I’m a sucker for period pieces ’cause when they’re good, they’re damned good. Being taken back in time to a different age with different mores and such has always intrigued me. I especially love British period pieces set in the Victorian era because they always invoke such restrained emotion scratching and crawling to be released. All quite dramatic. There are alot of films that are really good and happen to be set in another period other than now, but they’re not necessarily great period pieces. The Lover, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Coppola’s) are all great movies set in another time but it’s not the time that transports you, but the story. The list below include films set in other times that are “made” exceptional because the costumes, the acting, the setting all meld together to convince us, the moviegoer, that we are there whether it’s 19th century England or 1920s Egypt.

Here are only some great Period Pieces (in no particular order):

• Age of Innocence
  Scorsese hardly does wrong with period pieces, and though surprising, the film adaptation of Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence was no different. The color schemes, the attention to detail, the costume and the choice of casting was just perfect. I remember having watched In the Name of the Father with Daniel Day Lewis (and Emma Thomspon) ten times ’cause I was just mesmeized by Daniel Day Lewis as an actor. At the time he was one of the best actors around. He was excellent as the tormented Newland Archer who marries one naive (and silly, in my opinion) woman played by Winona Ryder but falls in love with another more worldly woman played beautifully by Michelle Pfeiffer. Your transformed to 19th century New York and invited into New York Society with more concerned with holding fast to their mores than happiness. There are perhaps a handful of film adaptations that are as good or even better than the book itself. Scorsese’s Age of Innocence is on par with Wharton’s novel, which is an excellent read. I’d highly recommend both the film and the novel, in no particular order.
• Sense and Sensiblity
  One of the best comedy of manners ever produced, Sense and Sensibility directed by Ang Lee is one of my al time favorite films. It’s amazing Ang Lee directed this film. Lee, a Taiwanese born director, had only directed (but to critical acclaim) Chinese language films (The Wedding Banquet and Eat, Drink, Man, Woman) before taking on this masterfully done Jane Austen piece. Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and the rest of the cast are just perfect. I forgot them as actors and really got into their stories and characters. The setting was so very English: prim, natural and proper. The costumes were great. The adaptation by Emma Thompson was very well done. I couldn’t imagine a better film adaptation of this Jane Austen classic!
• The Mummy
  The Mummy, satrring Rachel Weisz, Brendan Fraser and John Hannah, is a comedic costume adventure that’s quite surprisingly well written ’cause it doesn’t take itself too serious. The writing has a sort of tongue in cheek semi-British humor that makes the film quite endearing and completely fun to watch. Set in 1930s Egypt, with a mostly foreign cast, The Mummy is just an all around fun, smart and funny comedy/adventure film. The costumes are remarkable in detail, the setting conjures both adventure and romance. Fraser, Weisz and Hannah have just great chemistry. The Mummy (and perhaps The Mummy Returns) is one of those films you can watch (and I have) many, many times and still delight in.
• Tombstone
  Granted, I have not seen many westerns, but hands down, Tombstone is my favorite. Though the setting now, after watching three seasons of Deadwood, seems glossier than it should have been, it was convincing and it, along with the great costumes and excellent cast, certainly pulled me into the wild west. Thoug based on the legend and not fact surrounding the adventures of Wyatt Earp, exceptionally acted by Kurt Russell, his brothers and Doc Holiday, superbly acted by Val Kilmer, I didn’t care. The story and the setting and the costumes and the dust were all so intriguing.
• The Velvet Goldmine
  I’m not much of a glam rock or punk rock fan, but watching Velve Goldmine, it didn’t matter. 1970s glam rock was made interesting and fascinating to me thanks to this fabulous film tha sort of chronicles the life of Brian Slade, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers through the eyes of a fan and reporter Arthur stuart played by Christian Bale. Ewan McGregor also makes an appearance as Curt Wild, a barmy American singer. The singing was I think what transported me to the world of 1970s glam rock. McGregor and Meyer sang and sang damned well. And the costumes, just wild and very glamorous and very rockish. The soundtrack is great. I’d recommend it and the film.
• Gattaca
  There’s something about Gattaca that draws me in while most other science fiction films do not. It’s more relatable. Gattaca is set in a future that can possibly exist where a person’s life is determined by genetic engineering rather than education and experience. Considering the advancement of modern technology and the progress of the human genome project, this type of future is a possibility. The setting is clean, almost antiseptic which conveys the mood of the film set in a future where there’s little room and/or tolerance for anything below pefection. Though Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were solid and not great, Jude Law and the other lesser known actors kept the acting balanced so the film never suffered. Gattaca is beautifully directed by Andrew Nicchol (Truman Show), so cerebral, somber and stylized.
• Down with Love
  Is there anything Ewan McGregor can’t or won’t do? Down with Love is an homage to those kooky 1960s Doris Day and Rock Hudson films with the crazy outfits and not so subtle sexual inuendos. The setting is like theater, but big theater. The costumes were bright, clean and very stylized. The writing as snappy and witty as any film from that era. Renee Zellwegger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson (TV’s Studio 60) and David Hyde Pierce (TV’s Fraser) were all great and had great chemistry. Down with Love is a fun tongue-in-cheek witty 1960s period piece that almost makes you wish you lived in those times (save for the politics, the racism, and the sexism…of course).
• Dazed and Confused
  There once was a time when films with “young Hollywood” had potential to be good and not just fluffy vehicles for pretty up-and-comers. It was the 90s. One such film was 1993’s Dazed and Confused directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jason London, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams and a younger Ben Affleck. Set in 1976, the story takes us through the last day of the academic year of a bunch of pot smoking, fun-loving, and sometimes contemplative high school students facing their futures. Though it’s a generational movie, it’s completely relatable. The 70s were the 70s but the kids go through the same shit that all high schoolers go through when faced with growing up and moving on. The costumes, the settings, the acting were all on par with the decadence and confusion of 1976 America. Plus, it’s just a fun film.
• The Ballad of Little Jo
  I saw this film in college some years ago and it’s left a lasting impression. The Ballad of Little Jo is a ruminating film with accents of adventure and drama. Suzy Amis stars as the real life Josephine Monaghan who lived life as a man for almost 30 years in the late 19th century in Ruby City, Idaho. Amis performance was subtle and solid. The backdrop of a small western town, the costumes and the story were all so endearing at times and surreal at other times. Surreal because it was somehow believable that Monahan could get away with living like a man, yet you’re always waiting for her to be found out, yet it made sense she wasn’t considering the times. Who would believe such a thing in 1866?
• Titus
  Shakespeare’s never been so disturbing. Titus is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, and after seeing this film, one can see why. It’s mad. Julie Taymor (The Lion King and Frida) creates a fantastic, surreal and provocative adaptation that leaves you a bit disturbed and still delighted. The directing is very similar to Taymor’s Frida in that the costumes and some scenes are obviously inspired by broadway theatrics. Very grand and stylized, but still without overwhelming the story. Jessica Lange is brilliant as a vengeful mother Tamora. Anthony Hopkins,as Titus Andronicus is his usual, dramatic and solid. Alan Cumming is, as usual, fun to watch and charismatic as Tamora’s lover Saturninus. But, the costumes and the very theatrical setting are what transport you to an alternative early Roman era that seemed almost futuristic or at least, other-worldly. Quite mesmerizing!