Best movies like Nova Zembla
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Nova Zembla tells the gripping true story of the legendary failed mission of the late sixteenth century Dutch flotilla trying to find a trading route to Asia across the North Pole. The ship crew, who got stuck in the ice of Nova Zembla and had to survive the dark coldness of winter in the most gruesome of circumstances. An incredibly powerful story of determination, hardship and a triumph of the human spirit. The sixteenth century Dutch ship crew is leaving the port of Amsterdam and sailing to the northern arctic, where they get stuck in the ice. Two ships take part at the mission and captain De Rijp decides to return while he still can, while the other ship helmed by Willem Barentsz, stubbornly proceeds.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, costume drama
Best tv shows and movies like Nova Zembla (2011):
Similar in 78%
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
Plot Summary:
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating, disturbing, stylized
Similar in 88%
Gostanza da Libbiano (2000)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 187
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
The Profession of Arms (2001)
Plot Summary:
In autumn of 1526, the Emperor, Charles V, sends his German landsknechts led by Georg von Frundsberg to march towards Rome. The inferior papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de'Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter. Nevertheless, the Imperial armies manage to cross the rivers along their march and get cannons thanks to the maneuvers of its Lords. In a skirmish, Giovanni de'Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot. The attempts to cure him fail and he dies. The Imperial armies assault Rome. The film is beautifully but unassumingly set, and shows the hard conditions in which war is waged and its lack of glory. It ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de'Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of not using again fire weapons because of their cruelty.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, France, Germany, Bulgaria
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, epic
Similar in 75%
12 Paces without a Head (2009)
Plot Summary:
The era of the feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end. After a long period with no booty at last a bulging ship appears on the horizon. However, Störtebeker is badly wounded in the attempted capture and the pirates suffer ignominious defeat. Not only their ship is down the drain - Störtebeker himself is suddenly plagued by anxiety and doubt about his very existence as a pirate. He is drawn to the beautiful country girl Bille, while Michels gets rebuffed by the friesian princess Okka. In the very moment that the crew have mutinied and co-captain Michels is literally at the end of his tether, they discover on board their ramshackle old tub a most unique wonder weapon. Glory days are quickly revived - until the mighty Hanse consolidate their power and weaponry and go to war against the pirates. Störtebeker and Michels are forced to decide: To live as a farmer or to die as a pirate.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Drama, History
Country: Germany
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, psychological, semi serious, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy and prosperous family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, this pious, upstanding man raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, action adventure, period drama
Similar in 81%
Three Suns (2004)
Plot Summary:
The plague hits medieval Sweden.
IMDB Rating: 2.8
IMDB Votes: 875
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 84%
The Red Knight (2003)
Plot Summary:
Who really is behind the legend of "Red Dragon"?.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 329
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Luxembourg
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, stylized, captivating
Similar in 90%
El Dorado (1988)
Plot Summary:
The story of an expedition down the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in 1560 by Spanish soldiers searching for the fabled city of gold, El Dorado.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 648
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain, France, Italy
Duration: 149 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, bleak, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 80%
1572: The Battle of Harlem (2014)
Plot Summary:
While she fights a heroic battle against the Spanish besieger with her female army, Kenau, driven by hate and sorrow of the execution of her youngest daughter, is threatened to also lose her eldest daughter, because her fear and pain are covered by her stubborn closeness.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, costume drama
Similar in 77%
Against the Ice (2022)
Plot Summary:
In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Denmark expedition in ice-covered Greenland.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Iceland, Denmark
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing, powerful, dark, period piece
Similar in 82%
The Rising Hawk (2019)
Plot Summary:
The Mongol Empire had grown to the largest the world had ever known. It's armies now laid siege to much of Eastern Europe. A small village fights for freedom in the frontier landscape of the Carpathian Mountains.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Ukraine, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: stylized, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, uplifting, brutal
Similar in 87%
The Amazing Grace (2006)
Plot Summary:
John Newton is captain of a slave ship moored off the coast of Nigeria. He stands at a crossroads in his life, his morality and religion at odds with the brutality of his chosen profession. Stepping ashore, he starts on a journey of redemption that will end in tragedy but prove the catalyst for greater achievements. A local anthem sung in adversity by the slaves whom he captures punctuates the film. It will be the inspiration for Newton's redemption and for his writing of the hymn Amazing Grace.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Nigeria, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 80%
Tsar (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 16th-century Russia in the grip of chaos, Ivan the Terrible strongly believes he is vested with a holy mission. Believing he can understand and interpret the signs, he sees the Last Judgment approaching. He establishes absolute power, cruelly destroying anyone who gets in his way. During this reign of terror, Philip, the superior of the monastery on the Solovetsky Islands, a great scholar and Ivan's close friend, dares to oppose the sovereign's mystical tyranny. What follows is a clash between two completely opposite visions of the world, smashing morality and justice, God and men. A grand-scale film with excellent leading roles by Mamonov and Yankovsky. An allegory of Stalinist Russia.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Russia
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, epic, serious, realistic, contemplative, stylized, gloomy, bleak
Similar in 77%
Sacrifice (2010)
Plot Summary:
For generations the Zhao family has wielded power, until their mortal enemy TU’AN GU slaughters the entire clan, determined to wipe out their influence forever. But one Zhao baby survives hidden by CHENG YING the doctor who delivered him. When Tu’an Gu learns of the baby’s escape he seizes every infant in the city, vowing to kill them all unless the Zhao baby is surrendered. As the tyrant’s soldiers arrive at Cheng Ying’s home the frantic doctor hides his wife with their own baby whilst surrendering the Zhao child as his own. But his family is discovered; his baby is presumed to be the Zhao heir and murdered along with his wife for harboring the infant. Now set on revenge Cheng Ying enrolls the Zhao orphan into the service of the Tu’an Gu household, plotting to use him as an instrument of vengeance when he comes of age.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: exciting, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, captivating, stylized, epic, realistic, costume drama
Similar in 84%
Masquerade (2012)
Plot Summary:
During the confusing and conspiratorial Joseon Dynasty King Gwang-hae orders his councilor, HEO Kyun, to find him a double in order to avoid the constant threat of assassination. HEO Kyun finds Ha-sun, a jester who looks remarkably like the king, and just as feared, Gwang-hae is poisoned. HEO Kyun proposes Ha-sun fill the role as the king until Gwang-hae recovers fully and grooms Ha-sun to look and act every bit the king. While assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwang-hae, Ha-sun’s affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the castle for the better. However, his chief opposition, PARK, notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, captivating, realistic, stylized, inspirational, serious, period drama, mad
Similar in 87%
The Radicals (1989)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Anabaptist movement and two of its first leaders, Michael and Margaretha Sattler.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: biblical, independent film, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 78%
Conquistadores: Adventum (2017)
Plot Summary:
Narrates faithfully the first 30 years of America's discovery and conquer, from Colon's departure from Spain in 1492 until Juan Sebastián Elcano completed the first travel around the world in 1522.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: factual, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, historical drama, humorous, fun
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The Gustloff (2008)
Plot Summary:
Joseph Vilsmaier Two-part TV movie focuses on the tragic events surrounding the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German passenger ship, at the end of World War II. On 30 January 1945, Captain Hellmuth Kehding was in charge of the ship, evacuating wounded soldiers and civilians trapped by the Red Army. Soon after leaving the harbor of Danzig, it was hit by three torpedoes from the Soviet submarine and sank in less than an hour.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 567
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 188 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, bleak, captivating, realistic
Similar in 88%
S.O.S. Titanic (1979)
Plot Summary:
The Titanic disaster is depicted as seen through the eyes of one couple in each of the three classes on board.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, serious, realistic, suspenseful, black and white, disaster movie
Similar in 81%
Turning Tide (2013)
Plot Summary:
Yann Madec, long-time best mate of Frank Drevil, the star skipper of Global System Insurance, sees his dream come true when he replaces the injured Frank at the last minute for the start of the Vendée Globe. Nine days into the race and leading, Yann is forced to stop in Cape Verde to repair his broken center-board. Back in the race, Yann discovers a stowaway on board, a Senegalese teenager named Moussa. Faced with the risk of disqualification because of Moussa’s presence, Yann hesitates… Their encounter leads to the most unforgettable round-the-world race ever.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sport
Country: France, Belgium, Spain
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, sincere, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
Plot Summary:
1492: Conquest of Paradise depicts Christopher Columbus’ discovery of The New World and his effect on the indigenous people.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, Spain
Duration: 154 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, factual, inspirational, period piece, exciting, atmospheric, dramatic, brutal, anamorphic
Similar in 81%
Endless Night (2015)
Plot Summary:
Greenland, 1908. Josephine, self-confident and bold wife of famous Arctic explorer Robert Peary, embarks on a dangerous journey in pursuit of her husband who is seeking a route to the North Pole. But Josephine is also naïve and ignores warnings from experienced polar travellers about the onset of winter. At great sacrifice the expedition reaches Peary's base camp. Josephine refuses to go home and wants to spend winter in the hut. Only the young Inuit woman Allaka, who lives in an igloo and knows about the cold, stays with her. As the long nights draw nearer, Josephine realises she has more in common with this woman from a different world than she thought.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, France, Bulgaria
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, psychological, tense, realistic, stylized
Similar in 85%
The Outlaw (2010)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the life of Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega, who dominated Spain’s early Golden Age of Theatre in the 16th Century. Lope returns home from war and enters the theatre world when a producer’s beautiful daughter takes a shine to him. They embark on a passionate affair as his plays begin to win popular acclaim.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Spain, Brazil, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, clever, realistic, stylized, baroque, weird
Similar in 88%
The Assassins (2012)
Plot Summary:
In the year 198 BC, Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat), Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, ventured to the east and defeated China's greatest warrior Lu Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, after taking the Han Emperor under his wing, Cao crowns himself King of Wei. He built a magnificent Bronze Sparrow Island to symbolize his power and rumors spread that he would replace the Emperor. Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Hiroshi Tamaki) and Ling Ju (Liu Yi-Fei) are taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb, where they spend five cruel years together, training as assassins for a secret mission. In the year 220 BC astronomical signs predict dramatic change. As a result, Cao's son Cao Pi (Yau Sam-Chi) and Cao's followers urge Cao to become the new Emperor - but unknown opposing forces plot against him.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, epic, realistic, captivating, stylized
Similar in 85%
Pompeii: The Last Day (2003)
Plot Summary:
In 79 AD, one of the infamous natural disasters in human history occurred when Mount Vesuvius erupted. With speculative dramatizations of various inhabitants' final hours along with detailed documentation of the known facts concerning the eruption, the horrific day is vividly brought to life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA, Germany, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, psychotronic, semi documentary, period drama, disaster movie
Similar in 80%
A Viking Saga: Son of Thor (2008)
Plot Summary:
Drama set in the viking age, Helgi witnesses the destruction of his village and narrowly escapes to his uncle Rurik who raises him like his son. Many years later he meets the people responsible for his parents death and someone he never expected to see again.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Denmark, USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: captivating, saga, exciting, serious, tense, suspense, epic, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Showdown (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the 11th year of Kwang Hae-gun, Jo-seon soldiers go to war with China after an invasion. In the middle of Manchu, three people who have barely survived are being cornered by the Chinese forces, and begin a bloody battle not with their enemies but with their friends.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 364
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, exciting, tense, rough, captivating, realistic, serious, stylized
Similar in 83%
Admiral (2015)
Plot Summary:
When the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France and Germany and faces its own civil war no less, only one man, Michael de Ruyter, can lead the county's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: captivating, exciting, serious, realistic, slasher, epic, baroque
Similar in 81%
Courage (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jason Priestley (TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210") and Andrea Roth star in this inspirational adventure story about courage, love and the power of family. Aspiring author Robert (Priestly) organizes a quick getaway with his wife and daughter designed to rebuild their estranged relationship with his daughter, but when a powerful storm hits they are forced to make a crash landing on the ominously named Bear Island. With Robert seriously injured and no way to reach the mainland, the three castaways find that they must rely on their faith -- and each other -- to survive the ordeal.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 284
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, realistic, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Longitude (2000)
Plot Summary:
Parallel stories: 18th century Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea; 20th century Gould is obsessed with restoring it.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, sincere, captivating, suspenseful, historical drama, saga, independent film, period drama