TV Shows & Movies
25 Great Movies That Are Hard To Recommend
15. The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game reimagines key moments of Alan Turing's life but gets many details wrong. The film wrongly includes Soviet spy John Cairncross in Turing’s team and invents a blackmail plot that misrepresents his true experience. | © The Weinstein Company
14. The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl is a dramatized retelling of King Henry VIII’s relationships that mixes up two separate love stories. In reality, Mary was older than Anne and had no children with the king, and Anne stayed in France for seven years, not just a few months. | © Universal Studios
13. Newsies
Newsies turns the real 1899 Newsboys Strike into a lively story full of music, dance, and made-up characters like hobo Jack Kelly. The film mixes real events by changing the strike’s ending and altering how Joseph Pulitzer is portrayed. | © Walt Disney Pictures
12. The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai stars Tom Cruise as a fictional American military advisor, even though Japan mostly hired French experts. The film also simplifies samurai training and battle scenes, making history take a back seat to entertainment. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
11. Argo
Argo is a political thriller that dramatizes the rescue of six American diplomats during the 1979 hostage crisis. The film takes creative liberties by downplaying the crucial role of the Canadian government, exaggerating key scenes like the airport escape, and misrepresenting other international contributions. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
10. Elizabeth (1998)
Elizabeth is a British biographical period drama that takes many creative liberties with the early reign of Queen Elizabeth I, distorting dates and altering key events. The film also misrepresents important figures, showing Robert Dudley as a conspirator despite his loyalty, and falsely depicting Mary of Guise’s death and Kat Ashley’s age. | © Universal Studios
9. Napoleon
Napoleon is an epic story about the French fighter who transformed from soldier to Emperor. However, keen viewers have pointed out several historical inaccuracies, such as the false depiction of a frozen lake at Austerlitz and the myth that he was unusually short instead of an average height. | © Columbia Pictures
8. 300
300 follows the Battle of Thermopylae and takes many creative liberties with real events, like showing fighters with exaggerated abs and modern martial arts moves. The film also gives King Xerxes a supernatural look, even though historical records tell a very different story. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
7. Gladiator
Gladiator is a Best Picture winner who got a bit light on facts, changing how key events happened and portraying characters in ways that differ significantly from history. Still, the film features real figures like Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. | © Universal Studios
6. Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is entertaining to watch, but it ignores many historical facts. For example, the film shows characters drinking from modern beer glasses, a queen attending a public play during the plague, and women on stage, where they were not allowed at the time. | © Miramax Films
5. Braveheart
Braveheart is a unique retelling of William Wallace's fight for Scottish freedom, but it takes many creative turns with history. The film mixes up the timeline by showing Wallace in a fake romance with an incorrectly aged Isabella, using kilts from 300 years too early, and even adding a battle scene with a non-existent bridge. | © 20th Century Studios
4. Alexander
Alexander is so notable that Warner Bros. were almost sued for portraying Alexander the Great as bisexual. The movie also merges three major battles into one and mixes up historical events, leading to a whopping four Director’s Cuts since its 2004 premiere. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
3. Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor combines true events with a lot of made-up details. In reality, only a few Japanese fighters were shot down and pilots never flew to bomb Tokyo, yet the movie adds wild elements like a skilled origami artist in a British squadron and a dramatic speech from President Roosevelt. | © Walt Disney Pictures
2. The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a beloved musical that romanticizes the real story of the Von Trapp family, but it takes many liberties with historical facts. In truth, the family only crossed the tracks to board a train to Italy, the children's names and ages were altered, and the marriage happened a decade before the Nazi invasion. | © 20th Century Studios
1. Pocahontas
Pocahontas is a Disney classic that tells the story of a forbidden romance between an English soldier and a Native American princess, but the film takes many liberties with history. In real life, Pocahontas was only about 10 years old, and her story ended in tragedy with a forced marriage, conversion to Christianity, and an early death at 22. | © Walt Disney Pictures
