Best tv shows like Ellis Island
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The lives and struggles of some of the countless immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island during the 19th century in search of the American Dream.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 283
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 420 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Ellis Island (1984):
Similar in 80%
De Stille Kracht (1974)
Plot Summary:
Based on the novel by Louis Couperus, De Stille Kracht is set at the end of the nineteenth century and concerns the cultural gap between East and West, that is between the Netherlands and their colony on Java. The Dutch colonists, who nominally rule Java, realize that the island maintains its own natural order by way of a hidden force, goena goena, a term denoting magic as well as depths of eastern cultures that westerners cannot probe The original novel contemplated the Dutch people's inability to adapt to the culture and environment of their colony in what is now Indonesia. (Wikipedia).
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Lenin in Poland (1966)
Plot Summary:
The life of the great Bolshevik leader before the Russian revolution is chronicled in this bio-pic. Much of the tale centers on his exile in Poland where Lenin becomes friends with two peasants. The little girl has a strong belief in the nationalist cause. Later Lenin hears she was killed for withholding information about him.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 100
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Soviet Union, Poland
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Manure and Gillyflowers (1978)
Plot Summary:
A story about the life of Maximiliane Irene von Quindt based on a classic novel by Christine Bruckner.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 56
Genere: Drama, History
Country: West Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: family saga
Similar in 89%
The Charterhouse of Parma (1982)
Plot Summary:
Stendhal's epic tale of a young French officer in the Napoleonic wars, and his aunt - a duchess of legendary beauty and resourcefulness.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 64
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Great Expectations (2023)
Plot Summary:
The coming-of-age story of Pip, an orphan who yearns for a greater lot in life, until a twist of fate and the evil machinations of the mysterious and eccentric Miss Havisham shows him a dark world of possibilities. Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration:
Plot tags: period piece, period drama
Similar in 75%
Studs Lonigan (1979)
Plot Summary:
Story of the Irish-American Lonigan family between 1918 and 1930. The story centers on young Studs who is growing into adulthood in a city full of temptations.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 94
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 360 min
Plot tags: period drama
Similar in 82%
Under Capricorn (1983)
Plot Summary:
Australian adaptation of the Helen Simpson novel previously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 56
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Australia
Duration: 198 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 79%
Hotel Adlon (2013)
Plot Summary:
A three-part German mini-series about the luxury hotel in Berlin.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Germany
Duration: 270 min
Plot tags: family saga, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
The Seekers (1979)
Plot Summary:
The sons and grandchildren of Philip Kent make a life for themselves in America.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Quiet Flows the Don (2006)
Plot Summary:
With World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Russian Civil War as backdrop, it's an old-fashioned, blood-and-guts narrative, filled with earthly humor and a wealth of colorful characters. The story concerns the fluctuating fortunes of Grigory Melekhov, a young Cossack who is both a hero and a victim of the uprising.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 565
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: UK, Russia, Italy
Duration: 176 min
Plot tags: epic, family saga, captivating
Similar in 75%
Radetzky March (1994)
Plot Summary:
At the battle of Solferino Joseph von Trotta, a lieutenant in the Slovenian infantry, is wounded while saving the life of the young Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph I. The Emperor rewards him by elevating him in society to a position quite out of keeping with his social rank, and which entirely alienates him from his farming background: Joseph gets promoted to the rank of captain, and is made a member of the nobility. Years later Joseph von Trotta accidentally finds a description of the battle that changed his life in a text-book belonging to his son Franz. Enraged at the over-emotional, patriotic and sentimental way in which the Emperor's rescue at the hands of "the Hero of Solferino" is depicted, he lodges a complaint at the Imperial Court. During an audience, the Emperor, displaying a certain degree of resignation, attempts to convince him that myths are both justifiable and necessary. Joseph, however, discovers "that it was nothing else but craftiness that assured the existence of.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 212
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Austria, Germany, France
Duration: 255 min
Plot tags: period drama
Similar in 86%
The Emigrants (1971)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of the 19th century, Kristina and Karl-Oskar live in a small rural village in Smaaland (southern Sweden). They get married and try to make a living on a small spot of land. However, the small size of their land, the infertile soil, and some bad harvests makes it tough. One of their children even starve to death. Thus, they decide to emigrate to the U.S. They meet a group of farmers with their families planing the emigration under the leadership of a banned priest. They sell everything and embark for the U.S. The journey on the sailing ship is long and tedious. Some of the emigrants will never reach the New World.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Sweden
Duration: 191 min
Plot tags: epic, inspirational, romantic, sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, rough, uplifting, touching, serious
Similar in 86%
Little America (2020)
Plot Summary:
An anthology series that goes beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and surprising stories of immigrants in America at a time when they are more relevant than ever.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anthology, funny, sincere, uplifting, sad, touching
Similar in 77%
The Awakening Land (1978)
Plot Summary:
Frontierswoman Sayward Luckett's struggles in Ohio during the late 18th-century and early 19th-century.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 471
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 333 min
Plot tags: historical drama, vintage, period drama
Similar in 75%
Lost Empires (1986)
Plot Summary:
In 1913, young Richard Herncastle joins his Uncle Nick's magic act and is introduced to the enchanted world of the British music hall. Traveling from one city to the next, assisting at conjuring acts and disappearing acts, Richard comes to know romance, politics and high adventure. The next year, in a true and terrifying vanishing act, the guns of August blast away that world forever.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 346
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 420 min
Plot tags: costume drama, entertaining, period drama
Similar in 90%
Rag Nymph (1997)
Plot Summary:
Seperated from her prostitute mother as the woman flees on foot down the filthy mid-19th century streets of Newcastle from the police, ten year old Millie is taken under the wing of rag lady Aggie Winkovski and her crippled helper, Ben. Young Millie is a very well-brought up little girl, which Aggie questions and finds out that her mother had been a ladies maid before being forced into prostitution. Aggie ends up becoming Millie's guardian, protecting her from the local pimp, Boswell, who wants to have pretty Millie as part of his business, and we see Millie grow up to a happy, well educated young woman on Aggie's sparse finances; but is she still safe from the hands of Boswell and his customers?.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 565
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: costume drama, touching, serious, realistic, period drama
Similar in 75%
Oliver Twist (2007)
Plot Summary:
Oliver is born into poverty and misfortune - the son of an unmarried mother, who dies shortly after his birth. He is soon delivered to the workhouse, where the cruel Mr. Bumble oversees children tormented by starvation and suffering. When Oliver dares to ask for more gruel, he finds himself cast out and forced to make his own way in the world.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 176 min
Plot tags: costume drama, sentimental, touching, sincere, captivating, juvenile, historical drama, bleak, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 90%
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 75%
Mercy Street (2016)
Plot Summary:
Follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War - New England abolitionist Mary Phinney and Confederate supporter Emma Green. Based on true stories and set in a Union hospital in the occupied Confederate city of Alexandria, viewers are taken beyond the battlefield and into the lives of Americans on the Civil War home front as they face the unprecedented challenges of one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 53 min
Plot tags: historical drama, psychological, tense, sincere, suspense, gothic, dark, period piece, costume drama, medical drama
Similar in 78%
The Vineyard (2021)
Plot Summary:
Mauro Larrea and Soledad Montalvo are two strangers whose destinies cross in the second half of the 19th century, leading to their lives changing forever. A history of glories and defeats, of silver mines, family intrigues, vineyards, wineries, and fascinating cities whose splendor faded over time.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 871
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: romantic, psychological, emotional, talky, historical drama
Similar in 81%
Barkskins (2020)
Plot Summary:
A disparate group of outcasts and dreamers battle to escape their pasts while navigating the brutal frontier hardships, competing interests, and tangled loyalties at the crossroads of civilization: the New World. Based on the novel by Pulitzer-winner Annie Proulx.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: bleak, tense, suspenseful, exciting, suspense, visually appealing, costume drama, historical drama, factual, period drama
Similar in 90%
The Manions of America (1981)
Plot Summary:
Film starring David Soul, Kate Mulgrew, Pierce Brosnan.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 257
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 290 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 80%
Les Misérables (2000)
Plot Summary:
The scene is set during the French Restoration at the beginning of the 19th century. Jean Valjean, a galley slave who was sent to prison for stealing food, is now released after serving nineteen years. At first he only encounter mistrust and closed doors; only the saintly Bishop Bienvenu treats him kindly and takes him in. The bishop's truly Christian compassion and humanity not only restores Jean Valjean's faith in the good, but also smoothes his way back to an orderly life. As Monsieur Madeleine, Valjean is soon a wealthy industrialist and popular citizen, even becoming the mayor of a small provincial town.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, USA
Duration: 400 min
Plot tags: suspense, emotional, melancholic, touching, serious, costume drama, period piece, fairy tale, artsy, historical drama
Similar in 80%
Mata Hari (2016)
Plot Summary:
A sex icon becomes a spy during one of the most important wars of the 20th century.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 495
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Russia, Portugal, Ukraine
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, emotional, disturbing, costume drama, beautiful
Similar in 87%
Backstairs at the White House (1979)
Plot Summary:
Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 472
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 540 min
Plot tags: historical drama, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, political drama
Similar in 83%
The Adams Chronicles (1976)
Plot Summary:
Family Chronicles Drama, American.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 210
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: political, costume drama, epic, period drama
Similar in 76%
Little Women (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the story follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, Marmee, and while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from sibling rivalry and first love, to loss and marriage.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA, Ireland
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: costume drama, sentimental, romantic, uplifting, touching, feel good, sweet, period piece, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 81%
Trotsky (2017)
Plot Summary:
The life pages of a man who changed the world but paid back everything he had. Leon Trotsky is being interviewed in Mexico city of the year 1940 by Canadian journalist Frank Jackson. During eight days they have eight interview sessions revealing the true face of Comrade Trotsky.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Russia
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, suspenseful, disturbing, tragic ending, thought provoking, intellectual, surprise ending
Similar in 90%
The Bonfire of Destiny (2019)
Plot Summary:
After a devastating fire in 1897 Paris, three women find their lives upended by betrayal, deception, and romantic turmoil. Inspired by real events.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: touching, suspenseful, disturbing, contemplative, rough, unusual plot structure, suspense, saga, costume drama
Similar in 89%
The Knick (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. John Thackery is a brilliant surgeon pioneering new methods in the field, despite his secret addiction to cocaine. He leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger; the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. and Dr. Algernon Edwards, a promising surgeon who's been recently thrust upon him. The lively cast of characters at the hospital also includes Cornelia Robertson, the daughter of its benefactor, Captain August Robertson; surly ambulance driver Tom Cleary; Lucy Elkins; a fresh-faced nurse from the country; the crooked hospital administrator Herman Barrow; and Sister Harriet, a nun who isn't afraid to speak her mind.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, bleak, atmospheric, medical drama, rough, costume drama, historical drama, philosophical, gothic