Story of the Costume Drama
The series and TV movies discussed or featured in the documentary "The Story of the Costume Drama" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333054/
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- StarsRichard GreeneVictor WoolfArchie DuncanRobin of Loxley, otherwise known as Robin Hood, and his band of Merry Men protect England from the evil machinations of Prince John while King Richard the Lionheart is away fighting in the Crusades.Greatest Stories Ever Told
- StarsEric PorterMargaret TyzackNyree Dawn PorterSpanning decades, the saga contrasts obsessive Soames, clinging to wife Irene, and Jolyon, leaving for his kids' governess. Their diverging paths intertwine, bringing highs and lows to the upper-class Forsyte clan.Greatest Stories Ever Told
- StarsSusan HampshireMarilyn TaylersonDyson LovellRebecca "Becky" Sharp is an impoverished, strong-willed and cunning young woman determined to make her way in the early 19th Century British society.
- StarsCelia BannermanLewis FianderMichael GoughMr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is particularly anxious to find suitable husbands for them.
- CreatorJohn FinchStarsColin DouglasBarbara FlynnLesley NunnerleyThe lower middle class Ashton family of the city of Liverpool deal with life on the home front during the Second World War.
- CreatorEileen AtkinsStarsGordon JacksonDavid LangtonJean MarshThe lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place play out against the social, political and historical backdrop of Edwardian London from 1903 to 1930.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Picture Perfect - StarsGlenda JacksonRonald HinesRobert HardyWhen Elizabeth Tudor comes to the throne, her (male) advisers know she has to marry. Doesn't she? Thus starts a decades-long political/matrimonial game, during an age of high passions and high achievement.Picture Perfect
- StarsOliver TobiasMichael GothardJack WatsonCelts fighting among themselves and the Saxons in 5th century Briton after the Roman pullout.A Call to Arms
- StarsDavid McCallumRichard HefferPaul ChapmanThe series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Colditz Castle and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors.A Call to Arms
- StarsAlfred BurkeVickery TurnerAnn PenfoldDramatized biography of the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Anne and Emily.
- StarsRobin EllisAngharad ReesClive FrancisIn 1783, Ross Poldark returns from the American wars to his native Cornwall to right wrongs and reunite with the love of his life.Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - StarsAnnette CrosbieTimothy WestHelen RyanThe life of Edward VII (1841 - 1910), the King of the United Kingdom. Before becoming the King, he developed a reputation of a playboy, which angered his mother, Queen Victoria. He was a reformer and modernizer, but also an elitist.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Affairs of the Heart - StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Picture Perfect - CreatorMarc MillerStarsRoy DotriceJohn F. LandryDiana CouplandCharles Dickens grew up in a family where his father was larger than life. The elder Dickens is a teller of tales and always seems to have ambitions that are well beyond his means or his capabilities. He is also constantly in debt and, at more than one point in his life, finds himself in debtor's prison, forcing Charles to leave school at the age of 12 and work. Charles finds success in his writing and marries, his wife Kate bearing them many children despite her delicate mental state. He has a touch of his father in him, however, particularly when it comes to money. He is of course remembered as one of the great writers of the 19th century.
- CreatorGerard GlaisterStarsBernard HeptonAngela RichardsClifford RoseDuring World War II, a Belgian resistance movement called Lifeline, based in Brussels, organises the return of Allied airmen who have been shot down by the Luftwaffe to the United Kingdom.A Call to Arms
- StarsEdward FoxCynthia HarrisDavid WallerThe events leading to the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.Greatest Stories Ever Told
- StarsPatrick AllenTimothy WestRosalie CrutchleyThomas Gradgrind, a wealthy, retired merchant in the industrial city of Coketown, England, devotes his life to a philosophy of rationalism, self-interest, and fact. He raises his oldest children, Louisa and Tom, according to this philosophy and never allows them to engage in fanciful or imaginative pursuits.
- StarsFrancesca AnnisCatherine FellerPeggy Ann WoodSeen on Masterpiece Theatre, starring Francesca Annis in an award-winning performance, Lillie vividly captures the complex woman who became one of the most notorious and respected figures of the Victorian era.Affairs of the Heart
- CreatorRichard CarpenterSidney ColePaul KnightStarsRichard O'SullivanMichael DeeksChristopher BenjaminFamed 18th-century English highwayman Dick Turpin eludes authorities while romancing a farmer's daughter, though his days robbing coaches under the alias John Palmer may be numbered.A Call to Arms
- StarsCheryl CampbellEmrys JamesJane WenhamVera Brittain's world falls to pieces around her as, one by one, the young men of her circle are caught up in the Great War.A Call to Arms
- StarsElizabeth GarvieDavid RintoulMoray WatsonWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- StarsJeremy IronsDiana QuickRoger MilnerThe life, friendships and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder-including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - CreatorLavinia WarnerStarsAnn BellStephanie ColeClaire ObermanAfter the Japanese invasion of Singapore in February 1942, a group of British, Dutch and Australian women are held in a Japanese internment camp on a Japanese-occupied island between Singapore and Australia.Greatest Stories Ever Told
- StarsTim Pigott-SmithGeraldine JamesWendy MorganThe sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of WWII India, trying amidst the turmoil to come to terms with the drastic changes taking place around them, knowing that their lives will never be the same again.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Affairs of the Heart - CreatorRichard CarpenterStarsPeter Llewellyn WilliamsRay WinstoneMark RyanA forest mystical being appoints two men in succession as the legendary outlaw defender of the oppressed.
- StarsColin FirthJohn CastleGillian BevanIn 1913, young Richard Herncastle joins his Uncle Nick's magic act and is introduced to the enchanted world of the British music hall. Travelling from one city to the next, assisting at conjuring acts and disappearing acts, Richard comes to know romance, politics, and high adventure. The next year, in a true and terrifying vanishing act, the guns of August blast away that world forever.
- During World War I, Percy Toplis, a deserter from the British Army, plays a major role in the Étaples Mutiny in September 1917.A Call to Arms
- StarsNeil DudgeonGeorge AntonBoyd GainesStories of the men of the RAF Hornet Squadron during the early days of World War II.A Call to Arms
- StarsIan CharlesonIan RichardsonEmer GillespieA grand hotel fallen into decay, two women with secrets, and a dangerous political situation about to boil over: these intriguing elements all combine in this gripping drama from the producer of the hit mini-series, The Irish R.M. In 1919, Major Brendan Archer arrives in Ireland to reunite with his fiancée, Angela Spencer. Unfortunately, the family home, The Majestic Hotel, is a decaying shadow of its former self, as is Angela. Puzzled by the changes, Archer's attentions are soon drawn to her lively friend, Sarah Devlin, a passionate Irish Nationalist. They fall in love, but the Major soon discovers some disturbing aspects about their relationship, which threatens to explode into violence, destruction, and murder.
- DirectorDavid WheatleyStarsOwen TealeSean BeanAnny TobinIn northern England around 1900, the worker John O'Brien lives near poverty in a small house in the worker's district. He falls in love with Mary, the teacher of his highly intelligent younger sister Kathy and daughter of a rich family. Their love is doomed by the social difference, but the vigorous Mary refuses to allow outer circumstances destroying their love.The Stars
Picture Perfect - StarsJoely RichardsonSean BeanJames WilbyA young woman's husband returns wounded after the First World War. Facing a life with a husband now incapable of sexual activity she begins an affair with the groundskeeper.
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanAssumpta SernaBrian CoxIn the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.Sharpe Series 1993-onwards
The Stars
A Call to Arms - StarsCatherine Zeta-JonesLloyd OwenRalph InesonTale of a farmer's son who gets involved with two sisters, then goes to fight in the trenches in WW1.The Stars
- StarsDouglas HodgeJuliet AubreyTrevyn McDowellMiddlemarch is a story of provincial life on the brink of momentous change and a deeply moving saga about a group of people striving to give meaning and value to their lives during the Industrial Revolution.The Stars
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.Greatest Stories Ever Told
The Stars
Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - StarsRobson GreenBernard HillSylvestra Le TouzelA rent collector in Victorian Tyneside tries to better himself. He finds navigating class prejudices and family obstacles difficult. Sometimes criminals oppose him. It seems he'll never succeed, but twists of fate and help from unexpected quarters make it seem as if he'll win through in the end.The Stars
- CreatorDominic MinghellaStarsJames BowersAlex KingstonDaniel CraigStory of a woman who merely wished to be a loving wife, but always had to live the life of crime.Greatest Stories Ever Told
The Stars
Picture Perfect - DirectorDiarmuid LawrenceStarsKate BeckinsaleBernard HeptonMark StrongFaithful, enchanting adaptation of Jane Austen's nineteenth-century tale of Emma Woodhouse--a clever young woman whose mischievous matchmaking schemes nearly end up jeopardizing her own shot at romance.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchBilly ConnollyGeoffrey PalmerWhen Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert dies, she finds solace in her trusted servant, Mr. John Brown, but their relationship also brings scandal and turmoil.
- StarsJack DavenportDavid HoweyJanet DaleSet in 1913 Northumbria, England, the story is about Robert Bradley, a strong-willed young worker at a Jarrow shipyard, who arrives home one day to find that his father has died. That leads to a total new set of circumstances in his life.The Stars
- StarsNatasha LittleFrances GreyPhilip GlenisterAn adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic story of parvenue Becky Sharp's rise from obscure and humble origins to her subsequent ignominious fall from Society; set against the backdrop of Regency England and continental Europe during the Napoleonic War.The Stars
- DirectorDavid SkynnerStarsRobert CavanahPeter DavisonOrla BradyMistreated foundling Heathcliff and his stepsister Catherine fall in love, but when she marries a wealthy man, he becomes obsessed with getting revenge, even well into the next generation.
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDorian HealyHoratio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.Horatio Hornblower Series 1998-2003
The Stars
Picture Perfect
A Call to Arms - StarsKeira KnightleySam NeillHans MathesonDoctor Zhivago falls for Lara despite being engaged. Their forbidden love blossoms amidst the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, impacting his career and family.The Stars
Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect
A Call to Arms - StarsRachael StirlingKeeley HawesJodhi MayThe story of Nan Astley who falls in love with three different women on her journey to stardom and happiness in 1887 Victorian England.
- DirectorBill AndersonStarsAlex KingstonSteven WaddingtonEmily BluntBoudica, the Warrior Queen on Britain, leads her tribe into rebellion against the Roman Empire and the mad Emperor of Rome Nero.A Call to Arms
- StarsDaniela Denby-AsheRichard ArmitageTim Pigott-SmithNorth 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.Affairs of the Heart
- StarsAnna Maxwell MartinCarey MulliganDenis LawsonA suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.The Stars
- StarsRose ByrneDavid TennantPeter O'TooleAfter a life spent seeking pleasure and decadence, Casanova seeks his one true love, Henriette.The Stars
- StarsHelen MirrenToby JonesHugh DancyMini-series about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.The Stars
Picture Perfect - CreatorSue BirtwistleSusie ConklinStarsJudi DenchImelda StauntonJulia McKenzieIn 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.Greatest Stories Ever Told
Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - DirectorBrian KirkStarsDavid HaigDaniel RadcliffeKim CattrallAuthor Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 18-year-old son after he goes missing during World War I.The Stars
A Call to Arms - DirectorGillies MacKinnonStarsLee EvansAnne-Marie DuffJulie GrahamIn the early 1900s Alfred Polly, still hankering after his dream girl Christabel, marries Miriam Larkins and they open a shop, but, as the years go by, the marriage becomes stale and Polly feels trapped. He decides to stage his own death by burning down the shop but becomes an accidental hero when he saves a deaf old lady from the flames. Giving Miriam the insurance pay-out he decides to go walkabout and gets a job at a country pub, the Potwell Inn, run by a kindly landlady. However, her violent nephew Jim is driving the customers away and Polly reluctantly faces up to him. Jim is drunk and falls in the river and drowns, wearing a pair of trousers stolen from Polly with Polly's name inside and so at last Polly has his perfect escape as it is assumed his is the corpse. After a visit to Miriam, now perfectly happy running a tea-shop, he returns to the Potwell Inn and the idyllic life he has always craved.The Stars
- StarsRebecca NightAlison SteadmanEmma StansfieldOrphaned by smallpox, young Lancashire country lady Fanny Hill cheerfully accepts her friend Esther Davies's offer to join the London 'working girls' with Mrs. Brown, a madam who recruits her as charmingly fresh enough to wait, in-living, on gentlemen. The first night, her room- and bed-mate Phoebe starts her sexual 'education', next she revels in being fitted her first-ever fancy frock. Her first 'client', Mr. Crofts, is neither naive nor attractive, rather a paying old rapist who isn't satisfied. Then the party scene, where men are younger and more charming. Handsome merchant's son Charles Standing declares love at first sight and offers to take Fanny away. After a few heavenly days of young love, they intend to demands Sir's blessing for their marriage, but as the ogre actually was her unsatisfied customer, Charles is made to choose between her and his future and leaves for colonial India. Being destitute, Fanny accepts becoming the kept woman of Mr. H., an earl's wealthy brother, in a fine London home with domestic staff, but since she won't give her heart he finally bangs her maid - Fanny seduces as 'revenge' her footman William. Both are dismissed. Fanny goes to Mrs. Cole's hat-shop, only to find it's a front for an upper-class whorehouse, a place where fathers even bring their sons to shed virginity with a virgin girl, a part Fanny plays well even though it breaks young Percy's heart. When she arrogantly scorns Mr. H, he has the whorehouse closed down; Fanny barely escapes, but without a dime. Alone on the street, her single act of kindness wins her a sick old rich man's favor, graduating from guest over house maid to companion and sole heir when he dies a few months later. Just then Charles returns...Affairs of the Heart
- DirectorIain B. MacDonaldStarsJulia JoyceDouglas HodgeMaggie O'NeillThe classic tale by Jane Austen of family scandal, social graces, and the unrequited love between cousins.The Stars
- DirectorJon JonesStarsGeraldine JamesMichael JuddJulia DeardenA young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - StarsDominic CooperCharity WakefieldHattie MorahanThe sisters Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood try to find love and security in the 1800's. These two sisters coudn't be more different. Where Eleanor is calm and always acts proper Marianne is passionate and usally forgets herself.Affairs of the Heart
Picture Perfect - CreatorBill GallagherStarsOlivia HallinanSarah LancashireJulia SawalhaAn 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.
- StarsKeeley HawesAlex KingstonCharity WakefieldThis documentary series looks at the enduring appeal of the British costume drama genre, and features clips and interviews with both the stars and those who worked behind the camera.