Let’s be real, in “based on a true story,” Hollywood typically means loosely based, with lots of explosions. Movie makers adore taking actual history and making it bigger-than-life drama, even if that means cutting corners with the facts. Sometimes it’s cool, sometimes it’s annoying, and sometimes it’s so wrong it’s near-impressive. Here are ten of the most historically inaccurate movies ever created, beginning with the slightly off to the outright historical disasters.
10. The Last Samurai (2003)
Tom Cruise as an undead samurai? That’s already a stretch. Based on the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, the film idealizes the samurai as honorable fighters who resist modernization. In reality, they were holding on to political office, and firearms—not blades—were the dominant weapons back then. Lovely photography aside, this film is more legend than fact.
9. Argo (2012)
Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning thriller about the Iranian hostage crisis is exciting, but the past takes a backseat. The film presents CIA operative Tony Mendez as the brains behind it all, when in fact Canada did most of the heavy lifting—President Jimmy Carter himself admitted so. The film cranks up the tension and plays down international collaboration, resulting in excellent cinema but questionable history.
8. Gladiator (2000)
Russell Crowe’s Maximus might be a fan favorite, but he never existed. Marcus Aurelius wasn’t assassinated—he died of illness—and Commodus wasn’t killed in an arena fight but strangled in his bath. From politics to gladiatorial combat, Ridley Scott took major liberties. At least the visuals and soundtrack were legendary.
7. The Imitation Game (2014)
Alan Turing’s actual life is remarkable, but the movie trivializes—and warps—it. His machine was “Victory,” not “Christopher,” and codebreaking involved a team effort, not one man against the world. The movie also exaggerates his romance with Joan Clarke and glosses over his personality. Emotional? Sure. Historically accurate? No.
6. Pearl Harbor (2001)
Michael Bay’s blockbuster is all drama, little accuracy. Made-up love stories are the focus, and we even see Roosevelt rising from his wheelchair in a made-up, dramatic scene that never occurred. The attack itself is dramatized too much, with made-up scenes of bombing hospitals and civilians. It all appears epic, but historians winced.
5. U-571 (2000)
In this submarine thriller, American sailors seize a German Enigma machine. The catch? It was the British who did this in reality, before America had even entered the war. The actual U-571 wasn’t even involved. The movie outraged so many in Britain that it was branded an insult to British sailors.
4. 10,000 BC (2008)
Care to witness pyramids, iron implements, and planted corn millennia ahead of their time? This film has it in the most horrid fashion possible. Roland Emmerich’s prehistoric epic is filled with anachronisms so absurd that it’s just about as amusing as parody. Sure as heck not going into any history books.
3. The Patriot (2000)
Mel Gibson stars as Benjamin Martin, a Revolutionary War hero who’s been fictionalized to loosely resemble a half-dozen actual historical figures. The movie reduces British troops to cartoon cutouts and makes up the so-called church-burning atrocity. Stirring? Absolutely. Historically accurate? Not remotely.
2. Pocahontas (1995)
Disney’s musical favorite draws a romance between Pocahontas and John Smith, but she was actually 11 or 12 when they met, and no such affair occurred. The movie glosses over the violence of the colonizers, presenting instead a colorful fantasy that’s catchy, yet entirely divorced from reality.
1. Braveheart (1995)
No shock there. Mel Gibson’s Scottish blockbuster is infamous for its rampant inaccuracy. William Wallace didn’t sport blue war paint (that was centuries-old news), the Battle of Stirling Bridge wasn’t fought over a bridge, and Princess Isabella wasn’t even in the same nation when Wallace lived. For good measure, “Braveheart” was an alias for Robert the Bruce. Nevertheless, in spite of distorting nearly every fact, it remains a favorite among fans.
Historical films can inspire curiosity about the past—but they often sacrifice facts for spectacle. If you’re watching one of these movies, enjoy the drama, but don’t mistake it for a classroom lesson. After all, when it comes to Hollywood, the only guarantee is that history will get a makeover.