History: Best movies about Renaissance
Including rare old movies from Eastern Europe and Skandinavia
List activity
81K views
• 37 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
48 titles
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonCyril CusackBrutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghEmma ThompsonKeanu ReevesYoung lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.
- DirectorMichael RadfordStarsAl PacinoJoseph FiennesLynn CollinsIn 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
- DirectorTom StoppardStarsGary OldmanTim RothRichard DreyfussTwo minor characters from the play 'Hamlet' stumble around unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them.
- CreatorNeil JordanStarsJeremy IronsFrançois ArnaudHolliday GraingerIn the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
- CreatorTom FontanaStarsMark RyderIsolda DychaukDiarmuid NoyesStory of the rise and the fall of the Renaissance dynasty.
- DirectorAntonio HernándezStarsLluís HomarSergio Peris-MenchetaMaría ValverdeA portrait of the bloody dynasty that spawned a pope, Alexander VI, as well as the role model for Machiavelli's "The Prince," his son Cesare Borgia, and a legend of femme duplicity, daughter Lucrezia Borgia.
- DirectorChristoph SchreweStarsManu FullolaBrian BlessedJames FaulknerIn 1458, five years after the fall of Constantinople to the Turk, eighteen cardinals met in Rome to elect a new pope. A 27-year-old Spanish cardinal, Rodrigo Borgia, learns to play a very dangerous game; how to survive his first conclave.
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsChristo JivkovSergio GrammaticoDimitar RachkovThe history of the first victim of modern artillery and its moving agony, amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful. Life and death of Giovanni De' Medici, a young brave captain in the war of Charles V against the Pope, in the first half of 1500.
- StarsCosima CoppolaGiulio BerrutiAnna SafroncikBeautiful love story, remind us of ''Romeo and Juliet'', two young lovers - ''The Falcon'' Giulio and ''The Dove'' Elena - thru the social and political life in 14th Century Italy. Unique locations, very well directed and photographed.
- StarsJean-Claude DauphinIsabelle AdjaniMichel VinterDuring the Dutch Golden Age, we follow the journey, schemes, and adventures of Antonello, a young Napolitan painter, from Italy to Holland, in search of the manufacturing secrets of the Flemish oil painting.
- StarsPhilippe LeroyGiulio BosettiGiorgio PiazzaMiniseries dramatizing the life of the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsCharlton HestonRex HarrisonDiane CilentoThe biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.
- CreatorMichael HirstStarsJonathan Rhys MeyersHenry CavillAnthony BrophyEpic series reveals the scandalous life of a young king whose affairs and obsession with producing a male heir changed marriage, the church, and the world.
- StarsMark RylanceDamian LewisClaire FoyAfter the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger.
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsNatalie PortmanScarlett JohanssonEric BanaTwo sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorPhilippa LowthorpeStarsNatascha McElhoneJodhi MayJared HarrisBased on the controversial novel by Philippa Gregory, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a fictionalised account of the life of Lady Mary Boleyn who becomes mistress to England's King Henry VIII, before being ousted by her younger sister, Anne. Mary leaves the Court to marry a commoner, but returns when Anne embarks on a reckless policy to save herself from ruin.
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsRichard BurtonGeneviève BujoldIrene PapasKing Henry VIII of England discards one wife, Catharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.
- DirectorWaris HusseinStarsKeith MichellDonald PleasenceCharlotte RamplingOn his deathbed, King Henry VIII looks back over his eventful life and his six marriages.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsRay WinstoneJoss AcklandSid MitchellTwo part mini-series documenting the stormy thirty-eight-year reign of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsPaul ScofieldWendy HillerRobert ShawThe story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarry.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterCary ElwesJohn WoodThe story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for only nine days.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
- StarsAnne-Marie DuffSienna GuilloryIan HartFrom teenage princess to accomplished queen, torn between duty and personal longing, the reign of Elizabeth I is exposed in this lavish drama filmed against a backdrop of some of Great Britain's most beautiful houses and landscapes.
- StarsHelen MirrenToby JonesHugh DancyMini-series about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
- CreatorBen EltonStarsDavid MitchellGemma WhelanRob RouseSatirical Blackadderesque sitcom about how friends, family, historical circumstances, and his arch-rival Robert Greene, who first coined the derogatory term "upstart crow", influenced William Shakespeare to write his famous plays.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsRhys IfansVanessa RedgraveDavid ThewlisThe theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsTilda SwintonBilly ZaneQuentin CrispAfter Queen Elizabeth I commands him not to grow old, a young nobleman struggles with love and his place in the world.
- DirectorGillies MacKinnonStarsVulpe AdrianCarmen UngureanuClémence PoésyMini series depicting the turbulent and bloody reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsFranco CittiNinetto DavoliJovan JovanovicAn adaptation of nine stories from Boccaccio's "Decameron".
- DirectorMarshall HerskovitzStarsCatherine McCormackRufus SewellOliver PlattA Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
- DirectorCarlo CarleiStarsHailee SteinfeldDouglas BoothDamian LewisRomeo and Juliet secretly wed despite the sworn contempt their families hold for each other. It is not long, however, before a chain of fateful events changes the lives of both families forever.
- StarsÁlvaro CervantesAlfonso BassaveMarina SalasThe Roman Catholic Church faces the new challenges of Protestanism in Northern Europe and Paganism in the Americas. Carlos V seeks to secure the power of the Church, in this continuation of Isabel (2011-2014) and La Corona Partida (2016).
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiRuy GuerraHelena RojoIn the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsGérard DepardieuArmand AssanteSigourney WeaverChristopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsMarlon BrandoTom SelleckGeorges CorrafaceGenoese navigator overcomes intrigue in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain and gains financing for his expedition to the East Indies.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJohn HurtCharley BoormanAngeline BallAn anonymous painting from the Fontainebleau School hangs in the Louvre. The mysterious pose whereby two young women sit in a bath, one holding the nipple of the other between finger and thumb, has baffled all the experts.
- DirectorPatrice ChéreauStarsIsabelle AdjaniDaniel AuteuilJean-Hugues AngladeYoung Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
- DirectorJo BaierStarsJulien BoisselierJoachim KrólAndreas SchmidtA wide-ranging, energetic period piece tracing the rise of the Protestant Henry of Navarre as he goes from battlefield warrior to France's beloved King Henri IV. Director Jo Baier's epic is a classically-entertaining adventure, albeit one with much bloodshed and frequent bawdy sexual interludes. In late-16th-century France, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots are at war. Seemingly seeking peace, French dowager Queen Catherine de Medici summons Henry to her court to marry him to her daughter, which would unite the two warring factions. However, the Catholics slaughter the Protestant wedding guests in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Henry--now married--must use all his guile to stay alive and maneuver for the throne.
- StarsMikhail EfremovMikhail BoyarskiyDmitriy PevtsovThe history of the decline of the reign of the French Valois dynasty, full of drama, religious contradictions, palace and love intrigues.
- StarsGabriella TkachAleksandr DomogarovRafael KotanjyanFrance during the times of Henry III. Religious wars and political intrigues mixed with the tragic love story between Count Louis de Bussy and Countess Diana de Monsoreau.
- DirectorDaniel VigneStarsGérard DepardieuNathalie BayeMaurice BarrierIn medieval France, some villagers challenge a man's claim of identity when he (as he says) returns home from some time in the army.
- DirectorJos StellingStarsRené GroothofVeerle DobbelaereRené van 't HofLate 16th century, persecuted protestantism and general dissatisfaction with the Catholic Habsburg rule in the Netherlands lead to large-scale plundering and vandalizing of churches, only harshening the Spanish Inquisition, sparkling the Eighty Years War. Flanders, 1568: Italian minstrel Campanelli tells he followed a Dutchman, the robber of a golden chalice, but failed to prevent him being taken -after banging a country-girl- by the men of a rigid farmer Netelneck, who has him tied-up inside a huge shit-container. After Campanelli frees him, the gold stays inside, and the Dutchman is killed, but the minstrel turns to offer the paying audience a happier version. Seven years later, he scares the Dutchman's posthumous son into bringing him food and convinces the kid he can fly, like his dad, who is on a grand ship, but fails to drag the gold out and is blinded and chased by Netelneck. Fourteen years later, the minstrel returns and tricks Netelneck into diving after the gold himself so he can drawn the bastard, then sets the 'little Dutchman' on the road to find his father, who proves a mere thief living in a beached shipwreck. Both join a brigand band, but it ends up arrested by the Spaniards and imprisoned under the authority of Netelneck's son, who has him thrown in an oubliette forced to scoop water, but Lotte, his only lover ever, notices something she gave him and believes her son, now she's Netelneck junior's wife, is the little Dutchman's...
- DirectorLech MajewskiStarsRutger HauerMichael YorkCharlotte RamplingThis movie focuses on a dozen of the five hundred characters depicted in Bruegel's painting. The theme of Christ's suffering is set against religious persecution in Flanders in 1564.
- DirectorJuraj JakubiskoStarsAnna FrielKarel RodenVincent ReganWith an unquenchable thirst for blood, Countess Elizabeth Bathory was one of the most prolific serial killers in history.