Movies like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood (2014)
The best movies like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood (2014) are The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966), Désirée (1954) and Stavisky... (1974). If Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood hooked you with its history, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLost Illusions (2021)7.4/10 from 581 votes
- NewestA Man of His Time (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966)Also in French
The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966)
Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDésirée (1954)
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStavisky... (1974)
Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent assist small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French politics. But when his great scam involving millions is exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
SnoozefestMovies like thisMayerling (1968)
Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, over implementing progressive policies for their country. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country that doesn't realize the need for social reform. The Prince of Wales, later to become Britain's King Edward VII, provides comic relief. Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera. Their untimely demise at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, is cloaked in mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rays and Shadows (2026)
Jean and Otto, a French newspaperman and a young German Francophile, are fighting for peace in Europe. Jean’s daughter, Corinne, is launching a brilliant acting career in the film world, but war breaks out and France is occupied. The two friends have a major role to play in this new France. Jean becomes a big press baron and an ardent advocate of collaboration with the occupying forces, while Otto becomes the Reich’s ambassador in Paris. Corinne, meanwhile, finds herself thrown into the lion’s pit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King Is Dancing (2000)
Louis XIV, the French sun-king has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Colors of Fire (2022)
February 1927. The funeral of Marcel Péricourt, the most powerful banker in Paris. His daughter Madeleine must take the helm of the financial empire of which she is the heiress. But she has a son, Paul, who with an unexpected and tragic gesture will place her on the path to ruin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Man of His Time (2026)
September 1940. Henri Marre arrives alone in Vichy as the authoritarian regime settles in. Broke, estranged from his family, and carrying copies of his self-published manifesto Notre Salut (Our Salvation), the 49-year-old is determined to secure what he believes is his rightful place in the new administration. In his writing, Henri sets out his patriotic convictions and his engineer’s methodology: efficiency above all. Claiming he wants to help save France after defeat, he does whatever is required to remain useful, serving the machinery of the new order with increasing skill. But he may be pursuing something more urgent: escape from his own ruin
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunchback of Paris (1959)
Duke Philippe de Nevers is an influential and popular man who is married to a beautiful wife called Aurore. His rival Philippe de Gonzague hates him enough to organise an attempt on him. The Duke is accompagnied by Henri de Lagardère when de Gonzague's henchmen altogether attack him. Lagardère cannot save his friend because the both of them are hopelessly outnumbered. He has to escape in order to save the Duke's daughter and swears revenge. Together with his old buddy Passepoil he raises the little girl in Spain. At the same time he returns frequently to France where he detects confronts his friend's murderers and puts them to the sword one by one until only their former leader is left. Finally he discovers that Philippe de Gonzague is the man for whom he is looking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tiger and The President (2022)
1920. Georges Clémenceau just lost the french presidential elections to the unknown Paul Deschanel, an idealistic who wants to change the country. But, one day, Deschanel falls from a train and disappear. At daybreak, France is looking for its president, a great chance for the « Tiger » Georges Clémenceau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAusterlitz (1960)
A return to the life of the Little Corporal with a dramatisation of the decisive 1805 conflict between French forces and the armies of Austria and Russia. An epic reconstruction of the battle of Austerlitz, where Bonaparte had the greatest victory of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEugénie Grandet (2021)
Felix Grandet reigns supreme in his modest house in Saumur where his wife and daughter Eugenie lead a distraction-free existence. Extremely avaricious, he does not take a favorable view of the beautiful parties who rush to ask for his daughter's hand. Nothing should damage the colossal fortune he hides from everyone. The sudden arrival of Grandet's nephew, an orphaned and ruined Parisian dandy, turns the young girl's life upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsieur Vincent (1947)
The life of Vincent de Paul, the 17th-century author and priest who founded two religious orders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAge of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013)
In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy and prosperous family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, this pious, upstanding man raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
SnoozefestMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngelique and the King (1966)
Soon after her latest husband death, the King himself (Louis XIV) meets with our heroine and begs her to help convince the Persian Ambassador to agree to a treaty. However, what they didn't realize was that the handsome Persian was in fact a sexual sadist. So, it is up to the King's half- brother, some Hungarian prince, to save Angélique from the evil troll's clutches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost Illusions (2021)
Lucien de Rubempré, a young, lower-class poet, leaves his family's printing house for Paris. Soon, he learns the dark side of the arts business as he tries to stay true to his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Money Maker (2026)
A Polish engineer relocates to France and becomes a legendary counterfeiter. Working solo, he crafts flawless fake francs worth millions over 14 years, earning the nickname "Cézanne of counterfeit money" for his artistic skill and output.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFarewell, Mr. Haffmann (2022)
Paris 1942. François Mercier is an ordinary man who only aspires to start a family with the woman he loves, Blanche. He is also the employee of a talented jeweler, Mr. Haffmann. But faced with the German occupation, the two men will have no other choice but to conclude an agreement whose consequences, over the months, will upset the fate of our three characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood?
The closest matches to Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood are The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966), Désirée (1954) and Stavisky... (1974). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood?
Start with The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966), the closest match to Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood.
What is the highest-rated movie like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood?
Lost Illusions (2021), rated 7.4/10 by 581 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood?
A Man of His Time (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood?
Yes: The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966), Stavisky... (1974) and The Rays and Shadows (2026).
How are movies similar to Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Richelieu: The Purple and the Blood, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.