Best movies like Henry VIII
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like Henry VIII (2003):
Similar in 88%
Pope Joan (2009)
Plot Summary:
A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Germany, UK, Italy, Spain
Duration: 149 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, costume drama, epic, historical drama, spiritual, sad, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)
Plot Summary:
On his deathbed, King Henry VIII recalls how he wooed and wed his six wives - and disposed of five of them - in a bid to secure the succession to the throne with a male heir. Despite his many marriages and the crowded court, Henry remains essentially lonely.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 540 min
Plot tags: historical drama, fairy tale, spiritual, costume drama, atmospheric, serious, realistic, stylized, period drama
Similar in 83%
Charles II: The Power and The Passion (2003)
Plot Summary:
The chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his 10 year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 235 min
Plot tags: historical drama, epic, serious, realistic, costume drama, political, period piece, period drama, baroque, weird
Similar in 82%
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 83%
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 83%
Bertie and Elizabeth (2002)
Plot Summary:
The duke of York, nicknamed Bertie, was born as royal 'spare heir', younger brother to the prince of Wales, and thus expected to spend a relatively private life with his Scottish wife Elisabeth Bowes-Lyon and their daughters, in the shadow of their reigning father, George V, and next that of his elder brother who succeeded to the British throne as Edward VIII. However Edward decides to put his love for a divorced American, Wallis Simpson, above dynastic duty, and ends up abdicating the throne, which now falls to Bertie, who reigns as George VI.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 688
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 83%
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 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 76%
The Lion in Winter (2003)
Plot Summary:
King Henry II (Patrick Stewart) keeps his wife, Eleanor (Glenn Close) locked away in the towers because of her frequent attempts to overthrow him. With Eleanor out of the way he can have his dalliances with his young mistress (Yuliya Vysotskaya). Needless to say the queen is not pleased, although she still has affection for the king. Working through her sons, she plots the king's demise and the rise of her second and preferred son, Richard (Andrew Howard), to the throne. The youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), an overweight buffoon and the only son holding his father's affection is the king's choice after the death of his first son, young Henry. But John is also overly eager for power and is willing to plot his father's demise with middle brother, Geoffrey (John Light) and the young king of France, Phillip (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Geoffrey, of course sees his younger brother's weakness and sees that route as his path to power. Obviously political and court intrigue ensues.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 167 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, stylized, exciting, captivating, gothic, political, costume drama, historical drama, witty
Similar in 80%
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 90%
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 89%
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%
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004)
Plot Summary:
A BBC miniseries based loosely on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James I of England.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 205 min
Plot tags: historical drama, serious, captivating, realistic, political, period piece, costume drama, period drama, baroque, weird
Similar in 79%
The King (2019)
Plot Summary:
In 15th-century England, Prince Hal transforms from wayward wastrel to powerful king after he reluctantly inherits the throne and its many conflicts.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 146000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: UK, Hungary, USA, Australia
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, bleak, disturbing, surprise ending, rough, captivating, suspense, historical drama, political
Similar in 78%
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 82%
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 82%
Versailles (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young Louis XIV on his journey to become the most powerful monarch in Europe, from his battles with the fronde through his development into the Sun King. Historical and fictional characters guide us in a world of betrayal and political maneuvering, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: captivating, costume drama, historical drama, realistic, serious, political, period piece, erotic, educational, sensual
Similar in 75%
Elizabeth I (2005)
Plot Summary:
HBO miniseries about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 223 min
Plot tags: historical drama, costume drama, sincere, realistic, serious, captivating, emotional, stylized, political, educational
Similar in 75%
Mad Love (2001)
Plot Summary:
The love story who transformed Juana I de Castilla, Queen of Spain, into Juana "The mad". The tragic fate of a Queen madly in love to an unfaithful husband, Felipe el Hermoso, Archduke of Austria.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Spain, Italy, Portugal, France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: melancholic, costume drama, stylized, captivating, serious, historical drama, romantic drama, sexy, realistic, crying
Similar in 83%
The Tudors (2007)
Plot Summary:
The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Ireland, Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: stylized, captivating, serious, historical drama, soap opera, realistic, sexual, costume drama, period piece, sexy
Similar in 83%
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 78%
Queen Margot (1994)
Plot Summary:
The night of August 24, 1572, is known as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. In France a religious war is raging. In order to impose peace a forced wedding is arranged between Margot de Valois, sister of the immature Catholic King Charles IX, and the Hugenot King Henri of Navarre. Catherine of Medici maintains her behind-the-scenes power by ordering assaults, poisonings, and instigations to incest.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, Germany, Italy
Duration: 161 min
Plot tags: period piece, sexy, epic, visually appealing, historical drama, atmospheric, captivating, bleak, costume drama, romantic
Similar in 90%
Victoria & Albert (2001)
Plot Summary:
The passionate love story that was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's lengthy marriage. Beginning in 1837, the year of King William IV's death and 18-year-old Victoria's ascension to the throne, the series charts the tumultuous period in 19th Century England where Victoria comes to terms with the enormous duties that lay ahead of her, while also falling deeply in love with her beloved Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The marriage and birth of their nine children are featured, as is Albert's frustration by the inactivity he experienced in the early years of his role as Prince Consort.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: captivating, costume drama, sentimental, serious, realistic, factual, period piece, historical drama, epic, stylized
Similar in 85%
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: romantic, sexy, costume drama, period piece, stylized, atmospheric, factual, historical drama, sexual, sad
Similar in 81%
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 90%
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Plot Summary:
When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard to the lives of her people.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 74000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, France, USA, Germany
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, colorful, historical drama, epic, breathtaking, factual, visually stunning, serious, captivating
Similar in 77%
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 84%
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 89%
Lady Jane (1986)
Plot Summary:
The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guildford and Jane fall in love. But they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, historical drama, sincere, christian film, gothic, sex comedy, cult classic, atmospheric, serious
Similar in 89%
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