The "Torment a Historian" movie playlist thread

[Relique du Madde]

Don't make me toss a holy hand grenade at you..

 

[Orius]

Yes, well, given the irony of claiming historical accuracy when the titular character did not exist in history, it seems to me that any disappointment is purely the viewer's fault.

Yes, I am aware that anything Arthurian blurs the line between history and myth. That's why say, Excalibur did not make the cut, it's too loaded down with magic and such to count on this list even though the knights are schlepping around in full armor nearly a millenium before it existed. However, given King Arthur's grandiose claims about being as historical as possible, it deserves a place on this list.

 

[Joker]

Yes, well, given the irony of claiming historical accuracy when the titular character did not exist in history, it seems to me that any disappointment is purely the viewer's fault.

Not entirely the viewers fault. The tagline is "The true story behind the legend" and "The producers of the film claim to present a historically accurate version of the Arthurian legends, supposedly inspired by new archaeological findings."

So the makers create a character and claim that he is the man the legend is based on and this film is a true retelling of his life and a realistic portrayal of the legend.

This and stating that historians now agree that Arthur was a real person means that you can't blame the viewer for not being skeptical enough.

P.S. Dragonwriter, I don't write serious .

 

[Wolf72]

First Knight ... cringe every time it's on.

 

[Joker]

First Knight ... cringe every time it's on.

I remember the female lead saying in an interview: "Well, how do we know that people in the Middle Ages weren't all hip and down with it?"

Indeed Shannyn Sossamon, how do we know indeed.

 

[Piratecat]

True, but there's a difference with taking a few liberties for dramatic purposes and showing the Macedonian cavalry riding velociraptors while trying to outflank the Persian Droid Army during the Battle of the Granicus and saying 'I swear to God, true story'.

I'd see this movie. Oh, yes.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Persian Droid Army

Droids, eh? So THAT's why they're called The Immortals!

 

[Relique du Madde]

Droids, eh? So THAT's why they're called The Immortals!

You sure they weren't Highlanderesque Immortals?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Droids, eh? So THAT's why they're called The Immortals!

Aaaaaaand apparently, they'll be rolling off the assembly line in a decade or so:

Blastr Stories Details

 

[Croesus]

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is nothing like what little we know of that time (see The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss).

Zulu (Michael Caine) has almost no connection with the actual battle. They even wrote their own lyrics to Men of Harlech (the song they sing when the Zulu's are bashing their spears against their shields). See Like Wolves on the Fold by Mike Snook.

And don't even get me started on the old WW2 movie "Battle of the Bulge" with Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan. At least the first two were good movies, if bad history. Battle of the Bulge was dreck in both senses.

I hate to say it, but it seems that the best historical stuff is on TV. They don't get everything right, but they tend to do a lot better than the movies.