Best Period Movies & TV Shows

A cinematic ode to jazz legend, Wayne Shorter. Depicted in 3 portals, the viewer is transported into prolific periods of Shorter's life and how through adversity, he grew to greatness, shattered the limitations of jazz, and became one of the most influential musicians and composers in American music.

The story of the Irish-American Lonigan family between 1918 and 1930.

One of the most successful bands of all time, Westlife have had 14 number one singles, more than 20 top 10 hits and have sold a staggering 45 million albums during their 14 year career. In 2012 Westlife embark on what will be their final tour together. Over a three month period The Farewell Tour travels to more than 100 venues worldwide culminating in a spectacular homecoming concert to 85,000 fans at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin.. Essential for all Westlife fans, this DVD captures this once in a lifetime moment recorded at their final concert at Croke Park and invites fans to join Shane, Mark, Kian and Nicky for an epic music event and unforgettable farewell.

Commanding shoguns and samurai warriors, exotic geisha and exquisite artisans—all were part of the Japanese “renaissance”; a period between the 16th and 19th Centuries when Japan went from chaos and violence to a land of ritual refinement and peace. But stability came at a price: for nearly 250 years, Japan was a land closed to the Western world, ruled by the Shogun under his absolute power and control. Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire brings to life the unknown story of a mysterious empire, its relationship with the West, and the forging of a nation that would emerge as one of the most important countries in the world.

After yet another defeat inflicted by G.I. Joe, the immediate subordinates of Cobra's leader, Cobra Commander, have finally come to the end of their patience with his apparent incompetence and his inability to achieve real victories. The leader of the research and interrogations wing, Dr. Mindbender, receives a dream showing the solution. His plan is to collect the genetic material of great warriors and military leaders to create a composite clone that would be the perfect leader for Cobra. Now they set out to put this scheme into motion, and G.I. Joe has very little time to learn of this plot before Cobra becomes that much more a dire threat to the world.

An eight-hour fiction shot for a total of twenty-seven weeks, over a period of fourteen months, in a village population forty-seven in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is a geographic description of the work and non-work of a farmer. A portrait, over five seasons, of a family, of a terrain, of a soundscape, and of duration itself. A film-as-adaptive-landscape. A georgic in five books.

BBC Two history series on Britain and the Cold War, looking at the period from the end of the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

Documentary which celebrates, over the period covering the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 60s, the phenomenon of the Everly Brothers, arguably the greatest harmony duo the world has witnessed, who directly influenced the greatest and most successful bands of the 60s and 70s - The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to name but a few.

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold turn the clock back 500 years to the early Tudor period to become tenant farmers on monastery land.

This series takes viewers on a journey in the 1930s, under the roof of the hotel, where the past and the present merge. The focus of the series is business of a prominent Banja Luka family, entangled in numerous intrigues.

The story of John Henry Faulk, a radio/TV personality of the 1950s, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Faulk sued the organization that was behind the blacklisting, and the resultant trial, and Faulk's victory, helped to put an end to the blacklisting period.

Henry VIII is the most infamous monarch in English history. Famously he married six times over his 36 year reign. The six queens were formidable individuals. Some were ambitious, some brave, some ruthless - and between them they shaped the man who began as a Renaissance prince, became a monster and ended a regretful old man. In turn they shaped England itself. Presented jointly Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones, this is 4-Part series is an original and enlightening look at the real people at the centre of the action during one of the most turbulent, passionate and violent periods in English history.

The story is set in Palestine in 1947, during the British mandate period. The Zionists are fighting for the establishment of a Jewish state, and four comrades in arms pressure the young Elisha to overcome his moral qualms and fully commit to the armed struggle.

It was one of humankind's most epic quests - a technical problem so complex that it challenged the best minds of its time, a problem so important that the nation that solved it would rule the economy of the world. The problem was navigation by sea—how to know where you were when you sailed beyond the sight of land - establishing your longitude. While the gentry of the 18th Century looked to the stars for the answer, an English clockmaker, John Harrison, toiled for decades to solve the problem. His elegant solution made him an unlikely hero and remains the basis for the most modern forms of navigation in the world today. This film will be both a celebration of Harrison's invention and an adventure story. An expedition on a period sailing vessel as it sails the open sea will demonstrate the life and death importance of finding your longitude at sea.

Emily of New Moon is a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2000. The series originally aired in the United States on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV and it is currently seen in Canada on the Viva, Bravo! and Vision TV cable channels. The series, produced by Salter Street Films, was based on the Emily of New Moon series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The series consisted of three seasons of thirteen episodes and one season of seven episodes, for a total of forty-six. The executive producers were Micheline Charest, Michael Donovan, and Ronald Weinberg. The series starred Martha MacIsaac as the titular orphan Emily Starr. Susan Clark and Sheila McCarthy played Emily's aunts Elizabeth and Laura, who had taken on the responsibility of raising Emily following her father's death, and Stephen McHattie played her cousin Jimmy. Susan Clark left the series after the first season when her character, Elizabeth, was killed off. Recurring cast included Chip Ciupka as Mr. Carpenter, Peter Donaldson as Ian Bowles, Richard Donat as Dr. Burnley, Kris Lemche as Perry Miller, John Neville as Uncle Malcolm, Jessica Pellerin as Ilse Burnley, Shawn Roberts as Teddy Kent, and Linda Thorson as Cousin Isabel.

In 1920s New York City, W. C. Fields is a successful headlining entertainer, but when his girlfriend leaves him and his broker loses his money, Fields begins anew in California. Working at a wax museum, Fields eventually lands a film role that ascends him to stardom. Back in the limelight and palling around with John Barrymore and the like, Fields meets an aspiring actress Carlotta Monti at a party, with whom he forms a rocky relationship.

In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

A non-fiction investigative series of murder cases told through the personal experience of retired detective, Lieutenant Joe Kenda. Through re-enactments, discussions with investigation teams, and interviews with victims' families and other involved persons, the show highlights Kenda's successes with his 400 homicide case history and 92 percent solution rate.

For the first time ever, global superstar, Ed Sheeran opens the doors to a definitive and searingly honest view into his private life as he explores the universal themes that inspire his music. This series follows Ed after he learns of life changing news and reveals his hardships and triumphs during the most challenging period of his life. Featuring exclusive footage behind his iconic hits, never-before-seen personal archive with his friends and family, and epic stadium performances giving insight into Ed’s world.

A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890’s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.

Six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. We meet him when the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and, often, against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut. The series tracks Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts “criminal” in “criminal lawyer".

Driven by a dream of revenge against those who made her an outcast in Edo-period Japan, a young warrior cuts a bloody path toward her destiny.

Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the Unknown; a strange forest adrift in time. With the help of a wise old Woodsman and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must travel across this strange land, in hope of finding their way home. Join them as they encounter surprises and obstacles on their journey through the wood.

Emily Dickinson. Poet. Daughter. Total rebel. In this coming-of-age story, Emily’s determined to become the world’s greatest poet.

A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.

In this unique take on British history, Professor Alice Roberts explores Britain's rich and varied past through the stories of individual towns and cities. In each programme Alice studies one key period in history by delving into the secrets of a historic town that encapsulates the era, providing an accurate impression of what life was really like at key moments in our turbulent past. At the climax of each programme, cutting-edge CGI reveals the entire historic town in all its former glory.

Jean Béliveau was gentleman, a businessman, a captain, a star, a husband, a father, and one of the greatest hockey players of his time.

Madison lands her dream job at a publishing company. To her dismay, she must complete a probationary period and will not receive her full salary until the process is over, leaving her in a financial struggle. With a new career and struggling to make ends meet, she works under the demands of her new job while raising two teens on her own. Making matters even more complicated, she finds herself torn between an old flame and a new love interest.

The story of George, who being frustrated by memories of fighting in the great war and living with his extended family, wants to bring more beauty into the world. When he comes across a camel and monkey that are about to be abandoned, he embarks on a plan to set up a zoo.

A three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh and using state-of-the-art visual effects, this prequel to Walking with Dinosaurs shows nearly 300 million years of Paleozoic history, from the Cambrian Period (530 million years ago) to the Early Triassic Period (248 million years ago).

The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.

Decades-long chronicle of the risky, volatile and steamy relationship between the charismatic and ambitious Hawk and the pious and idealistic Tim, two political staffers who fall in love at the height of the 1950s Lavender Scare. Through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco culture of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, the two men’s fiery affair only intensifies despite the constant threat of being exposed and losing everything.

Pulse (stylized as P•U•L•S•E) is a Pink Floyd concert video taken from the October 20, 1994 concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, in The Division Bell tour.

Follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. A stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana.

Elizabeth Thatcher, a young school teacher from a wealthy Eastern family, migrates from the big city to teach school in a small coal mining town in the west.

Pluto lost its status as a planet in 2006. It is no longer the ninth and last planet in the solar system, which greatly annoys Pierre-Olivier. Jérôme wants to reveal his feelings to the one he loves, Nicolas and Steve are looking for a name for their punk band, Émilie is organizing a party despite herself? An almost normal day on this little piece of the planet. Played by young people aged 15 and 16, West of Pluto follows the existence of a dozen teenagers from the suburbs over 24 hours. This crossover which mixes humor and drama reflects their concerns and their way of seeing the world. A disturbingly realistic portrait, the film plunges into the heart of adolescence, this intense and fascinating period when everyone tries to exist among others and tries to make sense of the absurdity of everyday life.

In Victorian London, feisty heroine Hetty Feather is trapped in the Foundling Hospital, the strict institution ruled over by the formidable Matron Bottomley. Aided by friends and thwarted by enemies, Hetty battles to win her freedom and finally find her real mother. Based on the book by Jacqueline Wilson.

When compulsive gambler Sir Giles Staverley has lost his estate and all his money playing dice, he realises that he only has one thing left of value: his daughter Serena. In a final game, he stakes his daughter's hand in marriage, convinced that this time he will not lose. Unfortunately, however, he does lose; to the evil Lord Wrotham. Unable to return home and tell his daughter that he has lost her in a game of dice, Sir Giles kills himself there and then. Lord Vulcan, who has witnessed the events, takes pity on Serena Staverley, although they have never met. He challenges Lord Wrotham to a game of dice in which the winner takes both Staverley Court and Miss Serena.

Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town, Candleford, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm-workers, craftsmen and gentry at the end of the 19th Century. Lark Rise to Candleford is a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance.

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

In the 1950s, Elizabeth Zott's dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere. She accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives way more than recipes.

Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.

A documentary about the period in sports entertainment, known as the Monday Night Wars. Includes interviews with past and present on-air personalities. Also includes looking back on superstars and storylines that made the Monday Night Wars so memorable.

A historical fiction drama and thriller set in the turbulent period of the late 1930s in the Balkans as a place where high politics, local interests, capital and crime all merge together.

The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy. The series follows the fortunes of the upper middle class Forsyte family, and stars Eric Porter as Soames, Kenneth More as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene. It was adapted for television and produced by Donald Wilson and was originally shown in twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2, at a time when only a small proportion of the population had television sets able to receive this channel. It was therefore the repeat on Sunday evenings on BBC1 starting on 8 September 1968 that secured the programme's success with 18 million tuning in for the final episode in 1969. It was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first BBC television series to be sold to the Soviet Union.

In this one-hour documentary, superstar Miley Cyrus allows unprecedented access into her extraordinary life as she rises to the challenge of presenting a new and sometimes controversial persona to the public. As a teenage star, Miley amassed millions of passionate international fans who followed her every move. Three years later, she attempts to shed her previous image while embracing music full time. Whether in the studio, at a performance, or on the set of her latest music video, Miley exudes the confidence of a creative young woman in a period of radical self-discovery who still inspires legions of admirers while confronting her critics. Ultimately, the film is an intimate portrait that captures Miley's exuberantand spirited life, her evolving identity, and her exciting transformation into amusic icon.

In 1966, Justo Gil arrives in Barcelona as a migrant with the purpose of gaining enough money to give his sick mother the best care. His great charisma allows him to socialize with the youngsters of the upper-class, until an unexpected turn of events makes him become an informer of the political police, in order to pursue communist cells.

The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.