Movies Similar to Downton Abbey

The Last Samurai(2003)

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

7.6

The Tin Drum(1979)

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

6.9

Ben-Hur(1959)

In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

7.9

The Last Emperor(1987)

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

7.6

Singin' in the Rain(1952)

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

8.1

Live by Night(2016)

A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.

6.3

Seong Chun-hyang(1961)

Chun-hyang, the only daughter of an old gisaeng named Wolmae, falls in love with Lee Mong-nyong and promises to marry him. But Lee leaves for Seoul with his father who's an aristocrat, and the new governor, Byeon Hakdo, covets Chun-hyang because she is the most beautiful girl in town. When Chun-hyang rejects his order to serve him at night, Governor Byeon sends her to jail. In the mean time, Lee passes the state exam and becomes a special undercover agent of the king. He comes back to where Chun-hyang lives to save her and punishes Governor Byeon.

7.3

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!(2006)

Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life full of mental torture as he tried to overcome his homosexuality in 1950s Britain. This film follows his life and eventual death based on the many diaries he kept

6.2

The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai(2022)

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

7.1

The Chaperone(2019)

In the early 1920s, a Kansas woman finds her life forever changed when she accompanies a young dancer on her fame-seeking journey to New York City.

6.2

The Vintner's Luck(2009)

A fantasy romance set in 19th century France. The film revolves around Sobran, a young peasant winemaker, and the three important figures in his life - his beautiful wife Celeste, baroness Aurora de Valday and an angel named Xas.

4.6

Dracula(2006)

The Romanian count known as Dracula is summoned to London by Arthur Holmwood, a young Lord who is one the verge of being wed. Unknown to Arthur's future bride Lucy, her future husband is infected with syphilis and therefore cannot consummate their marriage. Arthur has laid his hopes of being cured on the enigmatic count; as it is said that Dracula has extraordinary powers. But these supernatural powers have sinister origins. The Count is a vampire. Soon Arthur realizes his serious mistake as all hell breaks loose and the Count infects others with his ancient curse. But Dracula has not counted on the young Lord acquiring the assistance of the Dutch Vampire expert Prof. Abraham Van Helsing.

5.6

Once Upon a Time in China(2024)

Sima Nan leaves behind a successful business career to pursue justice. Armed with exceptional investigative skills and a steadfast commitment to fairness, she takes on cases regardless of the victim's status, leading her team to uncover the truth and seek justice for the dead.

6.5

Beauty and the Beast(1991)

Follow the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman who finds herself in the castle of a prince who's been turned into a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, Belle soon learns the most important lesson of all -- that true beauty comes from within.

7.7

The Secret Garden(1993)

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

7.4

The Count of Monte Cristo(2002)

Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a fellow inmate and plots his revenge, cleverly insinuating himself into the French nobility.

7.7

The Twilight Samurai(2002)

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

7.8

The Painted Veil(2006)

A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife.

7.3

Abarenbo Shogun: The Avenging Angel(1993)

This is a standalone movie, based on the long-running television series about Shogun Yoshimune. When the very foundation of the government is shaken by a counter-feiting scandal, Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune must take to the road as an itinerant ronin in order to find out who's behind the conspiracy. Meanwhile, a woman acting as an avenging angel begins assassin-ating the suspects in the case, causing Yoshimune to not only find his original quarry, but to help her get her revenge against those corrupt individuals that had murdered her family when she was only a child. Matsudaira Ken shines in his most famous role, the 'Roughneck' Shogun who travels the country seeking to stomp out evil and corruption.

7.5

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society(2018)

Free-spirited writer Juliet Ashton forms a life-changing bond with the delightful and eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed during the occupation of Guernsey in WWII.

7.4