Entertainment
The Best Medieval Movies
List Rules
Vote up all of the best movies that feature medieval times or themes.
What are the best medieval movies? Kings, sword fights, jousting, horses... fire, pillaging, knights, people with English accents saying "m'lady" and "ye"... This is a list of all the greatest medieval movies ever made, from movies about The Dark Ages to Renaissance films, from stories that took massive liberties with history to films that were actually pretty accurate. Many of these may also be considered to be medieval fantasy movies and movies about knights. The top medieval movies that take place in the Middle Ages are listed and can be sorted by categories. So if you've ever asked yourself, "what good films take place in medieval times?" This list has the answer for you.
Be sure to check back for recent medieval movies as they are released and added to the list. For more interesting movie lists, check out the samurai movies, gangster films, and Holocaust movies lists.
Ranked by
- 1Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Ridley Scott
Still in grief over his wife's sudden death, village blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) joins his long-estranged father, Baron Godfrey (Liam Neeson), as a crusader on the road to Jerusalem. After a ...more - 2Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Rob Reiner
A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be ...more - 3Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Dennis Storhøi
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Michael Crichton, John McTiernan
A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland, Ahmad ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) finds himself in the company of Vikings. While the behavior of the Norsemen initially offends ibn Fadlan, the more ...more - 4Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Ridley Scott
After the death of Richard the Lion-Hearted, a skilled archer named Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) travels to Nottingham, where villagers suffer under a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation. He ...more - 5Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
A comedic send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads ...more - 6Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Mel Gibson
Tells the story of the legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero named William Wallace (Mel Gibson). Wallace rallies the Scottish against the English monarch and Edward I (Peter Hanly) after he ...more - 7Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren
- Released: 1981
- Directed by: John Boorman
The magical sword of Excalibur starts off in the hands of British lord Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) and then, years later, finds its way to his bastard son, Arthur (Nigel Terry), the knave ...more - 8Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Peasant-born William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) begins a quest to change his stars, win the heart of an exceedingly fair maiden (Shanynn Sossamon) and rock his medieval world. With the help of friends ...more - 9Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Ron Howard
Enter the world of "Willow." Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side ... to a place that never existed, a time that ...more - 10Stellan Skarsgård, Bibi Andersson, Vincent Pérez
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Peter Flinth
Arn: The Knight Templar is a 2007 epic film based on Jan Guillou's trilogy about the fictional Swedish Knight Templar Arn Magnusson. The film was released in December 2007 and the sequel, Arn – The ...more - 11Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Elya Baskin
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
In the 14th century, William of Baskerville (Sean Connery), a renowned Franciscan monk, and his apprentice, Adso of Melk (Christian Slater), travel to an abbey where a suspicious death has occurred. ...more - 12Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Anthony Harvey
It's Christmas 1183, and King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) is planning to announce his successor to the throne. The jockeying for the crown, though, is complex. Henry has three sons and wants his boy ...more - 13Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer
- Released: 1985
- Directed by: Richard Donner
Upon breaking out of a dungeon, youthful thief Phillipe Gaston (Matthew Broderick) befriends Capt. Navarre (Rutger Hauer), a man with a strange secret. Navarre and his lover Lady Isabeau d'Anjou ...more - 14Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After ...more - 15Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
In this interpretation of the classic tale, Arthur (Clive Owen) is a cavalry officer in the Roman army defending Hadrian's Wall against rebellious Britons. He and his troops are expecting to be ...more - 16Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone
- Released: 1961
- Directed by: Anthony Mann
Spain is overrun by the Moors and the country's only hope rests in a heroic knight known as El Cid (Charlton Heston). He knows a divided Spain cannot stand and implores his countrymen to unify in ...more - 17Timothée Chalamet, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: David Michôd
Young Henry V encounters deceit, war and treachery after becoming king of England in the 15th century. - 18Sebastian Cabot, Rickie Sorensen, Alan Napier
- Released: 1963
- Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
This Disney adaptation of the classic fable chronicles King Arthur's humble beginnings. As an orphaned child, Arthur, who was then known as Wart, wants to help his foster brother, Kay, succeed in ...more - 19Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone
- Released: 1938
- Directed by: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
When King Richard the Lionheart is captured, his scheming brother Prince John (Claude Rains) plots to reach the throne, to the outrage of Sir Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn), the bandit king of ...more - 20Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Nobleman crusader Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) breaks out of a Jerusalem prison with the help of Moorish fellow prisoner Azeem (Morgan Freeman) and travels back home to England. But upon arrival ...more - 21Kate Mara, Paul Giamatti, Brian Cox
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Jonathan English
Ironclad is a 2011 adventure film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Vladimir ...more - 22Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Rob Cohen
Disillusioned knight Bowen (Dennis Quaid) befriends Draco (Sean Connery), the last of the dragons, and the two begin scamming village folk as Bowen repeatedly "kills" Draco for money. Bowen soon ...more - 23Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Shekhar Kapur
Elizabeth Tudor (Cate Blanchett) becomes queen of a divided and dangerous England in 1558. She is roundly perceived as weak by threats from within and abroad, and she is strongly advised to marry by ...more - 24Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: David Mackenzie
After being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads a band of outlaws to help him reclaim the throne. - 25Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
In this gritty screen adaptation of Shakespeare's play about the heroic and ruthless king, Henry V of England (Kenneth Branagh) determines to lay claim to the kingdom of France. Henry's self-doubt ...more
