# Movies set in Europe during the 1600s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828 "2009-09-28T06:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/1 "2009-09-28T06:59:10Z")
It seems like there are very, very few movies set in Europe during the time of the European Wars (the Thirty Years’ War, Eighty Years’ War, the English Civil War) or even the Jacobean period. Are there some good “costume dramas” that are set during the 1600s? I have _Cromwell_ with Alec Guinness and Richard Harris. It’s an incredible movie…but I want to see some other period pieces set around the same time, especially if there’s anything involving the Thirty Years’ War or the Dutch war of independence. Stories taking place in continental Europe would be especially good. Wikipedia has this [list of films set during the 17th century](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_set_in_the_17th_century) and it is heartbreakingly small. Only eighteen movies are listed, and of those eighteen, four of them are adaptations of _The Scarlet Letter,_ two of _The Crucible,_ five of them are about the English Civil War, and various others involve the New World and piracy, and there are a few set in late Stuart England. Are there other films besides the ones listed there that anyone would recommend? They don’t even need to be in English as long as there are English subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/2 "2009-09-28T07:27:32Z")
I can’t recommend any myself, but the [IMDb list of films with the keyword “1600s”](http://www.imdb.com/keyword/1600s/) might be of some help. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/3 "2009-09-28T08:00:31Z")
Films available on Region 1 DVD are in green. The Glorious Adventure (1922) Charles II Monsieur Beaucaire (1924) France Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) France The Man Who Laughs (1928) James I The Iron Mask (1929) France Queen Christina (1934) Thirty Years’ War Captain Blood (1935) James I Nell Gwyn (1935) Charles II The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) France Frenchman’s Creek (1944) England The Exile (1947) Charles II Forever Amber (1947) Charles II The Gallant Blade (1948) Thirty Years’ War The Three Musketeers (1948) France Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) France Lorna Doone (1951) Charles II Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953) Franco-Spanish War Star of India (1956) France Pirates of Tortuga (1961) Charles II The Crimson Blade (1964) Charles I, Oliver Cromwell Witchfinder General (1968) (Released in the U.S. as _The Conqueror Worm_) Oliver Cromwell. The Last Valley (1971) Thirty Years’ War The Devils (1971) France The Three Musketeers (1973) France The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) France The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) France Frenchman’s Creek (1998) England Lorna Doone (2000) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/4 "2009-09-28T08:17:35Z")
[Alatriste.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395119/) Don’t let the pictures faze you; the ones I got are all from red carpet parties but I promise the movie doesn’t include any red carpets. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/5 "2009-09-28T08:45:05Z")
I have Alatriste; it’s a great movie, despite the fact that I have to rely on my limited Spanish to understand it because there aren’t subtitles on the version I have. But the battle scenes are just amazing. Thanks for the list, **Walloon.** I am also interested in any German films of that time period. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/6 "2009-09-28T09:55:57Z")
How about [_“Girl With a Pearl Earring”_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/)? It’s a film about one of my very favorite painters, Johannes Vermeer, set in mid to late 17th century Holland. Plus, Scarlett Johansson is the female lead and that’s always a beautiful thing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/7 "2009-09-28T11:45:59Z")
I will have a look at that. I have always loved Vermeer’s paintings. Ironically, on the public-works crew that I worked once as a summer job at age 16, the giant, yellow, scary wood-chipper that we would always joke about feeding various annoying co-workers into, said “VERMEER” on the side. I guess the company that made the wood chipper was owned either by a descendant of the painter or a big fan of his work; but I will never, ever be able to see that name without thinking of that wood chipper. [Here’s a picture of one.](http://www.mainkaenterprises.com/catalog/images/inventory/2377%20%2811%29.JPG) I find it annoying that the Dutch Renaissance was arguably the most interesting cultural scene of the first half of the 1600s, and yet it’s utterly ignored by filmmakers. It had a fascinating story of its formation, the rise of the House of Orange, the great military triumphs of Prince Maurice and Frederik Hendrik, the incredible surge of scientific discovery, trade, art, and culture…and yet, most people probably don’t know the first thing about this time period. You’d think, for instance, that Quentin Tarantino, who is obsessed with the Netherlands, might take on such a project, an epic film about this topic, but he apparently doesn’t plan on doing so. It’s annoying to me. Filmmakers are obsessed with these time periods: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Medieval, and then they skip straight to the New World colonization and the American Revolution as if the European renaissance never occurred. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/8 "2009-09-28T12:26:42Z")
One that every list seems to have missed : [Vatel](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190861/) ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/9 "2009-09-28T12:33:27Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I find it annoying that the Dutch Renaissance was arguably the most interesting cultural scene of the first half of the 1600s, and yet it’s utterly ignored by filmmakers. It had a fascinating story of its formation, the rise of the House of Orange, the great military triumphs of Prince Maurice and Frederik Hendrik, the incredible surge of scientific discovery, trade, art, and culture…and yet, most people probably don’t know the first thing about this time period. You’d think, for instance, that Quentin Tarantino, who is obsessed with the Netherlands, might take on such a project, an epic film about this topic, but he apparently doesn’t plan on doing so. > > . It’s not a movie but a mini serie about “[Willem of Orange](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149379/#comment)” I think the subtitles are in dutch and Flemish only, but maybe their is a version with English ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/10 "2009-09-28T12:46:58Z")
I really enjoyed [Restoration](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114272/), with Robert Downey Jr, Sam Neill and Meg Ryan. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/11 "2009-09-28T12:50:43Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I will have a look at that. I have always loved Vermeer’s paintings. Then you’ll like it, I hope. The film gets the visual look just right. Some other films you might like, as they’re definitely Renaissance, although a little earlier than your 1600s date: [Queen Margot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine_Margot_(1994_film)) with Isabelle Adjani, [The Return of Martin Guerre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_Martin_Guerre) which stars Gerard Depardieu, as French law demands, and [Dangerous Beauty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangerous_Beauty) A little later than you’d like, probably, but Johnny Depp’s _The Libertine_ is great. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/12 "2009-09-28T13:00:37Z")
I came in to mention the Lester _Three_ and _Four Musketeers_ and also the _Return of the Musketeers_, set some tweny years later. Also _Restoration_ and _The Libertine_, and I believe Ken Russels _The Devils_ is based in the 17th Century. Also, Garbo’s 1933 loose biopic _Queen Christina_. **Argent** , you are reading Eric Flint’s _Ring of Fire_ series, aren’t you? Because if you’re not, you’re missing a real bet. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/13 "2009-09-28T13:44:38Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I find it annoying that the Dutch Renaissance was arguably the most interesting cultural scene of the first half of the 1600s, and yet it’s utterly ignored by filmmakers. It had a fascinating story of its formation, the rise of the House of Orange, the great military triumphs of Prince Maurice and Frederik Hendrik, the incredible surge of scientific discovery, trade, art, and culture…and yet, most people probably don’t know the first thing about this time period. You’d think, for instance, that Quentin Tarantino, who is obsessed with the Netherlands, might take on such a project, an epic film about this topic, but he apparently doesn’t plan on doing so. > > It’s annoying to me. Filmmakers are obsessed with these time periods: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Medieval, and then they skip straight to the New World colonization and the American Revolution as if the European renaissance never occurred. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch Peter Greenaway’s “Nightwatching”, as well as the companion documentary (which I thought was more interesting than the film itself) “Rembrandt’s J’Accuse”. They both concern the making of Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch”, but “Nightwatching” is a narrative while the documentary is an art history lesson that ‘exposes’ Greenaway’s theory of the conspiracy behind the militia painting. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/14 "2009-09-28T13:50:00Z")
[The Last Valley](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065969/) Excellent movie, and on \*\*Walloon’\*\*s list, I see in edit. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/15 "2009-09-28T14:43:25Z")
[Shakespeare in Love](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138097/) won 7 Oscars. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/16 "2009-09-28T14:52:35Z")
Late 16th Century; doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/17 "2009-09-28T15:25:53Z")
I thought I remembered a Rutger Hauer movie, set in Germany during the 30 Years’ War, in which Germans of a sort of libertine Protestant microsect take over an abandoned castle and have orgies, but I don’t recall the title and can’t find it listed in the [Rutger Hauer filmography](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Hauer) on Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/18 "2009-09-28T16:02:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I thought I remembered a Rutger Hauer movie, set in Germany during the 30 Years’ War, in which Germans of a sort of libertine Protestant microsect take over an abandoned castle and have orgies, but I don’t recall the title and can’t find it listed in the [Rutger Hauer filmography](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Hauer) on Wikipedia. Sounds vaguely like [Flesh & Blood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_&_Blood_%28film%29)… except not really. It is set in 17th century Italy. They are mercenaries. And the castle wasn’t so much abandoned as sacked. But I can’t think of any other Rutger Hauer films that would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/19 "2009-09-28T17:52:28Z")
There was a mini-series, _By The Sword Divided_, starring John Glover, set in England during the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828/20 "2009-09-28T18:02:10Z")
Has there ever been a good biopic about Cromwell? There **should** be! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-set-in-europe-during-the-1600s/511828.md?page=2)