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- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
- DirectorSimon AebyStarsNikolaj Coster-WaldauPeter McDonaldAnastasia GriffithThe story of time-tested loyalty of two friends during Europe's 16th-century Inquisition. Orphans Martin and Georg bond as children, but walk very different paths as adults. Georg follows his calling to join the church, while Martin becomes an army captain. When fate places Martin in the role of executioner, he must choose between friendship and fundamentalist doctrine.
- DirectorPatrice ChéreauStarsIsabelle AdjaniDaniel AuteuilJean-Hugues AngladeYoung Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
- StarsChristoph WaltzMario AdorfDeborah KaufmannThe 1530s. Many are convinced that the Day of Judgement is at hand. A protest movement is making the heart of Europe beat faster and louder: it is a protest against the dissipation of the Catholic clergy, but also against the religious remedies prescibed by Lutheranism. The Anabaptist movement preaches the second coming and prophesies that all enemies of the "true faith" will "drown in rivers of blood". All those, however, who renounce the devil are promised both earthly and heavenly happiness in a "new Jerusalem". When the Anabaptist doctrine overtakes the flourishing town of Münster ("the pearl of Westphalia") and the town's Catholics are either driven out or forced to live in a ghetto, the newly-elected Prince-Bishop of Münster and Osnabrück, Count Franz Waldeck, decides to take fiercer action against what he sees as the "Anabaptist scourge"; anyone who lets themselves be rebaptized in his diocese, whether male or female, is to be hanged from the nearest tree. Sebastian Kien, a vagrant travelling actor (actually quite similar in nature and temperament to François Villon) uses a mixture of cunning and deceit to save a young girl from being hanged. Since the girl, Engele Kerkerinck, has lost her entire family, Sebastian takes her under his wing, gives her the courage to carry on living, and says he will teach her how to sing and to dance. Engele, however, wants to go to Münster where the legendary Jan van Leyden, an Anabaptist, is preaching, and to whose sermons Catholics and Protestants alike - and women in particular - are flocking. Engele, too, is under the spell of this man, and mesmerised by his stature, his fire, his powerful words and his charisma. Sebastian Kien recognises an old friend in Jan van Leyden: the latter is none other than the actor and pimp Jan Bockelson, with whom he used to make the same kind of living (often a pathetic one) that he still does now. A rapturous reunion ensues. Bockelson wants his old friend to join forces with him and predicts a glorious future for himself: "One day I'll be King of Münster!" But resistance from those Catholics who still remain in Münster has not yet been fully overcome. The prosperous burghers still distrust the man who preaches poverty and renunciation while stashing his own coffers with money and jewellery. Bockelson overcomes a crisis of confidence in his abilities, sparked off by the town council, by asking a famous prophet known as Jan Matthys to come to the town's assistance. Sebastian Kien is given instructions to turn the prophet's arrival into an occasion of popular celebration. After an almost supernatural piece of stage direction, Bockelson succeeds in winning the hearts of the townsfolk once more, little realising that the prophet's arrival in Münster means that he is about to be inexorably caught up in a rapid succession of events. The reason for this is Divara, Jan Matthys' wife. She and Bockelson seem to recognise one another as kindred spirits from their very first meeting: both are held in the sway of a powerful mutual fascination. Divara sees the future potential of the young, beaming Bockelson, and considers him far more promising than the already ageing Jan Matthys who, plagued by self-doubt, is falling prey to alcoholism. Divara, attractive, desirable and very self-confident, uses all the weapons a woman possesses. She provokes Jan Bockelson into killing the Catholics' leader, Trutelink, and accuses her husband of weakness, urging him to practice what he preaches and to go and prove his mettle against the Prince-Bishop. Fully aware of what is going on, and in the knowledge that his days are numbered, Jan Matthys rides off into a trap carefully prepared by Tom Korteboldt, a double agent in the pay of both sides. Jan Matthys dies with a prophecy upon his lips: "In three days' time I shall be resurrected from the dead!" When this prophecy is not fulfilled, Jan Bockelson faces yet another crisis of confidence. At the very last moment Divara manages to stop the mayor, Knipperdolling, and the rest of the town council from accepting the Prince-Bishop's offer of negotiation in return for surrendering the town without a fight. And once again Sebastian Kien is faced with having to help his old friend out of a dilemma. Engele persuades him to do so. Sebastian stages a supernatural event - the arrival of an angel - for the credulous and astonished townspeople, and thus restores his friend's charisma. Divara makes use of the townspeople's credulity to tie things up once and for all. She ensures that Jan Bockelson, favoured by the Lord, becomes "King of Münster", while she herself takes over the role of Queen. Engele has long since fallen prey to her fascination for Bockelson. She is endured as the King's mistress by Divara, who sees the girl as next to no competition; indeed, she even sees her as strengthening her position. Sebastian Kien decides he wants to leave the town. His concern for Engele developed into affection, and affection has now turned into love - a very different kind of love, though, than that practised by his former friend Bockelson. Out of concern for Engele, Sebastian remains in the town - also, perhaps, because he is still hoping that she will come back to him. From now on Bockelson surrenders to his own personal whims and delights, cloaking it all in the guise of "divine inspiration". When Clarissa, the daughter of mayor Knipperdolling, and the last Catholic in Münster, is discovered hiding in a well-shaft, Bockelson orders her father - whom he has appointed the kingdom's chief executioner - to behead his own daughter. Bockelson's sudden decision to humiliate the intractably Catholic Clarissa still further, rather than just kill her outright, saves the girl's life. The King of Münster makes the mayor's daughter his courtesan, and shortly afterwards has polygamy and free love announced as a tenet of the Anabaptist faith. Münster celebrates this new edict with an orgy. The siege of Münster by the Prince-Bishop has now been going on for over a year. The town is riddled with disease and starvation. The townspeople scratch moss off the stones in the graveyards to fill their bellies, women scrape plaster off the frescoes in the church to make "milk" for their children. The cholera victims are tipped unceremoniously over the town wall. Divara is aware of the danger and she takes decisive action. She promises the town council "help and salvation" within three days. And, as a pledge, she promises that "the King will burn if the prophecy is not fulfilled". Panic-stricken, Bockelson seeks the advice and support of his friend Sebastian, whom he has thrown into prison. Yet again, it is an idea of Sebastian Kien's that allows Bockelson to extricate himself from the affair. He sees his chance in the double meaning of the verb "to burn". At a ceremony which the preacher Rottmann turns into a religious ceremony, Bockelson not only burns the books written by his religious rivals but also the last Catholic in Münster, Clarissa Knipperdolling, who refuses to renounce her faith. The crowd's enthusiasm is boundless. This first human sacrifice is soon to be followed by a second. Engele beseeches Bockelson in vain to spare the life of Sebastian Kien, whom Bockelson now regards as his most dangerous rival. For Kien knows the truth about Bockelson's past life - and he screams it into the face of the man who calls himself "the messenger of the Lord". At first, the townspeople, who have rushed enthusiastically to the Prinzipalmarkt to watch Sebastian Kien's execution, seem stunned. But then Rottmann the preacher puts on his most successful performance so far: he turns Kien's accusations upside down by treating them as proof of divine long-sightedness and mercy, and in doing so succeeds in winning the crowd's approval. And as if to prove his magnanimity and humanity, Bockelson answers Engele's prayers: he sets his friend free. Prince-Bishop Waldeck, unswerving in his faith and unbending in his desire to recapture Münster for his own, makes one final attempt to go down as magnanimous and merciful in the history books. He decides to defeat his enemies - who have used the word of God to take over the town - by the word of God too. In a magnificent display of religious pomp, he stands face to face with the "latter-day King", and reads him the parable of the lost sheep from the bible. Bockelson, seeing his followers already on their knees before the cross of Catholicism, manages at the very last moment to stop the Anabaptists from capitulating. Waldeck and his followers are then forced to realise just how much power Jan Bockelson has over the people of Münster: the Prince-Bishop's carefully staged entreaty is mockingly answered by a phalanx of naked Anabaptist buttocks along the town battlements. Waldeck gives the order to attack. That night, in the year 1535, Münster drowns in a sea of rain and blood. When the sun comes up again, the town is in the hands of the Prince-Bishop. Waldeck meets an enemy who shows no remorse or submissiveness. Even as a prisoner, Bockelson is condescending and full of scorn. Not one word of regret about what he has done. Bockelson senses that God is on his side - in the struggle against the corruption of the authorities. Count Waldeck and his followers prepare the punishment rite. It is to be an occasion of great magnificence: a public execution that will remain etched in popular memory for generations, demonstrating the victory of the righteous and God-fearing over all that is evil. Divara, whom Waldeck finds very attractive, turns down the Prince-Bishop's offer to make her his mistress by committing suicide. All the anger and hatred the victors have left is now concentrated on one man: Bockelson. Bockelson is interrogated, and tortured eight times - all in vain. He is unyielding, even under pain. He impresses his inquisitors by quoting Thomas Aquinas, and uttering obscene jokes dating from his days as a pimp and innkeeper at the "Three Herrings" in Leyden. Bockelson, Mayor Knipperdolling and Chancellor Krechting are placed in three cages and put on display in front of the curious crowd. Looking at them costs one pfennig. Touching them costs one pfennig extra. Then there is the final wordless meeting between Bockelson and Engele, who prays to God to grant him a merciful death. It is the night of the condemned Bockelson's last meal, to which he has invited his "friend" Sebastian: the "latter-day King" uses up all his actor's talents to put on a show of pride and dignity. He, Knipperdolling and Krechting are to be hung in their cages high up on the Lambertikirche, and Bockelson's last wish is to be hung higher than the other two. The execution has all the trappings of a festival, especially for those who have long since returned to their original belief. The executioners, it has been decided, will slowly torture Bockelson to death with red-hot pincers. Bockelson knows about this because Sebastian has already told him, but he has also prophesied to Sebastian that he will neither groan nor scream - though he might just hum and sing... Sebastian Kien follows the progress of the event from some distance away. He has resolved to applaud and to shout with relief as Bockelson is slowly tortured to death. He sees the glowing pincers, hears the hiss of burning flesh and then, very quietly: he hears Bockelson singing a song, one that they used to sing together in the old days. Sebastian Kien does Jan Bockelson a final service. He rushes towards the tribune, past the executioners, and stabs Bockelson twice with a knife. The first time he misses the heart, but the second time he makes no mistake. Together, on the covered wagon they arrived in, Sebastian and Engele leave the town that has kept them like prisoners for 16 months. Engele confesses to Sebastian that she is expecting a baby - Bockelson's baby. "I'll teach him to dance and sing and write poetry", says Sebastian. "Can you be a comedian and sing and dance without believing in God...?" asks Engele. Sebastian: "You can..." "Why do people dance, then...?" asks Engele - and receives no reply...
- CreatorMichael HirstStarsJonathan Rhys MeyersHenry CavillAnthony BrophyEpic series reveals the scandalous life of a young king whose affairs and obsession with producing a male heir changed marriage, the church, and the world.
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsChristo JivkovSergio GrammaticoDimitar RachkovThe history of the first victim of modern artillery and its moving agony, amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful. Life and death of Giovanni De' Medici, a young brave captain in the war of Charles V against the Pope, in the first half of 1500.
- DirectorCharles MattonStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerRomane BohringerJean RochefortIconic artist Rembrandt van Rijn worked in the fields of painting, drafting, and printing, becoming the most iconic artist in all of Dutch history. This documentary profiles the story of a man whose varied works left an indelible mark on the world.
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...
- DirectorEric TillStarsJoseph FiennesBruno GanzPeter UstinovDuring the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsNatalie PortmanScarlett JohanssonEric BanaTwo sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorMarshall HerskovitzStarsCatherine McCormackRufus SewellOliver PlattA Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsRutger HauerJennifer Jason LeighTom BurlinsonIn medieval Europe, a young girl from a noble family is obsessed with her captors - commoners.
- DirectorJulie DelpyStarsJulie DelpyDaniel BrühlWilliam HurtA 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.
- DirectorJo BaierStarsJulien BoisselierJoachim KrólAndreas SchmidtA wide-ranging, energetic period piece tracing the rise of the Protestant Henry of Navarre as he goes from battlefield warrior to France's beloved King Henri IV. Director Jo Baier's epic is a classically-entertaining adventure, albeit one with much bloodshed and frequent bawdy sexual interludes. In late-16th-century France, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots are at war. Seemingly seeking peace, French dowager Queen Catherine de Medici summons Henry to her court to marry him to her daughter, which would unite the two warring factions. However, the Catholics slaughter the Protestant wedding guests in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Henry--now married--must use all his guile to stay alive and maneuver for the throne.
- DirectorJuraj JakubiskoStarsAnna FrielKarel RodenVincent ReganWith an unquenchable thirst for blood, Countess Elizabeth Bathory was one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsRhys IfansVanessa RedgraveDavid ThewlisThe theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsMélanie ThierryLambert WilsonGaspard UllielBased on the classic didactic novel, the action centers on the noble lady who soon becomes exposed to the sexual and political intrigues of the French court of the religious wars era.
- DirectorDominik MollStarsVincent CasselSergi LópezJordi DauderMadrid, in the seventeenth century. Abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery, Ambrosio has been brought up by the Capucin Friars. After becoming a friar himself, he becomes an unrivaled preacher whose sermons draw crowds and earn him the admiration of all. Admired for his extreme rigor and absolute virtue, Ambrosio is certain he is safe from any temptation. But Satan has not said his final word...
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsVirginie EfiraCharlotte RamplingDaphné PatakiaA 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
- DirectorJulia von HeinzStarsKaroline SchuchDevid StriesowLudwig TrepteThe life of Katharina von Bora, a nun in the 16th century. When reading Martin Luther's writings about the freedom of the individual, she decides to leave the convent - and gains the trust and love of the great reformer.
- DirectorArnaud des PallièresStarsMads MikkelsenMélusine MayanceDelphine ChuillotIn the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, he raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.
- DirectorM.J. BassettStarsJames PurefoyMax von SydowRachel Hurd-WoodA ruthless mercenary renounces violence after learning his soul is bound for hell. When a young girl is kidnapped and her family slain by a sorcerer's murderous cult, he is forced to fight and seek his redemption slaying evil.
- CreatorLaurie McCarthyStephanie SenguptaStarsAdelaide KaneMegan FollowsCelina SindenMary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.
- DirectorJosie RourkeStarsSaoirse RonanMargot RobbieJack LowdenMary Stuart's (Saoirse Ronan's) attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
- DirectorMichael RadfordStarsAl PacinoJoseph FiennesLynn CollinsIn 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
- DirectorAntti-Jussi AnnilaStarsVille VirtanenTommi EronenViktor KlimenkoAs a 25-year war between Russia and Sweden concludes, two brothers who are part of an effort to outline new border accords become undone by their actions, and their mistreatment of a young woman during their journey.
- DirectorBarry AvrichMartha HenryStarsJonathan GoadIrene PooleRod BeattieWhen England's King Henry falls for the young, beautiful Anne Boleyn, he must somehow remove his beloved Queen Katherine from his life. Church and state collide and the course of history is changed forever.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsRay WinstoneJoss AcklandSid MitchellTwo part mini-series documenting the stormy thirty-eight-year reign of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorWojciech HasStarsRafal WieczynskiMichael LonsdaleAdrianna BiedrzynskaA dream-like odyssey of a young man across plague-ridden 16th century Germany.
- DirectorAndrucha WaddingtonStarsAlberto AmmannLeonor WatlingPilar López de AyalaA chronicle of the life of Lope de Vega, the Spanish playwright who dominated Spain's early Golden Age of theater.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsGerardo TaracenaRaoul Max TrujilloDalia HernándezAs the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsGérard DepardieuArmand AssanteSigourney WeaverChristopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people.
- DirectorStefan HauptStarsMaximilian SimonischekSarah Sophia MeyerAnatole TaubmanZurich in 1519: The young widow Anna Reinhart lives a barren life between fear of the church and worries about the future of her three children, when the arrival of a man in the city causes turmoil: The young priest Ulrich Zwingli takes up his new position at the Grossmünster in Zurich and sparks fierce discussions with his sermons against the grievances of the Catholic Church. Zwingli's revolutionary thoughts frighten Anna. But when she sees how Zwingli lives charity and not just preaches, she increasingly becomes fascinated by him. But Zwingli's success quickly becomes dangerous. His ideas almost trigger a civil war, and at the same time a struggle for power and interpretive sovereignty breaks out in the inner circle of the movement. When the Catholic forces begin to form internationally, the relationship between Zwingli and Anna is put to a hard test.
- DirectorFrantisek VlácilStarsJosef KemrMagda VásáryováNada HejnaA grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval central Europe - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.
- DirectorLukas FeigelfeldStarsAleksandra CwenCelina PeterClaudia MartiniAfter the loss of her tormented mother, the erratic behavior of a 15th century woman living in an isolated mountain village becomes a threat to the safety of her infant child.