I miss the high quality movies of the late 80s and early 90s such as Howard’s End, The Age of Innocence, and Sense and Sensibility. I know movies like this do exist still, and yet they don’t have the same soul. Maybe I’m just using rosy retrospection. It seems like everything now (almost) is computer generated or based off of comic books. And what happened to Kate Winslet? She used to be on top notch period pieces. Her recent films have been disappointing. Does anyone have any recommendations of films that will restore my faith that intelligence, quality, and sincerity still exists in cinema?
Well, The Favourite was in the same vein, though with more humor and bawdiness. Same for Mary Queen of Scots. I’d argue that Roma was a more modern take on the same type of film.
The main thing that happened was Ismail Merchant died in 2005. James Ivory is still working; he won an Oscar last year, not as a director, but for writing best adapted screenplay for Call Me By Your Name – which is beautiful, but not the kind of period piece you’re looking for.
I haven’t seen much in the way of good, old-fashioned period films lately. I haven’t seen The Favourite yet, so I don’t know if that’s any good. Usually, I look to British television for literary adaptations of classic novels.
I think the trouble is that so many of these productions have moved to boxsetville - the BBC (and ITV) still churn out high quality period adaptations for TV - but films, not so much.
Of course, there’s always Downton Abbey the Movie to look forward to!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a nice little pastoral, romantic movie set on a German-occupied British island in WWII. There are a few Downton Abbey alums in the cast, including Lily James as the lead.
It’s available to stream on Netflix.
Another lovely period movie from a few years ago is Brooklyn, starring Saoirse Ronan as a young Irish woman who travels alone to America to find employment and start a new life.
I think you get your fix for that kind of thing on British TV now.
Looks like Tolkien and All Is True might fit the bill somewhat–they’ll both be released in the US on May 10th.
Just as important, IMO, is that Ruth Prawer Jhabvalaisn’t with us anymore either.
Miramax also took over that spot until Disney sold it and it dissolved
Thought I’d mention that, a year ago today, Phantom Thread was in theaters getting lots of buzz in the last days before the 2018 Oscars.
I’ve always described my taste in movies as “Merchant-Ivory,” and I’m still finding plenty of films that I enjoy. You might try one of these:
Colette (2018)
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Stan & Ollie (2018)
Darkest Hour (2017)
Goodbye, Christopher Robin (2017) (this is the true story, not the fantasy movie called just Christopher Robin)
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
A United Kingdom (2016)
The Danish Girl (2015)
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
Timed out before I could add:
Kate Winslet has two upcoming films, The French Dispatch, about journalists in Paris after World War II, and Ammonite, a romance that takes place in the 1840’s. Also, if you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend her performance in Steve Jobs. I really thought she should have won the Oscar.
There are a couple of production companies / labels that are known for distributing smaller, independent or foreign films, incuding Focus Features and Fox Searchlight.
They seem to largely be arms of the major studios, but they exist as a separate imprint, with that emphasis on smaller films, which aren’t as likely to appeal to a mass audience.