Best tv shows like A Fortunate Life
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Four part biopic about classic Australian author A.B. Facey (1894-1982). Born in a large impoverished family, uneducated and illiterate, he had to fend for himself since he was eight, and as a recruit in WWI, he was sent to Gallipoli.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 107
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: historical drama
Best tv shows and movies like A Fortunate Life (1986):
Similar in 78%
The Man Who Defended Gavrilo Princip (2015)
Plot Summary:
When Gavrilo Princip killed Franz Ferdinand, Austrian future king , the World War I began. What will Gavrilo Princip do? He has to choose, hard jail untill death, or hanging. There are so much things happening in Bosnia.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 814
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Serbia
Duration: 161 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
1915 (1982)
Plot Summary:
1915 is a 1982 Australian mini series about two friends who wind up serving in World War One.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 128
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 360 min
Plot tags: period drama
Similar in 88%
A Man Named Benito (1993)
Plot Summary:
Originally airing on Italian television, this riveting biodrama stars Antonio Banderas as Benito Mussolini. After rapidly ascending the ranks of the Socialist Party, he created a Fascist state in 1920s Italy through his use of propaganda and diplomacy and led his people in a bloody war that would ultimately result in his downfall. With Toni Bertorelli, Valentina Lainati.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: political, historical drama
Similar in 89%
Number 10 (1983)
Plot Summary:
Drama series about the private lives of seven British prime ministers who lived in Number 10 Downing Street between the 1780s and the 1920s: William Pitt the Younger, the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), Benjamin Disraeli, William Ewart Gladstone, David Lloyd-George, Herbert Henry Asquith and James Ramsay MacDonald.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 49
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: historical drama, period piece, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 86%
Deadline Gallipoli (2015)
Plot Summary:
Three journalists, Charles Bean, Ellis Ashmead Bartlett and Phillip Schuler, arrive at Gallipoli with the invading British and Allied troops in 1915. They will report the war but are prevented from getting out the true story of an unfolding disaster. From encampment in Cairo to Anzac Cove to the evacuation, this is the story of journalists who will not accept that truth be the first casualty. This is the story of the men who will not shut up. The actions of these men will help change the course of the campaign, ensure that a strategic disaster becomes a legend of human heroism, and leave an impregnable mark on each of their lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 854
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 197 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 81%
Turkish Ice Cream (2019)
Plot Summary:
In 1915, two Turks in Australia make a living by selling ice cream. When they hear war has broken out, they decide to go to Çanakkale. Authorities don't let them leave the island, so the two decide to put up a fight in Australia.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Turkey
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense
Similar in 85%
The General (2019)
Plot Summary:
TV show about general Ante Gotovina.
IMDB Rating: 1.8
IMDB Votes: 628
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Croatia
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Janosik (1963)
Plot Summary:
This film is one of the most popular pictures of Slovak cinema and relates the story about the legendary folk hero and brigand Juro Jánošík [1688-1713] and the social situation in Slovakia of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The first part talks about Jánošík's childhood, studies and return to his native village. In the second part Jánošík leaves for the hills, where he organizes his band of brigands and starts an anti-feudal resistance. The film concludes with Jánošík's execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 163 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Gallipoli (2015)
Plot Summary:
As dawn breaks on April 25, 1915, ANZAC troops go into battle on the beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula. Landing in the dark chaos, Tolly, Bevan and their mates struggle to establish a tenuous foothold on the treacherous slopes and deep ravines. They endure the next eight months on the peninsula learning lessons of survival. By the time of the final evacuation they have also learned the skills of combat and what it means to be a young man in war.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, stylized, period drama
Similar in 87%
Rebellion (2016)
Plot Summary:
Rebellion is a five part serial drama about the birth of modern Ireland. The story is told from the perspectives of a group of fictional characters who live through the political events of the 1916 Easter Rising.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Ireland
Duration: 258 min
Plot tags: historical drama, political, period piece, period drama
Similar in 78%
Shaka Zulu (1986)
Plot Summary:
Framed around Queen Victoria's decision on England's political stance towards the Zulu Nation, this mini-series details King Shaka's rise and fall with mythic detail. Prophecy is mixed with recorded fact regarding Shaka's birth, exile, innovations in warfare, assumption of the throne, building of the Zulu Empire, first contact with Europe and the events that lead to his downfall.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, South Africa, West Germany, Australia, USA
Duration: 300 min
Plot tags: tension, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, vintage
Similar in 76%
Catherine the Great (2019)
Plot Summary:
This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: historical drama, realistic, captivating, disturbing, stylized, colorful, exciting, period piece, informative, romantic drama
Similar in 88%
Maria Theresa (2017)
Plot Summary:
The young Maria Theresia sees her life clearly in front of her: she will marry Franz Stephan of Lorraine and start a family of many with him. Even if Franz Stephan is not quite sure of his luck and her father, Emperor Charles VI, and his powerful advisor Prince Eugene of Savoy forge quite different plans for them. It looks quite as if the young archduchess must sacrifice her happiness to the cause of the state.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 613
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, contemplative, visually appealing
Similar in 89%
Banished (2015)
Plot Summary:
At its heart, Banished is a story of survival. Though it is set in the stark historical reality of the founding of the penal colony in Australia in 1788 after the arrival of the First Fleet, it is not the story of Australia and how it came to be. Rather, it is a tale of love, faith, justice and morality played out on an epic scale in a confined community where the stakes are literally life and death.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, historical drama, tense, realistic, captivating, costume drama, epic, period piece, period drama
Similar in 89%
Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo (2011)
Plot Summary:
In early 1972, Ita Buttrose and Kerry Packer got together to create a magazine that became one of the most dramatic sensations in Australian publishing history. CLEO Magazine - begun in a "fit of pique" - went on to help define women, Australia and the relationship between the two. Research showed the project would be a failure and the magazine was opposed by the powerful head of the Packer clan, Sir Frank Packer. Yet Ita and Kerry knowing the consequences of failure would be dire, decided to back their gut instincts anyway.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 82%
The Iron Empress (2009)
Plot Summary:
Empress Cheonchu is a 2009 South Korean period television series based on the titular character, an actual historical figure and her lifelong struggle to protect the country her ancestors built. The granddaughter of Goryeo Dynasty founder Taejo Wanggeon, the empress ruled as the regent for her son Mokjong, the dynasty's seventh ruler. Determined to realize her ambitious goals for the kingdom of Goryeo, she dons armor, battles against foreign invaders, and tramples her lover, her son and brother in her rise to power.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 54
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration:
Plot tags: historical drama
Similar in 89%
Edward the King (1975)
Plot Summary:
Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Timothy West as the elder Edward VII and Simon Gipps-Kent and Charles Sturridge as Edward in his youth, Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Deborah Grant and Helen Ryan as Queen Alexandra, Robert Hardy as the Prince Consort, Alison Leggatt as the Duchess of Kent, and Felicity Kendal as Princess Vicky. It was directed by John Gorrie, who wrote episodes 7-10 with David Butler writing the remainder of the series. The series also featured John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, Michael Hordern as William Ewart Gladstone, Harry Andrews as young Edward's tutor Colonel Bruce, Jane Lapotaire as Empress Marie of Russia, Christopher Neame as Kaiser Wilhelm II and, in one of his earliest roles, Charles Dance as Edward's eldest son Eddy, who died at the age of 28. Gielgud previously played Disraeli in the 1941 film The Prime Minister. The actresses playing Edward's mistresses include Moira Redmond as Alice Keppel and Carolyn Seymour as Daisy Greville. Francesca Annis was featured in two episodes as Lillie Langtry which led to Butler writing a full series about Mrs Langtry's life for Annis to star in, Lillie.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: costume drama, historical drama, epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, saga, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 76%
De Gaulle (2020)
Plot Summary:
Explores the life of General De Gaulle, from the Appeal of June 18, 1940, to his departure from power in 1969. A dive into the military and political career of De Gaulle and an inside portrait of his private life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 167
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France
Duration: 297 min
Plot tags: political drama
Similar in 77%
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981)
Plot Summary:
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 30s. It was written and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax and Churchill was played by Robert Hardy. Hardy's brilliant performance as Churchill won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award in 1982. He reprised the role in The Sittaford Mystery, Bomber Harris and War and Remembrance and at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II in 1995 when he quoted a number of Churchill's wartime speeches in character.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 330
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: historical drama, period drama
Similar in 77%
Krupp: A Family Between War and Peace (2009)
Plot Summary:
The Krupps were one of Germany's most powerful and controversial families until their downfall.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 270 min
Plot tags: captivating, historical drama
Similar in 76%
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 87%
Anzac Girls (2014)
Plot Summary:
The unique, and rarely told true stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, realistic, serious, stylized, costume drama, medical drama, historical drama, gloomy, romantic drama
Similar in 81%
Anzacs (1985)
Plot Summary:
Anzacs was a 1985 5-part Australian miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force in 1914, fighting first at Gallipoli in 1915, and then on the Western Front for the remainder of the war. It follows in the wake of Australian New Wave war films such as Breaker Morant, Gallipoli, and precedes The Lighthorsemen. Recurring themes of these films include the Australian identity, such as mateship and larrikinism, the loss of innocence in war, and also the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 839
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, vintage, period drama
Similar in 79%
Gallipoli (1981)
Plot Summary:
As World War I rages, brave and youthful Australians Archy and Frank, both agile runners, become friends and enlist in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps together. They later find themselves part of the Dardanelles Campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula, a brutal eight-month conflict which pit the British and their allies against the Ottoman Empire and left over 500,000 men dead.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, harsh, emotional, intense, serious, captivating, realistic, depressing, sad
Similar in 85%
Sam: A Saxon (2023)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Sam Meffire’s rise and fall in East Germany, this miniseries follows Sam’s desperate search for a place he can call home, as he fights for recognition and justice. Sam goes from being the first Black cop in the GDR to media celebrity, and finally a criminal in the wild years following German reunification.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 561
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: Germany
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Peter the Great (1986)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of Peter I, Tsar of Russia from 1682, and the constant struggle between him, his sister Sophia and the Streltsy, an important Russian military corp. The story depicts the efforts of Peter in transforming Russia in an "all European" country, importing scientists, costumes, technology and military tactics.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 793
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 371 min
Plot tags: historical drama, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, period piece, costume drama, baroque, vintage, period drama
Similar in 87%
The Diary of Anne Frank (2009)
Plot Summary:
Called the most accurate adaptation of Anne Frank’s moving diary, the film chronicles the Frank family as they flee from the Nazis in Amsterdam. Hiding behind a bookcase in a secret annex with random bombs exploding, Anne faces friction with her family, a desire for independence and the first stirrings of young love. It’s a remarkable record of a young woman’s first-hand observations of the Holocaust.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, historical drama, bleak, captivating, period drama
Similar in 81%
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003)
Plot Summary:
A unique slant, profiling the life of Adolf Hitler as a child and his rise through the ranks of the National German Workers' Party prior to World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 186 min
Plot tags: serious, bleak, captivating, realistic, disturbing, political, factual, suspense, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
A Small Light (2023)
Plot Summary:
Twentysomething Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: historical drama
Similar in 75%
Genius (2017)
Plot Summary:
Anthology series about famous geniuses with the first season charting how Albert Einstein unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe, and the second exploring the passionate nature and relentless creative drive of Pablo Picasso.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: anthology, historical drama, inspirational, enigmatic, captivating, psychological, educational, saga, costume drama, intellectual