Downton Abbey has all the virtues of a cinematic period piece of the kind that rose to critical and box office prominence in the ‘80s and ‘90s before somewhat falling out of fashion.

Nostalgia for the prestige films of Merchant Ivory may indeed be one reason Downton developed such a devoted following. Period films can be escapism for adults, especially those who aren’t moved by superhero epics.

With Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale putting a capper on the franchise (for now), fans may want to revisit, or see for the first time, the many sumptuous movies set roughly in the same period as Downton, that tackle many of the same themes.

Easy Virtue (2008)

Easy Virtue was somewhat pointlessly adapted by Alfred Hitchcock as a silent film back in 1928. Having the benefit of sound, 2008’s version takes advantage of Noel Coward’s crackling dialog, while mixing in some musical numbers, with Jessica Biel handling singing duties on two.

Easy Virtue’s plot hinges on the arrival of a free-spirited American (Biel) among the stuffy British upper-crust. Downton’s own Cora Crawley is already established at the estate when the show begins, but her prior move from New York to England forms a major part of her backstory.

Critics may have been lukewarm on director Stephan Elliott’s handling of Coward, with some disparaging Easy Virtue for deviating from the play, which accounts for its 52% Rotten Tomatoes score. But Downton fans looking for light, romantic and musical period fare may have a fine time.

Brideshead Revisited (2008)

Downton has undeniable appeal as escapism. Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited sees a man living out a version of what Downton fans long for: to be swept away to a wealthy British estate, which seems to exist in its own little, closed-off universe.

Waugh’s Charles Ryder witnesses a more troubling, complicated reality than exists in the imaginations of Downton fans longing for a theme-park experience. The book’s many nuances are only partly captured by 2008’s movie adaptation, which features a great cast including Emma Thompson, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw, and Felicity Jones.

Atwell also starred in the TV version of Howards End.

Critics were underwhelmed by this condensed version of Waugh’s novel, accounting for the movie’s 62% Rotten Tomatoes score, but Downton fans may appreciate its focus on complex characters struggling with the realities of life amid the trappings of wealth.

Maurice (1987)

The second film in Merchant Ivory’s E.M. Forster trilogy, Maurice stars James Wilby, Hugh Grant and Rupert Graves as three young men in a gay love triangle. The laws of Edwardian England force them to keep their love secret, as they could face not just social condemnation but arrest.

Downton Abbey viewers saw one of the show’s characters, Thomas Barrow, face a similar tortuous predicament, denying his truth at first, but later evolving to embrace his Sєxuality in spite of the danger.

Maurice may be less renowned than other Merchant Ivory classics, but it has still drawn plenty of admiration and currently sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving particular praise for the sensitive way it handles its difficult subject matter.

The Shooting Party (1985)

The relationship between a fading aristocracy and the rising lower class fuels much of the storytelling in Downton Abbey. 1984’s The Shooting Party explores one side of that dynamic, putting a wealthy estate owner and his weekend guests under the microscope during a sporting pheasant hunt.

Critic Pauline Kael was a particular champion of Alan Bridges’ probing drama, which currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (on only 6 reviews). The cast is filled with familiar British actors, including James Mason and Edward Fox.

Downton fans may appreciate The Shooting Party’s depiction of shifting social dynamics in the years leading up to World War I, as well as its focus on the ups and downs of relationships.

Enchanted April (1991)

Downton Abbey seldom leaves England to explore the wider world, but an exception was made in the second entry in the movie trilogy, A New Era, which sees Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess inheriting a villa in the South of France, prompting a foray to the Riviera.

1991’s Enchanted April concerns a similar sojourn to the Mediterranean, showing what happens when a quartet of wealthy Edwardian ladies, all suffering from boredom in England, take a soul-expanding vacation to Italy. The film’s period trappings are suitably sumptuous, with its costumes scoring an Academy Award nomination, one of the film’s three Oscar nods.

Directed by future Harry Potter franchise contributor Mike Newell, Enchanted April proved irresistible to critics, and currently sits at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes on a solid sampling of 33 reviews. Downton fans may indeed be enchanted by the film’s Edwardian-era details, and its charming performances by the likes of Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, and Josie Lawrence.

The Wings Of The Dove (1997)

Henry James’ The Wings of the Dove concerns a tangle of interpersonal drama touched off by the introduction of a wealthy American heiress to Edwardian society. The 1997 film adaptation is a visual feast, perfect for anyone who loves richly detailed period trappings and Oscar-nominated period costumes.

The Wings of the Dove also has a casting connection to Downton Abbey. Elizabeth McGovern plays American Cora Crawley on Downton, and she’s also in Wings of the Dove, playing the traveling companion of Alison Elliot’s sought-after heiress.

Downton-like social dynamics play a huge role in Wings of the Dove, as it brings to life the world of pre-World War I England.

Headlining the movie’s cast is Helena Bonham Carter, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as a penniless schemer. The Wings of the Dove snagged four Oscar nominations overall, and currently sits at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.

A Room With A View (1985)

Merchant Ivory made their first Forster adaptation with 1985’s A Room With a View, and made their first huge splash during awards season, ultimately garnering eight Oscar nominations and three wins with their period-set romantic drama.

Any good period film must get the art direction and costumes right, and A Room With a View nailed both, winning the Oscar in both categories. The film is more than a visual feast, however, as it also won Best Adapted Screenplay for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (the vital third member of the vaunted Merchant Ivory team).

There is a major Downton parallel here in the character of Lucy (Helena Bonham Carter), a young woman who, much like Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary, seeks to break free of the repressive rules of Edwardian society, and suffers consequences as a result.

Downton fans will be delighted to note that Maggie Smith herself also stars in A Room With a View, along with the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis, who is utterly hilarious as the foppish Cecil.

The Remains Of The Day (1993)

Merchant Ivory strikes again with an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s prize-winning novel about a Sєxually repressed butler, played in the film by an Oscar-nominated Anthony Hopkins, opposite the Oscar-nominated Emma Thompson as the free-spirited housekeeper from whom Hopkins hides his feelings of affection.

While plenty of films depict the downstairs half of the upstairs-downstairs dynamic at the heart of Downton Abbey, it’s seldom that the upstairs people get their due, as they do in Downton. The Remains of the Day is the rare film that sees things from the servants’ point of view, and for that reason alone, it should appeal to Downton fans.

The Remains of the Day strongly appeals to critics, a fact reflected in its 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. The movie was lavished with eight Oscar nominations, but left the ceremony without a single statue. The art direction and costumes are impeccable, as is to be expected from Merchant Ivory, and the acting is truly high-level.

Howards End (1992)

The capper on Merchant Ivory’s E.M. Forster trilogy is a period film par excellence. The cast is replete with prestigious actors, including Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, and Vanessa Redgrave. Thompson and Redgrave snagged Oscar nominations, with Thompson winning Best Actress.

Howards End is a veritable feast for aficionados of period movies made during the genre’s peak years, from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. It delves into class relations in a particularly pointed way, exposing the callousness of the wealthy, and the vulnerability of the poor.

Howards End was even a box office success, grossing $32 million on a budget of $8 million.

The ultimate Merchant Ivory movie, Howards End was wholeheartedly embraced by the Oscars, garnering nine nominations and three wins. The movie received a particularly special accolade when it was included by Roger Ebert on his Great Movies list. It has a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Gosford Park (2001)

Gosford Park is nothing less than the proto-Downton Abbey. Watching Robert Altman’s expertly crafted ensemble period drama is like visiting the wellspring from which Julian Fellowes first drew inspiration for his beloved TV series and movie franchise.

It all makes sense, of course, as Fellowes wrote the script for Gosford Park, a whodunit that, much like one of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out murder-mysteries, is ultimately more about character and theme than plot.

Gosford Park grossed $87 million worldwide, becoming Altman’s second-highest-grossing film after MASH.

This being an Altman movie, it serves up a healthy dose of acerbic satire along with all the beautifully-crafted period evocation. Downton Abbey is relatively gentle in how it deals with class relations, but Gosford Park takes no prisoners, as Altman expertly navigates among a huge gallery of characters from upstairs and down.

Not only does Maggie Smith appear among Gosford Park’s mᴀssive cast, she plays a Dowager Countess, making the Fellowes-scripted 87% Rotten Tomatoes movie a must-see for Downton Abbey fans.