Recommended Costume dramas

[olde_fashioned]

This is designed to be a list of costume dramas that I like, as well as ones I would recommend to those looking for something to watch. This is by no means extensive, and certain movies have been omitted intentionally due to objectionable content. (what, I ask, is the point of a costume drama when the characters spend more time out of the costumes than in them?) I've seen a great many movies, and a lot of costume dramas, and very few of them I would consider good enough to buy, or recommend.

[note: my favourites are highlighted ]

Alphabetically:

Bleak House
IMDb entry

Christy (the television show with Kellie Martin, and/or pilot episode for the show)
IMDb entry

Cranford and Return to Cranford (IMDb has combined both productions as one entry)
IMDb entry
[has one fleeting suggestive scene that will probably go over the heads of younger viewers]

Emma (a.k.a. E3, the 1996 Kate Beckinsale/Mark Strong version)
IMDb entry

Ever After
IMDb entry

Five Mile Creek (an Australian TV show based on Louis L'Amour's "The Cherokee Trail")
IMDb entry

Gods & Generals
IMDb entry

Jane Eyre (with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke)
IMDb entry

Jane Eyre (with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens)
IMDb entry
[beware of a few "suggestive" scenes...]

Lady and the Duke, The (in French; with subtitles)
IMDb entry

Lady and the Highwayman, The
IMDb entry

Last of the Mohicans, The
IMDb entry
[beware heavy war violence and rather "intense" kissing in one scene]

Little Dorrit
IMDb entry

Lorna Doone (the 2001 Amelia Warner version)
IMDb entry

Man from Snowy River, The
IMDb entry

Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World
IMDb entry

Mayor of Casterbridge, The
IMDb entry

Miss Austen Regrets
IMDb entry

North & South (with Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe)
IMDb entry

Northanger Abbey (1986)
IMDb entry

Our Mutual Friend
IMDb entry

The Phantom of the Opera
IMDb entry
[beware suggestive lyrics and dancing for "Point of No Return"]

Persuasion (a.k.a. P2, the 1995? Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds version)
IMDb entry

Pride & Prejudice (a.k.a. P&P2, the 1995 Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version)
IMDb entry

Sense & Sensibility (a.k.a. S&S2, the 1995 Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet version)
IMDb entry

Shackleton (with Kenneth Brannagh, about the Antarctic explorer)
IMDb entry

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (a Korean-made drama about the Korean war)
IMDb entry
[beware heavy war violence and language]

Wives & Daughters
IMDb entry

Comments

[antimaccassar.livejournal.com]

Wow! This list is so great! Thanks so much for doing it, there are very few places these days that list "clean" costume dramas.

What is your opinion of Downton Abbey? I recently watched the first episode and was totally enthralled until, well, a certain scene. Is the rest of the series like that? I was so disappointed, because the rest of the episode was so lovely, and I really wanted to like it. Should I press on?

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

I need to update it, but these are still the best ones. ;)

I did watch all of Downton Abbey, and I was less than enthralled with a "certain scene" as well. If you don't mind a couple tiny spoilers, then forge ahead...

[SPOILER ALERT!]

The two "guilty parties" in the scene you mentioned are both villains, especially Thomas. He goes on to flirt with another man (which ends up blowing up in his face as the other man is straight), and it's implied that Thomas is also guilty of a horrific crime. He does various other nasty things to nearly all of the "downstairs" cast, so it's pretty safe to say that despite unfortunately showing a homosexual kiss onscreen, both characters are definitely negative.

Hope this helps!

[antimaccassar.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Are the rest of the episodes okay too? I am now super wary of the rest of the series ;)

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

There's a sex scene in the story but not on screen, if you know what I mean. It starts off with some serious making out on the bed, then blacks out, and we're told they went through with the deed, but there are some serious repercussions that make it a little more of a "plot point".

The homosexual kiss was the worst it got. Hopefully the second series won't go any further than the first has!!

[antimaccassar.livejournal.com]

You have been a big help! Thank you so much!

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

You are most welcome! :D