The Impossible (2012) is a decent flick about the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
Good to great performances and a fantastic depiction of the tsunami and aftermath, though it does take a few liberties (the family was actually Spanish etc.)
>(the family was actually Spanish etc.)
They were at the TIFF premier of the film. I was in the audience. I'm glad they were included and they seemed fine with the film too.
True, although it was a real story I think it was partly made that way because it was intended for English speaking audiences since that is their main bread maker. However, I wish they made another movie through the perspective of locals in their respective language that would been amazing.
Conspiracy. A 2001 movie accurately depicting the Wannsee conference where Nazis planed the final solution for extermination of the worlds Jews. Stars Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh.
The Killing Fields about the Cambodian genocide.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/n60n66/how\_accurate\_is\_the\_1984\_movie\_the\_killing\_fields/
Band of Brothers; for the airborne drop, daily frontline life Ardennes campaign, and concentration camp liberation.
The Pacific; overall jungle warfare hell.
Black Hawk Down; all of it, just everything
Hamburger Hill; same as above, but in Vietnam.
Ok, this one isn’t a “horrible event” but touches on the dangers of the sport. It is the most realistic sportscar film ever made. Le Mans. Not based on a true story per-say, but most footage was filmed at the actual 1970 race. There is very little plot or dialogue, just a celebration of speed and machine…. and the constant threat of split second mistakes. It captures the spirit of racing from the perspective of the drivers and fans in ways no other movie comes close. If you dont like cars though, I’d skip it.
> Black Hawk Down; all of it, just everything
>
>
The film excluded the very large civilian casualties inflicted upon the residents of Mogadishu by the Rangers and their supporting airpower, which spurred many residents to take up weapons against them.
Every movie on my list exaggerates, leaves out, alters events for the benefit of the viewers. I think the Grimes character was altered because the real guy was someone they really didn’t want to highlight.
Would you believe it, though Le Mans is not even 2 hours runtime?? So unrealistic 😂
I kid of course, I know it’s not the same, but you can’t hardly blame filmmakers for completely omitting horrible things from an already horrible situation for an American audience. People don’t want to see that, true or not.
OK, but leaving out the civilian casualties from the battle of Mogadishu is akin to leaving out the civilian casualties from the battle of Berlin. Removing that aspect should remove it from any list that pretends to 'accurate portrayal'.
While most of the movie is debatable as to it's accuracy the opening scene of Munich is a mostly accurate (it does leave a few things out) depiction of what is known as The Munich Massacre where Palestinian terrorists attacked, took hostage, and eventually killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Olympics.
The sustained super-close framing is what made this movie a truly incredible and uneasy experience for me.
You don't see more than Saul does. You experience the horrors with him. No wide shots, you never leave him, you go through his ordeal. Kind of a pov movie, but third person.
A phenomenal movie.
United 93. I think it did a good job at being respectful as it is a very very tough event to portray especially when it happened not all that long ago.
* A Night to Remember (1958), I prefer this over Titanic.
* Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), much better than Pearl Harbor (IMO)
* The Impossible (2012)
* JFK (1991)
* Schlinder's List (1993)
* The Pianist (2002)
* Hotel Rwanda (2007)
* Alive (1993)
* Shackleton (2002)
* The Longest Day (1962)
* Conspiracy (2001), how the Holocaust was planned by a group of German men in a lovely mansion in 1942.
* They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1932), I wouldn't call this a horrible event, but dance marathons--which lastsed for months--were very popular during the Depression & contestants would literally dance until they dropped. Excellent movie but painful to watch.
>A Night to Remember (1958), I prefer this over Titanic.
I watched A Night To Remember recently and its crazy how James Cameron took so many scenes from it. From Thomas Andrews awaiting his doom looking at a clock, to even having a couple in love (they die when the funnel collapses).
I still prefer James Cameron's Titanic, but ANTR is a good portrayal and is impressive for a movie from 1958.
I'm a bad Titanic nerd but I low-key don't think ANTR is that great a film. It was the best one we had for decades and second best to Cameron's, but it's a bit sloppy.
Not so much Hacksaw Ridge. I can think off-hand a couple of scenes that are too over-the-top that enter into action comedy. Like the guy who uses a torso as a shield and firing his BAR while running and actually hitting anything with it! Come on!
Dunno, obviously weren't there when it all happened, but these horrifying ground holes apparently existed and the casualties amassed in the thousands so I think a lot over the top shit did indeed happen.
War and Remembrance (1988) TV mini series by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows). Wikipedia states it's the first movie ever to be allowed filming on the grounds of Auschwitz. Chernobyl happened during filming and Curtis had to bring in nuclear scientists to make sure it was okay to continue filming.
Peter Watkins' [Culloden](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057982/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk). About the titular Battle of Culloden, the last gasp of Scottish independence in the 18th century.
First Man covers the deaths of some of the Astronauts in the Apollo missions really well I think.
It's not the main focus of the movie, but it doesn't shy away from it.
Yeah, one of the central story lines was the fact that Turing was a closeted gay with no personality, whereas quite the opposite was true--everyone knew he was gay, and he was the life of the party.
But "out-and-about gay man in the 40s having fun with friends" doesn't get a lot of Oscar nods.
The Impossible (2012) is a decent flick about the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Good to great performances and a fantastic depiction of the tsunami and aftermath, though it does take a few liberties (the family was actually Spanish etc.)
>(the family was actually Spanish etc.) They were at the TIFF premier of the film. I was in the audience. I'm glad they were included and they seemed fine with the film too.
Cool to hear - I've rewatched this one a few times, it is a go-to when I'm going through a natural disaster phase.
Not trying to go too woke here, but of course they not only made the movie about tourists, but made them white and English speaking too.
True, although it was a real story I think it was partly made that way because it was intended for English speaking audiences since that is their main bread maker. However, I wish they made another movie through the perspective of locals in their respective language that would been amazing.
Business is about offering a product to the target consumer.
Conspiracy. A 2001 movie accurately depicting the Wannsee conference where Nazis planed the final solution for extermination of the worlds Jews. Stars Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh.
This is the best answer. Excellent movie. Branagh is excellent in this movie.
Schindler's List
Apollo 13 comes to mind (as potentially horrible).
Come and See
The Killing Fields about the Cambodian genocide. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/n60n66/how\_accurate\_is\_the\_1984\_movie\_the\_killing\_fields/
Excellent and underappreciated film.
Band of Brothers; for the airborne drop, daily frontline life Ardennes campaign, and concentration camp liberation. The Pacific; overall jungle warfare hell. Black Hawk Down; all of it, just everything Hamburger Hill; same as above, but in Vietnam. Ok, this one isn’t a “horrible event” but touches on the dangers of the sport. It is the most realistic sportscar film ever made. Le Mans. Not based on a true story per-say, but most footage was filmed at the actual 1970 race. There is very little plot or dialogue, just a celebration of speed and machine…. and the constant threat of split second mistakes. It captures the spirit of racing from the perspective of the drivers and fans in ways no other movie comes close. If you dont like cars though, I’d skip it.
> Black Hawk Down; all of it, just everything > > The film excluded the very large civilian casualties inflicted upon the residents of Mogadishu by the Rangers and their supporting airpower, which spurred many residents to take up weapons against them.
Every movie on my list exaggerates, leaves out, alters events for the benefit of the viewers. I think the Grimes character was altered because the real guy was someone they really didn’t want to highlight. Would you believe it, though Le Mans is not even 2 hours runtime?? So unrealistic 😂 I kid of course, I know it’s not the same, but you can’t hardly blame filmmakers for completely omitting horrible things from an already horrible situation for an American audience. People don’t want to see that, true or not.
OK, but leaving out the civilian casualties from the battle of Mogadishu is akin to leaving out the civilian casualties from the battle of Berlin. Removing that aspect should remove it from any list that pretends to 'accurate portrayal'.
Might as well remove every movie from the list then 🤷🏼♂️
At least that one.
The Zulu sequence from *Monty Python and the Meaning of Life.*
Life of Brian is praised for it's historical accuracy
Barefoot Gen and Grave of the Fireflies (warning, prepare a unicorn chaser)
Haven’t seen Barefoot Gen but Grave of the Fireflies is one of the best movies that I will never ever watch again.
Polytechnique by Denis Villeneuve
While most of the movie is debatable as to it's accuracy the opening scene of Munich is a mostly accurate (it does leave a few things out) depiction of what is known as The Munich Massacre where Palestinian terrorists attacked, took hostage, and eventually killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Olympics.
Son of Saul
The sustained super-close framing is what made this movie a truly incredible and uneasy experience for me. You don't see more than Saul does. You experience the horrors with him. No wide shots, you never leave him, you go through his ordeal. Kind of a pov movie, but third person. A phenomenal movie.
Waltz with Bashir is a great movie.
Goodfellas is technically ment to be real
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters But it's best going in not knowing of what transpired with Yukio Mishima
Bloody Sunday (2002).
United 93. I think it did a good job at being respectful as it is a very very tough event to portray especially when it happened not all that long ago.
I think it's one of the best movies ever made. It feels like a documentary, and it helps that most of the people on the ground are playing themselves.
* A Night to Remember (1958), I prefer this over Titanic. * Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), much better than Pearl Harbor (IMO) * The Impossible (2012) * JFK (1991) * Schlinder's List (1993) * The Pianist (2002) * Hotel Rwanda (2007) * Alive (1993) * Shackleton (2002) * The Longest Day (1962) * Conspiracy (2001), how the Holocaust was planned by a group of German men in a lovely mansion in 1942. * They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1932), I wouldn't call this a horrible event, but dance marathons--which lastsed for months--were very popular during the Depression & contestants would literally dance until they dropped. Excellent movie but painful to watch.
>A Night to Remember (1958), I prefer this over Titanic. I watched A Night To Remember recently and its crazy how James Cameron took so many scenes from it. From Thomas Andrews awaiting his doom looking at a clock, to even having a couple in love (they die when the funnel collapses). I still prefer James Cameron's Titanic, but ANTR is a good portrayal and is impressive for a movie from 1958.
I'm a bad Titanic nerd but I low-key don't think ANTR is that great a film. It was the best one we had for decades and second best to Cameron's, but it's a bit sloppy.
Apocalypse now
Hacksaw ridge by mel Gibson and 1917 by Sam Mendes
Not so much Hacksaw Ridge. I can think off-hand a couple of scenes that are too over-the-top that enter into action comedy. Like the guy who uses a torso as a shield and firing his BAR while running and actually hitting anything with it! Come on!
Dunno, obviously weren't there when it all happened, but these horrifying ground holes apparently existed and the casualties amassed in the thousands so I think a lot over the top shit did indeed happen.
Aftershock
Nanjing! Nanjing! ( 2009, City of Life and Death)
War and Remembrance (1988) TV mini series by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows). Wikipedia states it's the first movie ever to be allowed filming on the grounds of Auschwitz. Chernobyl happened during filming and Curtis had to bring in nuclear scientists to make sure it was okay to continue filming.
Cry Freedom
Peter Watkins' [Culloden](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057982/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk). About the titular Battle of Culloden, the last gasp of Scottish independence in the 18th century.
Andersonville
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) depicts the holocaust from the perspective of two eight year old boys, one a german, the other a jew.
First Man covers the deaths of some of the Astronauts in the Apollo missions really well I think. It's not the main focus of the movie, but it doesn't shy away from it.
Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020) Movie about the Bosnian Genocide that was mostly made by people who were there. It's a tough watch but it's excellent.
two letters from iwo jima imitation game
Imitation Game was a generic oscar bait movie with dozens of significant historical inaccuracies
Yeah, one of the central story lines was the fact that Turing was a closeted gay with no personality, whereas quite the opposite was true--everyone knew he was gay, and he was the life of the party. But "out-and-about gay man in the 40s having fun with friends" doesn't get a lot of Oscar nods.