vicki2

The thread about the Twin Towers made me think of a question. When you see a movie based on historical events or someone famous, do you tend to believe everything in the movie ...as historically accurate?

A good case in point are some of Oliver Stone's films. Take the movie Nixon.
For those who weren't born when Nixon was President, do they walk away thinking they've gotten an accurate portrayal of the man and accept Stone's version as fact?

tater03

I tend to take some as fact and some as stuff added in to make for a good movie. Now if it is a documentary I usually take those as more of a factual basis when I watch them.

Lyndsey

I have a background in history, so I tend to be skeptical of the accuracy even before I see the movie. However, anytime you retell any history, your bias colours it, just by your choice of events, etc. I don't expect complete accuracy because a movie is also a work of art. Someone was trying to draw out a certain theme with the movie, so some "doctoring", like exaggerating a possible romance, is understandable. Inaccurate portrayal of events that caused suffering (minizing, etc.) is, however, irresponsible, entertainment or not.

Ford

I just watched "The Patriot" on dvd again today and I don't take it for anything but pure entertainment. I'm not watching it to learn anything, just to be entertained. I'm a skeptical person by nature, so I don't believe anything that comes out of Hollywood. I'd even have trouble believing documentaries or history books in general. There's always more going on than whats reported.

mamab

I have NO doubt whatsoever that movies based on history are inaccurate. It's rare, if ever, that a movie writer doesn't take editorial license to make a movie more "interesting" or "marketable." So, no, I don't take them to be accurate in the least.

EviesEarth

I read a while back that RobRoy was one of the most historically accurate films ever made. This was in regards to story, actors/characters and costumes.

vicki2

I lived in Scotland and heard no one say they considered RobRoy historically accurate although they would say it was far more accurate than Braveheart lol.

I don't have a problem with movies based on historical events for entertainment sake. I do have a problem with people who are so intellectually lazy that they use historical films to not read the proper history.

QuietLunatic

It's possible to be true to events and still weave a fictional story around those events. I'm thinking of "Pearl Harbor" where the battle was part of the background for the story. Or even "Titanic", which was as accurate as they could be--I know some of the lines spoken by the characters were quotes as reported by survivors. There will always be liberties taken in the interest of telling a good story.

vicki2

I think in Titanic, the love story gave the filmmakers alot of latitude for fictional additions and that the real history of the sinking could be historically accurate. In the case of JFK, Nixon, etc., fiction was used to replace known facts simply because it was more interesting. Not sure I agree with that.

debrajean

Personally, I watch these for entertainment value only. I call them fiction based in fact. I probably won't watch the twin towers movie, it's still just too close to the actual event for me.