# Hollywood got it right! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616 "2016-11-04T16:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dante\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dante\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante_G)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/1 "2016-11-04T16:32:27Z")
So we’ve seen a few threads lately that talk about aspects of TV and movies that are inaccurate or just plain wrong. Car crashes and exaggerated explosions, recovering from injuries to easily, hot wiring cars etc . For this thread, I was curious about the opposite. What are some examples of scenes from TV or film that are done right? Are there many examples at all?? ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/2 "2016-11-04T16:37:33Z")
Archer’s gunfire- and explosion-induced tinnitus is often very refreshing. Mawp. Mawp! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/3 "2016-11-04T17:04:33Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Archer’s gunfire- and explosion-induced tinnitus is often very refreshing. > > Mawp. Mawp! Well, he does lose a few accuracy points for having been shot about six times in the back at close range with no apparent after effects. The guy has Wolverine-like healing factor. Except, for, apparently, the cochlea. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/4 "2016-11-04T17:14:14Z")
It’s not as though getting it right makes any difference in the quality of the movie. But it’s fun to point out inaccuracies as though they’re flaws. I do remember that _Gettysburg_ was very accurate; they even portrayed Longstreet’s ordering of Pickett’s Charge correctly (Longstreet knew the order would be a disaster, so he just nodded to start it instead of speaking). Kenneth Branagh’s _Frankenstein_ was billed as an accurate rendition of the book. Critics complained about the arctic scenes in the beginning and end. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/5 "2016-11-04T17:19:05Z")
Several years ago a doctor told me _Scrubs_ was surprisingly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/6 "2016-11-04T17:26:52Z")
In terms of historical accuracy, **Saving Private Ryan** nailed the D-Day invasion with startling realism. I thought **The Witch** was very accurate in portraying the Puritans’ religious beliefs and way of life. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/7 "2016-11-04T18:13:46Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Several years ago a doctor told me _Scrubs_ was surprisingly accurate. Realism of the actual story lines aside, I showed my wife the first season of **St. Elsewhere** while she was working in a low-income area hospital and she thought the general _feeling_ and ambiance of the show nailed it. A week after we watched it, she was in the hospital elevator when it suddenly stopped between floors. She started humming the theme music and the woman she was with started laughing and said “Yep.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/8 "2016-11-04T18:18:51Z")
The first 15 minutes or so of Nick Nolte’s [Teachers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088242/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3) was quite accurate. As are hunks of the rest of it, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/9 "2016-11-04T18:32:38Z")
I always thought that Hollywood had got it wrong when they depicted Quakers, such as in the movie Friendly Persuasion, saying things like, “Thee know’st, Josh, that thee should’st not bear arms and fight.” No, I thought, that should be 'Thou know’st, etc, as thou is for the subject (the nominative form) and thee for the object (the accusative). It turns out I was wrong and Hollywood was right. I later read an article in Notes & Queries which commented on the 19th century Quaker custom of confusing the cases, using thee where thou would have been used one or two centuries earlier. I came across the article purely by chance and it was an instructive lesson that sometimes Hollywood does indeed get it right. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/10 "2016-11-04T18:39:20Z")
_Fast Times at Ridgemont High_ captured the time and place almost perfectly. Believe it or not, apparently\* My Cousin Vinny\* is a lot more accurate than you might imagine. I remember reading an interview with Director Jonathan Lynn where he said just that and I thought “no way”. Many years later when I was studying to become a paralegal ,no less than our of my professors - all lawyers and judges- cited it as one of their favorite movies concerning the law, not only due to the humor but the accuracy 😕:). Maybe t hey were pulling my leg but I just thought I’d mention it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/11 "2016-11-04T19:18:30Z")
Last night we watched the first episode of season 3 of _The Fall_. They actually did an intubation right! They had a pillow under the head, no tilting of the head back, etc. Re: _Scrubs_. One thing that always got me was the immense number of people always present in the hallway. Real hospital corridors are near to completely empty most of the time. What are all these people doing? ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/12 "2016-11-04T19:24:35Z")
‘Full Metal Jacket’ depicts the most accurate portrayal of a Marine D.I. I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t have been more realistic. I’m pretty sure fellow jarheads will agree. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/13 "2016-11-04T19:34:56Z")
Probably because R Lee Ermey was a real Marine Drill Instructor and Kubrick let him improvise a lot of his role. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/14 "2016-11-04T19:36:46Z")
Even with all the odd characters who trouped through his precinct, “Barney Miller” has been cited as a very realistic cop show. > [@Cardigan](#): > > ‘Full Metal Jacket’ depicts the most accurate portrayal of a Marine D.I. I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t have been more realistic. I’m pretty sure fellow jarheads will agree. I’m sure having an actual Marine D.I. ([San Diego, '65 - '67](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Lee_Ermey)) helped. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/15 "2016-11-04T19:41:32Z")
The ID Channel did a show on Bernie Tiede last night. Very, very little was changed in the movie [Bernie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_(2011_film)). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/16 "2016-11-04T19:59:31Z")
Police officers often cite _Barney Miller_ as one of the most accurate depictions of police work. ETA: Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/17 "2016-11-04T20:19:53Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Kenneth Branagh’s _Frankenstein_ was billed as an accurate rendition of the book. Critics complained about the arctic scenes in the beginning and end. :rolleyes: Branaugh’s was neither the first nor the last to give the “bracketing” story of the polar expedition. Calvin Floyd’s very overlooked 1977 film 9i0Victor Frankenstein\* (AKA _Terror of Frankenstein_) is, as far as I know, the first attempt to accurately adapt Shelley’s book to the screen, and does a good job, including the expedition. The 2004 TV adaptaion made by Hallmark is arguably the most faithful. Not only do they include the arctic framing story, but Donald Sutherland plays an old-ish Captain Walton, so it’s hard to ignore. Purists still object to all three of these “faithful” versions, though. There are departures in character, story, and philosophy from the original novel. There have been a couple of versions of Dracula that similarly try to follow the book. Jess Franco’s 1970 _Count Dracula_ manages to do a good job, at least for the first half (and with an impressive cast – Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, Klaus Kinski as REnfield, and Christopher Lee playing Dracula in a non-Hammer film – and with a canonical moustache, at that!). Coppola’s 1992 film manages to include more of the book’s settings, incidents, and characters than any other version, although its tacked-on reincarnation story and romance is definitely foreign to Stoker’s novel. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/18 "2016-11-04T20:29:42Z")
You know how cops are always pissed off when the feds or whoever comes in and takes over their case? Season 2 of The Wire where all of the agencies are working hard to not have jurisdiction and avoid the leaky bag of shit is much more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/19 "2016-11-04T20:30:31Z")
There’s [this scene](https://youtu.be/KW10xCub3Kg) from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_. I don’t recall if it was in the original cut of the movie, but it’s an air traffic controller talking with a couple aircraft in his area when they are buzzed by a UFO. I’ve read other people cite is as getting the vocabulary and speech patterns right. I’ve never been in an ATC facility like that, but it does seem to have the right vibe. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Realism of the actual story lines aside, I showed my wife the first season of **St. Elsewhere** while she was working in a low-income area hospital and she thought the general _feeling_ and ambiance of the show nailed it. > > A week after we watched it, she was in the hospital elevator when it suddenly stopped between floors. She started humming the theme music and the woman she was with started laughing and said “Yep.” I remember watching _St. Elsewhere_ a few times; my brother was a big fan. That was before I moved to Boston. I remember the shot in the opening credits of the train going past the hospital; for all the travelling I’ve done around this city, I don’t think I’ve ever found where that was shot. May have to go looking for it someday. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616/20 "2016-11-04T20:52:08Z")
The movie _Courage Under Fire_ got so much military stuff wrong but it wasn’t too bad when it came to the workings of a tank crew. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-got-it-right/770616.md?page=2)