00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at true story films that were nothing like
00:07the actual true story.
00:09These are not necessarily ranked by being the least accurate, but rather the ones that
00:12ran wild with their creative license for the sake of drama.
00:23The Imitation Game
00:24Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as famed mathematician Alan Turing, The Imitation Game tells the
00:28story of his life, in particular as a codebreaker in World War II.
00:32Despite being a huge critical and financial success, not everyone was pleased with the
00:37film.
00:38The Guardian even referred to it as slanderous.
00:50Events from Turing's personal life, from his childhood till his death, were vastly
00:54changed.
00:55Betrayal as an antisocial loner also is at odds with what we know about the real man.
01:11While persecution against his sexuality did lead to his tragic fate, the film adds a flashier
01:15backstory with Turing suspected of being a Soviet spy.
01:18This is, of course, pure fiction.
01:29The Blindside
01:30Telling the inspiring true story of linebacker Michael Orr's tumultuous upbringing, The
01:34Blindside was released the same year he was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
01:48The film chronicles him being taken in by his adoptive family.
01:51The Twoies help him escape from his impoverished lifestyle, turning his grades and life around
01:55by stepping onto the football field.
02:00However, many elements of the film have been questioned as playing into unfortunate white
02:11savior tropes, with the white family coming to the rescue of a silent, docile black child.
02:17Orr himself voiced his dissatisfaction with the film's portrayal of his intelligence,
02:21iterating that numerous elements, including his understanding of football, were dumbed
02:24down for the story.
02:36The Conjuring
02:44Heavily marketed as being based on a true story, the film follows a pair of demonologists
02:49and authors, the Warrens.
02:51Like its many sequels and spinoffs, The Conjuring depicts them as brave paranormal investigators.
02:56In it, Lorraine Warren possesses clairvoyant abilities that they use to save innocents
03:00from malevolent forces with support from her loving husband, Ed.
03:12The real portrait of the Warrens is less rosy, as they are seen by many as being nothing
03:16more than frauds and opportunists.
03:18With Ed allegedly engaging in an extramarital affair, many of the paranormal cases that
03:22propelled them to fame have been thoroughly debunked, with the Warrens seemingly making
03:26things up to tell a good story.
03:34Argo
03:42Telling the gripping true story of rescuing six diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis,
03:47Argo won near-universal acclaim, taking home three Oscars, including Best Picture.
03:52Throughout the film, the diplomats face capture and danger at every turn, culminating with
03:57a thrilling escape where they are almost caught boarding a plane to literally fly them to
04:00freedom.
04:05However, as thrilling as those events made the film, most of them were hugely exaggerated
04:19or flat-out invented to provide drama.
04:21While the situation was dire, the imminent danger to the group was a product of dramatic
04:25license.
04:26Most notably, the heart-pounding finale where the plane is chased down the runway by armed
04:30gunmen never took place at all.
04:43Catch Me If You Can
04:45Based on his autobiography of the same name, Catch Me If You Can portrayed Frank Abagnale
04:49Jr. as a cunning conman who used his lies and tricks for massive financial gain.
04:54As portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Abagnale uses his unique skill for deception to con
04:59his way into jobs as a doctor, lawyer, and pilot.
05:09He even worked for the FBI after they successfully caught him.
05:12As it turns out, however, the real Abagnale's biggest con was getting people to believe
05:16any of this actually happened.
05:28Much of the book, and subsequently the film adaptation, were lies told to tell a good
05:32story.
05:33Guess we should have known.
05:44The Greatest Showman
05:46Highly fictionalized doesn't even begin to describe the way that this musical biopic
05:50depicts its subject, P.T.
05:52Barnum.
06:03Certain elements from the famous circus founder's life are present in the film, but the Hugh
06:07Jackman character bears little resemblance to his historical counterpart.
06:10Far from the magnanimous charmer he was in the film, the real Barnum has been accused
06:14of being a cruel racist who abused animals and took advantage of people.
06:26The film's main love story, involving characters played by Zac Efron and Zendaya, was entirely
06:31created for the film.
06:32As the characters never even existed, the real story likely would have made for a much
06:36less entertaining musical, or at the very least, a much more depressing one.
06:50Bohemian Rhapsody
06:51Musical biopics tend to follow the same formula, more or less.
07:02This film, following Queen, is no exception.
07:05That meant certain beats had to be hit at specific points in the film, shuffling around
07:08dates of key events and amping up the interpersonal drama between members of the band.
07:23While the finale, showing the band reuniting to play the Live Aid concert after learning
07:27of Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis, was a powerful climax, it was hardly accurate.
07:31The band weren't last-minute replacements, rather, they'd always meant to play the
07:35benefit show.
07:48Mercury wouldn't be diagnosed with AIDS until two years later, and wouldn't tell
07:52his bandmates for a further two years.
07:54The Social Network
08:05Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher weren't nearly as interested in
08:08giving an accurate depiction of Facebook's founding, as they weren't telling a story
08:12about greed and male loneliness.
08:14While nearly every major person portrayed in the film has come out to decry the way
08:18they were represented, the film hits on a few more universal truths.
08:34Sorkin even admitted to having little interest in Facebook, but was drawn to the project
08:38as it was a way for him to tackle themes including friendship, loyalty, jealousy, class, and
08:43power.
08:44Over the years, the film has only grown in renown and cultural importance.
08:58Marie Antoinette
08:59Occasionally, films are anachronistic, not for convenience's sake, or by accident,
09:03but intentionally to make a point.
09:11This is exactly what director Sofia Coppola and star Kirsten Dunst did with their depiction
09:16of the titular 18th century monarch.
09:18In the film, Marie Antoinette seems less like a French aristocrat and more like a modern
09:23American teen.
09:35Coppola would later note how she had intentionally stylized the film and characters to make them
09:40more human and relatable.
09:42Those intentional anachronisms even carried over to other aspects of the film, including
09:45famously the modern pop song, I Want Candy, playing in a shot where a pair of converse
09:50shoes were seen.
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10:18Braveheart
10:30Most of what we know about the near-legendary warrior who fought for Scottish independence,
10:34Sir William Wallace, was ignored by Braveheart's star-slash-director Mel Gibson.
10:38The film's interpretation of Wallace draws heavily from a less-than-accurate historical
10:42poem, with plenty of 90s Hollywood action diluting the accuracy further for good measure.
10:53Of course, Wallace wasn't the only inaccurate thing in the film, as other characters, military
10:58campaigns, and even fashion were completely off.
11:01As one historian put it, the war of pain was a thousand years too late, while the kills
11:05were five hundred too early, none of that stopped the film from being a colossal box
11:17office success and taking home Best Picture, proving that maybe, accuracy doesn't matter.
11:22Which movie got the most wrong?
11:24Let us know in the comments below.
