History by Hollywood

This powerful but very entertaining movie depicts the efforts of lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his Equal Justice Initiative to force a retrial of Walter “Johnny D” McMillian in 1990s Alabama. Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx lead a strong cast in this quest for justice in the face of deep-rooted bigotry and bias. We examine the degree of their success as portrayed in the movie and, of course, how much of the depiction is true to the real events as known.

In this, the final episode of 2020, Martin flies solo as he embarks on T&T 3, looking at common misconceptions through the medium of lemmings and trying to approach some complex societal issues from a fresh perspective. With a review and listener feedback at the end of the show along with festive greetings from the HbH crew, it’s a short farewell to an interesting year.

This week sees Martin joined by Sean Munger and Cody Climer from the Green Screen podcast as they join forces to examine this 1988 movie about primatologist Dian Fossey and her efforts to study and protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda. It’s a wide-ranging show and with due apologies for the length of time you’ve all had to wait for this episode, we do hope it’s worth it.

In 1973, former men’s tennis No1 Bobby Riggs challenged women’s champion Billy Jean King to a $100k exhibition match. Riggs, an unapologetic chauvinist, gambler and hustler was 55 years old but still confident he could beat the best of the current female players. This week’s movie looks at the depiction of the lead-up and the match itself in this 2017 movie, starring Emily Stone as Billy Jean King and Steve Carrel as Bobby Riggs. Join us as we examine how accurate this portrayal proves to be. Note: There are no clips this week due to the lack of available material which works in an audio format. Except right at the very end, featuring a comment by the real Billy Jean King

This week sees the welcome return of Ray Harris Jr from the long-running History of WWII Podcast as we examine 2019’s Midway, derided by critics yet loved by audiences. Not for the first time, we side very much with the audience and find ourselves surprised by director Roland Emmerich and writer Wes Tooke’s efforts to be as accurate as possible. Naturally, for an HbH featured movie, it stars Woody Harrelson too. It’s a long episode but we hope it’s worthy of your time.

This week sees the second outing of the T&T supplementary. Join Martin as he examines the multiple issues involving the African American community in the US and how this has been depicted in a number of movies already covered by HbH including Glory, Selma and Hidden Figures, attempting to interpret the meanings, both obvious and subtle that these movies have brought to light.

This week we are joined by Des Latham, regular guest host, this time in his capacity as the host of Plane Crash Diaries, Des being a keen aviator and student of aviation safety. We look at 2016’s Sully, detailing the incredible landing on the Hudson River in mid-New York by Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger in January 2009 after his Airbus A320 airliner suffered a double engine failure after hitting a flock of geese. We hope you join us for this episode as two pilots, one fixed-wing (Des) and one helicopter (Martin) pick apart the fabric of this movie to see if director Clint Eastwood has been true to the real events of that remarkable day.

Welcome to the first episode of Thoughts & Themes in which Martin will look for the themes and deeper meanings within Braveheart and Gladiator plus references to Kingdom of Heaven and 300. We look beyond the factual errors which all of the featured movies contain and ask whether there is a deeper truth concealed beneath the surface. The result may be…. unexpected….. or it would have been until I said that. Do join us and let us know your thoughts through: Website: www.historybyhollywood.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/historybyhollywood Twitter: @historybyhwood Or by email hosts@historybyhollywood.com

We dive into the 2018 Netflix movie starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as the two ex-Texas Rangers who led the pursuit of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, seeking to bring to an end their murderous crime spree. The movie takes a very different perspective to the 1967 Bonnie & Clyde film and we will attempt to both fact-check this recent release and also highlight the differences in focus, after we covered the original movie in Episode 51. We like the movie a lot and strongly urge anyone who hasn’t seen it to track it down before we splatter you in spoilers.

News of the amended planned episodes plus a new addition to the HbH library; Thoughts and Themes will launch towards the end of July 2020, complete with a new variation of our theme music. 

This week sees Martin joined by Chris Wimmer, host of both Infamous America and Legends of the Old West podcast series’ who brings an expert eye to the examination of 1988’s Young Guns, the story of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, starring many of the so-called Brat Pack in the forms of Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland.

This episode examines the 1980 movie The Coal Miner’s Daughter, telling the story of the early life and subsequent early career of Loretta Lynn, one of the matriarchs of Country music, from her tough Kentucky childhood to becoming a Country legend, singing about the real life ups and downs of being a working-class, rural American woman. Sissy Spacek won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Loretta but how close to the truth does the movie stay? We hope you’ll join us to find out.

Episode 73 Zulu Dawn. Sunday 17th May 2020. This week we focus on 1979’s Zulu Dawn, a much-underrated and little-known prequel to 1964’s Zulu, concentrating on Lord Chelmsford’s advance into Zulu territory and the disastrous battle of Isandhlwana which took place the day before the action at Rorke’s Drift. For this episode we are delighted … Continue reading "Episode 73: Zulu Dawn"

Whatever people think about Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt, he fought a number of legal battles for the right to publish, battles which effectively became a universal fight for the right to free speech. This 1996 movie resonates today as we will look at the historical accuracy of the movie and some of the points … Continue reading "Episode 72: The People vs Larry Flynt"

Episode 71 Denial, 22nd March 2020. In our latest outing we examine 2016’s movie telling the story of Professor Deborah Lipstadt, an American historian and author who wrote a book about Holocaust deniers in which she named David Irving, a British amateur historian as a case in point. He sued her in 2000 in the UK’s civil courts and this movie tells the story of that court case.  Rachel Weisz stars as Prof Deborah, Timothy Spall as Irving and Tom Wilkinson as Deborah’s veteran barrister, Richard Rampton. The story the movie tells is as important today as when the trial occurred and it resonates in many areas of modern society.

Martin and Jules arrive at the conclusion of the movie, examine both its accuracy and entertainment but stress that despite the very high entertainment value, as far as provoking thought and discussion about wider topics, this movie is far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s been a lengthy journey, the total coverage actually exceeding the length of the movie but we believe that it’s a movie that warrants such detailed examination. We hope that you agree.

Join Martin and guest-host Jules with the continuing story as the Winklevoss brothers turn up the heat on their efforts to stop Mark Zuckerberg developing his Facebook concept, still complaining that he had stolen their idea and we meet Sean Parker, portrayed by the annoyingly talented Justin Timberlake who leaps aboard the Facebook bandwagon, much to the irritation of Eduardo Saverin. As the poster says, you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.

This week sees us dive into the main body of the show for which we are joined by software engineer and HbH’s theme music composer Jules Cisek who has some fascinating insights into the world of IT and Silicone Valley, primed to hit us all with large dollops of factainment. Fabulously watchable though The Social Network is, we will keep our eye on any divergence from the known facts.

This week’s episode is 2010’s portrayal of the genesis of Facebook with Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg played by Jesse Eisenberg. Directed by Fight Club’s David Fincher and written by the West Wing screen writer Aaron Sorkin the movie has been praised for bravely stark portrayals of such recent events and active protagonists and equally criticized by some of those very same protagonists but everyone agrees that it’s a very watchable movie. Sorkin has admitted that his main focus is a loyalty to storytelling rather than the dry facts but how far do they stray from what is known? We hope you join us to find out.

Episode 69.2 Frost/Nixon Part 2. We rejoin the action as the interviews begin, the wily veteran politician determined to retain control of the narrative and to try and rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the American people. Frost’s research team, serious journalists, are desperate for their man to pin the ex-President down, ask some tough questions and elicit some form of admission of guilt but Frost himself seems more concerned about viewer numbers and attending celebrity parties.

Episode 69.1 Frost/Nixon Part 1. Adapted from the play of the same name and starring the same two actors in the title roles, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella, this movie attempts to tell the story of a series of interviews between disgraced former US President Richard Nixon and a most unlikely interrogator in the form of British variety show host David Frost. With facts so well known, it should prove quite possible to establish how accurately the movie portrays the events. We hope you will join us on our path to discovery.

Episode 68 Shakespeare at the Cinema Part 2: Richard III (1955). Laurence Olivier’s Richard III is renowned for portraying King Richard as a Machiavellian conspirator, reveling in his villainy and driven by personal ambition. To take as objective a view as possible, HbH is joined by a proper expert; author of historical fiction and host of The Wars of the Roses Podcasts, Derek Birks. Derek will lead us through the complex series of conflicts and alliances that saw the climax of the Wars of the Roses.

Episode 68 Shakespeare at the Cinema Part 1: Henry V (1989). In this week’s part of the Shakespearean episode we examine Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 adaption of Henry V. Martin flies solo though his monologue is supplemented by multiple clips from the movie, featuring a decent who’s-who of British stage and cinema. Culminating in the battle of Agincourt, we look at the accuracy or lack thereof of Shakespeare’s account of this period.

Episode 67: The Insider Part 3 of 3. As we hurtle toward the end of another year and HbH’s third birthday, we conclude our look at The Insider, wrap up the reality and let you know what became of the various protagonists.

Episode 67: The Insider Part 2 of 3. We continue our focus on this powerful movie about Jeffrey Wigand, tobacco industry whistleblower and, aware of the time of year, take the opportunity to wish all of you a happy HbH holiday season.

Episode 67: The Insider Part 1 of 3. We embark on an examination of this 1999 film about a tobacco industry whistle-blower trying to get his story out on national television. Starring Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer, the protagonists face legal challenges by the huge tobacco corporations and for the journalists, resistance from their own corporate management. It has just as much resonance and relevance today as it did in the late 90s but how closely is its message based on true events and how much has been fictionalized?

Episode 66 The Untouchables Part 3 of 3. This week we conclude our examination of The Untouchables, wrapping up the movie but also looking at how the legends of Eliot Ness and Al Capone have grown in popular culture. Much of what is said about these two towering figures of early twentieth century crime-fighting is drawn from artistic sources such as books, movies and TV shows. Has the truth been lost amongst the legends? And is the truth any less dramatic? We hope to reveal the answers to these questions in this last episode

Episode 66 The Untouchables Part 2 of 3. We continue our examination of The Untouchables. With the team complete, Eliot Ness and his Untouchables can get to work taking apart Al Capone’s illicit booze trade. But at what cost? Join us to find out and how much of the movie’s drama is borne out by the real events of the period.

Episode 66 The Untouchables Part 1 of 3. Welcome to our first three-part episode under our new format. This week we start our examination of The Untouchables, the 1987 star-studded story of Eliot Ness and his Untouchables, taking on Al Capone and the Mob in Prohibition-era Chicago. Starring Kevin Costner and Robert de Niro as the two antagonists, ably supported by Sean Connery winning his only-ever Oscar, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith making up the team of good guys. We hope you enjoy the journey and, not for the first time, finding out that the truth is just as dramatic as the silver-screen version.

Episode 65: Monster Part 2. The concluding episode covering 2003’s Monster, about Florida serial killer Aileen Wuornos. We wrap up the movie synopsis, the final reality checks and draw our conclusions. We hope you join us.

Episode 65 Monster Part 1. 2003 saw the release of Monster, a ‘based-on-a-true-story’ account of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos in late 80s Florida. The portrayal of Aileen by Charlize Theron won her a Best Actress Oscar and the movie rates highly with both film critics and audiences. However, with news journalists the movie has been criticized for its underlying themes and version of events. We will attempt to unravel the movie’s spin from the real events of the times whilst also holding a light up to its value as a piece of entertainment.

Episode 64 First Man Part 2. We conclude our examination of 2018’s movie starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and the first Moon landing. It’s a difficult film to summarise but as you’ll hear, we do our best to separate its accuracy from its level of entertainment.

Episode 64 First Man Part 1. Our episode this week focusses on 2018’s portrayal of Neil Armstrong’s journey to be the first human to set foot on the moon, both literal and figurative. Applauded by critics, less so by audiences, it’s nevertheless a fascinating subject. Our task will be to assess the accuracy of the movie and, just as importantly, its ability to entertain.

Episode 63 Norma Rae Part 2. This week we conclude our examination of this movie, following the battles of Norma Rae, a Southern States textile worker for union recognition in her mill.

Episode 63 Norma Rae Part 1. This week sees us examining this 1979 movie about a Southern States textile worker, Norma Rae of the title fighting to gain Union representation at her mill. For playing the title role, Sally Field won the Best Actress Oscar and it has been widely praised for its depiction of the long and often bitter fight of the working people against the moneyed bosses in American industry. We will assess its entertainment level but mainly just how true to the real story the movie manages to stay. Part 2 will be along next week.

Episode 62: Reversal of Fortune. This week sees us joined again by guest co-host Sean Munger of the wonderful Second Decade Podcast. This is one of Sean’s favourite movies and he has a lawyer’s insight into the legal battle described as New York socialite Claus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons) tries to have his conviction reversed … Continue reading "Episode 62: Reversal of Fortune"

Episode 61: Thirteen Days. Released in 2000, this movie stars Kevin Costner as special advisor to President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and shows the tension, the sense of impending doom and the real risk of imminent nuclear war that occurred over this brief period in 1962. The movie takes a White House perspective on the crisis and has been very well received by critics and audiences although it struggled at the box office. We look at how well it entertains as well as its level of accuracy.

Episode 60: Breaker Morant. We are delighted to be joined by Des Latham, host of The Anglo-Boer War Podcast as we examine this 1980 movie’s depiction of an early 1900s British war crimes trial held in South Africa, little known outside Australia and South Africa but within those countries, a case that still resonates loudly … Continue reading "Episode 60: Breaker Morant"

Episode 59: Supplementary 4 The Ones That Got Away Part Two. This week sees Martin flying solo as we bring you our second batch of movies that didn’t quite make the cut for a full episode. We are covering the following movies, each with their start time in case you want to skip ahead: The Bridge on the River Kwai 13.45 The epic David Lean war movie about a group of Allied POWs in Japanese occupied Thailand building a bridge. Mississippi Burning 35.00 Based on the 1960s FBI investigation into the murder of three civil rights volunteers, this powerful movie stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as the lead investigators. The Greatest Showman 50.05 The musical biopic of PT Barnum and how his circus show was started. Beloved by audiences, less so by critics (or Martin!) we look at how much glitter has been spread over the real story. The Lost City of Z 1hr 11.52 Colonel Percy Fawcett was a British explorer in the early 1900s, seeking evidence of a lost Amazonian civilization. BAT-21 1hr 29.44 Gene Hackman makes his second appearance in today’s episode playing the role of Colonel Iceal Hambelton, shot down over Vietnam and trying to evade capture. Gangs of New York 1hr 45.39 The first collaboration between Martin Scorcese and Leonardo di Caprio, this sprawling movie shows the lawless side of New York during the US Civil War. Daniel Day Lewis stands out as the movie’s villain with a typically brilliant performance.

Episode 58: Kingdom of Heaven. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, this story of a young Crusader trying to come to terms with religion, guilt and knightly aspirations promises much with some great cinematography, detailed battle scenes, a love interest plus court intrigue as our hero discovers that supposed friends can be a lot more scheming and devious than your supposed enemies. Our interest is in both the entertainment value of the movie and its historical accuracy as we attempt to sort myth from truth, Hollywood hype from gritty reality. More popular with audiences than critics, the version we are examining is the theatrical release one; there is a director’s cut which is said to be more coherent so if that’s the one you’ve seen, good choice and sorry if we don’t mention the extra bits. We hope you enjoy.

Episode 57: The Great Escape. 1963’s epic war movie has become a classic, loved by many viewers and remembered for some iconic moments, most of them involving Steve McQueen who is arguably one of the coolest actors ever to grace a screen. Based on a book by Paul Brickhill who was a POW in Stalag Luft III when the break-out occurred, we aim to find out how accurately the movie follows the reality of the breakout, the men involved and the details of their various experiences. It’s a big movie so this is a big episode with ups and downs and, no doubt, a few daredevil leaps across the fences of accepted reality (that one was inserted with help from the HbH literary crowbar).

Episode 56: The Favourite. 2018’s period piece about Queen Anne and two of her female courtiers vying for preference in her favours was beloved by critics more than it was by audiences. Some very accomplished performances by the leading role actors led to an Oscar for Olivia Coleman and multiple other awards. Director Yorgos Lanthimos said all along that he was not making an historical documentary so our quest is to establish just how much he played with the known facts in his quest to make an entertaining story about friendship and the corrupting effects of power.

Episode 55 Bohemian Rhapsody. This episode takes a nostalgia trip for both hosts as we examine 2018’s musical biopic about Queen and Freddie Mercury. Critics didn’t much like it but audiences love it, as did the Academy Award committee as the movie won four Oscars including Best Actor for Rami Malek. We very much side with the audiences as we both thoroughly enjoyed what is a very entertaining and moving film. What we’ll try to do here is establish how close to the truth the movie managed to keep as it charts the rise of one of the world’s most successful rock bands.

Episode 54: I, Tonya This 2017 movie details the rise and fall of Tonya Harding, an American figure skater who rose to prominence and then notoriety in the early 1990s. A gritty, darkly humorous movie with some superb performances, notably Margot Robbie in the title role and Alison Janney, who was to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Tonya’s mother. The movie manages to balance gripping entertainment and humour yet never loses sight of the underlying pathos of the real story. Our task is to determine how close to that real-life story the movie manages to remain. We hope you’ll join us.

Episode 53: Gallipoli. This episode sees the regular team reunited to examine 1981’s powerful WW1 drama, following the fortunes of two young Australian soldiers as they are pitched into the disastrous Dardanelles campaign on 1915. Starring Mark Lee and Mel Gibson in the lead roles, the movie has become something of a cult classic. Despite the main characters being fictional, we examine how close to the truth of the events and the experience of thousands of similar young men the movie manages to stay.

Episode 52: The Right Stuff. This week we are delighted to be joined by Sean Munger, host of The Second Decade Podcast (link in the show notes on the website historybyhollywood dot com) who grew up on or near USAF bases and brings both historical expertise and a personal aspect to the show. The movie is big, bold and magnificent covering the American efforts to break the sound barrier then launch men into space. The episode is big and we’ll leave you, our dear listeners to choose any other appropriate adjectives. Over two hours but if you enjoy listening half as much as we enjoyed recording…. you know the rest.

Episode 51: Bonnie & Clyde. This week sees Andrew fly solo for an examination of 1967’s Bonnie & Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the title roles as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow, almost mythical Depression-era criminals in the US. We will try to separate the legend from the facts and the Hollywood interpretation of both. We hope you’ll join us on the journey.

Episode 50: A Beautiful Mind. In this episode we examine the 2001 biopic of mathematics genius John Nash, following both his academic achievements and his struggle with schizophrenia. A multiple Oscar winner, hugely popular with audiences, we will look at how accurate the movie manages to stay to the real twists and turns of Nash’s professional and personal life.

A very entertaining movie, described in one review as an ‘angry, fiery movie disguised as a comedy’ it has a superb cast including Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrel and Brad Pitt. The period portrayed leads up to the 2008 financial crash and the movie does a great job of explaining how this was allowed to happen along with a warning that it could happen again. One of the most relevant and topical movies we have covered thus far, we hope you join us on our journey of discovery along the road to the facts. The audio is much improved from last time but still not perfect (some slight background noise) which we are working hard to eliminate from all future episodes. Please bear with us and we promise to be back to 20/20 clarity next time out.

Episode 48: Trumbo. Andrew is joined by Dr Fiona Radford of the Partial Historians Podcast and an expert on Dalton Trumbo, Spartacus and the Hollywood Ten (blacklisted screen writers suspected of having communist sympathies of which Dalton Trumbo was a prominent member). We have to apologise for the poor audio quality on Andrew’s side but we still hope that you enjoy the depth of knowledge that Dr Fiona displays, delivered in her customary light-hearted style. Brian Cranston plays the title role wonderfully as Andrew and Fiona examine whether the movie got things right.

Episode 47: The King’s Speech. Join us as we examine 2015’s Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as the reluctant King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue, an Australian with no formal qualifications but with a history of great success in the field of speech therapy. Ably supported by Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall and Michael Gambon, the movie was a great cinematic and financial success beloved by critics and audiences alike but did they get the facts right? Or is this a heartwarming tale sculpted into a plausible piece of history?