Underrated period dramas
Underrated or obscure period dramas that deserve wider appreciation.
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- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterRichard E. GrantImogen StubbsShakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsEileen AtkinsKate BeckinsaleSheila BurrellA recently orphaned young woman goes to live with eccentric relatives in Sussex, where she sets about improving their gloomy lives.
- StarsElisabeth Dermot WalshLiam CunninghamEleanor MethvenAfter a casual fling with an actor, a 1930s Irish woman becomes pregnant and avoids the stigma of raising a bastard child by marrying a boring older man.
- DirectorMartha FiennesStarsRalph FiennesLiv TylerToby StephensRussia, 1820s: Onegin inherits his uncle's country estate and moves there from St. Petersburg. He befriends his neighbor, Lensky, and meets Tatyana through him. She falls in love with Onegin but he just wants friendship.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
- StarsJohn McEneryLesley DunlopJane SeymourYoung man's fortune contingent on marrying stranger. Many scheme to claim it, reducing him to fight for her as a secretary.
- StarsMaureen LipmanAmelia ShankleyMiriam MargolyesSara Crewe enters a London boarding school a wealthy lady when she bids her father farewell as he enters the British Army, but her lifestyle quickly vanishes when her father suddenly dies, and Sara must endure a life of servitude.
- DirectorMichael AustinStarsPhoebe CatesJim BroadbentWendy HughesA mysterious young woman speaking a strange language shows up in an English village, where she is taken in by aristocrats who assume she is a foreign princess
- StarsDouglas HenshallHelen McCroryStephen DillaneAnna Karenina is the young wife of an older husband. She has an affair with the handsome Count Vronsky. By following her desires, Anna complicates her life.
- StarsAlastair SimFay ComptonSarah BadelYoung Flora moves to Cold Comfort Farm after her parents' death, meets eccentric relatives, breaks the farm's curse, helps matriarch Ada Doom overcome childhood trauma, finds love, and enables positive changes for her family.
- DirectorNicholas RentonStarsPaloma BaezaJonathan FirthNigel TerryA vain, pretty girl has recently taken over her uncle's farm. Her independent, naïve personality leaves her torn between the three men who wish to marry her.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsFrances O'ConnorJonny Lee MillerAlessandro NivolaFanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society.
- StarsSam SmithDavid RossJulie WaltersAn orphan named Oliver Twist (Sam Smith) meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
- DirectorSarah HardingStarsAmanda BurtonKenneth CranhamGeorgina TerryAfter the death of her father, Pollyanna goes to live with her wealthy and impossible to please Aunt Polly. While Pollyanna soon wins the hearts of the townsfolk with the happy game her father taught her, Aunt Polly remains unmoved.
- DirectorCatherine MorsheadStarsJack BlumenauClare ThomasJemima RooperDramatization of E. Nesbit's classic novel about three children whose lives change dramatically after they move to a Yorkshire cottage near a railway line.
- StarsElizabeth GarvieDavid RintoulMoray WatsonWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- StarsBarbara LlewellynMark ClarkeAnna HrubyBased on Ethel Turner's classic children's novel, this award-winning miniseries is about a family of seven children set in 1890s Australia.
- DirectorShirley BarrettStarsMiranda OttoMarton CsokasEssie DavisSet in 1928, Meredith is a 35 year-old unmarried woman who arrives at a remote lighthouse island with her uncle, the new head keeper.
- DirectorBeeban KidronStarsRachel WeiszVincent PerezIan McKellenThe story of Russian emigrant Yanko Goorall and servant Amy Foster in the end of nineteenth century. When Yanko enters a farm, sick and hungry after a shipwreck, everyone is afraid of him, except for Amy.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- DirectorDavid SkynnerStarsRobert CavanahPeter DavisonOrla BradyMistreated foundling Heathcliff and his stepsister Catherine fall in love, but when she marries a wealthy man, he becomes obsessed with getting revenge, even well into the next generation.
- DirectorLyndon ChubbuckStarsAnna FrielBrenda FrickerAden YoungIn 1940s London, Lily weds a Canadian soldier before his deployment. With her newborn, she joins his family in Canada, facing harsh realities contrary to his promises. His return remains uncertain.
- DirectorBharat NalluriStarsFrances McDormandAmy AdamsCiarán HindsGuinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.
- StarsAlan BatesAnna PopplewellJemima RooperIn 1930s Britain, three young aristocratic women find love as the world around them slowly descends into war.
- StarsZelah ClarkeTimothy DaltonCarol GilliesA young governess falls in love with her mysterious employer, but a terrible secret puts their happiness at risk.