With the release of "Belle," the period film makes a return to theaters. Once a highly-popular genre, period movies have seen their box office potential and popularity wane over the years. Much of this can be attributed to the genre's often-repetitive formula that includes a forbidden love plot and stuffy costumes. However, there are many directors that have taken on this genre and have succeeded in making films that are unique and memorable. Here's a list of my favorite period films.

5. "Anna Karenina": Joe Wright is known for his elaborate work in this genre of filmmaking. However, for his 2012 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel, he took the genre to another level and placed into one setting: a theater. The movie tells the story of Anna Karenina, a Russian aristocrat who enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky. The result is a visually stunning piece that plays with its source material and the viewer's imagination without completely subverting either. Wright also brought out some incredibly beautiful performances from Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander as the young lovers, Kitty and Levin, who engage in a parallel love story to that of Anna Karenina and Vronsky. Keira Knightley gives a compelling portrayal of the lead role, while Jude Law is able to create a sympathetic Karenin, the man who is betrayed by his wife. The production of the film is also top-notch with memorable and inventive costumes by Jacqueline Durran that combined 50 couture and 1870 silhouettes; Dario Marianelli created a score that uses one theme in variations.

4. "A Royal Affair": It's rare see Europeans make period films of this kind. However, when Denmark released this film back in 2012, it was greeted with rave reviews and an Oscar nomination. The film is sumptuous and lavish but at the same time dark and melancholy. It tells the story of a young queen, who is married to an insane king and falls secretly in love with the king's physician. Together they start a revolution that changes the nation. The film features a riveting performance from Mikkel Boe Folsgaard as king Christian VII. The work of this actor is astonishing as he is unpredictable in every scene and inhabits madness throughout the film. Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander also have great chemistry that allows audiences to feel for their respective characters. While the movie treads the same ground that most costumes dramas usually do, this film is also able to mix in politics in a subtle way that allows moviegoers to also learn more about the history of the country rather than just focus on a simple love story.

3. "Quills": This period piece from 2000 starring Geoffrey Rush is one of the harshest movies in the genre. "Quills" is set in the Napoleonic era in an insane asylum where an inmate Marquis De Sade fights a battle of wills against a tyrannical doctor. The film opens with a beheading that sets the mood for what at times is a hard-to-watch film. Nevertheless, Rush keeps the movie interesting and lighthearted with his sarcastic and over-the-top performance. Kate Winslet provides the film with a femme fatale that is far from innocent and instead a woman who is daring and defiant. Meanwhile, Joaquin Phoenix plays a prudish Abbe whose innocence and narrow-minded behavior destroys the character. Philip Kaufman directs the movie with confidence and is never scared to show the realities and cruelties of the asylum. 

2. "Atonement": Back in 2007, when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it received a standing ovation and many hailed it as one of the best films of the year. The movie tells the story of Briony Tallis, a 13-year-old who changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Directed by Joe Wright, the film breathes new life into the genre with breathtaking cinematography, a memorable score by Dario Marianelli and impeccable direction by Wright. It also features memorable scenes such as a five-minute tracking shot on the beaches of Dunkirk. The performances by Knightley, James McAvoy and Saorise Ronan are astonishing and devastating. While the subject matter and the tone may be dark for some audiences, it is an emotional experience that will leave audiences enthralled.

1. "Barry Lyndon": This is arguably my favorite period film ever made. While critics and audiences complain about the pacing and length, for me Stanley Kubrick's film is perfection. The movie tells the story of an Irish rogue who wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England. Kubrick never focuses on a romance, but instead focuses on the shallow and opportunistic protagonist. One of the most interesting assets the movie has is an unreliable narrator that tells the story and fills the movie at times with sarcasm. Each scene in "Barry Lyndon" is meticulously shot with the use of natural light, resembling portrait-like paintings, while the editing of the movie captures the mood and rhythm of the times. The costumes by Milena Canonero are filled with utmost detail and the production design captures the rich vistas, grand mansions and palaces that were used during the time period. While the movie clocks in at three hours, it is a completely satisfying experience.