet Colección: Grand Finale (2020)
During Christmas 1969, past and present staff of Velvet reunite in Madrid for new beginnings.
50. The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
The caretakers of the Warsaw Zoo work with the resistance to save Jews during the Nazi invasion.
BONUS PERIOD PIECES ON NETFLIX (MOVIES)
– 1922 (TV-MA)
– The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Rated R)
– The Danish Girl (Rated R)
– Defiance (Rated R)
– Destiny (TV-14)
– Django Unchained (Rated R)
– The Emigrant (TV-14)
– Errementari (TV-MA)
– A Fortunate Man (TV-MA)
– The Giant (TV-14)
– The Girl King (TV-MA)
– GOYO: The Boy General (TV-MA)
– Hawaizaada (2015) (TV-14)
– The Highwaymen (Rated R)
– Ip Man (Rated R)
– Kardec (TV-14)
– The King (Rated R)
– The Last Paradiso (TV-MA)
– MANK (Rated R)
– Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Rated R)
– Mary Magdalene (Rated R)
– Milada (TV-14)
– Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (PG-13)
– Mudbound (Rated R)
– Mucize (TV-14)
– Operation Finale (PG-13)
– Outlaw King (Rated R)
– Pan’s Labyrinth (Rated R)
– Panipat (TV-14)
– Paan Singh Tomar (TV-14)
– The Piano (Rated R)
– Red Joan (TV-MA)
– The Red Sea Diving Resort (TV-MA)
– The Resistance Banker (TV-MA)
– Rose Island (TV-14)
– Rush (Rated R)
– Sarajevo (2014) (TV-PG)
– Septembers of Shiraz (PG-13)
– Shutter Island (Rated R)
– The Stolen (TV-14)
– There Will Be Blood (Rated R)
– This Earth of Mankind (TV-14)
– The Trial of the Chicago Seven (Rated R)
– W.E. (Rated R)
– Winchester (PG-13)
– The Young Messiah (PG-13)
What period pieces on Netflix will you be watching? Let us know in the comments!
