The18th centuryin human history was a tough time for anyone who wasn’ta British noble. Because it was the height of the colonial era, and they were too busy making sure that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Thus, the best period pieces set during that timeline tackle such historical issues.
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Often, the recurring theme for movies set in the18th centurywas fighting the biggest colonizers with some isolated stories about how creepy France and post-colonial America were during that era. And of course, it was a time when Mozart was at the peak of his career. Thus, thesefilms capture the spirit of the 18th centuryand many of its aspects.
8Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
Sure enough, the British Empire was so expansive that it reached the shiny seas of the Caribbean, giving birth to tales of pirates and the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow. This was Disney expanding on that children’s story and making it a film for all ages where everyone but the British has scabies and poor skin care.
It was a fictional tale about the cursed crew of the Black Pearl seeking to break their immortality through treasure. But it took the British colonization of the Caribbean as a baseline for its setting, further expanding the lore and painting the pirates in a more morally upright light, and vilifying the colonizers.
7Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndonis a Stanley Kubrick period piece, so one can bet that it’s a cinematic treat based on that alone. The film encapsulates everything that makes the 18th century what it is, from muskets, line formation combat, powdered wigs, and posh socialites. At the center of it all is the titular protagonist with his impressive rags-to-riches story.
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Barry Lyndon literally lied his way to wealth and nobility aftersurviving the warand finding himself a noblewoman that would secure his future. Hence, it plays out like a lot of Kubrick films where the duality of man is explored through Barry Lyndon’s descent from a likable lad to a repulsive con man.
6The Patriot
For those who preferred the war and battle scenes in Barry Lyndon to most of what it had to offer,The Patriotis the better action flick. It shifts its focus to Mel Gibson’s reluctant, strong, and silent American protagonist during the height of the American Revolutionary War.
His character is Benjamin Martin (the most American American to ever live in America) and initially, he was reluctant in joining the revolution to free the North American territories of Britain. All that changed when the British killed one of his sons. After that, heled the warto victory through guerilla tactics and through Mel Gibson’s signature scowl.
5Amadeus
Oh, but the 18th century wasn’t all just about rebellious wars against British colonizers. It was also a time period when the world was blessed with Mozart’s genius; also, powdered wigs, and multiple layers of clothing.Amadeusis thus a recounting of the titular character’s supposed downfall, told through the perspective of a bitter rival named Antonio Salieri.
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In this film, Salieri fostered a burning resentment for Mozart for his better talent and hedonistic lifestyle. In fact, Salieri even hatched a scheme that would lead to Mozart’s ruination. In real life, however, Salieri didn’t hate Mozart and the two even collaborated; they just took plenty of liberties with their relationship for added drama.
4The Mission
But it wasn’t just the British that were notorious during the 18th century; countries like Portugal also dabbled into the slave trade and bullied small tribes in South America.The Missionportrays such an account where Spanish Jesuit missionaries were compelled to protect a South American tribe from falling under the hands of Portugal.
It features a star-studded cast including Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, and Liam Neeson; their characters journey through the jungles of the Amazon while bearing their own personal baggage and scarred pasts in order to find redemption for others and themselves.
3Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
There aren’tmany horror moviesset in the 18th century, which is whyPerfume: The Story of a Murdereris a bold venture.Perfumeis essentially a serial killer story told through the eyes of the serial killer himself. He was born with an acute sense of smell in 18th-century France, and he made it his life’s goal and obsession to create the perfect perfume that could hypnotize.
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Only, the ingredients necessary for such a fragrance demand the scent and sweat of women, virgin women, preferably. So Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the serial killer/protagonist, went around France kidnapping and murdering women for the sake of his experiments in this fictional French version of Jack the Ripper.
2Sleepy Hollow
Speaking of 18th-century horror,Sleepy Hollowbarely makes the cut since it was set inpost-colonial Americaduring the turn of the century in 1799. It still technically counts; besides, it has young Johnny Depp in collaboration with Tim Burton in an R-Rated horror film, it’s the right dark coffee blend that everyone loves.
Sleepy Hollowis about a man named Ichabod Crane who was sent to the titular town to investigate a series of murders involving gruesome decapitations. Eventually, it all boiled down to one culprit: a headless horseman hailing from several centuries past. Needless to say, Crane was ill-prepared for such a challenge.
1The Last Of The Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicanstakes place in 1757 during the French and Indian War when France and Great Britain fought for control of North America. This time around, the protagonist is a British man named Hawkeye who was raised by a dying Native American tribe, the titular Mohicans.
Their peace was disturbed when the daughters of a British colonel were abducted, and it was up to Hawkeye and his adopted brother Uncas to rescue them amid acrossfire of war, leading them to reluctantly choose sides to fulfill their goal.
