13 Historical Movies That Were Wildly Inaccurate

Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest Flip it

Films focusing on historical events can be a fantastic, entertaining way to learn if the facts are correct. If the facts aren’t right, they can spread misinformation, sometimes so successfully it becomes the accepted truth.

Very few films are 100% right in their retelling of history, but some are much worse than others.

1. The King (2019)

The King tells the story of English King Henry V and his war with France. One of the most glaring inaccuracies is the death of the French Dauphin, the son of French King Charles IV, at the Battle of Agincourt.

Not only did he not die, but he was also not present at the battle. The film also depicts Henry V as a young, idealistic king manipulated by his advisors into going to war.

In reality, Henry V wanted to reassert his claim to be England’s true and rightful king.

2. U-571 (2000)

U-571 tells the story of the capture of the Enigma machine during World War Two. The capture of Enigma allowed the Allies to translate coded German messages, giving them vital information on German plans.

In the movie, an American crew captures the machine from the German submarine U-571. U-571 was destroyed, not captured; the Enigma machine was taken from U-110, and it was the British crew of HMS Bulldog who captured it.

3. Napoleon (2023)

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon was enjoyed by many but hated by those who knew anything about Napoleon. Napoleon was never at the execution of Marie Antoinette, nor did he meet the man responsible for his demise, the Duke of Wellington.

One popular myth that was only further propagated by the film was that Napoleon had his artillery fire on the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.

4. Braveheart (1995)

When people think of William Wallace, most imagine a blue-faced warrior clad in ragged tartan, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In the film, he is depicted as a brave, disgruntled peasant, but in reality, he is a wealthy and noble-born knight.

One glaring inaccuracy is the character of the French Princess Isabella. While she was an actual figure, she would not come to England until 1308, three years after Wallace’s death. One inaccuracy that should have been obvious to the film’s producers is the lack of a bridge at the battle of Stirling Bridge.

5. 10,000 BC (2008)

10,000 BC is a film that focuses more on style than substance. It tells the story of a mammoth hunter who sets out to rescue his lover from horse-riding bandits, even though the domestication of horses would not occur for almost another 5,000 years.

There is also the problem of the tools used, as the characters are seen using iron tools, which would only be invented around 1200 BC, almost 9,000 years in the future.

6. Pearl Harbor (2001)

As the attack on Pearl Harbor is such an important event in American history, the inaccuracies of this film were widely decried by both historians and survivors of the attack.

One of the worst falsehoods is the attack on the US medical staff and hospital. These buildings were damaged in the attack but were never purposefully targeted, and only one medic was killed during the attack.

One problem evident to anyone watching closely is the presence of the USS Arizona Pearl Harbor Memorial on the day of the attack, a memorial built in 1962 to commemorate the dead.

7. Ironclad (2011)

Ironclad is set during the First Barons War, which pitted the forces of English King John against a coalition of rebelling Barons.

In the real war, King John hired Flemish and French mercenaries. In the film, he hires a force of pagan Danish Vikings, almost 150 years after the end of the Viking age and 250 years after Denmark had become Christian.

8. Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator was critically acclaimed, and a major box office success, but its attention to historical detail is lacking.

The most egregious inaccuracy is Marcus Aurelius’s wish to make Rome a Republic again. Aurelius died in 180 AD, while Rome had not been a republic since 27 BC and would remain an empire until its collapse in 476 AD.

One of the only things the film did get right was Emperor Commodus’s incredible cruelty.

9. The Last Samurai (2003)

The Last Samurai shows the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, but the inaccuracy is not the presence of a white man.

While Tom Cruises’ character is fictional, his presence isn’t unrealistic, as French soldiers had fought in the Boshin War only eight years prior.

The fundamental inaccuracy is the depiction of the rebellion as a noble Samurai fighting against evil, corrupt bureaucrats. The reason for the uprising was the abolition of the special privileges enjoyed by the powerful and influential Samurai caste, which Japan saw as an obstacle to modernization.

10. Flyboys (2006)

There are many minor issues with Flyboys, such as German soldiers wearing spiked helmets in 1916 and incorrect planes and markings. The worst inaccuracy is the acrobatics performed by the aircraft in the film, as World War One-era biplanes were incapable of such feats.

The military advisor for the film was Jack Livesey, a convicted fraudster who falsified his resume and military experience, so these mistakes should come as no surprise.

11. Apocalypto (2006)

In making Apocalypto, Mel Gibson has confused the Mayans for the Aztecs. While Mayans did conduct human sacrifice on a limited scale, it was the Aztecs who had mass sacrifices of prisoners, as depicted in the film.

Smallpox, a disease brought over by European explorers, is also shown to be present amongst the Maya even though the first Spanish ships had not yet reached Mexico.

12. Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk focuses on the Dunkirk evacuation during World War Two, when British and French soldiers were evacuated across the English Channel by civilian and naval vessels, escaping capture or death from the oncoming German army.

The film would have you believe it was only a few thousand soldiers, but in total, 338,000 were rescued. The film also shows the Spitfire, piloted by Farrier (Tom Hardy), expending seventy seconds of ammunition despite real Spitfires running out of ammo after roughly 20 seconds.

13. Lone Survivor (2013)

Based on the memoir of Marcus Lutrell, Lone Survivor tells the story of Operation Red Wings, as a small group of US Navy Seals are on a mission to capture one of Osama Bin Laden’s closest associates, Ahmad Shah.

The film shows the four Seals fighting off around 50 Taliban militants. However, Taliban footage of the attack only shows 12.

Lutrell’s official post-combat report says there were 20, though his memoir claims there were as many as 200. Patrick Kinser, a former Marine who worked on Operation Red Wings, called the film and memoir “exaggerated nonsense.”