Films about War in the 17th and 18th Centuries
This collection provides information on selected movies, TV productions and documentaries on the themes of gender, military and war in the period covered by the Oxford Handbook. The most important wars included for this period are:
The most important wars included for this period are:
- Thirty Years War (1618–48)
- English Civil War (1642–51)
- Habsburg-Ottoman Wars (1683–18)
- American Colonial Wars (1689–63)
- War of Spanish Succession (1701–13)
- Seven Years War (1756–63)
In the summer of 1683, 300,000 warriors of the Ottoman Empire began the siege of Vienna. The fall of the city would have opened the way to conquer Europe. On September 11 was the main battle between the Polish cavalry and the Turks.
A small group of deserters from the English Civil War stumble upon another man-made nightmare. Cutler, a necromancer and alchemist, convinces the three deserters to help him find buried treasure in an overgrown field and feeds them hallucinogenic...
Acclaimed adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1844 novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, in which Barry, a likeable young Irishman, changes into a conniving, manipulative rogue. The protagonist finds himself homeless after taking part...
In this satirical black comedy about the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), director Karel Zeman combines live-action and animation to explore the futility and illogical nature of war. A peasant, a mercenary, and a jester survive endless battles and ...
This two-part miniseries traces how a young German princess became Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1729-1796). In the mid-18th century, Catherine learns to manipulate court politics and societal institutions to seize power. After ordering...
Adapted from Edmond Rostand's 1897 play of the same title, this is the tragic story of wordsmith and swordsman Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655), a French aristocrat-turned-soldier during the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). Cyrano falls in love with...
Adapted from Edmond Rostand's 1897 play of the same title, this is the tragic story of wordsmith and swordsman Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655), a French aristocrat-turned-soldier during the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). Cyrano falls in love with...
One of the more popular films of the Prussian film genre, which glorified Prussian history and militarism in the wake of Germany's devastating loss in World War I. This film celebrates King Frederick II (1712–1786), known as Frederick the Great,...
Filmed at the height of Nazi Germany's triumph in late 1940 and early 1941, Der große König was Germany's most ambitious film to date. Both Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler were fascinated by Frederick the Great (1712–1786), and invoked...
The story of the courier of Austrian Empress Maria Theresia (1717-1780) during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The courier, Lieutenant Karl von Rotteck (Klausjürgen Wussow) and his loyal companion, officer Padua (Matthias Grimm), complete...
This Austrain-German television film focusses on the Bamberg witch trials of 1630-31 during the Thirty Year's War (1616-1648). It reveales how religious fanaticism tore apart communities in the context of war. Plagued by draught, inept...
A remake of the 1952 film of the same name, a swashbuckler finds himself enlisting in the French army during the Seven Years War to avoid a shotgun marriage. Promised fortune, fame, and the hand of a princess by Adeline, an officer's daughter,...
Fanfan la Tulipe is a 1952 French comedy adventure film directed by Christian-Jaque. It has also been categorized under swashbuckler films. The film is set in France during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). As the film begins, Fanfan (...
Fridericus is a 1937 German historical film directed by Johannes Meyer, which depicts the life and triumps of Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786). Known as Frederick the Great, under his rule, Prussia greatly increased its territories...
Based on the epic play by Bertolt Brecht, widely regarded as one of the best plays of the 20th century, this filmed stage production provides an allegorical tale of the price of war. Set during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), it follows a...
Northwest Passage is a 1940 Technicolor film, based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts titled Northwest Passage (1937). A young artist and his friend accidently join Roger's Ranger during the Seven Years War (1756–1763). Led by Maj....
Queen Christina is a pre-Code Hollywood biographical film directed by Rouben Mamoulian. The film portrays the life of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626–1689), who became monarch at the age of six in 1632 and grew to be a powerful and...
Based on the novel by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Sachsens Glanz und Preußens Gloria is a six-part television film that goes back to historical events between 1697 and 1763 and addresses Brandenburg-Saxon relations and the Seven Years' War...
Captain Solomon Kane is a brutally efficient 16th century English privateer. When Kane decides to attack a mysterious nearby castle to plunder its rumored riches, his men are picked off by demonic creatures until he alone is left to face the...
Set between the years 1642 and 1660, during Oliver Cromwell's puritanical regicidal revolution, the fictional aristocratic manor lady Angelica Fanshawe follows her heart rather than political loyalty in the bloody conflict between royalists and...