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10 Most Historically Inaccurate films of all time

10,000 B.C.

Director Roland Emmerich is usually a stickler for realism (see: sending a computer virus via Macintosh to aliens in Independence Day). So we hate to inform him that woolly mammoths were not, in fact, used to build pyramids. Heck, woolly mammoths weren't even found in the desert. They wouldn't need to be woolly if that were the case. And there weren't any pyramids in Egypt until 2,500 B.C or so.

Gladiator

Emperor Commodus was not the sniveling sister-obsessed creep portrayed in the movie. A violent alcoholic, sure, but not so whiny. He ruled ably for over a decade rather than ineptly for a couple months. He also didn't kill his father, Marcus Aurelius, who actually died of chickenpox. And instead of being killed in the gladiatorial arena, he was murdered in his bathtub.

300

Though this paean to ancient moral codes and modern physical training is based on the real Battle of Thermopylae, the film takes many stylistic liberties. The most obvious one being Persian king Xerxes was not an 8-foot-tall Cirque du Soleil reject. The Spartan council was made up of men over the age of 60, with no one as young as Theron (played by 37-year-old Dominic West). And the warriors of Sparta went into battle wearing bronze armor, not just leather Speedos.

The Last Samurai

The Japanese in the late 19th century did hire foreign advisers to modernize their army, but they were mostly French, not American. Ken Watanabe's character was based on the real Saigo Takamori who committed ritual suicide, or "seppuku," in defeat rather than in a volley of Gatling gun fire. Also, it's doubtful that a 40-something alcoholic Civil War vet, even one with great hair, would master the chopsticks much less the samurai sword.

Apocalypto

This one movie has given entire Anthropology departments migraines. Sure the Maya did have the odd human sacrifice but not to Kulkulkan, the Sun God, and only high-ranking captives taken in battle were killed. The conquistadors arriving at the end of the film made for unlikely saviors: an estimated 90% of indigenous American population was killed by smallpox from the infected Spanish pigs.

Memoirs of a Geisha

The geisha coming-of-age, called "mizuage," was really more of a makeover, where she changed her hairstyle and clothes. It didn't involve her getting... intimate with a client. In the climactic scene where Sayuri wows Gion patrons with her dancing prowess, her routine - which involves some platform shoes, fake snow, and a strobe light - seems more like a Studio 54 drag show than anything in pre-war Kyoto.

Braveheart

Let's forget the fact that kilts weren't worn in Scotland until about 300 years after William Wallace's day and just do some simple math. According to the movie, Wallace's blue-eyed charm at the Battle of Falkirk was so overpowering, he seduced King Edward II's wife, Isabella of France, and the result of their affair was Edward III. But according to the history books, Isabella was three years old at the time of Falkirk, and Edward III was born seven years after Wallace died.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

In 1585, when the movie takes place, Queen Elizabeth was 52 years old - Cate Blanchett was 36 when she shot the film - and was not being courted by suitors like Ivan the Terrible (who was dead by then). And though the movie has her rallying the troops at Tilbury astride a white steed in full armor with a sword, in fact she rode side saddle, carrying a baton. She was more of a regal majorette than Joan of Arc.

The Patriot

Revolutionary War figure Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion was the basis for Mel Gibson's character, but he wasn't the forward-thinking family man they show in the flick. He was a slave owner who didn't get married (to his cousin) until after the war was over. Historians also say that he actively persecuted and murdered native Cherokees. Plus, the thrilling Battle of Guilford Court House where he vanquishes his British nemesis? In reality, the Americans lost that one.

2001: A Space Odyssey

According to this film, in year 2001 we would have had manned voyages to Jupiter, a battle of wits with a sentient computer, and a quantum leap in human evolution. Instead we got the Mir Space Station falling from the sky, Windows XP, and Freddy Got Fingered. Apparently the lesson here is that sometimes it's better when the movies get the facts all wrong.

http://ca.movies.yahoo.com/feature/10mosth...inaccurate.html

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What? No it's not. he movie was trying to copy the book, not the event. The comment would be relevant talking about the novel but not the movie.

the historical event

the book

the movie

the book is on the historical event

the movie is on the book

thereby this means that the movie is based on the historical event.

just like the Producers

original movie

broadway musical off the movie

a movie off the musical which was off the play

the movie musical based off the play which is based off the original movie.

everything is linked

Edited by Pierre the Great
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Watched Paths of Glory, Apocalypse Now, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cool Hand Luke, The Professionals, A Few Good Men, Gun Fight at the OK Corral, The Italian Job (remake, I have the original), THX 1138 among others in the past couple of days. And tonight I've got North by Northwest rented.

Out of all these, I probably like Apocalypse Now the most (I've never seen a war movie look so great visually) though it was the redux and was therefore 3 hours and 20 minutes long. Got a bit boring at times but it's a great movie. Pretty much all the other ones were also really cool though, it was a good string of movies.

Oh, I really liked A Few Good Men, also. Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson are at their best, Demi Moore is better than she usually is, and you also get to see guys like Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Pollak. Directed by the classic Rob Reiner.

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I think I've only seen Apocalypse Now Redux once so maybe it's unfair of me to say so, but I don't think the added material adds anything essential to understanding the movie. When I saw it I thought htey might as well have left out the new scenes (save for maybe one or two)... but maybe I'd appreciate the news scenes more if I saw it again.

I always liked Apocalypse Now It doesn't strike me as an endorsment of war (and I consider that to be a good thing). And if you watch it as an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness it is far better than the adaptation starring Tim Roth and John Malkovich from the mid-90's (a low-budget affair that only accomplishes one thign - to waste the talent of the stars acting in it I only recommend this movie to those who are real big fans of Conrad's novel, although you shouldn't get your hopes up!!!).

I'm a on the fence when it comes to A Few Good Men. Cruise is very charismatic, I've never seen Demi Moore better (although that doesn't actually mean a whole lot), Kevin Bacon (whom I like very much) and the other guy who plays the Sam character are both very likeable, Kiefer Sunderland does a good job and Jack Nicholson steals the show... But the whole movie feels a bit too patriotic for my taste. Also on the minus account is the fact that there's so much hype involved with it. In the end though you have to applaud the writing/directing/acting behind such a memorable line as the "you-can't-handle-the-truth" line. Movie quote gold IMO. It cerrtainly has had an impact on the movie/TV industry.

I am very interested in old quote "classic" unquote movies. I am not an auteur by any stretch of the imagination, I don't know nearly enough about movies and cinema history to call myself that, I am merely what we in Swedish call en glad amatör (a happy amateur). But I am very interested in the the whole shebang.

I have Cool Hand Luke in my DVD collection adn I thouroughly enjoyed it. Paul Newman is outstanding and the supporting cast is marvelous. Great, great movie!

I'm also a big western movie buff and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has iconic stsatus, at least within the genre. John Ford, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne at their best!

I haven't seen Gunfight... or The Professionals so if you have coments on them I'd love to read 'em. It would also be interesting to read what you have to say about THX 1138, which I also haven't seen but would be very interested in, if you think it's worth watching that is. It would be fun to see more of Lucas' early career. There have been a couple of Kurosawa movies I have seen and I have been shocked to find that Lucas more or less copied several elements in Star Wars.

Edited by Doktor Kosmos
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Sir David Lean (director of The Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia etc) was born on this day 100 years ago. Incidentally I saw Lawrence... today, they showed it on Swedish television yesterday and I recorded it, watched the first half yesterday and the second half today.

I very much liked the movie. It has iconic status to say the least and David Lean was very influentual on the movie industry as he has inspired legions of movie makers (I know Sergio Leone was a huge fan of his and wanted to be the Italian David Lean; other notable fans include Spielberg and George Lucas, just to name a few). Lawrence... is a grand Hollywood-type epic. It stars Peter O'Toole in the title role, Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif and a bunch of other well-known actors.

I like watching many of these must-see classics and Lawrence... didn't let me down. If you're into this type of movies then I really recommend it, but it's almost three and a half hours long so if you don't like long movies, this one is not for you.

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I think I've only seen Apocalypse Now Redux once so maybe it's unfair of me to say so, but I don't think the added material adds anything essential to understanding the movie. When I saw it I thought htey might as well have left out the new scenes (save for maybe one or two)... but maybe I'd appreciate the news scenes more if I saw it again.

I always liked Apocalypse Now It doesn't strike me as an endorsment of war (and I consider that to be a good thing). And if you watch it as an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness it is far better than the adaptation starring Tim Roth and John Malkovich from the mid-90's (a low-budget affair that only accomplishes one thign - to waste the talent of the stars acting in it I only recommend this movie to those who are real big fans of Conrad's novel, although you shouldn't get your hopes up!!!).

I'm a on the fence when it comes to A Few Good Men. Cruise is very charismatic, I've never seen Demi Moore better (although that doesn't actually mean a whole lot), Kevin Bacon (whom I like very much) and the other guy who plays the Sam character are both very likeable, Kiefer Sunderland does a good job and Jack Nicholson steals the show... But the whole movie feels a bit too patriotic for my taste. Also on the minus account is the fact that there's so much hype involved with it. In the end though you have to applaud the writing/directing/acting behind such a memorable line as the "you-can't-handle-the-truth" line. Movie quote gold IMO. It cerrtainly has had an impact on the movie/TV industry.

I am very interested in old quote "classic" unquote movies. I am not an auteur by any stretch of the imagination, I don't know nearly enough about movies and cinema history to call myself that, I am merely what we in Swedish call en glad amatör (a happy amateur). But I am very interested in the the whole shebang.

I have Cool Hand Luke in my DVD collection adn I thouroughly enjoyed it. Paul Newman is outstanding and the supporting cast is marvelous. Great, great movie!

I'm also a big western movie buff and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has iconic stsatus, at least within the genre. John Ford, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne at their best!

I haven't seen Gunfight... or The Professionals so if you have coments on them I'd love to read 'em. It would also be interesting to read what you have to say about THX 1138, which I also haven't seen but would be very interested in, if you think it's worth watching that is. It would be fun to see more of Lucas' early career. There have been a couple of Kurosawa movies I have seen and I have been shocked to find that Lucas more or less copied several elements in Star Wars.

I also didn't see much purpose in the adidtional scenes, they didn't seem to add much to the plot, only to show the Frenchman's prespective of the war. I still thought it looked amazing, though it was the redux version so the visuals must have been updated. Some of the best cinematography I have ever seen and possibly the best of any war movie (Saving Private Ryan is obviously fantastic though).

As for the quotes, I loved that one from Jack Nicholson but you didn't mention that there is one in Cool Hand Luke as well. "This is what we call a failure to communicate." I loved the ending when Newman says it just before he gets shot.

Out of Gunfight and The Professionals, I preferred the professionals, though both were pretty good Westerns featuring star actors like Kirk Douglas, Lee Marvin (in both), Dennis Hopper and Burt Lancaster. They aren't top-notch, artistic Westerns in the Leone range, and I wouldn't call either of them amazing movies, but they are both solid and worth watching if you have nothing better to do.The Professionals is pretty inteeresting, it's probably one of the better Westerns I've seen, though I still have a lot more to see (High Noon, For A few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, ...).

As for THX.... wow. I don't know what to say about this movie only that I believe it was heavily influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey, which came out 3 years earlier. In my opinion, Lucas ripped off a lot of Kubrick's trademarks when it came to the camerawork and music. It was still beautifully done and if I had to judge only it's artistic value I wuold say it's an amazing movie. But the story itself left me completely confused, there is little dialogue, and things are very awkward. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who wasn't sure exactly what was going on. But yes, even though (or especially because?) Lucas stole/used all of Kubrick's techniques, it was an interesting piece of art. I'm just not sure what to think of it.

Lastly, last night I watched North By Northwest, which is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, and probably my favourite Hitchcock. I'm amazed it was made in 1959, it looked a lot more modern to me, I was thinking it was made close to 1970. Anyways, a great story, great actors, great directors, great cinematography and just a great movie. I wouldn't say it captivated me, but it was just solid all the way through. I have seen some of Hitchcock's masterpieces so far, like Vertigo, Psycho and Rear Window - and they are all great - but this movie convinces me that this guy is a master.

I was actually going to rent Lawrence of Arabia instead of Paths of Glory, but LoA is just so long that I decided to save it for my break when I have the time to watch such a long movie. I'm pretty excited to see it, as I also love watching the classics, I've been hunting them down for the past few years - once I see No Country for Old Men and Lawrence of Arabia, I've seen something like the top 44 movies on the IMDB list (and about 75 others).

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As for the quotes, I loved that one from Jack Nicholson but you didn't mention that there is one in Cool Hand Luke as well. "This is what we call a failure to communicate." I loved the ending when Newman says it just before he gets shot.

Oh yeah, that line is, well, infamous.

I probably wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been for Guns N'Roses tho... :blush:

Out of Gunfight and The Professionals, I preferred the professionals, though both were pretty good Westerns featuring star actors like Kirk Douglas, Lee Marvin (in both), Dennis Hopper and Burt Lancaster. They aren't top-notch, artistic Westerns in the Leone range, and I wouldn't call either of them amazing movies, but they are both solid and worth watching if you have nothing better to do.The Professionals is pretty inteeresting, it's probably one of the better Westerns I've seen, though I still have a lot more to see (High Noon, For A few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, ...).

I'll make sure to watch 'em if I get the chance.

If you are interested in westerns then High Noon is a must, as well as all of Leone's westerns: A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, Giù la testa (aka Duck You Sucker, aka A Fistful of Dynamite aka Once Upon A Time... The Revolution) - and to top it all off you should - no, must - you must watch Once Upon A Time In America, even if it isn't a western.

Other classic westerns I have in my DVD collection are such films as The Searchers, Stagecoach, Rio Bravo, Shane, 3:10 To Yuma (the original starring Van Heflin and Glenn Ford), The Magnificent Seven, Last Train From Gun Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, High Plains Drifter Red River, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and the very peculiar Johnny Guitar. Anything directed by John Ford should be worth watching. Also The Wild Bunch probably qualifies as a western. Well I can go on and on here. There are tons of old westerns I'd like to see too that I haven't seen yet.

My recommendation would be to watch them in chronological order, if possible. Fistful of Dollars led to Once Upon A Time In America, not the other way around.

Lastly, last night I watched North By Northwest, which is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, and probably my favourite Hitchcock. I'm amazed it was made in 1959, it looked a lot more modern to me, I was thinking it was made close to 1970. Anyways, a great story, great actors, great directors, great cinematography and just a great movie. I wouldn't say it captivated me, but it was just solid all the way through. I have seen some of Hitchcock's masterpieces so far, like Vertigo, Psycho and Rear Window - and they are all great - but this movie convinces me that this guy is a master.

My favourite is Vertigo or Psycho. I have seen North By Northwest and it is indeed a great movie, as is Rear Window. Hitchcock was a genious. I have also seen The Birds, Strangers on a train and The Man Who Knew Too Much, all of which I highly recommend.

I was actually going to rent Lawrence of Arabia instead of Paths of Glory, but LoA is just so long that I decided to save it for my break when I have the time to watch such a long movie. I'm pretty excited to see it, as I also love watching the classics, I've been hunting them down for the past few years - once I see No Country for Old Men and Lawrence of Arabia, I've seen something like the top 44 movies on the IMDB list (and about 75 others).

^_^ Time well spent! I have two books about movies that I use as a sort of index, I try to watch anything from the books that I cross paths with, so to speak. One book is in Swedish and the Swedish title is 1001 filmer du måste se innan du dör (1001 movies you have to see before you die) and the other one is called 501 Must-See Movies, published by Bounty Books in 2004, it's got a big picture of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's on the front cover. If you can find it at a reasonable price (I got my copy at a sale - the inside cover says it's £25 in Britain) I suggest you get it. It's a good place to start.

I don't know how many of these 1001 movies I have seen (many films are listed in both books), but I have seen a bunch of 'em. I don't think I will ever be able to cross every single film off my list, simply because I don't agree that for example Dirty Dancing or Ferris Beuller's Day Off are must-see movies... But I would still like to watch the lion's share of them.

Wonder how many I have seen... :unsure:

Edited by Doktor Kosmos
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If you are interested in westerns then High Noon is a must, as well as all of Leone's westerns: A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, Giù la testa (aka Duck You Sucker, aka A Fistful of Dynamite aka Once Upon A Time... The Revolution) - and to top it all off you should - no, must - you must watch Once Upon A Time In America, even if it isn't a western.

Other classic westerns I have in my DVD collection are such films as The Searchers, Stagecoach, Rio Bravo, Shane, 3:10 To Yuma (the original starring Van Heflin and Glenn Ford), The Magnificent Seven, Last Train From Gun Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, High Plains Drifter Red River, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and the very peculiar Johnny Guitar. Anything directed by John Ford should be worth watching. Also The Wild Bunch probably qualifies as a western. Well I can go on and on here. There are tons of old westerns I'd like to see too that I haven't seen yet.

^_^ Time well spent! I have two books about movies that I use as a sort of index, I try to watch anything from the books that I cross paths with, so to speak. One book is in Swedish and the Swedish title is 1001 filmer du måste se innan du dör (1001 movies you have to see before you die) and the other one is called 501 Must-See Movies, published by Bounty Books in 2004, it's got a big picture of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's on the front cover. If you can find it at a reasonable price (I got my copy at a sale - the inside cover says it's £25 in Britain) I suggest you get it. It's a good place to start.

I don't know how many of these 1001 movies I have seen (many films are listed in both books), but I have seen a bunch of 'em. I don't think I will ever be able to cross every single film off my list, simply because I don't agree that for example Dirty Dancing or Ferris Beuller's Day Off are must-see movies... But I would still like to watch the lion's share of them.

I have seen both of those movies and though I didn't like Dirty Dancing, I think both of those movies are pretty classic in their own right (DD for it's target audience) and could be considered must-see movies.

Thanks for the list of Westerns, I already knew most of them, since those are some of the most accomplished movies of all time, but some I didn't know. (I have already seen Breakfast at Tiffany's, by the way). IMO The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is the greatest movie I have ever seen. It's not really one of my favourites, but I can't deny how great it was.

When you say 3:10 to Yuma, do you say the original or the new one with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe?

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The original starring Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van Heflin as Dan Evans. I haven't seen the remake. I'd like to see it though, if it's worth watching.

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The original starring Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van Heflin as Dan Evans. I haven't seen the remake. I'd like to see it though, if it's worth watching.

It's supposed to be amazing, it's a movie my friend is going to lend me during my break (starts April 18th).

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yeah its playing here. For a small city Nanaimo gets a ton of indie type films. Which is great, although Vancouver's got more of a selection but at the $12 for a movie ticket. ehh

Just seems weird that they'd spend a lot of money attaching trailers to big summer movies and then not have a wide release.

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Saw Run Fat Boy Run

It is a british comedy watered down with too much american humour with the british cast. Americans aren't funny unless you're Judd Apatow.

India de Beaufort and Thandie Newton looked good as eye candy in the movie, though.

So its a bummer, its not british but american. boo

But hey, it makes me want to move to London.

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(Pierre, if you like Judd Apatow, I recommend the show Freaks and Geeks, it was one of the first - if not the first - project he ever did)

I just watched Across the Universe and really disliked it. I'm not going to get into it though because I have a feeling a lot of people on this board really loved it.

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As for the quotes, I loved that one from Jack Nicholson but you didn't mention that there is one in Cool Hand Luke as well. "This is what we call a failure to communicate." I loved the ending when Newman says it just before he gets shot.

I think that the quote is actually " What we have here is a failure to communicate"

Other excellent westerns: Little big man, the outlaw Josey Wales, Cat Ballou (although this one is a comedy)

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I've seen a couple of movies lately and I thought I'd throw 'em out here:

Idlewild

I can't say I'm a big fan of the hippety hop, but I think Andre 3000 seems like a really cool guy. This movie felt very well crafted to me. Felt like they put a lot of effort into it.

Take The Lead

Like Dangerous Minds only with dancing instead of Dylan, and Antonio Banderas instead of MIchelle Pfeiffer.

The Outsiders

Francis Coppola flick from 1983. Lots of soon-to-be Hollywood stars. Good movie IMO.

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