Best movies like Ludwig II
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Ludwig II? Leverage your knowledge to lead others toward movies and tv shows you've already viewed that might likewise intrigue them. Assist in growing the cohort of people bringing up videos between each other. We value your contribution!
Plot Summary:
A dramatic retelling of the life of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, one of the most fascinating monarchs of modern times. From his accession to the throne at the age of 18 to his passionate support of Richard Wagner and his music. From his ingenuous political commitment to his obsessive construction of extravagant palaces and to his gradual withdrawal into a lonely dream world, an epic narrative of breathtaking grandeur.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 865
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, period drama
Best tv shows and movies like Ludwig II (2012):
Similar in 77%
Kaspar Hauser (1993)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 499
Genere: Drama, History, Mystery
Country: Germany, Austria, Sweden
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, tense, serious, realistic, light, sexy, thought provoking, enigmatic, unusual plot structure, melancholic
Similar in 85%
Ludwig - Requiem for a Virgin King (1972)
Plot Summary:
Reflected in an artificial and bombastically staged illusory world with Wagnerian compositions, glossy and satirical time references, 19th century German figures and traditions are stripped of their mythology and interpreted by the Germany of 1972.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 330
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: West Germany, Austria
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: visual, avant garde, historical drama
Similar in 78%
Rasputin (2011)
Plot Summary:
A group of Russian noblemen want to maintain the monarchy and plan to kill Rasputin.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 941
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, atmospheric, stylized, non-linear
Similar in 89%
Falling Star (2014)
Plot Summary:
This colourful feature debut from experienced producer Luis Miñarro offers an almost hallucinatory look at the world of Amadeo of Savoy, who was king of an ungovernable Spain for two years around 1870. This intriguing episode is transformed into a plea for beauty, creativity and joy. The film functions as a metaphor for contemporary Spain and its ongoing state of crisis.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, stylized, captivating
Similar in 79%
God Loves Caviar (2012)
Plot Summary:
The true-life, stranger-than-fiction tale of eighteenth-century Greek pirate turned merchant Ioannis Varvakis, who rose from humble beginnings to become the head of one of the largest mercantile empires in Europe.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Greece, Russia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, social, weird
Similar in 88%
Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Plot Summary:
Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, contemplative, spiritual, christian film, crying, mystic
Similar in 82%
Saving Lincoln (2013)
Plot Summary:
The almost entirely true story of Abraham Lincoln and his self-appointed bodyguard, U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon - a banjo-playing Southerner who foiled repeated attempts on the President's life, and kept him functioning during the darkest hours of the Civil War.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, stylized
Similar in 79%
The Crown Prince (2006)
Plot Summary:
A great Empire, once famous for its enlightened traditions, is taken over by a ruthless political establishment. Religious fundamentalists and national separatists are tearing at the fabric of its liberal society. Under the influence of his conservative advisors, the Emperor fails to initiate the reforms that could save the Empire from annihilation. One man alone can avert the cataclysm to come. The year is 1888 and the 600-year-old Empire of Austria-Hungary is at a cross-road of history. Crown-Prince Rudolf, son of fabled Empress Sisi, the most beautiful woman of her time, is the man with the vision and the ability to lead his Empire into the 20th century. Yet his enemies, the all-powerful Prime Minister first and foremost, scheme to isolate Rudolf from his father and from access to power. Against the backdrop of one of the most dangerous, exciting and colorful periods in history, at the dawn of the modern age.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 453
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Austria, France, Germany, Italy
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, atmospheric, realistic, exciting, suspenseful, sad, period piece, costume drama, epic, period drama
Similar in 84%
11.25: The Day He Chose His Own Fate (2012)
Plot Summary:
On November 25th 1970, a man committed ritual suicide inside the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese Ministry of Defence, leaving behind a legacy of masterpieces and a controversy that echoes to this day. The man was Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's greatest and most celebrated novelists. With four members of his own private army - the Tatenokai - Mishima had taken the commandant hostage and called upon the assembled military outside the Ministry to overthrow their society and restore the powers of the Emperor. When the soldiers mocked and jeered Mishima, he cut short his speech and withdrew to the commandant's office where he committed seppuku - the samurai warrior's death - tearing open his belly with a ceremonial knife before being beheaded by one of his colleagues. What was Mishima truly trying to express through his actions? And what did he witness during his final moments?.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 249
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, serious, exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, offbeat, contemplative
Similar in 88%
Edward the King (1975)
Plot Summary:
Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Timothy West as the elder Edward VII and Simon Gipps-Kent and Charles Sturridge as Edward in his youth, Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Deborah Grant and Helen Ryan as Queen Alexandra, Robert Hardy as the Prince Consort, Alison Leggatt as the Duchess of Kent, and Felicity Kendal as Princess Vicky. It was directed by John Gorrie, who wrote episodes 7-10 with David Butler writing the remainder of the series. The series also featured John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, Michael Hordern as William Ewart Gladstone, Harry Andrews as young Edward's tutor Colonel Bruce, Jane Lapotaire as Empress Marie of Russia, Christopher Neame as Kaiser Wilhelm II and, in one of his earliest roles, Charles Dance as Edward's eldest son Eddy, who died at the age of 28. Gielgud previously played Disraeli in the 1941 film The Prime Minister. The actresses playing Edward's mistresses include Moira Redmond as Alice Keppel and Carolyn Seymour as Daisy Greville. Francesca Annis was featured in two episodes as Lillie Langtry which led to Butler writing a full series about Mrs Langtry's life for Annis to star in, Lillie.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: costume drama, historical drama, epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, saga, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 89%
Young Catherine (1991)
Plot Summary:
A German princess is chosen to marry the heir to the Russian Throne, but faces plots and intrigues against her.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA, Canada, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: serious, historical drama, costume drama, sentimental, touching, realistic, stylized, period drama, baroque
Similar in 84%
Rasputin (1996)
Plot Summary:
Into an era seething with war and revolution, a man comes with an incredible power to heal a nation...or destroy it. Based on the true story of one of the most powerful and mysterious figures in Russian history.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, Hungary
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: mysterious, esoteric, tense, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, period drama
Similar in 84%
Princess Ka'iulani (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lush scenery and gorgeous photography highlight this bio of Princess Ka'iulani (Q'Orianka Kilcher), a 19th-century Hawaiian princess raised in England but determined to maintain her people's independence from aggressive American businessmen. After being sent to England as a child by her Scottish father, Ka'iulani returns to Hawaii and becomes a political activist who fights to retain her throne, even though she must leave her English paramour.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, romantic, period piece, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 78%
Corsage (2022)
Plot Summary:
Empress Elizabeth of Austria is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sisi’ celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elizabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, France
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: period piece, psychological, captivating, disturbing, beautiful
Similar in 83%
Ludwig (1973)
Plot Summary:
A history of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Italy, France, West Germany, Monaco
Duration: 238 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, atmospheric, serious, psychedelic, homoerotic, stylized, gloomy, epic, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
The Viceroys (2007)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 386
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy, Spain, Germany, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, atmospheric, epic, serious, emotional, realistic, saga
Similar in 81%
The Einstein of Sex (1999)
Plot Summary:
The life story of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a German Jew, who as a physician established the field of sexology, and fought militantly against German anti-sodomy laws in the late 19th century. The script reveals main characters in Hirschfeld's life including impossible love interest Baron von Teschenberg, and Hirschfeld's aids- young Karl Giese and guardian angel, the transvestite Dorchen, as they establish the First Institute of Sexual Sciences in Berlin in 1920, and follows their struggles to keep it open, up to the rise of the Third Reich in the mid 1930s.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 723
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: offbeat, serious, realistic, witty, biting, sexual, sexy, sex comedy, suspense, hot
Similar in 86%
Anton Chekhov 1890 (2015)
Plot Summary:
Summer 1890. In order to make some money to feed his family, Anton Chekhov, modest physician, wrote short stories for newspapers to sign Antosha Tchékhonté. Important characters, writer and editor, just make him aware of his talent. His situation is improving and Anton Chekhov gets the Pushkin prices and admiration of Tolstoy. But when one of his brothers died of tuberculosis, Anton saw it as a personal failure and wants to escape his fame and his love.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 297
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, gloomy, costume drama
Similar in 87%
Louis Cyr : The Strongest Man in the World (2013)
Plot Summary:
Biopic of Louis Cyr, strongest man in the world at the end of the 19th Century.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Canada
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 84%
Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)
Plot Summary:
1547, King Henry VIII's life has taken a turn for the worse and he is forced to look back over his life and the many loves which had brought him his three children, only one of which was the desired male heir to secure the Tudor dynasty.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: historical drama, fairy tale, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, independent film, period drama
Similar in 85%
Mary Queen of Scots (2013)
Plot Summary:
The life and death of the Scottish monarch.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 986
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Switzerland, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: stylized, captivating, realistic, serious, historical drama, romantic drama, period drama
Similar in 90%
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Plot Summary:
Mary Stuart attempts to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, only to find herself condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA, China
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, costume drama, stylized, period piece, bleak, historical drama, novela, teen, captivating
Similar in 81%
Forever Enthralled (2008)
Plot Summary:
A biographical account of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, epic
Similar in 84%
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Plot Summary:
The film follows Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.), who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: West Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: surreal, atmospheric, melancholic, harsh, talky, touching, serious, realistic, philosophical, dramatic
Similar in 79%
Augustine (2012)
Plot Summary:
Set in Belle Époque France, the story follows nineteen-year-old "hysteria" patient Augustine, the star of Professor Charcot's experiments in hypnosis, as she transitions from object of study to object of desire.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, sincere, realistic, tense, stylized, sexual, crying, sexy, period drama
Similar in 88%
Elizabeth (1998)
Plot Summary:
The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 104000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: factual, costume drama, period piece, realistic, historical drama, stylized, political, visually stunning, epic, erotic
Similar in 78%
A Royal Affair (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, realistic, stylized, atmospheric, factual, historical drama, captivating, romantic, political
Similar in 82%
Colonel Redl (1985)
Plot Summary:
Set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl, an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, West Germany
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: political, clever, serious, realistic, witty, cynical, biting, suspense, period drama, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Measuring the World (2012)
Plot Summary:
Germany in the early 19th century. "Die Vermessung der Welt" follows the two brilliant and eccentric scientists Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Friedrich Gauss on their life paths.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, Austria
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, factual, offbeat, semi serious, period drama
Similar in 88%
The Young Victoria (2009)
Plot Summary:
From Academy Award® winners Graham King and Martin Scorsese, along with the makers of Gosford Park and The Departed, comes the story of Queen Victoria’s early rise to power. From an object of a royal power-struggle to her romantic courtship and legendary marriage to Prince Albert, Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) gives a stunning performance as the young Victoria. Packed with drama, romance, breath-taking cinematography, lavish costumes and featuring an outstanding British cast including Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, and Rupert Friend, The Young Victoria has captivated British audiences, and is the film that Company magazine called “an epic British film, which will sweep you up in her remarkable story.”.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 66000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, romantic, touching, emotional, dramatic, factual, historical drama, political, realistic