Biographical films and documentaries about the lives of famous figures have been made for years. The biographical movie “CrazySexyCool” which was about the music group TLC premiered on October 21 on the television station VH1 and was a huge hit.
Many people enjoyed the movie and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of unheard information that was never spoke about nor seen in the group’s lives while they were in the spotlight, yet was featured in the film.
So this makes me wonder, how accurate are biographical movies? If a filmmaker decides to make a movie that is based on a true story, they must first retrieve accurate facts.
The screenwriter helps with this process. They must change the movie in accordance to time and they choose to leave out any parts of the story that may be deemed as boring or confusing. The filmmaker wants to tell a story but they also wants the film to be successful and enjoyable to the audience.
Some inaccuracies are small and trivial such as in the movie “Braveheart” made in 1995. The Scottish people in this movie are wearing belted plaid on their dresses but that style was inaccurate for that time period.
Some differences are bigger, for example, the star of “Braveheart” is William Wallace. He is in a relationship with the princess of France yet in actuality this never happened.
This example shows how far movie makers can stray from actual facts in small and large matters. Yet, the movie was still enjoyed by many people and won five academy awards.
Hollywood has always made biographical films but there have been a rise in this category recently. Filmmakers have started to realize the consequences of showing movies with unreliable information.
There could be backlash from audiences or the subjects of the film. Films like “The Blindside”, “Jobs”, and “The Social Network” have been wildly successful and been mainly accurate. Inaccuracies in these movies are bound to appear because how can you fit someone’s whole life and story in a two hour time slot.
It is impossible to make sure you cover every aspect and still appeal to your audience. These films still teach us lessons and in some cases inspire us. Staying true to the facts and the main idea will make for a more successful movie.
PHOTO TAKEN from en.wikipedia.org
