Which movie(s) (based on a true story) do you think have/has the least believable plot, characters etc.?
I elect: WWII drama: Pearl Harbor, with a strong nod to Braveheart. Both of these movies really stretch the truth of "true events" to fit the Hollywood formula.
Though I have not seen the movie based on the life of serial killer Eileen Wuornos with Charlize Theron I heard that it really really stretches the truth.
Keeping with the Mel Gibson theme how about the american braveheart.... The Patriot. Also what about a movie that is mentioned quite often on these boards KickBoxer.... Based on the life of Frank Derux or something of that nature.
"Gorillas in the Mist". Dian Fossy, the individual portrayed by Ripley, never worked with Gorillas. In fact, she studied white tail rabbits exclusively, and is credited with curtailing the "lucky rabbit foot" trade. Hollywood changed the animals to Gorillas for dramatic effect.
I saw the movie "Men of Honor" made in 2000 with Robert de Niro and Cuba Gooding Junior in a movie theatre in Tokyo. I got the tickets for free, so I went.
I was late however, and I missed the beginning credits. I came into the movie theatre when the movie was at the point where they are explaining about the main character's childhood poverty as the son of a sharecropper in the American South (at least that's the way I remember it, beg my pardon if I got the details wrong, suffice it to say he was not a rich kid). I watched the movie from that point on, all the while wondering if the story was an actual story (it seemed like one), or a made-up story. Reading in the newspaper at a later date I learned that the main character was apparently an actual person.
I won't spoil the movie for anyone, but the ending is . . . . Hollywoodesque in the extreme. It is cliche at its highest. I'd rather see a documentary about the life of a person that seems (based on the movie) to have been a particularly courageous African American man who aspired to be a navy diver despite institutional racism. Regardless of what some executive at Twentieth Century Fox or Miramax or whatever thinks, I would like to see a portrayal of a real life warts 'n all. To me, that would be far more interesting than some glossy semi-fictionalized account of a saint-like person. Recently it seems that every movie has to have some sort of formulaic, good guy beats system, overcomes odds, feel good ending. Sometimes that happens - true. But in life it often does not happen. That is interesting, and truer to life than "everything goes well and everyone lives happily ever after."
I think several of the Killer Bees movies are borderline fictional although based on real beings.
For example, we all remember Killer Bees XXII: Here come the bees, again.
Brazilian expansion southward had been preceded by penetration of large sections of the interior. Jesuit missionaries had begun to operate in the Amazon Valley early in the 17th century. Before the middle of the century, parties of Paulistas, the name by which residents of São Paulo were known, had reached the upper course of the Paraná River. Because these expeditions were undertaken principally for the purpose of enslaving the Native Americans, the Paulistas encountered vigorous opposition from the Jesuits. Supported by the Crown in their efforts to protect the Native Americans, the Jesuits finally triumphed. Many Paulistas thereupon became prospectors, and a feverish hunt for mineral wealth ensued. In 1693 rich gold deposits were discovered in the region of present-day Minas Gerais. The resultant gold rush brought tens of thousands of Portuguese colonists to Brazil. The economic expansion of the viceroyalty was further stimulated by the discovery of diamonds in 1721 and, later, by the development of the coffee- and sugar-growing industries.
In 1750 the Treaty of Madrid between Spain and Portugal confirmed Brazilian claims to a vast region west of the limits promulgated in the Treaty of Tordesillas (see Demarcation, Line of). The Treaty of Madrid was later annulled, but its principles were embodied in the 1777 Treaty of Ildefonso.
The Portuguese foreign minister and premier Marquês de Pombal instituted many reforms in Brazil during the reign of Portugal's King Joseph Emanuel. He freed the Native American slaves, encouraged immigration, reduced taxes, eased the royal monopoly in Brazilian foreign commerce, centralized the governmental apparatus, and transferred the seat of government from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro in 1763. Pombal expelled the Jesuits in 1760, because their influence among the Native Americans and growing economic power were resented by many Brazilians.
- I think the story is loosely based around actual events during the period mentioned above. I don't think it is actually "historical" in the sense that any of the characters was actually a historical person. I could be wrong on that count btw, but it is my intuition. I think in particular the two main leads - Irons and de Niro are mere archetypes. A person like either of the two mentioned may have existed during the time frame described above.
- Still, if the movie is not historical, it has excellent cinematography, a compelling story, and a certain realism, as it was shot on location. It is a biased account of course. The bias would be unimportant to N. American audiences as there is nothing really at stake, unless you're a very devoted Catholic perhaps?? Unlike the movie Turk mentioned: The Patriot, the bias is not that important for an American, Brit, or Canadian that is watching it.
- Also, The Mission (because of the ending) does not seem like your typical Hollywood movie. I won't give away what happens in case you haven't seen it, but the end is nothing like "The Patriot" for example.
This message has been edited by _Azusa on Apr 27, 2005 3:31 AM
I saw The Mission in 1986 in a belgian movie theater, dubbed in french. Luckily for me the movie is 92.3% dialogue-free, and the rest I could figure out. I was blown away not by the story (which was good anyway), but by the amazing scenery and the tremendous musical score. I was also blown away that a woman came down the aisle selling beer, cigarettes, and candy before the movie. I had forgotten they did that in good ole Euro. Do they still?
It was Jesuit as well and they made us watch The Mission. I don't remember much, but I remember it was good...