Movies and Television
Below is a list of movies and television shows which rely upon pre-modern historical and/or literary influences. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but is enough to get you started if you are interested in researching the film presentations of these topics.
*** Please note: the media listed are of various viewer ratings and availability. You are not required to view any of the listed films, nor are you expected to purchase streaming services to access them for this class. This is merely a list for reference. I have noted which ones are available on DVD or to stream for free from Thomas Cooper Library here at USC (these are marked by the label TCL). Please be advised that some of the films listed include violence, nudity, questionable language, sexuality, religion, and consumption of alcohol. I suggest checking the IMDB.com page for these films if you are concerned about the content matter of any given title.
If you like Ancient Rome or Roman England:
Quo Vadis (1951) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Ben Hur (1959) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Spartacus (1960) [movie—streaming through TCL]
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) [movie—DVD at TCL]
The Life of Brian (1979) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Braveheart (1995) [movie—streaming through TCL]
Gladiator (2000) [movie—streaming through TCL]
Rome (2005-2007) [tv—HBO—DVD at TCL]
Spartacus (2010-2013) [tv—on Netflix—DVD at TCL]
Britannia (2018- present) [tv—Amazon Prime]
If you like Vikings:
Valhalla Rising (2009) [movie—in Danish with subtitles]
Vikings (2013-present) [tv—History Channel]
Norsemen (2017-present) [tv—available on Netflix]
If you like Knights, Battle, Action:
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [movie]
The Sword in the Stone (1963) [animated movie]
Camelot (1967) [movie]
Robin and Marian (1976) [movie]
Flesh and Blood (1985) [movie]
First Knight (1995) [movie]
A Knight’s Tale (2001) [movie—DVD at TCL]
King Arthur (2004) [movie]
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) [movie]
Robin Hood (2006-2009) [tv—BBC]
Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) [movie—in Swedish with subtitles]
Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [tv—HBO—some seasons on DVD at TCL]
Ironclad (2011) [movie]
The Last Kingdom (2015-present) [tv—on Netflix]
Assassin’s Creed (2016) [movie]
King Arthur (2017) [movie]
Outlaw King (2018) [movie—on Netflix]
Knightfall (2018-present) [tv—History Channel]
If you like Fantasy and Magic:
Excalibur (1981) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Ladyhawk (1985) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Mists of Avalon (2001) [tv—TNT]
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001) [movie—streaming through TCL]
Merlin (2008-2012) [tv—on Netflix]
Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [tv—HBO]
King Arthur (2017) [movie]
If you like Kings, Queens, Drama:
Lion in Winter (1968) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Henry V (1989) [movie]
Mists of Avalon (2001) [tv—TNT]
Robin and Marian (1976) [movie]
The Tudors (2007-2010) [tv—on Netflix]
The Devil’s Whore (2008) [tv—Channel 4 UK]
Pillars of the Earth (2010) [tv—Starz]
Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [tv—HBO]
Borgia (2011-2014) [tv]
Isabel (2011-2014) (tv—in Spanish with subtitles)
The Borgias (2011-2013) [tv—on Netflix]
World Without End (2012) [tv—Channel 4 UK]
Reign (2013-2017) [tv—on Netflix]
DaVinci’s Demons (2013-2015) [tv—Starz]
The White Queen (2013) [tv—BBC/Starz]
Wolf Hall (2015) [tv—Amazon Prime]
Macbeth (2015) [movie]
Medici: Masters of Florence (2016- current) [tv—Netflix]
The White Princess (2017) [tv—Starz]
If you like Comedy:
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) [movie—DVD at TCL]
The Life of Brian (1979) [movie—DVD at TCL]
The Black Adder (1982-83) [tv—BBC]
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) [movie—on Netflix—DVD at TCL]
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990) [movie]
A Knight’s Tale (2001) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Galavant (2015-2016) [tv—ABC]
Upstart Crow (2016-present) [tv—BBC]
The Princess Bride (1987) [movie—DVD at TCL]
If you like Mysteries:
Cadfael (1994-1998) [tv—BBC/ Mystery!]
The Name of the Rose (1986) [movie—DVD at TCL]
If you like Foreign Films or other Cultures:
Ran (1985) [movie—Japanese with subtitles]
El Cid (1961) [movie—about Spain]
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) [movie—Jerusalem during Crusades—DVD at TCL]
Alexander Nevsky (1938) [movie—Russian with subtitles—DVD at TCL]
The Seventh Seal (1957) [movie—Swedish with subtitles—streaming through TCL]
Isabel (2011-2014) [tv—in Spanish with subtitles]
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) [movie—in Mandarin with subtitles—DVD at TCL]
Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) [movie—in Swedish with subtitles]
Red Cliff pts 1 and 2 (2008-2008) [movies—in Chinese with subtitles]
Aguirre: Wrath of God (1972) [movie—German and English—streaming through TCL]
Valhalla Rising (2009) [movie—in Danish with subtitles]
Marco Polo (2014-2016) [tv—on Netflix]
Six Flying Dragons (2015-2016) [tv—Korean with subtitles]
Toledo (2012) [tv—Spanish with subtitles]
Andrei Rublev (1966) [movie—Russian with subtitles—streaming through TCL]
Kuroneko (1968) [movie—Japanese with subtitles—streaming through TCL]
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (2009) [movie—German with subtitles—streaming through TCL]
If you like Shakespeare or Drama:
Taming of the Shrew (1967) [movie]
Henry V (1989) [movie]
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990) [movie—DVD at TCL]
Shakespeare in Love (1998) [movie—DVD at TCL]
The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [tv—BBC]
Macbeth (2015) [movie]
Upstart Crow (2016-present) [tv—BBC]
Will (2017) [tv—TNT]
If you like Documentaries:
Thomas Cooper Library has a large collection of documentary clips regarding Ancient times, the Middle Ages, and
Shakespeare. Check some of them out on sc.kanopy.com. You can also check out Youtube, although be aware that not
all of the videos available on Youtube are scholarly or accurate. TCL also has quite a few books and articles on the
representations of history in popular film, so do a search for your favorite work in their catalog (library.sc.edu).