Everyone, Even the Best Researchers, Make Mistakes
A good war film will put the viewer in the trenches with the characters, being observers of the tension, fear, and adrenaline soldiers face in battle. But when errors are glaringly obvious, it breaks that cinematic connection. Filmmakers will go to great lengths to ensure historic accuracy, but even the best laid plans can go askew, especially when dealing with such complex subject matters as military action.
Most directors don’t have the luxury of ‘fixing’ errors post-production, like James Cameron did after Neil DeGrasse Tyson found inaccuracies in the night sky in Titanic, which is also praised for its attention to detail. For some, the errors will be a mere detail, noticeable but not distracting in the midst of a good narrative. For others, it will completely take them out of the narrative. Filmmakers hope for the former and go to great pains to avoid the latter.
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:
Military mistakes by Hollywood that would make veterans cringe. Georgina Coupe, Forces.net, 2 August 2022.
Sorry, William Wallace, in real life, Robert the Bruce was the true violent hero called Braveheart. Genevieve Carlton, Ranker, 18 October 2020.
The Memphis Belle flies its 25th bombing mission. History.com editors, History.com, (n.d).
U-571, World War II German Submarine. The Navy Department Library, (n.d.).
The true story of the Monuments Men. Jim Morrison, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 February 2014.
Why ‘Glory’ still resonates more than three decades later. Kevin M. Levin, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 September 2020.
