Best movies like A Man for All Seasons
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Story of Sir Thomas More, who refused to accept the spiritual leadership of Henry VIII, and faces death as he struggles to remain loyal to his integrity.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 726
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: tense, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, talky
Best tv shows and movies like A Man for All Seasons (1988):
Similar in 82%
God's Outlaw (1986)
Plot Summary:
A dramatized biography of William Tyndale, the 16th Century reformer determined to translate the Bible into English, which illegal act set him at odds with the Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and King Henry VIII.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 241
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: christian film, independent film, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II (2005)
Plot Summary:
The eventful life of a humble Polish priest who once decried the pomp of the Catholic Church "a circus" and labeled the Pope a "prisoner of the Vatican" before ascending to the papal throne is explored as actor Thomas Kretschmann takes on the role of Pope John Paul II to the man who would usher Catholicism into the 21st century. Born in Poland and forced to carry on following the untimely death of his family, Karol Wojtyla endured both personal hardships and the rape of his homeland by the Third Reich to spread the word of God through the Catholic Church. Later, as Pope John Paul II, Wojtyla was beloved by millions of Catholics worldwide. From the sexual-abuse scandal that shook the American Catholic Church in the later-20th century to the murder of Salvatorian Archbishop Oscar Romero and the near-fatal assassination attempt made on his own life, Pope John Paul II endured to bridge the gap between various faiths until his death resulting from Parkinson's disease in April of 2005.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 250
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Lithuania, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 79%
Galileo (1975)
Plot Summary:
Challenged by a new student, tutor and theorist Galileo co-opts emerging telescope technology and discovers irrefutable proof of the heretical notion that the earth is not the center of the universe. But in a rigid society ruled by an uneasy alliance of aristocracy and clergy already undermined by the Plague and the Reformation, science is a threat and enlightenment is a luxury. Faced with either death at the hands of the Inquisition or recantation to a hypocritical but all-powerful Papacy, Galileo must choose between his own life and the restless scientific curiosity that he has spurned family, friends, and wealth to pursue.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, talky, hilarious
Similar in 83%
Luther (1974)
Plot Summary:
A man's view cause a rift between peasants and the church.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 474
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky, period drama
Similar in 78%
Elizabeth R (1971)
Plot Summary:
When Elizabeth Tudor comes to the throne, her (male) advisors know she has to marry. Doesn't she?.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: historical drama, costume drama, serious, realistic, stylized, factual, spiritual, period drama, vintage
Similar in 81%
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 76%
Giordano Bruno (1973)
Plot Summary:
Flying from his enemies in the Catholic Church, the free thinking philosopher, poet and scientist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) has found some protection in Venice. But the Roman Inquisition, fearing his influence in Europe, wants to bring him on trial for 'heresy'.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 950
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: spiritual, philosophical, dramatic, esoteric, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 82%
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 77%
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 89%
Henry VIII (2003)
Plot Summary:
Henry VIII is a two-part British television movie produced principally by Granada Television for ITV. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married for the sixth time. Additional production funding was provided by WGBH Boston, Powercorp and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 193 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, serious, fairy tale, period piece, cult classic, historical drama, period drama, weird
Similar in 84%
Henri 4 (2010)
Plot Summary:
A 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 more than a little bloodshed and frequent bawdy sexual interludes. In late 16th-century France, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots were at war. Seemingly seeking peace, the French dowager queen, Catherine de Medici summons Henry to her court to have him marry her daughter, uniting 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 both stay alive and maneuver for the throne. [Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival].
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: Germany, France, Austria, Spain
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, psychological, twisted, exciting, rough, bleak, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
Plot Summary:
Henry VIII of England discards one wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: period piece, historical drama, talky, fairy tale, epic, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, light
Similar in 77%
To Kill a King (2003)
Plot Summary:
A recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: clever, captivating, talky, serious, realistic, costume drama, epic, political, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 88%
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
Plot Summary:
Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at he age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her arch adversary. Nineteen years later the life of Mary is to be ended on the scaffold and with her execution the last threat to Elizabeth's throne has been removed. The two Queens with their contrasting personalities make a dramatic counterpoint to history.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: historical drama, spiritual, costume drama, captivating, realistic, stylized, serious, period drama, vintage
Similar in 81%
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 90%
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley (2008)
Plot Summary:
A light hearted look at future Prime Minister Margaret Thatchers rise from research chemist in 1949 to becoming MP for Finchley in 1959 encompassing her early relationship and marriage to Oil Millionaire Denis Thatcher.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, emotional, realistic, political, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 89%
Inherit the Wind (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: gothic, sincere, thought provoking, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, talky
Similar in 83%
The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)
Plot Summary:
Based on the controversial novel by Philippa Gregory, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a fictionalised account of the life of Lady Mary Boleyn (Natascha McElhone) who becomes mistress to England's king, Henry VIII (Jared Harris), before being ousted by her younger sister, Anne (Jodhi May.) Mary leaves the Court to marry a commoner, but returns when Anne embarks on a reckless policy to save herself from ruin.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Romance, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, sexy, period drama
Similar in 75%
The Borgia (2006)
Plot Summary:
A 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.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, History
Country: Spain, Italy
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, disturbing, historical drama, costume drama, serious
Similar in 77%
Fidel & Che (2002)
Plot Summary:
Fidel Castro rises to power in Cuba.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 206 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, tense, sincere, edutainment
Similar in 77%
Marie (1985)
Plot Summary:
A single mother takes a job with the government where she is confronted with corruption.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: political, independent film, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, talky, eighties
Similar in 85%
The Wronged Man (2010)
Plot Summary:
Janet Gregory, a single mother with a haunting past, is a paralegal struggling to overcome doubts about Calvin Willis, an African-American husband and father wrongfully accused of raping a neighborhood girl. Eventually convinced of his innocence, Janet takes Calvin's pro bono case and wages a dramatic and stormy 22-year battle with the justice system that ultimately redeems an unjustly accused man and cements a life-long friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, sincere, rough, bleak, disturbing
Similar in 77%
The Virgin Queen (2005)
Plot Summary:
The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth's life: from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror; through her great love affair with Robert Dudley; into her years of triumph over the Armada; and finally her old age and her last, enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 237 min
Plot tags: serious, historical drama, factual, touching, political, period piece, costume drama, realistic, sincere, period drama
Similar in 88%
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Plot Summary:
A Man for All Seasons is the filmed version of the life of Thomas More. An English man comes to Sir Thomas More to ask if he can divorce his wife since King Henry VIII has made it illegal. Sir Thomas More stands up in opposition to the King even though he knows he’s risking his own life. An award winning film from 1966.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: period piece, political, inspirational, costume drama, christian film, spiritual, talky, historical drama, retro, thought provoking
Similar in 88%
Becket (1964)
Plot Summary:
King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: epic, period piece, tense, clever, realistic, talky, retro, breathtaking, spiritual, political
Similar in 79%
The Lost Prince (2003)
Plot Summary:
The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama about the life of Prince John – youngest child of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary – who died at the age of 13 in 1919. John suffered from epileptic seizures and an autism-like developmental disorder, and the Royal Family tried to shelter him from public view as much as possible; rather than presenting the Royal Family as unsympathetic to the Prince, the film instead shows how much this cost them emotionally (particularly John's mother, Queen Mary). Poliakoff explores the story of John, his relationship with his family, John's brother, Prince George, the political events going on at the time (like the fall of the House of Romanov in 1917) and the love and devotion shown to him by his nanny, Charlotte Bill (known as Lalla), played by Gina McKee.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, depressing, emotional, realistic, period drama
Similar in 88%
Wolf Hall (2015)
Plot Summary:
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impass steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 360 min
Plot tags: historical drama, serious, captivating, period piece, costume drama, stylized, suspense, factual, political, educational
Similar in 85%
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Plot Summary:
Charlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the novel covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the film focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and eventually commands) him to paint the famed chapel.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: epic, inspirational, uplifting, serious, biblical, christian film, psychedelic, art film, technicolor, sincere
Similar in 76%
The Gathering Storm (2002)
Plot Summary:
A love story offering an intimate look inside the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill during a particularly troubled, though little-known, moment in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, talky, political, historical drama, historically accurate, contemplative, gloomy, pre war
Similar in 76%
The Deal (2003)
Plot Summary:
It is approaching an election in the UK when the leader of the Labour party, John Smith, suffers another in a line of heart attacks and dies. With the leadership campaign about to start the clear choice appears to be Gordon Brown, a stanch Scotsman. However Tony Blair is also beginning to appear more likely as he will appeal to Southern voters who would be turned off by Brown. Blair rings Brown to arrange a meeting to discuss which will go for the job. The film flashbacks to the start of their relationship, sharing an office in Westminster on their first seats.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: political, clever, serious, realistic, sincere, thought provoking, talky, political drama