# Most incredible historical inaccuracies in movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348 "2009-12-15T13:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/21 "2009-12-15T15:25:50Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > No, Inglourious Basterds is very explicitly a fantasy. It even makes it clear, in the beginning, that it’s a fairy tale. Once upon a time… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/22 "2009-12-15T15:56:43Z")
I think that **Year Zero** tops the list. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/23 "2009-12-15T16:00:38Z")
I remember being astonished after watching Luc Besson’s [Joan of Arc](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Messenger:_The_Story_of_Joan_of_Arc) that the titular person grew up in fairly ideal circumstances. Her sister was not raped, her town was not sacked, and overall she had no particularly vengeful purpose in trying to fight the English. This was astonishing because the movie essentially presented this as her driving purpose and her “Godly visions” as rationalizations towards this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/24 "2009-12-15T16:17:53Z")
Westerns are notorious for this when they touch on actual history. All the Wyatt Earp movies are inaccurate to one degree or another, although the last two have at least tried to incorporate SOME reality into their narrative framework, although the framework comes first when there’s a conflict. I love My Darling Clementine as a western, but historically it’s just all horribly jumbled. Up until Tombstone, no one had Doc Holliday as even the right age…he was in his mid 20s in Tombstone yet all the movies had him somewhere from the 40s-50s. Hell, IIRC, he died before he turned 30. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/25 "2009-12-15T16:26:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The opening episode of **Mad Men** was pretty egregious. Don Draper had to come up with a new ad campaign or lose his job, so he came up with a slogan that had first been used 40 years earlier, and which was still being used in the time frame of the show. It was sort of like having Custer call for air support… I don’t think it’s that “egregious.” Most of us know a fair amount of history, but the saga of cigarette advertising is of interest only to a special few. I love the show & find most of it\* pretty\* accurate (although I lived those years as a Texas teenager, who learned about Mad Avenue from Hollywood & Mad Magazine). Besides, the history in _Mad Men_ is just the background for the plots. Historical epics like Braveheart & Pearl Harbor are the big offenders. Besides, they are actually “movies”–per the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/26 "2009-12-15T16:37:10Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I’m cheating here because my contribution is [this poster](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1029938432/tt0027488) I stumbled across. I saw it and immediately wondered what the hell the picture had to do with the title, and then thought, what are the most ridiculous historical blunders in movies? > > And who better to ask than Dopers? Okay, I’ll bite. What’s wrong with the poster? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/27 "2009-12-15T16:43:51Z")
If you start throwing Disney into the mix, it gets pretty unbelievable. For example, it turns out that Rasputin was _not_ responsible for the slaughter of Czar Nicholas II and his family - a tidbit of “history” that I believed for a while when I was young. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/28 "2009-12-15T16:46:45Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > If you start throwing Disney into the mix, it gets pretty unbelievable. For example, it turns out that Rasputin was _not_ responsible for the slaughter of Czar Nicholas II and his family - a tidbit of “history” that I believed for a while when I was young. Nitpicking, but if you’re referring to Anastasia, that’s not Disney ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/29 "2009-12-15T17:00:06Z")
It’s not? It looked like Disney. Another thing they got wrong was that Rasputin wasn’t really an undead montser thingie from hell who tried to kill Anastasia from the grave. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/30 "2009-12-15T17:01:12Z")
It’s 20th Century Fox, directed by Don Bluth. He used to be with Disney and he left them to make movies like All Dogs go to Heaven and the Land Before Time. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/31 "2009-12-15T17:12:39Z")
Good site about movies that use stupid physics. [http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/](http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/32 "2009-12-15T17:13:22Z")
**The Legend of Zorro** ended with California joining the Union and President Lincoln showing up to personally welcome them. Unfortunately, California became a state in 1850 and Lincoln wasn’t President until 1861. What, they couldn’t find an actor who looked like Millard Filmore? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/33 "2009-12-15T17:20:54Z")
Things we learned from _Elizabeth: The Golden Age_: # Sir Walter Raleigh was present at the battle of Gravelines and indeed commanded the British fleet there. # The Speech to the Troops at Tilbury was four sentences long, and was given before the battle of Gravelines, not after. # Queen Elizabeth personally witnessed the battle of Gravelines. She apparently lit out for southern Kent immediately after the aforementioned speech, and once there was able to see across the entire English Channel, because she was the Queen. # Papists conspiring against Queen Elizabeth spent much of their time dyeing cloth. # Fotheringay Castle is located on a romantic Scottish loch rather than very flat territory in central England. (If you are the Queen of England and you wish to imprison the Queen of Scots, it is most practical to do so in Scotland if at all possible. You wouldn’t want her to get homesick, after all.) # During the Babington Plot, Walsingham was almost stabbed by his own brother and Queen Elizabeth was shot at. # All Spaniards prefer to speak Spanish incredibly slowly, even during the pitch of battle (“Eeeechaaaad laaaaaas aaaaanclaaaaaas!”). They however speak English at a normal speed. # Despite being born in 1566, the Infanta Isabella of Spain remained a tiny toddler well into the late 1580s. # No doubt by the same process, Queen Elizabeth continued to have an amazing ass well into her fifties. # Possibly for that reason, the intrigue as to whom she would marry and when she would produce an heir far outlasted her fertility. Nevertheless, she thought it advisable to go horseback riding alone with some random explorer. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/34 "2009-12-15T17:26:34Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > It’s not? It looked like Disney. > > Another thing they got wrong was that Rasputin wasn’t really an undead montser thingie from hell who tried to kill Anastasia from the grave. Well huh. You learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/35 "2009-12-15T17:26:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Just as with “U-571,” no Americans took part in “The Great Escape,” but the movie was filled with them (Steve McQueen, James Garner, et al.). Although no Americans were part of the lucky 76 who escaped (most of whom were recaptured), Americans did help dig the tunnels, but were relocated to a new camp before the escape effort was made. I have had the honor of meeting one of the American prisoners who hellped by hiding dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/36 "2009-12-15T17:37:56Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I think that **Year Zero** tops the list. Do you mean **Year One**? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/37 "2009-12-15T17:49:43Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > It’s not? It looked like Disney. > > Another thing they got wrong was that Rasputin wasn’t really an undead montser thingie from hell who tried to kill Anastasia from the grave. Ah, but you don’t know THE SECRET HISTORY!!! 😉 I guess I should contribute here- the DeMille-Heston THE TEN COMMANDMENTS has the original Passover occur on a Half-Moon night. The Hebrew calendar being lunar, every month begins with the first hint of the new moon and the middle of the month being a full-moon. The Passover is always mid-month. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/38 "2009-12-15T17:51:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Although no Americans were part of the lucky 76 who escaped (most of whom were recaptured), Americans did help dig the tunnels, but were relocated to a new camp before the escape effort was made. I have had the honor of meeting one of the American prisoners who hellped by hiding dirt. See Post #18, above. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/39 "2009-12-15T18:37:21Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I don’t think it’s that “egregious.” Most of us know a fair amount of history, but the saga of cigarette advertising is of interest only to a special few. I love the show & find most of it\* pretty\* accurate (although I lived those years as a Texas teenager, who learned about Mad Avenue from Hollywood & Mad Magazine). Besides, the history in _Mad Men_ is just the background for the plots. And that’s no different from doing a history of Hans Christian Andersen that ignored any historical facts about him. But HCA didn’t pretend to be accurate; **Mad Men** does. It’s especially bad when they use an anachronism as a major plot point. That’s just cheap writing. You could write a great movie where the air force saves Custer, but it’s not historically accurate. **Mad Men** is filled with major misrepresentations of the era it’s supposed to portray, and often uses these as a cheap shortcut in storytelling. It’s quite clear that the creators really have no idea of what the era was like, yet construct plots around their lack of knowledge (and yes, I lived through the era, too). Word to the wise: never think the information given in movies and Mad Magazine accurately reflects reality (Mad had constant jokes about teenagers kissing and their braces locking together, something that probably never happened). The problem is that the producers of **Mad Men** get _their_ knowledge from Hollywood and Mad Magazine, and pretend they are portraying a historical era. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348/40 "2009-12-15T18:46:44Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > It’s not? It looked like Disney. > > Another thing they got wrong was that Rasputin wasn’t really an undead montser thingie from hell who tried to kill Anastasia from the grave. Another thing they got wrong was that Rasputin was never cast out by the Tsar, but remained a royal favorite all his life – and even after his death. When the Germans were winning WWI on the Russian front and everything was falling to pieces, Alexandra was writing letters to Nicholas saying, in essence, “If only our Dear Friend [Rasputin] were still with us! **He** would know what to do!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-incredible-historical-inaccuracies-in-movies/521348.md?page=3)