Movies and TV shows like The Scarlet Letter 1979
If you like "The Scarlet Letter" you are looking for historical drama, bleak and serious movies or TV shows about / with adultery, illegitimate child, shame, redemption, hypocrisy, literary and forgiveness themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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The Scarlet Letter (1979)
424
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
In the 17th century Massachusetts, a married women, whose husband is missing, has a child with the local pastor. The puritanical residents of her town condemn her to carry the Scarlet Letter of shame. Then the husband shows up.
Style:
historical drama, bleak, serious, tense, melancholic, costume drama, grim, period drama
Plot:
adultery, illegitimate child, shame, redemption, hypocrisy, literary, forgiveness, punishment, infidelity, puritan, sexuality, mother daughter relationship, male female relationship, letter, female protagonist, husband wife relationship, colonial america, extramarital affair, minister, pariah, adulteress, cheating wife, eastern
Time:
17th century
Place:
massachusetts
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Scarlet Letter
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out period drama, serious, realistic and captivating films and TV series with plots about betrayal, female protagonist, infidelity, adultery, costume, redemption and dishonesty mostly in Drama and Romance genres. Some movies like The Scarlet Letter: The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003), The Ginger Tree (1989), Great Expectations (1989), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), The Dwelling Place (1994). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany, Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
In 17th-century Salem, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A because she is an adulteress, with a child out of wedlock. For seven years, she has refused to name the father. A vigorous older stranger arrives, recognized by Hester but unknown to others ...
Style:
realistic, serious, psychological, tense, emotional ...
Plot:
colonial america, forbidden love, infidelity, immigrant, love and romance, couple relations, clergy, dishonesty, society, betrayal, life is a bitch, couples ...
Time:
17th century
Place:
massachusetts, europe, spain, salem massachusetts
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 196 min.
TV show
Story:
Adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel.
At a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard quarrels with his wife Susan, and in a drunken fit decides to auction off his wife and baby to a sailor for five guineas. The next day, realising his ...
Style:
costume drama, captivating, serious, emotional, realistic ...
Plot:
victorian england, tragic hero, haunted by the past, redemption, social relations, rise and fall, family problems, hidden truth, society, betrayal, dishonesty, mayor ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 1800s
Place:
britain, england
Similarity:
59%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 240 min.
TV show
Story:
In 1903, a young Scotswoman goes to join her diplomat fiancé in Manchuria. She marries him, and finds herself in a war zone. Disenchanted with her husband, she falls in love with a married Japanese nobleman, Count Kentaro Kurihama, and bears him a ...
Style:
period piece, historical drama, melancholic, historical romance, poignant ...
Plot:
female protagonist, forbidden love, adultery, war zone, character study, social isolation, bittersweet, identity crisis, illicit affair, betrayal, survival, aristocracy ...
Time:
edwardian era
Place:
japan, scotland
Similarity:
53%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 303 min.
TV show
Story:
Phillip Pirrip, known as Pip, meets a convict or two in a graveyard and sets into motion a series of events that lead him from a comfortable life in his brother-in-law's forge to a mysterious inheritance and his acquaintance with the eerie Miss ...
Style:
melancholic, gothic, atmospheric, psychological, bleak ...
Plot:
charles dickens, victorian england, literary, coming of age, social class, ambition, unrequited love, identity, character study, madness, betrayal, manor ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era
Place:
london
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 330 min.
TV show
Story:
Adaptation of the Dickens novel.
Style:
tense, costume drama, sentimental, period drama, whimsical
Plot:
charles dickens, social injustice, literary, social satire, child abuse, boarding school, redemption, obese woman, injustice, embezzlement, director, simpleton ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era
Place:
london
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min.
TV show
Story:
Adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel. Set in the 1830s, the film tells the story of 16-year-old Cissie Brodie after the death of parents, and the repossession of the family home. She finds a barren place to live and care for her younger ...
Style:
bleak, melancholic, costume drama, tense, period piece ...
Plot:
pregnancy, baby, rape, orphan, poverty, coming of age, female protagonist, victorian england, aristocracy, class conflict, resilience, siblings ...
Time:
1830s, 19th century, victorian era, georgian era
Place:
britain
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Drama
Country: Pakistan
TV show
Story:
Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan is a drama serial made in Pakistan based on a novel written by Umera Ahmad. It is an emotional story of a girl named Saba and her daughter Sara. The drama became very popular upon its release. The serial featured a huge ...
Style:
touching, captivating, suspense, contemplative, exciting
Plot:
poor family, marital problem, betrayal, father daughter relationship, mother daughter relationship, tragic event, ex husband ex wife relationship, adultery, infidelity, injustice, wealthy family, countryside ...
Place:
pakistan
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
TV show
Story:
The real stories that inspired TV movies that have become a part of American pop culture. The program combines cinematic re-creations with first-person interviews with women in peril who recount the jaw-dropping experiences that gave them their turn ...
Style:
realistic, serious, captivating, tense
Plot:
teacher student relationship, sex scandal, scandal, strong female presence, danger, woman in danger, dishonesty, school, teacher, school teacher, changing lives, teacher student romance ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
44%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The Affair explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway and Alison Lockhart after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk in Long Island. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher with one novel published (book ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, emotional, realistic, erotic ...
Plot:
infidelity, crumbling marriage, sex scene, adultery, sex, husband wife relationship, female nudity, nudity, writers, sexual relations, strong sexual content, love affair ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
usa, new york
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 229 min.
TV show
Story:
Three part miniseries about Gerald Middleton, an aging historian, who reflects on his youth, relationships (especially the one with his best friend's girl), career (shadowed by a scandal), and current issues, like his marriage and kids.
Style:
reflective, melancholic, bleak, period drama, moody
Plot:
aging, scandal, infidelity, character study, midlife crisis, mature, regret, guilt, intimate, domestic drama, nostalgia, literary ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 385 min.
TV show
Story:
When a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires, scandal taints the cosy community of Barchester when their local church becomes the object of a scathing, investigative report.
Style:
costume drama, historical drama, reflective, atmospheric, intellectual ...
Plot:
literary, cathedral, scandal, power struggle, hypocrisy, manipulation, moral dilemma, scheming, family conflict, social satire, corruption, ambition ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era
Place:
britain
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
TV show
Story:
Chronicles the lives of four generations of an upper-class family of stockbrokers, set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving late-Victorian world.
Style:
family saga, costume drama, melancholic, tense, bleak ...
Plot:
obsession, jealousy, rejection, character study, gender roles, possessiveness, manipulation, literary, aristocracy, repression, attorney, adaptation ...
Time:
victorian era, 20th century, edwardian era
Place:
london, england
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story:
A provocative drama that explores modern marriage at its midpoint. Through the lens of one couple, Neil Truman and his wife, Grace, this series answers the question, “What do you do when having it all is not enough?” by delving into their ...
Style:
tense, sexy, realistic, erotic, captivating ...
Plot:
couple relations, crumbling marriage, marriage, husband wife relationship, adultery, under the surface, infidelity, marital problem, couples, cheating wife, dating, dysfunctional marriage ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 360 min.
TV show
Story:
To help her brother mend his failing marriage, young Russian beauty Anna Karenina - who's married to eminent nobleman Alexei Karenin - leaves St. Petersburg for Moscow, where she meets the dashing Count Vronsky. They soon fall madly in love, ...
Style:
captivating, realistic, touching, emotional, serious ...
Plot:
dishonesty, tragic hero, betrayal, tragic love, infidelity, breakup, extramarital affair, couples, family problems, couple relations, love and romance, destructive relationship ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 1870s
Place:
russia, moscow russia
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
It is the early 20th century on a dystopian Greek island. Hadoula, a widow who lost her husband, loannis Fragkos, at a young age, is a woman who has learned how to survive in a male-dominated and extremely patriarchal society. Hadoula carries a ...
Style:
melancholic, atmospheric, bleak, grim, tense ...
Plot:
female protagonist, greek island, guilt, moral ambiguity, redemption, literary, remote island, moral dilemma, religion, survival, isolation, widow ...
Time:
20th century
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
An adaptation of the 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Style:
stylized, atmospheric, costume drama, period piece, historical drama ...
Plot:
social differences, life philosophy, social climbing, british, rise to the top, dysfunctional family, life turned upside down, napoleonic era, female protagonist, unrequited love, heir, time machine ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, georgian era, regency period
Place:
england, britain, london
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 150 min.
TV show
Story:
Adaptation of Nancy Mitford's novel.
Style:
serious, realistic, stylized, historical drama, costume drama ...
Audience:
date night, girls' night
Plot:
fall in love, social differences, love triangle, looking for love, eccentric family, master and servant, unlikely couple, society, wooing, unfulfilled love, infidelity, rich and poor ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, 1940s
Place:
england, europe, paris france
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, we follow the trials, tribulations and survival of plantation slave July and her odious mistress Caroline.
Style:
costume drama, disturbing, psychological, captivating, historical drama ...
Plot:
slave girl, plantation, slavery, love affair, maid, black, social problems, male female relationship, relationship problems, female protagonist, victorian england, black man ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 1830s, regency period
Place:
jamaica
Similarity:
35%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 413 min.
TV show
Story:
Elderly Kate Blackwell looks back at her family's life beginning with her Scottish father Jamie McGregor's journey to South Africa to make his fortune in diamonds. The family history is littered with revenge, lust, betrayal, manipulation, ...
Style:
family saga, historical drama, costume drama, captivating, serious ...
Plot:
betrayal, manipulation, family secret, revenge, wealth, ambition, murder, scheming, power struggle, dynasty, matriarchy, lust ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
south africa
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 360 min.
TV show
Story:
Soapy look at events of Pearl Harbor just previous to the Japanese attack.
Style:
historical drama, period piece, serious, suspense
Plot:
world war two, military base, world war, soldier, adultery, infidelity, army life, betrayal, jealousy, forbidden love, love affair, commander ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
hawaii, pearl harbor
Similarity:
33%
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 49 min.
TV show
Story:
The year is 1930. In a small Tartar village, a woman named Zuleikha watches as her husband is murdered by communists. Zuleikha herself is sent into exile, enduring a horrendous train journey to a remote spot on the Angara River in Siberia. ...
Style:
heartbreaking, disturbing, period piece, historical drama, poignant ...
Plot:
peasant, political repression, female protagonist, loss, propaganda, russophobia, political violence, oppression, survival, exile, power, threat ...
Time:
1930s
Place:
siberia, soviet union
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Monarch Cove is a prime time telenovela that premiered on Lifetime Television on November 4, 2006. It ran for 14 episodes, ending on December 16, 2006.
Style:
emotional, serious, realistic, dramatic, romantic drama ...
Plot:
starting over, destructive relationship, family problems, homecoming, infidelity, wrongfully committed, released from prison, resort, small town, getting home, family drama, wrongful conviction ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
31%
187
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Inspired by a true story about a young German woman prepares to leave her war-ravaged city to begin a new life in America with her G.I. fiance. But standing between her and a hopeful future is a relentless police inspector, determined to prevent her ...
Style:
emotional, tense, realistic, serious, historical drama ...
Plot:
haunted by the past, hidden identity, uncover truth, love and romance, dishonesty, hopes, starting over, post war, escape, female protagonist, police inspector, guilt ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 20th century
Similarity:
31%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
Set in puritanical Boston in the mid 1600s, the story of seamstress Hester Prynne, who is outcast after she becomes pregnant by a respected reverend. She refuses to divulge the name of the father, is "convicted" of adultery and forced to ...
Style:
sexy, erotic, costume drama, sexual, period piece ...
Audience:
date night, girls' night
Plot:
forbidden love, adultery, betrayal, interracial relations, pregnancy, skinny dipping, women, sin, swimming, baby girl, tragic romance, sinner ...
Time:
17th century, victorian era
Place:
massachusetts, nova scotia, boston, new england, england ...
Similarity:
31%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min.
TV show
Story:
Kane and Abel are born on the same day the same year on each side of the Atlantic. William Kane is born in one of the richest families of Boston and grows up to be a banker on Wall Street. Abel Rosnovski is born in the Polish countryside and has to ...
Style:
costume drama, saga, realistic, serious, captivating ...
Plot:
rich, wall street, rivalry, rise to the top, vengeance, uninhibited rivalry, hopes, ambition, society, social differences, business venture, temperamental ...
Time:
50s, 1900s, 60s, 20th century, 80s ...
Place:
usa, boston, massachusetts, new york
Similarity:
31%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
TV show
Story:
Follows Lucía de Avellaneda as she celebrates her engagement party with the Marquis of Peñarrosa, but her fiancée receives a letter from a woman claiming to be her mother requesting her to come to her deathbed.
Style:
costume drama, serious, captivating, emotional, mysterious ...
Plot:
forbidden love, female protagonist, love, couple relations, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, life, family relations, couples, relationships, male female relationship, love affair, family drama ...
Time:
16th century
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
TV show
Story:
A British woman and her husband seek a fresh start in Australia after infidelity in their marriage. The couple hire a young nanny, but she isn't the innocent stranger she pretends to be.
Style:
suspense, tense, psychological thriller, captivating, bleak ...
Plot:
infidelity, marriage, psychological manipulation, manipulation, deception, relationships, family relations, male female relationship, female protagonist, adultery, couple relations, family problems ...
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 120 min.
TV show
Story:
Asya is a successful doctor and she has a perfect life with her husband and her son. But after finding a blonde hair on her husband's scarf, everything changes and she discovers her husband's extramarital affair.
Style:
tense, suspense, captivating
Plot:
adulterous husband, cheating boyfriend, husband wife relationship, deception, revenge, marital problem, adultery, relationship problems, couple relations, vengeance, marriage, family problems ...
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
'Great Expectations' opens with Pip as a boy (played as an young man by newcomer Douglas Booth, 'The Pillars of the Earth') on the marshes near his home, where he encounters the desperate escapee Magwitch (Winstone). Pip is ...
Style:
historical drama, gothic, atmospheric, costume drama, period piece ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
victorian england, lovers, charles dickens, generosity, destiny, rags to riches, convict, orphan, stranger, society, obsession, hopes ...
Time:
19th century, 1820s, regency period, victorian era
Place:
england, britain, london
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 48 min.
TV show
Story:
In the 1950s, Elizabeth Zott's dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere. She accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives way more than ...
Style:
captivating, suspenseful, exciting, serious, psychological ...
Plot:
female protagonist, single mother, cooking show, chemistry, unwanted pregnancy, pregnancy, pregnant woman, unplanned pregnancy, layoff, fired from the job, pregnant girlfriend, female scientist ...
Time:
1950s, 60s
Place:
harvard university
Similarity:
30%
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