A fan favorite for classic literary and movie settings has been the Regency era, even though it has been more glamorous than what it may have actually been like to live through that time. No longer are audiences seeing the world that writers like the Brontë sisters and Jane Austen once lived through: Regency-era, particularly in England, is glamorous, full of feisty women paving destinies against the strict confines and social codes of the era. This is not English class, even though many of the best movies set in this era are actually adaptations of Austen’s work.

Literary adaptations of the time provide fictional accounts of what the authors once lived through, offering nuggets of truth in what are otherwise stories told repeatedly throughout history. Remarkably, despite the social norms for women in the era, the most prolific writers and best-remembered ones tend to be women. And perhaps this is why many of these shows and movies, like Bridgerton, skewer towards a female demographic. While the Western canon may focus more exclusively on narratives that exclude certain groups of people, it is important to remember that other histories and memories of the era exist outside the mainstream. That said, these are the best period movies set during the Regency Era.

Updated October 7, 2022: If you love films set in the Regency era, you’ll be happy to know we’ve updated this article with additional content and entries.

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9 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

     Cross Creek Pictures

After appearing in Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 adaptation of Cinderella, leading lady Lily James progressed from being an iconic Disney princess into professional zombie killer Elizabeth Bennett. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is based upon a 2009 novel, which, in turn, was a parody of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Zombies are thrown into the mix of the original storyline, creating a fun and quirky adaptation unique when looking at the era. Few movies have explored this period while throwing in a spontaneous element like zombies.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 Sense and Sensibility (1995)

     Columbia Pictures

1995’s Sense and Sensibility adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel was directed and led by coveted director Ang Lee. Its leading star Emma Thompson busted out her best writing abilities to write the screenplay and starred as Elinor Dashwood. Other key cast members included Kate Winslet as her sister Marianne and Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon. Sense and Sensibility was a success with audiences and critics alike, bringing home several awards and many nominations.

7 Becoming Jane (2007)

     Miramax Films

Anne Hathaway brings to life Jane Austen in Becoming Jane, a biographical movie about the writer’s life. Information about Austen’s life outside her literary output is scarce, but through her literature and letters from family and acquaintances, the film reimagines what her life could have looked like. A goal of the movie’s team was to look past how the era is often depicted: vaguely accurate costuming, stuffy ideologies for a contemporary eye. Instead, they chose to look at Austen for who she was: a gifted writer.

6 Bright Star (2009)

     BBC Films

It’s 1818 in Hampstead Village on the outskirts of London. Jane Campion’s 2009 drama Bright Star is based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). As we discover in the film, their relationship is slow to develop, in part because of Keats’ roommate, Charles Brown (Paul Schneider), who does whatever he can to keep the two apart. Other obstacles face the couple, including Keats’ struggling career as well as health issues.

The film’s title is a reference to a sonnet by Keats titled “Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art,” which he wrote while he was with Brawne. The film garnered positive reviews from critics, who especially praised Oscar winner Jane Campion’s writing and direction.

5 Mansfield Park (1999)

Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park had its most famous adaptation in 1999. The movie starred actors Frances O’Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, James Purefoy, and Embeth Davidtz in its leading roles, and the movie was not clearly defined strictly as a Jane Austen movie. Mansfield Park takes the world that Austen lived in and makes critical commentary about the people living within it. There are some interesting perspectives on slavery, gender, and society in the film — ones that are also surprisingly in the novel — offering a keen and shrewd intelligence for her time.

4 Northanger Abbey (2007)

     Granada Productions

Northanger Abbey starred JJ Feild, Felicity Jones, and Carey Mulligan in a faithful adaptation to the original Austen novel. In it, a tomboy that is seen rebellious for her era, due to her behavior and a keen interest in gothic novels, goes to Bath and meets an influential family: the Thorpes. Northanger Abbey was one of Austen’s final novels to be published but was written much earlier before its publication. Because of that, the film adaptation retains the youthful spirit of early Austen while providing underlying social commentary through its women characters.

3 Belle (2013)

     TSG Entertainment

The 2013 film Belle offers a different take on Regency: its main character, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), is the daughter of an English colonel and an enslaved woman in the West Indies. This narrative is based on a true story. Dido Elizabeth Belle was taken in by her father when he died, raised as a free woman in England, but she is not legally recognized as his child. Combined with her budding romantic interest in a local lawyer, her life will not be an easy one.

2 Emma. (2020)

     Perfect World Pictures

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Emma Woodhouse in the 2020 adaptation of Emma.. This movie was Autumn de Wilde’s directorial debut, and it truly made a splash despite being released towards the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stylish and visually entertaining, the movie was praised for its costuming and wardrobe, as well as its contemporary updates to a story now two hundred years old.

1 Pride & Prejudice (2005)

     StudioCanal

Of all the Jane Austen adaptations and Regency period films, Pride and Prejudice towers above its predecessors and successors. The Keira Knightley film became an icon for Regency movies, targeting an entirely new demographic that was charmed by its lush visuals and romanticism. Knightley, who portrayed Elizabeth Bennett in the film, was only 20 years old when she received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars.