Best movies like The Rise of Louis XIV
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Plot Summary:
Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed. Years later, in a coda, we see Louis exercizing the power of the sun.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, History
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: epic, political, historical drama, historically accurate, baroque, weird, period drama
Best tv shows and movies like The Rise of Louis XIV (1966):
Similar in 80%
Socrates (1970)
Plot Summary:
After Athens falls under the government of the Thirty Tyrants, the lives of citizens are no longer safe. The philosopher Socrates, meanwhile, continues his so-called philosophical "preaching", gathering more and more young disciples. The youth of Athens like Socrates, although the conservatives, such as the comedian Aristophanes, ridicule him, believing him to be one of the sophists.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 941
Genere: Biography, History
Country: Italy, Spain, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: philosophical, artsy
Similar in 84%
The Youth of Peter the Great (1980)
Plot Summary:
The years of the tsar’s adolescence and youth were permeated with deadly danger coming from some of the Boyars, the rebellious Streltsy and Tsarevna Sophia who aspired for power. But already at that early time Peter demonstrates a profound, bright intellect, a strong will and the sense of purpose, which help him disarm both his open and secret enemies.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Soviet Union, East Germany
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
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 85%
The Death of Louis XIV (2016)
Plot Summary:
August 1715. After going for a walk, Louis XIV feels a pain in his leg. The next days, the king keeps fulfilling his duties and obligations, but his sleep is troubled and he has a serious fever. He barely eats and weakens increasingly. This is the start of the slow agony of the greatest king of France, surrounded by his relatives and doctors.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France, Portugal, Spain
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, exciting, tense, touching, atmospheric, historical drama, baroque
Similar in 82%
The King Is Dancing (2000)
Plot Summary:
Louis XIV, the French sun-king has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Music
Country: France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, stylized, serious, realistic, captivating, dramatic, visual, historical drama, mesmerizing, contemplative
Similar in 83%
The King's Daughters (2000)
Plot Summary:
Late 17th Century: Anne de Grandcamp and Lucie de Fontenelle, two little girls from Normandy, arrive at the Saint-Cyr school founded by Madame de Maintenon for educating the daughters of impoverished nobles ruined in wars and making them into free women. Madame de Maintenon is the secret wife of Louis XIV, and empowered by his support, she offers "her" two hundred fifty girls a playful and avant-garde education. Anne and Lucie, two inseparable friends, allow themselves to be carried away by the promise of a bright future. But Maintenon has arrived at the pinnacle of power through scheming and debasing herself and she now fears the fires of hell. She is counting on her model school to atone for her past sins.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 700
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: captivating, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, epic, baroque, weird
Similar in 86%
The Queen and the Cardinal (2009)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of the 17th century, forbidden lovers Queen Anne of Austria, the widow of King Louis XIII, and her Prime Minister, Cardinal Mazarin, face the opposition of a revengeful and power-seeking Court.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 110
Genere: History
Country: France
Duration: 197 min
Plot tags: historical drama, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Versailles: The Dream of a King (2008)
Plot Summary:
Docudrama about the life of Louis XIV nicknamed "the Sun King", the King of France who ran a glamorous court, expanded the borders of France, loved women and parties and built an incredible palace for himself - the Versailles.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 364
Genere: Documentary, Biography, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: political, historical drama, baroque, weird
Similar in 77%
The Accursed Kings (1972)
Plot Summary:
Set during the reigns of the last five kings of the Capetian dynasty and the first two kings of the House of Valois, the series begins as the French King Philip the Fair, already surrounded by scandal and intrigue, brings a curse upon his family when he persecutes the Knights Templar. The succession of monarchs that follows leads France and England to the Hundred Years' War.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 400
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 616 min
Plot tags: historical drama
Similar in 87%
The Marquise of Darkness (2010)
Plot Summary:
Marie Madeleine Dreux, Marquise of Brinvilliers, was executed in 1676 for poisoning. Manipulated by her lover and having kept the aftereffects of her childhood, she does not hesitate to poison her father and two brothers to recover their inheritance.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 59
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Vatel (2000)
Plot Summary:
In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth. The prince is craven in his longing for stature: no task is too menial or dishonorable for him to give Vatel. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity, he finds himself attracted to Anne de Montausier, the king's newest mistress. In Vatel, she finds someone who's authentic, living out his principles within the casual cruelties of court politics. Can the two of them escape unscathed?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, UK, Belgium
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: light, melancholic, tricky, captivating, visually appealing, period piece, costume drama, stylized, epic, political
Similar in 76%
Catherine the Great (1995)
Plot Summary:
Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to the immature future Czar, a young German Princess proves a skillful political infighter and rises to become Catherine the Great.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Germany, Austria
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: political, period piece, epic, serious, realistic, stylized, baroque, period drama
Similar in 79%
Jeanne du Barry (2023)
Plot Summary:
The life of Jeanne Bécu, who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium, UK, Russia, Saudi Arabia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Restoration (1995)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring young physician, Robert Merivel found himself in the service of King Charles II and saves the life of someone close to the King. Merivel joins the King's court and lives the high life provided to someone of his position. Merivel is ordered to marry his King's mistress in order to divert the queens suspicions. He is given one order by the king and that is not to fall in love. The situation worsens when Merivel finds himself in love with his new wife. Eventually, the King finds out and relieves Merivel of his position and wealth. His fall from grace leaves Merivel where he first started. And through his travels and reunions with an old friend, he rediscovers his love for true medicine and what it really means to be a physician.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: factual, costume drama, intense, serious, captivating, emotional, visually appealing, period piece, sexy, erotic
Similar in 87%
The Broken Crown (2016)
Plot Summary:
In a Spain consumed by ambition and power, the future of an empire depends of the mind state of a single woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 804
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: exciting, sentimental, romantic, captivating, historical drama, telenovela, period drama
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 84%
Molière (1978)
Plot Summary:
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin is raised by his father and his grandfather because his mother dies when he's still very little. He works as a handyman, studies the law at a university and travels the country as an actor before he becomes the celebrated playwright Molière who impresses firstly the Duke of Orleans and then even King Louis XIV.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 877
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 260 min
Plot tags: weird, period drama
Similar in 78%
The Marriage of Gustav III (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Swedish King Gustav III is bold and courageous regarding government. He is to marry a Danish princess. But when it comes to love and courtship, the king feels lost. Therefore he asks the loyal and experienced Captain Munck for assistance.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 242
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Sweden, Finland
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: captivating, historical drama, masterpiece, period drama
Similar in 75%
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%
Louis, the Child King (1993)
Plot Summary:
History buffs will glory in the riches of Louis, Enfant Roi, others will perhaps find this complex story of intrigues and betrayals in the court of the young king tough sledding. When Louis the Fourteenth (1638-1715) was born, the power of government was shared between the monarchy, the church, the nobility, and the Parlement. His predecessor had greatly centralized the powers of government following the advice of Cardinal Richelieu. Louis XIV (often called "The Sun King" for the brilliance of his rule) followed the advice of Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin (Paolo Graziosi), and brought the powers of government under the sole sway of the monarch. He expanded the territory and influence of France in a series of wars throughout his reign. How he came to be so autocratic and ruthless both personally and politically is the subject of this biographical drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 293
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France
Duration: 160 min
Plot tags: historical drama, baroque, period drama
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 82%
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 Lion in Winter (1968)
Plot Summary:
1183 AD: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. They and his wife variously plot to force him.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: suspense, political, factual, atmospheric, realistic, stylized, captivating, costume drama, epic, witty
Similar in 86%
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 83%
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 79%
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 85%
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 87%
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Plot Summary:
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, France, Japan
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: costume drama, period piece, melancholic, visual, visually stunning, factual, colorful, historical drama, realistic, visually appealing
Similar in 75%
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%
The Last Emperor (1987)
Plot Summary:
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 110000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: China, Italy, UK, France
Duration: 163 min
Plot tags: visually stunning, epic, political, breathtaking, visually appealing, period piece, emotional, historical drama, historically accurate, erotic