Top 10+ Hollywood movies that got history completely wrong
We don't know about you but we're a sucker for a good historical epic on the big screen - whether it's a Roman epic, an Elizabethan romp or bringing a moment of the modern era to life, there's no shortage of history out there just waiting to be mined for box office gold. But for every historical blockbuster which gets its time period and its story spot on, there are others which haven't hit the mark quite so well when it comes to accuracy, or which have previously been accused of 'taking liberties' with the truth. And in doing so, they've quite often turned fact into - how shall we put this - fiction. Which is OK if all you want is a rollicking story. But if you're after an accurate re-enactment of some notable historic event, chances are you're going to be disappointed. Read on to find out about some of those blockbuster favourites which have previously been accused of getting history wrong, or changing it altogether... (Picture: Laurie Sparham/Miramax/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
1. Braveheart (1995)
Actor Mel Gibson picked up a brace of Oscars for 1995's Braveheart, which told the story of William Wallace and Scotland's first war for independence in the 13th Century. But while it might have been popular with moviegoers, others were quick to point out some of the inaccuracies on display. These ranged from neglecting to mention the fact that Wallace was of noble birth (instead portraying him as a poor farmer) through to the suggestion he had romantic relations with Isabella II of France - when experts have stated it's unlikely the pair would ever have met. All of which led to some criticism, with author John O'Farrell even going so far as to say: 'It couldn’t have been more off the mark if a plasticine dog was added to the cast and it was retitled William Wallace and Gromit.' Brutal (Picture: Allstar/ICON PRODUCTIONS)
2. Pearl Harbor (2001)
Moving all the way up to World War II now, and we have Pearl Harbor - Michael Bay's action-packed war epic about the infamous 1941 attack which led to the US officially entering the conflict. It's certainly gripping and bombastic, but is it accurate? Well not according to several sources, with a scene in which Japanese planes are seen to be deliberately targeting a civilian hospital coming in for criticism. In reality, as Pearl Harbor veterans and survivors of the attack later pointed out, Japanese fighters would generally avoid targeting civilians, even moving on to different paths to avoid attacking them, to the detriment of their safety
(Picture: REUTERS)
3. Pocahontas (1995)
Following the huge success of all-singing, all-dancing Disney flicks such as Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, the Mouse Kingdom took a different tack in 1995 by bringing the story of Pocahontas to the screen. But its version of this true story raised a fair few eyebrows. The film sees our title character falling for Captain John Smith, an English settler seeking to conquer the new world, with all the inevitable songs, sincerity and comedic sidekicks you might expect. But in reality Pocahontas married the explorer John Rolfe, and settled in England with him before she tragically died in March 1617, when she was thought to be just 21 years old (her year of birth remaining unknown). What's more, Pocahontas wasn't even her real name - according to writer William Strachey it was a childhood nickname meaning 'playful one' (Picture: Allstar/DISNEY)
4. Gladiator (2000)
It might have been a box office smash, notched up a string of Oscars including best film and best actor (for Russell Crowe), and even spawned a 2024 legacy sequel. But how historically accurate was 2000's Gladiator? Answer: not very. Crowe's character is completely fictional, granted, but the fights in which the character found himself weren't altogether accurate according to Roman History Professor David Potter. 'Most fights ended with first blood or surrender, not death,' he told Buzzfeed, adding that they would also have been 'one on one' matches rather than a free-for-all. What's more, Roman Emperor Maximus Aurelius (Richard Harris), who is killed by his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) in the movie, didn't die in this way in real life. In fact he succumbed to chicken pox. But that might not have made for such compelling cinema (Picture: /Dreamworks/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
5. Shakespeare In Love (1999)
Shakespeare In Love was so well-received when it was released in 1998 that it swept the Oscars that year, winning gongs for Dame Judi Dench and Gwyneth Paltrow (cue the infamous blubbing acceptance speech) as well as snatching the best film prize from under the nose of Saving Private Ryan (which many thought should have won instead). But there's a lot here which, historically, you should take with a pinch of salt. Such as the film portraying Queen Elizabeth I attending a public play (something she would never have done), not to mention the fact that theatres were up and running in spite of the movie being set in 1593 while London was battling an outbreak of bubonic plague. It does however have plenty to say about the challenge of being a powerful woman in what was at the time a man's world. So it did get some things right (Picture: Getty Images)
6. Argo (2012)
The 2012 film won big at the Oscars, taking home the prize for best film as well as best adapted screenplay. But how accurate was its story, the true tale of the rescue of six American diplomats in Tehran in 1979? Half and half really, because while the actual story was true, Canada's role in the real-life mission was overlooked, leading Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor to make his feelings known. Taylor, who not only kept the diplomats hidden at his home but also helped get them out of the country at the time, told USA Today: 'In general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave, period' (Picture: Warner Bros Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock)
7. JFK (1991)
There's no denying Oliver Stone's JFK is a brilliantly made movie, with some powerhouse performances from the likes of Kevin Costner and Donald Sutherland. But that hasn't stopped it coming in for criticism for its story about New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Costner) and his conviction that there was a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Much of the controversy was around the scene in which pilot David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) eventually confessed to the conspiracy - something which he never did in real life. As The Guardian pointed out in 2011: 'Were he alive, it would constitute a massive libel.' On that basis this might be one to enjoy for its artistic excellence rather than a history lesson (Picture: Warner Bros)
8. The Sound Of Music (1965)
Ah, The Sound Of Music. The mainstay of bank holiday TV, chances are you've seen it more times than is really healthy, know all the words to the songs and ugly cry every time you hear the opening bars of Climb Every Mountain. The film's based on a true story of course - that of the Von Trapp family, a clan of real-life singers who fled the Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938 - but what might bring the drama to the movie isn't quite how it happened. Instead of escaping over the Alps to Switzerland, the family actually escaped to Italy by train the day before the borders closed. As for the romance you see between Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) and guitar-strumming nun Maria (Julie Andrews) - well the pair did marry, but about a decade before the events of the film took place. Would that have brought the drama so much though? Probably not, so we'll let it slide (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
9. U-571
Next up we have this star-packed vehicle, which sees the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi and Harvey Keitel in a story about an American U-Boat crew's attempt to steal the Enigma machine from the Germans in 1942. While the story appears to be based on Operation Primrose, which involved the capture of an Enigma machine from the German submarine U-110, it was actually British sailors who were involved in the mission. In fact, they captured the device and cracked the code two years earlier, before the US even became involved in the war. So inaccurate was the film that it even led to then Prime Minister Tony Blair condemning it in the House Of Commons, calling it an 'affront' to British sailors that were killed during the war. Oh dear... (Picture: Getty Images)
10. 10,000 BC (2007)
Finally, we're heading all the way back in time to the year 10,000 BC - hence the name - for this epic tale of prehistoric mammoth hunters directed by Independence Day's Roland Emmerich. Of course nobody's going to have a completely accurate grasp on things that happened tens of thousands of years ago but that didn't stop critics from pointing out certain obvious liberties with the historical content, such as seeing the pyramids being built about 8,000 years before they actually were, and woolly mammoths being involved in their construction. Never mind that such work in the middle of a boiling desert would have seen the poor creatures succumb to heat exhaustion. AO Scott of the New York Times called the film 'a sublimely dunderheaded excursion into human prehistory'. No holding back there, then (Picture: Warner Bros Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock)
