Worst2First: My Top Ten Historically Inaccurate Films

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Historically Inaccurate Films

When you see the words "based on a true story" at the beginning of a film, that doesn't always mean it's the real true story.  Hollywood loves to take liberties with reality and turn it into something more entertaining for the audiences, and while there's certain moments of truth in these stories, there's also a lot of fictitious facts made to make it more appealing.

Here are my personal top ten historically inaccurate films, worst2first...

**THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, 

SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

#10

Captain Phillips

Based on the true story of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009, "Captain Phillips" painted the captain in a truly heroic light, in a powerful performance by Tom Hanks.  However, based on crew members' take on the event, the captain was far from heroic.  He had ignored several safety protocols and sailed too close to the coast, easily allowing the pirates to board his ship.  They also claim the ship endured two pirate attacks, instead of just one. 

#9

Pocahontas

While I assume an animated film will skimp on real life details, it's important to note how far off "Pocahontas" was from the actual heroine.  In real life, Pocahontas never had a romantic relationship with John Smith, due to the fact that she was ten years old when the English came to Virginia.  There was also no reconciliation between the Natives and the English, as the English completely wiped out Native populations, and Pocahontas was kidnapped and taken to England to be married to an Englishman named John Rolfe.

#8

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

One of horror's most iconic villains, Leatherface would murder people and wear their skin, as well as live with a purely nightmarish family who encouraged his murder and mayhem.  Although it says the film is based on a true story, it's not entirely the case.  Leatherface is loosely based on the real life person named Ed Gein, who killed two women in Wisconsin (a far way away from Texas), stole corpses from graveyards, and made keepsakes from their remains.  He used their skin to make wastebaskets, masks, a belt of nipples, and bowls made from their skulls.  Yet he never had a family helping him, and he didn't use a chainsaw - as far as we know.

#7

 The Revenant

In the film that finally earned Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar, "The Revenant" follows Hugh Glass as he endures the tortures of the wild to make it back home and avenge the death of his son.  While Hugh Glass was a real frontiersman who indeed survived the perilous forces of nature (including the epic bear attack), he did not have a son in real life, and although in the film he achieved his goal in getting his revenge on the man who murdered his son and left him for dead, in reality he never got to finish his goal.  When he got back home, he found the man had become an Army soldier, and was protected by the federal government, so he was basically untouchable.

#6

 The Greatest Showman

"The Greatest Showman" is different than the other films on the list because it never led audiences to believe it was a true story.  Instead, critics slammed the film for its historical inaccuracy, while audiences crowded the theater to see this uplifting musical.  Hugh Jackman plays P.T. Barnum, who founded the circus as we know it today.  While the film portrayed Barnum as a nice man who cared for his circus freaks, the real Barnum was more ruthless.  His first act was an elderly slave he passed off as a 160-year-old nurse of George Washington and treated her horribly.  His relationship with Jenny Lind was also fabricated for the film, as in real life the two couldn't stand each other.  Not to mention the characters played by Zac Efron and Zendaya never existed, as well as it being highly doubtful people sang and danced their way through their daily lives.

#5

 Rudy

One of the best football movies of all time - as well as the best underdog movie of all time - Rudy uplifts the audience to believe that anyone can do anything they set their minds to, no matter how great the obstacles are.  While there really was a Rudy, there's certain parts of the film that were fabricated for heightened effect.  The scene where the players placed their jerseys on the coach's desk to convince him to allow Rudy to play never happened.  Neither did the chants of Rudy's name, but it sure did touch our hearts when it happened on screen.

#4

Argo

Winning three Academy Awards including Best Picture, "Argo" told the true life story of extractor Tony Mendez, who posed as a Hollywood producer scouting locations to enter Iran and rescue six Americans who took refuge in the Canadian consulate after militants stormed the U.S. embassy.  While it's an excellent film, details were drastically changed to portray America in a more prominent light.  Even President Jimmy Carter slammed the film, saying "90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and consummation of the plan was Canadian, and the movie gives almost full credit to the American CIA."

#3

The Patriot

Telling the events of the American Revolution through the eyes of Benjamin Martin, a vengeful father who just lost his son to British soldiers, "The Patriot" was filled with epic action sequences and a strong performance by Mel Gibson.  In the film, British soldiers were seen burning a church full of women and children, and even shooting a child - events that never happened during the actual Revolution.  Also, Gibson's character is based on Francis Marion (known as "The Swamp Fox"), and his real life story is a lot less respectable than the one on screen.  He married his cousin, hunted Native Americans for the fun of it, and often raped his female slaves.  Then there's the final battle in the film in which Martin ends his enemy, but in reality the Americans lost that particular battle.

#2

 Gladiator

"Are you not entertained?"  While audiences were in fact entertained by Russell Crowe's performance of Maximus Meridus, a man forced into becoming a slave and gladiator for the ruthless Commodus, the film played fast and loose with the facts. While Maximus himself never existed, those around him did, but those facts were skewed for the film.  While the film shows Commodus killing his Emperor father, in reality he died of chickenpox.  Joaquin Phoenix played Commodus as a sniveling, incestuous person, but in reality he was nothing like his character, and the real Commodus was a well-liked ruler who ruled for over a decade.  While he did fight, he was never killed in the arena - rather, he was strangled to death in his bath by his lover Narcissus.

#1

 Braveheart

Earning the coveted Best Picture Oscar (as well as Best Director and three others), "Braveheart" tells the story of William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish warrior who started a revolt against King Edward I and earned the freedom of Scotland.  The film plays around with timelines, as several moments captured on screen never actually happened.  The kilts worn by the Scottish soldiers didn't exist until 300 years later, Wallace's love interest in the film was actually three years old in real life, and the son they supposedly had in the film wasn't born until seven years after Wallace's death.  Also, despite Gibson's love for portraying violence in screen, Wallace's death was far more excruciating in real life.  His penis was cut off, and his still-beating heart was pulled from his chest.  Not to mention Wallace wasn't known as Braveheart - that title actually went to Robert the Bruce.