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Documentaries

  • Timeline: The Pendle Witch Child
    • This is an extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in 1612 in the trial of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours; thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MATKIhrDZSc
  • Timeline Documentaries


Middle Ages & Before

  • Troy
    • Film, Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, 2004
    • An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved
  • Agora
    • Film, Rachel Weisz, 2009
    • A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the famous philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.
  • King Arthur
    • Clive Owen, Kiera Knightley, 2004
    • A demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table set in Roman Britain.
  • Robin Hood
    • Film, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, 2010
    • In 12th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power.
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
    • Film, Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, 1991
    • When Robin and his Moorish companion come to England and the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham, he decides to fight back as an outlaw
  • The Lion in Winter
    • Film, Patrick Stewart, Glenn Close, 2003
    • King Henry II meets with Eleanor of Aquitaine at Christmastide 1183 to choose one of his sons as his successor
    • Also a beautiful & classic 1968 film adaptation of the same play starring Peter O'Toole & Katharine Hepburn & young Anthony Hopkins
  • Macbeth
    • Film, Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, 2015
    • Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself
  • Joan of Arc
    • TV mini-series, Leelee Sobieski, 1999
    • Spurred by divine voices and visions, a 15th-century teen leads French forces against the English.
    • Also, 1999 Film version starring Milla Jovovich & John Malkovich
  • Vikings
    • History Channel TV series, 2013-present
    • The world of the Vikings is brought to life through the journey of Ragnar Lothbrok, the first Viking to emerge from Norse legend and onto the pages of history - a man on the edge of myth
  • The White Queen
    • STARZ TV mini-series, Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, 2013
    • Three different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th Century England - focuses on the life of Elizabeth Woodville during the Wars of the Roses.
  • The White Princess
    • STARZ TV mini-series, 2017
    • Sequel series to The White Queen (not as good as previous series)
    • Based on the Philippa Gregory book of the same name, the story of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen's daughter, and her marriage to the Lancaster victor, Henry VII.
  • Kingdom of Heaven
    • Film, Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, 2005
    • Balian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people.
  • Tristan & Isolde
    • Film, James Franco, Sophia Myles, 2006
    • An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers,

Renaissance & Reformation through 18th century

  • Luther
    • TV Film, Joseph Fiennes, 2003
    • During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
  • Wolf Hall
    • TV Mini-series, 2015
    • After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger.
  • A Man for All Seasons
    • Film, 1966
    • The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage.
  • The Tudors
    • Showtime TV Series, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Genry Cavill, James Frain, Natalie Dormer, 2007-2010
    • Warning: unfortunately lots of sexual content
    • A dramatic series about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.
  • The Other Boleyn Girl
    • Film, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, 2008
    • Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII, based on the Philippa Gregory Novel
  • Elizabeth
    • Film, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, 1998
    • A film of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age
    • Film, Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, 2007
    • A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
  • Shakespeare in Love
    • Film, Gweyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fieenes, Geoffrey Rush, 1998
    • A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
  • The Duchess
    • Film, Kiera Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, 2008
    • A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.
  • Amadeus
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring
    • Film, Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, 2003
    • A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
  • The Man in the Iron Mask
    • Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, 1998
    • The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?
  • Outlander
    • STARZ TV Series, 2014-present
    • An English combat nurse from 1945 is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743.
  • Pride & Prejudice
    • Film, Kiera Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, 2005
    • Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice? (Jane Austen)
  • Sense & Sensibility
    • TV Mini-series, Dominic Cooper, 2008
    • Widow Dashwood and her three unmarried daughters, Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, inherit only a tiny allowance. So they move out of their grand Sussex home to a more modest cottage in Devonshire. There, the prevailing ambition is to find suitable husbands for the girls. With help from wealthy neighbor Sir John Middleton, suitors for Elinor and Marianne are soon found, but not landed. They include dashing Willoughby, future vicar Edward Ferrars and retired colonial gentleman Colonel Brandon. (Jane Austen)

Age of Revolutions (Enlightenment, Napoleonic Wars)

  • Poldark
    • TV Series, 2015-present
    • Ross Poldark returns home after American Revolutionary War and rebuilds his life with a new business venture, making new enemies and finding a new love where he least expects it
  • The Count of Monte Cristo
    • Film, Jim Caviezel, Guy Pierce, Richard Harris, James Frain, 2002
    • A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge. Set in France during Napoleon's exile on Elba.
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
    • Film, Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, 2003
    • During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
  • Les Miserables
    • Film, Musical, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, 2012
    • In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever. Includes dramatization of the Revolution of 1848.

Industrial Revolution/19th Century:

  • Anna Karenina
    • Film, Kiera Knightley, Jude Law, 2012
    • In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
  • North & South
    • TV Series, Richard Armitage, 2004
    • North and South is a four part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
  • Lark Rise to Candleford
    • TV Series, 2008-2011
    • An adaptation of Flora Thompson's autobiographical novel "Lark Rise To Candleford", set in 19 century Oxfordshire, in which a young girl moves to the local market town to begin an apprenticeship as a postmistress.
  • Cranford
    • TV series, Judi Dench, 2007
    • In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip; and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
  • Victoria
    • TV Series, Jenna Louise Coleman, 2016-present
    • The early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.
  • The Young Victoria
    • Film, Emily Blunt, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, 2009
    • A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert
  • Amazing Grace
    • Film, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Gambon, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, 2006
    • The idealist and Christian William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade
  • Gangs of New York
    • Film, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, 2002
    • In 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City, home to 'native' Americans and mostly Irish immigrants, seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
  • The Paradise
    • TV Series, 2012-2013
    • The story of a young woman who works in a department store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world.

World Wars:

  • Downton Abbey
    • TV Series, 2010-2015
    • A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early 20th Century.
  • Parade's End
    • BBC Mini-series, Benedict Cumberbatch, 2012
    • Set between the dying days of the Edwardian era and the end of World War I, "Parade's End" follows the conflicted relationship between conservative English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens, his beautiful but headstrong wife, Sylvia, and fearless young suffragette Valentine Wannop.
  • Gosford Park
    • Film, Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon, 2001
    • The lives of upstairs guests and downstairs servants at a party in 1932 in a country house in England as they investigate a murder involving one of them.
  • The King's Speech
    • Film, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham-Carter, 2010
    • The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (father of Queen Elizabeth II), his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
  • Australia
    • Film, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, 2008
    • Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand.
  • Cambridge Spies
    • BBC Mini-series, Tom Hollander, 2003
    • The true story of a group of Cambridge University Students who are recruited to spy for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s
  • Der Untergang/Downfall
    • Film, German language, 2004
    • Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
  • Das Boot
    • Film, German language, 1981
    • The claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat; boredom, filth, and sheer terror.
  • Dunkirk
    • Film, 2017
    • Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German Army, and evacuated, mostly by civilians, during a fierce battle in World War II
  • Fury
    • Film, Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, 2014
    • A grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945
  • The Imitation Game
    • Film, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech, 2014
    • During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.
  • Defiance
    • Film, Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, 2008
    • Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belarussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters, and endeavor to build a village, in order to protect themselves and about one thousand Jewish non-combatants.
  • Valkyrie
    • Film, Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, 2008
    • A dramatization of the 20 July assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Hitler during World War II.
  • Atonement
    • Film, Kiera Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, 2007
    • Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a thirteen-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit

Post World Wars

  • The Crown
    • Netflix TV Series, 2016-present, Matt Smith, Claire Foy
    • Follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.
  • Gandhi
    • Film, Ben Kingsley, 1982
    • Gandhi's character is fully explained as a man of nonviolence. Through his patience, he is able to drive the British out of the subcontinent. And the stubborn nature of Jinnah and his commitment towards Pakistan is portrayed.
  • Call the Midwife
    • BBC TV series,
    • a moving, funny, colorful look at midwifery and family in 1950s East End London. It follows newly qualified midwife Jenny, who joins an eccentric, lovable community of nuns who are nurses at Nonnatus House. Jenny gradually begins to find her way and develops incredible friendships among the nurses, as they are drawn into the lives and homes of the women and families they treat.
  • Brooklyn
    • Film, Saoirse Ronan, 2015
    • An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within
  • The Good Shepherd
    • Film, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert de Niro, (young) Eddie Redmayne, 2006
    • The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
  • Charlie Wilson's War
    • Film, Tom Haks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, 2007
    • A drama based on a (Lufkin) Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
  • The Theory of Everything
    • Film, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, 2014
    • A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife.
  • Billy Elliot
    • Film, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, 2000
    • A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family set against the backdrop of a the 1984 coal miner's strike in a blue collar northern English town.
  • The Iron Lady
    • Film, Meryl Streep, 2011
    • An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
  • The Queen
    • Film, Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, 2006
    • After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
  • Bend It Like Beckham
    • Film, Kiera Knightley, Parminder Nagra, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, 2002
    • The daughter of orthodox Sikh rebels against her parents' traditionalism and joins a football team.
  • The Fifth Estate
    • Film, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl, 2013
    • A dramatic thriller based on real events that reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization.

If you find any sites or videos that were particularly helpful to you, help your classmates by letting Ms. Bennett (christinebennett@lufkinisd.org) know so that it may be added to the website!