04 Aug 2017 01:26:36
Just looking to see how people feel about 'based on a true story' films. I'm referring to the likes of captain Philips, American sniper, blind side. Now I can't stand them. Not because they are not good films but because of the over the top manner in which a titular character has their 'true stoey'

{Ed001's Note - I always find myself wondering how true they are, they always seem to show their 'hero' in far too good a light to be true. Though I do really like Killer Elite and that is based on a true story, but the 'hero' so to speak, whose story it is based on, is not shown in the best light really, so maybe that is why?}

1.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 05:01:55
Not sure about Capt Phillips, but I felt it was a really good film.

Blind Side was a good film as well, but they actually changed a lot of things compared to the real story (from what I've read of course).

13 Hours was good as well, even entertaining in terms of its action. But I tend to not to believe much when war films claimed to be true stories. This is because of Black Hawk Down, in which they changed too much of the story, and the film was actually a complete fiction and loosely based on the real event.

2.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 05:07:20
It depends, a lot are cringe-inducing but they occasionally turn out to be fantastic films especially when the directors and screenwriters use a little artistic licence to spice up the story. For example, The Social Network, Catch Me if You Can and Goodfellas are all 'based on a true story' even though some of it had been totally made up for the sake of telling a good story.

{Ed001's Note - do you actually like 'The Social Network'? It was cack, being nice.}

3.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 05:10:48
Yea, I thought it was a good film, one of the best in recent times to be honest. Why don't you like it, ed001?

{Ed001's Note - because it was completely fake and nothing like reality. Bit like Zuckerberg himself.... Oh and Jesse Eisenberg is a terrible actor, which doesn't help it in my eyes. He just gets on my nerves and makes my teeth clench.}

4.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 05:18:41
I agree it's completely fake but I don't think anyone would have wanted to watch a movie where everybody was just coding all the time haha.

{Ed001's Note - would be better than anything involving Eisenberg trying to actually act.}

5.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 09:35:08
Ed i'm not saying they are all drop the ball in terms of portraying the real story, in the name of the father with Pete postlethwaite is one of my favourite films ever. As far as i can tell it is reasonable accurate to history. Just the over dramatisation of a simple story is what gets me annoyed.

Haizan, captain Phillips was welcomed with open arms critically, just like the other two I mentioned, but has constantly been ridiculed for the amount of major changes to the actual events. I think the difference with the likes of goodfellas, wolf of wall street, Mr nice and catch me if you can is that the films are based on the books by the titular character. Small difference but enough that I feel they don't portray themselves as completely factual imo.

Fargo is another that comes to mind that is a great film but has so little connection to the real events it is a fabrication, I'm sure the coens have joked about this topic in interviews, and how the 'based on true events' tag was a way of testing what was acceptable in Hollywood.

What I don't get is why do they attempt to portray themselves as a true story when it easily provable that it isn't? Why not just be a film about a boat hijacking, or ptsd in soldiers, or cops solving a murder?

Anyway that's my moan for today.

{Ed001's Note - I have to say I agree with you.}

6.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 11:03:25
Now only I get what you mean. And yes, agreed. But films are products, by putting the tagline "true story", maybe they will be more marketable and able to gain more audiences.

I think during the 90s (I am not really sure, or maybe early 2000s), they tend to ad the films more by using "from the director and producer of bla bla" or "from the author or writer of bla bla". Or just simply cast hot and popular actors. Right?

7.) 04 Aug 2017
04 Aug 2017 11:51:35
Again Haizan I know what you are saying but a product that portrays itself to be one thing but is infact another thing is surely a bad product?

As for the 'from the director off. ' style taglines hitchcock was renowned for using them back in the 60s and I'm sure there are earlier and more abundant examples I can't think of now.

Also hot and popular actors have always, I repeat always, been cast in films as a way to boost their marketability. Marilyn munroe, Greta garb, cary grant, errol flynn, Clarke gable, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn etc etc