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The Passion of the Christ.” “The Lord of the Rings.” “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “Master and Commander.” “The Last Samurai.” “Cold Mountain.” “Seabiscuit.” “Starsky & Hutch.” Face it, folks: audiences like old stuff!

This month, Next! looks at the period pieces Hollywood is mounting for the multis.

Age before beauty: One can learn much about “Troy,” based on one of the oldest stories of human endeavor, here.

“Alexander,” set circa 320 B.C., is an epic actioner about the life of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, who traveled 22,000 miles in eight years and came to rule almost the entire “known world.” It was written and directed by Oliver Stone (“U-Turn,” “Any Given Sunday”). Colin Farrell (“Intermission”) again tames his brogue to play the title role, with Angelina Jolie (“Taking Lives,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Human Stain”), Rosario Dawson (“The Rundown”), Val Kilmer (“Spartan”), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (“Bend it Like Beckham”) and Jared Leto (“Panic Room”) in supporting roles. Warner Bros. marches it into theatres Nov. 5.

“Jet Li’s Hero,” retitled for marketing purposes from the simpler “Hero,” follows a series of flashbacks that recount how one man defeated three assassins who targeted a powerful warlord – a warlord destined to unify China for the first time. Yimou Zhang (“The Road Home”) directs from a screenplay by Zhang,Bin Wang and Feng Li. Jet Li (“Cradle 2 the Grave”) stars with Tony Leung Chiu Wai (“In the Mood for Love”), Ziyi Zhang (Rush Hour 2”), Maggie Cheung (“Millennium Mambo”), Daoming Chen and Donnie Yen. Miramax releases it Aug 20.

“King Arthur” is a tad more Anno Domini, set in the approximate environs of 6th century England. It, too, relates a mythical foundation story, this time of the early unification of Britain during the reign of King Arthur and how his power grew as the Roman Empire fell. Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Tears of the Sun”) directs from a screenplay by John Lee Hancock (“Bad Boys II,” “The Alamo”) and David Franzoni (“Gladiator”). Clive Owen (“The Bourne Identity,” “Beyond Borders”) stars as Arthur, Stephen Dillane (“The Hours”) as Merlin, Keira Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Love Actually”) as Guinevere, Stellan Skarsgård (“City of Ghosts,” “Exorcist: The Beginning,” “Dogville”) as Cedric, Hugh Dancy (“Black Hawk Down”) as Galahad and Ioan Gruffudd (“Black Hawk Down”) as Lancelot. Buena Vista hopes audiences will come a lot starting July 7.

“Kingdom of Heaven” is another epic drama, set in the 12th and 13th centuries, about a young blacksmith who falls for a princess and saves her kingdom during the Crusades. Ridley Scott (“Black Hawk Down,” “Matchstick Men”) directs from a screenplay by novelist William Monahan (“Light House”). Orlando Bloom (the “Lord of the Rings” series,” “Troy”), Eva Green (“The Dreamers”), Jeremy Irons (“The Time Machine,” “And Now Ladies & Gentlemen”), Liam Neeson (“Love Actually”), Marton Csokas (the “Lord of the Rings” series), David Thewlis (“Timeline”) and Brendan Gleeson (“Cold Mountain,” “Troy”) star. Fox plans a May 6, 2005 bow.

“The Libertine” is a comedy-drama, set during the Restoration of England’s Charles II, about the Earl of Rochester, a drunkard and philanderer whose poetry was by many labeled pornographic. It’s based on the 1994 play by Stephen Jeffreys. British commercial and music video director Laurence Dunmore makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Jeffreys. Johnny Depp (“Secret Window”) plays the title role opposite Samantha Morton (“In America”) and John Malkovich (“Johnny English”) as Charles II. It has yet to secure a domestic distributor.

Heath Ledger (“The Order”) is set to star as another famous seducer in “Casanova,” in which the notorious rake learns the meaning of true love when he meets a woman who finds his charms eminently resistible. Production is set to start in August. Lasse Hallstrom (“The Shipping News”) will direct from a screenplay by Kimberly Simi and Michael Cristofer (“Original Sin”). Buena Vista has suggested a 2005 release.

We glide easily from the prurient to the piratical for “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the Lost Abyss.” That, at least, is the working title for the second installment (a third is rumored) of the 2003 summer blockbuster. Returnees from part one are expected to include director Gore Verbinski (“The Ring”) and screenwriters Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (“Shrek”). Johnny Depp (“The Libertine”) is set to reprise his role as tipsy pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Keira Knightley (“King Arthur”) and Orlando Bloom (“Kingdom of Heaven”) are expected to resurface as the beauteous Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, respectively. Buena Vista is expected to release it sometime in 2005.

Vanity thy name is Witherspoon. Mira Nair (“Kama Sutra,” “Monsoon Wedding”) directs this adaptation of “Vanity Fair,” the classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray (“Barry Lyndon”). Set among the British upper crust during the Napoleonic wars, it tells the story of Becky Sharp, who, having grown up poor in London, defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia. The screenplay is by Matthew Faulk and Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park”). Reese Witherspoon (“Legally Blonde 2”) stars as Becky Sharp, with James Purefoy (“Resident Evil”) as Rawdon Crawley, Romola Garai (“Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”) as Amelia Sedley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as George Osborne, Gabriel Byrne (“Spider”) as Steyne, Jim Broadbent (“Nicholas Nickleby”) as Joseph Sedly, Bob Hoskins (“Maid in Manhattan”) as Pitt the elder, and Rhys Ifans (“Once Upon a Time in the Midlands”) as Dobbins. Focus plans a Sept. 1 release.

Speaking of Napoleon (and we were) “Napoleon and Betsy” is set to go into production this autumn. Scarlett Johansson (“The Perfect Score”) is set to star in this drama about the friendship between Napoleon Bonaparte and a young British girl during the Emperor’s final exile on the South Atlantic island of St. Helena. Lions Gate is reportedly seeking someone to direct the screenplay by Rebecca B. Kennedy.

It will compete with an earlier Napole-on-in-exile picture, revolving around a similar plot. “The Monster of Longwood” is set to star Al Pacino (“The Recruit,” “Gigli”) as Bonaparte and be directed by Patrice Chereau (“Queen Margot”) from a screenplay by Chereau, Jean-Claude Carrière (“Chinese Box”), Michael Tolkin (“Changing Lanes”) and Paul Auster (“The Center of the World”). Johansson was reportedly once connected to this project as well! Barring any lawsuits or actual Napoleonic warfare, Miramax hopes to have it in theatres sometime in 2005.

“The Brothers Grimm” mines a similar time frame. The thriller is loosely based on the lives of the folklorist Grimm brothers, who, in this telling, wandered from village to village pretending to eradicate “enchanted” creatures. Terry Gilliam (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”) directs from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger (“The Ring”). Matt Damon (“Stuck on You,” “Jersey Girl”) and Heath Ledger star with Jonathan Pryce (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Lena Headey (“Possession”) and Peter Stormare (“Bad Boys II”). Miramax hopes to collect receipts happily ever after Nov. 19.

And in the History A to Z Department: “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Zatoichi” both tales of the 19th century, are described here and here, respectively.

“The Village” is a thriller, set in 1897, about a close-knit rural community with a shared awareness of a mysterious race of beings living in the adjacent forest. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (“Unbreakable,” “Signs”), it stars William Hurt (“Tuck Everlasting”), Sigourney Weaver (“Holes”), Adrien Brody (“Dummy”), Bryce Howard (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Buffalo Soldiers”), Judy Greer (“The Hebrew Hammer,” “13 Going On 30”), Jesse Eisenberg (“Roger Dodger”), Brendan Gleeson (“Kingdom of Heaven”), Cherry Jones (“Signs,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”), Michael Pitt (“Wonderland”), Liz Stauber (“White Oleander”), Celia Watson (“Runaway Jury”), Jayne Atkinson (“Free Willy 2”), Lee Burkett (“Kate & Leopold”), Frank Collison (“The Whole Ten Yards”), Fran Kranz (“Matchstick Men”) and David Foster (“Gods & Generals”). It was previously known as “The Woods.” Buena Vista puts it on the town July 30.

Right next to it on the map you may find “J.M. Barrie’s Neverland.” It’s the true story of how Barrie was inspired to write “Peter Pan” by the kids next door, whose father had left them and whose mother was dying. Based on the play “The Man Who Was Peter Pan” by Alan Knee, it was directed by Marc Forster (“Monster’s Ball”) from a screenplay by David Magee. Johnny Depp stars with Kate Winslet (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), Dustin Hoffman (“Runaway Jury””), Julie Christie (“No Such Thing,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Troy”), Ian Hart (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), Kelly Macdonald (“Gosford Park,” “Intermission”), and Radha Mitchell (“Phone Booth”). Miramax hopes you’ll find it Oct. 22.

Similarly proximate to the turn of the next-to-last century, “Phantom of the Opera” once again haunts the Paris Opera. The musical drama, about a disfigured recluse compelled to woo the woman of his dreams, is based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s (“Evita”) monster Broadway musical hit, itself based on the oft-filmed novel by Gaston Leroux (“Balaoo”). It was written and directed by Joel Schumacher (“Phone Booth,” “Veronica Guerin”). Gerard Butler (“Timeline”) stars with Emmy Rossum (“Passionada,” “Mystic River”), Patrick Wilson (“The Alamo”), Alan Cumming (“Spy Kids 3D: Game Over”) and Minnie Driver (“Ella Enchanted”). Warner Bros. unmasks it in December.

“Twin Sisters” tells the tale of twins separated as children: one was raised in Holland, the other in their native rural Germany. The sisters’ lives take very different paths until they are reunited 40 years after World War II. It was directed by Ben Sombogaart from a screenplay by Marieke van der Pol and based on the best-selling novel “Twins” by Tessa De Loo. Thekla Reuten, Nadja Uhl, Ellen Vogel, Gudrun Okras, Jeroen Spitzenberger and Roman Knizka star. Miramax plans to unite it with theatre screens Aug. 13.

The details of “De-Lovely,” the Cole Porter biography set mostly in the first half of the 20th century, can be found here. “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” set in a futuristic 1939, is described here.

Miramax, too, takes to the skies, with “The Aviator.” It’s the biography of the reclusive and eccentric inventor, pilot, filmmaker and billionaire Howard Hughes (1905-1976). Martin Scorsese (“Gangs of New York”) directs from a screenplay by John Logan (“The Time Machine,” “Star Trek: Nemesis,” “The Last Samurai”). Leonardo DiCaprio (“Gangs of New York”) stars as Hughes, Cate Blanchett (the “Lord of the Rings” series) as Katharine Hepburn, Frances Conroy (“Die Mommie Die!”) as Hepburn’s mother, Kit, Kate Beckinsale (“Underworld,” “Van Helsing”) as Ava Gardner, No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Adam Scott (“Torque”) as Johnny Meyer, Kelli Garner (“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”) as Faith Domergue, Alec Baldwin (“The Cooler,” “Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat”) as Juan Trippe, Danny Huston (“21 Grams”) as Jack Frye, John C. Reilly (“Anger Management”) as Noah Dietrich, Matt Ross (“Down With Love”) as Glenn Odekirk, Ian Holm (the “Lord of the Rings” series, “The Day After Tomorrow”) as Fitz, Brent Spiner (“Star Trek: Nemesis”) as Robert Gross, Alan Alda (“What Women Want”) as Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster, Edward Herrmann (“Intolerable Cruelty”) as Joseph Breen, Stanley DeSantis (“The Man Who Wasn’t There,” “Die Mommie Die!”) as Louis B. Mayer, Amy Sloane (“Timeline,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) as Hughes’ mother, and Nellie Sciutto (“The Closet”) as Nadine Henley. Also with Willem Dafoe (“Once Upon A Time in Mexico,” “The Clearing,” “The Reckoning”). It takes wing Dec. 17.

“Memoirs of a Geisha” rounds out the Roaring ‘20s with a drama about a 9-year-old girl who is sold into slavery in 1929, then grows up to become a famously successful geisha. It’s based on the novel by Arthur Golden. Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) directs from a screenplay by Ron Bass (“Passion of Mind,” “The Shipping News”) and Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind,” “I, Robot”). Those at one time reportedly being sought to star include Rika Oka-moto, Maggie Cheung (“Jet Li’s Hero”) and Julyana Soelistyo (“Bringing Out the Dead”). Sony expects filming to begin in September with a release late in 2005.

“Cinderella Man” is a based-on-fact sports drama, set during the Depression, about Jim Braddock, a man who becomes a working-class hero when he enters the boxing ring to feed his family, but winds up becoming a star. Ron Howard (“The Missing”) was set to direct from a screenplay by Charlie Mitchell, Akiva Goldsman (“Memoirs of a Geisha”) and Clifford Hollingsworth. Those reportedly set to star include Russell Crowe (“Master and Commander”), Renée Zellweger (“Cold Mountain”), Paddy Considine (“In America”), Paul Giamatti (“Paycheck”) and Craig Bierko (“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star”) as German champion Max Baer. Universal takes off the gloves March 18, 2005.

“King Kong” revisits the 1930s (after a disastrous visit to 1976) when the simian leviathan from the jungles of darkest Africa is captured and displayed in New York. The “Heavenly Creatures”-”Frighteners”-”Lord of the Rings” team of writer-director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh reunite. Naomi Watts (“21 Grams”), Adrien Brody (“The Village”), and Jack Black (“Envy”) embody the three leads. Universal kills the beast Dec. 14, 2005.

“Unchain My Heart” begins in 1930 with the birth of Ray Charles. The drama is based on the life of the famed recording artist who lost his sight at the age of six, and battled through years of racism, drug abuse and rocky relationships to become an enduring musical legend. Mark Rydell (“For the Boys,” “Intersection”) is set to direct from a screenplay by Jimmy White. Jamie Foxx (“Ali,” “Collateral”) is set to star as the legendary singer. What’d Universal say? Oct. 29 is the release date.

“Gettin’ the Man’s Foot Outta Your Rosenstrasse!” is most definitely not the alternative title for “Rosenstrasse.” The German- and English-language drama, based on a true story, is set in World War II Berlin and present day New York. It’s about a group of Aryan women who fought to keep their Jewish husbands from being deported to places where almost certain death awaited. Margarethe von Trotta (“The Promise”) directed from a screenplay by Von Trotta and Pamela Katz. Katja Riemann (“The Harmonists”), Maria Schrader (“Aimée & Jaguar”), Martin Feifel, Jürgen Vogel (“Good Bye, Lenin!”), Jutta Lampe and Doris Schade (“Beyond Silence”) star. IDP expects a July 30 release.

“Exorcist The Beginning” is the much-delayed and controversy-haunted prequel to the 1973 thriller. It’s based upon characters and events depicted in William Blatty’s novel “The Exorcist” and set in the middle part of the 20th century, it deals with a young priest’s journey through Africa and his first encounter with demonic possession. Originally directed by Paul Schrader (“Affliction,” “AutoFocus”) from a screenplay by novelist Caleb Carr (“The Alienist”) and William Wisher Jr. (“Judge Dredd,” “13th Warrior”), it has reportedly been completely re-shot by director Renny Harlin (“Deep Blue Sea,” “Driven”) with the help of a rewrite by Skip Woods (“Swordfish”) and Alexi Hawley. The reshot version reportedly drops some characters, adds others, and now stars Stellan Skarsgård (“King Arthur”), James D’Arcy (“Master and Commander”), Izabella Scorupco (“Reign of Fire”), Antonie Kamerling (“Left Luggage”), Andrew French (“The Tailor of Panama”) and Ralph Brown (“Mean Machine”). Warner Bros. commands it to come out Aug 20.

“Beyond the Sea” is a drama about pop singer, political activist and Oscar-nominated actor Bobby Darin (1936-1973). It was directed by Kevin Spacey (“Albino Alligator”) from a screenplay by Paul Attanasio (“The Sum of All Fears”), novelist Lorenzo Carcaterra (“Sleepers”), actor Jeffrey Meek (“Heart Condition”) and James Toback (“Harvard Man”). Spacey (“The United States of Leland”) stars with Kate Bosworth (“Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!”), John Goodman (“Masked & Anonymous”), Vanessa Redgrave (“The Pledge”) and Bob Hoskins (“Vanity Fair”). Lions Gate plans a Thanksgiving release.

“The Woods” is a thriller set in 1965 about a young girl who, after her classmates begin to disappear, discovers a mysterious inhabitant in the woods surrounding her remote boarding school. Lucky McKee (“May”) directs from a screenplay by David Ross. Agnes Bruckner (“Murder by Numbers”) stars with Patricia Clarkson (“Miracle”), Marcia Bennett (“The Tuxedo,” “Noel”), Bruce Campbell (“Intolerable Cruelty”), Lauren Birkell (“Cast Away”), Rachel Nichols (“Dumb and Dumberer”) and Gordon Currie (“Highwaymen”). United Artists would like to open it Oct. 1.

Finally, “Anchorman,” set in the 1970s (which is about as far back in the past as some of us want to go), is a comedy about a beloved news anchorman whose perfect hair, raging hormones and inflated ego are no match for an ambitious female newscaster who has actually mastered the craft of journalism. Adam McKay directed from a screenplay by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (“A Night at the Roxbury”). It stars Ferrell (“Elf”), Christina Applegate (“Wonderland”), Vince Vaughn (“Starsky & Hutch”), Ben Stiller (“Starsky & Hutch”), David Koechner (“My Boss’s Daughter”), Chris Parnell (“Down With Love”), Maya Rudolph (“50 First Dates”), Fred Armisen (“Eurotrip”), Amy Poehler (“Mean Girls,” “Envy”), Jerry Minor (Comedy Central’s “Trigger Happy TV”), Fred Willard (“American Wedding”), and Steve Carell (“Bruce Almighty”). DreamWorks makes it live and local July 9.