12 historical films striking in their authenticity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Pictures about space flights, the horrors of war and slavery, in which the authors did not try to embellish reality.

12. Lincoln

• USA, India, 2012.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 150 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

This biographical film is dedicated to the last year of the life of the famous President of the United States. In 1865, he simultaneously tried to end the Civil War and to introduce amendments prohibiting slavery. Complexities in personal life were added to the impossible political tasks.

In films and even textbooks, it is customary to portray Lincoln as the most noble: an excellent speaker and a very kind-hearted person. But Steven Spielberg, based on the book of Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin, decided to show the more ambiguous qualities of the legendary president. The result is a lively and believable film about Lincoln.

11. Master of the Seas: at the End of the Earth

• USA, 2003.
• Action, adventure, drama.
• Duration: 138 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

In 1805, the captain of the British ship "Surprise" Jack Aubrey receives an order. He must pursue and destroy a French navy ship, changing the course of the war. The Surprise suffers serious damage in battle, but this does not diminish Aubrey's determination to catch up with the enemy.

The film is not based on real events: it is based on a series of novels by Patrick O'Brien. And often the plot itself is questioned, in which the main target is the only enemy ship. But the filmmakers tried to accurately reflect the atmosphere of the era.

The costumes were made on the basis of historical texts and paintings. The complex design of the ships was reproduced on the basis of drawings and models. And they even tried to convey the sound of the battle as the participants in the events described it in the chronicles.

10. Torah! Torah! Torah

• Japan, USA, 1970.
• Drama, historical, thriller.
• Duration: 144 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The action is dedicated to the tragic events of December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked the US naval base Pearl Harbor. The authors of the picture analyze the previous events that led to the conflict, and also show the bureaucratic delays that prevented the United States from organizing defense.

In this film, for the first time, they tried to disassemble the famous tragedy from different angles, trying to show everything as authentically and objectively as possible. Moreover, the picture was filmed in the USA and Japan, and real participants in the events acted as consultants. As a result, frames from this film were later often used instead of documentaries - so precisely “Torah! Torah! Torah! conveyed historical facts.

9. Gettysburg

• USA, 1993.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 271 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

In 1863, during the Civil War, the armies of the North and the South clashed at the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle lasted three days and became the bloodiest in the entire history of the conflict.

The film, lasting 4, 5 hours, reproduces historical events as accurately as possible. Moreover, the main action is devoted to the first day of the battle, a lot of time is devoted to a detailed story about both sides. In addition to the actors, thousands of reenactors took part in the filming on a voluntary basis to ensure a believable extras. They say that on the basis of this film you can take an exam in history, the teacher will not notice the catch.

8. Apollo 13

• USA, 1995.
• Adventure, history, drama.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The Apollo 13 spacecraft is to deliver the third Earth mission to the moon. However, a serious accident occurred during the flight, which not only interfered with the mission, but also jeopardized the possibility of the crew returning home.

Of course, the time of the film's action already belongs to the period when many events were recorded on camera. Still, director Ron Howard made every effort to accurately recreate the spacecraft's environment and convey the unsettling atmosphere that prevailed during the flight. By the way, weightlessness in the film is real. These scenes were filmed in a special plane, where the premises of Apollo 13 were recreated.

7. The last emperor

• Great Britain, Italy, China, France, 1987.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 166 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The painting tells the life story of Pu Yi, the last emperor from the Manchu Qin dynasty. Years later, he ended up in prison, but after his release, he again decided to return to his throne.

Historians still argue about what actually happened to Pu Yi. But the consultant in this film to Bernardo Bertolucci was the brother of the emperor Pu Jie. And more importantly, the director tried to accurately convey both the entourage of the era and the political situation. As a result, the picture won nine Oscars.

6. The sinking of the Titanic

• Great Britain, 1958.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

In 1912, the luxurious Titanic passenger liner departed from Great Britain to the United States with two thousand passengers on board. It was believed that this ship is completely unsinkable. But the collision with the iceberg proved the opposite.

Of course, James Cameron's "Titanic" is now better known, which outperforms the classics thanks to the special effects and the scale of the filming. In addition, Cameron also tried to convey what was happening close to historical facts. However, the classic British film does not focus on a fictional romantic story, but shows the entire environment during the encounter, as well as the life of the different classes.

For the construction of the scenery, they used the drawings of the real "Titanic", and the real members of the ship's crew consulted the creators. There are several inaccuracies in the film, the most important of which is that the ship does not shatter when it sinks. But otherwise it is very close to real events.

5.12 years of slavery

• USA, UK, 2013.
• Drama, biography, historical.
• Duration: 133 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The plot is based on the autobiography of the American violinist Solomon Northup. In 1841, a free black hero who lived with his wife and children in Saratoga Springs was sold as a slave and taken to New Orleans. There he had to work for 12 years, trying not to lose human dignity.

Interestingly, director Steve McQueen did not plan to create a biographical picture, but simply wanted to talk about the horrors of slavery. But after he read Northup's book, it became clear that it was necessary to shoot based on it. Separately, this film highlights small historical details, such as the process of buying slaves, methods of punishment and the typical working day of slaves.

4. Bunker

• Germany, Austria, Italy, 2004.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 156 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

In the spring of 1945, Soviet troops are getting closer and closer to Berlin. The highest ranks of the German leadership are trying to hide in the bunker of Adolf Hitler, who still claims that victory is near. But few of them will get out of there alive.

Director Oliver Hirschbiegel made a very daring film about the last days of a dictator. The thing is that in this picture Hitler is shown not only as a fanatical madman, but also as an ordinary person. In addition, the author was able to find many little-known details about this period. Some of them were told by Traudl Junge - Adolf Hitler's secretary. She died shortly before the premiere of the picture.

3. Submarine

• Germany, 1981.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 150 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

The crew of a German military submarine is going to sail in the fall of 1941. The crew members do not think about the war at all, and only want to have fun on the eve of departure. A war correspondent is also sent with them. But soon the boat gets to the scene of hostilities.

Director Wolfgang Petersen originally planned to make the most realistic film about submariners. He put all the actors on a diet and forbade them to shave. Both their appearance and the meticulously recreated environment of a real-life submarine create an almost claustrophobic feeling. It was in such conditions that the real military was.

2. Go and see

• USSR, 1985.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

In 1943, a Belarusian teenager Flera went to the partisans and met the girl Glasha there. Soon the detachment is attacked by German paratroopers, and the hero returns to the village, but learns that his entire family was killed. Facing further cruelty, the boy grows older over the years of the war.

For a long time, director Elem Klimov tried to make the most truthful film about the war and show all its horrors through the eyes of a child. Moreover, he specifically wanted to find not a professional young actor, but someone who was a beginner, so that emotions would look more vivid.

As a result, "Come and See" was highly appreciated not only in the USSR, but also in other countries for a realistic and frightening transmission of the nightmares of the Second World War. And the film ends with documentary chronicles, scrolled in reverse order.

1. Schindler's list

Schindler's List

• USA, 1993.
• Historical drama.
• Duration: 195 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 9.

During World War II, Oskar Schindler was a member of the Nazi Party and a successful manufacturer. However, he invested a lot of money and energy to rescue Jews from concentration camps. As a result, Schindler helped save the lives of more than a thousand people.

Especially for the filming of this film, Steven Spielberg's team bought clothes from Poland during the war, and the project consultant was the compiler of this "Schindler's List" Mieczyslaw Pemper. The scene of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto was created on the basis of eyewitness accounts of those events. And even actor Rafe Fiennes was recruited into the role of concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth after former Auschwitz prisoner Mila Pfefferberg confirmed that he looks alarmingly like a real prototype.

Coming from a Jewish family, Steven Spielberg turned down the royalties for this painting by opening the Shoah Foundation with the proceeds, which is responsible for the preservation of documents about the Holocaust.