The Films Set During the Renaissance Era subgenre includes film genres such as History, Action, Drama, War and World Cinema. This historical subgenre focuses on films set during 1500 AD – 1700 AD and that largely take place in Europe. The Renaissance Era Films subgenre is part of our larger historical film subgenre collection that also includes films set during The Age of Discovery in the Americas and the Early Modern Period of Asia. This subgenre includes other subgenres such as Action Adventure Films, Romantic Dramas, Historical Biopics, War Films with Massive Battle Scenes, World Cinema Dramas and Period Pieces.
The Renaissance Era film subgenre features a few themes including Films About Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, Films About the English Civil War, Films About French Author Alexandre Dumas’ famous novel The Three Musketeers, Films About plays by William Shakespeare, Films About Elizabeth I of England, Films About King Henry VIII of England, Films About the Tulip Mania and other films based on historical figures during the period including Elizabeth Báthory, Joanna of Castile, and Ivan the Terrible.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Films About the Renaissance Era started to grow in popularity with Witchfinder General (1968), Cromwell (1970), The Last Valley (1971), Man of La Mancha (1982), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974) and the Prince and the Pauper (1977).
Renaissance Era films continued to be popular in the 1980’s with The Draughtsman’s Contract (1983), Lady Jane (1986), Caravaggio (1986), The Lady and the Highwayman (1989) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989).
The 1990’s started the Golden Age of Renaissance Era and Age of Discovery Films as the subgenre became an increasingly popular historical time period in film. Films about the Renaissance Era included a few classic films of the subgenre with The Three Musketeers (1993), Queen Margot (1994), Revenge of the Musketeers (1994), Othello (1995), Restoration (1995), Marquise (1997), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) and Elizabeth (1998).
In the 2000’s, the film subgenre saw additional themes covered during the Renaissance Era. Historical Biopics were one popular theme of the subgenre during this decade with Luther (2003) about Martin Luther, The Countess (2009) about Elizabeth Báthory and Tsar (2009) about Ivan the Terrible. And 1612: Chronicles of the Dark Time (2007) was a Russian film set during the Russian historical period of the Time of Troubles. Other classic subgenre films of the decade included Mad Love (2001), To Kill a King (2003), Alatriste (2006), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).
The 2010’s would see a reduction in Renaissance Era films but an increase in Films About Early Modern Asia Films. Films set in Europe during the Renaissance Era included The Princess of Montpensier (2010), A Field in England (2013), Kenau (2014), Devil’s Bride (2016) and Tulip Fever (2017).
The 2020’s have only produced only one major subgenre film to date with Benedetta (2021).
Our list of Films Set During the Renaissance Era is included in our larger film subgenre list of films set during the period of 1500 AD – 1700 AD. This list also includes Films Set During the Age of Discovery and Films About Early Modern Asia. For our list of Films Set During the Renaissance Era You Haven’t Seen, we had to leave the following honorable mentions off our list: Restoration (1995), Vatel (2000), To Kill a King (2003), 1612: Chronicles of the Dark Times (2007), Anonymous (2011) and Girl with the Pearl Earring (2013).
We have embedded a compilation video of our Top Films Set During the Renaissance Era You Haven’t Seen and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
