# i'm looking for time period movies



## huxley (Mar 10, 2007)

looking to watch movies set in the past. like :
 gangs of new york.  oliver twist.

are they more time period movies that are good and action exicting. cause i'm not big into romance movies. but a adventure romance, action romance . is ok.


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## j d worthington (Mar 10, 2007)

Not meaning to be too flip here, but... you're kidding, right? Sorry. I'll be good.... well, maybe. 

Huxley, a vast amount of films set in the past, and all kinds of films. There are comedies, action/adventure; historical drama that may also have a great deal of action; romances; biographical films; cinema adaptations of plays....

Even those that aren't heavily action-oriented don't necessarily have to have much to do with romance. Try *The Lion in Winter*... Now, there's a film full of infighting where _everyone_ pulls out the knives... and dialogue that will rattle your teeth! (I refer to the original film version, with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, and Jane Merrow. Very good film.

There are various versions of Dickens' tales, of course, some of which are very good, others are gawdawful.... Then there's the very odd but fascinating *The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade* (usually simply called *Marat/Sade*), based on an historical incident while "the Divine Marquis" was an inmate of said asylum....

What sort of period are you looking for? There are biblical-era tales, there are the adaptations of Greek, Roman, and Eastern myths and legends, there are works set in the early- to late-mediaeval era... try *The Devils*, by Kurt Russell, for instance. _That_ one will stand your hair on end! (And, again, based on an historical incident, though with considerable artistic license.) Even *Gothic* is based on the genuine party at the Villa Diodati that produced Frankenstein and Polidori's "The Vampyre"... and has a great deal of genuine historical research in it, into the bargain... yet is a true Gothic, with supernatural elements, for all that.

*Spartacus*, *Barry Lyndon*, *The Man Who Would Be King*... the list really is nearly endless; so a little more on what sort of thing you're looking for would be helpful for directing you toward the right films. Otherwise -- just go to any decent video store (that doesn't restrict itself to "hot" movies... something with a fairly broad selection) and you'll find more films dealing the the past, but avoiding much in the way of "romance", than you could watch in an entire lifetime, even if you never did anything else....


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## huxley (Mar 11, 2007)

well, maybe i should have said , the time period of films like: olive twist. 

in it's in the 1850's when the top hat was popular. jack the ripper was around.


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## j d worthington (Mar 11, 2007)

huxley said:


> well, maybe i should have said , the time period of films like: olive twist.
> 
> in it's in the 1850's when the top hat was popular. jack the ripper was around.


 
Actually, "Springheeled Jack" was late 1888... but I get your point: mid-19th to very early 20th century  (around 1905 or so) then. Yes, that does narrow it down considerably, but still leaves a pretty broad field. If you don't mind subtitles, several of Ingmar Bergman's films are set in that period, including *Fanny and Alexander* (which, I will warn you, may seem to get off to a slow start, but what's there is necessary; once things pick up, it gets very grim indeed), *Cries and Whispers*, *The Virgin Spring*, *Wild Strawberries*... not happy films, but wonderful films.

*The Great Train Robbery* is a lot of fun, of course, and is set in that period. And if you're including American settings as well, there's *The Red Badge* *of Courage*, *Mourning Becomes Electra*, *The Miracle Worker*, which is set in the late 1880s or early 1890s (I forget which) -- I'd recommend the version with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Very fine film. Any number of films on the Civil War would fit the bill, and quite a few are excellent films (though I wouldn't particularly recommend *Gods and Generals*, I must admit...)

However, if you're talking Dickens' era, that was earlier, as he died in 1870, and most of his work was set in the latter 18th or early-to-mid 19th century. Some of the movies based on works by Henry James would fit the bill, certainly.

And, if you are looking at the Ripper era, then (if you don't mind a sf suggestion) try *Time After Time*, which is delightfully fun and has some very good performances to boot.

The problem, really, is in picking among a plethora of choices. Are you looking for more action, or drama (though not, as you said, romance); or will fantastic films do (*The Innocents*, for instance, based on James' *Turn of the Screw*)? *The House of the Seven Gables* is set in this time frame, as well (at least, for the most part), as would be *Wuthering Heights*. So, again, it depends on what you're looking for....


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## Milk (Mar 11, 2007)

For some reason two Ken Russel films came to mind.  I have no clue why.

Both take place in the past.


Mahler  (Ken Russel) : Surreal Documentary about (one of the better classical music composers) Mahler.

I really enjoyed this movie.. and oddly it inspired me to enjoy more classical music.  Ken Russel is on par with Kubrick for setting music to a movie.

The Devils : Ken Russel directed.  A fairly unknown movie by most people I encounter, and its one of my favorite movies. 


Possible spoiler alert (?):

 Set during the black death.... bodies burning in the streets exorcists and religious people turturing folks,   based on an Aldous Huxley novel (the person who wrote Brave New World).    Fairly gory film, that in my opinion, showcased the brutality of that time period rather well.  It just seemed right to me... The Black Death, in Europe, people escalating their own brutality to match the plague. Just seemed like a logical well threaded story line.  In some sense, it reminded me of the Scarlet letter but a bit more brutal.  The film, however was widely criticized and got bad reviews.  

  My personal vision of Europe during that time would be people who didnt bathe (ever) covered in scabs with their hair falling out like concentration camp victims,  clothing you could not peel off of them even if you tried (since its never been changed it literally sticks to them), savage evil people who  are far more likely to shove a nail through your tongue and string you up or throw you into an iron maiden, then say 'why, hello milady' and courtsey.


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## j d worthington (Mar 12, 2007)

Milk said:


> My personal vision of Europe during that time would be people who didnt bathe (ever) covered in scabs with their hair falling out like concentration camp victims, clothing you could not peel off of them even if you tried (since its never been changed it literally sticks to them), savage evil people who are far more likely to shove a nail through your tongue and string you up or throw you into an iron maiden, then say 'why, hello milady' and courtsey.


 
From my understanding from people who know about the period, with rare exceptions that wasn't anywhere near the case (though bathing wasn't all that frequent in part because the diet meant that they didn't produce such an offensive smell, for one thing) ... but I could be wrong on this.

However, it was in many ways a very brutal time, especially during outbreaks of plague; and in some specific instances (Wurzburg and Bamburg, according to several sources -- though it's best to be cautious about these figures, from what I understand) it could get horrendously bad. Incidentally, the Loudon case, if I remember correctly was actually around 1629.

For all that, Russell's film was a very good film in its way. Somewhat surrealistic and "out there", as is frequently the case with Russell, but very good nonetheless... Certainly gripping enough, and it would catch most people up emotionally in the brutality and viciousness of what it depicts; so yes, I recommend it as well as a drama, even if not for historical accuracy...


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## gigantes (Mar 12, 2007)

nice recommendations, jd.

are historical films your own area of interest?

i was going to recommend "danton" and a couple others, but i guess they're not needed now. :X


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## j d worthington (Mar 12, 2007)

Not particularly (though I certainly enjoy them)... I just have something of an eclectic taste... and I was married to a film major for a little over 16 years....


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