15 Best Period Piece Movies Ever, Ranked

What exactly is a period piece? In layman's terms, it's a work of fiction or non-fiction that takes place in a time period that is not the current one. It's a broad descriptor of films that involve intricate set-pieces, costuming, and research in order to fully encapsulate a bygone era. At the same time, you wouldn't necessarily group a Western action movie and a Gothic romance book within the same category of genre. For the most part, period pieces are less action-oriented and more based in human drama and historical conflict.

Additionally, the period piece has also been a vehicle for on-screen representation and inclusivity, from romances that prove queer love has existed for hundreds of years to scandalous dramas that reflect our modern society. Some of the most iconic films of all time are period pieces, including the 15 on this list we think are hands-down the best period films ever. 

Guillermo del Toro is known for his fascination with fantasy, fairy tales, and gothic horror, but perhaps his most underrated venture into the period genre was 2015's "Crimson Peak." Although not del Toro's most critically-acclaimed work, "Crimson Peak" stars Mia Wasikowska as an aspiring author, Edith, who falls in love with an eccentric inventor (Tom Hiddleston) and moves into his English mansion with his enigmatic sister (Jessica Chastain), uncovering ghosts that haunt their family and force Edith to probe into the siblings' dysfunctional relationship. 

It's certainly a terrifying film, but it likely has more appeal to those who love period piece romances. As del Toro told Vulture in 2024, "[It's] a movie that connects with the people who love it at an almost molecular level ... I knew I wanted to produce a lavish, beautiful, operatic spectacle, with sets and melodrama and beautiful light and, you know, just make it make it a sort of banquet." Hopefully, audiences in the future come to respect "Crimson Peak" as one of Guillermo del Toro's best movies. 

Jane Austen's 1815 novel "Emma" is an iconic piece of English literature, and has been adapted numerous times on film. However, the best iteration of this story, which centers on a wealthy English woman who involves herself in the romantic lives of those around her, came in 2020, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular matchmaker. The Athens Banner-Herald specifically named Taylor-Joy as a huge reason why this version of "Emma" works so well, writing, "She, obviously under the guidance of her director, makes her borderline unlikeable character not just amiable, but also someone to root for."

It also helps that "Emma" is rounded out with a strong cast of supporting actors including Josh O'Connor, Mia Goth, and Bill Nighy. Some critics felt that its faithfulness to the original novel is one of its weaknesses, but no one can deny that the work of first-time director Autumn de Wilde brought this tried-and-true period piece to life like never before. It's just a shame its theatrical run was interrupted by COVID-19.

Like "Emma," D.H. Lawrence's 1928 novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" is a well-known piece of English literature, though maybe not for the right reasons. Ever since its release, the book has been the subject of controversy for its content, including profanity as well as graphic depictions of sex that are still raunchy even by today's standards. Thankfully, nothing was toned down for its 2022 adaptation, starring Emma Corrin as Constance Reid, a baroness who, after her husband returns home from World War I paralyzed, embarks on an illicit affair with a working-class gameskeeper (Jack O'Connell). 

As far as period pieces go, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" is one of the steamiest movies on Netflix right now, and certainly does justice to the original novel's promiscuous reputation. As Variety wrote of the film in their review, "Instead of pushing the envelope, [director Laure] de Clermont-Tonnerre wisely opts for subtlety." For those who incorrectly think that the period romance genre is way too stuffy, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" is the perfect film to prove you wrong. 

2016's "Lady Macbeth" may not have made a big splash when it was first released, but it did something major for the film industry: Introduce the world to Florence Pugh. "Lady Macbeth" was only the future Oscar nominee's second film, placing her front-and-center as Katharine, a dissatisfied English wife desperate to escape her loveless marriage to nobleman Alexander Lester (Paul Hilton). Not only is it a star turn worthy of any cinephile's attention, but it also feels incredibly fresh and bold for a period piece. 

A review from Another Gaze analyzed the film's intentional casting of Cosmo Jarvis as Katharine's affair partner Sebastian, writing that the film's "story takes on greater weight through its casting and draws attention to how patriarchal systems provide a basis for gender, racial, and economic discrimination." Not only is it an ornate display of incredible production design that rivals any period piece, but it narrative is also incredibly subversive and surprising, though it may alienate some fans of the more sentimental period pieces to come on this list. 

This isn't the first or the last Jane Austen adaptation on this list. Her 1811 novel "Sense and Sensibility" had its best adaptation in 1995, directed by Ang Lee and starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as Elinor Dashwood and her sister Marianne, whose financial troubles force them to leave their family estate and seek out the support of two suitors, played by Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.

"Sense and Sensibility" obviously owes a lot to its source material, but what Ang Lee coaxes into this film is its tone, which rivals more modern rom-coms in ways most period pieces fail to. As Paul Laity wrote for The Guardian in 2011, the film succeeds partly due to the Oscar-winning script from Thompson, "an appealing half-parody of a style, catering to a 20th-century audience but not assuming that its members have been lobotomised ... a story that keeps its force as a study of class and money and character, but aims mostly for sheer pleasure — and to be funny." Funny is not a word you'd hear often describe a period piece, but somehow "Sense and Sensibility" makes the genre feel modern for once. 

It goes without saying that Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors of all time, but despite that, "Barry Lyndon" is one of the most underrated films by the iconic director. Released in 1975, "Barry Lyndon" is a 3-hour period drama about an 18th-century peasant (Ryan O'Neal) who climbs his way up the social ladder by killing an aristocrat (Frank Middlemass) and marrying his widow (Marisa Berenson), while its second half explores the character's inevitable downfall. Unsurprisingly, "Barry Lyndon" was divisive when it was first released, garnering criticism for its slow pace and aimlessness. 

The film has since been re-evaluated as one of Kubrick's masterpieces, with Roger Ebert retrospectively writing in 2009, "Some people find 'Barry Lyndon' a fascinating, if cold, exercise in masterful filmmaking; others find it a terrific bore. I have little sympathy for the second opinion; how can anyone be bored by such an audacious film?" As a period piece, it's truly a marvel to look at, from the costumes, to the production design, and as always, Kubrick's painstaking attention to detail. It's no wonder it swept those categories at the 1976 Oscars. 

Todd Haynes has directed his fair share of period pieces, including "Far from Heaven" as well as the HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce." However, by far his finest work in 2015's "Carol," starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as unlikely lovers in 1950s New York City. The film is one of the best lesbian romance movies of all time, with a significant lack of played-out stereotypes and an abundance of genuine romance and empathy towards its characters' situations as star-crossed lovers in a time where their very existence was invalidated. 

Hence why "Carol," despite its more modern setting than other films on this list, deserves a spot as one of the greatest period pieces. For Blanchett and Mara's characters, their sexual orientation is complicated by the very nature of the time in which they live. As Jesse Pasternack wrote of the film for Indiana University's cinema blog Establishing Shot, "[One] of the thematic hallmarks of Haynes's period pieces is that they depict relationships which wouldn't have been depicted (or would have been much harder to depict) in the eras in which they take place." "Carol" is certainly a product of its time, in that regard. 

When you think of period pieces, chances are one of the first films that comes to mind is "Pride & Prejudice." There have been over 11 adaptations of Jane Austen's 1813 novel, but easily the most definitive is the 2005 film directed by Joe Wright. Starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, "Pride & Prejudice" remains faithful to the novel's story of five sisters who strive to marry well in order to avoid becoming penniless. Of course, it's Elizabeth's love story with the aloof Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) that keeps "Pride & Prejudice" a juicy romance, even in the modern era. 

While some view Elizabeth & Darcy's romance as a typical "enemies-to-lovers" trope, this film has been incredibly influential to period romances that came after. As written by Jessica Durgan for the Jane Austen Society of North America, "'Pride & Prejudice' attracted the youth and mainstream audiences without alienating the majority of [British] heritage fans," citing its box office success as a component of the genre's increased popularity in the 2000s. Some may think Keira Knightley's career was never the same after "Pirates of the Caribbean," but she proved with this film why we should love period pieces ... most ardently. 

For a period piece, Baz Luhrmann knows how to make a spectacle. 2001's "Moulin Rouge!" is a musical drama set in Paris in 1899, where a young playwright named Christian (Ewan McGregor) falls in love with the star of his newest cabaret play, Satine (Nicole Kidman). Compared to most of the other period pieces on this list, "Moulin Rouge!" is more of a highly-stylized take on late 19th-century France than a realistic interpretation, though it certainly doesn't disappoint with its Oscar-winning production and costume designs. 

Where "Moulin Rouge!" truly excels as a period piece, however, is making 19th-century France feel modern through the use of its soundtrack, which interpolates many iconic pop songs from artists like Madonna, Elton John, and even Nirvana. As Rachel Stewart wrote for Film Obsessive, the film is anything but an ordinary period piece, or even your ordinary movie musical, saying, "There's nothing safe about 'Moulin Rouge' — it's dark, it's dangerous, it's absolutely too much. And it never ever apologizes for it." That's why it's not surprising that its Broadway adaptation won Best Musical at the 2021 Tony Awards. 

There are simply too many incredible period pieces from Paul Thomas Anderson to fit onto one list, from "Boogie Nights" to "There Will Be Blood," and even most recently "Licorice Pizza." However, few feel as surprising for the director as 2017's "Phantom Thread," which centers on a 1950s dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) in London who falls in love with a young woman named Alma (Vicky Krieps), only for their relationship to take a twisted turn. Among the things that makes "Phantom Thread" so surprising isn't just that it's a period piece, but it's a rather unpolished and gritty one — and that was no accident.

According to PTA's gaffer, Michael Bauman, they wanted to avoid the perfectionism of period pieces like "The Crown," telling IndieWire, "When people think of a period movie it becomes this beautifully polished, amazingly photographed — I mean 'The Crown' looks beautiful — but super clean, gorgeous light and he was clear it couldn't look like that." That approach certainly garnered the film some glowing reviews, and had Daniel Day-Lewis stuck to his promise not to return to acting, it would've been an incredible final performance to go out on. 

It only takes one film to turn a director into a household name, which is exactly what Robert Eggers did for himself with his directorial debut, "The Witch," in 2015. However, he also made a household name out of the film's star, Anya Taylor-Joy, who takes center-stage as the teenage daughter of an outcast Puritan family in 17th century New England who are tormented by a witch. We Are Indie Horror deemed it "the best horror film in the last 20 years," calling it, "beautifully shot and accompanied by an unsettling amalgam of music ... and sounds."

Surprisingly, the film hasn't aged well for one person: Robert Eggers, who feels critical of his own shortcomings as a director when he watches it now. For what it's worth, "The Witch" is far from Eggers' worst movie, and it's easily his scariest, even compared to his most recent release, "Nosferatu." That's likely all thanks to its dedication to making 17th-century New England feel truly haunting, which was accomplished through intense research into the time period, American folklore, and the occult. 

"Portrait of a Lady on Fire" has a strong reputation in the LGBTQ+ community, which isn't surprising if you happen to have seen this 2019 film from French director Céline Sciamma. Set in the 18th century, the film tells the story of the love affair between a painter named Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and a betrothed aristocratic woman named Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). In terms of its commitment to its time period, many critics have applauded the film's refreshing look, which emphasizes bold colors and natural lighting where other period pieces may lean into dark or gritty aesthetics. 

GLAAD commended the film for its queer representation, even in an oversaturated market of depictions of LGBTQ+ women, writing, "There is a clear understanding of the progression of queer relationships in 'Portrait' that makes the film so powerful ... 'Portrait' is soft, tentative, and full of yearning, a feeling which is often central in queer romantic experiences." There's a reason many cinephiles consider this to be one of the greatest LGBTQ+ movies of all time, since it felt so overdue. 

Although Western audiences might be ignorant of him, Park Chan-wook is one of the most prolific South Korean filmmakers in cinematic history, with films like "Oldboy" remaining staples of their genres. Chan-wook brought that level of artistry to 2016's romantic thriller "The Handmaiden," set in Japanese-occupied Korea where a highborn heiress named Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) begins an affair with her handmaiden Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) during her courtship to a con artist posing as a count. 

Like "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," "The Handmaiden" feels like a refreshing depiction of LGBTQ+ women in a period piece, as Film Inquiry wrote, "Outside of queer cinema, many historical dramas center white elites and no one else ... 'The Handmaiden' is an example of a beautiful, dramatic, liberating queer story nestled inside of a past that may never have precisely existed." For period piece fans interested in exploring international cinema, this is one of the best South Korean films you need to watch. 

On the surface, "The Favourite" may look stuffy and dry, but when you have Yorgos Lanthimos behind the camera, it's anything but. The 2018 film tells the story of Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman), whose royal position of court favorite is ruthlessly fought over by noblewoman Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and the social-climbing Abigail Hill (Emma Stone). GQ examined best the film's aversion to normal period drama tropes, writing, "The best thing about 'The Favourite' ... is that if you removed the palace, the costumes and the arcane societal hierarchies, you'd be left with a tale as old as time."

Some may view the film as simply an appetizer for its director's most-acclaimed work thus far, "Poor Things," and this is easily the next Yorgos Lanthimos movie you should watch if you had any warm feelings towards that recent Oscar winner. While entrenching the audience in 18th-century Great Britain, it makes modern dialogue feel naturalistic in this world and wows with its costume design, cinematography, and gorgeous visuals, all of which rival some of the more well-known period pieces from earlier in this list. 

Despite having only three films released to date, Greta Gerwig may be unrivaled in just how versatile of a director she's proven herself to be. While "Lady Bird" reinvented the coming-of-age drama and "Barbie" broke the box office with its unique take on an aging IP, "Little Women" showed that Gerwig can also perfect the period piece by turning an iconic American novel into one of the best films of the past 10 years. This 2019 adaptation of "Little Women" makes the age-old story of tomboy Jo March and her sisters' growing up in 19th-century Massachusetts feel brand new. 

Gerwig assembled an all-star cast including Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Bob Odenkirk to play the March family and friends, who all feel distinctly definitive in their performances of these tried-and-true characters. Perhaps the Associated Press said it best when acclaiming "Little Women" as a modern classic in the period piece genre, writing, "[In] playing a bit with the chronology and instilling depth and nuance where many films have instead chosen shortcuts, Gerwig has made the most full-realized interpretation of this well-worn material." For now, we'll stay mad about Gerwig being snubbed for a best director nomination for this masterpiece.