# Not Quite "Based on a True Story" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510 "2004-01-29T03:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr.Goofballz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@Mr.Goofballz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goofballz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/41 "2004-02-03T19:39:55Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > It has nothing to do with opinion, though. The people who were there in Somalia during the Battle of Mogadishu have commented on the movie. THEY are the authoritative source for opinion on the realism of the movie, not some guy in the Ranger Bats 10 years later. As RikWriter saidThe Deluxe DVD Edition of BlackHawk Down contains an audio commentary from several of the soldiers that fought in the battle. Listening to that it is quite clear that the movie is quite faithful to the actual events. They do point out what innaccuracies the movie had but overall the depiction of the battle was faithful. One example I recall them pointing out is the Delta operator in the film being shown thrown from a vehicle and killed. In the film he is blown in half from the explosion and is still alive for a short time in that condition. The Delta soldier on the commentary noted that didn’t happen. The man was wounded in an explosion and did die from his wounds the next day I believe. The nature of his death in the film was not true though. I’d recommend that DVD to anyone who is interested in the battle. It gives you a good idea of the realism that the film did capture. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goofballz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@Mr.Goofballz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goofballz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/42 "2004-02-03T19:47:07Z")
Sorry I’m evidently having problems with this infernal computer machine. I meant to say As Rikwriter said the movie is quite realistic… Then talk about the DVD… Blech ---
**Author:** ![murky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@murky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/murky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/43 "2004-02-27T17:25:50Z")
> [@Mr. Goofballz](#): > > Sorry I’m evidently having problems with this infernal computer machine. > > I meant to say As Rikwriter said the movie is quite realistic… Then talk about the DVD… > > Blech That sounds like a great idea for Black Hawk Down. Do the soldiers actually comment on the events throughout the entire film? I would like to see that. My father has the DVD, I might gank it from him the weekend… BTW, as far as Hidalgo goes… who really cares if it is based on a true story or not… I can understand the endurance horse riders getting upset… so if you are an endurance horse rider, then get upset. But if this movie is going to be a good popcorn flick, then why would anyone else care? I will be there to see it regardless of how true it is. Viggo is good, horses rock, and it looks entertaining… IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/44 "2004-02-27T18:35:42Z")
There are far more than “a few nitpicks” for Braveheart. Much of the stuff that’s vital to the plot is incorrect. Let’s see … for starters, William Wallace did not do the nasty with a future Queen of England. (And in point of fact the woman in question was only 13 years old at the time of Wallace’s death; she didn’t have her first child until seven years after Wallace’s execution.) Edward I did not in fact toss people off of castle walls (though he did exile one of his son’s friends … and possibly lovers … from the kingdom.) Edward I outlived Wallace by a couple of years, instead of dramatically dying before he did. There’s no evidence that a “right of first night” ever existed in England or Scotland. (For that matter, there isn’t any good evidence that such a right was ever practiced anywhere in Europe, either.) And there’s tons of more minor stuff… The movie confuses Robert the Bruce with his father by assigning the older man the younger man’s traditional leprosy. (As an aside, modern day historians doubt the disease was leprosy in any case.) Wallace was minor nobility, a son of a knight, not a poor dirt farmer. He certainly wouldn’t have been working on his house all by himself, as shown in the movie. Wallace did not suddenly and spontaneously invent the tactic of using long pikes to deter cavalry. :rolleyes: The Irish did not team up with the Scots (quite the opposite). The battle of Stirling Bridge lacks one small component that was essential to the course of the historical battle–namely, the bridge. Etc. etc. You could go on for weeks. Normally getting the history wrong in a movie set so far in the past doesn’t matter much. For example, nobody much cares whether Gladiator is based on fact or pure fiction. But given the amount of political hoopla Braveheart engendered, its claims to being a historical account have to be taken much more seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/45 "2004-02-27T19:25:28Z")
> [@raizok](#): > > How about the **Mothman Prophecies**? I believe they said it was “inspired” by a true story, but the only thing I think was true about that is the one or two sightings of a giant moth-man. > > Pretty sad. Thank God. I never looked it up to see how much of that movie was true, but it sure scared the crap out of me. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/46 "2004-02-27T20:23:55Z")
> [@TOTBP](#): > > (As it is, I rarely put any stock in the historical accuracy of any Disney adaption.) Jim Morris said they did pretty good with **The Rookie**. They did stretch the truth a bit, of course, but it seems the only thing that _absolutely_ did not happen was the speed limit radar gun. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/47 "2004-03-02T20:01:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > _Plan Nine from Outer Space_ was based on “sworn testimony”, according to the introduction. > > When the “real” Maria von Trapp saw _Sound of Music_ she stated “It’s a beautiful story, it just doesn’t happen to be mine”, and that was true of most musicals based on true stories. Essentially there really was a Maria von Trapp who really did marry an Austrian baron and flee the Nazis, but the rest of the story is hogwash (among other discrepancies, the real marriage wasn’t a love story but more of a convenience matter [he was old enough to be her father], they were married for a decade and had two children [and she was pregnant with a third] when they left, and they “fled” not from a concert but by the less dramatic method of buying train tickets in their own names and getting on board, besides which the real Maria was about as sweet as _Mommie Dearest_.) Not to mention, that they operated a ski resort in Stowe Vermont for years…my grandmother knew her=) and yupers, she was a cast iron byatch. [quote] [Anna and the King of Siam](http://imdb.com/title/tt0038303/) , [The King and I](http://imdb.com/title/tt0049408/) and [Anna and the King](http://imdb.com/title/tt0166485/) are three movies based on a “true story” that never happened. (There really was an Anna Owens [not “Leonowens”, but “Owens” in real life] and she really did work as a tutor at the Siamese court of King Mongkut, but the rest is hogwash- any relationship she had with the king [who was a generation older than the actors who have played him and had spent most of his life in a Buddhist monastery] was very formal and very occasional- he had ample foreign born advisors and unlike the king in the book and the movies he did not kill concubines who left him.) [/quote} Although he did in fact [or she reported] chain one of his wives in a courtyard by her ankle with no shelter, and let their child by her roam around in the courtyard…and the burning of tuptim and her lover and a few other fairly unsavory actions a european would find horrible. of course, not our culture, not comprehensible to us in a manner of speaking. [i happen to have a first addition of her book ‘the english governess at the siamese court’ got it when i bid on a box of books to get a first of ‘wizard of oz’=)] ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/48 "2026-01-24T14:05:42Z")
Almost completely story for me: Henry V. But based on Shakespeare. I just saw some clips of it so far. It’s a Shakespeare play into a movie. I am planning a class in the fall that is a bit broader (on medieval France and England) than Henry V, but the video material so far in hand is boring. Or cheesy documentary production. So I will enjoy watching it a few times. But the aim is to use a few 5 minute scenes in class, when I notice that the class is drifting off from my talking. > **[Henry V (1989 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_(1989_film))** > > Henry V is a 1989 British historical drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh in his feature directorial debut, based on William Shakespeare's history play of the same name. It stars Branagh in the title role of King Henry V of England, with Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Brian Blessed, Emma Thompson, Alec McCowen, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, and Christian Bale in supporting roles. > Henry V received widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the best Shakespeare sc... ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/49 "2026-01-24T15:42:00Z")
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s 1988 movie _Bloodsport_ was based on the alleged life story of Frank Dux. He was later exposed as a fraud: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank\_Dux#Disputed\_claims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dux#Disputed_claims) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/50 "2026-01-24T16:34:25Z")
The title sequence of _The Men Who Stare At Goats_, states “More of this is true than you would believe”, which I think is quite accurate. Jon Ronson’s book is a mostly straightforward investigation of the Army’s psychic warrior program. The movie jumps off from there and weaves a story of a fictional reporter’s journey into that world. ---
**Author:** ![Cheetahkins](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheetahkins/32/20603_2.png) [@Cheetahkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheetahkins)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/51 "2026-01-28T03:12:50Z")
This is a great discussion, I’ve really enjoyed reading people’s comments. I wanted to add the film ‘The Doors’ to this discussion. My wife and I met John Densmore (Doors’ drummer) at a book signing about 10 years ago. Super nice and interesting guy. Anyway I asked him point blank if the 1991 movie with Val Kilmer was an accurate representation of their story and he said that yes, it was actually quite accurate. The one thing he said was not accurate was it’s depiction of all the women hanging around them and Jim Morrison. He said if things had really been like that, they wouldn’t have gotten anything done, lol. Also wanted to add that I agree with the poster that said ‘based on a true story’ is Hollywood marketing ploy that has little basis of fact. I’ve always thought the screenwriters take a few basic facts - ie the names of some of the characters, a few things that happened in the real story, and then go to town with artistic liberties. Nothing wrong with that, but believing something is true from most of these films is a mistake. Lastly, I read both the book the Mothman Prophesies and saw the film. Enjoyed them both immensely and like to believe there are a few grains of truth in both. But besides those few grains of truth both the book and film take huge artistic liberties and make up pretty much everything else. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510/52 "2026-02-02T12:57:01Z")
I didn’t reply to this thread when it first came out, but there are a lot of cases still missing. The one that came to my mind first was the TV movie **The Birdmen** (1971), which WAS based upon the real attempt of some Allied POWs to escape from Kolditz Strafelager – the place where the Nazis stashed the worst escapees. They lied in the movie _The Great Escape_ – Kolditz was the Big Bad prison camp, not Stalag Luft Drei. Kolditz was atop a solid rock mountain – you _couldn’t_ tunnel your way out – except that some of the POWs actually did. The story of escapes from Kolditz make for great reading – so pick up Pat Reid’s books on the topic, or watch the 1955 movie _The Colditz Story_. The Birdmen, it turns out, is about an escape that never happened, but only because the camp was liberated before it could take place. It was , to my mind, the most creative and original escape ever planned – they intended to build a glider and _fly_ out of that lofty prison camp. And they almost did. The glider was complete and hidden behind a wall when the camp was caprured by Allied forces. The movie is highly fictionalized, with a scientist essential to the development of the atomic bomb incarcerated in the camp, who has to be liberated. And, of course, with the glider actually used to effect his escape. The movie features Chuck Connors, Doug McClure, a Pre-Star Trek Rene Auberjonois, a post-Beverly Hillbillies Max Baer, Jr., and Richard Baseheart. Interesting and inspiring to watch, until you realize it’s almost all made up. But they actually did complete that glider in real life. Would it have worked? The original glider disappeared after liberation and its whereabouts were unknown. In 1999 Channel 4 in Britain assembled a team and re-built the glider as it would have been built at the camp, and flight tested it. It flew. Jack best, the POW who came up with the idea and built the original, saw the results shortly before he died. > **[Colditz Cock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_Cock)** > > The Colditz Cock was a glider built by British prisoners of war during World War II for an escape attempt from Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle) prison camp in Germany. > After the execution of 50 prisoners who had taken part in the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III, the Allied High Command had discouraged escape attempts, though the plan to build a glider was encouraged in order to divert the energies of the prisoners from descending into boredom and tedium. > The idea for the glider came from Lie... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-quite-based-on-a-true-story/226510.md?page=2)