Period films are in fashion. In reality, it is a genre that is never forgotten.. Perhaps because of its ability to take us back to past times, perhaps because of its setting; The truth is that films set in other times always delight viewers.
In today’s article we bring you the 10 best period films to enjoy, a list that we have based, above all, on their criticism. It goes without saying that there are many more and we encourage you to discover them. Relax, sit back and enjoy.
Before starting the list in question, it would be good to ask ourselves: what do we mean when we talk about “period films”? Strictly, this name should include all those films that are not set in our present, whether historical or not. Therefore, and according to this criterion, films set in the 1970s would also be “period” films, for example.
However, There is an unwritten agreement that limits the so-called “period cinema” between, approximately, the 17th and 18th centuries and the mid-20th century.especially films set in the always stimulating 19th century and with the 1960s as the “peak.” Maybe in the future this period will be extended, who knows. Below, you will find 10 “period cinema” titles to enjoy.
1. Sense and sensitivity (1995), by Ang Lee
Jane Austen (1775-1817) is always a good option to create a magnificent period film or series. Taiwanese director Ang Lee (b. 1959) made full use of the material from the British author’s first published book, Sense and Sensibility (1811). The result is a delicious film excellently set and supported by a magnificent classicist soundtrack by composer Patrick Doyle (b. 1953). The script, written by Emma Thompson (b. 1959), who also plays the role of Elinor, her older sister, and who won an Oscar for her adaptation work, wonderfully manages to capture the spirit of the original novel.
The Brontë sisters are another classic when it comes to adapting stories for period films. Specifically, Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) and her Jane Eyre (published in 1847), which has been adapted numerous times to the big and small screen. The plot revolves around a poor, mistreated and humiliated orphan who, as an adult, begins to serve as a governess in an enigmatic house, owned by a no less enigmatic gentleman, Mr. Rochester.
The romantic force of the story, with its gloomy and mysterious atmosphere (so in vogue at the time) makes its adaptations to the screen always a safe bet. Of all of them, we highlight the latest version, made by the American Cary Fukunaga (b. 1977) and starring an excellent Mia Wasikowska (b. 1989), whose languid beauty and her restrained performance recreate a wonderful Jane Eyre.
3. Little Women (1994), by Gillian Armstrong
This version of the immortal novel by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), made by the Australian Gillian Armstrong (b. 1950), is probably the one that best manages to recreate the atmosphere of American society in the mid-19th century. The story, set in a remote provincial town in the middle of the Civil War, tells the experiences of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March.
In addition to excellent costumes and a perfect atmosphere, the performance of Winona Ryder (b. 1971) as the rebellious Josephine March (the author’s own alter ego) is credible and lively and inspires the entire film. This is probably the best version of the Alcott novel, which is anything but a sugarcoated and corny story (as has often been said of it). Not in vain, the protagonist never stops fighting to make her dream of being a writer come true, in a world in which women were considered the “angel of the home.”
4. Barry Lyndon (1975), by Stanley Kubrick
The versatile Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was able to transfer to the screen the futuristic “paranoias” that prevailed in the 60s (his famous 2001: A Space Odyssey), but he also left authentic masterpieces of cinema for posterity. time. A good example of this is Barry Lyndon, an adaptation of the novel that William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) wrote in 1844.
The film revolves around the experiences of a young man from the 18th century, Barry Lyndon, who does not hesitate to use mischief and his sharp wit to climb positions. It is a magnificent eighteenth-century fresco in which the costumes and photography stand out, which seem to have been taken from a painting by Fragonard. Without a doubt, a delight for the senses.
5. Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), by Peter Webber
Excellent adaptation of the novel of the same name by the writer Tracy Chevalier (b. 1962), which tells the story of Griet, the fictitious maid who serves in the Vermeer household and who, supposedly, is behind the famous portrait of the painter The Young Woman of the pearl.
In addition to a well-made script, where silences and calm stand out, and a wonderful (and very young) Scarlett Johansson (b. 1984) in the role of Griet, the most outstanding thing about the film is, without a doubt, its photography, which It is inspired by the paintings of the brilliant Dutch artist and perfectly recreates the atmosphere of 17th century Delft.
6. The Age of Innocence (1993), by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s (b. 1942) love for nineteenth-century New York is well known. On this occasion, the director delves into the novel that Edith Wharton (1862-1937) wrote in 1920. The story is set in New York City at the end of the 19th century, and tells of the passionate romance that arises between the young lawyer Newland Archer (played by a magnificent Daniel Day-Lewis) and his fiancée’s cousin, the beautiful and rebellious Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), who constitutes a scandal for the strict New York society, since she has just separated from her husband .
7. Brooklyn (2015), by John Crowley
Brooklyn is a delicious love story that tells the adventures of an Irish immigrant, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), who must leave for the United States in 1951 to forge a better life. The film, with a slow and restful pace, is a fresco of the community of immigrants in the United States in the mid-20th century, grouped by their nationalities of origin.
In Brooklyn, Lacey meets a young Italian immigrant, Tony, with whom she begins a courtship and a beautiful love story. However, personal circumstances force the young woman to return, at least for the moment, to her native Ireland, which will jeopardize her romance. Critics hailed the film as one of the best productions of 2015.
8. Portrait of the young girl in feu (2019), by Céline Sciamma
Released in Spain as Portrait of a Woman on Fire, this moving and passionate love story was almost unanimously praised by critics. The story revolves around Marianne, a painter who, at the end of the 18th century, is hired by a rich French family to paint a portrait of Heloïse, their daughter, who has just left the convent and is destined to get married. The attraction between the painter and the sitter will grow in crescendo until they “burn” in the fire mentioned in the title.
In this beautiful film, photography, costumes, light, silences and music (taken from the magnificent baroque and classical repertoire) go hand in hand to present an intimate story of an impossible love portrayed with great and deep sensitivity.
9. A Room with a View (1985), by James Ivory
It is probably one of the most popular period films, although it may not be the most eloquent in terms of plot. Despite its “flaws”, this film enjoys a wonderful staging, which introduces the viewer to Florence and the English countryside at the beginning of the 20th century and shows, among other things, the fascination that the British felt for Italy (memories of that eighteenth-century Grand Tour).
The film is recreated in each scene and in each frame with impeccable detail. The wardrobe also has a very notable importance. The story revolves around young Lucy, a girl of Victorian upbringing who travels to Florence with her much older unmarried cousin (played by the always magnificent Maggie Smith). There they ask for a room with a view of the Arno (hence the title), and there Lucy will meet George, whom she will meet again later in England. The film was one of those that launched Helena Bonham Carter (in the role of young Lucy) to fame, who would later achieve success with her partner Tim Burton.
10. The remains of the day (1993), by James Ivory
We close the list with one of the classic films about servants and lords, based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro (b. 1954). Set in the typical English palatial mansion of the early 20th century, it stars Stevens, the upright and serious butler, and Miss Kenton, the discreet housekeeper. Even though Stevens silently loves her, he never dares to confess his love for her, and fate takes them both eventually on their separate paths.
The superb performance of an always magnificent Anthony Hopkins (b. 1937) and a no less magnificent Emma Thompson (b. 1959) in the roles of butler and housekeeper is one of the many attractions of the film, which has a attractive setting and a splendid script.
