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.
Tom Bombadil
“Spinal Tap” was a pretty accurate representation of the average heavy metal band.
Twelve O’Clock High
Memphis Belle
The Battle of Midway (John Ford)
Add:
Jim Thorpe, All American
and of course, Knute (with Ronald Reagan)
NOOOOOOO!!!! I actually met the pilot of the Memphis Belle, Robert Morgan, and spoke to him at length because he was signing autographs for his book "The Man Who Flew The Memphis Belle" in a booth next to mine at an air show. He told me he HATED the move because it was horribly inaccurate.
“Battle of the Bulge” was pretty accurate. Not a great war flick but it was underrated.
That being said, Robert Shaw gave a great performance.
I think Sgt. York was accurate in general but a lot of the details were wrong. For instance in the movie he had a brother and sister but in actuality came from a very large family.
Minor errors I can think of off hand are they had him use a Luger instead of the correct 1911 and a Springfield while he actually used a 1917 Enfield.
I bet there are a lot of other odds and ends that are wrong but in general it is right.
Yes
“I have heard from someone who was there, that “We Were Soldiers” is fairly accurate.”
I was until the end. The 7th Cav. took a real kicking when they marched out from LZ Xray to LZ Albany.
A buddy of mine said the boot camp parts of Apocalypse Now we’re pretty much spot on to his time.
“In Cold Blood” ignored the homosexual relationship between the pair of murderers.
thanks.....yup...came across all that in reading about him. I reckon the movie changed in bits which the director knew would translate better on the screen. Glad to know others are aware of Sgt York’s contributions. :)
It didn’t hurt that R. Lee Ermey was a DI in that time period and the director let Ermey ad-lib his lines to make them sound realistic.
CC
From The War Department, Photographed by the 8th US Air Force and Combat Crew members
Conan the Barbarian. The ancient sites they’ve been finding in Turkey make it seem more and more accurate all the time.
Yes, Fargo probably deserves an award as the most audaciously fake movie ever. Sort of have to give them credit for brazenness tho.
It did seem so real especially after they told you it was.
My neighbor agrees
“Battle of the Bulge” was pretty accurate. Not a great war flick but it was underrated.
That was one of the very worst WW II movies of all time for many reasons.
Maybe you mean The Longest Day.
Definitely Ed Wood. Definitely.
I’ve heard it said that survivors of D day left the opening scene of “saving private ryan” shaking and in a cold sweat due to the level of accuracy.
CC
I WAS a DI at Parris Island, and Ermey was spot-on with his role
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