Tosun Pasa (1976), Amadeus (1984), The Elephant Man (1980), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Innocents (1961), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), True Grit (2010) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best 1800s movies.
Storyline: In 1797, William Wilberforce, the great crusader for the British abolition of slavery, is taking a vacation for his health even while he is sicker at heart for his frustrated cause. However, meeting the charming Barbara Spooner, Wilberforce finds a soulmate to share the story of his struggle. With few allies such as his mentor, John Newton, a slave ship captain turned repentant priest who penned the great hymn, "Amazing Grace," Prime William Pitt, and Olaudah Equiano, the erudite former slave turned author, Wilberforce fruitlessly fights both public indifference and moneyed opposition determined to keep their exploitation safe. Nevertheless, Wilberforce finds the inspiration in newfound love to rejuvenate the fight with new ideas that would lead to a great victory for social justice.
Plot Keywords: slave, social justice, religion, slavery, slave trade, chicken, chopping wood ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In April 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, H.M.S. Surprise, a British frigate, is under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey. Aubrey and the Surprise's current orders are to track and capture or destroy a French privateer named Acheron. The Acheron is currently in the Atlantic off South America headed toward the Pacific in order to extend Napoleon's reach of the wars. This task will be a difficult one as Aubrey quickly learns in an initial battle with the Acheron that it is a bigger and faster ship than the Surprise, which puts the Surprise at a disadvantage. Aubrey's single-mindedness in this seemingly impossible pursuit puts him at odds with the Surprise's doctor and naturalist, Stephen Maturin, who is also Aubrey's most trusted advisor on board and closest friend. Facing other internal obstacles which have resulted in what they consider a string of bad luck, Aubrey ultimately uses Maturin's scientific exploits to figure out a way to achieve his and the ship's seemingly impossible goal.
Plot Keywords: ship, 1800s, naval battle, camouflage, burial at sea, ambush, amputation ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Set during the grand, sweeping Napoleonic age, an officer in the French army insults another officer and sets off a life-long enmity. The two officers, D'Hubert and Feraud, cross swords time and time again in an attempt to achieve justice and preserve their honor.
Plot Keywords: 1800s, swordsman, fencing, directorial debut, honor, france, 1810s ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In 1881, two Ottoman Secret Agents travel to the USA, at the Sultan's request, to deliver a valuable diamond as a gift for the President.
Plot Keywords: diamond, slang, american president, antique dealer, diplomat, old west, epic ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: An unseen man regains consciousness, not knowing who or where he is. No one seems to be able to see him, except the mysterious man dressed in black. He eventually learns through their discussions that this man is a 19th century French aristocrat, who he coins the "European". This turn of events is unusual as the unseen man has a knowledge of the present day. The two quickly learn that they are in the Winter Palace of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the European who has a comprehensive knowledge of Russian history to his time. As the two travel through the palace and its grounds, they interact with people from various eras of Russian history, either through events that have happened at the palace or through the viewing of artifacts housed in the museum. Ultimately, the unseen man's desired journey is to move forward, with or without his European companion.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: museum, long take, painting, dancing, symbolism, subjective camera, artist ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: This classic story by Herman Melville revolves around Captain Ahab and his obsession with a huge whale, Moby Dick. The whale caused the loss of Ahab's leg years before, leaving Ahab to stomp the boards of his ship on a peg leg. Ahab is so crazed by his desire to kill the whale, that he is prepared to sacrifice everything, including his life, the lives of his crew members, and even his ship to find and destroy his nemesis, Moby Dick.
Plot Keywords: whale, revenge, sea captain, based on novel, lost at sea, mutiny, one armed man ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Cowboys and ranchers have to put their differences aside when a gang of outlaws, led by army captain Jack Bruhn, decide to spend the night in a little Western town.—Mattias Thuresson
Plot Keywords: rancher, frontier town, wyoming, 19th century, based on novel, feud, cattleman ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Biopic of Abe Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, from his early days in backwoods Kentucky to his election as President. After a time running livestock to New Orleans, he settles in New Salem where he meets and falls in love with Ann Rutledge who is already engaged to someone. Abe makes a home for himself in New Salem, eventually running a store and becoming the postmaster. He's popular with the locals and is eventually elected to the State legislature but afterward established himself in the practice of law. He eventually meets Mary Todd who would become his wife and and is sent to Washington as a Congressman before he is elected president.—garykmcd
Plot Keywords: american president, speech, job, love at first sight, fiancee, injustice, freedom ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Veteran bounty-hunter Morg Hickman rides into a town in danger. The sheriff has been killed, and young inexperienced Ben Owens named a temporary replacement until a permanent can be found. Ben wants to be that permanent replacement, so needs to impress the townspeople with his skill. When he finds that Morg was a sheriff for a long time before he became a bounty-hunter, he asks the older man to teach him. Morg thinks that being a sheriff is a foolish goal, but agrees to instruct Ben in handling people, more important to a sheriff than handling a gun.—Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>
Plot Keywords: stagecoach robbery, wanted poster, arson, baby born, birthday party, double barreled shotgun, duel ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Young nobleman Orlando is commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to stay forever young. Miraculously, he does just that. The film follows him as he moves through several centuries of British history, experiencing a variety of lives and relationships along the way, and even changing sex.
Plot Keywords: female protagonist, based on novel, immortality, eternal youth, epic, england, spectator ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Brother and sister Viola and Sebastian, who are not only very close but look a great deal alike, are in a shipwreck, and both think the other dead. When she lands in a foreign country, Viola dresses as her brother and adopts the name Cesario, becoming a trusted friend and confidante to the Count Orsino. Orsino is madly in love with the lady Olivia, who is in mourning due to her brother's recent death, which she uses as an excuse to avoid seeing the count, whom she does not love. He sends Cesario to do his wooing, and Olivia falls in love with the disguised maiden. Things get more complicated in this bittersweet Shakespeare comedy when a moronic nobleman, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and a self-important servant, Malvolio, get caught up in the schemes of Olivia's uncle, the obese, alcoholic Sir Toby, who leads each to believe Olivia loves him. As well, Sebastian surfaces in the area, and of course there is Feste, the wise fool, around to keep everything in perspective and to marvel, like we the audience, at the amazing things happening all around.—Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>
Plot Keywords: bicycle, corset, hair, graveyard, cemetery, church, death of brother ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Sir William Hamilton, a widower of mature years, is British ambassador to the Court of Naples. Emma, who comes for a visit with her mother, wouldn't cut the grade with London society, but she gets along well with the Queen of Naples. Emma likes being Lady Hamilton, and life goes smoothly until Lord Nelson pays a visit. Sir William decides at first to let his young wife have her fling, and pretends not to know what is going on. But the real-life lovers, whose first screen romance was in Fire Over England (1937) have an even more burning passion for each other in this movie.—Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com>
Plot Keywords: war injury, tragic love, extramarital affair, unfaithfulness, war hero, star crossed lovers, scandal ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: At 10, Fanny Price, a poor relation, goes to live at Mansfield Park, the estate of her aunt's husband, Sir Thomas. Clever, studious, and a writer with an ironic imagination and fine moral compass, she becomes especially close to Edmund, Thomas's younger son. Fanny is soon possessed of beauty as well as a keen mind and comes to the attention of a neighbor, Henry Crawford. Thomas promotes this match, but to his displeasure, Fanny has a mind of her own, asking Henry to prove himself worthy. As Edmund courts Henry's sister and as light shines on the link between Thomas's fortunes and New World slavery, Fanny must assess Henry's character and assert her heart as well as her wit.
Plot Keywords: letter writing, country estate, lesbian subtext, caught having sex, intrigue, letter, marriage ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A wild stallion is captured by humans and slowly loses the will to resist training, yet, throughout his struggles for freedom, the stallion refuses to let go of the hope of one day returning home to his herd.
Plot Keywords: 1800s, native american, old west, canyon, horseback riding, railroad, cowboy ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Maverick is recreated from the character James Garner created in the 1950s TV program. Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward, all with a light hearted air. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous, though fake, southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.
Plot Keywords: cowboy, pistol, shotgun, repeating rifle, sawed off shotgun, ambush, street fight ...
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