Historical films

Conrad Nagel and Dorothy Dalton in movie still from Fool's Paradise, 1921.

Hollywood in the 1920s: stars, scandals and the end of silent films

A still from American-made war epic All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet On The Western Front Why its lessons still matter today

Ben Foster as Jan Žižka in 'Medieval' (2022). (Photo by Alamy)

Jan Žižka: one of history’s greatest military leaders, who was blind but undefeated

First World War

All Quiet on the Western Front film "An ambitious, visceral exploration of life and loss in WW1"

Actor Viola Davis (right) holds a weapon aloft in new feature film The Woman King, inspired by the stories of female warriors in Dahomey

The warrior ‘Amazons’ of Dahomey

A scene from the Luttrell Psalter, c1330, gives an idealised insight into everyday life in 14th-century rural England

Life as a medieval peasant How accurate are depictions on screen?

Harry Lloyd (Richard III) and Sally Hawkins (Philippa Langley) in The Lost King

The Lost King The difficult art of turning a true story into a movie

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Pod Mark Glancey WL

Hollywood history: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dakota Johnson stars as Anne Elliot in Netflix's 2022 adaptation of Persuasion, the final completed novel by Jane Austen

Persuasion “The essence and spirit of Austen’s work are fundamentally changed”

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Mr Malcolm and Freida Pinto as Selina Dalton in Mr Malcolm's List

What was on Mr. Malcolm’s List? The real history behind the Regency romance

Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II in 2006 film 'The Queen'

Screen Queen Elizabeth II on film

Jack Lowden as Siegfried Sassoon in Terence Davies’ feature film Benediction.

First World War

Benediction: a case of Sassoon the man v Sassoon the legend

The cast of Downton Abbey in front of Highclere Castle. (Image by Alamy)

The upstairs/downstairs world of Downton Abbey: how true to life is it?

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Pod Ben Macintyr WL2

Second World War

Operation Mincemeat: WW2 espionage on film . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth in The Northman (Photo by Aidan Monaghan / © 2021 Focus Features, LLC)

The Northman How the real Viking prince Amleth inspired Shakespeare