Costume Drama

The Earth rotates on the axis of this lady's hat.

"I've always said, 'Give me horses, capes and cleavage and I'm a happy man.'"

— Patrick Swayze, North & South featurette

A costume drama is a Period Piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era. Most costume dramas are adaptations of classic literature, often romances, but the term can also be used to describe things such as Robin Hood.

Even if the plot is unrealistic or falls victim to Sadly Mythtaken, if the costumes are lavishly detailed and the designer has Shown Their Work a film can still be a good example of costume drama.

Because of its tendency towards spectacle, costume drama is the home of Costume Porn, especially the pimped out Gorgeous Period Dress. If a character is of sufficient social status to afford a vast wardrobe (and the movie's budget can accommodate it), the costume designer will usually go ahead and run with it.

If this is a one-off Out-of-Genre Experience for the sake of Costume Porn, you are watching a Costumer.

See also Swashbuckler, Sword and Sandal, Wuxia and Jidaigeki, many of which can be considered costume dramas.

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Examples:

Films — Live-Action

• The Admiral (2014)
• Against All Flags
• Alexander
• Alexander Nevsky
• Amadeus
• Amigo
• Ammonite
• Most adaptations of Anna Karenina
• Anne of the Indies
• Anne of the Thousand Days
• Anthony Adverse
• The Artist
• The Assassin
• Barry Lyndon
• Becket
• Ben-Hur (1925)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• Bertie and Elizabeth
• Braveheart
• Caesar and Cleopatra
• Captain Fracassa's Journey
• El Cid
• Cleopatra
• Cromwell
• Curse of the Golden Flower
• Cyrano
• Cyrano de Bergerac
• Danton
• The Draughtsman's Contract
• Eiffel
• Elizabeth / Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• The Emperor of Paris
• The Fall of the Roman Empire
• The Favourite
• A Frozen Flower
• Gladiator
• Gone with the Wind
• Most adaptations of Great Expectations
• The Great Gatsby (1974)
• The Great Gatsby (2013)
• Hong Kil Dong
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956)
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• Ivan the Terrible
• Jade Dynasty
• Jeanne du Barry
• Jew Süss (1934)
• Jew Süss (1940)
• Julius Caesar (1953)
• Julius Caesar (1970)
• The King and the Clown
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Ang Larawan (2017)
• The Last Duel
• The Last Samurai
• The Libertine (2000)
• The Libertine (2004)
• The Lion in Winter
• Louis, the Child King
• The Madness of King George
• Marie Antoinette (1989)
• Marie Antoinette (2006)
• Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
• Mary, Queen of Scots (2018)
• Masquerade (2012)
• Most adaptations of Les Misérables
• Mga Bilanggong Birhen
• Moulin Rouge!
• Mulan (2020)
• Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
• My Fair Lady
• The Name of the Rose
• Napoléon
• Most adaptations of Oliver Twist
• On Guard
• Once Upon a Time (2017)
• The Other Boleyn Girl
• Outlaw King
• Padmaavat
• The Passion of the Christ
• The film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera musical
• Pharaoh
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Most adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, or any Jane Austen work, for that matter.
• The Prisoner of Zenda
• Rampant
• Shakespeare in Love
• The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
• Adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities
• The Ten Commandments (1923)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)
• The Three Musketeers (2023)
• Titanic (1997)
• Titus (1999)
• Vaincre ou Mourir
• Any adaption of Vanity Fair
• All adaptations of War and Peace
• The War Lord
• Waterloo
• The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity

Live-Action TV

• The Advisor's Alliance
• Amaya
• Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
• And the Winner is Love
• Arang and the Magistrate
• Ashes of Love
• Atsuhime
• Bleak House (all adaptations)
• Borgia
• The Borgias
• Bossam: Steal the Fate
• By The Sword Divided
• Call the Midwife—set about as late as possible to be considered a costume drama (Series 1 is 1957, and each series corresponds to one calendar year).
• Catherine the Great
• Cinderella Chef
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1998)
• Cranford
• The early seasons of The Crown (2016)
• The Crowned Clown
• Dae Jang Geum
• David Copperfield (all adaptations)
• Deadwood
• The Deer and the Cauldron (2014)
• Depois do Adeus
• Dickensian
• Dickinson
• The Disguiser
• Dong Yi
• Downton Abbey
• Ekaterina
• El Cid (2020)
• The Empress of China
• The Eternal Love
• The Eternal Love 2
• The Eternal Love 3
• Faith
• Fall of Eagles
• Força de um Desejo
• The Four
• The Four (2015)
• Garrow's Law
• General and I
• Gentleman Jack
• The Gilded Age
• The Glamorous Imperial Concubine
• Goodbye My Princess
• Go Princess Go
• The Great Emperor in Song Dynasty
• The Gu Family Book
• The Halcyon
• Harlots
• Heavenly Sword and Dragon-Slaying Sabre
• The Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre 2009
• Hong Gil Dong
• Horatio Hornblower
• Hua Xu Yin: City of Desperate Love
• Hwarang
• Ice Fantasy
• I, Claudius
• Il Ji-Mae
• Immortality
• Insu, the Queen Mother
• Isabel
• Jeong Dojeon
• Jingbirok
• Joan of Arc
• The Journey of Flower
• Joy Of Life
• Kingdom (2019)
• The King Loves
• King's War
• The King's Woman
• Lark Rise to Candleford
• The Legend of Chusen
• The Legend Of The Condor Heroes 2003
• The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008)
• The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017)
• The Legend of Dugu
• The Legend of Hao Lan
• The Legend of Mi Yue
• The Legend of Xiao Chuo
• The Legend of Zhen Huan
• Little Dorrit (all adaptations)
• The Longest Day in Chang'an
• Lost Love in Times
• Love and Destiny
• Love and Redemption
• Love in the Moonlight
• Mad Men
• Maria Clara at Ibarra
• Marie Antoinette
• Magic City
• Magnificent Century
• Magnificent Century: Kösem
• Masada
• Medici
• Men with Sword
• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
• Miss S
• Miss The Dragon
• Moon Lovers
• Mr. Queen
• Mr. Sunshine (2018)
• My Country: The New Age
• The Myth
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood (all adaptations)
• Naotora The Lady Warlord
• Napoléon
• Nicholas Nickleby (all adaptations)
• Nirvana in Fire
• Nirvana in Fire 2
• North and South (2004 miniseries)
• North and South (U.S.)
• Novoland: The Castle in the Sky
• Novoland: Eagle Flag
• Oh! My Emperor
• Oktoberfest 1900
• Our Mutual Friend (all adaptations)
• Palace
• Peaky Blinders
• Poirot
• Poldark
• Prince of Lan Ling
• Princess Agents
• Princess Returning Pearl
• Princess Silver
• The Princess Wei Young
• The Qin Empire
• Queen for Seven Days
• Queen Seondeok
• The Return Of The Condor Heroes 2006
• The Rise of Phoenixes
• The Romance of the Condor Heroes
• The Romance of Tiger and Rose
• Rome
• Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
• Royal Tramp
• Rush
• Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace
• Scarlet Heart
• Scholar Who Walks the Night
• Sechs Auf Einen Streich
• Secret Investigation Record
• Secret of the Three Kingdoms
• Singing All Along
• The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty
• The Song of Glory
• Sparrow
• The Story of Minglan
• Story Of Yanxi Palace
• Sungkyunkwan Scandal
• Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms
• The Three Heroes and Five Gallants
• Three Kingdoms
• Towards The Republic
• Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy
• Turn
• The Untamed
• Up the Women is a period comedy.
• Versailles
• Victoria
• The Vigilantes in Masks
• Vikings
  • Vikings: Valhalla
• Virtues of Harmony
• War and Peace (2016)
• Winter Begonia
• Wives and Daughters
• The Wolf
• Wolf Hall
• Word of Honor
• Zorro (1957)
• Zorro (1990)

Theatre

• Anastasia
• Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto
• Elisabeth
• Marie Antoinette (Musical)
• Les Misérables
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Almost every musical ever performed by the Takarazuka Revue

Web Series

• Satirized by Foil, Arms and Hog with An English Period Drama. Featuring love, class division, a local vicar, a visiting doctor, colonialism, boring dancing...
  Announcer: An English Period Drama: Keeping teenagers from the living room for generations.

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