I am looking for good Historical Drama, pre20th century only

Last edited by Kefka on Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:19 pm; edited 3 times in total

Hello, I am a new member and I wanted to know if someone could point me to a list of good Asian Historical Dramas, from Japan, China, Korean,etc. I found the Asain Drama Wiki, but there is no way to search it by genre(Unless I missed it). I am only interested in Historical Dramas, set before the 20th Century (I.E 1899 or before). The Rest of the post is just specifics, don't read if your lazy.

I don't care how good it is, so don't bother pointing me to any post 19th century stuff (If the show take place for example between 1885-1905 thats alright, but if it goes to deep into the 20th thats not good, I did like Hero which ended in 1910 but that about as flexible as I get, no planes, or cars!). I just started getting into Asian Historical Drama so I have not seen much(Moivewise I have a bit more experience, I have seen about a Dozen each Chinese and Japanese movies and 3 Korean and 1 Thailand with one more on the way in the Legend of Suriyothai).

This is what I have seen:

The Three Kingdoms, good but slow at times, with awkward pacing and poor camera work.
Damo (It was ok, but I prefer realistic fighting, it was only a mini, 14 episodes or I would not have watched it, no Crouching Tiger type stuff!! No 40 foot high jumping!!)

And right now I am on Ep 21 of Jumong, which so far is great.

I also have the Immortal Shi Soon Shin, which I will watch when I finish Jumong(2-3 weeks), I read a Biography on the man and I was very excited when I heard about the series.

More Historical Accuracy the better and by that I don't mean the story, because I don't expect them to follow history(though I would not mind if they did). I mean the setting, costumes, weapons, buildings, music, etc.

For example to cite American Historical Dramas, Rome on HBO did great with creating a realistic Rome, Or Deadwood, which really felt like the west in the mid 1870's, on the other hand The Tudors(which I like) was not quite as good, with less accurate costumes,etc.

Any help would be great I am lost, I was so happy to learn about the popularity of historical Dramas in the east, because other than Rome, Deadwood and the Tudors the U.S does not have much. The BBC is really the best place for English historical Dramas anyway. Thanks for any help.

EDIT: I did not mention this, but I also like power struggles such as shown on Rome(more in the first season, were the political interplay was better) and Deadwood. All the scheming going on in Three Kingdoms was great (even if some of the plans got a bit ridiculous at times). And Jumong so far is all politics and power plays. So keep that in mine.

Also more realism the better, magic, absurd fighting, etc I don't like. While I do tolerate some absurdity's I would prefer not to, Jumong, Three kingdoms and especially Damo(which was only ok because of the silly aspects and I would not have watch it if it was a longer series) all have these aspects, but I downloaded them with little knowledge of Asian Historical Drama. I want realism!
Braveheart may have been a joke history wise, but it felt real, no magic no unrealistic fighting,etc.
Rob Roy on the other hand had both great Period accuracy and realism , nether accurately followed historical events, but I don't expect that, I want a feel for the time period, how it was really like to live there,etc. Rome and Deadwood are Terrific for is this regard.

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:52 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

When searching for Japanese historical dramas, search for the term "jidaigeki".

--- groink

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:13 am Post subject: Historical Dramas Post Rating: 0

I love the historical dramas lately I have been watching the Korean ones only, the stories are good. I recommend the following Jewel of the Palace (Dae Jang Geum) which can be downloaded from a torrentz, SeoDong yo, Yi San - currently watching, The Legend/the 4 gods - currently watching. I saw Jumong up to episode 27, I want the whole thing but its very difficult to get, let me know where I can get it. Sea God is not bad either. It all depends on what you like. The Yang Clan 2004 (Chinese) is an interesting story as well.

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:47 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Here are some Chinese historical dramas:

War and Beauty (subtitled)
The Conqueror's Story - based on the 5-year war after the fall of the Qin dynasty
The Grand Canal
The Battlefield
The Voyage of Emperor Qian Long to Jiang Nan - based on the Emperor Qian Long when he was young (circa 1700's)
The Emperor of Han Dynasty - about the Emperor Liu Che

The first one is the only one I know that has subtitles...not a lot of historical Chinese dramas that are subbed. However, Jem should have some subtitled historical Chinese dramas for you to dl.

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:57 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

For Chinese historical drama, try to search the term "wuxia". And check out the vote and torrents at my signature.

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 6:36 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

If you want historical accuracy then you take a look at; Korean series: Emperor of the Sea
Japanese series: Shinsengumi and Musashi
Chinese series Emperor Han Wu and Shui Hu Zhuan

All these series have English subtitles.
There are so many series set in ancient times but these are the only ones I'm sure are telling historical stories, other than ones already listed.

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:15 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

There are the lists for Chinese Historical Drama that I WISH I can watch them but I need English sub. because I can't understand the olden days Chinese. Sad

Anyways, if you're interested, here are the list:

1) Emperor Han Wu Da Di (Biography)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K--7Xdisy9s

2) The Great Revival
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxudycbaC1s&feature=related

3) Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty (Biography)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjQ39ffIujI

4) The Winds and Rains of an Empire (final years of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644))
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maSIFw8ffbc

5) Genghis Khan (Biography)
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7G5u5E8qoU&feature=related

6) Ming Dynasty: Year 1566
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1R8f9tCg0

7) Kang Xi Kingdom (Biography: Second emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty)
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf3_h-h654Y

8 ) Yong zheng kingdom (Biography: Forth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty)
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wShMWb42ob0

9) Qianlong Kingdom (Biography: Fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty)
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ujKnvhTOwo

That's all I know.

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:59 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Oh my gosh, wasn't HBO's Rome great?! I LOVED it from the beginning. I even put the opening as my ringtone! I think that one has to be my ALL-Time favorite of all the dramas (Asian, American, or British) that I've ever watched. I just bought both seasons on DVD!

Anyway, here are a couple of historical dramas that I've dled from d-addicts:

Japanese
Ooku - Hana no Ran or War of the Belles - It's about Japan's 5th shogun Tsunayoshi and what went on between the women in his inner palace. This one was great since it focused on the women, their influence and all the intrigue behind closed doors, which is something different for me. I'd wager the kimonos on these women would rival the costumes on Rome, in terms of cost. If you can get the higher resolution, great, if not, I see 1 seed here BTjunkie as of 2pm 30 Nov 2007.

Korean
Hwang Jini or Hwang Jin Yi - I haven't finished watching/dling it all but it's about a 16th century courtesan in Korea who was smart and cunning, and you know, it depicts her relationships. Great costumes and dances. There might be some seeds left here.

Legend or Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi - is a really good historical drama, but um.. I don't know if you'll like it since you don't like unreal action. This one includes CG and um, well not 40 ft high jumps (only a couple of times), but more like the "Air Jordan" kind Laugh

The setting made for the show was awesome too. Again, its grandeur reminded me of the setting they built for Rome. In case you haven't heard, the show cost like $40 mil or something to make. You can watch the special on YouTube (the 6 other parts are on the right side or the page) and decide for yourself. The subs aren't streamed though plus there's a lot of spoilers. This one's current, so there's lots of seeds and it's easy to find elsewhere too. d-addicts

Dae Jang Geum or Jewel in the Palace - takes place during the Joseon era. I've never seen it, but I hear it's the best Korean drama. My friend tells me it's about a woman who was a cook who also became the first woman to be physician to the king. I don't know, but i'm dling it right now: @ BTjunkie

I'm trying to get the Chinese Romance of the Three Kingdoms now too. Cool

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 8:04 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Yes, Dae Jang Geum is defintely a must see drama, although I really dislike saga type drama but I have watched this drama twice & still think it's worth watching. For historic chinese drama, go for Qiu Long or Genghis Khan one because they really had lots of interesting real stories to tell.

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 8:32 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

bratty princess

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:35 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:45 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Dae Jang Geum has political intrigue and mystery. It doesn't really start moving until about a third of the way into the series, but it's there and it builds quickly.

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:58 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Kefka wrote:

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 1:19 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

How many episodes does Genghis Khan have? The one selling in the link have 30.

"Dae Jang Geum has political intrigue and mystery."-"mizune". Well I am getting it now, the first few I got(Ep 5-8) the quality is good(reasonable resolution) better than 3 kingdoms or Immortal Yi Soon Shin, it will be a while but I'll probably watch it.
Does it have histrionically accurate costumes? How about any other series?, that is something I always enjoy.