Who doesn't love to go to the movies? Movies are the sole element in the entertainment aspect that connects people worldwide. When we go to watch a movie, we seldom care about how factually correct it is. When the words, 'inspired from real life events' flash across a movie screen, it instantly has the viewer's undivided attention. History is oozing with remarkable events and people that serve as movie subjects.
Screenwriters often do a good job in weaving a gripping story-line using historic facts tweaking them here and there. However, critics are a tough nut to crack when it comes to these kinds of movies, they habitually point out at the nitty-gritties, if a film maker fails to portray the people or incidents in the film inaccurately.
Here, six movies have been gathered that have taken liberty with those little "facts" that the audience finds laughable.
Apocalypto
This movie was a nightmare for Anthropology departments worldwide. Agreed, that the Maya indulged in human sacrifices but not to Kulkulkan (the Sun God). Also, they only killed high ranking captives from battle. At the end, the conquistadors arrive as nothing less than saviours; almost 90 per cent of the native American population was wiped out due to smallpox from infected animals.
Braveheart
The film shows Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk use his charm to seduce King Edward II's wife, Isabella. They went on to have an affair as a result of which Edward III was born. But history begs to differ. The books state that Isabella was three years old at the time of Falkirk and Edward III was born seven years post Wallace's death.
300
The most evident liberty this film takes is showing Xerxes as an eight-foot tall Persian king. Also, the council of Sparta comprised of older men (all above the age of 60) and no one as young as Theron (shown as a 30 something council man).
Gladiator
As portrayed in the movie, Emperor Commodus was not obsessed with his sister. It is shown that he ruled inappropriately for a couple of months whereas the fact is that he efficiently ruled for about a decade.
10,000 BC
It is extremely odd that this movie shows woolly mammoths being used to build pyramids, which unfortunately is not the case. They were not even found in the desert! And there is no evidence of any pyramids existing before 2,500 BC.
Pocahontas
John Smith and Pocahontas, as shown in the film, were not romantically inclined towards each other. Pocahontas was aged about ten years old when both meet for the first time. She then abandoned her tribe after a tiff with her father and died at the age of 21 due to a disease.
