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Post by Ginnie on Apr 19, 2008 22:57:23 GMT -4
What are you're favourite historical movies? Mine: Lawrence of Arabia Spectacular. Got most of their facts right and captured T.E.'s enigmatic personality. Great camera work, script and acting. Perfect in every way. Great acting by O'Toole, Quinn, Shariff and Guinness - all worthy of Oscars.
Spartacus A little bit Hollywoodish and over dramatic but overall a very entertaining film. Such a sad ending.
Braveheart Mel Gibson threw away the history book but still entertains with a good story and battle scenes.
Jesus of Nazareth I'm actually thinking of the mini-series by Franco Zeffireli. Robert Powell even looked like Jesus. ;D
Kingdom of Heaven This movie surprised me. I wasn't expecting much after reading a review that basically said that Orlando Bloom isn't good enough an actor to carry a film, but I have to disagree with that. A lot of the facts are pretty close to the truth, although in reality, both sides were even more brutal than portrayed in the film, if you can believe it.
Gladiator Once again, plays loose with the facts but manages to bring that part of history to life. The only thing that bugs me about the DVD is that I can't watch the movie through with the deleted scenes included. They would make the movie even better.
Lust for Life Another Hollywood treatment - a little too dramatic, and with an interfering score. Kirk Douglas IS Van Gogh, and Anthony Quinn IS Paul Gaugin.
I, Claudius I know this is a TV series, but it was just so excellent that I have to include it.
I'll think of others later...
Now, some of the worst:
Alexander Just awful in almost every way except for cinematography.
The Bible What needs to be said?
There were many very bad historical epics made in the fifties, I'll try to get to them.
I'll post more on this later...
AND JUST TO ADD A BIT MORE: Are there any historical epics/dramas that you would like to see, that either haven't been made or haven't been made right? I'd like to see a sensible big budget Alfred the Great movie. There was a British movie made years ago with David Hemmings that was not too bad... An accurate movie about the life of Marcus Aurelius would be great too see... Or how about a really good movie about the life of Picasso? Even if it covered his life only up to 1940... Also I'd like to see a film about Amenhotep IV, also know as Akhenaten.
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Post by gillianren on Apr 20, 2008 14:54:54 GMT -4
What I found interesting was how great Elizabeth was and how much lesser Elizabeth: The Golden Age was. Then again, they'd managed to take away one of the most important figures of the latter film in their (incorrect) ending of the first one.
I just saw Becket; excellent performances by Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.
The Other Boleyn Girl made me sad. Why can't we ever get a Henry VIII with red hair? I like everything else about the show The Tudors, but they get such an obvious thing wrong. It really bothers me, but it's still better than The Other Boleyn Girl's portrayal of the same thing.
I'll go into more detail later, but I'm on my way out the door. And no, Ginnie, I haven't seen Rome; on this side of the border, it's on HBO, which I don't get, and I can never seem to track it down on our local CBC station, which doesn't seem to play a lot of the things the CBC regularly does, though I'm not sure how or why or even if I'm right.
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Post by Ginnie on Apr 20, 2008 15:25:50 GMT -4
What I found interesting was how great Elizabeth was and how much lesser Elizabeth: The Golden Age was. Then again, they'd managed to take away one of the most important figures of the latter film in their (incorrect) ending of the first one. I just saw Becket; excellent performances by Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. The Other Boleyn Girl made me sad. Why can't we ever get a Henry VIII with red hair? I like everything else about the show The Tudors, but they get such an obvious thing wrong. It really bothers me, but it's still better than The Other Boleyn Girl's portrayal of the same thing. I'll go into more detail later, but I'm on my way out the door. And no, Ginnie, I haven't seen Rome; on this side of the border, it's on HBO, which I don't get, and I can never seem to track it down on our local CBC station, which doesn't seem to play a lot of the things the CBC regularly does, though I'm not sure how or why or even if I'm right. I'd add to my list of favourites The Lion in Winter , Gandhi and A Man For All Seasons.
I watch Rome on the History Channel here in Canada. I think they re-run older episodes that have already been aired on HBO.
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Post by LunarOrbit on Apr 20, 2008 15:55:05 GMT -4
And no, Ginnie, I haven't seen Rome; on this side of the border, it's on HBO, which I don't get, and I can never seem to track it down on our local CBC station, which doesn't seem to play a lot of the things the CBC regularly does, though I'm not sure how or why or even if I'm right. Rome is great. Check to see if Blockbusters is renting the DVDs. CBC isn't playing it here. It's on our History Channel, but it's not affiliated with the US version.
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Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Apr 20, 2008 17:31:33 GMT -4
Lawrence of Arabia is pretty good. I liked Ghandi too. If Ginnie can say Jesus of Nazareth then I can say The Ten Commandments, I guess. The only DVDs of historical movies (or movies that are more or less based on true stories) I own are: The Ten Commandments Tora! Tora! Tora! The Last Samurai Apollo 13 The Untouchables
Some of those obviously aren't very accurate.
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Post by Ginnie on Apr 20, 2008 18:14:34 GMT -4
Lawrence of Arabia is pretty good. I liked Ghandi too. If Ginnie can say Jesus of Nazareth then I can say The Ten Commandments, I guess. The only DVDs of historical movies (or movies that are more or less based on true stories) I own are: The Ten CommandmentsTora! Tora! Tora!The Last SamuraiApollo 13The UntouchablesSome of those obviously aren't very accurate. I remember going to see Tora!Tora!Tora! at the theatres when I was a kid. It was kind of long for a twelve year old to sit through, I like Ben Hur better than The Ten Commandments. Some war movies I watched at the theatre in the sixties: The Bridge at Remagan (?) Kelly's Heroes (Hilarious!) Iron Eagle (or was it called Iron Cross?) with George Peppard The Dirty Dozen Patton (1970 I think) As an aside, there is a British TV series that I've seen a couple of times that I have no idea what it is called. Its about an actor, his agent and his misadventures. I've only seen it twice, part way through, but it was very funny. What is it?
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Al Johnston
"Cheer up!" they said, "It could be worse!" So I did, and it was.
Posts: 1,453
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Post by Al Johnston on Apr 20, 2008 18:38:18 GMT -4
Might need a few more clues than that, old bean ;D Did it feature this chap by any chance?
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Post by Ginnie on Apr 20, 2008 19:01:11 GMT -4
No. He's not in it.
A few more details: In the show, the actor is presently working on a TV show. His agent is always trying to get him better jobs, but keeps screwing up. He visits a boy in the Hospital on Monday nights. He's kind of chubby.
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Post by LunarOrbit on Apr 20, 2008 20:29:16 GMT -4
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Post by Ginnie on Apr 20, 2008 20:45:12 GMT -4
Hey, that's right. Funny show.
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Post by waynewitt on Apr 20, 2008 20:49:59 GMT -4
For as bad a movie as "Pearl Harbor" was, I did enjoy the flying and action sequences, despite many of the glaring inaccuracies within.
"Memphis Belle" was enjoyable, and I like the fact that it made more people aware of what the boys in the bombers endured. However, from an accuracy perspective, it was dreadful.
I actually enjoyed "Titanic." I went into the theater opening weekend not realizing it was a love story, excited for the historical aspects of it. Despite some of the sappy stuff in the movie, the historical details were actually numerous and impressive. I really have to give them credit for it.
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Post by lionking on Apr 21, 2008 3:04:51 GMT -4
I didn't like Hitler's movie. Iwatched a series of Zaher Beibers, I think he was a Mamluki king. It was nice. They depicted his life since he was a slave and how he rised to power. I wish I could watch Lawrence of Arabia bcz I heard a lot about it.
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Post by Kiwi on Apr 21, 2008 7:25:01 GMT -4
The one movie I've watched more than any other is Al Reinert's fabulous "For All Mankind," which is a must-see for all Apollo nuts. If you don't own it, buy it. To help increase your enjoyment, I can supply heaps of pages -- free, of course -- of transcripts of the soundtrack and commentaries, and an index of scenes including the names of personnel where known. PM me if you'd like them.
Others I've watched three or more times are: "Amadeus," "American Graffiti," "Apollo 13," "The Buddy Holly Story," "The Dish," "Great Balls of Fire!" "La Bamba," and "The Right Stuff."
I can't think of any particularly bad historical movies I've seen, although "Pearl Harbor" scored "lousy in places" and I loathed the sickening, graphic violence in "Braveheart," which could have been left out and would have made a better movie.
I still remember some impressive historical movies I saw as a kid in the late 50s and early 60s: "Carve Her Name With Pride," "Ben Hur," "Spartacus," "Cleopatra," "A Night to Remember," "Reach for the Sky," "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and some of the Biblical epics.
One comment. There's quite a difference between computer-generated "people" mincing around mechanically on the decks of the Titanic with absolutely no weight on their feet, and the sight of a real locomotive coming off the rails, tipping over, and ploughing side-on into real sand, as in "Lawrence of Arabia."
Historical DVDs I considered worth owning follow -- a few I haven't yet watched. Some are close to the facts, others, such as "Back to the Future" and "Forrest Gump" are only loosely based on the times involved.
Space and Rocketry Apollo 13 The Dish For All Mankind October Sky The Right Stuff All of NASA's Apollo and some Mercury and Gemini documentaries.
50s Rock 'n' Roll American Graffiti Back to the Future The Buddy Holly Story The Music of Buddy Holly and The Crickets A Tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets Expresso Bongo Great Balls of Fire! La Bamba Peggy Sue Got Married
US Civil War (A Great-Great-Uncle served in the 8th Ohio regiment and was one of the 20% who survived) Cold Mountain Gettysburg Glory Gods and Generals
World War 1 Flyboys Gallipoli Lawrence of Arabia
World War 2 The Longest Day The One That Got Away Patton Saving Private Ryan Tora! Tora! Tora!
Various Almost Famous Amadeus The Aviator Bonnie and Clyde Bound For Glory Breaker Morant Catch Me If You Can Chariots of Fire Cleopatra (TV programme) Conquest of Everest - Revisited 1953 - 2003 Doctor Zhivago El Cid Elizabeth The Fall of the Roman Empire Finding Neverland Forrest Gump Full Metal Jacket Gandhi Gladiator The Godfather The Godfather Part II JFK Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World O Brother, Where Art Thou? One Million Years B.C. Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility Seven Years in Tibet Shakespeare In Love Sirens St Helens The Sting Tea With Mussolini That Thing You Do! Titanic Tom Jones Trinity and Beyond / Atomic Filmmakers Troy The Untouchables Woodstock - Three Days of Peace and Music Zulu
New Zealand Bad Blood Heavenly Creatures King Kong The Last Samurai The Piano River Queen The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior Sleeping Dogs Utu The World's Fastest Indian Waiting for "Beyond Reasonable Doubt" (Arthur Allan Thomas and the Crewe murders) to come down in price.
[Edited to place "Lawrence of Arabia" under WW1 instead of WW2.]
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Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Apr 21, 2008 10:42:58 GMT -4
I guess I might raise the question "what is meant by 'historical' here?" Does it mean something supposedly based on true events, like Lawrence of Arabia or just set in a historical period, like Master and Commander with a fictional story?
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Post by tedward on Apr 21, 2008 10:51:11 GMT -4
There are a few that spring to mind for me in my top whatever but many in the dire pile. Top side, "Das Boot" and "Dam busters" are up there. I notice "Zulu" in the above list but it is full of errors. Good film though. "In which we serve" and "above us the waves" and a few others of that era.
A lot of the period, eg "Henry V", open to interpretation of Shakespeare and his interpretation of the facts but both versions I like. I think one million years BC had a few bad eggs in as well.
Recently "Troy". Well. Personally I thought it was awful. "U571", entertaining for one viewing but so far off the mark.
Thinking cap on for the rest,
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