History: Best movies about 17th century
Including rare old movies from Eastern Europe and Skandinavia
List activity
20K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
72 titles
- DirectorImanol UribeStarsMaría BarrancoJoaquim de AlmeidaLaura del SolAfter spending a night with a sensual prostitute, the King of Spain decides that he wants to see his wife naked. His decision causes a real revolution amidst his subjects.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsGérard DepardieuJean-Pierre MarielleAnne BrochetThe story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsLogan LermanMatthew MacfadyenRay StevensonThe hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down-on-their-luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.And all other movies by this book.
- DirectorHenri HelmanStarsJacques PerrinPierre BoulangerStéphan Guérin-TilliéIn the Kingdom of France from 1640 is the old with his body ailing Cardinal Richelieu, powerful man under Louis XIII, faced with the machinations of his tipped designated successor, the Marquis de Cinq-Mars.
- DirectorMarc RivièreStarsPhilippe TorretonAlessandra MartinesMarc CittiWith France's prime minister Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII dead, the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin and the Spanish-born Queen Anne struggle to establish a regency to rule France in the name of the five-year-old Louis XIV.
- DirectorRoger PlanchonStarsCarmen MauraMaxime MansionPaolo GraziosiThe title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent period, when the Louvre (meaning 'wolves hunt castle', hunting was a major aristocratic pastime), then still the somewhat gloomy royal palace, was the battle field of palace intrigues while the regency was held by queen-mother Anne of Austria but the actual head of the royal government was the aging cardinal Giulio Mazirini ('Mazarin'), the less-known Italian successor of Richelieu, who also introduced to the court and the kingdom a host of his countrymen from whom Louis would learn the passion for Italian culture, especially music which would flourish under the direction of Lully (but that later story is another movie, "Le Roi danse"). The elaborate script sketches the story of French power politics, too complicate and devious to summarize in any detail, but mainly from the viewpoint of the immature king under maternal guardianship, who probably didn't comprehend half of the grave troubles focusing on the strife between the official Catholic church and those claiming freedom of religion, especially for the Huguenots, but in reality mainly driven by personal and family ambitions and the grip of nobles on the kingdom at the expense of the royal power, and climaxing in a full rebellion, known as the Fronde, which forces the royal family to flee for their lives, an experience that may have decided Louis to dedicate his reign to preventing a repeat by establishing absolutism as he did. Some narration is done by Louis's younger brother Philip, the duke of Anjou, who seems smarter but as the spare heir is condemned to life in a golden cage, overshadowed by Louis while any 'disrespect' for his crowned sibling is punishable on the spot by strap lashes administered on his bare behind by a servant.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsJean-Marie PatteRaymond JourdanCésar SilvagniAfter the death of Cardinal Mazarin, young king Louis XIV decides to assert his power to control the aristocracy.
- StarsLorànt DeutschThierry FrémontSara GiraudeauAfter the sumptuous fête which infuriated the king, Fouquet was arrested. After a travesty of a trial, he spent the rest of his life in a fortress.
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsBenoît MagimelBoris TerralTchéky KaryoCorbiau repeats the Farinelli formula, artistic rivalry and social private drama expressed in dazzling, sometimes excessively lavish baroque scenery, music and costume, but this time in its ultimate setting: Versailles. There are two protagonists - first the title character, Louis XIV, the French sun-king who has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer (like Nero wrote and performed musical poetry), and starts asserting himself against the entourage of his Medici mother, the regent during his minority, by building his palace complex and launching a 'fitting' new, mainly musical display of baroque show. Secondly the musical genius Gianbattista Lulli ('Jean-Baptiste') Lully, a Florentine upstart of unbridled ambition, quickly gains the king's absolute trust, despite the nationalist and aristocratic opposition to a low-born Italian, and thus turns the normally socially humble post of court composer into a 'ministerial portfolio of culture' of Cabinet rank, complete with a monopoly which kills of his artistic rivals in operatic theater. The script also weaves a complex web of court scheming for individual power and social interests, and even a sadistic but accidental murder on a young valet, producing a sensuous and sumptuous drama too complex for this format, ending in a freakish but fatal accident. Louis XIV's mother was Ana de Austria (in French, Anne d' Autriche), the daughter of one of the Hapsburgh Kings of Spain. Maria di Medici (in French, Marie de Médicis) was his grandmother, his father's mother. She was dead before Louis XIV reached the throne. Please correct the reference to "his Medici mother"
- DirectorFranck VoiturierStarsEmmanuel MoireAnne-Laure GirbalCathialine AndriaThe life of Louis XIV.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsGérard DepardieuUma ThurmanTim RothVatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favor. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty come into conflict.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsVinciane MillereauSamuel TheisJérôme PoulyDocudrama about the life of Louis XIV nicknamed "the Sun King", the King of France who ran a glamorous court, expanded the borders of France, loved women and parties and built an incredible palace for himself - the Versailles.
- DirectorSacha GuitryStarsMichel AuclairJean-Pierre AumontJean-Louis BarraultThe history of the palace of Versailles from its founding to the present.
- StarsDominique BlancDidier SandreValentine VarelaDrama centering around the life at the court of Louis XIV and the role of the Marquise de Maintenon.
- CreatorSimon MirrenDavid WolstencroftStarsGeorge BlagdenAlexander VlahosTygh RunyanIn 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.Like REIGN tv-series
- DirectorPatricia MazuyStarsIsabelle HuppertJean-Pierre KalfonSimon ReggianiMadame de Maintenon rises from humble beginnings to become a courtesan to the royal court and eventually marries King Louis XIV. With the king's indulgence, Maintenon opens a special school for girls.
- DirectorKurt HoffmannStarsHeidelinde WeisHarald LeipnitzKarin HübnerThe story of free-spirited German Princess Liselotte who, giving in to her father's wish, marries Philippe, the Duke of Orleans. Initially she is met with arrogance by her new husband and his court, and especially by his mistress Palatine, who flaunts her affair with Philippe in her face. Liselotte uses her charm and the weapons of womanhood and soon wins over the court and also the affections of her husband. But her enemies spin intrigues against her and skulduggery is afoot.
- DirectorAxel CortiStarsValeria GolinoRobin RenucciPaul CrauchetSet in the seventeenth century, an Italian nobleman weds an impoverished countess, who is wooed by the King of Piedmont and faces pressure from his entire court to succumb to his wishes.
- DirectorBernard BorderieStarsMichèle MercierRobert HosseinJean RochefortIn the first of the Angélique series, the beautiful feisty teenage heroine becomes entangled in a political assassination plot and is betrothed to a stranger who is twelve years her senior and a reputed sorcerer.And all the next movies about her.
- DirectorVéra BelmontStarsSophie MarceauBernard GiraudeauLambert WilsonThe rise and fall of a beauteous actress. She rises from an impoverished background to become a favorite of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
- DirectorAndré HunebelleStarsJean MaraisBourvilElsa MartinelliThe young King Louis XIII is dominated by his mother Marie de Medici and her favorite Concino Concini. Francois de Capestang, a faithful knight falls for the daughter of the Duke of Angouleme that conspires against the Crown by his side.And all other historical movies with Jean Marais
- DirectorEttore ScolaStarsVincent PerezEmmanuelle BéartMassimo TroisiEn route to Paris, a group gets lost during a storm and seeks refuge in a castle owned by a ruined nobleman, who wants to join the group's trek to Paris.
- DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsGérard DepardieuAnne BrochetVincent PerezFamed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
- DirectorLaurent TirardStarsRomain DurisFabrice LuchiniLaura MoranteTo satisfy his creditors, a witty actor reinvents himself as a satirical playwright, with uproarious, yet bittersweet, results.
- StarsJean-François PoronOlivier HussenotJean MartinelliOnce a Huguenot, Marquis Sylvain de Bois Doré was converted to catholicism at the same time as King Henri IV, whose campaigned he shared. He now leads a comfortable life in his castle. A connoisseur of the good things in life, Bois Doré loves hunting, good food and even, occasionally, his servant girls... But what nobody knows is that he has a human foible named Lauriane. She is thirty years younger than him and he has been in love with her - quite unreasonably - since she was a child...
- 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.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsRichard HarrisAlec GuinnessRobert MorleyPuritan statesman Oliver Cromwell leads England in a civil war against the absolutist and Catholic-sympathetic King Charles I.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsTim RothDougray ScottOlivia WilliamsA recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.
- StarsRufus SewellRupert GravesCharlie Creed-MilesThe chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his ten-year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsRobert Downey Jr.Sam NeillDavid ThewlisThe exiled royal doctor to King Charles II devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman.
- CreatorJohn HawkesworthStarsSharon MaughanAndrew MacLachlanRob EdwardsStory of the English Civil War as seen through the eyes of two families; the Laceys, loyal to King Charles I, and the Fletchers, loyal to Oliver Cromwell.
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsBilly CrudupClaire DanesRupert EverettA female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desdemona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?
- DirectorLaurence DunmoreStarsJohnny DeppSamantha MortonJohn MalkovichThe story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
- DirectorPhilippe RousselotStarsEwan McGregorGreta ScacchiPete PostlethwaiteIn England, during the 17th-century, a Dutch garden architect (Ewan McGregor, "Moulin Rouge!") is drawn into a web of passion and treachery after being hired by a wealthy merchant.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsAnthony HigginsJanet SuzmanAnne-Louise LambertA young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsJulian BarrattPeter FerdinandoRichard GloverAmid the Civil War in 17th-century England, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men are forced to help him search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsVanessa RedgraveOliver ReedDudley SuttonIn 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsNeil FinnighanJack BaverstockTrevor CooperAgainst a backdrop of political and religious upheaval, a farmer falls in love with the "queen" of the notorious Doone clan --a family that he has sworn vengeance on.
- StarsPolly DartfordAndrew BuchanTrixiebell HarrowellAn insight into what happened on the night of 2 September 1666, the Great fire of London.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsEmma SammsOliver ReedClaire BloomSwashbuckling tale of romance, betrayal, jealousy, banditry, murder, and court intrigue set in the 1660s, during the Restoration to the English throne of King Charles II.
- CreatorMartine BrantPeter FlanneryStarsAndrea RiseboroughDominic WestTom Goodman-HillDrama charts the progress of the English Civil War through the story of a young woman, the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and her three husbands.
- StarsJamie DornanJeremy NorthamJoe DempsieThe 1680s bring a new King, Restoration, and more tyranny. In Massachusetts, a robber's son falls for an anti-monarchist. In England, a young lady falls for an outlaw.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsDaniel Day-LewisWinona RyderPaul ScofieldA Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
- CreatorBrannon BragaAdam SimonStarsJanet MontgomeryShane WestSeth GabelSupernatural horror loosely based on Salem's 17th century witch trials.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
- DirectorRoel ReinéStarsFrank LammersSanne LangelaarBarry AtsmaWhen the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France, and Germany, and the country is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet: Michiel de Ruyter.
- DirectorJos StellingStarsFrans StellingTon de KoffLucie SingelingIn the final year of his life, Rembrandt painted a series of self-portraits that show him in a dark, lonely state of mind. Stelling has painstakingly recreated the pathetic end of a genius with an authenticity that allows viewers to infer their own conclusions about the relationship between Rembrandt's life and art.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsMartin FreemanEmily HolmesEva BirthistleAn extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting 'The Night Watch'.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsMichael CaineOmar SharifFlorinda BolkanDuring the Thirty Years' War of 1600s, a band of Protestant mercenaries peacefully coexist with German Catholic villagers in a hidden idyllic mountain valley untouched by war.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsNoam AlmazDexter FletcherNigel TerryA retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
- DirectorAngelo LongoniStarsAlessio BoniElena Sofia RicciJordi MollàThe tumultuous and adventurous life of Michelangelo Merisi, controversial artist, called by Fate to become the immortal Caravaggio. A violent genius that will dare to defy the ideal vision of the world imposed by the Renaissance painters. A provoker that scandalized patrons and institutions, raising the altars the outcast figures he knew so well: drunkards, vagrants and prostitutes.
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...
- DirectorBruno CorbucciStarsBrigitte SkayMimmo PalmaraFred WilliamsAn Alsacian Baron massacres the family of a French Duke. Isabella, the Duke's baby child, escapes the massacre, is raised by gypsies and comes back twenty years later to exact revenge.
- DirectorAgustín Díaz YanesStarsViggo MortensenElena AnayaUnax UgaldeViggo Mortensen plays the Spanish soldier-turned-mercenary Captain Alatriste, a heroic figure from the country's 17th century imperial wars.
- CreatorJosé Manuel LorenzoStarsAitor LunaNatasha YarovenkoLucía JiménezDiego Alatriste is a Spaniard soldier loyal to the royal couple; he puts his talent with the sword to the service of a military organization that opposes abuses during the Inquisition. As a swordsman for hire, he will be in the middle of confrontations, betrayals, romance, and secrets, framed by the struggle for power of the ending Golden Age of the Spanish Empire.
- CreatorJuan Carlos CuetoPilar NadalErnesto PozueloStarsDavid JanerJavier GutiérrezSantiago MoleroA masked hero in the 17th century fights for justice for people who cannot do so themselves. He is only known by the name Águila Roja (Red Eagle). He is also searching for the people who killed his wife.
- DirectorJosé Ramón AyerraStarsDavid JanerJavier GutiérrezFrancis Lorenzo"Red Eagle" takes place in 1660, when Portugal, France and England are all trying to take over Spain. A masked man known as Aguila Roja ("Red Eagle"), is the hero among people, a man who fights for justice. One day he meets a beautiful blonde woman who is looking for the aid of Red Eagle. Grieved and angered over a random accident, Red Eagle decides to pull one last heroic deed. Meanwhile, a summit is going on among Spain, Portugal, France, and England, during which something disastrous happens that affects the whole city.
- CreatorCarmen Gloria LópezStarsBenjamín VicuñaAndrés ParraMarimar VegaFor three years, 500 Spaniards endured the attack of the indigenous natives in the south of Chile. Only 22 survived. This is the story of those brave men and women and their incredible journey to freedom.
- StarsAlessandra NegriniAlexandre BorgesLeandra LealAround 1600, the saga of the bandeirantes towards the interior of the Brazilian territory took place. Disputes over new lands and riches were inevitable. The struggle of the Jesuits, who protected the Indians from slavery, too.
- DirectorPierre BillonStarsDanielle DarrieuxJean MaraisMarcel HerrandExiled from the court of Spain, Don Salluste, the chief of police, wants to take revenge on the Queen. One day he meets Ruy Blas, a young student who happens to be a lookalike of Don Cesar, his nephew. Salluste disguises Ruy Blas and presents him as Don Cesar. It doesn't take long before Ruy Blas, intelligent, virtuous and generous as he is becomes popular and the Queen, who has fallen in love with him, appoints him Prime Minister. All seems for the best in the best of worlds but Salluste has not forgotten his revenge, far from that ...
- DirectorGérard OuryStarsLouis de FunèsYves MontandAlice SapritchIn 17th-century Spain, the Minister of Finance tries to dishonor the queen with an overly complex plan.Ruy Blas
- DirectorYan FridStarsMikhail BoyarskiyAnna SamokhinaYuriy BogatyryovThe impoverished nobleman and freethinker don César de Bazan was sentenced to death. Before his death, the king's minister, Don José, asks for his favor - to marry a stranger and give her his noble title.
- DirectorYan FridStarsMargarita TerekhovaMikhail BoyarskiyArmen DzhigarkhanyanTeodoro, the secretary of countess Diana de Belfler, is in love with her maid Marcela. Following the development of their affair, countess suddenly feels the jealousy.El perro del hortelano - Lope de Vega
- DirectorYan FridStarsMargarita TerekhovaEmmanuil VitorganNikolay KarachentsovSpain, XVII century. Two students, Felipe and Pastrano, who left an annoying university, decide to look for happiness in Madrid.Marta la piadosa - Tirso de Molina
- DirectorTatyana LukashevichStarsVladimir ZeldinMark PertsovskiyGeorgiy SorokinA man from a poor noble family named Aldemaro is in love with the daughter of a rich gentleman. He comes up with a pseudonym and, introducing himself as a dance teacher, comes in their house.Lope de Vega - El maestro de danzar
- DirectorMikhail GrigorevStarsVladimir ZeldinAleksandr SafronovIrina MuravyovaDuena - Richard Sheridan
- DirectorGrigoriy KozintsevStarsNikolay CherkasovYuriy TolubeevSerafima BirmanSenor Quexana has read so many books on chivalry that he believes that he is the knight Don Quixote de la Mancha. So Don Quixote sets off on his horse, accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza on a mule, to perform valiant deeds. They mistakenly save the Lady Altisidora who is so amused that she invites them to visit the Duke to provide some merriment at court. Among other deeds, Don Quixote frees some prisoners, who then turn upon him, and Don Quixote attacks a windmill that he imagines is a monstrous wizard.Don Quixote