Posted on 11/07/2014 5:43:15 PM PST by PJ-Comix
I remember reading about an interview with journalist Lowell Thomas. He was asked what he thought about the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" since he knew T.E. Lawrence and one of the characters in the film was loosely based on him. Thomas replied that he began to take notes when the movie came on the screen but quickly put his notes aside because the Lawrence he knew personally and the one he saw on the screen bore no factual resemblance to each other.
In fact most movies supposedly based on fact in reality are quite inaccurate so it would be easy to ask for your list on factually inaccurate movies. Instead, I am asking for your list of factually accurate movies. That is movies based on real events to come closest to factual accuracy.
Okay, I'll lead off. Because I read the book before seeing the movie, I would say "The Right Stuff." Some liberties with truth were taken but in general the facts of the space program were pretty accurate. Also "Nicholas and Alexandra" for the same reason as before, I read the book and the movie was mostly truthful except perhaps it did not show what a vacuous idiot Nicholas II was.
Did you ever see "Threads"? What a depressing movie, but it blows "The Day After" out of the water.
#22 A friend of mine, a former Marine and VN POW was an advisor to Coppola on Apocalypse Now. He quit after several weeks because Coppola wanted to put in things that were both physically and geographically impossible for the setting, among other problems.
Also, he was the originator of the idea for “Dumbo Drop” which is not what really happened. His idea was stolen and turned into a semi-fictional film (lightweight and almost harmless compared to other VN films).
“fairly” is the operative word...I bet the “someone” who was there could pick apart so many small details it would make “his” head spin...Bigger picture...sure...little picture Nope..
Lousy DUmmie Troll!
Full Metal Jacket boot camp scene was dead accurate.
Shoah.
Did someone commit suicide in the barracks latrine when you were in boot camp?
Agreed. Animal House. Good times.
#32 Howard da Silva as Franklin looked very close to actual paintings of Franklin.
Ironically, da Silva was the political opposite of Franklin. He was a longtime member of the Communist Party USA. For Soviet totalitarianism as versus Franklin for America’s freedom.
Still, the play “1776” was a delightful production. Saw it at the National Theater in DC in, 1976 or 1977.
(Warning: Bad Language)
If you count flying restored and replica Japanese Zeros off the stern of an American aircraft carrier “accurate”.
One of the major reasons Akira Kurosawa left the film.
I lean more towards ‘We Were Soldiers’, ‘Battle of Britain’, ‘Hamburger Hill’ and ‘Dam Busters’ as the best and most detailed war films.
Twelve O’Clock High
Memphis Belle
The Battle of Midway (John Ford)
Jim Thorpe, All American
Knute (with Ronald Reagan)
King of Kings
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Add:
A Night To Remember
I’m not at liberty to say how I know, but all of the Star Wars movies are so accurate as to be documentaries.
Did someone commit suicide in the barracks latrine when you were in boot camp?
We had weekly gang fights form idiots on opposite sides of Chicago. Got to watch some shooting stars while standing in the dark at attention in my underwear in formation.
Full metal jacket seemed pretty accurate, but maybe it just seemed realistic...
R. Lee Ermey was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an iconic D.I.
Though the film was shot entirely in the U.K. Kubrick captured the essence of Gus Hasford’ ‘The Short Timers’ wondrously. Even if the novel’s final chapters are omitted.
Far and away the most historically accurate film I’ve seen was The Last Emperor (1987). Bertolucci (the director) nailed it with that one.
Anything by Michael Moore has to rate right up there —
And how do you define: ‘right ... up ... there ...’ ?
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