Sometimes, art imitates life. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most acclaimed films that captured a different slice of American history with surprising accuracy.
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00:00Now you speak! Now it's what I had to hold on to to find you talk!
00:03I went to Master Charles' plantation.
00:05Ah, you admit it.
00:07Yes.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:09And today, we're counting down our picks for the most acclaimed films
00:12that captured a different slice of American history with surprising accuracy.
00:16You actually carry that around with you?
00:18Why?
00:19No reason.
00:20What's the most common double consonant in the English language?
00:24Consonant?
00:25The double L.
00:26Number 10, The Big Short.
00:28It's like insurance on the bond, and if it goes bust,
00:30you can make 10 to 1, even 20 to 1 return,
00:33and it's already slowly going bust.
00:35The Big Short is a stylish, meticulous retelling of the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
00:41Based on true events and real-life figures,
00:44the movie is a deep dive into the complex financial instruments,
00:47regulatory failures, and rampant greed that caused the housing market to implode.
00:52I work for the bank.
00:54I don't think like a bank.
00:55Big bank, small bank, I like to make money.
00:58All right?
00:59Let me put it this way.
01:00I'm standing in front of a burning house,
01:02and I'm offering you fire insurance on it.
01:05The movie frequently breaks the fourth wall,
01:07employing several high-profile figures and dramatic reenactments
01:10to explain exactly how the economy collapsed.
01:13Sure, it blends some details and individuals for the sake of storytelling,
01:17but otherwise, the film stays largely accurate.
01:20By sticking to the facts in such a fun and interesting way,
01:23The Big Short provides a compelling and educational insight
01:26into one of America's most significant economic disasters.
01:29Okay, I'm a chef on a Sunday afternoon,
01:31setting a menu at a big restaurant.
01:33I ordered my fish on Friday, which is the mortgage bond that Michael Burry shorted,
01:37but some of the fresh fish doesn't sell.
01:39I don't know why. Maybe it just came out.
01:41Halibut has the intelligence of a dolphin.
01:44I need to prepare you.
01:51Remove the sheet.
01:52The brutal lynching of Emmett Till
01:54stands as one of the darkest chapters in American history.
01:57His murder and the ridiculous trial that followed
01:59galvanized civil rights activists around the country.
02:02This film stays true to the real-life events,
02:05shining a harsh light on the systemic racism and injustice
02:08prevalent in 1950s America.
02:10Bo, when you get down there...
02:13Oh, not again, Mama. I've already been to Mississippi.
02:16Only one time before, and you started a fight with another little boy.
02:21He was picking on me.
02:23It dramatically reconstructs the key moments
02:25surrounding his killing and the societal uproar that ensued.
02:29At its heart, the movie chronicles the relentless quest
02:32of his mother, Mamie Till, to seek justice for Emmett,
02:35a crusade that ultimately echoed across the entire nation.
02:38This fight wasn't hers alone. It became America's fight.
02:42Now, Bo, you know it's time for you to go to bed.
02:45Oh.
02:47You know you got a big day tomorrow.
02:49Come on, give Grandma a hug.
02:51Number eight, All the President's Men.
02:53Things obviously are trying to bug O'Brien.
02:55They wouldn't go to all that trouble to bug secretaries.
02:57No, there's no proof.
02:58Wait a minute. I called a lawyer in Miami.
03:00I know he said four of the guys that were arrested were from Miami.
03:03Gonzales, Martinez, Sturgis, and Barker.
03:05In a world where the mainstream media is widely despised,
03:08it's easy to forget that there was a time
03:10when Americans viewed the press as a vital part of democracy.
03:14Films like The Post and All the President's Men
03:16remind us of journalism's glory days,
03:18when it took on corrupt politicians head-on.
03:21I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all.
03:28Just follow the money.
03:30The Washington Post led this charge in the 1970s,
03:33famously exposing the excesses of Richard Nixon.
03:36While 2017's The Post shows the immense pressure
03:39put on the paper's owner by the D.C. establishment,
03:42All the President's Men tells how reporters Bob Woodward
03:45and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal.
03:48Filmmakers took accuracy as their watchword,
03:51even faithfully recreating the Washington Post newsroom,
03:54down to using the paper's actual garbage.
03:57I trust you saw the New York Times.
04:00Yeah.
04:01The study, the one they're working off of,
04:03that was commissioned by Robert Magnum.
04:05Yeah.
04:06And if he commissioned it, he might have a copy.
04:10Let's start here.
04:11If you affirm in your resolve not to cooperate with the U.S. government...
04:14I am.
04:15Yeah.
04:16Then do not talk to anybody else about your case,
04:18inside of government or out.
04:20Except to me, to the extent that you trust me.
04:22Bridge of Spies is Steven Spielberg's faithful representation
04:25of intense negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
04:29It centers on the true story of lawyer James B. Donovan,
04:33who orchestrated the exchange of American pilot Francis Gary Powers
04:37for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
04:40The film covers the nitty-gritty of the events
04:42and the tense political climate at the time.
04:45Powers, for example, was a pariah in the American public,
04:48despised for being captured alive.
04:50I've got no client, no wife, no country.
04:53Don't know what I'm doing or when or who for.
04:56You're doing it for your country, but your country doesn't know that yet.
05:00What about my client, the other person in this equation, my guy?
05:03Bridge of Spies masterfully portrays the delicate intricacies of espionage,
05:07as well as the legal and diplomatic hoops Donovan had to jump through.
05:11The film's attention to detail and commitment to factual events
05:14earned rave reviews from Cold War historians.
05:17My instructions were to feel out the situation.
05:20Your instructions were to get Powers, not fire.
05:23That was not the original deal. You fouled it all up.
05:25How do you know? I feel pretty good about it.
05:286. Tora! Tora! Tora!
05:39Tora! Tora! Tora! stands out as one of the most historically accurate war films
05:44ever produced by an industry that too often veers towards jingoism.
05:48It was a joint U.S. and Japanese production
05:51that employed the skills of technical consultants,
05:54many of whom either fought at Pearl Harbor or participated in planning the attack.
05:59Look at that entrance to the harbor.
06:01Sink one good-sized ship in the channel and you've bottled up our whole fleet.
06:07Well, you know as well as I do, this harbor is a mousetrap.
06:11The film shows both sides of the battle,
06:14diving deep into each military's strategy, decisions, and miscalculations.
06:18It incorporates detailed research, historical documents,
06:22and firsthand accounts to ensure authenticity.
06:24From costumes to equipment to locations,
06:27the film's commitment to detail shines through,
06:30delivering one of the most authentic depictions of Pearl Harbor ever brought to the big screen.
06:34Gentlemen, I am convinced the Japanese intend to attack at or shortly after 1 o'clock today.
06:40I'll alert all Pacific commands.
06:42Yes, sir.
06:435. Zodiac
06:45I'm not sick, I'm insane, but that will not stop the game.
06:48This letter should be published for all to read.
06:50He wants to be published, he calls it a game, I mean, this could be our boy.
06:53In the 1960s and 70s, the Bay Area was terrorized by a self-aggrandizing serial killer,
06:59known simply as the Zodiac.
07:01This individual delighted in sending cryptic letters to several newspapers,
07:05including the San Francisco Chronicle, daring reporters to find him.
07:09David Fincher's 2007 film Zodiac dramatizes the relentless pursuit of this elusive killer.
07:15The script was extensively researched for 18 months,
07:19taking details and real-life accounts from police reports, case files, and the book by Robert Graysmith.
07:25You can't think of this case in normal police terms.
07:28Why not?
07:29You got four crime scenes, Solano, Vallejo, Berryessa, and here,
07:33not a single usable print of the first three are in any of the letters.
07:37With this treasure trove, the filmmakers managed to create historically accurate timelines,
07:42guided by personal stories from the real-life investigators and journalists.
07:46This painstaking attention to detail makes Zodiac not only gripping,
07:50but a faithful portrayal of this infamous case.
08:10Over the years, film sets have been rife with horror stories about method actors,
08:15but hanging out with Abraham Lincoln between takes probably wasn't a bad deal for the cast and crew of Lincoln.
08:21Steven Spielberg's epic focuses on January 1854,
08:25when President Lincoln worked behind the scenes with Congress to pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery.
08:31Critics have consistently hailed the 2012 movie as one of the most honest depictions of the 16th president.
08:38I wanted to crawl under the earth, into the vault of this coffin.
08:43And I still do.
08:45Every day I do.
08:47Don't speak to me about grief.
08:49Since there are no records of any of the backroom deals to get the amendment passed,
08:53the details are largely fictional.
08:56Still, historians agree that the film's take is likely close to actual events.
09:00I can't accomplish a goddamn thing of any human meaning or worth
09:06until we cure ourselves of slavery and end this pestilential war!
09:14There's always more land.
09:19It's the idea that we all have value.
09:25You and me.
09:26The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest chapters in American history,
09:30leaving behind racial and economic scars still felt today.
09:34As such, it has been examined by Hollywood time and time again,
09:37with multiple aspects and battles drawing focus.
09:40The 1989 film Glory, for example, focused on the 54th Massachusetts,
09:45one of the Union's first black infantry regiments.
09:48Where's your pride now?
09:50Make your mark right here.
09:54Then do it.
09:55Yet few films can boast the historical fidelity of Gettysburg,
09:59which was called, quote,
10:00the most accurate Civil War film ever made by historical consultant Brian Pohanka.
10:05The filmmakers went all out, hiring passionate reenactors
10:09to recreate the wardrobe, actions, and look of the actual regiments.
10:13The result is a near-perfect, step-by-step depiction
10:16of perhaps the war's most important battle.
10:19Sir, give me one division and I will take that hill.
10:24And he said nothing.
10:26He just stood there, he stared at me.
10:29I said, General, you'll give me one brigade.
10:33Number two, 12 Years a Slave.
10:35The reason for our inquiry with Mr. Mui.
10:37Yes, we had just a devil of a time in procuring music for entertainments.
10:41Men of true talents are seemingly in short supply.
10:43Thank you, sir.
10:44Solomon Northup's autobiography told the harrowing tale
10:47of a black man who was born free in the North,
10:50but was then kidnapped and sold into slavery.
10:52The book was a bestseller at the time,
10:54but it was mostly lost to history
10:56until Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 2013 adaptation.
11:00Hollywood has a long history of tackling slavery with kid gloves.
11:04The same cannot be said of 12 Years a Slave.
11:07McQueen chose not to shy away from the brutality of the subject,
11:10diving deep into the slave markets and plantations of the South.
11:14While some details were changed for expediency,
11:17the film remains a historically and emotionally accurate portrayal
11:20of the abject cruelty and barbarism of chattel slavery.
11:24I survive!
11:26I will not fall into despair.
11:28I will offer up my talents to Master Ford.
11:30I will keep myself hardy till freedom is opportune.
11:33Oh, Ford is your opportunity?
11:35Before we unveil our top pick,
11:37here are a few honorable mentions.
11:39Spotlight.
11:40A team of reporters uncover a harrowing scandal
11:43and cover-up in a Catholic church.
11:45I need to tell you guys this.
11:46We need to be more discreet than usual, all right?
11:49Everybody's gonna be interested in this, not just the Herald.
11:52We can't let Cardinal Law get wind of this till we know what we have.
11:55On the Basis of Sex.
11:57This biopic tells the story of how RBG transformed into a notorious legal icon.
12:03When I was in law school, there was no women's bathroom.
12:12It's amazing to me now that we never complained.
12:14Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.
12:18Clint Eastwood directed a pair of films showing both sides of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
12:22Ask any smart boy on Wall Street, he'll tell you,
12:24our dollar's next to worthless.
12:26We borrowed so much, and nobody is lending any more.
12:29Ships aren't being built. Tanks aren't being built.
12:31Machine guns, bazookas, hand grenades, zip.
12:34The Longest Day.
12:35This massive ensemble film portrays multiple real stories from the D-Day invasion.
12:40Hey, how much did you take him for?
12:41Oh, not much.
12:42Did you hit the harrow at 2,500?
12:442,500?
12:472,500?
12:50It's too bad you had to win it now.
12:52October Sky.
12:53A group of teens in coal country follow their passion for rocketry in 1950s West Virginia.
12:58I don't allow dangerous devices on school grounds.
13:01Mr. Turner, I asked Homer to bring that to school.
13:04Show it in class.
13:06You know, the boys are thinking about entering that county science fair.
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13:25Number 1. Apollo 13.
13:27Okay, we're into program 64.
13:30105 G, so we're feeling that gravity now.
13:33Houston, we are at 400,000 feet, passing entry interface.
13:37Absolutely sick.
13:39Re-entry data is nominal and we have radio blackout.
13:43When President Kennedy delivered his famous moonshot speech in 1962,
13:47he ignited the American imagination.
13:49NASA's success in the 1960s and 70s kept that spark alive,
13:53and Hollywood hasn't stopped chasing it since.
13:56First Man, for example, details Neil Armstrong's grueling journey
14:00to become the first human to walk on the moon.
14:02I'm hoping that's just excess hydrogen.
14:05I think I'm going to save mine for later.
14:07A little treat.
14:09John Howard's Apollo 13 captures the tension and horror
14:13of one of NASA's most harrowing missions.
14:15An explosion on their spacecraft derailed the plans
14:18of Apollo 13 astronauts to land on the moon.
14:21The film provided 90s audiences with a window into the real tension and fear
14:25experienced by the astronauts, their families, NASA,
14:29and the public as they tried to find a way home.
14:32Uplink telemetry, command module to accept, right?
14:35That's it, Fern. Go ahead and try it.
14:38Accurate is our list.
14:39If you have a film about American history that feels real,
14:42let us know in the comments below.
14:44Shall we stop this bleeding?
14:46Did you enjoy this video?
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