Hollywood and history : what the movies get wrong from the Ancient Greeks to Vietnam /

Hollywood and history : what the movies get wrong from the Ancient Greeks to Vietnam /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Duducu, Jem, author.
Imprint:Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, an imprint of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., [2023]
Description:xi, 247 pages ; 24 cm
Language:English
Subject:
Motion pictures and history.
Historical films.
Motion pictures -- History.
Historical films
Motion pictures
Motion pictures and history
History
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/13260854
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9781538177068
1538177064
9781538177075
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:"There is no shortage of Hollywood films about historical events, but what do the movies actually get right, and why do they get so much wrong? Hollywood loves a story: good guys versus bad guys, heroes winning the day, and the guy gets the girl. But we all know real life isn't exactly like that, and this is even more true when we look at history. Rarely do the just prevail and the three-act story cannot exist over continents and decades of human interaction. So, when Hollywood decides to exploit history for profit, we end up with a wide array of films. Some are comedies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, others are little more than action films playing dress up like Gladiator, and many are Oscar contenders burdened with an enormous sense of self-importance. But very few are historically accurate. From Cleopatra to Da 5 Bloods, the reality is no matter what Hollywood's intentions are, almost all historical films are an exaggeration or distortion of what really happened. Sometimes the alterations are for the sake of brevity, as watching a movie in real time about the Hundred Years War would literally kill you. Other additions may be out of necessity, since nobody thought to write down the everyday conversations between King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, for The Other Boleyn Girl. And some projects twist the facts to suit a more sinister purpose. In Hollywood and History, Jem Duducu takes readers through thousands of years of global history as immortalized and ultimately fictionalized by Hollywood, exploring many facets of the representation of history in movies from the medieval times to the wild west and both World Wars. Along the way, readers will also better understand Hollywood's own history, as it evolved from black and white silent shorts to the multiplex CGI epics of today. As studios and audiences have matured through the years, so too have their representations of history. Armies will clash, leaders will be slain, empires will fall, and a few historical inaccuracies will be pointed out along the way. A must-read for film and history fans alike." --
"A fun but informative look at Hollywood's more-than-a century long love affair with historical figures, events, and places. This book delves into what really happened in history, as opposed to the Hollywood interpretation of events, and reveals why the movies don't usually reflect the reality of our known history"--
Other form:Online version: Duducu, Jem. Hollywood and history Lanham : The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., [2023] 9781538177075
Review by Booklist Review

If you are the sort of person who, after watching a movie, turns immediately to the goofs section of that film's IMDB page to see what the director got wrong, then Hollywood and History is the book for you. Duducu is the perfect Cicero for this side-by-side comparison of history's greatest films with history's greatest history. His bon mots are spot-on (regarding Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet: "It's like watching a performance of the play while somebody throws glitter in your eyes."), but more than that, Duducu constantly reminds us that directors aren't historians. Their priority is not accuracy but entertainment (or, in the case of the 2002 Chinese film Hero, propaganda). Readers will enjoy this book's gotcha moments--the real Elizabeth I never wore armor; the Crusades were over by the time of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; a bust of Woodrow Wilson can be seen in the film Lincoln--but they shouldn't ignore Duducu's deeper message: historical films are a mere starting point and never the last word on what really happened.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

What happens when history meets movies? History is complicated, long, and often without heroes or resolution points, and many movies are meant to entertain, not teach. But Duducu (Forgotten History) delivers a book that offers a fleeting survey of historical movies with surprisingly brief summaries of their failings. The book starts with inaccuracies in Greece- and Rome-set movies (e.g., Kirk Douglas fighting bareheaded in Spartacus) and extends through Vietnam. Most are English-language films, but the author comments on a few Asian flicks and Akira Kurosawa's historical epics. The selection may make readers wonder about omissions, such as Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo and Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. It also doesn't make sense to mention Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid while there's only a brief note about The Wild Bunch. Duducu delivers a mildly diverting read, but it's tepid stuff. VERDICT Erratic in content and weak in analysis, this book reads more like a breezy collection of film factoids.--David Keymer

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Review by Booklist Review

Review by Library Journal Review

The Leo J. and Celia Carlin Book Fund bookplate

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