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Mary of Scotland
Scotland The 16th CenturyHistory called her "The Temptress"! — The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
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Taras Bulba
🇺🇦 Ukraine The 16th CenturyIn war against the Poles, the leader Cossack sees itself betrayed by one of his threads, been in love the girl of an enemy.
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The Golem
🇨🇿 Czechia The 16th CenturyThe Golem, a giant creature created out of clay by a rabbi, comes to life in a time of trouble to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
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Tudor Rose
England The 16th CenturyThey gave her a Perfect Lover, then Plotted her Excecution. A Romance which Out-Triumphed the Most Terrible Crime in History — The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the young queen who reigned in England for nine days before she was executed.
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Boccaccio
🇮🇹 Italy The 14th CenturyThe residents of the town of Ferrara are swept up in a tide of emotion and physical passion by the writings of a Renaissance author. Before long, the town is in chaos and it becomes difficult to keep track of which characters have been involved with one another. Is it any wonder the Germans didn't take their Italian allies seriously?!
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The Cardinal
🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturySet in 15th-century Italy, The Cardinal stars Matheson Lang as one Cardinal de Medici. Bound by the rules of the confessional, the cardinal is unable to disclose the multitude of sins revealed to him by one of his most influential parishioners. De Medici's dilemma is compounded by the fact that the confessor has committed a murder for which the Cardinal's brother has been arrested. The basic plot gimmick was good for another go-round in the 1953 Hitchcock flick I Confess. This 7-reel British film was based on a play by Louis N. Parker.
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The Crusades
The 12th CenturyKing Richard the Lionhearted launches a crusade to preserve Christianity in Jerusalem.
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Lucrezia Borgia
🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyFrench silent film pioneer Abel Gance directs this 1935 classic about Lucrezia Borgia, her brother, Cesare. and her father, Pope Alexander VI -- one of history's most ruthless and ambitious crime families.
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Restless Knights
England The 17th Century The Middle AgesThe stooges learn they are of royal blood — Set in Medieval times, the stooges learn they are of royal blood and vow to save the kingdom. They become the queen's royal guards but are sentenced to die when the queen is abducted on the orders of the evil prime minister. The stooges escape, free the queen, and end up knocking each other out.
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Drake of England
England 🇪🇸 Spain The 16th CenturyTake to the high seas for a heart-stopping tale of riches, war and romance with England's dashing pirate hero! — Imposing Canadian-born stage actor and playwright Matherson Lang was one of the twentieth century's great Shakespearean players, and became Britain's foremost screen actor during the 1920s; in Drake of England, one of his final films, he takes the title role in Arthur Woods' portrayal of the life and times of the flamboyant piratical adventurer who founded Britain's sea fortunes. From clandestine romance at the court of Elizabeth I to conquests in the newly discovered lands of South America and spectacular victory over the Armada, Drake of England offers a panoramic overview of Drake's life.
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Der Klosterjäger
🇩🇪 Germany The 14th CenturyKnight Dietwald von Falkenau returns from his trip to see the Pope through Berchtesgaden to his cloister. He was unsuccessful in his mission to have the papal ban against his emperor lifted. The young Walti, who works in the cloister, jokes with the cloister' cook, Severin, because Dietwald's cold stare scared him. Severin rebukes him, saying that Dietwald has been carrying a heavy burden. Once, Dietwald had his own fortress. This, however, was destroyed during an attack and his wife killed. Since then, he has not seen his daughter again.
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The Affairs of Cellini
🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyHanging is too good for Cellini...declared the Duchess, so she smothered him...in her arms! — The 16th-century sculptor woos the Duchess of Florence despite the duke.
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Chris Columbus, Jr.
England 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain The 15th CenturyOswald the Lucky Rabbit is the title character who does what the original man tried to do-prove the world was round and discovering a new land.
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Henry the Ache
The 16th CenturyShemp Howard stars in this old parody of the then-current film "King Henry The Eighth". Also starring Bert Lahr in the title role.
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Wilhelm Tell
🇨🇭 Switzerland The 14th Century -
Two White Snake Ghosts
🇨🇳 China The 12th CenturyThe white snake demon transforms into a beautiful woman when she is attracted to a man named Khouw Han Boen. The two marry. Later, Han Boen finds out that his now-pregnant wife is the white snake demon in disguise.
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William of Orange
🇳🇱 Netherlands The 16th CenturyThe first 'official' Dutch sound film was presented as a historic document on the history of the Netherlands, highlighting the importance of prince William of Orange's role during the Eighty Years war. His story is told in a series of short episodes, spanning his sudden rise to prince of Orange in 1844 to his murder by Balthasar Gerards in 1584.
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The Private Life of Henry VIII
England The 16th CenturyHE GAVE HIS WIVES A PAIN IN THE NECK, And did his necking with an axe. Henry, the Eighth Wonder of the World! And this picture...the wonder of all time! — Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second wife, executed on charges of treason, King Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that marriage also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the king picks German-born Anne of Cleves as his bride, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and King Henry continues his string of spouses.
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Ye Olden Days
The Middle AgesThe princess is to wed the Prince against her wishes. When she refuses, the king locks her in the tower. Minstrel Mickey sees her and rescues her, making a rope from the clothes of lady-in-waiting Clarabell. The king spots them and prepares to chop off Mickey's head until Minnie intercedes. The king calls for a joust. Mickey wins and they live happily ever after.
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Giantland
The Middle AgesMickey's orphans ask for a story; Mickey casts himself as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk. He starts with the climbing of the beanstalk; after evading the giant a few times, he ends up inside a cheese sandwich, and then in the giant's mouth, where he ultimately grabs onto a pipe and gets pulled out by the giant. In the ensuing chase, Mickey launches a pepper bomb to slow the giant down, then outruns him coming down the beanstalk and sets the stalk on fire.
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A Connecticut Yankee
England The Middle AgesMore Laughs than the law allows! — Making a delivery to a mysterious mansion in a rainstorm, radio salesman Hank Martin is knocked out when a suit of armor topples on him. Upon awakening, Hank finds himself in the time of King Arthur. At Camelot Castle, Hank uses a cigarette lighter and his skill with a lasso to save himself from being executed as a demon. Hank so impresses Arthur that the king orders him to joust with one of his knights to save the life of Princess Alisande.
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The Vagabond King
🇫🇷 France The 15th CenturyParamount Pictures presents the 100% Technicolor All-Talking, All-Singing Musical Romance! — The story takes place in medieval France. Poet-rogue Francois Villon, sentenced to hang by King Louis XI for writing derogatory verses about him, is offered a temporary reprieve. His hanging will be postponed for 24 hours, and in that time he must defeat the invading Burgundians and win the love of the beautiful Katherine.
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Wara Wara
🇧🇴 Bolivia The 16th CenturySet in the 16th century, a peaceful Inca community is massacred by a group of conquistadors, and the survivors including Wara Wara flee into the mountains. Later, Wara Wara is assaulted by two Spanish soldiers, and rescued by a conquistador with a noble heart. The two fall in love, but are confronted with the mutual hatred between their peoples. Sentenced to death, they escape, and live happily ever after.
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Saint Joan the Maid
🇫🇷 France The 15th CenturyThis relatively straightforward dramatic biography was one of two films commissioned to honor Joan of Arc on the 500th anniversary of her death, but it was soon undeservedly relegated to obscurity in favor of Carl Dreyer's triumphant 'La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc'. The comparison is unfair: Dreyer was an artist, but director Marco de Gastyne certainly proved himself a distinguished craftsman, and his emphasis on the Maid of Orléans early life in Domrémy serves as a picturesque, matching bookend to Dreyer's impassioned courtroom drama.
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The Passion of Joan of Arc
The 14th Century The 15th CenturyAn Immortal Screen Classic that will live Forever! — A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
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The Viking
England The 11th CenturyIn this historical adventure based on traditional legend concerning Leif Ericsson and the first Viking settlers to reach North America by sea, Norse half-brothers vie for a throne and for the same woman.
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The Lady of the Lake
Scotland The 16th CenturyIn 15th century Scotland, a woman of an outlaw clan tries to rescue both her father and her lover when they're captured by the king's men.
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Two Lovers
🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇧🇪 Belgium The 16th CenturyEvery Emotion Thrillingly Yours in This Their Final Picture Together! — Set during the 16th-century Spanish occupation of Flanders, the story concentrates on the fiercely patriotic Mark Van Ryke (Colman). Donning the guise of "Leatherface," a swashbuckling masked avenger, Van Ryke performs his derring-do on behalf of the Prince of Orange (Nigel de Brulier). Naturally, Van Ruke considers beautiful Spanish aristocrat Donna Leonora de Vargas (Vilma Banky) to be a bitter enemy, and the feeling is mutual. To no one's surprise, however, Van Ryke and Donna Leonara eventually fall in love (hence the title). The pulse-pounding climax finds Van Ryke riding hell-for-leather through a rainstorm to warn the Flemish troops about the Spaniards' plans to burn the city of Ghent to the ground. Two Lovers was based on Madame Orczy's novel Leatherface, and adapted for the screen by Alice Duer Miller.
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The Beloved Rogue
🇫🇷 France The 15th CenturyFrançois Villon, in his lifetime the most renowned poet in France, is also a prankster, an occasional criminal, and an ardent patriot.
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The Cave of the Silken Web
🇨🇳 China The 7th CenturyOne of the earliest cinematic adaptation of Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. When seeking for food alone, Tang Xuanzang was kept prisoner by seven spider monsters who took the form of seven beautiful women. The Monkey King and the other two of Xuanzang's disciples managed to rescue him with the help of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva/Guanyin. They renounced the desire for lust and continued the quest for Buddhist Scriptures.
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Faust
The 16th CenturyThe Voice of the Tempter — God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
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Don Juan
🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyA Super Spectacle Depicting the Romantic Adventures of THE LORD OF ALL LOVERS! — If there was one thing that Don Juan de Marana learned from his father Don Jose, it was that women gave you three things - life, disillusionment and death. In his father's case it was his wife, Donna Isobel, and Donna Elvira who supplied the latter. Don Juan settled in Rome after attending the University of Pisa. Rome was run by the tyrannical Borgia family consisting of Caesar, Lucrezia and the Count Donati. Juan has his way with and was pursued by many women, but it is the one that he could not have that haunts him. It will be for her that he suffers the wrath of Borgia for ignoring Lucrezia and then killing Count Donati in a duel. For Adriana, they will both be condemned to death in the prison on the river Tigre.
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Decameron Nights
The Middle AgesA Saracen sultan's disguised son loves an amnesiac Moslem princess.
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The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots
Scotland England The 16th CenturyThe Dauphin's widow weds a lord and is executed for plotting against the queen.
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Taras Bulba
🇺🇦 Ukraine The 16th Century -
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
🇫🇷 France The 15th CenturyIn 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.
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Wilhelm Tell
🇨🇭 Switzerland The 14th CenturyWilliam Tell (German: Wilhelm Tell) is a 1923 German silent adventure film directed by Rudolf Dworsky and Rudolf Walther-Fein and starring Hans Marr, Conrad Veidt and Erich Kaiser-Titz. The film portrays the story of the legendary Swiss national hero William Tell.
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Ashes of Vengeance
🇫🇷 France The 16th CenturyThis historical piece, set in the Huguenot days of France, is Norma Talmadge's 37th feature film and the longest to date at two hours. The plot involves a man forced into servitude who falls in love with the sister of his persecutor. It was Ms. Talmadge's fourth involvement with director, Frank Lloyd and the cast included future star, Wallace Beery.
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The Stone Rider
The Middle AgesIn a distant Teutonic village, people dance and drink merrily celebrating a wedding feast. However, an elderly man tells the villagers that the valley where they live wasn't always happy but sorrowful. This was due to the tyranny of the master of the mountains who ruled the valley despotically.
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When Knighthood Was in Flower
England The 16th CenturyMary Tudor falls in love with a new arrival to court, Charles Brandon. She convinces her brother King Henry VIII to make him his Captain of the Guard. Meanwhile, Henry is determined to marry her off to the aging King Louis XII of France as part of a peace agreement.
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Häxan
The 14th CenturyGrave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.
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Othello
🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyEven without the benefit of sound, the 1922 German adaptation of Othello seems more operatic than Shakespearean. This may be due to the casting of Emil Jannings, to whom restraint and subtlety were strangers. Werner Krauss, of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame, is on hand as the duplicitous Iago. Appearing as the unfortunate Desdemona is Lea Von Lenkeffy, better known as Lya de Putti. Produced on an elaborate scale, Othello may not be true to the letter of Shakespeare, but is undeniably a smorgasbord of visual delights.
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Nathan der Weise
🇮🇱 Israel The 12th CenturySilent movie adaptation of Lessing's play. Set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, it describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin and the (initially anonymous) Templar bridge their gaps between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
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Lucrezia Borgia
🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyRodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, has three adult children: Juan, who is virtuous and has a sweetheart who is a woman of the people, Lucrezia, who is virtuous and wants to marry Alfonso, and Cesare, who is wicked and lusts after Lucrezia, Juan's girlfriend, and probably others. Cesare has vowed to kill any suitor for Lucrezia's love, and he has three thugs to carry out his wishes. Bodies fall into the Tiber, into the Colosseum (with lions prowling), and onto the Vatican floors.
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