Movies like The Life and Death of King John (1984)
The best movies like The Life and Death of King John (1984) are The Miniaturist (2017), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and The Rosa Parks Story (2002). If The Life and Death of King John hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPride & Prejudice (2005)8.1/10 from 9,068 votes
- NewestMary (2024)Released 2024
The Miniaturist (2017)
A woman moves to live with her new husband in 17th century Amsterdam, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rosa Parks Story (2002)
A seamstress recalls events leading to her act of peaceful defiance that prompted the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConfirmation (2016)
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Austen Regrets (2008)
Jane Austen is about to turn 40, but she still hasn't found her ideal man. When Jane is approached by her niece Fanny and asked to help select the perfect husband for the young girl, the aging spinster begins to wonder why it is that she never found a man to share her own life with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInto the Storm (2009)
This powerful follow-up to “The Gathering Storm” follows Churchill from 1940 to 1945 as he guided his beleaguered nation through the crucible of the war years--even as his marriage was encountering its own struggles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry V (1944)
In 1415, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been robbed and need a place to stay. But are these strangers really who they say they are?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirebrand (2024)
Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while the tyrant battles abroad. When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMary (2024)
A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit. Mary's journey to give birth to Jesus unfolds in this biblical coming-of-age epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King (2019)
England, 15th century. Hal, a capricious prince who lives among the populace far from court, is forced by circumstances to reluctantly accept the throne and become Henry V.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIvanhoe (1982)
Ivanhoe, a worthy and noble knight, the champion of justice returns to England after the holy wars, and finds England under the reign of Prince John and his henchmen and finds himself being involved in the power-struggle for the throne of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Lear (2018)
An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace (2021)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are taking on the British monarchy in the third installment in Lifetime’s movie trilogy about the royal couple. The film explores what really happened inside the palace that drove Harry and Meghan to leave everything behind in order to make a future for themselves and their son Archie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCromwell (1970)
Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Call to Spy (2020)
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard the lives of her people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virgin Spring (1960)
Devout Christians Töre and Märeta send their only daughter, the virginal Karin, and their foster daughter, the unrepentant Ingeri, to deliver candles to a distant church. On their way through the woods, the girls encounter a group of savage goat herders who brutally rape and murder Karin as Ingeri remains hidden. When the killers unwittingly seek refuge in the farmhouse of Töre and Märeta, Töre plots a fitting revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnne of the Thousand Days (1969)
Henry VIII of England discards his wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhite Girl (2008)
Debbie, a working class single mother from Leeds, moves her family to Bradford, where they find themselves in an ethnic minority. Daughter Leah must adapt to being the only white girl at school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fire Over England (1937)
In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at the breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I, British sea raiders such as Sir Francis Drake regularly capture Spanish merchantmen, bringing gold from the New World.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBecket (1964)
Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Sarajevo (1997)
Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo—now a danger zone of sniper and mortar attacks where residents still live. While reporting on an American aid worker who’s trying to get children out of the country, a British correspondent decides to take an orphaned girl home to London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005)
Following in his father's footsteps, Albert Pierrepoint becomes one of Britain's most prolific executioners, hiding his identity as a grocery deliveryman. But when his ambition to be the best inadvertently exposes his gruesome secret, he becomes a minor celebrity & faces a public outcry against the practice of hanging. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaul and Michelle (1974)
Taking place approximately three years after the events in Friends, Paul and Michelle follows the family of Paul Harrison and Michelle Latour-Harrison after they have been reunited. Paul has to cope with the difficulties he faces balancing work, college, and trying to maintain their family as well as a new love interest for Michelle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbearing wife and five daughters, but if he dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family's future happiness and security is dependent on the daughters making good marriages.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Life and Death of King John?
The closest matches to The Life and Death of King John are The Miniaturist (2017), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and The Rosa Parks Story (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Life and Death of King John?
Start with The Miniaturist (2017), the closest match to The Life and Death of King John.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Life and Death of King John?
Pride & Prejudice (2005), rated 8.1/10 by 9,068 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Life and Death of King John?
Mary (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Life and Death of King John?
Yes: The Miniaturist (2017), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and The Rosa Parks Story (2002).
How are movies similar to The Life and Death of King John chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Life and Death of King John, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.