# What's the most important event or person that nobody's made a movie about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814 "2015-05-11T22:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/21 "2015-05-12T03:31:07Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I would like an action movie about [Simo “Simuna” Häyhä (aka, The White Death)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4). He was a Finnish sniper who almost single-handedly kept the Russians at bay on the Russian-Finnish border for about 100 days during the Winter War in 1939 -1940. > > When the Russians decided they wanted to invade, he simply replied ‘Ei!’ and broke out his trusty bolt-action rifle that didn’t even have a scope on it and started popping Russian soldiers like they were party balloons. He is officially credited with 505 kills in less than 100 days (still the record for a sniper by a long shot). The Russians became so alarmed at his very existence that they sent out many of their best counter-sniper teams to take him out. He killed all of them too. The Russians got desperate and started using heavy artillery strikes just to wipe out this terrifying phantom. They eventually got lucky and hit him with an exploding bullet blowing off half his face but of course he didn’t die and went on to make a full recovery except for the face part. > > This guy makes Rambo look like a Hello Kitty doll. He would make an excellent real-life superhero as long as there is sufficient back story and historical context to go along with it. And he lived to age 96. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/22 "2015-05-12T03:32:14Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > How about Benghazi? Of course, we need two totally different movies. The same thing can now be said for the death of Bin Laden. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/23 "2015-05-12T03:44:00Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’ve never seen a George Washington movie. I suppose there have got to be some, but I don’t know of any. Well there is this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oCMN4hkLtPU/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Carson's Funny Impression of George Washington at His First Press Conference, 1977") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCMN4hkLtPU) Some may question the historical accuracy, however. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/24 "2015-05-12T08:15:01Z")
From British history, [The Peasants’ Revolt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_Revolt). It’d make a great movie - tons of action, what with the burning down of half of London including Winchester Palace (the Bishop of which makes a credible bad guy, owning prostitutes and the like), intrigue, a central character, Wat Tyler, who arose from nowhere, a very young King coming into his own, and ending in betrayal and murder. It’d probably appeal to those who like Game of Thrones. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/25 "2015-05-12T09:29:27Z")
Frederick Russell Burnham, a baby in the middle of an Indian massacre, adventurer in the Wild West, fought in Britain’s colonial war. Gordon Bennett, scandalized New York society and lived it up in fin de siècle Paris. Wilson Mizner, turn of the century con man and early Hollywood screenwriter. Roman Von Ungern Sternberg, White Russian general who terrorized Mongolia Two-Gun Cohen, Canadian Jewish gangster who became a Chinese General ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/26 "2015-05-12T09:32:31Z")
I’m not saying nobody’s ever done a film or offering a specific event to look at, but I wouldn’t mind seeing something involving the Byzantine Empire. Not Rome in general including the east, nor older Greek history. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > I would like an action movie about [Simo “Simuna” Häyhä (aka, The White Death)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4). He was a Finnish sniper who almost single-handedly kept the Russians at bay on the Russian-Finnish border for about 100 days during the Winter War in 1939 -1940. > > When the Russians decided they wanted to invade, he simply replied ‘Ei!’ and broke out his trusty bolt-action rifle that didn’t even have a scope on it and started popping Russian soldiers like they were party balloons. He is officially credited with 505 kills in less than 100 days (still the record for a sniper by a long shot). The Russians became so alarmed at his very existence that they sent out many of their best counter-sniper teams to take him out. He killed all of them too. The Russians got desperate and started using heavy artillery strikes just to wipe out this terrifying phantom. They eventually got lucky and hit him with an exploding bullet blowing off half his face but of course he didn’t die and went on to make a full recovery except for the face part. > > This guy makes Rambo look like a Hello Kitty doll. He would make an excellent real-life superhero as long as there is sufficient back story and historical context to go along with it. The descriptions are kind of vague, but it looks like a good number of his kills were using a Suomi KP/-31 SMG. He didn’t use a scope _by choice_. He thought it raised his profile too much. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And he lived to age 96. Sans a partial jaw. > [@pullin](#): > > [Jackie Cochran](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Cochran). Thanks for the reading material. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/27 "2015-05-12T09:58:35Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernan Cortes and about 500 men. > > [Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire) Jodorwosky’s surreal masterpiece The Holy Mountain recreates the conquest of Mexico with frogs. The result is deeply moving. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/28 "2015-05-12T10:41:13Z")
I studied the Battle of Leyte Gulf several years ago and one of the first things that occurred to me was that “this thing is almost tailor made to be a movie”. Although to do it properly would probably take too long. Within the battle, just the battle of Surigao Strait by itself would be an incredible movie. Also, the story of Black Sabbath. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/29 "2015-05-12T10:51:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The Star Trek (Next Generation) movie with Q, showing Picard the origin of life on earth, might count. It’s a quick little scene, but it is shown happening. Or…not happening. IIRC you are referring not to a Star Trek movie but to the final two part episode of the ST:TNG series, All Good Things (Part 1 & 2). ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/30 "2015-05-12T11:05:41Z")
I’ve had a dream for a while about making a movie about [this event](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal#Love_Canal_Disaster) in fairly recent American history. I have neither the skills nor the capital to make even a low-budget production, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/31 "2015-05-12T12:50:07Z")
St. Urho driving the grasshoppers out of Finland to save the Finnish grape crops. Viking colonization of North America; it lasted two years until the Native Americans got pissed and kicked them the hell out. The Mongol invasion of Poland (happened several times, actually). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/32 "2015-05-12T13:06:17Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Viking colonization of North America; it lasted two years until the Native Americans got pissed and kicked them the hell out. It’s apparently tripe but [Pathfinder (2007)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_%282007_film%29) seems to somewhat cover this. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/33 "2015-05-12T13:32:06Z")
I guess there has been, but I don’t actually know of any movies about the Wright Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/34 "2015-05-12T14:02:49Z")
[Alberto Santos-Dumont.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont) Extremely eccentric Brazilian aviator from the early days. While in Paris, he designed airplanes and blimps, one of which he was said to have flown to cafes, leaving it tied up outside. Though I don’t care for him, it’s a part with Johnny Depp written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/35 "2015-05-12T16:04:56Z")
I’ve not seen a movie about when the idea of the Sun and planets circling the Earth and Moon became the Sun at the center of the Universe. This new idea was controversial because the Bible said the Earth was at the center of the Universe (because the stars ‘didn’t move’), so any hypotheticals about the Earth not being at the center were heinous blasphemy. ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/36 "2015-05-12T16:48:27Z")
I was thinking that Prophet Muhammad was a good candidate, but [I was wrong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Message_(1976_film)). ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/37 "2015-05-12T16:57:55Z")
Interesting facts about his depiction in the movie (from the above wikipedia article). Apparently the film _is_ about him, but we never see or hear him in the movie. Instead light organ music is used to signify him. His supposed words are repeated by other characters for the benefit of the viewers. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/38 "2015-05-12T18:04:13Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > It’s apparently tripe but [Pathfinder (2007)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_%282007_film%29) seems to somewhat cover this. As did _Valhalla Rising_, which went the arty direction. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/39 "2015-05-12T18:20:08Z")
Harriet Tubman. I’ve brought this point up before, because it would be a wonderful drama, plus providing good roles for African-American actors/actresses. Oh, and someone suggested Burr/Hamilton. No movie yet, but there’s a Broadway musical playing to rave reviews about Alexander Hamilton’s life and death. It’s called **Hamilton**. Interestingly, due to non-traditional casting, it also has lots of good roles for African-American actors. (Who, I believe, play all or almost all of the major roles, including Hamilton.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814/40 "2015-05-12T19:35:11Z")
How about Putin … he would make a great story to tell even while still alive. Just write three different endings in case something happens before you can finish the film. Lives to be 103 Over thrown in a coup Moves to Sweden with his new boyfriend Seriously though someone is going to make it, “Putin” wins or “Putin” loses [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-important-event-or-person-that-nobodys-made-a-movie-about/719814.md?page=3)