Hollywood Lies!

Originally posted by 250: quote: Originally posted by Deathbringer: Okay people, you have me all wrong. I never intended to 'Bash' America or Hollywood with this thread.

no one ever said you did[/QUOTE]That's not the impression I got...

Originally posted by 250: and please dont be so quick to bash america

[Seraph]

American, British, Canadian, free French and Polish forces took part in the bloody assault on the beaches of Normandy in June 1944 – not that you’d know it from Steven Spielberg’s D-Day epic.

There were no organized Free French units landing on the beaches on June 6th 1944, and the only organized Polish troops were fighting for the Germans. There were French and Polish units landed later to aid with the breakout opperation however.

And while it’s true that US forces were given the tough job of taking Omaha Beach...[there is] no mention of the American stuff-ups that contributed to their slaughter at the hands of the Kraut machine-gunners.

The only real "stuff-up" was the failure of the Americans to detect the presence of the veteran 352nd Infantry Division on the beaches. The Germans had moved this unit, but American inteligence had failed to detect this prior to the landings. The Americans believed that a much poorer division was manning the defences. The biggest problem at Omaha was geography, its a narrow beach, surrounded by high bluffs, with limited ways off. The Germans used this to the best advantage they could. Given the fact its was probably one of the best defended places on the French coast, I've always thought it impressive that it only slowed the Americans up for a matter of hours.

One of the most spectacular errors of judgment – and one that cost countless American lives at Omaha – was the American’s refusal to use British “funnies”, specialized armoured fighting vehicles, some of which had amphibious capability. These machines, equipped with flamethrowers and especially designed to take out fortifications, were rejected by the Americans because they didn’t invent them. The Brits also offered the Americans a 17-punder gun to fit to their Sherman tanks. Again, the arrogant Americans said no.

There were ~32 Serman-DD (Duplex Drive) tanks that were supposed to go in with the landings at Ohaha beach, most sank in the rough seas or were taken out before they could do anything. It was just about imposible to get tanks onto Omaha beach durring the inital part of the battle.

Second, there are several reasons that the Americans rejected the Sherman Firefly[1] durring the landings. The two biggest being that the Firefly was not an infantry support tank, rather it was a battle tank. The Americans were not expecting to encounter German armor on the beaches. Second, the Firefly would have introduced yet another kind of ammo that the Americans would have needed to supply their troops.

Criminally, the film’s single reference to the Allies is a swipe at respected Brit leader General Montgomery, described by US Army ranger Ted Danson as “overrated”.

This is what a lot of American soldiers thought of Montgomery. Would it be better if they pretended that everyone liked him?

[1]The Firefly is a Serman tank fitted w/ a 17lb main gun.

[johnny]

I'm not that much interrested if the historical facts in Saving Private Ryan are correct or not. The fact remains it's one of the best movies i ever saw. It sure as hell beats the older movies. I remember John Wayne taking Omaha beach almost by himself, walking head up, smoking a cigar, while every German machine gunner was aiming at him. The only thing missing was John saying: Hiya sweetheart.......or was that Humphrey Bogart ?

who honestly gives a monkeys?

anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together knows the difference between films and facts anyway lol!!!!

if you want to try and pick at something that DID try to be true to the real story, try Apollo 13 - that was good film AND stuck to the truth as near as i could make out

Originally posted by True_Moose: You notice this kind of thing alot. The US seems to be very self-centered in their movies. I can't recall too many specifics but, amongst others: In one of the Mighty Ducks monies, the American National team eked out a victory over Iceland, a world hockey power. Iceland????? Great Britain did better than 'em in '94. A LOT of WW2 movies I have seen claimed the war started in '41. No, we were fightin' Nazis 2 years before that.

Just one question for ya [img]smile.gif[/img] WHO is Hollywood targeting their movies at? Is it Europe? Asia? Africa? noooooo they are targeting AMERICANS and American MONEY. So naturally they focus on .... drum roll please....Americans. Yes it is true that our popular films get shipped overseas for the entertainment of all, but you know what? You don't have to watch american movies. Your countries might actually decide to make some of their own...and how many of them would highlight American achievemnets over their own? Come on guys, it is only entertainment.(ESPECIALLY U-571. Anyone who thinks that was an accurate portrayal is nuts)

If you expect people to be getting their history lessons from the movies, you need to rethink your strategy here. Any educated person knows that the WAR started in 1939 or even earlier if you count the early german expansions in the east.

P.S. Yeah I know thisis late and has been talked about already but apparently I can only get in here on Mondays and Tuesdays, later in the week there seems to be something blocking my access.

[ 10-14-2002, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[WillowIX]

MagiK is right. Hollywood movies are made for Americans. So it´s obvoius that many Americans like to see US kick some a-s. Unfortunately the producers (script writers?) have concentrated fully on this. So evry war movie ends with America did it all cause that´s what the adince wants to see. Take "Black Hawk Down" for instance. It had lots of spectators in the US but the rest of the world thought it junk (all war movies are junk to me though ). That´s why I never watch Hollywood movies with the phrase "Based on an actual event". They could rephrase it to "Americanized from an actual event" lol. Several movies have been "corrupted" this way. Take the widowmaker movie. Harrison Ford as a Russian? The man has one expression at all times and doesn´t know the meaning of accent. Why not take a less known actor with a Russian accent? And no I won´t complain about Liam Neeson since he´s so handsome ! Independance day, Armageddon etc. etc. One can name lots of movies where America saves the world. So don´t focus on that, focus on the quality Unfortunately quality is disappearing from Hollywood as well...

[Larry_OHF]

Don't forget Reign of Fire was not in the American favor. Our hero was a barbaric wild guy, and the level-headed hero of the movie was what nationality??? That was no American accent. Star Wars' Obi-wan was not speaking with an American accent, The whole Lord of the Rings trilogy is not American...and we love these movies more than anything else! Harry Potter is one of America's favorite little boys, but is he American?

Don't worry about those lesser movies...the ones that count are multi-national and rich in many accents.

[Timber Loftis]

Kudos to Seraph for trying to correct some of the historical inaccuracies in the initial list pointing out Holy-wood's inaccuracies. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

It amazes me, and is oft exhibited on this forum, how differing views of world history change facts - history is not a had science and history is written by the winners, y'know.

Oh, and BTW, I don't think Homer's Illiad or Odyssey were very historically accurate at the time Homer spun them. Nor was the Aneid of Virgil. The changing of history for entertainment's sake is as old as entertainment and older than written history.

And, finally, I will ring in with all the other voices and point out that if Holy-wood's inaccuracies (and all it's other flaws) are so terrible - the way to tell it is to not buy the product. Fat chance of that. In every country, on every continent I've ever travelled, American movies may not be the only ones in the theatres - but they are certainly the most abundant.