10 Popular Epic Movies That Messed with History (#4 is Unmissable)

It takes months and sometimes years to complete a movie. If you are a movie lover, you know how fun it is watching a movie blooper. But sometimes some scenes that were bloopers were so perfectly shot that they made the final cut.

While you have the events for nominating the best female, male, supporting actors, and best film, you also have special annual movie rating that categorizes the movies with the most mistakes in them.

What do you think- does the director do this knowingly or unknowingly? It doesn’t matter; whether they have committed mistakes intentionally or not, these mistakes are not funny anymore.

Let us check the films that twisted the real historical events here.

1. Troy (13th May 2004)

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Troy, the epic period war film directed by David Benioff and co-produced by units in Malto, featured Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana in lead roles. If you have watched the film, you have seen brave horse riders.

Do you know what the mistake here is? The Trojan War took place in the 13th century BC, and the ancient Greeks didn’t start riding horses until the 6th century BC. Before that, they only used to ride chariots.

Did you notice this mistake? I guess movies are only meant for entertainment purposes, so I enjoyed watching it.

The film collected $497 million worldwide and was the 8th highest grossing-film of 2004.

2. The Last Samurai (22nd November 2003)

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The film started in the year 1876 and showed the close-up of the US flag. During that period, there were 37 stars on the flag. But in the other shots, there are flags with more stars, which could be true for the later period, but not for before 1890.

The film was co-produced by Edward Zwick and starred Tom Cruise, Billy Connolly, Koyuki, Ken Watanabe, and Shin Koyamada in the pivotal roles.

It collected over $456 million at the box office and was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and four Academy Awards.

3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (24th May 1989)

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The film is based on the plot when archaeologist Indiana Jones gets to know that his father Dr. Henry Jones disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail, and he starts to look for his father.

The film is directed by Steven Spielberg and is the third installment in the Indian Jones franchise. It collected $474.2 million worldwide and also won the Best Sound Effects Editing and Academy Awards.

During the movie, the soldiers were shown wearing medals and other symbols of WWII, even though the film was directed in 1939. Don’t you think this is a foolish mistake?

Obviously! Directors and actors work so hard to make a final cut, but sometimes these kinds of silly mistakes are not acceptable.

4. Seabiscuit (25th July 2003)

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Seabiscuit film is set during the beginning of the 1930s when people in the US were in the Great Depression. During that time, people were very desperate to earn money that they even bet the last penny left on horse races.

If you have watched the film, you have seen the special helmets with the bands that made the ride a little safer. So where’s the mistake? At the time, i.e., during the 1930s, there were no bands on the helmet.

Directed by Seabiscuit, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It received a positive response from the critics and got the average rating of 7.1/10.

5. Kingdom of Heaven (6th May 2005)

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It is an epic historical drama film written by William Monahan and star Eva Green, Brendan Gleeson, Velibor Topic, Alexander Siddig, Jeremy Irons, and other popular stars. The film was shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco, and Spain.

The film is based on the events that happened before the Third Crusade. In the film, the lead Balian was just a blacksmith. But in reality, Balian’s father was a knight and hailed from a noble family.

Also, Balian was 40 years old during the events, but the director Ridley Scott didn’t use makeup for 28 years old Orlando Bloom.

6. The Green Mile (6th December 1999)

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It is a 1999 American fantasy crime drama film directed by Frank Darabont inspired by Stephen King’s 1996 novel ‘The Green Mile.’ The film stars Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan with James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt in supporting roles.

The Green Mile was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

The film was set in Louisiana in 1935. During that time, prisoners were hung and not electrocuted. In the film, the electric chair is shown to torture the prisoners, but it didn’t come into existence until 1941.

7. Django Unchained (22nd March 2013)

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The film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino features Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington in the lead and Walton Goggins, Samuel L. Jackson and others in supporting roles.

Django Unchained released on 25th December 2012 and collected $425 million worldwide. It also won several awards including a Golden Globe, Academy Award, and BAFTA.

The film was set in 1859. The characters in the movie wear stylish sunglasses; however, the sunglasses were invented after 1930. This was again, a silly mistake in the film.

8. Robin Hood (12th May 2010)

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Robin Hood, a film based on the legend Robin Hood, is directed by Ridley Scott. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Mark Addy, Danny Huston, Max Von Sydow, and Eileen Atkins. Robin Hood was released in 23 countries and then in 14 countries on 14th May 2010. It garnered mixed reviews from the audience and collected $321.7 million at the box office.

In the movie, it is shown that King Richard the Lionheart died from an arrow on the castle. But do you know Richard I was wounded during a castle siege and died ten days after because of an infection?

Another mistake noticed in the film was, there were 16 years between the day the Magna Carta was signed & John was crowned. But this duration was not shown in the movie.

9. Alexander (31st December 2004)

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It is an epic historical drama film based on the life of King Alexander the Great and general Macedonian Greek. The film gained mixed reviews from the audience and collected over $167 million worldwide and was made in $155million budget.

Directed by Oliver Stone, the film’s original screenplay was inspired from the book Alexander the Great which was published in 1973 by the University of Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox.

In the film, the enemy of the leader and the warlord of the Persians, Darius III is shown as a young man. The director didn’t use aging makeup for a 36-year-old Raz Degan. In reality, Darius III was 50 years old when this event happened.

10. Apollo 13 (30th June 1995)

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Directed by Ron Howard, the film features Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, and Gary Sinise. The film is an adaption of the book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13.

The film shows how astronauts Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Lovell aboard Apollo 13 for America’s third Moon landing mission. The film was nominated for Academy Awards and won for the best film editing and Best Sound.

In Apollo 13, Thomas Ken Mattingly is shown working on the connection with the ship. In reality, this astronaut was excluded from the crew a few days before the mission because he was infected with the measles.

But this is true that he contributed a lot to the mission because he knew the ship perfectly. In the film, it was Joseph P. Kerwin who established the connection with the ship.

Final Words

What are your thoughts on the differences shown between the film and real history? I guess directors do this to make things easier for actors. It is possible that you might have missed these mistakes. Next time you watch any movie, don’t forget to check its original story.

No doubt that directors and team put their efforts into making a final cut, but it is also true that if the film is based on true events, it should show the events what was there in reality.

Do you know any other film that has twisted the real historical event? If so, drop your comments below.