posted
I need to come up with a list of reasonably historically accurate or demonstrative films that cover American history after 1865. I'm creating an extra credit assignment for the class I TA in, but I'm drawing a blank. More specifically the movies should focus on political history, and focus even more on Post WWI through WWII, but that's an odd time, especially for movies, so I'm broadening it.
At the moment I'm thinking of 13 Days, maybe even Argo, despite its relative inaccuracies, because it nails the politics. Is like to do Game Change, but I'm afraid its too politically charged. Political documentaries are fair game too.
Looking forward to hearing suggestions.
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posted
Do they have to be theatrical feature-type movies?
The PBS American Experience series is on Netflix and has at least a couple episodes from that time period.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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My problem is I haven't seen a lot of these.
Malcolm X is a great suggestions. I think that's going on the list.
I saw Charlie Wilson's War, but it was years ago and I don't really remember how accurate it was.
The PBS American Experience series is full of good stuff, though I'm not sure they'd all be able to access it. I'd need to make sure it's on YouTube, and that it's long and interesting enough.
I haven't seen any of the other suggestions.
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posted
The first ones that come to mind for me are pre-WWII, so they might not necessarily fit the bill, but I'd recommend some good oldies: Sergeant York, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and perhaps even Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Inherit the Wind could also be good, though I haven't seen that in forever. I can't vouch for their accuracy as I haven't watched them any time recently, but given when they were made you can go with both levels of analysis (what does the movie itself show and then what historical circumstances led to the making of the movie, etc etc).
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quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: The first ones that come to mind for me are pre-WWII, so they might not necessarily fit the bill, but I'd recommend some good oldies: Sergeant York, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and perhaps even Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Inherit the Wind could also be good, though I haven't seen that in forever. I can't vouch for their accuracy as I haven't watched them any time recently, but given when they were made you can go with both levels of analysis (what does the movie itself show and then what historical circumstances led to the making of the movie, etc etc).
Inherit the Wind isn't spot on, but it's a great discussion piece. It's one of those things where it might not correctly display what happened, but it's correctly representative of the times.
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quote:Originally posted by pooka: To narrow it down, you could go with the American Experience offerings on Hulu free. I used to fall asleep to those when I was expecting.
Whoa, this was my 11k post? How weird I got obsessed with posting a 10 year landmark this morning.
It's a wild pooka!
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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How about these - I've seen some (not all), but have heard from a few places that they've been relatively accurate.
- 13 Days - Apollo 13 - Blackhawk Down - All Quiet on the Western Front - Tora! Tora! Tora! - Valkyrie
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Steve, I haven't seen Valkyrie myself - and don't know enough about the time period to personally know whether it's accurate or not.
However, several articles and reviews have ranked it very high overall on accuracy. The ones pointing out inaccuracies tend to focus on fairly small things - the wrong building used for a certain event, say, or the motivations behind certain actions being downplayed or changed. Some reviews have faulted its lack of completeness (leaving out important background details) rather than innacuracy (fabricating events or getting major plot elements wrong). Cruise even looks much like pictures of von Stauffenberg in profile.
I've even seen reviews noting that the adherence to actual events made it a dull film.
Again, though, I can only go on what I've read and heard, since I haven't seen the film and am by no means an expert in the history of Nazi Germany.
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quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: Steve, I haven't seen Valkyrie myself - and don't know enough about the time period to personally know whether it's accurate or not.
However, several articles and reviews have ranked it very high overall on accuracy. The ones pointing out inaccuracies tend to focus on fairly small things - the wrong building used for a certain event, say, or the motivations behind certain actions being downplayed or changed. Some reviews have faulted its lack of completeness (leaving out important background details) rather than innacuracy (fabricating events or getting major plot elements wrong). Cruise even looks much like pictures of von Stauffenberg in profile.
I've even seen reviews noting that the adherence to actual events made it a dull film.
Again, though, I can only go on what I've read and heard, since I haven't seen the film and am by no means an expert in the history of Nazi Germany.
Huh. I think I've only ever seen reviews questioning its accuracy but saying it was an entertaining film.
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posted
Thanks everyone. I got some great ideas from this thread. I ended up using a handful of PBS videos, as well as a few others mentioned here. Much appreciated.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: Steve, I haven't seen Valkyrie myself - and don't know enough about the time period to personally know whether it's accurate or not.
However, several articles and reviews have ranked it very high overall on accuracy. The ones pointing out inaccuracies tend to focus on fairly small things - the wrong building used for a certain event, say, or the motivations behind certain actions being downplayed or changed. Some reviews have faulted its lack of completeness (leaving out important background details) rather than innacuracy (fabricating events or getting major plot elements wrong). Cruise even looks much like pictures of von Stauffenberg in profile.
I've even seen reviews noting that the adherence to actual events made it a dull film.
Again, though, I can only go on what I've read and heard, since I haven't seen the film and am by no means an expert in the history of Nazi Germany.
Huh. I think I've only ever seen reviews questioning its accuracy but saying it was an entertaining film.
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