A.D. 1519: When Huldrych Zwingli begins preaching as a priest in Zurich, the plague affects him. Looking death in the face, God's Word carries him through and he survives. Encouraged, he turns Zurich upside down with the Bible in his hand.

Young Blades follows D'artagnan (Hugh Dancy), a young arrogant swordsman; Radegonde (Sarah-Jane Potts), a clever girl he meets in the woods; and a trio of Musketeers as they attempt to thwart a plot to send France and Spain into war.

The early life of Elizabeth I, from her childhood until her accession to the throne of England in 1558.

Historical drama chronicling the rise of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a humble blacksmith who became King Henry VIII's chief minister, as he navigated the corridors of power in the Tudor court.

Winstanley explores the attempt by Gerrard Winstanley who formed 'The Diggers' and with a group of followers attempted to form a small farming community in one of the first proto-Communist attempts at collective agriculture.

Will is the wild story of young William Shakespeare's arrival onto the punk rock theater scene that was 16th century London - the seductive, violent world where his raw talent faced rioting audiences, religious fanatics and raucous side-shows. It's the hot, contemporary, dangerous version of Shakespeare's life, played to a modern soundtrack, exposing all his recklessness, lustful temptations and brilliance.

A crown prince emerges as a leader during the war between Korea and Japan in 1592.

Vox Lumiere brings its breathtaking combination of music, dance, theatre and silent film to this thrilling and beautiful retelling of the timeless movie masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Vox Lumiere's all-star cast of singers, dancers and musicians bring this classic love story to life. Combining rock opera with silent film.

Versailles, 1667. Louis XIV was 28 years old. To rise to the heights of the nobility and wield its absolute power, he launched the construction of Versailles... it proved to be a snare. Louis XIV is a young King haunted by childhood trauma, the Fronde civil, a rebellion of the nobility against his father, Louis XIII... It will prove be a strategic policy out of the ordinary, manipulative, Machiavellian, and he will "invent" Versailles for the nobles of Paris, to keep them under control, and gradually transform the castle into a golden prison. But how will Louis live as the greatest King in the world?Historical fiction of the court figures and the more humble villagers, guiding us in a world of betrayals and secrets, politicking and declarations of love.

Comedy about William Shakespeare as he starts to make a name for himself in London while also trying to be a good husband and father for his family in Stratford-upon-Avon.

An artist falls for a young married woman while he's commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.

In the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.

The story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.

It's the year of our Lord 1647 and fear of witchcraft is rife. Puritanical Christianity, deep-seated superstition and a willingness to scapegoat outsiders have created a tinderbox of suspicion in which few are safe. In this environment, witchfinding has flourished, as self-appointed witch experts achieve hero status by investigating accusations of witchery and extracting confessions.A failing witchfinder transports a suspected witch across 1640s East Anglia to a trial that could change his fortunes forever. But his captive is the worst possible travel companion: an inquisitive, uncouth woman whose ability to prick his pomposity and ask uncomfortable questions turns a straightforward journey into a life-changing ordeal.

The White Queen is a riveting portrayal of one of the most dramatic and turbulent times in English history. A story of love and lust, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, it is uniquely told through the perspective of three different, yet equally relentless women - Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville. In their quest for power, they will scheme, manipulate and seduce their way onto the English throne.

The year is 1464, before the Tudor dynasty ruled the country, and war has been ravaging throughout England over who is the rightful King. It is a bitter dispute between two sides of the same family, The House of York and The House of Lancaster.

The House of York's young and handsome Edward IV is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator, Lord Warwick "The Kingmaker." But when Edward falls in love with a beautiful Lancastrian commoner, Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick's plan to control the throne comes crashing down.

A violent, high-stakes struggle ensues between Elizabeth, her most fierce adversary, Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville, the pawn in her father's power game - each woman vying for the crown.

The White Princess tells the story of one of the most fascinating periods of British history, spanning the winter court of Henry Tudor – uniquely from the women's point of view. The most ruthless players in history will stop at nothing to support their own causes and those of the ones they love.

Set against some of Britain's most beautiful landscapes, The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth I's long and eventful life, from the young princess to the successful Queen, who turns England into a major world power.The drama explores her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror and her great love affair with Robert Dudley. Some of the important political and historical events during her reign are highlighted as she balances personal life with the pressures of being a monarch. Her years of triumph over the Armada, her old age and her last enigmatic relationship with the young Earl of Essex are also captured.

She was loved, she was a princess, heir to the throne - but the childhood fairytale turned to lifelong nightmare for Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's first child. When Henry divorced her mother and married Anne Boleyn, Mary became an outcast and a threat to the Protestant succession. By a twist of fate, on the death of her brother, she became queen at last in 1553, but her attempts to make England Catholic again were a disaster for her and the country. History has called her "Bloody Mary" for the burning of the Protestants, but how fair is this? This film paints another picture, of a woman true to her beliefs, pushed towards a terrible psychological disintegration.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars in this original, history-based drama series as the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.

The true story behind various nursery rhymes is explored.

D'Artagnan is forced to join forces with Milady to save Constance, who was kidnapped before his eyes. But as war is declared and Athos, Porthos and Aramis have already joined the front, a secret from the past shatters old alliances.

D'Artagnan arrives in Paris trying to find his attackers after being left for dead, which leads him to a real war where the future of France is at stake. He aligns himself with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, three musketeers of the King.

A young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.

A 90s retelling of the classic story.

The hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down-on-their-luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.

San Francisco's A.C.T. company presents Shakespeare's classic take with a Commedia dell'Arte flair, as if it were a inn yard performance by a traveling company.

The swaggering Petruchio agrees to marry the spitting hellcat, Katherine.

During the reign of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor seeks to flee a forced marriage with the French king by escaping to America with her true love, but her plans are not so easily executed.

The Stuart dynasty lived through arguably the most eventful, bloodthirsty and trying period in British history, and this series reassesses the royal house's history and legacy in a new and unique way.

The Spanish Princess, the latest chapter in the dynastic saga of Tudor England, is a powerful, epic story that not only returns the audience to the world of royal court intrigue as seen uniquely through the perspective of the women, but also sheds light on a previously untold corner of history – the lives of people of color, living and working in 16th century London.

A chronicle of England's turbulent years of the early 16th century recounting the life and times of the vibrant and lusty King Henry VIII in a cycle of six plays.

Queen, lover, mother, outcast, victim and survivor - this is how historian and series narrator David Starkey assigns the roles of the six wives of Britain's most famous monarch Henry VIII in the sexual intrigue and cut-throat power politics of his long reign from 1509 to 1547. The series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII takes a fresh approach and presents each wife's story from her perspective. Through the women's own words and powerful dramatizations, we learn that the wives were not pitiful victims or pawns but rather knowing players in a high-stakes game and remarkable individuals who managed to show great dignity even when facing exile and death.

Young Dutch landscape architect Meneer Chrome comes to a remote English estate where Thomas Smithers lives with his wife, Juliana. Smithers is determined to leave as his legacy a fabulous garden, to be carved from a wild patch of land beside his home. Chrome receives written instructions from his unseen master via a secretary, and the master is Juliana's cousin, Fitzmaurice, who had romance with Juliana when they were young and plans to make Thomas bankrupt via setting up extravagant garden and to make Juliana come back to him.

The Serpent Queen is a period drama about Catherine de Medici, Renaissance Queen of France. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she's unable to concieve. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.

Geoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword.

In 1532, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro leads an expedition into the heart of the Inca Empire and captures the Incan Emperor Atahualpa and claims Peru for Spain.

A fictionalized account of the childhood of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

It's 1649: Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) hires the impoverished D'Artagnan (Michael York) to find the other Musketeers: Oliver Cromwell (Alan Howard) has overthrown the English King, so Cardinal Mazarin fears revolt, particularly from the popular Duke of Beaufort (Eusebio Lázaro). Porthos (Frank Finlay), bored with riches and wanting a title, signs on, but Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), an abbé, and Athos (Oliver Reed), a brawler raising an intellectual son, assist the Duke of Beaufort in secret. When they fail to halt the Duke's escape from prison, the Musketeers are expendable, and Cardinal Mazarin sends them to London to rescue Charles I (Bill Paterson). They are also pursued by Justine de Winter (Kim Cattrall), the avenging daughter of Milady de Winter, their enemy twenty years ago. They must escape England, avoid Justine, serve Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin), and secure Beauford's political reforms.

During the middle of the 16th century, Martin Guerre returns to his village in southwestern France, after being away in the war for almost a decade. The villagers who knew him as a young man suspect he is not Martin, but he seems to know all about his friends, his family and his wife, even the most unusual things. Is this man really Martin Guerre?

Grace, a young widow haunted by the recent suicide of her husband Joseph, is falsely accused of being a witch by her Landlord after she rejects his advances.

The 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.

This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. Ever the victor on the battlefield, Devereux returns to London after defeating Spanish forces at Cadiz. Middle-aged Elizabeth, so attracted to the younger Devereux but fearful of his influence and popularity, sends him on a new mission: a doomed campaign to Ireland. When he and his troops return in defeat, Devereux demands to share the throne with the heir-less queen, and Elizabeth, at first, intends to marry. Ultimately sensing the marriage would prove disastrous for England, Elizabeth sets in motion a merciless plan to protect her people and preserve her throne.

King Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.

Bertrand Tavernier is in top form with this gripping, superbly mounted drama set against the savage Catholic/Protestant wars that ripped France apart in the 16th century. Based on a novella by the celebrated Madame de Lafayette, the action centers on the love of Marie de Mezières for her dashing cousin Henri de Guise, thwarted when her father's political ambitions force her into marriage with the well-connected Philippe de Montpensier, whom she has never met. When Philippe is called away to fight, she is left in the care of Count Chabannes, an aging nobleman with a disdain for warfare, and soon becomes exposed to the sexual and political intrigues of court.

Professor Robert Bartlett tells the extraordinary story of England's most dysfunctional, yet longest ruling, royal dynasty.

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

This adventure follows a mid-18th-century British scout through the wilderness on a mission to sneak into a French fortress.

A chronicle of the life of Lope de Vega, the Spanish playwright who dominated Spain's early Golden Age of theater.

Based on the controversial novel by Philippa Gregory, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a fictionalised account of the life of Lady Mary Boleyn who becomes mistress to England's King Henry VIII, before being ousted by her younger sister, Anne. Mary leaves the Court to marry a commoner, but returns when Anne embarks on a reckless policy to save herself from ruin.

A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson), driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).

The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.

A thrilling world of action, adventure and romance inspired by Dumas' legendary characters.On the streets of 17th century Paris, law and order is more a fledgling idea than reality, and the Musketeers, Athos, Aramis and Porthos, are far more than merely royal bodyguards for King Louis XIII; they are inseparable, loyal unto death and committed to upholding justice. Together, this crack team of highly trained soldiers fight for honour, for valour, for love, and just for the pure thrill of it.

Alexander Dumas' novel is updated with an eastern influence as D'Artagnan attempts to join the king's elite guards, the Royal Musketeers, and find the man who killed his parents.

This movie focuses on a dozen of the five hundred characters depicted in Bruegel's painting. The theme of Christ's suffering is set against religious persecution in Flanders in 1564.

The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother whom he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?

D'Artagnan and his fellow Musketeers plot to replace the ineffectual Louis XIV of France with his secretly imprisoned twin brother Phillipe, who is the firstborn and rightful King.

The real-life pirates of the Caribbean violently plunder the world's riches and form a surprisingly egalitarian republic. 
 

The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.

The film describes historical events in the life of the heroine, Suriyothai, the queen of King Mahachakrapat. from the age of 15, ranging from love and attachment, royal wedding, resettlement in the capital, court life, intrigues, and sustenance of royal dignity.

Prince Naresuan is now the crown prince of Ayutthaya and the king of Burma is dead. While the new Burmese king is waging war, the crown prince plots to assassinate Naresuan. Hearing this, the prince decides to evacuate Thais out of the Burmese capital and declare that Siam will no longer bow to Burma. The war for the kingdom's independence begins.

A dramatization of the last days of the queen. It starts on the 2nd of May 1536 when a unit of the kings guard arrives with a warrant for the arrest of the Queen of England, because of incest, adultery and for conspiring against the king.

Swashbuckling tale of romance, betrayal, jealousy, banditry, murder, and court intrigue set in the 1660s, during the Restoration to the English throne of King Charles II.

King Louis XIV's quest for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid's life force, a move that is further complicated by his illegitimate daughter's discovery of the creature.

Clopin bought Esmeralda from the gypsies when she was young. Dancing in the square at the festival, Esmeralda is spotted by Jehan, the evil brother of the good archdeacon Claude Frollo. When he sets Quasimodo out to kidnap Esmeralda, Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, rescues her and captures Quasimodo. The courts sentence Quasimodo to be flogged, and the only one who will give him water while he is tied in the square is Esmeralda. After Clopin forces Esmeralda to leave Phoebus at the ball, she sends a note to Phoebus to meet her at Notre-Dame. In the garden, Phoebus is stabbed in the back by Jehan. Esmeralda is accused of stabbing Phoebus, convicted by the courts and sentenced to hang. When Esmeralda again rejects Jehan, he tells her that Phoebus is dead, even though it is not true. Clopin, Phoebus and Quasimodo all try different ways to save Esmeralda.

In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.

The timeless tale of the seductive gypsy Esmeralda and the tortured hunchback Quasimodo.

A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer.

Disfigured man Quasimodo (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is feared and tormented by the townspeople of Notre Dame, but he has a sensitive nature of which few are aware.

Based on the novel, a young gypsy becomes a Minister's obsession in 1483. Only the bell ringer and her husband and the court of miracles can save her.

The story of a deformed hunchback's love for a Gypsy girl in Paris.

The 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 doctrin...Read all

As the great fire tears London apart, this brand new epic drama details the heart-wrenching stories of a city and its people in crisis.  This drama recreates the chaos of a city imploding in 1666 Great Fire of London.

THE GIRL KING paints a portrait of the brilliant, extravagant Kristina of Sweden, queen from age six, who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernize Sweden and who have no tolerance for her awakening sexuality.

The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) sets out on a double mission of rescuing a girl from forsaking her true love by marrying a supposedly wealthy suitor to save the old family hacienda, and he is also after the outlaws that robbed a stage carrying gold for the Mission. His task is made easier once he learns that the "wealthy" suitor (Tristram Coffin) is also the man behind the gold robbers.

At the behest of his father, young d'Artagnan travels from rural Gascony to Paris, where he becomes embroiled in a devious plot between the King's Musketeers and the Guardsmen of Cardinal Richelieu.

Masterpiece Theatre brings its four-hour fling with a scandalous 18th century heroine, in a broadcast of Moll Flanders. A costume drama which follows the fortunes of Moll Flanders in 18th Century England. Her determination to reach a secure place in society results in incest, bigamy, adultery, wealth and poverty. Based on the novel by Daniel Defoe.

While casually browsing the bookshelves at a local library, a young woman stumbles across a book about the sixteen year old martyr, Lady Jane Grey. As she attentively ingests each word, her mind is captivated by the realism of the events unfolding before her. Pages continue to turn as moments turn to hours. Her imagination soon gives way to reality as we are transported back in time to find Jane (Jerica Henline) on the eve of her execution, rejected by her people, dethroned, and locked in a tower because of her refusal to acquiesce to the faith of her cousin, Mary Tudor, and having for comfort her only faithful friend, Mrs. Ellen (Emily Meinerding). Follow this valiant young woman through the final hours of her life and be a part of the few to uncover the truth of this magnificent, untold story!

Ireland 1587. Hugh O'Donnell inherits the title of The O'Donnell, the prince of Donegal, and tries to unite Ireland to make war on England. But then Hugh is kidnapped and imprisoned by the Viceroy of Ireland and held ransom for the Clans' good behavior. Hugh must escape prison and the Viceroy's villainous henchman, Captain Leeds, before he can fight.

In early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.

An accounting of the final days of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, from her arrest and trial to the day of her execution. A thorough hour-by-hour examination of the evidence and events, led by historian Tracy Borman, reveal what actually happened.

This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe.

A young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.

Colourful four-part drama about the seismic events of 17th-century England, when political disobedience turned to revolution and bloody civil war.

Set on an isolated farm in Shropshire in 1657. The story of Fanny Lye, a woman who learns to transcend her oppressive marriage and discover a new world of possibility - albeit at great personal cost. Living a life of Puritan stricture with husband John and young son Arthur, Fanny Lye's world is shaken to its core by the unexpected arrival of two strangers in need, a young couple closely pursued by a ruthless sheriff and his deputy.

A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful king.

A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.

The Buccaneers is an ITV series about a swashbuckling reformed pirate, Captain Dan Tempest, as he defends the island of New Providence in the Caribbean from the evil Spanish in the 1600s.

In a Spain consumed by ambition and power, the future of an empire depends of the mind state of a single woman.

On Kit and Lyre's wedding night, Lien Ni-Chang, the bride with white hair kidnaps Lyre and takes her to her harem of fighting women to indoctrinate her against Kit. Kit tries to lead a rescue party and go up against the formidable enemies.

Cho Yat-Hang, the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against an evil cult, falls in forbidden love with Lien Ni-Chang, a killer for the evil cult.

This expansive drama series stars Oscar winner Jeremy Irons in his Golden Globe-nominated role as Pope Alexander VI, the cunning, manipulative patriarch of the infamous Borgia dynasty, who builds an empire by bribing, buying and muscling his way into the papacy.

Historical story of the ruthless Rodrigo Borgia. A man who intends to become Pope and who will not let anything stand in his way.

A portrait of the bloody dynasty that spawned a pope, Alexander VI, as well as the role model for Machiavelli's "The Prince," his son Cesare Borgia, and a legend of femme duplicity, daughter Lucrezia Borgia.

An epic three-part series that charts the rise and fall of the Boleyns. A story of love, sex and betrayal, told from the the family's unique perspective.

The origin dates to 1565, during the reign of Maha Chakkraphat (husband of courageous elephant-battling Queen Suriyothai), when there was a plague in the old royal capital. The tropical malady was blamed on seafaring Portuguese and Persian traders, who sailed with the sickness upriver to the old capital. As far as public-health crises go, it was much worse, and way weirder, than is reported in the history books.