Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Historically Inaccurate Movies That Everyone Gives A Pass

Historically Inaccurate Movies That Everyone Gives A Pass
person watching movie

Reddit user Agreeable-Beach-3009 asked: 'What's a historically inaccurate movie that gets a pass because of how good it is?'

Generally speaking, we watch movies to escape our current realities and be transported to other worlds.

As a result, we don't always walk into movie theaters hoping for a truly authentic or genuine experience.


After all, how many people in real life actually met the love of their life at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day, after hearing them on the radio?

When it comes to historical fiction and dramas, however, some might say the facts and historical accuracy are a bit more important.

Indeed, part of the ongoing grudge over Shakespeare In Love's surprise Oscar victory over Saving Private Ryan was the latter was applauded for its accuracy, while the victor was anything but.

However, what probably helped in Shakespeare In Love's upset despite its many historical inaccuracies was that when push came to shove, it was a very good movie.

Redditor Agreeable-Beach-3009 was curious to hear what other films people thought were so good, that their anachronisms and inaccuracies should be overlooked, leading them to ask:

"What's a historically inaccurate movie that gets a pass because of how good it is?"

You Mean, Rasputin WASN'T A Demonic Sorcerer?

"'Anastasia'."

"Can you imagine getting murdered, then a movie gets made implying the woman who claimed your identity was the real deal and had to fight a freaky wizard's curse, and there were two knockoff movies made in the same year?"

"Songs were boppin tho."- vworpstageleft

"CRETACEOUS Park" Just Doesn't Have The Same Ring To It...

"Most of the dinosaurs you see in 'Jurassic Park' are actually from the Cretaceous Period."- 3loodwolf117

First Hand Accounts Were Probably A Bit Hard To Come By...

"Gladiator."- chewie8291

"Almost nothing about the movie 'Gladiator' is historically accurate, but it doesn't matter."

"S tier historical drama."- Pixelated_Penguin808

Russell Crowe Gladiator GIF by MOODMANGiphy

Those Costumes Though!

"Amadeus."- Sgtp3ppers

"I feel like 'Amadeus' gets a pass because it's an adaptation of a stage play and as an adaptation, it's not trying to be historically accurate but to instead tell a great story, which it does phenomenally."- LadicusRex

Making His Lies Even More Far Fetched...

"Catch Me If You Can."- Bender_Wiggin

"While it all being bullsh*t does take some of the magic out of it, it’s still an entertaining story."

"And the soundtrack absolutely slaps."- rnilbog

It's Safe To Assume The Spanish Inquisition Had A Lot Less Singing And Dancing...

"History of the world part I."- whopper68

"Rome didn't have bullsh*t artists collecting unemployment?"

"Did Mel Brooks lie to me?"- CrunchyDonut42

Giphy

Good Delivery Can Disguise Almost Anything...

"Tombstone."

"But I really do love it."- Iwouldntifiwereme

"Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life"

"The Life of Brian."- Visible_Claim_388

"'He’s not the messiah he’s just a naughty boy'."- dcrico20

For One Thing, Dogs Can't Talk...

"Balto?"- rmr236

"I love how the premise is that the little girl is telling the story as an old woman, but she was unconscious the whole time."

"She’s definitely pulling that shi* out of her a**."- TheFufe10

sad shame GIFGiphy

There Is, Indeed, A Sucker Born Every Minute. Including Many Who Thought This Movie Told The Truth...

"'The Greatest Showman' makes PT Barnum look like a better person than he was in real life."- viridianvenus

He Was A Man Of Many Talents... This Wasn't One Of Them...

"Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer."- nogoat23

"That movie crosses the absurd into awesome, and I love it."- FactoryOfBradness

Stretching It...

"A Knights Tale."- SoCalRc

"I always wondered how Queen never admitted to stealing such a banger from hundreds of years ago."- londoner4life

heath ledger love GIFGiphy

Some Of The Irish Accents Were Less Than Authentic As Well...

"'Gangs of New York'."

"Historically accurate setting, costumes and some characters/gangs, but the plot and the events supporting it are largely fictional."

"Damn good movie though."- Lieutenant_Skittles

Tom Cruise Swinging A Sword Is More Than Enough For Some People...

"The Last Samurai."- The Last Samurai

"I was surprised at how good this movie was when I saw it this year for the first time."

"The costumes, action, and acting were all quite good."- OutlawQuill

More Memorable Than The Truth?

"The 1970 production 'Tora, Tora, Tora' pulled off one of the great cons of modern cinematography."

"It convinced an entire generation of Americans that after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto had said 'I fear that all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve'."

"There is no evidence that the quote was ever spoken by Yamamoto."

"But it was so perfect and convincing that subsequent Hollywood movies released in 2001 (Pearl Harbor) and 2019 (Midway) unquestioningly passed it off as legitimate."- InstrumentRated

Movies are, first and foremost, a source of entertainment.

As a result, most viewers pay no mind at all to all the complaints historians and scholars may have about them.

If you're looking for speedy answers for a history test or essay, it's best to stick to the textbooks and not rely on Spielberg or Scorcese.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

JD Vance; Elizabeth Warren
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images; Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Student Borrower Protection Center

JD Vance Slammed After Using Israeli Hostage Release To Make Tone-Deaf Jab At Elizabeth Warren

Vice President JD Vance was criticized for mocking Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's claim of Native American ancestry after she celebrated the return of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza by expressing hope that the Trump administration's recent peace deal is "an important step toward lasting peace in the region."

President Donald Trump earlier lauded the deal he referred to as "the historic dawn of a new Middle East" in remarks to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, adding that this is "not only the end of a war, this is the end of the age of terror and death."

Keep ReadingShow less
doctors doing surgery inside emergency room
Natanael Melchor on Unsplash

Medical Professionals Share Their Craziest 'One More Minute And They'd Be Dead' Stories

Almost everyone has heard an "I almost died" story either first or secondhand. But how common are these occurrences?

If it happens as often as stories make it seem, surely members of medical staff in emergency rooms have seen it all the time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Karoline Leavitt
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump Grosses Out The Internet With His Latest Fawning Praise For Karoline Leavitt

President Donald Trump has people cringing after he heaped fawning praise on White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's "face" and "lips" in remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday.

Trump and reporters were traveling back to the U.S. from the Middle East, where Trump celebrated his brokered peace deal in Gaza, which resulted in the return of Israeli hostages who'd been held by Hamas for two years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Blasted After Bizarrely Claiming That Watergate Was A 'Hoax' In Unhinged Rant

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump has a lot on his plate.

There's the GOP-created government shutdown, increasing national and international backlash over the Gestapo tactics employed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and dissension in the ranks of his MAGA minions over Trump's 2024 campaign promises to reveal and release all of the information Trump's Justice Department and the FBI compiled to indict and arrest Trump's longtime friend, registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in 2019.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elliot Page attends "A Deeper Love: The Story Of Miss Peppermint" Premiere during 2025 NewFest at SVA Theater.
Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Elliot Page & Nolan Reunite

At this year’s New York Comic Con, Elliot Page reflected on reuniting with director Christopher Nolan more than a decade after starring in the 2010 sci-fi classic Inception. In that film, Page played Ariadne, a gifted architect who helps build dream worlds—a name that also nods to Greek mythology.

Now, Page is returning to the mythic realm as a new Ariadne in Nolan’s next epic, The Odyssey, slated for release in July 2026.

Keep ReadingShow less