Best movies like The French Revolution
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A history of the French Revolution from the decision of the king to convene the Etats-Generaux in 1789 in order to deal with France's debt problem. The first part of the movie tells the story from 1789 until August 10, 1792 (when the King Louis XVI lost all his authority and was put in prison). The second part carries the story through the end of the terror in 1794, including the deaths by guillotine of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, and Desmoulins.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: France, West Germany, Italy, Canada
Duration: 335 min
Plot tags: historical drama, cult classic, exciting, uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, epic, suspense, political thriller
Best tv shows and movies like The French Revolution (1989):
Similar in 83%
Charlotte Corday (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in July 1793 during the outbreak of the French Revolution and the unleashing of the Reign of Terror, a young girl from Caen named Charlotte Corday plots to assassinate Jacobin newspaper editor Jean-Paul Marat.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 62
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: political thriller, suspense
Similar in 75%
Special Section (1975)
Plot Summary:
In occupied France during the WWII, a German officer is murdered. The collaborationist Vichy government decides to pin the murder on six petty criminals. Loyal judges are called in to convict them as quickly as possible.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: France, Italy, West Germany
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: political, suspense
Similar in 88%
A Tale of Two Cities (1989)
Plot Summary:
A pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amongst the turmoil of the French Revolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 387
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: UK, France
Duration: 188 min
Plot tags: historical drama, epic, fairy tale, period drama
Similar in 81%
The Royal Exchange (2017)
Plot Summary:
In 1721, the Regent of France, wanting to seal the peace with Spain, offers to the Spanish King, a marriage between their respective heirs: Louis XV, age 11, and Maria Anna Victoria, the 4-year-old Spanish infanta. The Regent of France also offers to marry his daughter, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, 12, to the Prince of Asturias, the 14-year-old heir apparent to the Spanish throne. Madrid responds enthusiastically to both proposals, and the ceremonies are promptly organized. The exchange of the princesses is to take place with great pomp on a small island, in the river bordering the two countries. Everything has been done to expect the best of the children, but nothing will proceed as planned.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, scenic, thought provoking, art house
Similar in 83%
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
Plot Summary:
During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel (a humble wayside flower), snatches French aristos from the jaws of the guillotine, while posing as the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney in society. Percy falls for and marries the beautiful actress Marguerite St. Just, but she is involved with Chauvelin and Robespierre, and Percy's marriage to her may endanger the Pimpernel's plans to save the little Dauphin.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, entertaining, period piece, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, period drama, baroque, eighties
Similar in 81%
The Battle of Culloden (1964)
Plot Summary:
Culloden is a 1964 docudrama written and directed by Peter Watkins for BBC TV. It portrays the 1746 Battle of Culloden that resulted in the British Army's destruction of the Scottish Jacobite uprising and, in the words of the narrator, "tore apart forever the clan system of the Scottish Highlands". Described in its opening credits as "an account of one of the most mishandled and brutal battles ever fought in Britain", Culloden was hailed as a breakthrough for its cinematography as well as its use of non-professional actors and its presentation of an historical event in the style of modern TV war reporting. The film was based on John Prebble's study of the battle.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 69 min
Plot tags: philosophical, political, cerebral, rough, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, mockumentary, fake documentary
Similar in 87%
A Tale of Two Cities (1980)
Plot Summary:
Dissolute barrister Sydney Carton becomes enchanted and then hopelessly in love with the beautiful Lucie Manette. But Lucie loves and marries Charles Darnay, and remains oblivious to Carton's undimmed devotion to her. When Darnay is ensnared in the deadly web of the French Revolution and condemned to die by the guillotine, Sydney Carton concocts a dangerous plot to free the husband of the woman he loves.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 983
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: sad, costume drama, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, romantic drama, historical drama, period drama, baroque
Similar in 89%
Tula: The Revolt (2013)
Plot Summary:
'Tula, The Revolt' is an international English spoken feature length movie about the leader of the big slave uprising on the island of Curacao, a Dutch colony in 1795.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 422
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 89%
Children of Glory (2006)
Plot Summary:
Children of Glory will commemorate Hungary's heroic Revolution of 1956, and takes place in Budapest and at the Melbourne Olympic Games in October and November of that year. While Soviet tanks were destroying Hungary, the Hungarian water polo team was winning over the Soviets in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what has been described as the bloodiest water polo match in history.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, Sport, War
Country: Hungary
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 77%
Let Joy Reign Supreme (1975)
Plot Summary:
France, 1719. Louis 14th died four years ago, Philippe d'Orleans is the regent. He is a liberal and a libertine. His right-hand man, Dubois, an atheistic and cupid priest, as libertine as Philippe, tries to take advantage of a little rebellion lead by a Breton squire (Pontallec) and of the famine to become archbishop... Description of the life of the court in this period of transition where the French Revolution smoulders.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: anthology, historical drama, serious, realistic, weird, period drama
Similar in 87%
The Lady and the Duke (2001)
Plot Summary:
This breathtaking, visually experimental film from New Wave director Eric Rohmer tells the true story of Grace Dalrymple Elliot (Lucy Russell), a British aristocrat trapped in Paris during the French Revolution. Determined to maintain her stiff upper lip and pampered life despite the upheaval, Grace continues her friendship with the Duke of Orléans (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) while risking her life and liberty to protect a fugitive.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, realistic, disturbing, historical drama, sensitive, clever, serious, contemplative, crying
Similar in 89%
Marat/Sade (1967)
Plot Summary:
In Charenton Asylum, the Marquis de Sade directs a play about Jean Paul Marat's death, using the patients as actors. Based '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', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, Music
Country: UK
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: disturbing, stylized, psychological, tense, atmospheric, talky, biting, controversial, cult classic, mind blowing
Similar in 80%
The Supper (1992)
Plot Summary:
France, 1815. After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon heads for exile. Royalists occupy Paris and attempt to restore the monarchy. However, the battle doesn't seem to be over. On July 6, Talleyrand, a shrewd politician of flexible convictions, invites chief of police and zealous revolutionary Fouché to supper and tries to convince him to serve the king. Over the meal they insult each other, accuse each other, and, at first sight, look like mortal enemies. But they definitely have one thing in common: they are both power-hungry.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: political, thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, talky, cynical, biting
Similar in 81%
One Nation, One King (2018)
Plot Summary:
Un peuple et son roi crosses the destinies of the men and women of the population, and those of historical figures. Their meeting place is the newly founded National Assembly. At the heart of the story lie the fate of the king and the birth of the French Republic….
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: realistic, factual, tense, captivating, political
Similar in 80%
That Night in Varennes (1982)
Plot Summary:
In June of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the French Revolution, when they find themselves in the city of Varennes when revolutionists arrest the fleeing King Louis.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: historical drama, road movie, costume drama, serious, realistic, surprise ending, period drama, baroque, eighties, masterpiece
Similar in 83%
Farewell, My Queen (2012)
Plot Summary:
A look at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers during the final days of the French Revolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, Spain
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: stylized, serious, realistic, historical drama, erotic, period piece, costume drama, romantic, sexy, lgbt cinema
Similar in 90%
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000)
Plot Summary:
The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German clergyman of great distinction, who actively opposed Hitler and the Nazis. His convictions cost him his life. What is a moral person to do in a time of savage immorality? That question tormented Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German clergyman of great distinction who actively opposed Hitler and the Nazis. His convictions cost him his life. The Nazis hanged him on April 9, 1945, less than a month before the end of the war. Bonhoeffer's last years, his participation in the German resistance and his moral struggle are dramatized in this film. More than just a biographical portrait, Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace sheds light on the little-known efforts of the German resistance. It brings to a wide audience the heroic rebellion of Bonhoeffer, a highly regarded Lutheran minister who could have kept his peace and saved his life on several occasions but instead paid the ultimate price for his beliefs.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 790
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Canada, Germany, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, emotional, christian film, suspense, bleak, serious, realistic, contemplative, political thriller
Similar in 88%
Napoleon (2002)
Plot Summary:
The year is 1816, and NAPOLEON, held prisoner by the British on the island of St. Helena, is telling the young English girl BETSY his life story.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: France, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, UK, Hungary, Spain, Czech Republic
Duration: 380 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, epic, political, costume drama, stylized, period drama
Similar in 76%
April Morning (1988)
Plot Summary:
A teenager grows up during the onset of the American revolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 759
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, disturbing, period drama
Similar in 77%
The Holy Land of Tyrol (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1800s when Napoleon’s French ruled Europe, the film follows young Austrian carpenter Franz and his Bavarian wife, Katharina as an unforeseen event forces them to flee from Augsburg, Bavaria for Franz’s family home in Tyrol, Austria. Tyrolian sentiment is rising strongly against Napoleon and trouble is stirring. In no time it sweeps up Franz and his brothers along with the whole town.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, Italy
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, exciting
Similar in 81%
The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008)
Plot Summary:
Religious and cultural reawakening inspires rebellion in a 19th century Norwegian village.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, realistic, esoteric, bleak
Similar in 75%
April Captains (2000)
Plot Summary:
Story of the 1974 coup that overthrew the right-wing Portuguese dictatorship--which continued the fascist policies of long-time dictator Antonio Salazar--and of two young army captains who were involved in it.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Portugal, Spain, Italy, France
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, thought provoking, realistic, inspirational, political
Similar in 82%
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 80%
The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
Plot Summary:
In pre-Revolutionary France, a young aristocratic woman left penniless by the political unrest in the country, must avenge her family's fall from grace by scheming to steal a priceless necklace.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: costume drama, period piece, factual, atmospheric, realistic, epic, serious, stylized, historical drama, light
Similar in 79%
Waterloo (1970)
Plot Summary:
After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the British generals, the Duke of Wellington, beat Napolean's best generals in Spain and Portugal, but now must beat Napoleon himself with an Anglo Allied army.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, Soviet Union
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, exciting, emotional, stylized, patriotic, historical drama, historically accurate, realistic, period piece
Similar in 78%
Revolution (1985)
Plot Summary:
New York trapper Tom Dobb becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution after his son Ned is drafted into the Army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy. Tom attempts to find his son, and eventually becomes convinced that he must take a stand and fight for the freedom of the Colonies, alongside the aristocratic rebel Daisy McConnahay. As Tom undergoes his change of heart, the events of the war unfold in large-scale grandeur.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, Norway
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspense, dramatic, cult classic, historical drama, independent film, epic, period drama, cult film
Similar in 79%
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Plot Summary:
His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Paris, he becomes smitten with cultured artist Maria Cosway, but, when his daughter visits from Virginia accompanied by her attractive slave, Sally Hemings, Jefferson's attentions are diverted.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, France
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: dramatic, costume drama, historical drama, political, romantic drama, serious, realistic, contemplative, stylized, erotic
Similar in 82%
Danton (1983)
Plot Summary:
Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France, Poland
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: political, epic, talky, spiritual, anthology, art film, historical drama, historically accurate, serious, captivating
Similar in 76%
Cromwell (1970)
Plot Summary:
Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, factual, talky, serious, stylized, period piece, sincere, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Henry V (1989)
Plot Summary:
Gritty adaption of William Shakespeare's play about the English King's bloody conquest of France.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, exciting, costume drama, atmospheric, serious, rough, captivating, stylized, breathtaking