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Navigating Life's Historybusters
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Welcome to Historybusters Wall of Truth
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Every movie on Historybusters has been hand picked for historical accuracy and
entertainment value.
Our criteria? If a movie follows
history closely enough to help someone pass a test,
and it's still enjoyable--you'll find it here.
If you would like to recommend a movie, request a new category, or comment on our
reviews, contact lynn@navigatinglife.org
Historybusters is an offshoot of Navigating Life: dedicated
to providing its readers with the tools they need to Navigate Life.
You can find out more about us at www.navigatinglife.org
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incorporates historical fact with a great deal of fiction and creates an entertaining look at 395 AD. It
succeeds in transporting its viewers back in time to when Theodosius’s sons, Arcadius and Honorius, divided the Roman
Empire into Eastern and Western parts. Tim Curry’s Theodosius II is very good indeed. Powers Boothe plays an excellent
Flavius Aetius. As far as Attila goes, little is known about the real Attila's life but the chroniclers of the time declare
him an ugly squat butcher and tyrant, while this movie makes Attila out to be a gorgeous hunk, played by Gerard Butler, and
a really nice guy who is simply misunderstood in his determination to have his way. Moreover, the historical chronology of
this film is wrong. In the film, the characters Felix and Placidia conspire to murder Aetius, but in truth, Aetius ordered
the death of Felix 20 years before and Placidia had already died in the battle of Chalons. Finally, the Roman soldiers are
portrayed as the great legionnaires of the first century. However, during the 400’s the Romans armies were supplemented
with barbarian auxiliaries, and they were inadequately equipped since the Empire was on the decline. I could go one, but you
get the idea. Keep the inaccuracies in mind, and this is a wonderfully entertaining movie that does recapture something of
Rome in its declining years. This film contains mature content.
does not pretend to be historically accurate, but it does manage to make one fall in love with its characters
and understand how Roman life might have felt. It should be noted that there is no evidence that Emperor Commodus killed his
father Marcus Aurelius, who died from an unknown illness while fighting along side his son in the north. And instead of being
killed in the gladiatorial arena, Commodus survived his sister, who after plotting with her cousin and nephews to assassinate
him, was banished and later executed. Commodus actually ruled from 180 to 192 B.C. at which point internal governing conspirators
did manage to take his life. The movie is correct in painting him as something of a hedonist, and he did love to play gladiator
and kill men in the arena. This wonderful Roman fantasy is family friendly, but with mature content.
for a full explanation. Moreover, if you want to understand the complexity of Christianity during the first three
centuries as well as the controversial Gnostic Gospels, you might have to crack open a book. I recommend beginning with Professor
Elaine Pagels’s 
. She is easy to read, well informed, and incorporates the politics of the times. The Da Vinci Code is a fun book
and an okay movie, but it is not based on any historical fact. The film contains mature content.
is a fun World War II thriller, but totally inaccurate; it was the British who conquered the Enigma codes.
In fact, the Americans hadn't even entered the war by the time the Enigma machines were recovered. The British families of
the Royal Navy sailors who did recover them might find this film a bit unsettling. Family friendly, but with mature content.
has, according to Yahoo’s Ten Worst Historical Movies Ever Made, “given entire Anthropology
departments migraines.” Yes, the Maya did conduct human sacrifice but not in the manner this film indicates. Mel’s
story is set in a pre-Columbian Maya world where one village is brutally overrun by a ruling tribe that needs slaves
and human sacrifices. In truth, what little we know about Mayan human sacrifice suggests that is was regarded as a high honor
reserved for high-ranking captives. Moreover, to paint the invading conquistadors as saviors is an offence to historical complexity.
This violent pretext for gore contains mature content. A special note to Internet surfers: Yahoo's much republished
list of historically inaccurate movies has a few unchecked facts of its own. Moral? Always triple check your primary
sources and be sure that the blogs you're reading aren't just quoting another's mistake.
