The historical drama or period drama is a

film genre A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre cri ...

in which stories are based upon historical events and famous people. Some historical dramas are docudramas, which attempt an accurate portrayal of a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow. Other historical dramas are fictionalized tales that are based on an actual person and their deeds, such as '' Braveheart'', which is loosely based on the 13th-century knight

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...

's fight for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

's independence. Due to the sheer volume of films included in this genre and in the interest of continuity, this list is primarily focused on films pertaining to the history of Near Eastern and

Western civilization Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

. For films pertaining to the history of East Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, please refer also to the List of historical films set in Asia.

Films set in the Stone Age (before 3300 BC)

Films set in the Bronze Age (3300–1200 BC)

Films set in the Iron Age (1200 BC–500 BC)

Films set in the Classical Era (500 BC – 600 AD)

Films set in the medieval era (600–1500)

Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries)

Films set in the 11th century

Films set in the 12th century

Films set in the 13th century

Films set in the 14th century

Films set in the 15th century

Renaissance era (1500–1700)

Films set in the 16th century

Films set in the 17th century

Films set in the industrial era (1700–1900)

Films set in the 18th century

Films set in the 19th century

Films set in the modern era (1900–1949)

Films set in the atomic era (1950–1999)

Films set in the information era (after 2000)

References

Sources

External links

History on Film
��A historian looks at how Hollywood has presented historical events in the films. * Fraser, George McDonald, ''The Hollywood History of the World, from One Million Years B.C. to 'Apocalypse Now, London: M. Joseph, 1988; "First U.S. ed.", New York: Beech Tree Books, cop. 1988. Both eds. collate thus: xix, 268 p., amply ill. (b&w photos). (U.K. ed.), 0-688-07520-7 (U.S. ed.)
The Period-Drama Timeline
��listing costume dramas according to the year in which they are set.
Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
��A fansite dedicated to period films.
Period Movies and Dramas
��listings of period films and costume dramas according to various criteria (century, subject, alphabetical, directors, and actors).
Recycled Movie Costumes
��Site dedicated to documenting costumes used in more than one film
Frock Flicks
��Blog and podcast about costumes in historical costume movies and TV shows.
Period Movies Box
��Blog with information on latest period movies, exciting facts and honest reviews. {{DEFAULTSORT:Historical films set in Near Eastern and Western civilization Near Eastern and Western civilization