The Best and Worst of Historic Films

[Llopin]

So, in your opinion, what films portray better the history? I mean, if you had to choose one film for each period of time (for example, WW2, Roman Empire, etc), which ones would you choose? Being based of course on their proximity to that time. Here are some that I thought about:

WW1: Paths of Glory
WW2: Patton
Ancient Japan: Rashomon
Vietnam: Apocalypse Now
Civil War: Glory

[WaffenSS]

WW1: All quiet on the Western Front
WW2: Das Boot, The Eagle Has Landed
Vietnam: Full Metal Jacket, Apacolypse Now, Platoon
Recent Conflicts: Black Hawk Down

This is off the top of my head, I will change it if I remember any good films for an ERa.

[PrtVeela]

Civil War: Glory
Gettysburg

Vietnam: Platoon

(will think of more....hopefully)

[Llopin]

Vietnam has got many good films, bu the best one in my opinion is Apocalypse Now. This one showed the real confusion and horror of that war. Platoon is a close second, as it has also got memorable moments (the battle at the end is just excellent). But there are also other great films like Full Metal Jacket or Deer Hunter.

[snitchseeker86]

Although it's not completely accurate, I love Braveheart. And The Patriot is incredible. And, of course, Patton is a classic.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Rome: Not especially accurate, but Gladiator was an excellent movie.

Medieval: Braveheart is fun, but no, not especially accurate.

Revolution: Ditto for Patriot

U.S. Civil War: Gettysburg, Glory

World War I: Lost Battalion, shoot...one about an American sharpshooter who won the Medal of Honor. Can't think of the title...

World War II: So many... Saving Private Ryan, Midway, Tora, Tora, Tora, Pearl Harbor (minus the romance and the Doolittle raid), Ike has some good parts, Patton, The Battle of Britain.

Vietnam: We Were Soldiers...haven't seen most of the others.

Recent wars: Yeah, Black Hawk Down is good. Chilling, really...

[Student of Socrates]

Medieval: Henry V

Civil War: Most definately Glory :bigtu:

WWI probably the trench, the lost platoon

WWII, The Longest Day, Dam Busters, Enemy at the Gates,Stalingrad. The List is endless.

Vietnam: for effect definately Apocalypse Now, But for sheer entertaiment value Good Morning Vietnam:rotfl:



Although this topic seems to commenting on war films, I feel that one film must be mentioned Schindler's List IMO probably the best film ever made.

[Llopin]

Actually I think that the war that has got more films is WW2. Here are my favourites: Patton, A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, The Great Escape, Das Boot, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The bridge over the River Kwai, and a long etc.

Glory is the ultimate Civil War film. Gettysburg is good but lacks the excitement of the other film (in my opinion). I haven't seen any other movie concerning this war.

[Auror Williamson]

God's and Generals... I read the book three years before it came out.

Gettysburg... Read the book (Killer Angels)

Braveheart

Saving Private Ryan

The Lost Battalion

Band of Brothers

[Morgoth]

WW1:
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- The Dawn Patrol

WW2:
- They Were Expendable,
- The Colditz Story
- Black Rain
- Das Boot
- Tora! Tora! Tora!
- Saving Private Ryan (watch The Fighting Sullivans to see where Spielberg got his inspiration for 'Ryan)
- Schindler's List
- Enemy at the Gates
- The Guns of Navarone
- The Dirty Dozen

Korea
- Retreat, Hell
- MacArthur

Vietnam
- The Deer Hunter
- Apocalypse Now
- The Killing Fields
- Full Metal Jacket
- Good Morning, Vietnam
- We Were Soldiers

Recent
- Black Hawk Down

[praisequeenfreddie]

I am going to have to go with "Tora, Tora, Tora", "Patton", "Schindler's List" , "Its a Beautiful Life" and "Glory."

"Its a Beautiful Life" is not really a War Movie but was still powerful in my mind. It was more of a family relationships movie and most of what the father did would not have been allowed but I still think the movie was one of the most moving movies I have ever seen based on a historical time or event. It was worth it to read the sub-titles for a couple hours. I still think you would have gotten the general idea if you skipped the sub-titles.:'( :clappy:

[Llopin]

Well there are some Historic films that aren't totally war films. Good examples would be Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, The Pianist, etc. Remember I asked Historic films, not only war films.

Good choices Morgoth :tu:

[Crashcatto]

Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, and Glory are all awesome movies. It funny though, I've seen them all in school.

When you say historical, are you talking about films based on fact or would period films count, like Gladiator?(which I didn't like, just using it for an example)

[Llopin]

Well, I meant films that portrayed a period of time in a convincent way, but not that they happened really. Gladiator is a good example of this type.

[Mad Macca]

Gallipoli was a good war movie, it was accurate with the battle at the Nec.
There is meant to be a really good mini-series on Vietnam from Australia's perspective lying in the video cupboard which I have yet to finish. And Black Hawk Down was great.

[Sherlock Holmes]

To add to my previous list, the Horatio Hornblower movies from A&E are very good, set in the Napoleonic Wars. So are the Sharp movies (Sharp's Rangers, Sharp's etc etc etc.... There's a dozen or more.), which are set in the Hundred Days.

[Bhodi]

Originally posted by Llopin (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?postid=473983#post473983))
Well there are some Historic films that aren't totally war films. Good examples would be Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, The Pianist, etc. Remember I asked Historic films, not only war films.

Good choices Morgoth :tu:


How about Amadeus as a period film? Or Amistad? A Man for All Seasons? Apollo13 (a slice of recent history)? Eight Men Out and Brian's Song (if we're including sports history)? The Untouchables? Guilty by Suspicion? Awakenings? Lawrence of Arabia (yes, a war film, but interesting look at the middle east entering the modern period)? The Last Emperor? The Last Temptation of Christ (for an interesting and rather controversial interpretation of his life)? Ghandi? Ben Hur? Citizen Kane (true, he's a fictional character, but he was patterned after WR Hearst)? The Spirit of St. Louis? All the President's Men? Dances With Wolves (not a true story, but gives a nice depiction of the lives of Plains Indians prior to the Indian wars and their removal to reservations)? Gone With the Wind (again, fiction, but classic period film)? Rob Roy? The Diary of Anne Frank?

Doggone it! I could probably do this all day... There's just too many good historical/period films...

[Llopin]

All those are indeed historic films, although some of them weren't real - but they're still period movies.

[Mr Ollivander 382]

''Ghandi'' .... learn a bit about the gratist Indian ever lived

''Lawrance Of Arabia'' .... learn about the Arab revolt against the Othomans in WWI

''Elizabeth'' .... learn how England became a Protestant nation

''Stalin'' .... learn how a maniac killed the dream of a noble revolution .

''JFK'' .... learn some interesting facts about what happened in Dalas 1963

''Cromwell'' ... learn about the English civil war , and how England became briefly a republic

''To Kill a King'' ... also about the English civil war and the events leading to King Charls I execution

''Waterloo'' ... learn how Napoleon was finally stopped in 1815 by Wellington

''The maddness of King George'' ... learn how a England coped with a crazy king for 10 months

''Kundun'' ... learn more about Tibet and the life story of the 14th Dalai Lama , beautiful scenery .


well , I might come back with more ........... :)


.

[Weatherby]

I thought The Killing Fields was an interesting look at the Cambodian civil war and The Truce for right after WW2 when the Auschwitz victims were released. They had a hard time getting people to believe it really happened.

[invisablethestral]

Although not accurate to the facts, Braveheart was a good depiction of the historic Scot/English conflict.

Rob Roy is more accuarte in its depiction of interclan relations and Jacobites.

Schindlers List is a beautiful and touching film looking at the humanity aspects in WWII.

Saving Private Ryan, purely for its first fight scene. Possibly the greatest/most harrowing depiction of warfare during WWII.

I dont know much on the politics of the Vietnam War, so its hard to judge accurate depiction of that, but Platoon does reflect the gorilla warfare and lack of continuity amongst the soldiers quite well.

Aside from war films, i feel in the future, American Beauty will be thought of as accurate depiction of life this era. One i'd like others to discuss about as i am not 100% confident in that.

Also, i think Trainspotting is an exeptional depiction of the 90's in Scotland/Britian and social opinions, and will be viewed as such in the future.

[Llopin]

Originally posted by invisablethestral (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?postid=479338#post479338))
Aside from war films, i feel in the future, American Beauty will be thought of as accurate depiction of life this era. One i'd like others to discuss about as i am not 100% confident in that.


American Beauty isn't an historic film but it is indeed a very good portrayal of the current modern society.

[quidditch seeker]

If anyone is interested in the history of the Titanic I recommend
'A Night To Remember' which is the most accurate I've seen.
Also some more war films I'm afraid :- 'Zulu' excellent film about the battle of Rourke's Drift.
'Come See The Paradise' - the story of Japanese immigrants in the US being interred in camps in the US after the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

Finally 'Mrs Brown' about the life of Queen Victoria after her husband died.

[moving_bush]

all good choices but I see a cuple that were left of like:
To Hell and Back the story of Audie Murphy (WWII)
Band of Brothers (depending on weather you call it a movie or a mini-series)
Enemy at the gates was not very accurate but a good movie nontheless
midway
just to name a few

[FridgedSarcasma]

Ok, i dont see Mr. Smith Goes to ...which isnt exactly historic....but its about the government...so..yeah..no connection...actually there is....but its bull....

[bungo mungo]

WWI: Paths of Glory

WWII- definently Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, both excellent.

Civil War- Gettysburg was good, but I couldn't get over how fake Longstreet's beard looked...Glory was an excellent film. and Gods and Generals...eh....yeah, I'll just leave it at that, I was kinda disappointed with it (the book was good thought).

Amer. Revolution- not many films in this era...the Patriot was good, but the battle at the end, I had no clue what it was supposed to be. My best guess was that it was supposed to be Cowpens, but looked nothing like it : \

Russian Revolution (of 1905): The Battleship Potemkin.

Another good one is Road to Paradise, it is about women who were living in Sri Lanka during WWII, and as they were fleeing were attacked by the Japanese and sent to live in a prisoner camp. It is very good.

As far as 'period' pieces, I really liked Dangerous Liasons. From what I have heard, Gosford Park is a very good film in regards to social history, but I haven't seen it. There was another movie, but I can't remember the name of it. It was about this Italian guy who had to flee because the Austrian-Hungarians were after him, and during the movie it discusses different social plights, such as cholera outbreaks, citylife, ect. I think it was somehting like "Horseman on the Roof."

[Benzo]

-Killing fields
-The bridge of the River Kwai
-Merry Christmas Mr Laurence
-The Guns of Navarone
-Enemy at the Gates
-The Great Escape (Not for the same reasons though)

Anyone who remember a war film that was in a concentration camp of women? There was a woman who started an orchestra with her peers, but one night she didn't come back.

[Mistress Snivellus]

Ditto to all above. I have a soft spot for many of the ones listed. I have so many faves. Thanks Weatherby for reminding me of The Killing Fields. I saw that movie long before I probably should have, and it had a major impact on how I viewed human rights.

Haven't yet seen a mention of No Man's Land - for you war buffs out there, I highly recommend this movie (in the recent conflicts category.) It is astounding, bleak, and incredibly moving.

[leenielou]

Saving Private Ryan has to be one of the best war films I have ever seen.

Henry V (Kenneth Branagh version) is also amazing, but I know this is meant to be historic and not just war soo...

Gone with the wind is a brilliant look at (oops - war again) the impact of the end of slavery and the degeneration of a society following the American civil war - plus its got a pretty nifty heroine ('I'll think about that tomorrow!')

I know it isn't a film, but I love all of the Blackadder series, simply because you learn about the periods they are set in and get to laugh until you mess yourself. the best one is the regency period - pure class.

[bungo mungo]

Benzo- the film you might be thinking of is Road to Paradise, in that film, the woman form a vocal orchestra.

[quidditch seeker]

Paradise Road starred Glenn Close and Cate Blanchet, and was about a vocal orchestra in a Japanese POW camp.
I think there was another about an orchestra (with instruments) in Auschwitz, possibly called 'Playing For Time'. I could be wrong.I don't know if Vanessa Redgrave was in it.

[bungo mungo]

ACK! That's it...Paradise Road...that's what I meant by Road to Paradise...another good historic film is Stalingrad

[Auror Williamson]

The "Playing for Time" film you speak off sounds interesting. "The Pianist" may be that movie. I believe that he is at Auschwits with the infamous prisoner orchestra.

[quidditch seeker]

'Playing For Time' came out in the 80's, and it was about women.

[leenielou]

The film about the Wannsee Conference that was put out on UK TV around New Year 2002 - can't remember what it was called, but it starred Kenneth Branagh as Reinhard Heydrich - that was amazing. So chilling the way that they were all sat calmly discussing the extermination of 6 million people...******, i really cant remember what it was called!!

[Auror Williamson]

Conspiracy. It aired over here as well. Chilling.

I had a photo of Branagh in an SS uniform in my siggy earlier today.

[leenielou]

that's the one! may i ask ,what is the I O U R??

[Auror Williamson]

I.O.U.R. is the International Organization of United Ravenclaws.

PM on details on how to join, or to see if you qualify.

[drummer]

How about Braveheart, The Longest Day, and Glory?

[Llopin]

I think Glory is the greastest civil war movie ever made (followed closely by Gettysburg). I don't know if it's really what happened, but Glory is filmed beautifully and has really memorable sequences, and the battle scenes are brilliantly performed. All actors do good jobs. When I saw it I just ouldn't get it out of my head.

I saw Braveheart a lot of time ago, and I don't remember it very well, I liked it but I didn't think it was awesome. The Longest Day is terrific, one of the most interesting war movies.

[Bhodi]

I think Glory is the greastest civil war movie ever made (followed closely by Gettysburg). I don't know if it's really what happened, but Glory is filmed beautifully and has really memorable sequences, and the battle scenes are brilliantly performed. All actors do good jobs. When I saw it I just ouldn't get it out of my head.

I saw Braveheart a lot of time ago, and I don't remember it very well, I liked it but I didn't think it was awesome. The Longest Day is terrific, one of the most interesting war movies.

Glory is a good movie, but the final shot of the last battle scene is so poorly timed that it feels staged, almost like they're posing for a Delacroix painting... Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman did great jobs with their roles, particularly Washington (who clearly earned his supporting actor Oscar)... I wasn't as impressed with Matthew Broderick, though... His portrayal of Shaw was just a bit too timid and uncomfortable for my taste...

Braveheart was entertaining, though not terribly accurate...

Since I mentioned Denzel... Apparently, he's working on a remake of the Manchurian Candidate (only it takes place during the Gulf War...)... Not sure what I think about this yet, as I absolutely love the original...

[Llopin]

I've just seen the The Alamo trailer, the new film with Billy Bob Thorton and Dennis Quaid, and it seems like it's going to be a nice recreation of what really happened there. It opens on Christmas, I'm likely to go see it.

Another movie that seems interesting is The Last Samurai, with Tom Cruise and directed by Edward Zwck (who filmed Glory). This one has also an epic quality and seems like a great historic film. I smell Oscar.

[drummer]

Yeah, I have to agree that Braveheart wasn't accurate although it did have some of the best battle scenes I've seen.
It's a shame that the 54th Massachusetts Regiment (from Glory) did all that training and that's how they were rewarded - by going into battle first and getting slaughtered.
Also, anyone see Saving Private Ryan?

[Llopin]

Well SPR is one of the best war films ever, and one of my favourite films. The disembark scene is maybe the most shocking I've seen, and the whole movie is just amazing. Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski showed great direction and cinemaography here.

[drummer]

Yeah, I actually got a little queasy watching it. The surround-sound effect of having bullets whizzing passed you and bombs exploding practically gave me whiplash. I swear I felt like I was in the movie theater for like 4 years watching it. The hopelessness that the war was never going to end was so evident in the film.
Plus the scenes showing the dying soldiers. All of the older WWII guys watching it around me were in tears.

[go_anna40]

Well...I've probably posted these way too many times, but I'll do it anyway...:D

- Band of Brothers [My favourite ;)]
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Pianist
- The Thin Red Line [I think this was pretty good, it's especially good because it's of the war in the Pacific instead of the war in Europe]

I haven't seen any other historic films, other than ones about WW2, and those a few. So yeah, I'll leave it at that.

[hesdead-dealwithit]

How about Gandhi? I don't think anyone mentioned it, but it won 9 Oscars, I think, and was really powerful.

[cyrenesis]

check out the fairly new indian movie (in subtitles) Lagaan, its about how the british tried to subdue our (indians) rites while they were tryin to take india over. it has an intersting twist involving a game of cricket (european baseball) that is for the tax that the british people put on indians

[Sebastian06]

I'm sorry, but A Night To Remember is far from accurate; in fact, most of the film consists of events that were later proven false. The ship did not sink in one piece, Bruce Ismay did not dress in women's clothing in order to escape, and the panicking and rioting of the passengers on the ship was far more severe. If you want true, historical accuracy, Cameron's Titanic hits the nail on the head, in my opinion, with the only fictional aspect of that movie being the love story (and really, there had to be a cover story for the film, or else it would have been boring as hell).

Oh, and I agree, The Patriot was a fantastic movie. :)

[FridgedSarcasma]

Oh! Lagaan is great..it does actually portray the time period accuratly...despite some of the dancing number (Great Stuff!!!)...great piece of historical fiction

[Jagdverband]

Historical films.....

I'd suggest Thirteen Days. It's an excellent depiction of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As for the rave comments about Saving Private Ryan, well, I won't go into detail, but other than the cinematography, I admire nothing about it. There are far too many technical and historical inaccuracies for me to be able to enjoy it. I find Band of Brothers to be a much more enjoyable piece.

The Lighthorsemen depicts in quite excellent detail the events leading up to the capture of Beersheba in the 3rd Battle of Gaza in Palestine, 1917.

As for the realism factor, I don't think anyone can go past Das Boot. The film was made using u-boats built to the plans for Type 7C submarines used by the German Navy in WW2, and it fairly accurately captures the terror and tension of submarine warfare in WW2.

[ssimons]

Band of Brothers, definitely. And has anybody said The Dirty Dozen? That's one of my all-time favorite movies...

I think Braveheart and Gladiator both fall into the whole 'not terribly accurate but good films' category so I feel the need to mention them. But all this has been said.

[Aranel]

Bhodi posted some a page back that I love.
- Amistad, I love this film, one of my all time favs. Incredibly sad.
- Apollo 13.
- Gone with the Wind
- The Diary of Anne Frank. Very nice.

and others I like:
-Saving Private Ryan
-Elizabeth
-The Lost Battalion, currently watching this in history
-The Patriot
- Changi, this was an amazing Australian mini-series about some Aussie PoW's in Changi. If you can see this, you should. It's so funny at times and so sad at others, the mateship etc that is shown in this is so good to watch.
-Rosewood (this is probably not that historicly accurate, and it's been awhile since I've seen it, but I remember it was good... I think)
-Gallipoli

[ginnybatbogeysyou]

I like The Patriot, Elizabeth and The Last Emperor. They are all very good, but I'm not saying they're very accurate when it comes down to certain events. Esp. Elizabeth.

[Claireyellen]

OK well this discussion began in another area but was off the original subject so I thought I'd move it to here!

I appologise now if this has been done before, no results cam up when I searched.

Anyway.....what does everyone think about the distorment of factual events in movies? An example being the re-telling of the captue of the Enigma machiene in WW2 in the film U-571 where it was portrayed that American soldiers found the machiene and cracked the Enigma code.

In reality it was the British Royal Navy that captured the first Enigma machiene and it took many years and a lot of intelligence to crack the code. The caption before the end credits, detailing the fact that the Royal Navy captured the first Enigma machine, was only added after an outcry in Britain, where it was believed that Hollywood was trying to claim the credit for the Americans (whose forces captured no German Naval Enigma material until 1944).

Can anyone else think of really bad depictions of historical facts in movies, do you think it was right to do so and would the movie have worked without the changes?

[HollywoodBob]

OK well this discussion began in another area but was off the original subject so I thought I'd move it to here!

Can anyone lese think of really bad depictions of historical facts in movies, do you think it was right to do so and would the movie have worked without the changes?Hidalgo was a lie. There was no Private Ryan. Jack and Rose weren't on the Titanic.

There's a book called History goes to the movies: A viewer's guide to the best (and some of the worst) historical films ever made. It's full of summaries of the good and the bad movies.
Orignally posted at Author cites the best and worst films for historical accuracy (http://www.s-t.com/daily/02-00/02-12-00/b03li072.htm)
The Worst

"The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). Martin Scorsese's version of the life of Christ, played by Willem Dafoe.
"At first it was heresy to say anything against that movie; now I think it's probably fashionable (to criticize it). The movie was very offensive to Jews because of many inaccuracies. It shows Mary Magdalene tattooed. Jewish women did not get tattooed. They were forbidden to do that. The film gives the impression that Mary Magdalene and Jesus actually went steady when they were kids, which is absurd.
"The portrait of Jesus that Willem Dafoe gives is wrong in every way. He is sort of a mumbler and a bumbler and he's cowardly. Judas slaps him around. According to what we know, he was not like that at all."

"The Thin Red Line" (1998). Terrence Malick directed this Oscar-nominated adaptation of James Jones' novel about World War II in the Pacific.
"The battle scenes are very good, but they completely distort what the Japanese were like. When at the end of the movie the GIs finally overrun this camp where the Japanese are and the Japanese are falling on their knees trying to surrender -- the Japanese never did that. The Japanese usually fought to the death."

"Dances With Wolves" (1990). Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning epic about a Civil War soldier who is transferred out West, only to defect and join an Indian tribe.
"The buffalo hunt was terrific. But there was no record of any Army officer defecting and living with an American Indian tribe. That just didn't happen. The Sioux refuse to use guns in the movie, and (in reality) the Sioux would do anything to get guns. In fact, they were better armed than Custer."

"Elizabeth" (1998). Oscar-nominated drama about the early years of Queen Elizabeth's (Cate Blanchett) reign.
"It is about the early part of her life and focuses very heavily on this romance with the Earl of Leicester (Joseph Fiennes). It makes it seem like it is the most crucial thing in Elizabeth's life, and it definitely was not.
"Another thing is when Richard Attenborough tells her, 'You are innocent in the ways of the world.' This is ridiculous. At age 14, she knew as much about the world as most people did by 20 because she saw a lot of her friends killed.
"She was not emotional as she is portrayed in the film. She could just stonewall you. And when she decides she is really going to take the reins and rule England, they cut all of her hair off and put this makeup on her which looks like Milk of Magnesia. She's crushed she's not going to have a personal life. That is just ridiculous. She was very good at ruling -- she liked it a lot. She never took off her coronation ring. It sort of grew into her finger and was there when she died." I got this book for my parents, they're history teachers and offered a History through movies class. The students really seemed to like it.

-HollywoodBob

[thethirdman]

Are you certain about the Priate Ryan thing? I've read an account about a Sailor in the Pacific who was brought home after his three brothers died in the Pacific. It was in one of the books by the author of Band of Brothers and D-Day.

[HollywoodBob]

Yeah I'm sure, similar events transpired, families losing all but one son to the war and people going out to retrieve them. But there was no Private Ryan. The Ryan character was based on Fritz Niland, a paratrooper that survived 18 days after being dropped into Normandy, and who survived with the help of French citizens and walked into US held territory on his own. For more info go here. http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/BACK/Ryan.htm Sadly even though this was an awesome movie, it was one reason that I lost my respect for Speilberg as a film maker. Had he merely been honest about the fictional qualities of the film I would have appreciated the movie, and his work on it, much more.

-HollywoodBob

[FirefightingMuggle]

Two of my favorite Historical Movies are Gettysburg and Gods and Generalsd

If you haven't seen Gods and Generals, it deals with the first part of the US Civil War, and with the story, both personally and militarily, of Stonewall Jackson. It is an excellent movie that offers a look inside the life of one of the finest Confederate Generals in the War.

I love Gettysburg because I've visited the battlefield there a few times, and I've heard the story of what really did happen, and I feel that the movie does great justice to the reality of those 3 days. The accuracy is wonderful, and I love how the weave the personal stories of a few different people into the movie.

I'm also a big fan of Schindler's List I'm amazed by the fact that one man could do so much good in the midst of so much evil. Who says one person can't change the world eh?

[ginnybatbogeysyou]

I just saw A bridge too far, and it's about Operation market Garden. We watched in history class becasue my history teacher was an extra in it. I really liked the film.

[Jagdverband]

thethirdman, you may well be thinking of the story of the Sullivan brothers, the reasoning behind the saga to locate Fritz Niland. The Sullivans were five brothers who were all members of the crew of USS Juneau when the ship was lost in the Pacific during WW2. All five brothers were killed in action, and the US military went to some lengths to ensure such an event did not happen again - siblings serving in the same unit were seperated, some transferred to non-combat specialties etc. The story of the Niland brothers is that all four were in seperate units (in one case, in a different theatre of operations), and when it was discovered that three of the four brothers had been reported missing or killed in action, the fourth brother Fritz, a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne was ordered off the line. The catch was, he too was missing in action. As HollywoodBob mentioned, Fritz turned up alive. To give the story a better ending, one of Fritz's brothers, an aviator who had been reported missing, turned up alive in a Japanese PoW camp, and also survived the war.

[Adalbert Waffling]

WW1-All quiet on the Western Front.

WW2-Band of Brothers.(The best representation of the storming of Omaha was done in "Saving Pvt Ryan." Veterans who stormed the beach said that that was the most realistic version of Normandy depicted in films. The rest of the movie is **** about history though.)

Vietnam-Platoon; Apocalypse Now

Recent-Black Hawk Down.

And just to say, Braveheart was terribly inaccurate. I mean, on the battle of the bridge(I cant remember the real name), there wasn't even a bridge in the movie. And since when did Wallace fall in love with The King of Englands daughter in law?

The Patriot had hardly any historical facts ion it, save that the US won the war.

[Frazil]

And just to say, Braveheart was terribly inaccurate. I mean, on the battle of the bridge(I cant remember the real name),

Stirling Bridge.

there wasn't even a bridge in the movie. And since when did Wallace fall in love with The King of Englands daughter in law?

Heh. I think she was only *born* around the time that Wallace was killed. :rolleyes:

The Patriot had hardly any historical facts ion it, save that the US won the war.

I haven't seen it, because after Braveheart I decided to avoid any "historical" movies made by Mel Gibson.

Anyway, Master and Commander *is* a good historical film (in terms of evoking the period that is; it wasn't based on any single event) - the attention to detail is great, though a few mistakes crept in when they changed the date from 1812 (as it was in the novel) to 1805.

[Jagdverband]

Okay, just to clarify one point, Master and Commander is not a historical film, it's historical fiction, meaning it is a fictional story set with-in and with reference to real historical events. The same applies to Saving Private Ryan and quite a few other films. A film like Thirteen Days or A Bridge Too Far are examples of historical films. That aside, the technical details of Master and Commander are reasonably accurate.

[Frazil]

True, but I don't think the thread is specifically about films of historical events (especially as Apocalypse Now is mentioned in the first post!), just films that portray a particular period quite well.

Anyway, Zulu's another one I like, and it is definitely a historical film. :) It has loads of mistakes, but it's still a pretty good representation.

[free_girl]

Gladitor was pretty cool but really off on it's facts. Good morning vietnam was the coolest history movie I could ever seen. :clap: But still not historically correct. :td:

[snape_sinclaire]

My dad is a total fanatic when it comes to films based on WW1 and WW2, basically war movies. I enjoyed Rasputin, Gladiator, Braveheart, and the Patriot.

[MoodyMania]

Medieval: I loved Braveheart

Civil War: Glory, Gods and Generals

WWI: Sergeant York

WWII: So many here. Midway, Tora, Tora, Tora, Band of Brothers miniseries

Vietnam: Apocalypse Now, FMJ, Platoon

Current: Blackhaek Down

[loony4lupin]

I personally am a BIG history freak(especially WW2) and I love war movies, so here goes.

American Revolution- The Patriot
WW2- Band of Brothers; Saving Private Ryan
Vietnam- We Were Soldiers
Current- Blackhawk down.

There are others I just can't really think of them right now. I really would like to see Tora Tora Tora.

[Kirsten]

I just saw A bridge too far, and it's about Operation market Garden. We watched in history class becasue my history teacher was an extra in it. I really liked the film.
I like A Bridge Too Far, although I always end up screaming "run, run, run!" when he's trying to make it back to safety.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Dambusters! The true story of Barnes Wallis's amazing bouncing bomb invention, Wing Commander Guy Gibson and Bomber Harris, and the bravery of the Dambusters 617 Squadron who set out to bomb the Ruhrdams in Germany. Not only is the film pretty well accurate, showing the genius of Barnes Wallis and the bravery of the men involved, it has possibly some of the most recognisable and emotive music ever made for a film, and it inspired one of the funniest TV ads ever (Carling Black Label Dambusters ads). And the bit where WC Gibson's dog (embarrassingly called ******) dies is a three-hanky moment possibly rivalled only by the death of Bambi's mum. Try http://www.dambusters.org.uk/index.html for more info about the Dambusters - the links down the left of the page will tell you all about the raid. This link http://simscience.org/cracks/dambusters.html has some brief info too.

I tend to prefer British WWII films. They're usually a bit more accurate, without the Hollywood compulsion to show Americans as the heros and Brits as bumbling fools, and it's loads of fun spotting so many famous actors. I like Bridge Over the Rive Kwai as well, and The Great Escape is classic. Escape to Victory, on the other hand, is pants.

Somebody much earlier mentioned a film about Changi. When I was in Singapore in 2001, I went to the Changi Prison Museum. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. I came out in floods of tears and stayed upset for the rest of the day. Anyone who has a day or two in Singapore should go see it; it's a very humbling experience. http://simscience.org/cracks/dambusters.html is a link to the website.

[Kimmetje]

WWII: Anne Frank's Diary

I also liked Titanic, which is historic as it did happen. Saving Private Ryan was a historic and good war movie as well. I haven't seen any other movies of that genre...

[red_fairy]

How Historic was Pearl Harbor? I don't think it was very historically accurate besides the facts that the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Dolittle raids actually happen, but I'm not sure.

[Pilum]

While I may be geographically biased, I do feel that British WW2 films just feel better, if nothing else they don't have that slightly embarrassing 'gung-ho' feel to them that many of Hollywood's efforts do, simply of ordinary people doing extraordinary acts.

Battle of Britain is a good one (especially Susannah York's 'moment' wurblwurblwurbl :D ), as is Longest Day.

Oh, I cannot let a thread like this go past without asking if anyone has ever explained how it was that, in Prince of Thieves, Robin of Locksley walks from Dover to Nottingham along Hadrian's Wall?

[Ava]

WW2:
- Tora! Tora! Tora!
- Schindler's List
- Saving Private Ryan
- Enemy at the Gates

Vietnam
- We Were Soldiers
- The Killing Fields

Recent
- Black Hawk Down

[Spencer28]

Civil War: Gettysburgh

WWI: never heard of one

WWII: Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the gates

Vietnam: We were soilders, Platoon

[Lady Greyjoy]

Ancient World

I, Claudius

Medieval Japan

Throne of Blood

Medieval Europe

The Name of the Rose
The Lion in Winter

Napoleanic Britian

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Scottish History

Rob Roy

Victorian/Imperial Britain

Topsy Turvy

World War I
Paths of Glory

World War II
Band of Brothers

Vietnam War
Dogfight (Sort of like Forrest Gump...but better)

Hundred Years War
Henry V

[LynorEclipse]

Medieval: The Name of the Rose

1800's: Emma (maybe just 'cause I love the movie...)

1920's Germany: The Last Laugh (then again, it was made then... 1924)

1930's Japan: The Story of Floating Weeds (again, made in 1933... I'm taking a silent film class...)

1990's: American Beauty

Yeah, I realize I'm not really choosing the time periods most everyone else is. I don't really want to base my view of human life on war, nor am I American, so I don't really care about the wars that they have had, that they feel the need to glorify, and that do not affect me.

All of the films I mentioned above are really good (especially The Last Laugh, originally titled something else involving the word "man", because this film is German, yet it has absolutely no dialogue or intertitles (aka speech bubbles, it is a silent film), no communication through "verbal" language whatsoever (making it universal to any language), yet it gets the point across so well through expression. The altered ending is a bit much, though).

[haha]

I would have to say that my favs are:

Saving Private Ryan
Braveheart
Patton (classic)
Pearl Harbour

[erynae]

Pearl Harbour wasn't that accurate. She wears a bikini, when bikinis didn't come to America till the 50's, and even then they were hardly worn. And there was a part where they walk past a building and it has a plaque on it saying 'Established 1953'. Pearl Harbour was in 1941. Time warp, anyone?

Rabbit Proof Fence was great. Very sad.

Hitler: Rise of Evil wasn't that accurate, but it was a great movie.

I find all Arthurian movies to be extremely inaccurate, with the exception of King Arthur and Mists of Avalon (though the book was about a million times better)

Mona Lisa Smile was accurate for the 50's

And who could forget Forrest Gump?

[Lady Vorn]

I think Schindlers List is one of if not the best WWII film, it really displays the horror of that war. I mean, everytime I hear that music, it sends chills down my spine.

[Fred Black]

I love the Scottish revolt portrayed in Braveheart. Also The Great Escape was brilliantly made.

[Chrysalis]

Pearl Harbour wasn't that accurate. She wears a bikini, when bikinis didn't come to America till the 50's, and even then they were hardly worn. And there was a part where they walk past a building and it has a plaque on it saying 'Established 1953'. Pearl Harbour was in 1941. Time warp, anyone?
'Officially' the first bikini appeared in 1946 or thereabouts, but there have been reports of people wearing them in the '30s.

And anyway...

Yesterday I watched Amadeus, it was so loose with historical facts! And they turned poor Antonio Salieri into a villain! Cause of death was different from Mozart's actual death and he and his wife had 6 children, or so.

[Gwenog Jones]

Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbour(minus the romance), and Schindler's list were all good

[Chrysalis]

By the way films of Jane Austen books don't count as historical movies...they are costume dramas or period films, because they do not tell a historical story.

[erynae]

Girl with a Pearl Earring was good. Haven't read the book yet

[marauderlupin]

I saw King Arthur today and it was amazing. I was hoping Merlin would be a cool wizard, but noooo they had to make all realistic and stuff so he was a leader of the Woad :rolleyes:

[dawningoftime]

I love Elizabeth and Schindler's List.

[mother]

The historical movies that have irritated me the most over the last few years are Braveheart and KIng Arthur. Both are great films but they misrepresent history so badly yet present themselves as accurate. They both catch the feeling of the time. Wallace never met Edward II wife, neither in fact did Edward I, they were both dead when the marriage took place. Also lowland Scotland had more in common with northern England at the time, the border being something of a moveable feast, that it had with the gaelic speakers north of the highland line. Wallace was a lowlander and a townie, he wouldn't have been seen dead in a kilt. King Arthur again is a great, evocative, story but that's all it is. Yes, Lucius Artorius Castus did come to Hadrians Wall with a regiment of Sarmation cavalry (about 5,000 + their families) but he isn't the historical Arthur. He was born around 140AD and died in or close to 200AD, during the reign of the Emperor Septimus Severus. He was born in Campagnia and probably died in Dalmatia. This is long before the start of the Saxon incursions into England, at this time Rome was still strong. The historical Arthur is set firmly in the late 4th and early 5th century . Pelagius also belongs to this time, he died in 418. The name Artorius refers to the famil being of the cavalry class and it may be that there is some blood connection between the two, but the historical Arthur is usually believed to have been a local king or chief at the time the Romans left Britain and possibly the end recipient of tales of other people at the time, some sort of composite hero. I generally don't like films that mess with my countries history and then pass it off as fact.

[marauderlupin]

As you said, there is more than one contender for the King Arthur identity, so I think they basically did the best they could by picking the most interesting aspects, creating a composite Arthur which is probably how the legend grew anyway. I'm usually more forgiving of movies that choose to portray long ago characters whose histories are disputed. What gets on my nerves is when they screw up stories where the facts are basically widely accepted just to increase the drama.

[EmmyMik]

I'm a history buff, but I don't watch too many historic movies. This is because A) I never have enough time, and B) some of the historic movies have innacuracies that boggle the mind and drive me nuts (of course, I can't really recall any of those movies now). Anyway, some of my favorites:

Civil War: Glory. I love this movie. I first saw it in my American history class (had an awesome teacher)

WWII: The Great Escape. I recently saw an episode of Nova that was about the real life Great Escape. It was interesting to see how well the movie followed actual events.

Rasputin: Rasputin. This HBO movie is fantastic. Alan Rickman is just wonderful as Rasputin (why yes, almost all of my other posts do belong to the Alan Rickman appreication thread), and deserves the Emmy that he won. The scenery is beautiful, and the story is interesting (and rather accurate, from what I gather. Though I must admit I haven't done that much research on Rasputin).

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I can think up off th top of my head. But the movies I really do like leave me wanting to know more. But that might be due to my love of history...

[mother]

Rickman was supurb as Rasputin. It is one of the most historically correct things I have watched in a long time. I do actually enjoy the inaccurate films as I enjoy research and they keep me out of mischief while I prove them wrong. I often find films done by or from the point of view of the losers are good because there is nothing to lose by telling it as it is. One of my favourites is called Das Boot (The Boat), I've seen the film, read the book and seen the mini series and it is very, very different from British or American films of the same time in history.

[haha]

I'm a history buff, but I don't watch too many historic movies. This is because A) I never have enough time, and B) some of the historic movies have innacuracies that boggle the mind and drive me nuts (of course, I can't really recall any of those movies now).
You sound like my science teacher who hates to watch sci-fi films because all the inaccuracies drive him crazy and make him cringe :p Like for example, in star wars where there's that sound when the ships move but in space sound doesn't exist as it's a mechanical wave and there's no particles to carry the sound. But then you have to admit that it wouldn't be as interesting without the sound, so in all movies (that are historic but are also meant to be entertaining) you have to allow for some inaccuracies for that entertainment value.

[snape_sinclaire]

Rickman was supurb as Rasputin. It is one of the most historically correct things I have watched in a long time. I do actually enjoy the inaccurate films as I enjoy research and they keep me out of mischief while I prove them wrong. I often find films done by or from the point of view of the losers are good because there is nothing to lose by telling it as it is. One of my favourites is called Das Boot (The Boat), I've seen the film, read the book and seen the mini series and it is very, very different from British or American films of the same time in history.


I love that movie. Alan seemed to become the character and really deserved those awards. :)

We are learning about the Holocaust this quarter, and I now have an urge to watch the Pianist and Schindler's List. Not sure if they are historically correct, but I heard they were very good. Anyone have any thoughts?

~Sinc

[haha]

I love that movie. Alan seemed to become the character and really deserved those awards.
The thing that i like about Rickman is that he seems to be able to mould into any sort of role, he's not classified as some actors tend to get after a while, like take for example Arnold S (can't spell his last name :p ) and Jim Carry. That's what i think makes a good actor.

[yarddog1]

Spartacus- extremly historicly accurate with the battles and most of the names.

[Jagdverband]

Someone mentioned they hadn't heard of any WW1 films. I'll post a short list...

Paths of Glory
Gallipoli
The Lighthorsemen
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Lost Battalion
A Very Long Engagement

...to name but a few. The book of All Quiet... is regarded as an absolute classic, and both versions of the film are fairly good, though, as always the book is better.

As for some of the great war films, I prefer to look outside the square. Das Boot is one of my all time favourite films - goosebumps surge up my spine everytime I watch the scene at the bottom of the Med, and the finale is one of the few films that tugs the tears from my eyes. Blood Oath is another that sucks me into its grasp. For the uneducated, it's the true story of the war crimes trial on Ambon after WW2. It delves into the post-war wheeling and dealing that went on between America, Australia and the Japanese and the struggle to see justice done.

[haha]

Some good WW2 films:

The longest day
A bridge too far
Patton
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Battle of Britain

...and the list goes on.