5 Movies that were based on True Events but showed Distorted Facts

5 Movies that were based on True Events but showed Distorted Facts

5 Movies that were based on True Events but showed Distorted Facts
Image Credits: Netflix

Cinematic representations of important incidents have always been a profitable venture and that’s the reason why a lot of producers are investing in this domain. Consequently, we have seen a massive increase in the number of these movies (in recent past) that are based on true events. While many of them depict the happenings of real life, some of them compromise the truth. Following is a list of movies where distorted facts were shown, either to implement classical cinematography or to improve the overall impression of the film.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Distorted Facts

This French movie is based on the life of Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffered a stroke which paralyzed all his limbs (quadriplegic). Julian Schnabel, the Director of the film, used a handful of distorted facts to present the story to the viewers. The biggest one of them was to show that the wife of Bauby, Sylvie de la Rouchefoucauld, helped him write his memoir because the two of them were actually separated at that time. In real life, Florence Ben Sadoun, who was in a live-in relationship with Bauby, was the woman who helped him in this hour of need. Not only did she visit him in the hospital, but she also helped Bauby with his book. The movie did receive some criticism for altering the truth but it couldn’t stop the film from winning a Golden Globe and a nomination for Oscar.

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game - Distorted Facts

The basic goal of this movie was to restore the reputation of Alan Turing, a famous mathematician. However, it did more harm than good as it showed that Turing will let his country suffer for his personal benefit. Basically, he helped MI6 to crack coded messages of Nazis during World War II. Later in his life, all his good work was overshadowed by a conviction for homosexuality. The plot of the movie does revolve around these facts but the direction team did use distorted facts by creating an additional subplot.

The film showed that a Soviet spy, called John Cairncross, was a member of the Turing’s team. When Turing found out about the betrayal of Cairncross, the latter blackmailed him about his sexuality to keep him quiet. This part of the story is completely unreal because Cairncross himself stated in his autobiography that he never met Turing because of the security reasons as they were on different teams.

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech - Distorted Facts

This period drama gathered a lot of appreciation from all parts of the world and won many massive awards, like Oscars for Best Actor, Director, and Film. Having said that, there is a long list of distorted facts that were shown in this movie. For instance, the film depicted that Winston Churchill agreed to the decision of Edward to abdicate the throne but that has been proven as false. The letters exchanged between the two clearly indicate that Winston was against this idea and never forgave Edward for this decision. Similarly, the relationship between King George VI and Lionel Logue, his speech therapist, has been delayed for more than 10 years in the movie.

Churchill

Churchill

This film received a lot of criticism for its historical inaccuracies, after its release in 2017. Andrew Roberts, the biographer of Churchill and a Professor at the King’s College, came up with an extremely harsh review to figure out the distorted facts showed in the movie. According to him, the biggest inaccuracy of the film was to suggest that Churchill was against Operation Overload until it actually began. Roberts mentioned that the diary of General John Kennedy clearly proves that Churchill had overcome all his doubts before the final briefing. He further explained that if Churchill had any reservations, he could have easily overruled the plan as he held the posts of Defense Minister and Prime Minister of UK at that time.

Buster

Buster

This movie is focused around the Great Train Robbery, which took place in 1963. It was released in 1988 and had to face immediate criticism for being too light-hearted, especially due to the seriousness of the event. The film depicts the perspective of Buster Edwards, one of the robbers who were involved in this crime. This, in itself, is one of the reasons why critics found this film controversial. The most important factor that led to all the criticism this movie received was the exclusion of several important facts (violent assault on train driver) from the actual incident to make it a family-friendly one. For this reason, the press of the UK claimed that this film was actually glorifying a violent crime which is not acceptable at all.   

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