High and Late Middle Ages (1000-1453) in films
by ferreiracarlos1504 | created - 21 Aug 2011 | updated - 13 Apr 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
TV-MA | 471 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.
Stars: Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell
Votes: 32,985
England during the civil wars between King Stephen and his cousin Maud
2. Robin Hood (2010)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In twelfth-century England, Robin Longstride 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.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen, Max von Sydow
Votes: 282,215 | Gross: $105.27M
From the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John
3. Ironclad (2011)
R | 121 min | Action, Drama, History
In thirteenth-century England, a Knights Templar and a few of the Barons men fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.
Director: Jonathan English | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng, Brian Cox, James Purefoy
Votes: 43,559
The siege of Rochester Castle
4. Black Death (2010)
R | 102 min | Action, Drama, History
Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is given the task of learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.
Director: Christopher Smith | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Kimberley Nixon
Votes: 51,042 | Gross: $0.02M
England during the initial outbreak of the plague
5. The Whore (2010 TV Movie)
121 min | Drama, Romance
Director: Hansjörg Thurn | Stars: Alexandra Neldel, Bert Tischendorf, Julian Weigend, Nadja Becker
Votes: 848
1414–1415 Germany
6. Didgori: Land of Sacrificed Knights (2009)
35 min | Short, History
In 1121 AD, 56,000 Georgian warriors, led by King Davit IV, battled 500,000 Seljuks on the Didgori battlefield in the Kingdom of Georgia, whose outcome would determine the fate of Jerusalem and all of Christianity.
Director: Nikoloz Khomasuridze | Stars: Elguja Burduli, Nevin Millan, Mika Sakvarelidze, Wil Wesley
Votes: 83
The Battle of Didgori, in which Georgia's king David IV defeated the Seljuks
7. 12 Paces Without a Head (2009)
108 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
East Fresia 1401: era of feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end.
Director: Sven Taddicken | Stars: Ronald Zehrfeld, Matthias Schweighöfer, Oliver Bröcker, Hinnerk Schönemann
Votes: 450
Medieval German folk-hero Klaus Störtebeker, a pirate captain in the Baltic Sea who was said to have walked 12 paces after being decapitated by officials of the Hanseatic League
8. Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road (2008)
128 min | Action, Drama, Romance
The Knight Arn is sent on a last mission against Saladin. He has to win this battle, before he can go home to Sweden, and finally marry his Cecilia and start a family. But the peace back home is threatened by the Danes.
Director: Peter Flinth | Stars: Joakim Nätterqvist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgård, Bibi Andersson
Votes: 8,517
Following the Battle of Hattin, the knight returns home to Sweden and participates in the civil wars
9. Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)
R | 139 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Arn, the son of a high-ranking Swedish nobleman, is educated in a monastery and sent to the Holy Land as a knight templar to do penance for a forbidden love.
Director: Peter Flinth | Stars: Joakim Nätterqvist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Nyqvist
Votes: 23,108
A Swedish knight is sent to Jerusalem as penance while his lover languishes in a convent
10. Marco Polo (2007 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 165 min | Adventure, Drama
The series follows the adventures and discoveries of the Venetian, Marco Polo.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Ian Somerhalder, BD Wong, Desiree Siahaan, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 1,549
The Venitian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan
11. The Conclave (2006)
100 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1458, five years after the fall of Constantinople to the Turk, eighteen cardinals met in Rome to elect a new pope. A 27-year-old Spanish cardinal, Rodrigo Borgia, learns to play a very dangerous game; how to survive his first conclave.
Director: Christoph Schrewe | Stars: Manu Fullola, Brian Blessed, James Faulkner, Rolf Kanies
Votes: 613
Depicting the tense, politically charged Papal election
12. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
R | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
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.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson, Martin Hancock
Votes: 312,024 | Gross: $47.40M
Events which led to the Third Crusade (the Battle of Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem (1187)|Siege of Jerusalem]])
13. Les rois maudits (2005)
500 min | Drama, History
Based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Druon, Les Rois maudits (The Cursed Kings) is the second television adaptation of this seven-volume book which is widely agreed to be an ... See full summary »
Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Torreton, Claude Rich, Line Renaud
Votes: 567
The later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307
14. The Lion in Winter (2003 TV Movie)
167 min | Drama, History, Romance
King Henry II meets with Eleanor of Aquitaine at Christmastide 1183 to choose one of his sons as his successor.
Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy | Stars: Glenn Close, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Andrew Howard
Votes: 2,386
Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons
15. A Knight's Tale (2001)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon
Votes: 200,646 | Gross: $56.57M
Loose adaptation of The Knight's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, this tale is partially inspired by the exploits of William Marshall, but set in the 1350s (with mention made to Edward, the Black Prince and the Battle of Poitiers (1356))
16. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Rab Affleck, Stéphane Algoud
Votes: 69,460 | Gross: $14.28M
Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War
17. The Canterbury Tales (1998–2000)
28 min | Animation
On a pilgrimage from London to the tomb of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, a group of travellers from all walks of medieval society recount tales and stories to each other to provide amusement on the journey.
Stars: Robert Lindsay, Neil Dudgeon, Tim McInnerny, Michael Feast
Votes: 243
Late 14th century in England
18. Joan of Arc (1999)
TV-PG | 180 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Spurred by divine voices and visions, fifteenth century teen Joan d'Arc leads French forces against the English.
Stars: Leelee Sobieski, Chad Willett, Peter O'Toole, Neil Patrick Harris
Votes: 6,310
Joan of Arc, the French heroine of the Hundred Years' War
19. Macbeth (I) (1997)
129 min | Drama
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish laird seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Jeremy Freeston | Stars: Jason Connery, Helen Baxendale, Graham McTavish, Kenneth Bryans
Votes: 253
Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích
20. Destiny (1997)
135 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The story is set in the 12th century in Arab-ruled Spanish province Andalusia, where famed philosopher Averroes is appointed grand judge by the caliph and his liberal court judgments are ... See full summary »
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Nour El-Sherif, Layla Olwi, Mahmoud Hemida, Safia El Emari
Votes: 3,189
21. Ivanhoe (1997)
270 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
After returning from the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, Ivanhoe discovers that England is under the rule of the corrupt Prince John.
Stars: Ciarán Hinds, Susan Lynch, Victoria Smurfit, Steven Waddington
Votes: 1,199
Adaptation of the novel by Sir Walter Scott about the English knight who returns from the Third Crusade to find that his name has been falsely slandered
22. Ørnens øje (1997)
91 min | Action, Drama, Family
In 1218 Danish king Valdemar sends his homonymous young son and heir in safety, as war is at the borders, to Erskil, the bishop of Ravensburg, who is instructed to see to the prince's ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Flinth | Stars: Nijas Ørnbak-Fjeldmose, Lasse Baunkilde, Lars Lohmann, Björn Granath
Votes: 699
1218 Denmark
23. The Bruce (1996)
107 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the early 14th century, Scottish warrior and Earl Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots, leading Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England.
Directors: Bob Carruthers, David McWhinnie | Stars: Gary Andrew, Brian Blessed, Richard Brimblecombe, Conor Chamberlain
Votes: 623
Robert the Bruce, who took over the rebellion against Edward "Longshanks" following the death of William Wallace in 1305
24. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, History
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,086,817 | Gross: $75.60M
William Wallace, a Scottish knight who fought for Scotland's independence in the 1290s
25. Kristin Lavransdatter (1995)
180 min | Drama
Kristin is the daughter of a prominent landowner in medieval Norway. She grows up in total harmony with the ideals of the time: strong family ties, social pride and devout Christianity. She... See full summary »
Director: Liv Ullmann | Stars: Elisabeth Matheson, Bjørn Skagestad, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Henny Moan
Votes: 1,017
early to mid 14th century -Norway
26. Anchoress (1993)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
In the 14th-century, a visionary girl is to become an Anchoress, a walled-in recluse, so that she can live in the Virgin's house forever. Over time she awakens to her own sensuality and explores her own female, earth-based spirituality.
Director: Chris Newby | Stars: Natalie Morse, Gene Bervoets, Toyah Willcox, Pete Postlethwaite
Votes: 445
France - an anchorite
27. Francesco (1989)
PG-13 | 119 min | Biography, Drama, History
Docudrama about the life of St-Francis of Assisi.
Director: Liliana Cavani | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Helena Bonham Carter, Andréa Ferréol, Nikolaus Dutsch
Votes: 1,683
St. Francis of Assisi
28. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,530 | Gross: $10.16M
Henry V of England's wars in France
29. Stealing Heaven (1988)
R | 108 min | Drama, History, Romance
In medieval Paris, a young religious scholar and the beautiful niece of a local patrician fall madly in love and consummate their passion for each other. In the religious uproar that follows, they are condemned and brutally punished.
Director: Clive Donner | Stars: Derek de Lint, Kim Thomson, Denholm Elliott, Bernard Hepton
Votes: 829
France - Peter Abelard and Héloïse
30. The Name of the Rose (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin
Votes: 116,599 | Gross: $7.15M
An Italian monastery - 1327
31. John Wycliffe: The Morning Star (1984)
Not Rated | 75 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of 14th century John Wycliffe, AKA "The Morning Star of the Reformation", who was the first to translate the Bible into English.
Director: Tony Tew | Stars: Michael Bertenshaw, James Downie, Peter Howell, Barrie Cookson
Votes: 160
The life and teachings of John Wycliffe, the 14th century English theologian who is often seen as a fore-runner of the Protestant Reformation
32. Marco Polo (1982–1983)
504 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The life and experiences of the thirteenth century explorer, who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.
Stars: Ken Marshall, Denholm Elliott, Tony Vogel, David Warner
Votes: 1,298
The Venitian explorer who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan
33.
The BBC Television Shakespeare (1978–1985)
Episode:
Richard II
(1978)
158 min
The incompetent King Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer King.
Director: David Giles | Stars: Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud, Jon Finch, Wendy Hiller
Votes: 321
England - adaptation of Shakespeare's play about Richard II
34. John Hus (1977)
Not Rated | 55 min | Biography, Drama, History
A faithful recounting of the ministry, trial and martyrdom of the fifteenth century Bohemian priest John Hus, who built on the reforms of John Wycliffe, taught the Bible in the vernacular and who influenced Martin Luther a century later.
Director: Michael Economou | Stars: Rod Colbin, Regis Cordic, Marvin Miller, Sándor Naszódy
Votes: 90
John Hus, the theologian from Prague whose proto-reformationist teachings prompted his conviction and execution for heresy, which would be the catalyst for the anti-imperial Hussite Wars which would plague central Europe in the 15th century
35. Robin and Marian (1976)
PG | 106 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Robin Hood, aging none too gracefully, returns exhausted from the Crusades to woo and win Maid Marian one last time.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris
Votes: 13,900 | Gross: $8.72M
From the death of Richard the Lionheart until the early reign of King John
36. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
PG | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham
Votes: 4,901
St. Francis of Assisi
37. Les rois maudits (1972–1973)
616 min | Drama, History
Set during the reigns of the last five kings of the Capetian dynasty and the first two kings of the House of Valois, the series begins as the French King Philip the Fair, already surrounded... See full summary »
Stars: Gilles Béhat, Hélène Duc, Jean-Luc Moreau, André Luguet
Votes: 407
The later Capetian dynasty and the arrest of the order of the Knights Templar and the seizure of their wealth by the French crown in 1307
38. Macbeth (1971)
R | 140 min | Drama, History
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler
Votes: 14,878
Scottish king Mac Bethad mac Findlaích
39. The Lion in Winter (1968)
PG | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
Director: Anthony Harvey | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, John Castle
Votes: 34,028 | Gross: $22.28M
Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine plots with their sons
40. Gates to Paradise (1968)
89 min | Drama
In 1212, children from all over Europe lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from Turkish authorities. Nicholas and Stephen use all their might to defeat the enemy.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Lionel Stander, Ferdy Mayne, Pauline Challoner, Mathieu Carrière
Votes: 233
The ill-fated Children's Crusade
41. Becket (1964)
PG-13 | 148 min | Biography, Drama, History
King Henry II of England comes to terms with his affection for his close friend and confidant Thomas Becket, who finds his true honor by observing God's divine will rather than the King's.
Director: Peter Glenville | Stars: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi
Votes: 15,744
Archbishop Thomas Becket, once a close personal friend of Henry II...
42. Saladin (1963)
TV-MA | 194 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
After Saladin's victory over the King of Jerusalem, a peace treaty is signed between them, but the commander of the Crusader army, Renaud de Chatillon, slaughters a group of pilgrims going to Mecca. Saladin then decides to take revenge.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Ahmad Mazhar, Salah Zulfikar, Nadia Lutfi, Mohamed Abdel Gawad
Votes: 2,872
Events leading up to and including the Third Crusade
43. El Cid (1961)
Approved | 182 min | Biography, Drama, History
The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page
Votes: 15,592 | Gross: $26.62M
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, an 11th century Spanish warrior known as El Cid
44. Francis of Assisi (1961)
Not Rated | 105 min | Biography, Drama, History