“Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.” These are the words of the one and only Martin Scorsese, who directed many classics including ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir by the same name.
Of course, as it goes in Scorsese’s saying, some details, like Jonah Hill’s untamed character whose real-life persona dismissed everything that’s shown or written about him, are left outside of the frame. And while you could blame the unreliable, drug-addled narrator of the Scorsese film, that’s true with many great biographical pictures.
Image credits: Warner Bros
Image credits: Warner Bros
Image credits: Warner Bros
Image credits: Warner Bros
Image credits: Warner Bros/ESPN
Earlier this week, Michael Oher, an ex-NFL star filed a legal petition to terminate a conservatorship against Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy, known for their portrayal in the Oscar-nominated movie, ‘The Blind Side,’ inspired by Oher’s dramatic story.
According to the petition by Oher, the Tuohy family “tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.”
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Image credits: Michael Oher
Although the case is still ongoing, with the family denying Michael’s allegations, if it does turn out to be true, The Blind Side’s “based on a real story” tag would lose all meaning. And so would Sandra Bullock’s Oscar, as some people argue.
However, John Lee Hancock’s biopic is far from being the only movie that is (possibly) guilty of changing some key facts. From ‘The Greatest Showman’ to ‘The King’s Speech’, here are some true story films that chose not to fit the whole, unadulterated truth in their frames.
#1 The Greatest Showman
Remember Michael Gracey’s ‘The Greatest Showman’ which dominated cinemas throughout the whole of 2017 and later on won an Oscar for Best Original Song? Well, this unabashed piece of pure entertainment tells the story of P.T. Barnum, one of the greatest American showmen.
And while the celluloid only shows the family-friendly bits, full of dancing and wonder, in reality, Hugh Jackman’s character was more like the actor’s magician persona in Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’ – full of dark, ugly truths.
Besides kidnapping and manipulating Aboriginal people to keep his show afloat, Barnum is also known for his merciless treatment of animals. “After he chartered a vessel to capture elephants from their homes and families in Sri Lanka, nine elephants, including one calf, were confined to a cramped compartment on a ship — without any fresh air — for four months,” writes The Wrap.
That and introducing the ‘bullhook’, a weighty baton with a sharp steel hook at its tip, which handlers employ to maintain elephants’ obedience through fear to this very day.
Image credits: 20th Century Studios
#2 Pocahontas
Originally intended to depict the true tale of a Native American girl who was affectionately called by a nickname signifying “playful one,” this Disney classic has taken a romanticized and altered route that deviates from accurately portraying or reflecting the actual historical occurrences surrounding Pocahontas’ tragic story.
Matoaka, known as Pocahontas, is frequently portrayed as a romantic figure and love interest in movies. Nonetheless, when she encountered John Smith and the English colonists in Jamestown in 1607, she was just a child.
Following her abduction, Pocahontas was transported to England, underwent a conversion to Christianity, and eventually wed John Rolfe.
Hence, Matoaka’s narrative wasn’t a tale of romance between a Native woman and a white man. Instead, it unfolded as a poignant account of a girl who assumed the role of a peacemaker, ensnared in the intricate economic and political dynamics between settlers and Native populations during the early stages of colonial American history.
Written from a colonist’s vantage point, there’s a high chance that the story of her saving or falling in love with him was nothing but a sweet fabrication.
Image credits: Walt Disney Pictures
#3 Cool Runnings
Ah, another Disney classic. Although in the ‘Cool Runnings’ case, most things that charmed its viewers about this inspiring 1988 Winter Olympics biopic turned out to be not true.
“It’s a feature Disney film, not much in it actually happened in real life,” explained the real-life Dudley “Tal” Stokes in Reddit’s AMA in 2014.
For starters, the Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the Winter Olympics was not composed of track sprinters, as the movie might lead you to believe. The team members were actually recruited from the Jamaican army! As for the coach Irving “Irv” Blitzer? Yup, also made up.
The Disney film also portrays the Jamaican bobsledders as societal outsiders. However, during the 1988 Olympics, they were actually received with warm hospitality, as highlighted by the report by ESPN.
Image credits: Walt Disney Pictures
#4 The King’s Speech
Like many historical dramas, ‘The King’s Speech’ took some artistic liberties for plot purposes. Among the significant historical inaccuracies, however, King George VI’s interactions and rapport with Lionel Logue, his personal speech therapist, stand out the most.
The movie’s portrayal draws from the screenwriter’s personal experiences of treating stutter, rather than accurately reflecting Logue’s authentic methods. The real-world approach employed by the expert remains undisclosed to the public.
Furthermore, there’s no concrete evidence supporting the notion that it was Elizabeth who initiated Logue’s involvement to aid her husband.
Image credits: Momentum Pictures
#5 The Imitation Game
‘The Imitation Game’, which received an Oscar for Best Adaptation in 2015, portrays Alan Turing as the exclusive originator of the code-breaking machine crucial to Britain’s triumph in World War II (does that remind you of another scientific genius that dominated the screens this summer?).
Yet, in truth, segments of the machine were already in development before his involvement in the project. It also didn’t pay proper respects to Gordon Welchman, Turing’s co-inventor.
“I discovered that ‘The Imitation Game’ takes major liberties with its source material, injecting conflict where none existed, inventing entirely fictional characters, rearranging the chronology of events, and misrepresenting the very nature of Turing’s work at Bletchley Park. At the same time, the film might paint Turing as being more unlovable than he actually was,” wrote Slate.
Image credits: Black Bear Pictures